South Africa: N West MEC urges officials to turn around municipalities

The North West MEC for Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs, Nono Maloyi, has challenged officials in the department to turn around the situation in municipalities in the province.

Maloyi recently addressed a departmental strategic planning lekgotla, where she bemoaned the state of affairs in most of the municipalities.

[It] leaves much to be desired. The Auditor Generals previous reports depict a worrying picture about the municipalities in the province. Municipalities are not able to use their infrastructure grant.

No municipality has received a clean audit and for us to have functional municipalities, we first need to stabilise the department by making sure that we deal with the high vacancy rate in the department. Once we have stabilised the department, we will then be able to stablise our municipalities, Maloyi said.

The Member of the Executive Council (MEC) said the department has a responsibility to ensure that all municipalities across the province are able to discharge their constitutional mandate of providing quality services to their respective communities.

Maloyi said the high vacancy rate of senior managers in municipalities has to be addressed.

Almost all our municipalities have vacant positions of senior managers. You cannot talk about building a capable State when you do not have qualified people to do the work.

Maloyi said while the whole country is grappling with load shedding, municipalities must explore possible alternative sources of energy to mitigate the current challenges.

He said municipalities are unable to use their infrastructure grants, and the department must develop a strategy to assist municipalities to utilise their grants.

Moreover, the MEC said his department should set up proper systems to deal with traditional leadership disputes without taking sites.

The department must have a good working relationship with the North West House of Traditional and Khoi-San Leaders (NWHTKL).

He said before a dispute on traditional leadership is referred to the provincial government, the NWHTKL must find a way of dealing with the dispute because they understand the issues on traditional leadership much better.

Maloyi has also called for capacity building for disaster management to deal with disasters and the effects of climate change.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2023-02-12. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
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Bangladesh withdraws school books after anti-LGBTQ backlash
Manchester police said they arrested two men and seized two firearms after a fight allegedly broke out at a Manchester hookah lounge early Sunday morning.

Two Meriden residents, 23-year-old Richard Ortiz and 31-year-old Wesley Vazquez-Santana were in custody on multiple charges following an investigation, the Manchester Police Department said.

Just before 3 a.m. on Sunday, the department said multiple officers responded to a report of an active fight in the Empire Hookah Lounge at 397 Broad St.

Before arriving, police said they received information that four people involved in the disturbance left the lounge and entered a vehicle. One of the occupants reportedly brandished a firearm as the vehicle fled.

Manchester police said the first officer to arrive at the scene located the vehicle and conducted a traffic stop.

Officers allegedly recovered two firearms in the possession of Ortiz and Vasquez-Santana, according to a report from the Manchester Police Department. Officers also determined that a passenger in the car had two active arrest warrants, police said.

Police said the passenger was turned over to the Newington Police Department.

Ortiz was being held in lieu of $250,000 bail on several charges, including second-degree breach of peace, second-degree reckless endangerment, first-degree threatening, criminal possession of a firearm, and illegal possession of a large capacity magazine, according to police.

Vasquez-Santana was being held in lieu of $100,000 bail on charges, including second-degree breach of peace, criminal possession of a firearm, illegal possession of a large capacity magazine, and possession of a controlled substance, police said.

Both men have a court date scheduled for Monday.
A drag queen whose storytelling for children sparked a far-right protest on Saturday has described himself as a role model for the youngsters.

Sab Samuel, whose drag name is Aida H Dee, said his readings can act as a catalyst for children to begin living their true selves, and save them from enduring the horrendous mental health battle he went through growing up.

He hosted three Drag Queen Story Hour UK readings in Tate Britain on Saturday, while about 30 far-right protesters gathered outside  though none of the central London art gallerys events were disrupted.

Speaking to Trisha Goddard on TalkTV on Sunday, Mr Samuel said drag readings for children were an important topic but that they had been completely blown out of proportion by protesters.

I think a lot of these people think Im something that Im actually not, he said.

Mr Samuel, who is also a childrens author, said youngsters have approached him at drag events to come out as gay, and ask for advice about whether they should tell their parents.

Years later, theyve come out and theyve now got a partner and theyre completely happy, he said.

And the catalyst to them living their true selves was coming to Drag Queen Story Hour. That is what Drag Queen Story Hour is about.

Protesters outside the Tate Britain in London on Saturday (James Manning/PA).

Speaking about his own childhood, he said: I hated myself growing up because I thought being gay was negative.

All I want to do is be the role model that I wish I had when I was five years old.

If I was told that gay was a good word and gay is fine, I wouldnt have gone through the horrendous mental health battle and somewhat self-loathing that I had to go through to get to the point Im at now, where I dont just tolerate myself, I love myself.

I didnt have a single LGBTQ role model, like every gay man out there, he added.

So you know who I did look up to? Powerful women like Madonna, like Lady Gaga, they are the powerful people that I looked up to.

Why are they surprised that we are now sat here embracing femininity with drag? Femininity is not just something to be tolerated, just like LGBTQ, we want to embrace it, its fabulous  why wouldnt we?

Protesters outside Tate Britain (James Manning/PA).

A protester from the Tate demonstration is due to appear in court charged with several offences.

Lance OConnor, 53, of Greengate Street, Plaistow, east London, is accused of assault on an emergency worker, obstruction of a police officer and two homophobic aggravated public order offences.

He will appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on Monday.

It is understood the group outside the Tate was led by far-right organisation Patriotic Alternative, while similar numbers of counter-protesters from Stand Up To Racism appeared in support of the storytelling.

Right-wing demonstrators held signs reading: No drag for kids! and Leave our kids alone!, while signs from the second group read: Dont let the far right divide us and Trans rights now.

No injuries were reported and officers remained until the protest finished just after 3pm.
A man has been charged with violent disorder and assault over a protest outside a hotel which was housing asylum seekers.

Jarad Skeete, 19, of Irwell Close, Aigburth, Liverpool, was among 15 people arrested amid the demonstration outside the Suites Hotel in Knowsley on Friday evening, Merseyside Police said.

Skeete is accused of violent disorder and assault by beating of an emergency services worker.

He has been remanded in custody and will appear at Wirral Adult Remand Court on Monday.

Police outside the Suites Hotel in Knowsley, Merseyside, on Saturday (Peter Powell/PA)

The remaining 14 people who were arrested  12 men and two women who are mainly from the Knowsley area  have been conditionally bailed pending the outcome of police inquiries.

Merseyside Police said the violence, which has been condemned by politicians, left an officer and two members of the public with slight injuries.

Lit fireworks were thrown at officers and a police van was set alight after being attacked with hammers.

Shadow levelling up secretary and Wigan MP Lisa Nandy described the protest as absolutely horrendous, and criticised the Government for creating a toxic mix of anti-migrant rhetoric and poor service provision.

A burnt out police van after a demonstration outside the Suites Hotel in Knowsley, Merseyside, on Friday night (Peter Powell/PA)

In the north of England, places like Knowsley, this is not who we are, she told the BBC.

The story of the last decade has been the story of people across this country throwing open their homes to refugees from Ukraine, stepping up to support the Syrian appeal, when we had impending disaster.

Even in the last few weeks, weve had people across the north of England stepping forward to put forward record donations to help with the appalling situation in Turkey and Syria.

There are a small number of far right activists who whip up hate and hostility in this country, we all need to speak with one voice when we say that we utterly condemn them.

Ms Nandy described the Governments decisions to contract out asylum services, forgo consultation with communities and place refugees in unsuitable accommodation as a recipe for disaster.

Labour has criticised Home Secretary Suella Bravermans immigration rhetoric following a violent protest outside a hotel for asylum seekers in Merseyside (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

Referring to Home Secretary Suella Braverman, she said: When you lay onto that a Government that talks about things like an invasion in relation to immigration, you have a perfect storm, a really toxic mix that is being created.

On Saturday, Ms Braverman condemned disorder at the protest, adding that the alleged behaviour of some asylum seekers is never an excuse for violence.

Meanwhile, development minister Andrew Mitchell said on Sunday that the violence was totally unjustifiable.

He told the BBCs Laura Kuenssberg: We live in a country where peaceful protest is part of our way of life and I strongly support that.

But violence in the way that we saw on Friday night is completely unacceptable, and the Government condemn it absolutely.

Development minister Andrew Mitchell condemned the violence in Knowsley as totally unjustifiable (James Manning/PA)

He rejected suggestions that the Government had helped stir up anti-migrant sentiment, adding that it has housed thousands and thousands of Ukrainian refugees along with people from Hong Kong and Afghanistan.

This is an unprecedented time in terms of Britain helping people who are caught in desperate jeopardy, he said.

We have a duty to welcome these people  often they are caught in desperate jeopardy, but equally we have a duty to house them appropriately and to work with local people.

The Home Office is trying very hard now to stop the excessive use of hotels and find different ways of placing them in appropriate places in the community. And that is something that the Home Office will achieve.
Almost three in 10 (29%) people who have met others online in the past 12 months say they were asked to give or lend money to someone they had not met in person, according to a survey.

And more than half of those asked to hand over cash did so, according to the research commissioned by trade body UK Finance.

Its Take Five To Stop Fraud campaign is warning people ahead of Valentines Day to watch out for criminals posing as online love interests.

Romance scammers often take weeks or months building up a rapport with their victims and may ask for multiple payments. They may claim to be doing charity work overseas or need money urgently for an operation, a business investment or a flight to meet up with their victim, for example.

And with many people being squeezed by rising bills, scammers may also claim they need money to help with their living costs.

Tips to avoid romance fraud:  Avoid sending money to someone youve never met in person.  Photos may not be genuine.  Stay on the dating sites messaging service until youre confident the person is who they say are and then meet in a public place.#TakeFive pic.twitter.com/2YPPwfsAv6  Take Five (@TakeFive) February 3, 2023

They will set up fake profiles, often using photos of other people to do so.

UK Finance said the amount of money lost to romance fraud remains high, with 16.6 million reported stolen through these scams in the first half of 2022.

The survey of 2,000 people across the UK by Opinium in January 2023 found 51% of those asked to give or lend money agreed to do so, with 8% sending more than 1,000.

Of those who had started a romantic relationship online in the past 12 months, just under half (47%) said they would need to meet their date in person to trust they are who they say they are.

In the average romance scam case, the victim is tricked into making about eight payments, UK Finance said.

The survey also revealed the three most common reasons people were asked for money  to pay for an emergency, for travel to meet the victim and to pay a bill.

Katy Worobec, managing director of economic crime at UK Finance, said: Losing money to fraud is both emotionally and financially damaging for victims, even more so when you thought it was someone you could trust.

Unfortunately, heartless criminals are taking advantage of people looking for love.

We would urge everyone to follow the advice of the Take Five To Stop Fraud campaign and avoid sending money to someone you have never met in person.

If you think youve been the victim of a romance scam, contact your bank immediately.

Ahead of Valentines Day on February 14, the Take Five To Stop Fraud campaign has some tips for staying safe from romance scams when dating online:

 Be suspicious of requests for money from someone you have never met in person, particularly if you have only recently met them online;

 Speak to your family or friends to get advice and share experiences;

 Profile photos may not be genuine so you should make sure to do your research first. You can do this by uploading a picture of the person you are talking to into your search engine to check profile photos are not associated with another name. Performing a reverse image search can find photos that have been taken from somewhere or someone else;

 Stay on the dating websites messaging service until you are confident the person is who they say they are and ensure meetings in person take place in a public place. Online dating platforms have moderation and reporting processes in place to protect daters and remove scammers; and

 Contact your bank immediately if you think you may have fallen victim to a romance scam, notify Action Fraud and let the platform on which you met the scammer know.
Teenage girl found with fatal stab wounds in Cheshire park named by police

A teenage girl who was found with fatal stab wounds in a Cheshire park on Saturday has been named as 16-year-old Brianna Ghey.

Police have launched a murder probe after the girl, from Birchwood in Warrington, was found by members of the public as she lay wounded on a path in Linear Park, Culcheth, at around 3.13pm.

Emergency services attended but she was pronounced dead at the scene, Cheshire Constabulary said.

The force is looking to speak with two people who were seen close to where the body was found, described as a white man and woman, both with dark curly hair, aged in their late teens or early twenties.

On Saturday, the man had been wearing a long dark hooded coat, while the woman wore a distinctive red or purple and black checked blanket-style coat with a long flowing bottoms which could have been a skirt, dress or trousers.

Detective Chief Supt Mike Evans said police are also keen to speak with people who passed through the park between 1.30pm and 4pm on Saturday, and anyone who may have seen Brianna in the hours before her death.

He appealed for local people and businesses with CCTV or dashcam footage to come forward too.

Mr Evans said: This is a truly awful attack on a 16-year-old girl, who has sadly lost her very short life.

We are appealing for any information that will help us find who has done this to Brianna.

I would like to reassure the local community that we are working hard to find those responsible for Briannas death and we have extra officers in and around Culcheth supporting the investigation, he added.

We also have officers supporting Briannas family at this really tragic time.

Police community support officers at the scene in Culcheth Linear Park (Peter Powell/PA)

Briannas relatives have been told, and a Home Office post-mortem examination is ongoing.

A crime scene is in place as detectives work to establish the circumstances surrounding her death.

Detective Chief Inspector Adam Waller earlier said police are pursuing numerous lines of inquiry.

Anyone with information should contact police via the Cheshire Constabulary website or by calling 101, quoting IML 1476832.

Information can also be reported anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Two more teenagers have been charged with murder over the death of Bailey Atkinson in Walsall two weeks ago, West Midlands Police said.

Sonny Loverage, 18, from Bloxwich in the West Midlands, along with a 17-year-old boy from Walsall  who cannot be named due to his age, will appear before Wolverhampton Magistrates Court on Monday.

A 15-year-old and two 16-year-olds previously appeared in court over Mr Atkinsons death.

#UPDATE | Two further teenagers have been charged with the murder of Bailey Atkinson who was stabbed to death in #Walsall two weeks ago. More here  https://t.co/ha4bVQ11ex pic.twitter.com/ZQV53TdnpQ  West Midlands Police (@WMPolice) February 12, 2023

Mr Atkinson, 20, was stabbed multiple times in the early hours of January 28 in Walsall High Street. He was taken to hospital, but later died of his injuries.

His family paid tribute to their beloved boy Bailey, our kind hearted and much-loved son, brother and grandson.

They added: Bailey was so loved, by so many and will be missed so much.

Police said Mr Atkinsons family have been informed of the latest charges and urged the public not to discuss the names of the juvenile defendants on social media while the case is active.

A police statement said: Since Baileys tragic death we have tried to reassure the public by increasing patrols and resources.

We are continuing these patrols to show to the public that we are working hard to make our streets safe and reduce the fear of crime.
Burt Bacharachs 10 Best Songs

Elvis Costello is performing 200+ songs from his 600+ songbook over 10 consecutive nights at the Gramercy Theater in New York from Feb. 9-22. Costello superfan (and comedian) Connor Ratliff is bringing us the highlights from every night of the historic run. Catch up on his reports from Night One and Night Two here.

More from Spin:

Night Three of Elvis Costellos 10-night stand at New Yorks Gramercy Theater focused on his darkest themes yet, dominated by songs of murder, violence, war, capital punishment, terrorism, fascism, and other equally light-hearted topics.

An early shout-out for Radio Radio was met with a reminder that this wasnt a request show but a curated evening of carefully selected material (if that gentleman had read the large print for this series, he wouldve known that he can hear that particular song at Night Ten on Feb. 22).

He opened with Complicated Shadows, a song about killing and its consequences  written for (but, inexplicably, never recorded by) Johnny Cash  and followed with the pitch black Brutal Youth track, Kinder Murder. It was clear by the time Costello threw in the first F-bomb of the night that this was going to be a particularly intense one. If there was any doubt, he was soon playing a song that Cash did record (Hidden Shame) about a boy who murders his best friend for no reason and is never caught, growing up to be a man haunted by the guilt of it.

At one point playing back-to-back tracks from 2010s criminally underrated National Ransom, Costello acknowledged that these are not typically the songs for which audience members tend to yell out. But the crowd was there for it, paying full attention as he quietly delivered stellar renditions of the delicate Bullets for the New-Born King and the melancholy All These Strangers.

By the time he was performing Shes Pulling Out the Pin, a song that juxtaposes a striptease and a suicide bombing, I had a rare moment of mid-concert prescience, thinking I wonder if Let Him Dangle will make an appearance tonight. Minutes later, the true story of Derek Bentleys death by hanging was being pounded out dramatically by Costello at the piano.

Even the few hit singles performed from his early years were the politically charged, anti-fascist Less Than Zero and the anti-imperialist Olivers Army, the latter of which was presented in a new 2023 version. Costello has updated the lyric thoughtfully, veering the song ever-so slightly from the satirical ABBA pastiche of 1979 to something more plainspoken and direct, but no less effective in an age when using charged language in an ironic way doesnt land the same way it once did. Its easy to anticipate objections to the song being changed from the most moronic quadrant of the casual Costello fanbase, but to paraphrase the man himself, they can fuck right off.

Though no Burt Bacharach songs were played tonight (theyre awaiting the arrival of pianist Steve Nieve next week), the mention of the late, great Allen Toussaint before Ascension Day was another bittersweet moment and a reminder to not take a second of this experience for granted. The lovely, heartbreaking That Day Is Done (co-written with Sir Paul McCartney) added to the overall heaviness of the night, by design. In this context, Brilliant Mistake, a song dealing with the contradictions between the American ideal and the reality of life in the 50 states, almost felt like a lighthearted pop number.

Not everything went exactly as planned. After mistakenly referring to the audience as a Friday night crowd  he is dozens of songs deep into a 200+ song run after all, so some disorientation is to be expected  Costello deftly adapted this into a running joke throughout the evening, when occasional technical issues would threaten to derail the show. Costello did battle with loops and samples on a rhythm machine during a frantic performance of Bedlam that sometimes, semi-appropriately, felt like a runaway train. And after a chaotic, designed soundscape made Night Rally feel like a 4DX experience complete with (dramatically effective) rumbling chairs, the unexpected, terrifying BANG of a blown amp (or speaker?) at the top of the haunting One Bell Ringing left Costello to perform the song totally un-amplified. By this point, he had been joined on stage by surprise guest Endea Owens on the double bass, and the two of them soldiered on with the distant beeping of alarms competing ominously in the background.

Owens was also a delightful agent of chaos herself, having spilled the beans about her surprise appearance weeks ago on national television, at her day job in the house band on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. During the Jan. 23 episode, the host quizzed her on her upcoming gig and which songs she would be playing with Costello. Her spontaneous response, Costello revealed on stage, was to list multiple songs that were not part of his plan.

So we apparently have Owens to thank for the double-whammy of Charles Mingus Weird Nightmare and My Mood Swings from the soundtrack to The Big Lebowski, both of which made the evening extra special.

The final new song of the night, the pre-announced We Are All Cowards Now (from 2020s Hey Clockface) featured another moody digital soundscape in addition to Owens on bass, providing a fitting contrast to the fully established ritual of closing with Nick Lowes (Whats So Funny Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding? Its always a fun closer, but I have to say that tonights version, with Costello inviting Owens to bring her upright bass over to join him by the piano, was even more beautiful than usual.

The parade of so many songs about pain, hatred, and misery set this finale up to feel like true catharsis. Rising from the piano, Elvis was grinning from ear-to-ear as he walked center stage with Owens to take a bow, and the two of them looked just about as joyful as any two people Ive ever seen on a stage together. As they made their exit and the house music began to play What the World Needs Now Is Love at full volume, I looked around at the audience in agreement.

Stray observations:

Despite the serious subject matter of so much of tonights material, Costello was once again consistently funny in between songs, and charmingly self-deprecating whenever anything went slightly askew. We learned that when he was a young child, the word Mingus was used as a placeholder for things he didnt yet know the name for. I dont know what to call the machine he is using for loops and samples; I keep calling it a rhythm machine. Is that even close to being correct? Im probably fine not learning what it is, but Ill bet I find out before this run is over, somehow, and when I do, Ill start calling it by its proper name. I havent mentioned this before, but there are a lot of guitars up there on stage and off in the wings. This is another area Im fairly ignorant about. I usually only notice the difference between them at the extreme end of things. I have no idea with most of them why one is preferred over another for any particular song, but I always assume theres a really good reason to switch from one to another, and I appreciate it when it happens. Thank god he didnt play this song with the previous guitar is a thought I wish I was knowledgeable enough to sincerely think.



My Mood Swings brings my wish list success number up to four! Seeing Owens play the descending bassline at the end of each chorus was a highlight of the show.

Thanks for sticking with us through the ups & downs! was one of the things Costello said near the end, or words to that effect. I refuse to take notes during these shows, and likewise, Ill leave the photo-and-video-taking to others. Im trying to keep my smartphone in my pocket the whole time and appreciate the pure experience of being in the room, taking in the songs as a moment in time and absorbing them as they happen without worrying if Ill remember every detail correctly. As I type this, I am listening to the album version of Bullets for the New-Born King and I can already feel it fusing with my memory of seeing him sing it, sitting down and leaning into it.

There are special postcards handed out at the top of every show with the nights pre-announced song titles on them, but Ive only managed to snag one on the second night. The first night, I didnt know they existed and tonight I couldnt find anyone handing them out. I need to step up my postcard game if Im going to properly scrapbook this experience.

Monday Night: its a pretty easy theme to guess, and I even have a notion of which of my wish list songs might make the cut. Ill let you know if I honestly get it right or not.

NIGHT THREE

Saturday, Feb. 11th  Elvis Costello Solo  Night Three

Complicated Shadows

Kinder Murder

Alibi

Less Than Zero

Hidden Shame

The Delivery Man

Bullets for the New-Born King

All These Strangers

Olivers Army (2023)

Bedlam

Shes Pulling Out the Pin

Ascension Day

Brilliant Mistake

Let Him Dangle

Stations of the Cross

That Day Is Done

Night Rally

The River in Reverse

Weird Nightmare

One Bell Ringing

My Mood Swings

We Are All Cowards Now

(Whats So Funny Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding?

Connor Ratliff is an actor/comedian based in New York. He is the creator of the critically acclaimed podcast, Dead Eyes. You might have seen him in the role of Chester on multiple seasons of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

To see our running list of the top 100 greatest rock stars of all time, click here.

The post Burt Bacharachs 10 Best Songs appeared first on SPIN.
Going to the chapel  next year! Hannah Ann Sluss gave Us Weekly an update on wedding planning after getting engaged to NFL player Jake Funk.

Read article

Jake always gets a kick out of it because we got engaged and hes like, Why is everyone asking us about the wedding? Im like, Of course, its the first thing people are gonna ask! the 26-year-old Bachelor alum exclusively told Us Weekly while promoting her partnership with Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Grill. Right now, were focused on the move  were moving to Florida, getting into a new home there. Thats our biggest priority. Ive been out in California for several years now, so its gonna be a huge change for me, [so Im] focused on that.

Sluss noted that the nuptials will likely be sometime next offseason as Funk goes back to training in April in Indiana. She quipped, [So we [wouldve] needed to do it, like, this weekend.

The former reality TV is starting from scratch when it comes to planning their wedding.

I dont really have, you know, any vision in mind other than something small, she said. And right now, were just focused on our relationship and making sure thats our top focus and then the wedding will come, you know, I just feel like naturally.

Courtesy of Hannah Ann Sluss/Instagram

Sluss and Funk, 25, got engaged last month after two years of dating and she recommends couples add the Ninja grill to their registry.

Read article

I love the Ninja Wood Fire Grill because Im able to do multiple things. I love to air fry  one of my favorite things to put in the air fryer is Buffalo Cauliflower Bites. And this is something that I started to make during quarantine, the reality TV personally explained. And so finding an air fryer that can give me that restaurant style food was really important  because we love eating at home. Another thing I love about this product is I can pack it and bring it with me just about anywhere, which is really important for us. This past season, we moved three times, and a grill is important to have, so its nice just being able to pack it up in the car and bring it with us.

For the big game on Sunday, February 12, Sluss will be doing a burger bar.

I like to have a theme to make it fun. Were packing up the grill and were going to San Diego to see our friends. This is our last weekend in California before we move to our new home in Florida, she told Us. And so Im wanting to do a cute burger bar. Its all about the aesthetic and making it Instagram-worthy.  Ill have my tomatoes, onion, mustard, pickles and jalapenos. [And the grill] gives you that rich flavor.

Read article

When it comes to cooking in their household, Sluss takes charge.

Jakes all about doing the grilling himself and Im like, No, let me teach you something. So weve had fun with it trying out different recipes and showing him that I can grill [too], she said.
The L.A. Times recently lost one its most talented former staff writers, Barbara Joan Hansen.

Surrounded by friends and relatives, she died Jan. 28. Food lovers who followed Barbaras food-writing career appreciated her rich passion for international foods from India, South America and Mexico. She was an expert in these cuisines and had a flair for writing recipes that anyone could follow. She was a James Beard Award winner and a cookbook author who worked in The Times' Food department between 1968 and 2006  nearly four decades!

My family's connection with Barbara goes back to November 1979. I was just 5 years-old.

My dad was installing a floor in the old L.A. Times Test Kitchen in downtown Los Angeles. He told me he was in his stinky work clothes lugging buckets of cement in and out of the building when he struck up a conversation with a food writer eager to learn about his moms chile verde recipe. He called it his One-Shot Deal because it came together in just one pan.

Barbara jotted down the ingredients, made the dish and requested he bring in a clean shirt the following day for a photo.

My dad came home thrilled. My mom remembers he starched and ironed a fresh shirt and had it hanging, ready in his truck for days, but there was no sign of Barbara. He wondered, Had she forgotten about the chile verde?

No, she was just trying to wrangle a photographer and track down the floor installer in order to make this Mexican food magic happen.

My dads 6x9 photo and recipe has hung proudly in a frame on our kitchen wall since 1979. When we entertained, guests would ask about the article and my dad would beam telling his story. Hed point out that a famous French chef was featured on the following page but that famous man's photo was only the size of a postage stamp.

Tony Medina showing his chile verde in a clipping from an L.A. Times Food section story that ran on Nov. 29, 1979. The original photo was taken by Times photographer Tony Barnard. (Nicolette Medina / Los Angeles Times)

In 2010, 20 years after my dad passed away, I found Barbara online and reached out. I had to let her know that her story featuring my dad's recipe in the L.A. Times was one of the biggest highlights of his life. He was a simple guy from East L.A. who supported his family by pouring cement and showed his love to them by cooking tasty dinners every night. If the L.A. Times said his cooking was good, it was good ... and he never let anyone forget it!

After we connected, Barbara introduced me to her favorite restaurants, and we became immediate fans of each others Instagram accounts  hers @tableconversation, mine @mylittlepasadenakitchen.

Each time we talked, I reminded her how I adored her not only for her career accomplishments but for her humanity. I thanked her for giving my dad the opportunity to feel important, seen and heard.

I hope my dad, Tony Medina, the floor installer, welcomed Barbara Hansen, the food writer, into heavens kitchen with a delicious skillet of his "One-Shot Deal" chile verde.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Turkish teams work alongside a Los Angeles County Fire Department Urban Search and Rescue team to remove a girl who was trapped for 117 hours inside a home in Adiyaman, Turkey. (Tom Nicholson / For The Times)

It was early Sunday evening in California, and Joshua Svensson was driving home with his family from Mammoth when an app on his phone began to ping: A magnitude 7.8 earthquake had jolted southern Turkey and northern Syria, pulverizing tens of thousands of homes and killing thousands of people in them.

At that point, you get that sinking feeling in your stomach, and it scares you, he said. Because when you see things on social media, you think, Im going to probably be there in a couple of days.

He was right.

A mother is removed from the home where she and her two children were trapped. One child died. (Tom Nicholson / For The Times)

Svensson, 43, a civil engineer with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works, doubles as a structures specialist with the county Fire Departments Urban Search and Rescue team.

By Wednesday morning, the L.A. team, under the aegis of the U.S. Agency for International Development, known as USAID, had arrived in Adiyaman, Turkey, a hard-hit city some 60 miles northeast of the earthquakes epicenter.

Since their deployment, the crew members have engaged in a dozen searches a day and undertaken hours-long tunneling efforts at buildings where they detected strong signs of life. They have consulted with local personnel on rescue attempts, in one case providing an assist with a rescue. They have also surveyed some 2,000 buildings to determine their suitability for habitation.

But first they had to get here.

Members of the L.A. County Urban Search and Rescue team hold a meeting at their headquarters in Adiyaman, Turkey. (Tom Nicholson / For The Times)

At 9 p.m. last Sunday, the call went out to see who was available for immediate deployment; once the sun came up Monday, Svensson and 76 others  firefighters, structural engineers, emergency management planners, paramedics, doctors, technical experts and six K9 dogs  assembled at the Urban Search and Rescue headquarters in Pacoima.

Just before midnight, they were wheels-up, winging  along with 65,000 pounds of equipment  to Turkey as part of a sprawling 141,000-strong search-and-rescue effort that includes 8,619 workers from 68 countries, even as estimates of the dead Saturday climbed past the 28,000 mark, with potentially thousands more unaccounted for.

Such teams, along with masses of local volunteers, medical professionals, rescue personnel and miners have become a ubiquitous presence on streets across Turkeys ravaged southern provinces, working 24-hour shifts to locate and extricate survivors or carry out the dead.

Its one of those things where you train so long to do this job, and then youre given the opportunity to go do it. Its almost a culmination of all your efforts, said the teams task force leader, Bryan Wells, 52, a firefighter for more than three decades. Then you get people who are deeply entombed in concrete. And its a matter of utilizing our skills.

Whether theyre a medical specialist, a hazmat expert or a whiz at rescues, their skills are being tested in Adiyaman.

Buildings here are a smorgasbord of urban destruction. Multistory apartment blocks have been squashed into pancake stacks of concrete; others were ground down to irregular mounds of rock detritus and distressed rebar. Still others stand dangerously askew, with bottom floors pulverized while the rest of the structure appears liable to tip over at any moment.

All force rescuers to participate in a life-size, lethal game of Jenga as they burrow into the unstable structures, where any mistake could mean catastrophe for not just anyone still alive inside but those around as well.

Only two teams in the United States qualify for missions as international disaster assistance response teams under the USAID program, and both have come together to Turkey: the one from L.A. County and one from Fairfax, Va.

A site in Adiyaman where the L.A. team searched for signs of life. (Tom Nicholson / For The Times)

On Friday, a squad from the L.A. team maneuvered through neighborhoods of Adiyaman to assess the horrific damage. Less dramatic than rescues, yes, but no less crucial: Thousands of residents remain on the street in tents, contending with freezing temperatures yet afraid to risk moving back inside the buildings that remain standing.

Its a major psychological challenge, Svensson said. Its a heavy responsibility, but we will go to these houses and say, I would sleep here. Offering people that peace of mind is a big deal.

Working with local authorities, the team helped divvy up the city blocks into manageable chunks to determine how livable the structures were. That information would be filtered back using smartphone apps tied to a central database.

Other rescue personnel across Turkey feed into the database as well, said Brad Weisshaupt, the teams technical information specialist and a self-described data nerd.

Essentially, this creates a common operating picture, he said. This is a snapshot of everything thats going on in the entire country, search-and-rescue wise.

The L.A. crew and Turkish searchers celebrate after removing the mother and daughter from the rubble. (Tom Nicholson / For The Times)

As it drove around the city, the L.A. team received calls from rubble sites where crews suspected that someone remained alive.

One such request came in the early afternoon.

Jason Vasquez, a burly, 48-year-old fireman and search team manager whose glasses made him look like Rod Steiger (More like Kim Jong Un, his colleagues joked), led the squad to what had been an apartment building but was now a chaotic maw of pancaked floors and detritus.

The smell of human remains was pungent, but workers believed they had heard something through one of the openings.

Vasquez was accompanied by Sean Quigley, a canine specialist, and Gino, a black Labrador. Behind them was Matt Arledge. They would survey the site for signs of life while Carlos Slythe, a structures specialist, would monitor closely to make sure they werent in danger.

Quigley released Gino from his leash, commanding him to walk atop the structure. The dog trotted to one opening, then another, where one could see the remains of a human body whose back had been broken by the collapsing floors. The mission was rescue and not cadaver recovery, though, and Gino couldnt detect anyone who was alive, so Quigley called him off.

Arledge was up next. Vasquez, clearly worried about the state of the structure, said, You have 30 seconds.

Arledge unspooled a long wire with a rugged, hyper-sensitive microphone at its end and donned a pair of headphones.

If you did this, he said, tapping his finger very lightly on a nearby rock, I would be able to hear it.

He moved toward the opening, fed the microphone in and put on headphones. Slythe kept constant watch. After several attempts, Arledge shook his head. Nothing.

Vasquez thanked the foreman at the site for his work and told him they had detected no sign of life, but the crew should operate carefully.

A young onlooker named Bilal walked up to ask if they had heard anything. He pointed to an older man with a tired, stress-lined face.

My uncle. His two children were inside, he said in halting English. When he was told they had heard nothing, his eyes moistened for a moment, then he blinked, thanked the team and turned back to the site with his uncle.

A lot of it is ghost stories at this point, said Vasquez. Often people just want closure.

Id do the same, he added.

By the time darkness fell, the squads had surveyed no fewer than 1,500 buildings and went back to base.

Just a few hours later, though, came a call to a six-story building with potentially dozens of people inside.

A group of miners working on the collapsed structure thought they had heard something and discovered 33-year-old Ozlem Yilmaz and her two daughters, Zeynep, 11, and 6-year-old Zeliha, wedged  virtually squashed  between two floors. Zeynep had died, but Yilmaz and Zeliha were responding; Turkish personnel were taking the lead but wanted technical and medical support from the American teams.

For hours, the crews worked in 29-degree weather, carefully removing debris while shoring up the passageway with logs. At one point, the Turkish miners asked for jacks they could use to further prop up the structure.

Then, Dr. Brad Haywood, a paramedic with the team from Virginia, administered a solution of electrolytes to help stabilize Yilmaz. She was rescued soon after and rushed to an ambulance. She started crying when she was told she had been inside for five days.

That left Zeliha, who was blocked by her siblings lifeless body. An hour passed, as dozens of onlookers sat arrayed around the opening as if in an amphitheater.

Finally, early Saturday, a miner emerged with the girl on a stretcher, her black hair streaked with dust, her eyes blinking in the floodlights. The crowd seemed to collectively exhale, then followed as the medics carried her to an ambulance.

When the ambulance drove away, it was high-fives and smiles among the various crews. Dogan Can, the lead Turkish paramedic, shook hands with Haywood.

The crews trudged away from the site as a food truck arrived and dispersed steaming-hot lentil soup and bread to the crowd that lingered behind, still basking in the afterglow of a brief moment of joy in a city all but bereft of it.





This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
People displaced by the magnitude 7.8 earthquake sit around campfires surrounded by destroyed buildings in Adiyaman, Turkey. (Tom Nicholson / For The Times)

At 9 p.m. Sunday night in California, the call went out to Los Angeles County Fire Department Urban Search and Rescue members to see who was available for immediate deployment after the devastating magnitude 7.8 earthquake in Turkey.

Some 77 members  firefighters, structural engineers, paramedics, doctors, technical experts and six K9 team dogs  assembled at the headquarters in Pacoima. Just before midnight they were wheels-up, winging their way to Turkey as part of a sprawling, 141,000-strong search-and-rescue effort that has drawn teams from around the world even as the death toll Saturday topped 28,000 in the region; potentially thousands more remain unaccounted for under the rubble.

In the days since the earthquake, those teams, along with countless local volunteers, medical professionals, rescue personnel and miners, have become a ubiquitous presence in virtually every street of Turkeys ravaged southern provinces, working 24-hour shifts to locate and extricate survivors or bring out the dead.

Turkish personnel work alongside Los Angeles County Fire Department Urban Search and Rescue team members to remove a mother and her daughter, not pictured, after they were trapped for 117 hours inside their home in Adiyaman, Turkey. (Tom Nicholson / For The Times)

Turkish lead medic Dogan Can reacts after the workers removed a surviving mother and daughter from the ruins of their home. (Tom Nicholson / For The Times)

Turkish and L.A. County rescue personnel help remove a girl from the ruined home. (Tom Nicholson / For The Times)

The destruction in Adiyaman, Turkey. (Tom Nicholson / For The Times)

The L.A. County team members arrive at the site of a destroyed building in Adiyaman. (Tom Nicholson / For The Times)

A resident in front of her destroyed home in Adiyaman. (Tom Nicholson / For The Times)

An L.A. County team member uses a listening device while searching for survivors amid ruins in Adiyaman. (Tom Nicholson / For The Times)

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Ed Johnetta Miller wants you to learn from her quilts.

They are a broad message as the local and national fiber artist, curator, and lecturer also is recognized widely as as a creative and colorful improvisational quilt-maker.

You may not have known her name, but Millers quilts have been exhibited in well-known museums and in corporate and private collections. She teaches locally and shares her craft, especially focusing on sharing the story of Black Americans.

Some of these have included: The National Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.; Nelson Mandelas National Museum in Capetown, South Africa; The Mariposa Museum and World Cultural Center at Marthas Vineyard; The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Hartford; and the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum in Golden, CO.

But overall, Miller wants her quilts to be educational and to tell a story, wherever they are on display, she said.

I want you to look at my quilts, and say you know what? I gotta go back home and do more research on that, she said. I have a love for what I do. I just want to be that person that can be there for people. I have been blessed and I feel so lucky that I have wonderful people around me that are very, very supportive, and who believe in what I do.

Ed Johnetta Millers Quilt called Full Circle (circle of birds) designed for a Brazilian journalist, multi media project, Rio.

Her most recent art showcase, Quilts By Ed Johnetta Miller was at The Farmington Library. Each of the quilts carry a specific purpose of exemplifying the historic riches of African and African American people and encouraging Black youth to learn their heritage.

In love with the cloth

Miller grew up in South Carolina, watching her grandmother quilt and her mother crochet peaked her interest in the art form, so both quilting and working with textiles has been a part of her life for a very, very long time, she said.

She describes her grandmother, as a real spiffy woman  who took great care in her appearance and clothing. They would call her mother, because she seemed too young to be a grandmother.

And mother was very elaborate, always had on very, very beautiful clothing. She would be going out and have all of these wonderful textiles on and party dresses. So I just started falling in love with the cloth at a very, very young age, Miller said.

When Millers dad was no longer serving in the military and was stationed in Rhode Island, she moved with her family there during her developmental years, she said. Once Miller was there, she was surrounded by textiles again, thanks to her father.

Her father had developed a cleaning company and he specialized in spotting, a method of getting stains out of clothing. Many entertainers would bring their clothes to him after performing, as they would become sweaty and the stains would need to be removed.

But what was interesting, my dad would bring all of those textiles home before he would deliver them back to the hotels, where various people were staying.  We had all these elaborate sequined dresses, and oh, gosh, I mean, just chiffons and beautiful lace. I just wanted to feel them. I just wanted to touch them, Miller said.

Despite strict instructions from her father not to touch them, she rebelled and touched them anyway.

I was a rabble rouser very early. And so what did I do? I would go in and I put a little slip in the plastic bag, just so I could put my hand in there and feel it. But he always knew what I was doing. So textiles have been a part of me for a very, very long time, Miller said.

Seeing the spark in her at an early age, her Aunt Dora took her to the Rhode Island School of Design, and Miller said she credits her in each of her lectures.

We got all dressed up and  that was the first time that I had seen tapestries hanging on the wall. The first thing that I noticed in walking through the the museum, we were the only people of color. And so I said to my Aunt Dora, were the only ones here. And she said Well, what do you mean were the only ones here? There are people all around,  Miller said.

Miller said she responded to her aunt, No, were the only ones with our skin tone color. And she said, You just walk around, enjoy yourself. Ask as many questions to the folks that are in charge here. The museum belongs to everyone.

Miller said that her aunt saw something in her, as she started to fall in love with woven pieces. She thought that they were fascinating and she wanted to learn as much about them as possible.

And it was just very, very, very exciting for me. And what she would do was to encourage me to do thatI remember she had bought this little loom for me. It was actually a little metal worm and you make potholders out of it. She bought that for me for Christmas and I started making things out of it, and started sewing them together, she said.

Miller said she would go into her local library and school to read about textiles and woven cloth from all over the world. As Miller started building up on her craft, her aunt continued to support and encourage her to continue, she said.

While she was encouraged by her aunt, her parents were concerned about her focusing on her craft full-time, due to wanting her to be financially stable.

Being an African American woman, my parents said to me, youre not going to make any money. How are you going to ever make a living out of being an artist? Because I said, this is what I want to do. I just want to create textiles all the time. I want to make things and so my mother said, Well, you better think about having something on the side, she said.

A tapestry of life

Miller said her aunt continued to encourage her to pursue her education and that everything would come full circle for her and her craft, due to her passion.

Her aunt was right. Miller is committed to her craft on a full-time basis and is in high demand throughout the state.

Ed Johnetta Millers Quilt called

I Have Lived With Injustice All My Life (red, black, white) It is in the permanent collection at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Some of the places at which Miller has taught in Connecticut include the West Hartford Art League, The Hartford Artisan Center, Greater Hartford Community College (Now Capital Community College), Oak Hill School School for the Blind, Upper Albany Neighborhood Collaborative, Northend Senior Center, and The Bushnell Performing Arts.

It makes me very, very happy. And what I love doing is passing it on to as many young people as possible, doing what my auntie did for me, passing it on. Letting young people know about the history of quilting, about the history of making tapestries, Miller said.

Miller said she works to connects her art to her community activism by making sure that each of her quilts tell a story about the struggles that Black people have faced.

She does this through a technique that she uses called photo transfer, where she gets images of historical events and transfers those images onto cloth and makes quilts.

One of the most memorable quilts that Miller has made is her very first one, which was about the Greensboro Lunch Counter Sit In at the Woolworth Store, she said.

While this quilt was on exhibition at the Mirror Poster Museum on the Vineyard, she had a one-of-a-kind moment with a woman from North Carolina.

She looks at my quilt, looks at the lunch counter [and] she said she saw her husband. I had a photograph of her husband sitting at the lunch counter at Woolworth, Miller said.

Miller said she also makes an effort to teach at Hartford schools, as she wants to continue to give back to her community  no matter what accomplishments and achievements she obtains.

Currently, Miller is the Artist in Residence at Sarah J. Rawson Elementary School, 260 Holcomb St., which she said she thoroughly enjoys.

I do classes for them and bring in all kinds of wonderful fabrics for the young people. Fabrics that I have done my quilts with, and I have all the scraps, she said. So they use all my scraps from my quilts from the Smithsonian or the International Museum in Nebraska or South Africa. I save all my scraps  and we make art. We make art every single Tuesday. And so it feels good.

Ed Johnetta Millers Quilt called Rites of Passage (blue and white). It is in the permanent collection of the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian.

Miller said she also loves helping individuals to find their own artist within themselves, through conducting art classes throughout the community.

It feels good to pass back my knowledge to young people and older people, people who want to know about the history of quilt making. People always say, I cant do that. I am always there to say, Oh yes, you can and Im going to show you the way. You dont come into class and always say I cant do it. Never. you can do it. You can do it, she said.

Miller recalls an example with a woman who attended one of her art classes last year at Art for The Soul in Springfield. The woman was really afraid of making mistakes and told her that she could not do the art assignment.

Miller took time to help her to have fun making her art and play  instead of focusing on making mistakes.

Nothings a mistake in Ms. Eds class, Miller said.

When we did show and tell, let me tell you, she was so proud. She said to me, So often I was told I couldnt do something. But look at what I did today. Thats all I need. Thats all I need. Its such a joy. If I can do that for somebody, its just worth everything, Miller said.

Art for the Soul Art Gallery owner Rosemary T. Woods said that she had waited a long time to have an artist of Millers status come and showcase art at her gallery.

It was outstanding. It was one of the most successful exhibitions that we had, and it was one of the exhibitions that brought, not only the BIPOC [community], but other communities together, Woods said.
Thousands gathered to protest for regime change in Iran during a rally outside Los Angeles City Hall on Saturday. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Thousands of people gathered outside Los Angeles City Hall on Saturday, calling for regime change in Iran and rallying in solidarity with the country's female-led protest movement.

Protesters chanted,Zan, zendegi, azadi,or Woman, life, freedom  words that have become a rallying cry since the death in September of Mahsa Amini sparked an enduring protest movement. Amini, 22, died in detention after being arrested by the countrys morality police for allegedly not wearing her headscarf correctly.

Mona and Tamanna, two Iranian American sisters in their early 30s who declined to share their last name because they feared for their family in Iran, said they were inspired to be part of the chorus of voices around the world demanding change in Iran. They'd carpooled to Los Angeles from Orange County with 15 family members in tow.

"I personally would love to see in my parents' lifetime that the Iran they remember is restored," Tamanna said.

"An Iran that was stolen from them," Mona interjected.

Saturday's demonstration coincided with Iranians' Feb. 11 commemoration of the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, which overthrew Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlavi's pro-Western monarchy.

Sepehr Khosravi, left, and Nasrin Nav, right, shout slogans against the Iranian government during a rally outside Los Angeles City Hall on Saturday. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Held aloft in the wind, draped over shoulders and affixed to strollers, a sea of pre-revolutionary Iranian flags filled Grand Park. The flags, which feature a lion and sun at the center instead of the stylized red symbol of the Islamic Republic, were banned after the revolution and have become an emblem of opposition to the theocratic government that has ruled since.

"There's a powerful hope amongst all of us Iranians these days," declared Pezhman Ghiassi, a 33-year-old hairstylist wearing beaded necklaces in the colors of the Iranian flag. Regime change feels closer with "every single second that passes by," Ghiassi said.

Several demonstrators said they had traveled from Northern California to attend, with organizers saying others had come from as far as Arizona and Nebraska.

"Los Angeles stands with you in your fight for democracy and respect and dignity and human rights," Los Angeles City Council President Paul Krekorian told the crowd, saying he hoped the message would carry from Los Angeles to Tehran.

Hours into the program, the surprise appearance of Reza Pahlavi, the son of the late shah, drew overwhelming excitement, with demonstrators cheering and filming as he waved and raised his arms to them in support.

Times staff writer Laura Nelson contributed to this report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
PM alleges they betrayed voters in poll-bound state

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday lashed out at the Left and the Congress for "betraying" Tripura as he cautioned the voters of the poll-bound state to not get swayed by the lies being spread by the two alliance partners and others against the ruling BJP, which is fighting a tough battle in the northeastern state where voting for Assembly elections is scheduled on February 16.

Batting for the "double engine" BJP government, the PM listed the benefits the northeastern state has witnessed since the first BJP government came to power in 2018. He said that the Left and the Congress, who are political rivals in Kerala, have joined hands in Tripura to stop the BJP governments welfare schemes in the state.

Chiding the Left-Congress alliance, Mr Modi, in a veiled reference to the new entrant in the Assembly elections -- TIPRA Motha, cautioned the voters to beware of the "vote cutters", while reminding how the state suffered during Left and Congress rules.

Emphasising on "trishakti" -- awaas, arogya and aamdani (housing, health and income), Mr Modi said his party has ended the atmosphere of fear and a culture of 'chanda' (donations) in Tripura. The PM sounded confident of his party's second innings in the state as he asserted that the people of Tripura will act as an armour and defend the BJP from the lies thrown at it by the Opposition parties.

In a multi-corner contest, where numerically dominant tribals are being aggressively wooed by the Left-Congress alliance, TIPRA Motha and the TMC, Mr Modi's rallies were seen as a final push by the ruling BJP to win over the tribal communities of the state and others and form a second term government in the state.

The PM, who just days ago in Parliament had highlighted how his government has included the tribals in the development path of the country while they were ignored by other political parties, cited how the double-engine government has benefited the state, which suffered during the previous Congress and Left governments' rule.

The PM also tweeted a video of the rousing welcome he received in the state, with hundreds of people lining up along the way to greet and wave at him, which he described as "BJP all the way in Tripura."

"Old players of misgovernance have joined hands for 'chanda' (donation). Those fighting "kushti" (wrestling) in Kerala have done "dosti" (friendship) in Tripura... The opposition wants to divide the votes. Some small vote-cutter parties are waiting for the election results, hoping to get their price. Those out with dreams of horse-trading, lock them in their homes now itself," the PM said at the election rally in Radhakishorepur in Gomati district.

The PM said "double engine ki sarkaar" has provided 3 lakh houses in the state, while 5 lakh poor people have benefited from the Ayushman Bharat Yojana and toilets were constructed in more than 4 lakh houses. He said that more than 2 lakh farmers have benefited from various schemes in the state and reminded the public that the first dental college in the state was built under the BJP government.

The PM said that in Gomati district alone, "80 crores has been credited to the bank accounts of around 40,000 farmers, without any "cut" or "donation".

"Earlier, the CPI(M) cadres used to control police stations, while the BJP established rule of law in the state... Earlier, the condition of women in the state was miserable. Now, they can come out of their homes with heads held high," he said.

The PM said that as there is peace in Tripura, employment opportunities are also increasing, whereas the Left and Congress had shattered the dreams of youths, forcing many to migrate.

"Your votes will keep the Leftists away from power and ensure the continuance of double-engine government in Tripura," he added.

Listing the initiatives taken by his government for the development of the state, Mr Modi said that Tripura's economy will massively benefit from the Act East policy of the Centre and it will soon become the gateway to Southeast Asia.
A relative of Emmett Till is suing to try to make a Mississippi sheriff serve a 1955 arrest warrant on a white woman in the kidnapping that led to the Black teenagers brutal lynching.

The torture and killing of Till in the Mississippi Delta became a catalyst for the civil rights movement after his mother insisted on an open-casket funeral in Chicago and Jet magazine published photos of his mutilated body.

Last June, a team doing research at the courthouse in Leflore County, Mississippi, found an unserved 1955 arrest warrant for Carolyn Bryant, listed on that document as Mrs. Roy Bryant.

Tills cousin Patricia Sterling of Jackson, Mississippi, filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against the current Leflore County sheriff, Ricky Banks. The suit seeks to compel Banks to serve the warrant on Carolyn Bryant, who has since remarried and is named Carolyn Bryant Donham.

We are using the available means at our disposal to try to achieve justice on behalf of the Till family, Sterlings attorney Trent Walker told The Associated Press on Friday.

The AP left a phone message for Banks on Friday, seeking comment. The sheriff did not immediately respond. Court records showed that the lawsuit had not been served on him by Friday.

Till, who was 14, had traveled south from Chicago to visit relatives in Mississippi in August 1955. Donham accused him of making improper advances on her at a grocery store in the small community of Money. A cousin of Till who was there has said Till whistled at the woman, an act that flew in the face of Mississippis racist social codes of the era.

Evidence indicates a woman, possibly Donham, identified Till to the men who later killed him. The arrest warrant against Donham was publicized in 1955, but the Leflore County sheriff at the time told reporters that he did not want to bother the woman since she was raising two young children.

Weeks after Tills body was found in a river, her husband Roy Bryant and his half-brother J.W. Milam were tried for murder and acquitted by an all-white jury. Months later, the men confessed in a paid interview with Look magazine.

Now in her late 80s, Donham has lived in North Carolina and Kentucky in recent years. She has not commented publicly on calls for her prosecution.

The U.S. Justice Department announced in December 2021 that it had ended its latest investigation into the lynching of Till, without bringing charges against anyone.

After researchers found the arrest warrant last June, the office of Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch said in July there was no new evidence to try to pursue a criminal case against Donham. In August, a district attorney said a Leflore County grand jury had declined to indict Donham.

Walker, the attorney for Tills cousin, said Friday that the South has a history of cases of violence that were not brought to justice until decades later  including the 1963 assassination of Mississippi NAACP leader Medgar Evers, for which white supremacist Byron de la Beckwith was convicted of murder in 1994.

But for Carolyn Bryant falsely claiming to her husband that Emmett Till assaulted her Emmett would not have been murdered, Sterlings lawsuit says. It was Carolyn Bryants lie that sent Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam into a rage, which resulted in the mutilation of Emmett Tills body into (an) unrecognizable condition.
The Federation of Catholic Bishops' Conferences of Oceania (FCBCO) this week held its assembly in Fiji, which was also the continental stage of reflection towards the Synod. Communities that deal daily with the threats of climate change call for ecological conversion as an urgent missionary priority, not only for local Churches, but also for the whole Church.

Suva (AsiaNews) - The Federation of Catholic Bishops' Conferences of Oceania (FCBCO)  which brings together the four Catholic Bishops Conferences of Oceania (Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, Conferentia Episcopalis Pacifici, New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference, Catholic Bishops Conference of Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands  held its assembly in Suva, Fiji, from 5 to 9 February. The meeting, the first since the COVID-19 pandemic, provided an opportunity for the continents Churches to reflect on the synodal path laid out by Pope Francis. We publish below the central part of the final message released by the FCBCO at the end of the meeting.

Our assembly focused on three themes: Care for the oceans; Becoming a more synodal Church; and Formation for mission.

Oceania is a network of islands, large and small, rich in diversity. Our Oceanic identity and location provide the context in which we participate in Gods mission. In our region, the ecological crisis is an existential threat for our people and communities. It is experienced in sea level rise, the acidification of the oceans, droughts, floods and more frequent and more extreme weather events.

Cardinal Michael Czerny SJ, Prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, presided at our opening Mass and gave the opening address for the assembly. We welcomed his emphasis on an integral approach to care for the wellbeing of people and all of creation. This affirms the cultural wisdom of our peoples.

We recognise ecological conversion as an urgent mission priority not only for us, but also for the whole Church. Furthermore, we feel called to make our voices heard at the highest levels of government in our own countries, and also at the global level  in the Church and broader society  for the sake of our ocean home and its peoples.

The themes of becoming a more synodal Church and formation for mission were chosen by the Federations Executive following reflection on the Bishops Conferences syntheses for the diocesan stage of the international Synod for a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation and Mission. Although our region is very diverse in many ways, these two themes were important concerns in each of our Conferences.

Oceania is home to some of the worlds youngest local churches and also the oldest continuing culture in the world. We appreciate the complexity of the contemporary world that our people must negotiate. While being young may entail vulnerabilities, it also offers freshness and vitality. We learned that the youngest churches in our region have lessons to teach the more established churches about synodality and about maintaining the freshness of the encounter of the Gospel with local cultures and societies.

Accompanying our young people, in particular, in more courageous, creative and engaging ways is an essential aspect of mission for our Church in the context of our world today. In this year of World Youth Day, we encourage their participation in local and international celebrations.

We shared our reflections on the many ways in which our churches are already living synodality, and how they can become more synodal. As always, our desire is to be communities of ever-closer followers of Jesus Christ, led by the Holy Spirit to the Kingdom of the Father.

We recognise that as a pilgrim people we are always on a journey, and at times may make wrong turns. As we continue on the journey towards the Synod Assemblies in Rome, we place our trust in the mercy of God who will surely accompany us.

Indeed, significant time during our week was spent in anticipation of those Synod assemblies, as we prayed with and discerned our response to the Working Document for the Continental Stage of the Synod. Guided by the voices of the People of God in Oceania, we progressed the work already undertaken to ensure a distinctively Oceanic voice will continue to resonate through the Synod documents. Our response will be completed in coming weeks.

We were able to further our understanding of synodality through the experience of our gathering. We appreciated hearing of the Synod experience from other parts of the world through the presence and contribution of Sr Nathalie Becquart XMCJ, the Undersecretary of the General Secretariat of the Synod. As in Oceania itself, there is no one size fits all template. We felt affirmed in responding in our own way in our own context.

The nature of our context and the desire to become more synodal call for an integral formation for the entire People of God  lay, religious and clergy. Integral formation requires a holistic approach to the human person. It considers the physical, emotional, social, spiritual and intellectual dimensions of being human, and acknowledges that we are creatures within Gods creation.

Formation is always at the service of mission, which has several dimensions: the witness of life; explicit proclamation of the Gospel; conversion; entry into and growth within the Christian community; and becoming an agent of evangelisation oneself. With Pope Francis, we affirm that the witness of life requires the defence of human life from conception to natural death; respect for all life; the promotion of justice and peace; and an ecological conversion that is personal, communal and structural.

As we walk together on the synodal path, our formation programs may need to give more emphasis to inclusion, transparency, accountability, intercultural competency, new theological methods and leading in a more participative and collaborative way. Our efforts should equip our Church to reach out and enflesh a culture of hospitality, encounter and dialogue in a world marked by both sin and grace on our pilgrim way to Gods kingdom.

We seek to become people who are grounded in Scripture and Tradition, and its interpretation in our cultural traditions. Lay people, whose mission is in the heart of the world, especially require formation in the Churchs tradition of teaching and acting on social issues and ecological crises  that is Catholic Social Teaching. Most of all, formation should mould us to be people who joyfully accept the invitation to participate in Gods mission.

We leave our gathering with this mission in ever sharper focus in our hearts and minds. We carry with us the hopes and dreams of our people, and of our precious region of Oceania.

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At the Angelus, the pontiff issued an appeal for Bishop Alverez sentenced to 26 years in prison by the Ortega regime after refusing to go into exile. Francis also called on the faithful to continue to pray and support earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria. God loves us as one who is enamoured, he said. Faith cannot be reduced to external acts.

Vatican City (AsiaNews)  Pope Francis spoke to the faithful gathered in St Peter's Square today for the Angelus prayer. In his address he said that God does not reason with calculations and tables; he loves us as one who is enamoured.

Citing the images of devastation that continue to come out of Turkey and Syria hit by an earthquake a week ago, he urged the faithful to continue praying and supporting the victims of the natural disaster.

The pope also made an appeal against political repression in Nicaragua, where Bishop Rolando Alvarez was sentenced to 26 years in prison by Daniel Ortega's region.

Commenting on today's liturgy about Jesus who did not come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfil (Mt 5,17), the pontiff told the faithful to ask themselves what to fulfil means. He explained it starting with Jesus who said that we should reconcile with our brother before presenting an offering at the altar.

Making an offering to God reciprocates the free giving of his gifts. It was a very important rite [. . .] so important that to interrupt it was forbidden other than for serious reasons. But Jesus states that it must be interrupted if a brother has something against us, in order to go and be reconciled with him first: only in this way is the rite fulfilled.

The message is clear. For Francis, religious rules are necessary, they are good, but they are only the beginning: to fulfil them, it is necessary to go beyond the letter and live their meaning. The commandments that God has given us must not be locked up in the airless vaults of formal observance; otherwise, we are limited to an exterior, detached religiosity, servants of God the Master rather than children of God the Father.

[T]his problem was present not only in Jesus time; it is there today too. At times, for example, we hear it said, Father, I have not killed, I have not stolen, I have not harmed anyone, as if to say, I am fine. This is formal observance, which is satisfied with the bare minimum, whereas Jesus invites us to aspire to the maximum possible.

Hence, he asks: [H]ow do I live faith? Is it a matter of calculations, formalism, or a love story with God? Am I content merely with not doing harm, of keeping the facade in good order, or do I try to grow in love for God and others? And every now and then, do I check myself on Jesus great commandment, do I ask myself if I love my neighbour as He loves me? Because perhaps we are inflexible in judging others and forget to be merciful, as God is with us.

After the Angelus prayer, the pontiff urged the faithful to be close to earthquake victims in Syria and Turkey. Let [. . .] us pray and think about what we can do for them. And let us not forget tormented Ukraine: may the Lord open ways of peace and give those responsible the courage to follow them.

The pope also made an appeal in response to the tragic situation in Nicaragua, where Bishop Rolando Alvarez of Matagalpa, held in prison for six months, was sentenced to 26 years in prison by Daniel Ortega's regime after refusing to go into exile.

The news from Nicaragua has saddened me a great deal, and I cannot but remember with concern Bishop Rolando Alvarez of Matagalpa, whom I care about greatly, sentenced to 26 years imprisonment, and also those who have been deported to the United States. I pray for them and for all those who are suffering in that dear nation, and I ask for your prayers.

Let us also ask the Lord, by the intercession of the Immaculate Virgin Mary, to open the hearts of political leaders and all citizens to the sincere search for peace, which is born of truth, justice, freedom and love, and which is achieved through the patient pursuit of dialogue.
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The brands brand-new lightning-eating truck (Ford fans, please allow this pun) will be available from October next year as a 2025 model. The eager Ram radicals, moderate, and all-around fans can reserve a place in line to preorder the all-new, all-electric 1500 REV.RamREV.com is the magic word to type in your browser address bar to benefit from an early-bird advantage of getting priority to order the much-appraised truck. Also, for a $100 fee, a Rev Insider+ membership (one-time charge, fully refundable  under specific terms and conditions), customers can enjoy exclusive access to events, news, and info about the upcoming electric Ram.Ram placed their BET on the Superbowl commercial coverage to advertise the forthcoming addition to the brands lineup of Americas favorite trucks. The Battery ElectricTruck (Rams own choice of name) stars in the 60-second video Premature Electrification alongside actor Jason Jones.Humorously serious about their milestone-marking change, Rams spot (watch it below) addresses the quintessential dilemma of todays driving paradigm  leaving ICEs behind in favor of electric power. Range and power essential issues  that inherently haunt all BEVs  are cleverly expressed as an equally unsettling, albeit more intimate in nature, situation.Olivier Francois, global chief marketing officer, Stellantis, puts it like this: The intent of the spot is to let our buyers know that we have listened to their concerns as part of our dialogue with them over the last several years as we prepare to introduce the all-electric Ram 1500 REV to the market in 2024.Marking 15 years of Ram as a standalone brand, the 1500 REV truck stands on the shoulders of illustrious predecessors. The TRX (the quickest, fastest, and most powerful mass-produced pickup truck in the world), the 3500 (37,090 lbs. of towing capacity, 7,680 lbs of payload - 16.8 tons and nearly 3.5 tons, respectively), and the honors of Highest owner loyalty of any half-ton pickup in 2020, 2021, and 2022 are few of the reasons for high expectations from this new, all-electric Ram.The Ram 1500 REV will be the first in a lineup of electrified solutions that will add to our current award-winning truck lineup. We are on an exciting electrification journey that will see Ram push past the competition in areas customers care about the most: range, payload, towing, and charge time. Mike Koval Jr., Ram brand CEO  Stellantis. The advert Premature Electrification for the 2025 Ram 1500 REV is the brainchild of Highdive agency, director Ric Cantor, and Interrogate film production company.
Its been a while since weve last seen a new project from Kiddo Motors, but the builds theyd amassed over the years have certainly left their mark on the bike-modding community. Three fellows by the names of Sergio Armet, Christoffer Martensson, and Juanjo Jimenez form the squad behind all these exploits, one of which can be admired in this articles photo gallery.Prior to receiving Kiddos custom treatment, the motorcycle used to be a stock Triumph Bonneville T100 from the model year 2004. It was built back in 2016 for a lad named Steve, whod reached out to the Barcelona-based outfit all the way from Scotland. Theres quite a chunk for us to cover here, so lets not waste any time and dive straight in.Kiddo Motors kicked things off by deleting the original carburetors to make room for Keihin Flatslide CR alternatives. These got fitted with red velocity stacks for the photo shoot, but they otherwise carry K&N air filters for a more practical application. At the opposite end of the combustion cycle, youll find pie-cut exhaust headers ending in premium silencers supplied by Spark.To bring about a significant dose of additional stopping power up front, the guys installed a full ISR braking setup comprising a large floating disc, a six-piston caliper, and an all-new master cylinder. Goodridge brake lines are now present at both poles, while the front master cylinder is mated to a Rizoma fluid reservoir.In terms of suspension upgrades, Triumph s modern classic was honored with Andreani valve cartridge emulators up north and progressive Ohlins shocks at six oclock. High-end Alpini Raggo wheels occupy the unsprung sector, sporting Avon Roadrider tires over their rims. Over in the cockpit area, we see a Free Spirits top clamp, digital Motogadget instrumentation, and an Easton EXP handlebar.In turn, the latter features discreet aftermarket switchgear and a pair of Renthal grips. As far as the electronics are concerned, the reworked Bonnie got treated to fresh wiring, an m-Unit control module from Motogadget, and an Antigravity lithium-ion battery. Its subframe was looped, then blessed with an integrated LED lighting strip at the rearmost portion.One may see a bespoke leather saddle sitting above the revised tubing, with perforated upholstery up top and a tiny pocket on the left-hand side. Going back to the front end, Kiddo added a unique fender thats been fabricated from scratch, along with a state-of-the-art Speaker headlamp and Motone blinkers.The same turn signals can be found at the back, and the factory footpegs have been replaced with LSL items. Lastly, this ravishing one-off was cloaked in a simple, yet delicious color scheme, combining black paint, exposed metal surfaces, and a yellow highlight on the lower edges of the fuel tank. Youd be disappointed if you were hoping to find out any pricing details for this entity, though, because no such info was made available by Kiddo Motors
Photo: BAE Systems

Photo: BAE Systems

Photo: Airbus

When saying a fighter plane is old, we mostly refer to its basic design. In most cases, as years pass and technologies evolve, many of these planes get seriously updated all over, aside perhaps from the overall shape and maybe the engines.Making a new military aircraft is a complicated and expensive business, and this is why updating existing machines usually takes precedence over designing new ones. But theres only so much one can do to keep a fighter or a bomber relevant, and from time to time we do happen to get new machines in the sky.In the long history of military flight, there have been just five generations of fighter planes. Were talking here about fighter jets, of course, as the veterans of the Second World War, piston- and propeller-powered aircraft, have never been taken into account.The first fighter jet generation is reserved for the somewhat experimental planes of the late 1940s. Still incapable of going supersonic, they employed some kind of jet power and were armed with the conventional weapons of the era, from machine guns to various bombs. This is the time when Germany gave birth to the Messerschmitt Me 262 , the first ever jet-powered aircraft we humans have ever built. Further to the East, Russia was playing around with the BMW-powered MiG-9, while across the ocean, in the U.S., the Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star, the American militarys first fighter jet, was making a spectacle in the sky.The rapid adoption of jet engines, doubled by the start of the Korean War, brought about the second-generation fighter jets, those of the early 1950s. This is the decade when such machines became more commonplace, but, more importantly, they started going supersonic. Its the era of the North American F-86 Sabre , the mighty MiG-15, or the lesser-known Dassault MD.454 Mystere IV. It was also a time when military aircraft started getting radar for tracking and air-to-air missiles for fighting, bringing new capabilities into the hands of the pilots.Impressive as they may have been, all these planes and others like them were quickly replaced by the third-generation fighters, arriving en force about halfway through the 1950s, in the form of things like the American F-4 Phantom II, Russian MiG-23, or French Mirage F1. This breed of airplanes started blending fighter roles with bomber duties, giving birth to the true multi-role machines, and differentiated themselves from what came before through better engines and improved handling.All of the above generations had one thing in common: the world burned through them quite rapidly, as new technologies became available. As you can see, the time distance between the first and third-gen planes is less than two decades. Compare that with the distance that separates the 4th gen of the 1970s with the 5th gen that only started to pop up in the 2000s, and you really start to get a sense of how important updating planes became over the years.The fourth generation of the worlds fighter jets is the richest and most successful thats ever been. Building on the previous version, these planes added to the mix incredible maneuverability, new avionics, improved weapons, the concept of stealth invisibility, and pretty much everything an airplane would need to destroy its target and survive the mission.As the most successful airplanes in existence, four-gens are still in the skies of our today, in the form of F-16 Fighting Falcons or F/A-18 Hornets on the American side, MiG-29s, MiG-35s, and Sukhoi Su-30 playing for the Russians, and the Eurofighter Typhoon serving the Europeans.Were now smack down in the middle of the fifth generation, with just four representatives on a global level to show for: the American F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning, the Chinese Chengdu J-20, and the Russian Su-57. For what its worth, thats probably all the members this generation will ever get, as most nations of power in this world are already pondering the next fighter planes.While America burned through all five fighter plane generations and is now gearing up for the sixth, in the form of the Next Generation Air Dominance ( NGAD ), Europe, which is currently using American F-16s and F-35s on a large scale, is going straight for the sixth.It was back in 2017 when then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron announced the birth of the European Air Defence System. It includes something called the Future Combat Air System (FCAS), which in turn is made up of a sixth-generation airplane (so far called Global Combat Air Program), drones, and a combat cloud, among others. FCAS is actually a multinational project and involves Airbus and Dassault Aviation as prime contractors. The makers of planes like the A380 and A320 are tasked with working on the drones (something called Remote Carriers) which will be teaming up with the airplane in the sky, but also with the troops on the ground.Airbus is already at work testing the Remote Carriers , with Do-DT25 drones launching from an A400M Atlas starting last year. In the future, these drones will launch in swarms (either 50 small or 12 heavy drones) from carrier aircraft like the Atlas, in support of ground troops and friendly aircraft.Dassault will handle the actual Global Combat Air Program plane itself, aided in its mission by a series of companies and government entities from the UK, Italy, Spain, and even Japan.The details of the airplane project are not known in full, especially given how Europe does not plan to have it ready for duty before the end of this decade, but we can all expect the plane to pack most of the technologies used in the current fifth-gen aircraft, as well as new ones. That means stealth, connected, and armed with the most modern of weapons.The timeline for the project calls for a technology demonstrator to be shown to the world for the first time sometime in 2027. Operational status for the Global Combat Air Program is probably going to be achieved around 2040.
Photo: Wider

Photo: Wider

That's right, people, this 3D dream dubbed the Wider 210 is nothing more than the hottest thing to hit international waters. However, it's set to do so in 2026, so you have time to raise an empire and smash the bubbly against the hull. Oh, and it's not just another yacht; this puppy is chock-full of tech. After all, Wider is an Italian crew born in 2010 that's made a name for itself because of the tech they bring to the boating and yachting scene. They handle just about everything ranging from AI to battery installations and management systems.Wait a minute, batteries? Yes, batteries, because Wider is also known for designing and building hybrid yachts, and I'm not talking tenders and dayboats either; full-on superyachts. Heck, the Wider 165 (MY Cecilia) is already floating around somewhere in the world, employing some of the same tech we'll see in the 210. I've added a few images of the 165 to the gallery too. It should help guide our imagination toward the eventual 210. Let's dive in, shall we?Now, I got word of the 210 from the folks brokering its sale, Northrop & Johnson. Oh, and in case you missed just how much is selling for, again, roughly $59 million (55 million). Sure, it's more cash than I can imagine, but according to Wider, there are countless ways in which the 210 will entice even the most penny-pinching of oil tycoons.For example, I mentioned Wider specializes in hybrid drive, and that magic is present in the 210. What this means for eventual owners is a quieter vessel that can even function for up to ten hours at cruising speed, all thanks to something called ZEM mode. Judging by the builder's website, this is a feature available to all Wider vessels, but the 210 can achieve up to 15 hours of zero-emission functionality as opposed to ten.A quick breakdown reveals that batteries, a management system, the AI I mentioned earlier, and generators work together with engines to produce as little pollution as possible. But the real golden ticket here is a higher level of comfort. Why? According to Wider, they separate the engines from the propulsion system and eliminate any mechanical components in the process. The result is reduced vibrations, more space (which allows for more design options), and less noise.Hybrid and technological advancements aside, there's a reason we all marvel at these gigantic statements of luxury and social standing: to dream a little. Or at least, that's my case. So, without further ado, let's start with some of the toys and pleasures you can indulge in while cruising the world. Even if it's just a daydream, try and really get into the flow. Get it, flow? Water, and the whole motion of the ocean bit?According to Northrop & Johnson, the 210's interior and even some of the exterior are all aimed at maximizing two-legged creature comforts . For example, one of the first spaces you'll encounter is the beach deck, and once you get there, all 14 guests will be able to gather around and chit-chat until the festivities begin. All the while, 17 crew members are at your beck and call.Once the owner is ready - maybe it's you - the real party can begin. You all head to the main deck, where the main saloon is found, and take a seat at the table for the evening's meal. The neat thing about this area is that it's designed to blur the lines between interior and exterior spaces, will three of the four walls formed of sliding glass portions. Dinner with a sea breeze should work wonders on your complexion. After dinner, sit on any of the couches in the adjacent lounge, catch a flick in the cinema, or head back down to the spa.As for tired guests, staterooms, VIP cabins, and a master suite are available . The owner's suite is located on the upper level of the ship. Yes, an entire deck is dedicated to those that blew the college fund of the following five generations of family members. Just think about that for a second, a whole deck to yourself. What a sight it must be to wake up on top of your own mini world.The next day, on the other hand, the real fun starts. You wake up and decide to get the blood moving in an infinity pool, hit the gym for a bit, and then grab breakfast back on the main deck. As you enjoy your meal, you start to hear the sounds of a helicopter approaching the ship. Chewing, you watch the magic unfurl and wonder who has arrived. It's Jack and Susan. The helipad is only good for touch-and-go use, so it's soon back to the sounds of water splashing around the 210 and laughter. Maybe some little islands are found and in need of exploration. For that, there are two tenders and a couple of jet skis. The rest is up to you and your bank account While it may seem rather light on the toy factor, the Wider 210 is a ship that is yet to find its owner. This means that aspects of its final design are open to discussion, typically shaped by money and the owner's dreams. If you dream of being the eventual owner, you can mess with the number of rooms and amenities on board, but Wider also lets you customize your drivetrain capabilities. Sounds like the superyacht industry is going even greener and offering an even more tailored experience in the process. How are you investing in your happiness?
UPDATE (February 15)

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, arguably the top device in the Android ecosystem, started shipping earlier this week to the first customers who pre-ordered the mobile phone in the United States and several other regions. As the typical Android device, the Galaxy S23 also supports Android Auto out of the box.As a flagship model whose pricing goes all the way up to over $1,600 for the top-of-the-range configuration with 1TB of storage, the Galaxy S23 Ultra should theoretically provide owners with a flawless experience on all fronts. Including Android Auto, that is.The early Galaxy S23 Ultra buyers figure out the hard way that this isnt true, as Android Auto seemingly fails to run in a car where other Android devices are working perfectly. The first reports signaling this issue went live on the Google forums a few days ago, and I expect the number of complaints to go up as more people receive the device.The struggles might sound familiar to Samsung customers. When connected to the head unit, Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra fails to start Android Auto , with a message that shows up on the mobile device reading USB device not supported. Users claim theyve tried the typical workarounds, including switching to other cables, but nothing brought Android Auto to a working state. Not even the original Samsung cable, that is, as the app just fails to launch when the Galaxy S23 is at the other end of the cord.Theres a good reason I said the experience might feel familiar for Samsung customers. The same issues happened with the Galaxy S22 Ultra as well, and unfortunately, it took the South Korean company many months to deliver a fix.Some Android Auto users who bought the Galaxy S22 Ultra are still struggling with the same connectivity problems today despite all these fixes, and its not known if the parent company is at least continuing the investigation. On the other hand, Samsung should look into these new reports too, as the Galaxy S23 series appears to hit the same problems on Android Auto as its predecessor.Samsung Galaxy S23 starts at $799 in the United States for the base model with 128GB of storage, but for a limited time, customers can order the 256GB version without having to pay extra. The base version of the larger Galaxy S23+ costs $999, while the Galaxy S23 Ultra can be yours for at least $1,199 when fitted with 256GB of storage. A limited-time offer provides buyers with a free storage upgrade on the Ultra as well. The bug has become more widespread , with Google itself considering it a trending issue. No fix is known to exist, but Google is asking for phone logs to begin an investigation.
Only available on iPhone

Photo: Bogdan Popa/autoevolution

How to set up a reminder in Google Maps

Photo: Bogdan Popa/autoevolution

Waze does it better

Photo: Bogdan Popa/autoevolution

More often than not, drivers need to build in extra time, but Google Maps and Waze are trying to help everybody with a feature whose purpose is as convenient as it could be.The navigation apps include a dedicated feature that can provide users with reminders to leave for a trip. In other words, if you use Google Maps or Waze, the application can monitor a planned journey and then let you know when you should jump behind the wheel to arrive right on time.You dont have to be a rocket scientist to figure out how this feature works, as Google has tried to make using it rather straightforward even for the Average Joe. Users just need to configure the reminder based on the time when they should leave or arrive at the destination, with the sat-nav then taking care of everything else.File this under the Google loves iPhones more than Android chapter.For some reason, the Google Maps feature to get reminders on when to leave for your trip is only available on iPhone. Android users arent provided with such functionality for a reason that Google has never talked about.Strangely enough, the search company has brought this feature across the entire iOS ecosystem, so it's live on both iPhones and iPads. The number one requirement is running a recent version of Google Maps , but given this isn't a new feature, chances are youre already running a build supporting it.The first thing you must do is to configure your route. This allows Google Maps to know how long itll take for you to reach the destination from the starting point.Launch Google Maps and in the address bar, enter the desired address. Next, choose the traveling mode and look for the three-dot menu in the top right corner.You should see an option called Set a reminder to leave. When expanding this section, Google Maps should let you choose from two different options, namely when to leave or when to arrive.The naming is pretty straightforward. If you choose the when to leave option, Google Maps will display a reminder on your iPhone at the configured time. On the other hand, if you enable the when to arrive setting, Google Maps will take into account the travel duration and issue the notification in order to let you arrive just on time.For example, if you must be at a restaurant at 8:00 PM and Google Maps determines that itll take you 42 minutes to drive to the address, the application will send a reminder at 7:18 PM to make sure you wont be late.The feature works regardless of distance and travel time, but needless to say, the longer the journey, the bigger the chances for the ETA to be less accurate . As such, drivers should also build in extra time, so you should configure the arrival time with a 10- to a 20-minute window to make sure you wont be late.If you look at competitors, its not hard to see how this feature can be further enhanced. Google could use Waze as a source of inspiration on this front, as the traffic navigation app also comes with similar functionality to help you arrive at a certain destination on time.As compared to Google Maps, Waze also monitors traffic conditions, and it provides you with a departure time based on real-time data . It goes without saying Waze can therefore be more accurate, especially for short drives where anticipating the traffic based on historical data is easier.To do this in Waze, just launch the application and then configure the location where you want to drive to. After Waze displays the route overview, look for the Find the best time to leave option on the screen.Tap the Show more option, and you should now be able to configure the Arrive by time. Choose when you want to arrive at the destination, tap the save button, and thats pretty much it. Waze should now generate a notification when its time to leave, assuming that you provided the app with location and notification permissions.Available on both iPhone and Android, the feature requires users to lock their mobile devices with the route overview screen in focus. More often than not, users end up tapping the drive now button on the same screen, as the route summary information isnt minimized when a planned drive is configured.Just like in the case of Google Maps, Waze needs to be up-to-date to provide the most refined experience for planned drives, though the feature has also been around for a while on both mobile platforms.
A U.S. fighter jet shot down an unidentified object over Lake Huron on Sunday on orders from President Joe Biden. It was the fourth such downing in eight days and the latest military strike in an extraordinary chain of events over U.S. airspace that Pentagon officials believe has no peacetime precedent.

Part of the reason for the repeated shootdowns is a heightened alert following a spy balloon from China that emerged over U.S. airspace in late January, Gen. Glen VanHerck, head of NORAD and U.S. Northern Command, said in a briefing with reporters.

Since then, fighter jets last week also shot down objects over Canada and Alaska. Pentagon officials said they posed no security threats, but so little was known about them that Pentagon officials were ruling nothing out  not even UFOs.

We have been more closely scrutinizing our airspace at these altitudes, including enhancing our radar, which may at least partly explain the increase, said Melissa Dalton, assistant defense secretary for homeland defense.

U.S. authorities have made clear that they constantly monitor for unknown radar blips, and it is not unusual to shut down airspace as a precaution to evaluate them. But the unusually assertive response was raising questions about whether such use of force was warranted, particularly as administration officials said the objects were not of great national security concern and the downings were just out of caution.

VanHerck said the U.S. adjusted its radar so it could track slower objects. With some adjustments, weve been able to get a better categorization of radar tracks now, he said, and thats why I think youre seeing these, plus theres a heightened alert to look for this information.

He added: I believe this is the first time within United States or American airspace that NORAD or United States Northern Command has taken kinetic action against an airborne object.

Asked if officials have ruled out extraterrestrials, VanHerck said, I havent ruled out anything at this point.

The Pentagon officials said they were still trying to determine what exactly the objects were and said they had considered using the jets guns instead of missiles, but it proved to be too difficult. They drew a strong distinction between the three shot down over this weekend and the balloon from China.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz tweeted that airmen in the 148th Fighter Wing, an Air National Guard fighter unit in Duluth, shot down the object over Lake Huron.

The extraordinary air defense activity began in late January, when a white orb the officials said was from China appeared over the U.S. and hovered above the nation for days before fighter jets downed it off the coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. That event played out over livestream. Many Americans have been captivated by the drama playing out in the skies as fighter jets scramble to shoot down objects.

The latest brought down was first detected on Saturday evening over Montana, but it was initially thought to be an anomaly. Radar picked it up again Sunday hovering over the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and it was going over Lake Huron, Pentagon officials said Sunday.

U.S. and Canadian authorities had restricted some airspace over the lake earlier Sunday as planes were scrambled to intercept and try to identify the object. According to a senior administration official, the object was octagonal, with strings hanging off, but had no discernable payload. It was flying low at about 20,000 feet, said the official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

Meanwhile, U.S. officials were still trying to precisely identify two other objects shot down by F-22 fighter jets, and were working to determine whether China was responsible as concerns escalated about what Washington said was Beijings large-scale aerial surveillance program.

An object shot down Saturday over Canadas Yukon was described by U.S. officials as a balloon significantly smaller than the balloon  the size of three school buses  hit by a missile Feb. 4. A flying object brought down over the remote northern coast of Alaska on Friday was more cylindrical and described as a type of airship.

Both were believed to have a payload, either attached or suspended from them, according to the officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation. Officials were not able to say who launched the objects and were seeking to figure out their origin.

The three objects were much smaller in size, different in appearance and flew at lower altitudes than the suspected spy balloon that fell into the Atlantic Ocean after the U.S. missile strike.

The officials said the other three objects were not consistent with the fleet of Chinese aerial surveillance balloons that targeted more than 40 countries, stretching back at least into the Trump administration.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told ABCs This Week that U.S. officials were working quickly to recover debris. Using shorthand to describe the objects as balloons, he said U.S military and intelligence officials were focused like a laser on gathering and accumulating the information, then compiling a comprehensive analysis.

The bottom line is until a few months ago we didnt know about these balloons, Schumer, D-N.Y., said of the spy program that the administration has linked to the Peoples Liberation Army, Chinas military. It is wild that we didnt know.

Eight days ago, F-22 jets downed the large white balloon that had wafted over the U.S. for days at an altitude of about 60,000 feet. U.S. officials immediately blamed China, saying the balloon was equipped to detect and collect intelligence signals and could maneuver itself. White House officials said improved surveillance capabilities helped detect it.

Chinas Foreign Ministry said the unmanned balloon was a civilian meteorological airship that had blown off course. Beijing said the U.S. had overreacted by shooting it down.

Then, on Friday, North American Aerospace Defense Command, the combined U.S.-Canada organization that provides shared defense of airspace over the two nations, detected and shot down an object near sparsely populated Deadhorse, Alaska.

Later that evening, NORAD detected a second object, flying at a high altitude over Alaska, U.S. officials said. It crossed into Canadian airspace on Saturday and was over the Yukon, a remote territory, when it was ordered shot down by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

In both of those incidents, the objects were flying at roughly 40,000 feet. The object on Sunday was flying at 20,000 feet.

The cases have increased diplomatic tensions between the United States and China, raised questions about the extent of Beijings American surveillance, and prompted days of criticism from Republican lawmakers about the administrations response.

Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani, Michael Balsamo, Ellen Knickmeyer and Tara Copp contributed to this report.
Uranium's Considerably Less Spicy Cousin

EV

Photo: Wikimedia User Milda 444 - Own Work

Way Down In the Mines

Photo: Indian Point Nuclear Facility

Better Than Fusion (For Now)

MSR

Photo: Thorium Energy Aliance

Time To Re-Think our Fission Energy Strategy

But don't despair. Because while it's pretty darn hard to get our hands on any more tritium, or even sustainable nuclear fusion for that matter, there are always other options. Back in the hum-drum world of nuclear fission, with its popular image full of meltdowns, radiation poisoning, and general misery, a better solution is better fissile fuel. The fuel in question might be atomic number 90 on the periodic table, thorium.But to understand why thorium was, at one point, a very valuable element and could one day be again, we need to understand the problem with certain types of fission fuels. Any number of different radioactive isotopes could realistically power a nuclear fission reactor. But, for the sake of simplicity, let's focus on uranium specifically. If you think lithium and cobalt mining forbatteries is a pain in the you-know-what, uranium might have it beaten.Only a handful of places on Earth harbor substantial enough uranium deposits to justify multi-billion-dollar mining operations . According to the non-profit World Nuclear Association , three countries, Namibia, Uzbekistan, and Canada, mine well north of half the entire world's uranium ore. In general, naturally occurring uranium-235 and 238 are the most associated with fission reactors. It doesn't take a brainiac to figure mining the stuff deep beneath the surface of the Earth poses some health hazards.In a worst-case scenario, unproperly regulated uranium mining causes just as much harm to the human body over an extended period as a few minutes exposed to the first effects of Chornobyl (Chernobyl). Add in shakey ventilation in some cases, and your start to realize mining uranium might be best left to robots one day. Once you have enough uranium ore to process into fuel, you must separate it from the surrounding rock and process it into more enriched nuclear fuel rods.In places around the world where more readily available non-uranium fissile fuel is vital, the benefits of thorium should speak for themselves. With this in mind, thorium has the potential to revolutionize the industry without having to change too much about the core operations of existing nuclear reactors. If that wasn't enough, the monazite mineral from which thorium is commonly sourced has higher concentrations of material than the equivalent uranium ore.These properties make thorium far safer to mine in large quantities. Still, it all sounds very tedious and not all that worth it to an outsider. Especially when solar, wind, and geothermal energy have advanced so far in the last 25 years. But from some perspectives, thorium is nothing short of a miracle. In truth, thorium was once one of the most promising fissile fuels known to science. Believed to be the byproduct of supernovae and neutron star mergers billions of years ago, thorium's key advantage over uranium is, ironically, far greater stability.Thorium ore is prevalent in a wide array of places around the world, including the United States. That's certainly not a trait uranium can claim. Not just a handful of places that may or may not be willing to share their supplies. By itself, thorium acts much the same as iron, hydrogen, helium, or really any naturally occurring, non-fissile element. The biggest difference between thorium and common, everyday elements is that it's what's known as a fertile nuclear element.In simple terms, it's only when energized sub-atomic neutrons bombard atoms of thorium that it can be transmuted into a uranium-233 isotope. As if by pure alchemy, it's actually rooted in scientific fact. After a bit of post-processing, this uranium is ready to be mixed with a neutron-moderator material, often graphite, formed into fuel rods, then placed inside reactor cores. No setup of mines deep beneath the surface of Kazakhstan is required. This should be nothing short of revolutionary.Known as the thorium fuel cycle, this process was once earmarked for far more intensive studies than what eventually transpired. The world's first practical thorium-derived fission reactor was constructed at the Indian Point Energy Center in Westchester County, New York State , in 1962. Since then, an international consortium of bigwigs like the Kurchatov Institute in Russia and the Brookhaven National Laboratory in Long Island, New York, have attempted to market the thorium fuel cycle globally.Under the guidance of American scientist Alvin Radkowsky, thorium was bred for the first time at the Shippingport Atomic Power Station in Pennsylvania in the late 1970s. Using a special light-water breeding reactor, it became possible to make new supplies of thorium. Earlier still, in the 1950s, it was discovered that uranium created from thorium processing worked remarkably well in one specific variety of reactors.Only the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee has ever played host to this peculiar and spooky-sounding molten salt reactor (). Doing so on two separate occasions, no less. But, if the Chinese have a say in the matter, their TMSR-LF1 thorium MSR, due to come online any day, would be the first of its kind deployed to operation outside U.S. soil.Because MSRs operate using a nuclear-fuel mixture already in the molten state, the chances of a high-pressure steam explosion, like what happened at Chornobyl, should be close to zero. Granted, uranium-233 forged from thorium tends to decay into more radioactive forms somewhat faster than other isotopes. But with modern regulations regarding nuclear waste products, it's no worse for human exposure than typically enriched uranium.Should the powers that be see it fit, many of the world's most powerful reactors could be modified, albeit at great cost, to accommodate fissile fuel made from atomically fertile thorium. With this in mind, the notion that humanity need not bore deep into very specific areas to fulfill its need for fissile fuel is one you should be surprised isn't more widespread. Well, perhaps thorium's more docile, controllable nature worked against its favor during the hotter parts of the Cold War.That's right, folks. One of the key reasons thorium reactors aren't more prevalent is that global superpowers put far more emphasis on fissile materials that can also be placed inside nuclear warheads. Back in the 1950s, weapon tests conducted using uranium bombs derived from thorium showed they could work in warheads under Operation Teapot. But it was determined their advantages were not substantial enough to continue the program.Nearly 70 years later, the full uses of the thorium fuel cycle are still nowhere near close to being fully exploited. That said, countries with next to no domestic supplies of uranium of their own, like India and China, might soon be ready to grab the brass ring for the first time. If successful, expect global superpowers in the west and the Far East to follow suit with their own novel reactors using the thorium fuel cycle. Though it's yet to be proven in practice, some scientists claim thorium could be even more useful in solving the global energy crisis than even novel forms of nuclear fusion . At least in the short term, that is.If you ask us, thorium has the potential to be one of the most important puzzle pieces to solving the global emissions crisis. In terms most petrol heads can understand, it's best to think of enriched uranium as the expensive 93-octane pump gas. With lots of latent energy stored inside and potentially a higher efficiency, but not always readily available. On the other hand, thorium is your plain-Jane 87-octane. Not all that exciting on the face of it, but it's always going to be around.Check back soon for more nuclear energy news coverage here on autoevolution.
CSUB Alumni Hall of Fame

The CSUB Alumni Association will induct four standout graduates into its Alumni Hall of Fame on March 3 at the Dore Theatre on campus.

Ticket and sponsorship information can be found at csub.edu/alumni.
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Great Flood of '96 for Southern Oregon Coast Hit Coos Bay, Bandon in Nov

Published 02/08/23 at 7:19 AM

By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff





(Coos Bay, Oregon) - A mere 10 months after Oregon was ravaged by the February 1996 flood, the infamous storm that sunk entire areas of Portland and Salem, the south Oregon coast got hit with its own mega-event. The November '96 flood wasn't quite as massive, but it affected a large chunk of coast, from Florence through a bit south of Bandon, not to mention all the way over to Roseburg and other southern Oregon areas. (Above: Bills Creek Road washed out, leaving neighbors disconnected. Courtesy Bandon Historical Museum )

Still, it was big enough that local newspapers called it The Flood of '96, and everyone knew that it didn't mean the one in Portland that got all the TV coverage.

Even up north, this rainstorm let out a tremendous gush. Rain records were set for November 19 for Portland, Salem, Eugene and Corvallis. Some flooding occurred up there as well, including some apartments that had been flooded in the February event.

Rivers swelled somewhat in Lincoln County on the central Oregon coast, but down south, from November 17  19, things went nuts, especially on Monday, November 18.

That Monday, a slightly bigger storm hit the southern Oregon coast than the day before, one where more than six inches of rain fell, especially in Lane, Coos and Douglas County. 80 mph gusts created various kinds of issues. Major flooding took out chunks of Coos Bay, North Bend and Bandon. Even Florence was affected.

In fact, there, 70 mph winds knocked out power in Florence by snapping over trees that in turn clipped power lines, with the bulk of the town losing power at 6:20 a.m. Power was also out in Dunes City and Elkton. Traffic on Highway 126 was blocked by a landslide for a about one day, and other landslides plagued the Oregon coast in other areas.

In Reedsport, the US Coast Guard and sheriffs out of Lane and Douglas County were still looking for missing residents along Highway 28 on Tuesday, as well as a pair reported missing at Loon Lake. One deputy was trapped between landslides on that highway for a time.

Even through traffic had opened up on part of Highway 101 near Reedsport, authorities still asked people to stay inside because of heavy wind and rain that morning.

Farther south, however, is where it all got really hairy. By Tuesday night, authorities were looking at more winds and rain, and now soaked and weakened hillsides posed threats all over. State Police worried about elk hunters in south Oregon coast forests as they weren't sure how many there were out there. Up the Coquille River, a massive landslide took out the road and power poles near Powers, and EMT's soon found themselves searching for a group of panic-stricken teens stuck in a home behind one of the slide areas. They were found and uninjured.

Landslides shut down roads up the Coos River, down at Humbug Mountain, and in numerous other areas.



Coos Bay during King Tides, courtesy Robert More

In Coos County, winds did their worst, as did the flooding. The county declared a state of emergency late on the 18th, and even the National Guard was standing by. Cape Blanco saw winds over 80 mph, and some 6,000 people between Bandon and North Bend were without power.

Farms just east of Bandon turned into lakes of muddy water at times, Cape Arago Highway was closed at Sunset Beach because of high water, and the official report has the Coquille River 9 feet above flood stage at one point.

Mingus Park in Coos Bay was a small lake for a time.

In Bandon, the famed Bandon Cheese Factory (now the Face Rock Creamery) was closed as water started flooding in the back door from Ferry Creek. It had risen some 12 inches in a half hour. Employees inside rushed around to close doors, shore up certain areas and shut off electricity, as a lone customer stood outside nibbling on ice cream under the overhang.

Downtown Bandon itself flooded with more than two feet of water, and even the bridge became threatened at one point.

A post-event analysis done by the US Geological Survey in 2004 said this was a 50-year flood event.

SOURCES: Newspaper reports from November 19 - 28, including The World, Albany Democrat-Herald, Statesman Journal.

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Tues Snow: Maybe More on Oregon coast than Inland - Coast Range Travel Issues

Published 02/11/23 at 4:09 PM

By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff





(Oregon Coast)  The possibility of more snow on the beaches than inland? That could well be as northwest Oregon gets some snow this week. (Photo Oregon Coast Beach Connection)

A rather heavy amount of snow is coming to the Oregon Coast Range, causing a Winter Storm Watch for the passes to the beaches. There's a decent chance snow will make it to the beaches on Monday night and Tuesday, while valley portions of the state such as Portland or Eugene may see an inch or more.

There may be a chance on the southern Washington coast as well, but the northern part of the coastline will not.

The southern Oregon coast will not see any traces of snow, but waves in the entire region look to be picking up into something substantial on Tuesday, making for a good time to visit dramatic places like Shore Acres State Park near Coos Bay.

Watch the Snow:

Oregon Coast Sky Cams - Web Cams, Weather Cams

The National Weather Service (NWS) said to expect some of this snow event to occur in the northwestern corner of the state even on Monday.

Colder air filtering into the region will drop snow levels to 1000 ft or possibly lower by late Monday evening, promoting a rain/snow mix or even a changeover to light snow overnight Monday into Tuesday morning, the NWS said.





For Portland and the valley lowlands, the NWS said there is a good chance for an inch of snow on Tuesday morning, affecting the commute for many. Interestingly, the northern Oregon coast could wind up with more white than the I-5 corridor, as the NWS said some models suggest higher chances of 1 inch or more of snow along the coast than it does in the Willamette Valley.

Washington Coast Weather - Oregon Coast Weather

Oregon Coast Road, Traffic Conditions, Updates

On the Coast Range passes, as much as 8 inches of snow are possible above 1000 feet, which is much of Highway 18 and Highway 26. Some 8 to 16 inches are possible above the 2000-foot mark, where the summits on Highway 26 lie.

Travel could be very difficult. Expect very limited visibility during periods of heavier snow, particularly at night, the NWS said.

For the entire Oregon coast and south Washington coast, offshore waves will be rising on Monday and Tuesday, up to 20 feet, the NWS said.

This could bring dangerous surf conditions to beaches and rocky shelves. However, at the least, many rocky areas known for their displays should be going in full force, such as Rodea Point by Depoe Bay, Yachats area, Washington coast's Cape Disappointment and Shore Acres by Coos Bay.

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Damage was caused to the shared facility in the Cliftonville Road area of Belfast.

Photographs of the damage caused to Cliftonville Playing Fields at the weekend

A north Belfast GAA club has hit out after damage was caused to their facilities over the weekend.

Pearses GAC posted photographs of what appeared to be scorch damage caused to the synthetic surface at Cliftonville Playing Fields, a Council-run shared sports facility off the Cliftonville Road.

The club share the facility, known locally as both The Cricky and Fennell Park, with fellow GAA club Ardoyne Kickhams, with the playing fields also in use by local school Bunscoil Bheann Mhadagain and available for external bookings.

A spokesperson said it was frustrating to see the vandalism.

"Our club is both disgusted and disappointed at the damage to the playing surface at The Cricky, they said.

"Cumann an Phiarsaigh, Ciceam Ard Eoin and Bunscoil Bheann Mhadagain fought hard for years to get this Gaelic facility and it is very frustrating seeing this happen.

"There are scarce GAA facilities as it is in North Belfast without them being victim to vandalism.

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The facilities were also targeted by vandals in 2020, when damage was caused to the nets and dugouts, with Ardoyne Kickhams describing it as an attack on the entire Ardoyne community.

The club has also condemned the damage caused during the latest incident on the site.

"Mindless damage caused to the pitch over the weekend. GAA facilities in North Belfast are scarce enough without this behaviour, they posted on their Facebook page.

A spokesperson for Belfast City Council said they were aware of the damage to the playing surface at Cliftonville Playing Fields.

We will assess the damage caused and progress repairs. We continue to work in partnership with the local community and statutory agencies, including the PSNI, to address issues of anti-social behaviour and vandalism, they said.

"We would appeal to the public to continue to report any further incidents to the police.

The PSNI have been approached for comment.
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, right, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, left, and King Abdullah II of Jordan, leave a conference to support Jerusalem at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)   Amr Nabil

Dozens of leaders and senior officials from Arab and Islamic countries warned on Sunday that Israeli actions in Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank could worsen regional turmoil, as violence surges between Israel and the Palestinians.

The meeting in Cairo on Sunday was hosted by the Arab League and attended by President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi of Egypt, Jordans King Abdullah II and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas along with many foreign ministers and senior officials.

Speakers at the meeting condemned Israels unilateral measures in Jerusalem and the West Bank in statements, including home demolitions and expanding settlements.

They also condemned visits by Israeli officials to the citys contested holy site, which is sacred to both Jews and Muslims and has often been the epicentre of Israeli-Palestinian unrest.

Leaders attend a conference to support Jerusalem at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)   Amr Nabil

There was no immediate comment from Israels government.

The officials also voiced support for Jordans role as custodian of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third-holiest site in Islam.

The mosque is built on a hilltop in Jerusalems Old City that is the most sacred site for Jews, who refer to it as the Temple Mount because it was the site of the Jewish temples in antiquity.

Since Israel captured the site in 1967, Jews have been allowed to visit but not pray there. Israel claims all of Jerusalem as its undivided capital, while the Palestinians seek east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, speaks during a conference to support Jerusalem at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)   Amr Nabil

Mr El-Sissi warned of dire repercussions of any Israeli measures to change the status quo of the site, saying they would negatively impact future negotiations to settle the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

He said such measures would impede the long-sought after two-state solution to the conflict, which would leave both parties and the whole Middle East with difficult and grave options.

Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, the secretary-general of the pan-Arab organisation, also warned that attempts to partition the Al-Aqsa Mosque and obliterate its Arab and Islamic identity would fuel endless unrest and violence.

Abbas, the Palestinian president, said his administration would resort to the United Nations and its agencies and demand a resolution to protect the two-state solution to the conflict.

The State of Palestine will continue going to international courts and organisations to protect our peoples legitimate rights, he said.

The Cairo gathering came amid one of the deadliest periods of fighting in years in Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank.

Forty-Five Palestinians have been killed so far this year, according to a count by the Associated Press. Palestinians have killed 10 people on the Israeli side during that time.

The ongoing bout of violence has put the region on edge. Last month, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Egyptian, Israeli and Palestinian leaders and urged them to ease tensions.

Israel is run by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus new far-right government. Many politicians in Netanyahus administration oppose Palestinian independence.

Sundays meeting in Cairo issued a final statement that condemned what it called Israelis systemic policy that aims at distorting and changing Jerusalems Arab and Islamic culture and identity.

The communique also urged the International Criminal Court to pursue its investigation and hold those responsible for Israels alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity accountable.
Neutral Austria has come under heavy criticism for granting visas to sanctioned Russian politicians for a meeting of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe in Vienna (Lisa Leutner/AP)   Lisa Leutner

Austria has come under heavy criticism for granting visas that will allow sanctioned Russian politicians to attend a meeting in Vienna of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation (OSCE) in Europe.

The issue highlights the delicate balancing act the European country has engaged in while trying to maintain its longstanding position of military neutrality during the war in Ukraine.

The Austrian government has condemned Russias invasion but also stressed the need to maintain diplomatic relations with Moscow.

Austria hosts several UN agencies and international organisations such as the OSCE, which was established during the Cold War as a forum for dialogue between East and West.

Russia is one of the 57 nations in North America, Europe and Asia that participate in the Vienna-based organisation.

Moscow plans to send delegates to the meeting of the OSCEs Parliamentary Assembly on February 23 and 24, including 15 Russian politicians who are under European Union sanctions. Among them are deputy Duma chairman Pyotr Tolstoy and fellow member of parliament Leonid Slutsky.

In a letter to Austrias chancellor, foreign minister and other officials, 81 OSCE delegates from 20 countries, including France, Canada, Britain, Poland and Ukraine, called on the Austrian government to prohibit the participation of the sanctioned Russians.

It is important to remember that Russian parliamentarians are an integral part of the power system and complicit in the crimes Russia commits every day in Ukraine, read the letter, which was seen by The Associated Press.

They have no place in an institution tasked with promoting sincere dialogue and opposition to the war.

The US delegates to the Parliamentary Assembly were not among the letters signatories.

US Ambassador to the OSCE Michael Carpenter told reporters on Friday that the Russian delegates are not people who deserve to be able to travel to Western countries.

However, he added that it is up to the Austrian government to determine whether they are going to grant visas or not.

Austrian officials have not commented on the letter.

On February 5, Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg defended the countrys decision to allow the sanctioned Russians entry, arguing that it is important to keep channels of communication with Moscow open despite the brutal Russian attack against Ukraine.

The Austrian Foreign Ministry also insisted that, as host to the OSCE headquarters in Vienna, it is legally obliged to grant visas to representatives of nations who want to take part in meetings there.

Austria, which became a European Union member in 1995, has criticised Moscow and joined the sanctions the EU imposed against Russia over the invasion of Ukraine.

But, unlike Finland and Sweden, which decided to abandon their non-aligned stances in May by applying to join Nato, Austria remains committed to the military neutrality it adopted in 1955.

The Austrian government has sent humanitarian aid to Ukraine but no weapons.

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer became the first and so far only EU leader to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin face to face after the war in Ukraine started (Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP)   Geert Vanden Wijngaert

Chancellor Karl Nehammer became the first and so far only EU leader to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin face to face after the war started.

He travelled to Moscow in April 2022 in a fruitless attempt to persuade the Russian leader to end the invasion.

Support remains strong for Austrian neutrality among the public and political establishment.

I believe that Austrian neutrality can still play a positive role today, said Ralph Janik, an expert in international law and a researcher at the Sigmund Freud private university in Vienna.

The alternative would be to join Nato, but every single Austrian politician is very well aware that this is not supported by the majority of the Austrian public.

Austria, which was annexed by Nazi Germany in the run-up to the Second World War, declared neutrality after the war under pressure from Western allies and the Soviet Union. It sought a role as a mediator between East and West and developed ties with Moscow during and after the Cold War.

In 1968, Austria became the first Western European country to import gas from the Soviet Union, and its dependence on Russian energy increased in the following decades.

Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, 80% of Austrias natural gas came from Russia. It has since reduced the share to just over 20% by turning to Norwegian gas, according to Austrias regulator for electricity and gas.

The Austrian banking system is also closely connected to Russia.

Austrias second-largest bank, the Raiffeisenbank International, earned more than half of its profits in 2022 from Russia.

The bank has come under intense pressure for continuing its business in Russia despite Moscows war against Ukraine, and is currently evaluating strategic options, including an exit from Russia.

Vienna is also known to be a playground for spies, including from Russia, due to its lenient espionage laws.

Despite its initial reluctance, Austria has expelled eight Russian diplomats who are believed to have been engaged in spying since the start of the Russian war against Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin in Vienna during a visit to Austria in June 2018 (Ronald Zak/AP)   Ronald Zak

While there are no signs of a shift away from Austrian neutrality, some have called for the policy to be reassessed following the Ukraine war.

Werner Fasslabend, a former Austrian defence minister from the conservative Peoples Party, is among the few prominent voices arguing in favour of the country renouncing neutrality and joining Nato.

With the end of the Cold War and Austrias accession to the EU, Austrian neutrality has lost its function, said Mr Fasslabend, who is director of the Austrian Institute for European and Security Policy.

As a Nato member, Austria would be in a better position to shape European security policy and will gain greater security, he added, admitting however that it is unlikely to happen given it would require changing the constitution by a two-thirds majority in the Austrian parliament.

This majority is not within sight, he said.
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Most times it doesnt even matter if you get a catch. Thats a bonus: Group encouraging more women to try fishing
With houses ranging from 384 to 480 square feet, the new residential development under construction in Meriden will bring a deeper meaning to downsizing.

But designers say the project offers more than the typical tiny homes that have developed appeal to environmentalists, first-time buyers, minimalists, green-construction enthusiasts and even advocates for the homeless.

We dont call them tiny homes Theyre innovative housing, and thats because they really are a little more innovative than just tiny homes, said William Stetson, senior vice president of management operations at the Meriden-based Carabetta Companies.

While traditional tiny homes are frequently linked to progressive social movements, Carabettas plan on North Broad Street is designed for a very traditional market: Retirees who want to live in their own home, but without the maintenance and expense of a full-size house.

In every town there are a bunch of people who are aging and dont want to mow the lawns, shovel, paint and make the repairs  but they also want their own home, they dont want an apartment where theyre sharing walls or have somebody living upstairs from them, Stetson said.

The Carabetta Companies project manager Joe Carabetta shows the area where new homes will be built in Meriden. (Aaron Flaum/Hartford Courant)

Carabetta is marketing the standalone units at its North Broad Park to people in that position, and expects to be leasing later this year.

The company will build 10 one-bedroom homes measuring 348 square feet each, and two two-bedroom units of 480 square feet. All of that will fit on a little more than a single acre along North Broad Street. Each unit will stand on a separate foundation, and will come with a small patio and lawn along with parking space.

Houses of that size arent unknown in Connecticut, but theyre not found nearly as commonly as in California, George or Texas. For many buyers, living in a super-small space is a solid tradeoff in exchange for affordability. In areas where local zoning allows, tiny homes can be constructed for a quarter of the price of a regular-sized house  or less.

Enter tiny homes. Theyre green, trendy, and affordable. Approximately 63 percent of millennials would consider buying a tiny house, according to a 2022 analysis conducted by Technovio, according to the Motley Fool, which forecasts that market increasing for several years.

In some states, tiny homes have been embraced by advocates for reducing individuals carbon footprints. Tiny Smart House, a manufacturer in Oregon, is marketing homes as small as 128 square feet with the assurance that buyers can live off the grid; the units offer composting and incinerator toilets, solar panels, propane appliances and propane generators.

Numerous cities and towns in the country have endorsed small villages of tiny homes as a way to reduce homelessness. The National Alliance to End Homelessness warns governments to use only buildings that are safe and dignified, and cautions against locating those villages anywhere without good access to jobs, stores and public transportation.

In Connecticut, Sean Ghio of the Partnership for Strong Communities suggests that zoning is a reason tiny homes arent a bigger factor. Each of the states 169 communities has its own rules about what can be built where as well as minimum land sizes. Ghios organization is a proponent of less restrictive rules on accessory apartments, and said tiny homes might help expand housing opportunities in much the same way.

Jose Chinchilla, left and Carabetta Companies project manager Joe Carabetta hold the line down as Scott Rusconi marks the area where one of 12 new homes will be built in Meriden. (Aaron Flaum/Hartford Courant)

Carabettas Meriden project will be rental apartments, not sales. Carabetta staff will mow, plow, maintain the landscaping and facilities for tenants. The company hasnt set prices yet and only recently began site work on the property but already has launched a waiting list as word of mouth about the units has spread through the city.

Were confident the depth of the market is there, Stetson said, who said Joe Carabetta, a grandson of the companys founder, is heading the project. Were still getting our feet dirty digging in the ground and people already want to get on the list.

These homes are like apartments, but theyre not, Stetson said. Theyre like single-family homes, but theyre not. We think this could be our prototype for the future.
Neil Delamere brings his wit and wisdom to the SSE Arena next week

The Blame Games Neil Delamere has admitted he keeps getting himself into embarrassing situations by mistake, but its good for his career.

Thats because the stand-up star uses all sorts of daft incidents as material for his new show.

The 43-year-old told Sunday Life: As usual, Ill be talking about the mad stuff that has happened to me during the last year.

Thats the weird thing about being a comic. When something unusual or embarrassing happens to you, part of you is secretly delighted because you can turn it into something on a stage.

I was driving to a beach and got stuck on the road. I blocked access to the entire beach on the sunniest day of the year, and people were going absolutely crazy.

I was mortified, but another part of me was like, I am getting a good five minutes out of this.

But it was genuinely mortifying.

By the time I got home, my wife was like, Why are you red-faced but also smiling?, and I was like, Dont talk to me. I have to write down everything that happened in the last half an hour.

Neils latest all-Ireland show, Delamerium, kicked off last October and rolls into Belfasts SSE Arena next Friday.

This time around, hes also using Blame Game pal Tim McGarry as a source of inspiration.

Neil said: Tim might get a little mention.

We went on a little jaunt to Paris last year for the Champions League final.

The crowd was tear-gassed, so I might certainly be mentioning that.

When you tear-gas a man who grew up in the 70s in Belfast... how the French police were slightly surprised by his lack of reaction to it.

Where I was like, Oh my God, Tim was like a fella at a perfume counter in Harrods, Is there a hint of jasmine in this? I think Im getting coconut, Im getting jasmine, Im getting lemongrass.

Neil Delameres stand-up is at the SSE Arena in Belfast on February 17. Tickets are 22.50 from Ticketmaster
Gov. Ned Lamonts tax cut has been touted for helping the lower and middle classes, but some Democrats are concerned that the relief would also go to high-income earners.

The details of the plan  which were not highlighted in Lamonts 30-minute budget address to legislators  show that the tax cut does not phase out until income reaches $345,000 for individuals and $690,000 for couples filing jointly.

An individual earning $175,000 per year, for example, would receive a tax cut of $250 per year, which is close to the maximum tax cut of $290 per year for a person earning $65,500.

Couples filing jointly and earning as high as $575,000 per year would receive a tax cut of $200 per year  slightly below the $212 tax cut for a couple earning $50,000 per year  with income less than one tenth of the high-earning couple.

The different tax savings are based on the vagaries and the nuances of Connecticuts tax system, along with the plan to reduce the current 5% rate to 4.5% and the current 3% rate to 2%.

Senate President Pro Tem Martin Looney, a liberal Democrat from New Haven, strongly favors the cuts for the lower and middle classes but said he will be looking to enact a cap to block the tax cuts for the wealthy.

I dont think theres any real benefit to be gained from giving a $200 tax cut to somebody making half a million, Looney said. [Its] virtually unnoticeable to them, but in the aggregate, it makes the tax cut proposal more expensive than it otherwise would be. So I expect therell be some adjustments to the range to which the tax cut applies, hoping to focus more of it on the people who truly need it though in the lower income brackets.

House Speaker Matt Ritter, a Democrat who represents many lower-income voters in his hometown of Hartford, agreed that he does not favor the tax reductions at the high end.

I dont know that were going to support that, Ritter said. I think [Lamont] gave $200 to someone making 700K. Im not interested in that. Thats gimmicky to me, so I think we can get rid of that  at least from my perspective.  I dont think giving 100 bucks to someone making $1 million a year makes sense to me.

With public hearings and committee deliberations scheduled over the coming weeks and months, Ritter said Democrats will also discuss increasing the child tax credit, as well as reducing the state income tax.

Do I think we will reduce income taxes? Yes, Ritter said. The question will be how much and where does the child tax credit and earned income tax credit fall into that bucket.

House Speaker Matt Ritter of Hartford and Senate President Pro Tem Martin Looney of New Haven are questioning tax cuts for some wealthy residents. Here, they are shown talking at the Capitol in June 2021 during the coronavirus pandemic.

Even with surpluses in recent years, some liberal Democrats say that the state should increase taxes on the rich, beyond the current maximum rate of 6.99%, starting after the current two-year budget cycle in 2025 when federal funding has run out and revenue may be needed.

We are open to any conversations, but I dont think we have a revenue problem, per se, right now, Ritter said. Look, Ive always said progressive taxation is best done at the federal level. But that aside, I have voted to increase income taxes because we had to. But I think its a last resort, and right now, the numbers dont seem to indicate to me that we have a revenue problem.

As the two highest-level Democrats at the Capitol, Ritter and Looney will be key players in the final budget negotiations that will take place with the Lamont administration in late May and early June. The tax and budget committees will make their recommendations in April, but state officials always say they cannot make final decisions until receiving the final tax totals from the traditional April 15 tax deadline that has been postponed this year until April 18.

Lamont has a history of negotiating with Ritter and Looney, but he also stands firm on issues like blocking any increases in the income tax above the current maximum of 6.99%. The administration purposely focused on helping the lower and middle class in the latest proposal, officials said.

It is the Lamont administrations philosophical belief that creating tax cliffs is never a good first option, said Julia Bergman, the deputy communications director. Opting for eligibility tapering enables lower-income earners to benefit most while also avoiding penalizing people.

At the highest end under Lamonts plan, the tax savings would be sharply reduced as individuals earning $325,000 per year would receive a tax break of $41.67, while couples earning $675,000 per year would receive $33.33.

Despite concerns from Democrats, House Republican leader Vincent Candelora, who has clashed with Lamont on other issues, said he has no problem with the level of the proposed reductions.

Given that it almost mirrors our exact tax proposal from last year, I think Republicans are very much on board with the governors proposal, Candelora told The Courant.

Concerning Looneys view that the relief is too much for higher earners, Candelora said, I think that is a function on the fact that were reducing the 3% and the 5% numbers. It is naturally going to impact all of our residents. Im sure that Sen. Looney will find another way to gouge the wealthy, so I think were better off leaving the proposal as is.

After years of spending billions to pay down the underfunded pension debt for state employees and public school teachers, Candelora said it is time to pivot and deliver more tax cuts for individuals.

At some point, youve got to give back to the residents or theyre not going to buy into what were doing, Candelora said. We have felt that were putting billions of dollars into a pension fund that is not helping the residents, per se. It is helping the state workers. We need to show the residents why were doing that  and that is to reduce their taxes ultimately. Every five years, we should be lowering taxes, and Im pleased to see the governor finally make this step.

House Republican leader Vincent Candelora of North Branford and Senate Republican leader Kevin Kelly of Straford are generally in favor of Gov. Lamonts tax cut plans for the lower and middle classes. Kelly would also like to see more tax cuts and have them implemented faster.

Senate Republican leader Kevin Kelly of Stratford, who represents a largely middle-class district, said the $50.5 billion, two-year budget proposal is headed in the right direction but needs to be sped up to provide quicker relief.

Its focused on the middle, low and working class families and trying to bring relief to families in need, Kelly said. I think we can do better because we have the capability to do that. But this is a great start in that process. While its a [one percentage point] reduction, or up to a 1% reduction, that doesnt take effect until 2024. Theres no reason why we cant have that retroactive to January last month of this year to help Connecticut families.

Noting that Republicans proposed $1.2 billion in tax cuts last year that were never approved by the Democratic-controlled legislature, Kelly said the state should offer even more relief in broad-based fashion.

We got to focus on reducing the cost of living in Connecticut, Kelly said. Weve got to look at workforce development and making sure that the resources and energy is put into that and really trying to get our economy moving to a large part by getting government out of the way. Theres a reason Connecticuts unaffordable. Its because government keeps putting burden on the family budget. And while the states fiscal house of cards are very strong, the people we serve, the families across Connecticut are struggling and in many cases living paycheck to paycheck. And its really kind of backwards. When the government is fine fiscally and the people we serve are struggling, it really should be the other way around.

Courant staff writer Alison Cross contributed to this story.

Christopher Keating can be reached at ckeating@courant.com

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Australian coal miners are receiving inquiries from Chinese buyers eager to strike new supply agreements this year, in the latest indication that Beijings unofficial ban on Australian shipments of the fossil fuel is starting to ease.

China has so far permitted only three state-owned power utilities and a steelmaker to source coal from Australia again, analysts and industry insiders say, but expectations are building across the sector that a complete lifting of the ban is possible within weeks.

Coal miners are cautiously optimistic that Beijing could be preparing to lift its unofficial two-year ban on Australian coal. Credit: Angus Grigg

Several coal producers in the NSW Hunter Valley and Queensland have confirmed that Chinese buyers have asked about supplies of thermal coal for power generation and metallurgical coal, which is used in steel-making furnaces.

New Hope Group, an ASX-listed coal miner, said it had seen an uptick in enquiries coming from China, although it does not have spare coal volumes to sell.
Patience is always a good idea, he said. Perreault will step down from his post as chief executive of one of Australias largest companies in March, after leading the business through a decade which included a pandemic, multibillion-dollar acquisitions and global expansion. When he stepped into the role in July 2013, CSL shares were trading about $65.50. At the end of last week, they closed above $304. He says landing a CEO role was never on his career bucket list, but over the past decade, hes made decisions which have reshaped the direction of the $145.6 billion company. I didnt become CEO in a blink of an eye. Patience is always a good idea. Paul Perreault, CSL chief executive This includes overseeing the purchase of the Novartis influenza vaccine business in 2015 for $US275 million ($397 million), which helped transform the companys vaccines business, CSL Seqirus, into a company generating $2 billion in revenue a year.

He was also at the wheel throughout COVID-19, including overseeing CSLs involvement in the University of Queenslands vaccine project, which was ultimately shelved when it was shown the product caused trial participants to return false positives on some HIV tests, and the manufacture of AstraZenecas vaccine for the Australian population. It was during this time that messenger-RNA technologies captured the publics imagination for the first time as the Moderna and Pfizer BioNTech products came to market. Loading As mRNA became synonymous with vaccine innovation in the media, CSL was grilled about why it didnt have the capacity to make this new generation of vaccines onshore. But the business was at capacity, not only retooling its Melbourne facilities to make AstraZeneca doses, but also continue to produce its flagship products: specialist medicines made from refined human blood plasma. Now the dust has settled, US mRNA technology company Moderna has thrown down a challenge to companies such as CSL as it works to expand its portfolio to new products. Modernas global boss, Stephane Bancel, said last year that he believed CSL could lose its competitive edge on flu vaccines as messenger-RNA expanded.

But Perreault has long refused to buy into the hype and frenzy surrounding mRNA, and cautions that products such as combination vaccines, which are designed to fight COVID-19 and flu at the same time, will take a long time to develop. There are things that people like to push out, and say, its easy, we can do this, it will be here tomorrow. [But] the regulators dont really like combination products, you really have to prove a lot, he said. Loading Combination products are difficult  to do the clinical trials, to actually see the results. Instead of following in the footsteps of companies such as Moderna and developing similar mRNA products, CSL is investing in the next generation of the technology, called self-amplifying mRNA.

These type of medicines differ from the mRNA vaccines on the market and typically require lower doses because they are designed so that the strand of messenger-RNA, which delivers instructions to the body on how to fight disease, replicates itself once inside the cell. CSL did a deal with US biotech Arcturus last year to develop a range of vaccines using this strategy. The self-amplifying platform which we are working on has some real benefits, Perreault said. We have a really good relationship with Arcturus. I think were well-placed to continue to work [on it], as CSL does. Probably a little bit quieter than most people, but we deliver. Perreault is keen to set CSL apart from pure-play mRNA therapy makers, and has made decisions over the past two years to diversify the companys focus away from vaccine and plasma technologies.

The companys $16.4 billion acquisition of Swiss iron deficiency and kidney disease products maker Vifor left some analysts scratching their heads last year, but Perreault championed the purchase as a way of getting exposure to a growing and traditionally unloved sector. Three years on from the start of the pandemic, the seeds of major biotech investments in Australia are starting to bloom. Moderna has broken ground on a vaccine-manufacturing facility at Monash University, while CSL is pouring $800 million into a cell vaccine plant at Tullamarine. Loading But as newer companies eye the Australian market post-pandemic, Perreault is emphatic that CSL has the edge with its breadth and depth. All of the people who want to come to Australia and set up a small shop, good on em. Weve been here, staying here, weve invested the most, and we continue to invest the most. We know what were doing, on multiple fronts  not just one mRNA.
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 When David Polson was living in Surry Hills in 1984, Oxford Street was a very different place from today. Oxford Street then was vibrant, fun and full of life, Polson said. But the street that is synonymous with Sydneys annual Mardi Gras parade was also holding a secret. A secret that men like David were sworn to keep as it seeped into Sydneys veins. In 1984, I was one of the first 400 people diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. Then of course it was a death sentence, Polson said. We were also told not to tell anyone. So, we were told we were going to die, but we couldnt tell anyone because of the dreadful atmosphere of fear and hatred. David Polson spent 30 years of his life undergoing clinical trials to help find a cure for HIV/AIDS. Credit:Wolter Peeters Polson sat by the bedsides of friends in Ward 17 South at St Vincents Hospital, Australias first dedicated HIV/AIDS unit, as the virus took hold and eventually ended their lives.

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I thought, David, youve got a duty here. Youve got a duty to help. Because no one knows about what this is, Polson said. So, I said to my doctor, I will do anything I can to help medical science find a treatment or a cure. Whatever I can do, I will do. For the next 30 years, Polson underwent more than 28 drug trials with Professor David Cooper, most of which left him with unbearable nausea and side effects. Today, nearly 40 years after his diagnosis, Polson continues to be an advocate for the LGBTQI+ community and for reducing the ongoing stigma of HIV/AIDS. He also advocates for LGBTQI+ people who, in their older age, are facing a new kind of isolation. Polson was among the people at Glebe Town Hall one Friday afternoon in late January, taking part in an LGBTQI+ elders dance club. Its an event hosted across the country by All The Queens Men (ATQM), an arts organisation that champions equality and connection. Tristan Meecham, co-founder of ATQM, said the organisations dance events were age-inclusive and accessible to make it easy for elderly LGBTQI+ people. Run with ACONs The LOVE Project, a program aimed at empowering older LGBTQI+ people, the dance club aims to keep older people engaged and active in their local community to combat issues like social isolation and loneliness.

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Co-founder of All The Queens Men, Tristan Meecham, helps organise LGBTQI+ events that are age inclusive. Credit:Wolter Peeters For Sydney WorldPride, Meecham and ATQM are holding an event at Sydney Town Hall on February 18 called The Coming Back Out Salon, which is similarly intended for elder LGBTQI+ people, and is a twist on the companys Coming Back Out Ball which has been held in Melbourne since 2017. It was inspired by an academic work that revealed that LGBTQI+ elders were closeting themselves in aged care environments, Meecham said. It was also a project that was really around reconnecting with older members of the LGBTQI+ community to create more of an intergenerational connection. This is our attempt to make sure theres inclusive programming for all ages, and all experiences ... Its an opportunity for us as younger LGBTQI+ people to really create a space for those that have come before. Come 2pm on February 18, Sydney Town Hall will have been transformed into a pride celebration, with live music from the likes of Robyn Archer and Deborah Cheetham.

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Australias elder LGBTQI+ community can be more vulnerable to social isolation than their heterosexual counterparts, said Russ Gluyas, program co-ordinator for the LOVE Project. Ageing can bring anxiety for LGBTQI+ people who fear they wont be accepted or understood if moved into assisted living or aged care, said Gluyas, a fear which can be heightened if a person is HIV positive. Russ Gluyas from ACONs the LOVE Project is bringing awareness to the needs of the elder LGBTQI+ community. Credit:Wolter Peeters I think one of the greatest fears of older LGBTQI+ people is moving into aged care, knowing that it might not be inclusive, Gluyas said. The lived experience of older LGBTQI+ people, and older LGBTQI+ people living with HIV, is that theyve gone through years of stigma, discrimination and feeling really hidden, and having to be secretive about accessing any service, but health services in particular. And now as they get older, its almost like, do I have to come out again? Do I have to reveal myself again, and how will I be received? Its something that resonates with Polson who, although isnt in aged care, has seen first hand the animosity towards HIV positive people.

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Yes we are different, and we need to be treated differently. We need to be treated discreetly, particularly with the medications because people in those homes, elderly people, or anyone, can be quite vicious even today if they find out someone is HIV positive, Polson said. Colleen Windsor, who moved to Australia from the UK in the 1970s, is recently retired after a successful career in the public service. Having previously volunteered for a number of LGBTQI+ organisations, including Trans Pride Australia, Windsor is now on the LOVE Projects committee. The LOVE Project is all about breaking down isolation and loneliness, and I think [thats important], especially now considering older trans women, there are many that dont have partners, Windsor said. So, me being seen to be part of the LOVE Project committee, shows the older trans community that this organisation is for them as much as it is for gay men or lesbians. That was one of the reasons I wanted to do it, and continue to do it. [And] I think it shows because many trans women are starting to appear at our workshops now, which is fantastic. Colleen Windsor said that the LOVE Project was breaking down barriers of isolation and loneliness. Credit:Wolter Peeters Windsor, who is also a retired showgirl and was a performer in Sydneys famous cabaret show Les Girls in Kings Cross in the mid-1970s, said having The Coming Back Out Salon in the grandest room in Sydney would be a fantastic experience for the whole LGBTQI+ community.

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The Coalition has stepped up calls for the Albanese government to establish and equally fund formal Yes and No campaigns for the Voice referendum, saying it will not support laws to change the mechanics of the referendum process unless this occurs.

It comes amid ongoing discussions between the government and the opposition about what information should be contained in the official referendum pamphlet to be posted to voters, with the Coalition pushing for it to lay out the arguments for both the Yes and No case.

Liberal MP James Stevens. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Speaking in the lower house today, Liberal MP James Stevens said the government could be perceived by voters to have rigged the system if equal funding was not provided to Yes and No cases, potentially imperilling the outcome.

I think that any kind of trickery or rigging the system and effectively trying to advantage one side of the debate over the other will only increase scepticism amongst the people of this country and will only contribute to the defeat of whatever proposition is brought to them, Stevens told the chamber.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has repeatedly ruled out public funding for the Yes and No campaigns, and has instead committed to funding a civics education campaign.

Stevens was a member of the Joint Standing Committee of Electoral Matters, which today handed down its inquiry into the governments Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Amendment Bill 2022, which sought to scrap the requirement for a pamphlet for the Voice referendum.

The bill also creates a financial disclosure regime for the private fundraising by the Yes and No camps, including a restriction on foreign donations.

Albanese has since relented to Coalition pressure by agreeing to reinstate the pamphlet, but it remains unclear whether this document will include the arguments for and against, or more general information about the referendum proposal.

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The committee, chaired by Labor, did not make any recommendations explicitly about the pamphlet but instead offered several vague suggestions, including that the government ensure that appropriate structures and mechanisms are put in place  to ensure clear, factual and impartial information is made accessible to all voters as part of the referendum process.

In a dissenting report, the Coalition said the existence of official Yes and No campaign entities would reduce the inevitable cluster of faux and or proxy organisations promoting themselves as official campaign bodies.

It contained the ultimatum that unless the government agreed to establish these entities, provide them with equal funding, and ensure the pamphlet contains the Yes and No arguments, the Coalition would vote against the bill, meaning the government would have to secure support from the Greens and two crossbenchers in the Senate.

However, last week senior Liberal frontbencher Simon Birmingham broke ranks with his colleagues calling for public funding for both sides, saying he was not keen to see large licks of taxpayer funding spent on running the Yes and No campaigns.
Three owners of Ambati Subbanna Edible oil Company were remanded to 14 days' judicial custody when they were produced before the Peddapuram Magistrate Court on Sunday. (Image: Facebook)

Kakinada: Three owners of the Ambati Subbanna Edible oil Company and its supervisor, arrested on Saturday, were remanded to 14 days judicial custody when they were produced before the Peddapuram Magistrate Court on Sunday.

The three were Singavarapu Viswanath (43) and Singavarapu Raghuram (36) while the supervisor was Akkireddy Srinivas alias Vasu (42).

The court heard that the owners did not take clearances/permission from the Factories department for running the company. The investigation officer of Peddapuram police station as also the joint committee headed by the joint collector have found this out in their preliminary inquiry. The company has not observed or followed any safety norms, resulting in the death of an employee, they said.

According to the committee report and as per the safety norms, if a worker gets into the oil tank to clean the sludge at the bottom, he should hold onto a safety belt. Two workers should hold the belt of the worker from the top. "After some time, if any problem arises, the workers who hold the belt atop the tanker should pull him out of the tanker."

The rule also stipulates that the worker who gets into a tanker should be provided with an oxygen cylinder. There should be holes at the tankers to get free air but the factory did not provide such holes.

The factory has to appoint skilled workers who are qualified in the necessary fields to take care for the workers. "But, there are no skilled workers in the factory."

Peddapuram DSP Murali Mohan said the workers who died in the industrial accident were unskilled. "As no licence was taken from the concerned departments to run the factory and unskilled workers were employed, the arrest of the owners and others were made," the court was told.

However, many issues cropped up relating to the industrial accident. In the past, though such accidents occurred in Kakinada and in the vicinity of the city, no industrial owner had been arrested. In this case, such arrests were made. Police explained that in the previous cases, the companies had proper licences.
Police are conducting more than 150,000 body searches annually across NSW, with children and Indigenous people more likely to be stopped and interrogated.

The deployment of police drug dogs was also ramped up over the past four years, primarily in the western suburbs and central Sydney.

Auburn recorded more than 2500 searches between 2018 and 2022, while the northern beaches had only 74 searches for the same period.

UNSW Law academic Dr Vicki Sentas said searching children was highly traumatic and harmful. Sentas said the offending by children was usually minor, such as shoplifting or drug possession. A lot of youth who come into contact with the police have complex needs.
The general quality of education and care most non-government schools produce is indisputable, as is their appeal. Critics of non-government schooling regularly argue private schools are not as good as everyone thinks, but follow the money: parents are not dupes. The non-government school sectors share of enrolments has grown for 30 years straight. It is now too big to fail. None of this was intended as our social design, and  disturbingly  no master plan exists for a new order that weaves government and non-government schooling into a coherent national identity. In the absence of such a vision, we are seeing unintended consequences: pressure on the quality of education in many state schools, and faith-based schools watching on frustrated as what they most abhor at the heart of their credos grows steadily: social inequity and social division. More than 1.4 million children in Australia are enrolled in faith-affiliated non-government schools. Credit: Edwina Pickles For inequity has never been our way, and is never the mission of teachers. But many educators are now part of an unintended structure that produces inequity and social fragmentation. This has nothing to do with ideology, but rather a simple metric: our high level of school choice  according to the OECD, the highest in the world  means parents can vote with their feet. When enrolments jump from state to non-government schools in postcodes with lower social capital, they take a proportion of public funding and higher social capital families with them. This drain is driving many state schools into a spiral of decline and disadvantage. It is a burden that educators of religious faith are frustrated by, and bear heavily.

I know of no religious schools that dont seek to counterbalance global and local social injustice through their own co-curricular education. But the current structure is creating a force field of its own. A decade of Gonski sector blind funding has not provided a solution because the problem is not about how schools are funded, but rather redefining why they exist, and co-exist in the tapestry of a nation. The much-needed school reform agenda, now under way, also fails to identify this crisis of incoherent identity. Loading It is little understood, furthermore, that virtually all of the many national policy reform and review committees relating to education  including the powerful quarterly ministerial council  are disproportionately representative of state schooling: less than 20 per cent of the membership of such committees represent non-government schools, which is less than half of their presence in the real population. This is a structural archaism from the settlement of Federation in 1900: states have full technical responsibility for education, including its purpose and identity. But since Commonwealth intervention to fund non-government schools 50 years ago, state ministers are disconnected from the education of large swathes of their population. Again, it is nothing to do with ideology, but a structural blindness.

It is little wonder that most leaders and education bureaucracies appear exclusively focused on the lesser, more tangible mechanics of education, such as NAPLAN. It is far easier to merely focus on the how, when the why is  for want of a better term  a spiritual issue. We need to agree about the essential spirit of Australian education  its deep heart and purpose, and its intimate connection with the deep heart and purpose of our nation. Until we decide on these matters, together, no amount of tweaking NAPLAN will forge our future. How a society organises school-age education becomes the foundation of that society. I believe the current approaches are a blueprint for division, including increasingly bitter arguments between those for or against religion in our national identity, with schools becoming their ideological battle grounds. Loading Federal Education Minister Jason Clare has signalled a university accord  a rethinking of the entire way our tertiary systems run. Something similar is needed for school education. The first step is dull but necessary: immediately alter the sector membership of national education policy committees to better reflect the population. Next, find a way for state ministers to be incentivised to care about what happens in non-government schools. Then non-government schools need to be incentivised to care about what happens in state schools, and visa versa, to find and create points of co-operation between students and teachers across the sectors. State schools and non-government schools are passing like ships in the night, but in local reality, they are colliding. How to re-envision the future of Australian schooling and its relationship to our social contract is a complex and large project, but an urgent one for the quality and harmony of our nation.

It is far too late, and would be far too ugly, to reimpose a bland institutional uniformity. But it is not too late, as a diverse, plural democracy, to reach hands across the divide and come to a consensus around a common vision. The Opinion newsletter is a weekly wrap of views that will challenge, champion and inform your own. Sign up here. More from our award-winning columnists The sum of us: According to research, Australians are becoming dumber when it comes to financial literacy. Can you answer these five money questions? And if you cant, what should you do? - Jessica Irvine Profit or people: Greedy landlords are feeding the rental crisis: Landlordism has gone wild in this country, enabled by real estate agents. The state government ignores the problem. - Jenna Price
It was a sunny day in Emu Plains, just west of Penrith, when we moved into the first home we could call our own. Despite our family being expert movers by then  even my young kids had done it four or five times  it had been a stressful week packing up our lives. But on moving day, there was also relief. This time there was no little white letter pushing us from one rental property to another. This move was on our terms, into a home we finally owned.

You know whats not on your terms? Evacuation.

Fast-forward over the next two years: our suburb faces floods four times. Each time, we pile our three young kids and cat into the car to take shelter with family. Were also spending much more on energy because of the hotter summers and colder winters here compared with Merrylands, from where we had moved.

Prices are through the roof, as is the escalating heat. Credit: Rob Homer

Wed bought the home we could afford, and that meant buying further out west, in a hotter, more disaster-prone area. We worry about what it might be like in another five, 10, 20 years, with the changing climate.
A bunch of women with impeccable credentials and experience became our surrogate best friends during the pandemic. Chief medical officers from around the country, distinguished epidemiologists, virologists and public health experts appeared regularly on our screens with advice and level-headed updates.

Sadly, that picture clearly isnt replicated across many other sectors with a new survey, from iSentia and Women in Media, finding women make up just 30 per cent of sources and experts quoted in the media. Men particularly dominate as sources and experts as well as byline authors in sport, political and financial coverage.

a new survey, from iSentia and Women in Media, finding women make up just 30 per cent of sources and experts quoted in the media. Credit: iStockphoto

And this is despite the number of womens bylines increasing to 43 per cent in 2022 (an increase of more than 10 per cent from six years ago), an explosion in participation and popularity of womens sport, and increases in the number of female politicians.

The Women in Media Gender Scorecard analysed 18,346 reports from Australian press, radio and TV news coverage between July 18 and 31, 2022.
Not far from Kellie Langeliers Mount Martha property is an unassuming three-bedroom home. But looks can be deceiving.

This renovated coastal abode was reportedly booked by Airbnb customers for 255 nights last year, earning its owners  who also run another 46 properties through Airbnb  $103,500 in takings.

Kellie Langeliers says residential streets are being turned into commercial profit centres. Credit: Joe Armao

Holiday rental properties are increasingly common in the backblocks of coastal communities like Mount Martha, which are changing fast. According to data collection website insideairbnb.com, the properties let via the short-term rental platform now account for almost 5000 homes along the Mornington Peninsula, up from about 4000 last year.

On average, Airbnb properties are booked for 52 days a year, providing an average $23,600 annual income to their operators, according to insideairbnb.
One of the biggest street brawls Melbourne has ever known occurred in Flinders Street on Saturday shortly after 6 p.m. Soldiers, sailors, airmen and civilians were involved, and tram and other road traffic was held up for about an hour until the disturbance was quelled.

The melee was originated by two personal fights. One was between a soldier and an airman at the corner of Elizabeth and Flinders streets, and the other between a soldier and a sailor near the corner of Swanston Street. As other service men and civilians joined in, the two disturbances spread and merged into one free-for-all fracas at Degraves Street opposite the central entrance to Flinders Street Station.

Following a telephone message to police headquarters from the station master at Flinders Street wireless patrol cars and mounted police were promptly dispatched to the scene. Meanwhile the uniformed police and service provost corps were endeavouring to cope with the situation, which was fast getting out of hand. When the patrol and mounted police arrived it is estimated that a crowd of more than 2000 men were involved in the fracas.

U.S. Marines host members of the Australian Defence Force in March 1943 in a bid to defuse tensions after the brawl.

Meanwhile Flinders Street trams were banking up on the east side of Swanston Street and on the west side of Elizabeth Street. The crowd grew rapidly in numbers as passengers from trains arriving at Flinders Street crowded the footpath as spectators. At one period there were probably 3000 people congested in the short stretch between Swanston and Elizabeth streets.

Acting with commendable tact the police weaved amongst the excited combatants in an endeavour to break the crowd into segments as a preliminary to dispersing it, which was fortunately effected before anybody was seriously injured. Two constables helmets were knocked off their heads and trampled on. Another constable had his tunic slashed with a knife.
Last Sunday, Anthony Albanese told an audience at Labor-aligned think tank the Chifley Research Centre that people with questions about the Voice are trying to start a culture war.

Wars are bad, and culture wars are boring. Nobody wants to be constantly at war. Must we frame this latest issue of public policy in terms of war, I wondered? Is every disagreement a culture war? Must everything be a fight?

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says those opposing the Voice are trying to start a culture war. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

What the hell even is a culture war? The term is so loosely used that it sometimes seems its just an insult or a way to dodge an argument. But the term has serious history. It derives from the German kulturkampf (yes, we wacky Krauts have a word for everything) which was originally used to describe a clash in 19th century Germany between a head of government and the head of the church.

So it started as a struggle between church and state, with all the moral implications that brought with it, and has now come to be used to describe  in the words of the European Centre for Populism Studies  a cultural conflict between social groups and the struggle for dominance of their values, beliefs, and practices.
In 1989 the Berlin Wall fell. The novelist Jenny Erpenbeck, who lived in East Germany, has described her feelings at the time, very far from the orthodox version we have all heard. She was reluctant to go across; she felt that the fall of the wall was dragging her and her compatriots into a new world too quickly.

They had, she writes, been given freedom, or so they were constantly told  but the high price they had to pay was the lives they had led up to that point. The majority had defeated the minority and done away with socialism, and the minority, which believed in the continued existence of a socialist system, in improvements, replacements, wasnt even asked anymore 

Illustration: Jim Pavlidis Credit:

After many years of being alone with themselves, Erpenbeck writes, the East Germans were suddenly measured by the worlds standards. And suddenly the world meant anyplace with a stronger economy. In one swift moment, a group of people discovered what it was to be in the minority: to have their views ignored, forced to live by a set of values imposed by others.

This captures, I think, something of the brutality of democracy. This is not to say it is a bad tool, only a very blunt one: the majority gets what it wants, the minority misses out. In Erpenbecks telling, all this is made clear by the suddenness of the shift. But the same thing happens everywhere, only gradually. It is only time that makes the domination of one group, with its values, invisible, as most of us come to take this state of affairs for granted.
Midsumma will be a minnow compared to World Pride. Some criticise the intensive corporatisation, as if a branded ANZ GAYTM is a transgression against the purity of the homosexual race. But those critics swim against the tide of popular support for World Pride. And if you dont have the corporates, you dont have the funds. The diversity-obsessed ABC is treating World Pride like the 1956 Olympics, and even The Australian has got in on the action, with its high gloss magazine WISH (disclosure: Im an ex-employee) producing a special Pride issue, complete with an interview with Zoe Terakes, a gay non-binary trans masculine actor (who uses they/them pronouns) who has just starred in an international Marvel TV series. The edgy photo shoot showed Terakes clad in jacket but no t-shirt, revealing the bandages from their top surgery (a procedure to remove breasts). Sydney will host the World Pride festival next month, the first time the biennial event has been held in the southern hemisphere. Credit: Louie Douvis So LGBTQ representation is everywhere. Except in our federal parliament, where representation of out gay and lesbian parliamentarians went backwards at last years federal election, from 4.4 per cent of both houses, barely causing a ripple.

Which seems odd to me, given we live in an age where there is obsessive focus over every other minority  just not this one. Federal gay MPs get barely a mention, apart from respected Foreign Minister Penny Wong, the sole gay South Australian parliamentarian in Canberra. She is visible but not particularly vocal. LGBTQ representation in Parliament House in Canberra has gone backwards. Credit: Matt Davidson NSW and Tasmania do not have a single gay or lesbian MP in parliament. For the record, the other LGBTQ MPs are: WA Labor Senator Louise Pratt, WA Liberal Senator Dean Smith, Victorian Greens Senator Janet Rice, Queensland Labor Senator Nita Green, Victorian Labor MP Julian Hill, Queensland Liberal MP Angie Bell and new Queensland Greens MP Stephen Bates. Its not a priority in the discourse. In fact the Parliament of Australia hasnt updated its guide to LGBTQ parliamentarians since January 2022. So it fails to note that three prominent Liberal gays  Tim Wilson, Trent Zimmerman and Trevor Evans, lost their seats at the last federal election.

Normally such a loss of diversity would prompt lament  but in this case, there was silence. The modern Liberals lost their seats to teal independents, or in the case of Evans, to gay Greens MP Stephen Bates. Stephen Bates delivers his first speech in the House of Representatives in July. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen For the commentariat, teal was more in fashion than rainbow. As the gay publication the Sydney Star Observer commented: Some out gay Liberal MPs were voted out, but in good news a more progressive parliament was voted in. The Liberal Rainbow three got little credit from the left for their role in one of the signature social reforms of our time, same-sex marriage.

The Coalition government introduced this reform, but activists argued that the 2017 plebiscite was bad, because it damaged mental health of the community and it should have been a parliamentary vote. But Labor gets no criticism for failing to have a parliamentary vote and blocking the reform during the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd governments. While at the same time of Labors refusal, the British conservative government, voted to legalise same-sex marriage in 2013. After the public voted 61.6 per cent in favour of the legislation here, it passed through parliament with little opposition, vindicating the Coalition strategy So where are we now? Not a single LGBTQ federal MP will speak at the World Pride human rights conference, but gay ACT chief minister Andrew Barr will be there. And LGBTQ state MPs, which in Victoria include government ministers, should be noted.

Does this mean gay MPs are so mainstream that this is not a cause to concern ourselves about? Loading Representation is still important and should be acknowledged. But it is not the only thing. But the final word to new state Victorian Liberal MP Joe McCracken, who came out in his first speech to parliament this week, saying: Ive experienced shame, anxiety and many other things. Ive never really talked about it much or made an issue of it because I never wanted to be defined by it. I hate identity politics, and I will fight against that whenever I can.
Paris/Tours: Hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated across France on Saturday seeking to keep up pressure on the government over its pension reform plans, including a move to raise the retirement age to 64 from 62.

Riot police officers stand by a burning car during clashes at a demonstration against plans to push back Frances retirement age, in Paris on Saturday, February 11. Credit: AP

After three days of nationwide strikes since the start of the year, unions were hoping to match a mass turnout from January 19, when more than a million people marched in opposition to the plans.

If theyre not able to listen to whats happening on the streets, and are not able to realise what is happening with the people, well they shouldnt be surprised that it blows up at some point, Delphine Maisonneuve, a 43-year-old nurse, told Reuters as a protest in Paris began.

The French spend the largest number of years in retirement among OECD countries  a benefit that, opinion polls show, a substantial majority of people are reluctant to give up.
Retired Supreme Court judge S. Abdul Nazeer. (DC File Image)

New Delhi: The Union government on Sunday appointed six new governors, including retired Supreme Court judge S. Abdul Nazeer who was part of the historic 2019 Ayodhya verdict, and four BJP leaders, besides carrying out a rejig of the gubernatorial posts in seven states.

Ramesh Bais, Governor of Jharkhand, was transferred to Maharashtra, replacing Bhagat Singh Koshyari, who has been in the line of the Oppositions fire over his remarks on Chhatrapati Shivaji.

Koshyari had said last month that he had conveyed his desire to quit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He had said would like to spend the remainder of his life reading, writing, and in other activities.

A Rashtrapati Bhavan communique said President Droupadi Murmu had accepted the resignations of Koshyari and R.K. Mathur as the Governor of Maharashtra and the Lieutenant-Governor of Ladakh respectively.

Koshyari, 80, took charge as Maharashtra Governor in September 2019 at a time of political turmoil as the Shiv Sena severed had its ties with the BJP. He had administered the oath of office to Devendra Fadnavis of the BJP as Chief Minister and NCP leader Ajit Pawar as the Deputy Chief Minister in an early morning ceremony at Raj Bhavan, in a government which lasted only three days.

When the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi was in power, he had several run-ins with the government on a range of issues, including the appointment of 12 members to the Legislative Council from the gubernatorial quota, which he never approved. The MVA had accused him of acting in a partisan manner.

The latest controversy surrounding Koshyari was about his remarks on Chhatrapati Shivaji, whom he described as the "icon of olden times," The remarks triggered protests from the Opposition parties, who had demanded that he be sacked.

It was not immediately known what reasons prompted Mathurs resignation at Ladakh. He had been facing stiff opposition in Ladakh led by education reformist Sonam Wangchuk in the three-year-old Union territory. The President appointed Arunachal Pradesh Governor Brig. B.D. Mishra (retd) in Mathurs place.

Justice Nazeer, a former Supreme court judge, was appointed the Governor of Andhra Pradesh. The incumbent Governor, Biswa Bhusan Harichandan, has been transferred to Chhattisgarh.

Justice Nazeer, who retired from the Supreme Court on January 4, has been part of several path-breaking verdicts, including those on the politically-sensitive Ayodhya land dispute, instant "triple talaq" and the one that declared the "right to privacy" a fundamental right.

Elevated as an apex court judge on February 17, 2017, Justice Nazeer was part of several Constitution Benches that delivered judgments on issues ranging from the demonetisation of currency notes of `1,000 and `500 denominations in 2016 to the reservation for Marathas in admission and government jobs and the fundamental right of freedom of speech and expression of high public functionaries.

The President has also appointed Lt. Gen. Kaiwalya Trivikram Parnaik (retd) as the Governor of Arunachal Pradesh.

Four BJP leaders, including two from Uttar Pradesh, were appointed as new Governors. Lakshman Prasad Acharya, C.P. Radhakrishnan, Shiv Pratap Shukla and Gulab Chand Kataria were appointed as Governors of Sikkim, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh and Assam respectively.

While Acharya is a member of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council, Radhakrishnan is a two-time Lok Sabha member from Coimbatore.

Shukla is a former Union minister of state and Kataria is Leader of the Opposition in the Rajasthan Assembly. Kataria had served as home minister in the previous Vasundhara Raje government.

Other than Bais, Mishra and Harichandan, the other transfers included the shifting of Anusuiya Uikye from Chhattisgarh to Manipur, La Ganesan from Manipur to Nagaland, Phagu Chauhan from Bihar to Meghalaya and Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar from Himachal Pradesh to Bihar.
Vancouver, British Columbia: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Saturday that on his order a US fighter jet shot down an unidentified object that was flying high over the Yukon, acting a day after the US took similar action over Alaska.

North American Aerospace Defence Command, the combined US-Canada organisation that provides shared defence of airspace over the two nations, detected the object flying at a high altitude on Friday evening over Alaska, US officials said. It crossed into Canadian airspace on Saturday.

Trudeau spoke with President Joe Biden, who also ordered the object to be shot down. Canadian and US jets operating as part of NORAD were scrambled and it was a US jet that shot down the object.

Canadian Defence Minister Anita Anand told a news conference in Ottawa that the object, flying at about 40,000 feet (12 kilometres), had been shot down at 3.41pm EST (7.41am AEDT), about 100 miles (160 kilometres) from the Canada-US border in the central Yukon. A recovery operation was under way involving the Canadian Armed Forces and the RCMP.
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 Picture this. Its 2024, months before the next US election, and Donald Trump has failed to secure the nomination to run as the Republican presidential candidate. After a bruising battle, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis  the Republican rising star who has railed against everything from coronavirus restrictions to woke Disney  has won the partys primaries, fending off the former president and other rivals to contest the White House against the Democrats. Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump at a rally in 2018. DeSantis is now a potential Trump rival for the White House. Credit:AP Trump, whose endorsement years ago helped propel DeSantis into the spotlight in the first place, is predictably furious. What does he do? Does he accept the result and get his supporters to swing in behind DeSantis? Does he try to sabotage the party by running as a third-party candidate? Does he claim he was robbed and convince his base not to vote in the general election, which could ultimately help the Democrats win? All of this is obviously hypothetical  not least because the much-hyped DeSantis is yet to officially enter the race, nor have others who say theyre considering it, including former vice president Mike Pence, former secretary of state Mike Pompeo and former Maryland governor Larry Hogan. But as the field widens this week with Trumps former UN ambassador Nikki Haley expected to announce her candidacy on Wednesday, it is a question that many political observers are pondering.

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Indeed, research released this month by veteran conservative pollster Whit Ayres found 28 per cent of the partys primary voters were still so loyal to Trump they would back him even if he ran for the White House as an independent against the Republican and Democratic nominees. Former US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley. Credit:AP Ayres survey of 1000 likely Republican primary and caucus voters confirmed that most voters wanted a new candidate, but Trump remains a formidable force, to be sure. Trump has also done little to allay his partys fears that he would burn the house down if things didnt go his way. Asked by conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt this month whether he would commit to backing a Republican nominee if it wasnt him, he replied: It would have to depend on who the nominee was. Theres no doubt the twice-impeached president is a diminished figure after many of the extremist candidates he endorsed at last years midterm elections failed to win seats. His re-election campaign has also been low-key ever since launching in November, with few rallies and a lower than expected fundraising haul. Senator Tim Scott, a Republican from South Carolina, is considering running for Republican nomination. Credit:Bloomberg And in another ominous sign last week, the Club for Growth, a conservative anti-tax group that has spent nearly $US150 million ($217 million) in the past two election cycles, invited six potential Republican presidential candidates to its annual donor retreat next month: DeSantis, Haley, Pence, Pompeo, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott and Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin  but not Trump.

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The party should be open to another candidate, the groups president, David McIntosh, told reporters last week. Yet, however weakened Trump may seem, he still has enough support to win a multi-candidate primary race if Republicans arent able to coalesce around an alternative. This is what happened in 2016 when a cluttered field and the partys winner takes all voting system allowed Trump to pick off his opponents  such as senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio and former governor Jeb Bush  and succeed in several contests with roughly 25 per cent of support. And as Ayres has warned, if Trump decided to run independently, it could pave the way for a replay of the 1912 presidential election, which former Republican president Teddy Roosevelt contested as a third-party candidate against Republican nominee William Taft and Democratic nominee Woodrow Wilson  splitting the Republican vote and ensuring the Democrats won. Then presidential candidates Senator Marco Rubio, Donald Trump, Senator Ted Cruz and Ohio Governor John Kasich take the stage before a Republican presidential primary in 2016. Credit:AP Jockeying for the presidential nomination will escalate this week when Haley is expected to launch her campaign in South Carolina, where she made her name as its first female governor. On paper, the 51-year-old, born Nimrata Nikki Randhawa Haley, is a solid candidate. Shes the daughter of Indian immigrants, a two-term governor and a China hawk who last week demanded America hold President Xi Jinping accountable for the spy balloon that was shot down after floating across the US.

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Like many others, she is also pushing for regeneration, telling Fox News in a recent interview: When youre looking at a run for president, you look at two things. You first look at: does the current situation push for new leadership? The second question is: am I that person that could be that new leader? Yes, we need to go in a new direction. Loading But Haley also claimed in 2021 that she wouldnt challenge her former boss. And Trump, in turn, has already accused her of disloyalty, posting a video of her making that remark, with the taunt that she had to follow her heart, not her honour. A reluctance to be an early target of Trumps well-known wrath may be why some Republicans are yet to enter the race. Others may also be waiting to see if prosecutors help clear the path by charging him with any of the potential crimes for which he is under investigation: meddling in the 2020 election; giving hush-money payments to a porn star; mishandling classified documents. But Haleys entry  coupled with President Joe Biden almost certainly announcing that he wants a second term  will pave the way for a new phase of the campaign. Then US vice president Mike Pence and secretary of state Mike Pompeo during the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York in 2019. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Pence, an Evangelical Christian, last year said in an interview he was giving prayerful consideration to running in 2024. His intentions are likely to come under greater scrutiny after he was subpoenaed on Thursday night by the special counsel looking into Trumps attempts to overturn Bidens election victory. On Friday, the FBI also searched Pences Indiana home, as it has with Trump and Biden, after one of his aids found classified documents there last month.

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Pompeo has said he would announce his intentions in the northern spring, while Scott, one of the Republicans most prominent black politicians and a prolific fundraiser, has lined up speaking events in South Carolina and Iowa over the next two weeks. Both are key states in the presidential primary cycle. Meanwhile, other state governors around the country  North Hampshires Chris Sununo and South Dakotas Kristi Noem, as well as Youngkin and Hogan  are also reportedly mulling over their options. Loading The one contender Trump has set his sights on, however, is DeSantis, or as the former president calls him Ron DeSanctimonious. Trump stepped up his attacks last week by resharing a social media post insinuating the Florida governor behaved inappropriately around students when he worked as a private school teacher. The post included a photo taken from a Democratic blog in 2021 purportedly showing DeSantis at a party with a group of teenagers in 2002. Thats not Ron is it? Trump wrote alongside the photo. He would never do such a thing! But while DeSantis dismissed the jibe  I spend my time delivering results for the people of Florida and fighting against Joe Biden, he told reporters  not everyone is convinced he has what it takes to beat Trump in a bare-knuckled primary brawl.

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UNSCRIPTED: The Epic Battle for a Media Empire and the Redstone Family Legacy Author: James B Stewart & Rachel Abrams

Publisher: Penguin Press : The Epic Battle for a Media Empire and the Redstone Family Legacy

Pages: 398 Price: $32

: 398

Stewart is a business reporter, but the book doesnt start with business. Its initial sections cover the last years of what must be one of the countrys most dysfunctional families. We meet Redstone in his 90s, while he still displays remnants of his once quick wit and ability to get people to do his bidding. Even then, he has the maturity of an impulsive 13-year-old: Obsessed with sex, or at least with trying to get others to imagine he is having a lot of it.

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We see in precise detail the misogyny of Redstones lust as he decides that his wealth and professed love for these women give him something like the rights of a king. Inevitably, though, he determines that each has betrayed him in some terrible way and, one by one, he cuts them off. (Fortunately for the authors, many of these relationships ended in lawsuits, so there is a detailed record they can call upon to illustrate the pattern.) His pattern is predictable: He identifies a woman who is the better part of a century his junior, then he uses his vast wealth to take over her life. He casually spends millions buying homes and cars for her, and demands that executives at the media platforms he owns (eg MTV) create shows that feature her talents, even if they are middling. He promises women he barely knows that they will inherit his fortune; sometimes, he puts them in his will before angrily removing them and replacing them with his next paramour.



Stewart and Abrams set the emotional stage with this seamy domestic drama before turning to one of the most spectacular business debacles of our age: The years-long collapse of Viacom and the misrule at CBS, two large public companies owned by Redstone until his death in 2020. (They were once a single company, then two, then one again, under the name Paramount  largely as a result of Redstones fickle whims.) Eventually, in one of the episodes graphically documented in court records, Redstones unchecked urges lead him to become the victim of his most careful students: Two ex-girlfriends, Sydney Holland and Manuela Herzer who steal from his own playbook to use money, influence and aggressive lawyers to shut him up in his room while depleting his bank accounts. He is trapped in his bedroom in a wheelchair, unable to speak, cut off from the few people who, somehow, still care for him.



Shari Redstone is the most appealing character in the book, with seemingly infinite patience for her often viciously mean father. As he fades into decrepitude, Shari becomes the narratives central figure. We see theatrical performative misogyny from Sumner and his toadies, all of whom apparently find it inconceivable that a woman could be a serious force, worthy of respect. While Shari does win control over Viacom and CBS in the end, vanquishing her boardroom enemies, the victory is bitter. It comes, in part, because reporters have uncovered the decades of sexual abuse Moonves allegedly perpetrated against many women he worked with at CBS. By the time we learn of the accusations in Unscripted, we are fully prepared to understand why the mostly male leadership of CBS was so inept in its response. As one powerful producer who went on to become a board member said, Moonvess behaviour was common: We all did that. Redstone controlled 80 per cent of the voting stock of both Viacom and CBS and often used the same mix of declarations of undying support and casual abuse to keep the boards and senior leaders in line. His two chief executives  Leslie Moonves at CBS and, even more so, Philippe Dauman at Viacom  know that their success will come more from flattering the boss than from their companys performance. None of the major corporate decisions  such as whether CBS and Viacom should merge  were made with an eagle-eyed focus on the best choices for the companies and their shareholders. These decisions were made by hollow men seeking to curry the increasingly erratic favours of their patron  and, eventually, to thwart the ascent of his ambitious daughter, Shari.

2023 The New York Times News Service Unscripted need not be thought of as a moral fable with larger import. For those predisposed to curiosity about the machinations of wealth and power, it will be a delicious treat. But I also found it a crucial cautionary tale at a time when too many people equate wealth with some sort of generalised mastery. In this story, money has the opposite effect. It distorts everything it touches, rendering otherwise sane and capable people unable to make good and ethical decisions. Instead, they make choices that hurt all those around them, even themselves.

This book is a model of how gracefully to tell the most grotesque of stories: That of the final years of Sumner Redstone. A self-made business titan, the founder of Paramount Global, whose holdings included Viacom and CBS, Redstone spent his 90s obsessively manipulating the people around him as they sought to manipulate him. The authors, The New York Times journalists James B Stewart and Rachel Abrams, allow us to observe him from an almost uncomfortably intimate distance. The writing is elegant and the story so weird and compelling that the reader may be the only witness to this spectacle who never feels manipulated. It is hard, though, to imagine anyone who reads this book not coming to some clear conclusions: Wealth and power can metastasise until they become toxic, destroying families, companies and countless lives.
Adani Ports & SEZ Ltd (APSEZ) remains committed to Rs 15,000 crore deep-sea port project in Tajpur, West Bengal and the company is waiting for completion of statutory formalities, such as the draft concession agreement from the state, a top official of Adani Group said.

Once the formalities are complete, APSEZ will work towards developing the port as per its plans and timelines, the official added.

"We remain committed to Tajpur deep-sea port and awaiting the statutory requirements from the state, associated with the project," the official said when contacted but declined to be identified.

The comments come against the backdrop of a crisis in Adani Group companies following a report by US short-seller Hindenburg Research published last month. Adani Group stocks have taken a beating on the bourses after Hindenburg made a litany of allegations in its report, including fraudulent transactions and share price manipulation at the Gautam Adani-led group.

The report raised concerns about the high levels of debt at the ports-to-energy conglomerate and accused the group of using offshore entities in tax havens to manipulate its companies. Adani Group has categorically denied these allegations.

Letter of Intent and Draft Concession Agreement are the formalities that the West Bengal government has to fulfil before the company can start work on the project.

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The state government is very supportive and they have guided the company in every step, the official said.

Adani Ports incorporated a wholly-owned subsidiary named Tajpur Sagar Port in October last year for the purpose of developing a deep-sea port at Tajpur. The port is among the key infrastructure projects for the economic development of the state.

Attempts to get reaction from the state government on the issue did not elicit any response.

The West Bengal government had handed over the Letter of Award for the development of the port to Karan Adani, CEO, APSEZ at a post-Durga puja event in 2022 hosted by the state government in the presence of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Industry Minister Shashi Panja, Chief Secretary H K Dwivedi, and Industry Secretary and West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation Chairman Vandana Yadav.

Business chambers in Kolkata also remained optimistic and touted the current crisis as a short-term issue.

Tajpur Port is a major project that will have a multiplier impact on the state's economy and Adani Group will move ahead with it, MCC president Namit Bajoria said recently.

The port is located near Tajpur in the Purba Medinipur district, about 200 km from Kolkata. It will have a deep draft of 12.1 metre and a channel length of 18 kilometre. This draft will allow the port to accommodate large capesize ships, which are the largest class of dry tonnage (DWT) cargo vessels.

A tidal support of 3.9 metre gives a net draft of 16 metre.

The port will create direct employment opportunities for 25,000 people and around one lakh indirect jobs, officials said. Total investment , including associated infrastructure of connectivity to the port will be Rs 25,000 crore.
Nayara Energy, India's second largest private oil refining and fuel marketing company, saw its net profit rise by a marginal 2 per cent in the third quarter ended December 31 as the company undertook a month-long maintenance shutdown and windfall tax impacted margins.

Net profit of Rs 869.8 crore in October-December compared with Rs 850.3 crore profit in the same period a year back, according to a stock exchange filing by the company.

Revenue from operations dropped to Rs 24,757.7 crore in the third quarter of the current fiscal from Rs 32,412.9 crore a year back.

This was mainly because the company fully shut its 400,000 barrels per day or 20 million tonnes per annum Vadinar refinery in Gujarat for about a month in November for routine maintenance.

The firm also operates a network of 6,497 petrol pumps or 7.5 per cent of all fuel stations in the country.

For the first nine months of the current fiscal, Nayara reported a net profit of Rs 6,226.9 crore on a turnover of Rs 1 lakh crore. It had a net profit of Rs 1029.9 crore on a turnover of Rs 1.19 lakh crore for the full 2021-22 fiscal year.

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The current quarter and year to date performance was impacted by external factors such as imposition of special additional excise duties and suppressed retail margins. This was more than compensated by strong operational performance by the refinery.

The government in July last year imposed a windfall profit tax by way of special additional excise duty on export of petrol, diesel and jet fuel.

Retail margins have been suppressed as public sector fuel retailers continue to sell petrol and diesel at prices capped in April last year and for private companies to match them means selling at depressed or no margins.

Sources said during this period Nayara followed its clear strategic direction of being a responsible corporate citizen by ensuring supply to its own retail outlets and also fulfilling supply commitments to state-owned oil marketing companies (OMCs) and institutional business.

The company recently reported significant progress for its entry into petrochemicals. Under Phase-1 of the project, Nayara is setting up a 450 kilo tonne per annum Polypropylene plant at its Vadinar refinery. The company aims to meet India's petrochemical needs to lower dependency on imports.
Additional Director General of Police (Jammu Zone) Mukesh Singh on Sunday called for maximum effort to neutralise terrorists and their overground workers active in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district.

Singh was speaking at a joint security review meeting in Rajouri -- the border district where seven people, including two children, were killed and 14 injured in a terror attack on January 1.

Despite a massive search operation to neutralise the terrorists behind the attack in Dhangri village, success has so far eluded the security forces.

Singh concluded his two-day visit to Rajouri by addressing the joint security review meeting attended by, among others, Deputy Inspector General of Police (Rajouri-Poonch Range) Mohd Haseeb Mughal, Senior Superintendent of Police (Rajouri) Mohd Aslam and senior officers of the Army and the Central Reserve Police Force, a police spokesperson said.

He stressed on strengthening both border and hinterland security grid, focused on counter-terrorist operations and targeting the overground workers' (OGW) network of terrorists, the spokesperson added.

Singh also urged the officers to put in maximum effort for the arrest or elimination of terrorists operating in Rajouri.

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He was briefed about a few measures taken by the district police in Rajouri, the spokesperson said, adding that Singh was also informed about a few terror cases that had been solved in record time.

The deputy inspector general and the senior superintendent assured Singh that efforts to counter terrorism would continue with full dedication so that the overall security situation improves and the general public feels secure and safe.

Singh, accompanied by Mughal and Aslam, earlier visited the district's Kalakote and Buddal areas and reviewed the security situation.
India's biennial aerospace exhibition Aero-India will begin on Monday with the aim of projecting the country as a key hub for manufacturing of military aircraft, equipment and avionics.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the five-day exhibition at the Yalahanka Air Force station complex on the outskirts of Bengaluru.

Officials said 809 defence companies and delegates from 98 countries are participating at Aero-India, billed as Asia's biggest aerospace exhibition.

At a press conference, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said Aero India will act as a catalyst in further growth of the aerospace sector in India and will help in realising the country's aim of becoming self-reliant in defence manufacturing.

"I am confident that Bengaluru will emerge as a global hub for the aerospace sector. Our aim is to create a vibrant defence manufacturing ecosystem," he said.

Singh said this edition of Aero India will be much bigger than all previous editions.

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To a question, Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane said the government is fully supporting the projects relating to Tejas Mark II and the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA).

"Tejas Mark II and AMCA will happen," he said.


In the coming time, these two projects will transform Rajasthan and the whole region, along with strengthening the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC), the PM said in Rajasthan, which is headed for polls later this year. The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway and the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC) will be two robust pillars of the countrys economic prosperity, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday, while inaugurating the first phase of the Delhi-Mumbai expressway,



Modi noted that the expressways holistic planning will result in savings of crores of rupees and time, referring to the provision of dedicated corridors along the expressway for installation of optical fibre cables for 5G, gas pipelines, warehouses, and solar plants. The Delhi Mumbai Expressway is one of the Centres most expensive and ambitious infrastructure projects. The 246-km Delhi-Dausa-Lalsot stretch of the expressway, which was inuagrated today, is expected to cut travel time between Delhi and Jaipur to 3.5 hours.



Union highway minister Nitin Gadkari, addressing the same event, said while the current speed limit on expressways is 120 kilometres per hour (kmph), there is potential in access-controlled greenfield expressways for much higher speeds. He added that the Centre is currently in deliberations on increasing the maximum speed thresholds on these routes. The Expressway will have a catalytic impact in the developmental trajectory of all adjoining regions, thus contributing in a major way in the economic transformation of the country, the prime ministers office said in a statement.

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The Rs one-trillion-expressway Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is the centrepiece of the governments Bharatmala project, which envisages an overhaul in national highway infrastructure. The initial target year for the completion of Bharatmala was 2022, but government and industry estimates suggest that the project will only see completion around FY27. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, in his address, pointed to the PM and highways minister that the Centre had given in-principle approval to declare 50 roads in the state as national highways, however, no gazette notification has been issued for the same. He sought expedition in the process so that development work on these roads could be taken up on priority basis.


She said the size of the US delegation, the USA Partnership Pavilion that will open Monday, and growing diplomatic and security cooperation between the two nations over the last year show that the US-India strategic partnership is one of our most consequential relationships". India and the United States are strengthening cooperation on critical technologies, from space components to semiconductors, said the head of the US delegation to Aero India, Charge dAffaires, a.i. Ambassador A. Elizabeth Jones on Sunday.



She is head of the largest-ever US Delegation to Aero India. India and the United States are working together in so many ways to ensure a free and open, prosperous, connected, and resilient Indo-Pacific region, where our democracies can thrive, said Jones. As partners, were working together to address climate change; improve global health and prepare for new pandemics; cooperate on cyber challenges; build quality infrastructure; and ensure sustainable supply chains."



US companies have established engineering centres and manufacturing hubs and invested in building R&D centres that harness Indias incredibly talented scientists and engineers to advance cutting-edge R&D projects, said Royal. Jedidiah P Royal, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs, who leads the US delegation of senior US government officials from the Department of Defense, said these close partnerships have generated tens of thousands of jobs in India. He said these partnerships have also enabled critical transfers of technology and manufacturing expertise to India.

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Rear Admiral Michael Baker, Senior Defense Official and Defense Attache at the US Embassy in New Delhi said the defence partnership with India is stronger than ever. Major General Julian C Cheater, Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force, International Affairs, said as democracies bookending the Indo-Pacific, the US and India share a common vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific. That shared vision is strengthened by world-class events like Aero India where we are able to engage in-person to increase trust and understanding, said Cheater.



Among the major highlights throughout Aero India 2023, an F-16 Fighting Falcon duo, one of the United States Air Forces (USAF) leading fighter jets, will conduct daily aerial demonstrations. The F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornet, the US Navy's most advanced frontline carrier-based, multi-role strike fighter available today, will be on static display. This week you will have the chance to see American Air power operating alongside the Indian Air Force, said Baker. We plan to have a variety of aircraft here, one of our largest delegations ever, and the US Air Force Pacific Band who will perform at venues around Bengaluru.
The Legislative Assembly on Saturday witnessed heated exchanges between finance minister T. Harish Rao and CLP leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka

Hyderabad: The Legislative Assembly on Saturday witnessed heated exchanges between finance minister T. Harish Rao and CLP leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, who was also involved in a war of words with IT minister K.T. Rama Rao.

Bhatti took the state government to task while accusing it of failing to complete even one irrigation project in the last eight years but making false claims on Kaleshwaram project irrigating lakhs of acres and fast-paced works on the Palamuru Rangareddy project.

Bhatti said only barrages were built as part of Kaleshwaram project but no additional ayacut was brought under this project since the distributary network is yet to be completed. He said that the pump houses at Kaleshwaram project were submerged after Godavari floods. When opposition parties tried to visit the site, the government prevented them by deploying heavy police force and arresting them, he said.

"All the projects that are in operation at present were built by the Congress governments. The BRS government has done nothing except making tall claims on Kaleshwaram and Palamur RR projects. If this is not true then why were you preventing opposition leaders from visiting Kaleshwaram. Is this because you fear that the truth will come out if we visit?" Bhatti asked.

Harish said that the government prevented opposition leaders because they were trying to 'politicise' the issue when pump houses were submerged.

"Godavari witnessed unprecedented heavy floods last year. It was a natural calamity. But opposition parties tried to project it as a human error and attributed it a BRS governments failure," Harish Rao said.

Bhatti's comments that Congress will return to power at the State and the Centre in the next nine months and will complete all pending development works sparked off a heated debate with BRS members.

Intervening in the matter, Rama Rao said, "Infants may come in nine months but Congress will never come to power in nine months. Congress ruled for 55 years and BRS is just eight years old. How can you compare the achievements of each other?"

While replying to the debate on medical and health, minister Harish Rao said that the government is planning to bring in a new Act to regulate private hospitals in the state. He was responding to concerns expressed by the opposition benches at the open loot by private hospitals in the absence of government regulation.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday called for popularising Yoga and traditional forms of Indian medicine in a language that the world understands.

Modi made the assertion in response to a Twitter user who said that today, more than ever, there is a need of proving Yoga and its benefits scientifically for modern healthcare and the world to believe in it.

"Well said. The way ahead is by popularising Yoga and traditional forms of Indian medicine in a language that the world understands. I am happy to see greater awareness among our people on this too," Modi tweeted.

He also commented on the aerial coverage of ground and air display captured from indigenously developed Medium Altitude Long Endurance TAPAS UAV during Aero India 2023 rehearsal from a height of 12,000 feet.

"Very interesting!" the prime minister said tagging a DRDO tweet on the aerial shot of the Aero India rehearsal.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday called Jaffna Cultural Centre, which was inaugurated on Saturday, an "important initiative" signifying the close cooperation between India and Sri Lanka.

The Prime Minister who had laid the foundation stone of the Jaffna Cultural Center in 2015, shared some pictures from that special visit.

"The Jaffna Cultural Center is an important initiative signifying the close cultural cooperation between India and Sri Lanka. It will benefit several people. The august presence of President Ranil Wickremesinghe made the programme even more special. @RW_UNP","PM Modi tweeted while acknowledging the presence of President Ranil Wickremesinghe on the occasion.

"I will never forget my special visit to Jaffna in 2015, where I had the opportunity to lay the foundation stone for the Jaffna Cultural Centre," PM Modi added.

The Prime Minister has laid the foundation stone of the Center in 2015.

PM Modi also shared some pictures from that special visit on Twitter.

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Indian Embassy in Sri Lanka tweeted, "The iconic Jaffna Cultural Center was dedicated to the people today in the gracious presence of President H.E @RW_UNP, Minister @Murugan_MOS ,High Commissioner,Hon.Ministers Vidura Wickramanayake, Douglas Devananda,Kadar Masthan,several MPs & dignitaries from all walks of life."

The Jaffna Cultural Centre, constructed with Indian government grants, was dedicated to the people of Sri Lanka on Saturday.

Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting L Murugan, while inaugurating Jaffna Cultural Centre, announced a special financial assistance scheme for 100 students of the University of Jaffna, who belong to economically backward families.

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was present on the occasion, expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and called the Jaffna Cultural Centre a "major project" between the two nations.

While sharing glimpses of the dedication of the Jaffna Cultural Centre on Twitter, the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka wrote, "The iconic Jaffna Cultural Center was dedicated to the people today in the gracious presence of President H.E @RW_UNP ,Minister @Murugan_MOS, High Commissioner, Hon. Ministers Vidura Wickramanayake, Douglas Devananda, Kadar Masthan, several MPs & dignitaries from all walks of life."

In another tweet, Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka wrote, "H.E @RW_UNP thanked PM @narendramodi for the Center and underlined that JCC is a major project between the two countries. Minister @Murugan_MOS announced a special financial assistance scheme for 100 students in @uojofficial from economically backward families." It further stated, "A colourful cultural show projected the diversity and richness of culture of Sri Lanka."

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe while dedicating the Jaffna Cultural Centre, built with an Indian grant, to the people of Sri Lanka, called the centre a gift by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and appreciated the efforts made by the Indian government.

Located next to the iconic Jaffna Public Library, the Jaffna Cultural Centre will be the tallest building in Jaffna town. The Jaffna Cultural Centre is a "magnificent example" of a development partnership between India and Sri Lanka, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said in the press release.

It was conceived as a reconciliation project primarily aimed at expanding the cultural infrastructure for the people of Northern Province, according to the press release. The centre is equipped with multiple facilities such as a museum of two floors, an advanced theatre-style auditorium for more than 600 people, an 11-storeyed learning tower, and a public square that could also act as an amphitheatre.
The two-day food festival in the national capital's Talkatora Stadium was a "success" and stalls that offered food made with millet and 'Purani Delhi' delicacies were instant hits among the city residents, an NDMC official said on Sunday.

The food festival, organised by the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), concluded on Sunday with a Sufi music night.

A civic body official said that the response was "more than expected" with people coming from Delhi and NCR in large numbers.

The crowd on the second day was more than the first day because it was Sunday and people came to the stadium with their families to relish good food.

"The response we have received is more than expected. The food festival has been a success. All the traditional and international delicacies have received phenomenal responses from the people. Mainly, millet stalls and the Old Delhi food were amongst the people's favourites," said NDMC member Kuljeet Singh Chahal.

The two-day G20 International Food Festival, themed 'Taste the World,' was inaugurated by Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri on Saturday.

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China, Turkey, Japan, and Mexico, all G20 countries, participated in the festival.

Cuisines from 14 Indian states and Union territories -- Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Delhi, Bihar, Punjab, Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Manipur, and Meghalaya were on offer during the two-day festival.

29-year-old Sanstuti Nath, who visited it with her family, said: "It was a great day. There was a variety of continental food but what I liked the most was our Indian delicacies. Here I tasted some of the products made up of millets and I am quite surprised with how well they tasted."



More than 11 hotels, including Taj Palace, Taj Mahal, The Connaught, Taj Ambassador, Le Meridien, ITC Maurya, and The Park, offered their signature food items.

A large crowd was seen at the Tihar jail bakery stall where a range of products from biscuits to savoury snacks and jalebis kept the visitors coming.
An Uttar Pradesh Minister on Sunday asked the people of the state to celebrate Valentine's Day by offering cows "gud and roti" and taking their blessings.

The Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) had last Monday appealed to the public to celebrate February 14 as 'Cow Hug Day'. The directive was later cancelled after the move became the subject of memes on social media.

"Valentine's day, known as love day, on Feb 14 should be celebrated by expressing love and faith towards cows by offering them 'gud and roti'. Besides, their blessing should be taken by touching their head and neck," State Animal Husbandry Minister Dharmpal Singh said in a statement.

"Gavo Vishwasya Matarah" in vedas means "Cow is the mother of the world," he said.

"Therefore, on this day, a resolution should also be taken to serve the mother cow regularly," he added.

"Cow products are used in every fast, festival, worship and rituals in Indian society. Cow has been paramount not only because of emotional or religious reasons but also because of fulfilling the essential needs of human society," he said.

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"That's why it becomes more necessary that we also express our special love for the mother cow on Feb 14 on Valentine's Day and also make each other aware and motivated," he added.

The minister also appealed that on the occasion of 'Holika Dahan,' cow dung should be used as it is environment-friendly and reduces air pollution.

Earlier, the AWBI had said the appeal was made because the vedic traditions are almost on the "verge of extinction" due to the progress of western culture.
Chinese rescuers spare no effort to save lives in quake-hit Turkiye

Xinhua) 09:07, February 12, 2023

A member from the Blue Sky Rescue Team, a Chinese civil relief squad, participates in rescue operation in Malatya, Turkiye, Feb. 10, 2023. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

BEIJING, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- International search and rescue teams have rushed to Turkiye to assist in rescue efforts after two massive earthquakes jolted the country Monday. Chinese rescuers have successfully saved four survivors so far.

An 82-member China Search and Rescue Team arrived in Turkiye on Wednesday to join earthquake relief efforts in the country. Members of the Blue Sky Rescue Team and other Chinese civil relief squads were also in Turkiye to join the international rescue work. On Friday, following a three-hour effort, a woman, the fourth survivor saved by Chinese rescuers, was pulled out to safety from the rubble of collapsed buildings over 96 hours after the earthquake.

The death toll from Monday's devastating earthquakes climbed to 20,213 in Turkiye, while another 80,052 injuries were reported in the country, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced late Friday.

Members of the China Search and Rescue Team transfer a woman survivor with their local partners in Antakya in the southern province of Hatay, Turkiye, Feb. 9, 2023. (Xinhua/Shadati)

Members from the Blue Sky Rescue Team, a Chinese civil relief squad, participate in rescue operation in Malatya, Turkiye, Feb. 10, 2023. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

Members from the Chinese Rescue Team of Ramunion conduct rescue work in Belen, Turkiye, Feb. 9, 2023. (Rescue Team of Ramunion/Handout via Xinhua)

Members of the China Search and Rescue Team transfer a woman survivor with their local partners in Antakya in the southern province of Hatay, Turkiye, Feb. 9, 2023. (Xinhua/Shadati)

Members of the China Search and Rescue Team transfer a woman survivor with their local partners in Antakya in the southern province of Hatay, Turkiye, Feb. 9, 2023. (Xinhua/Shadati)

This photo taken with a mobile phone shows Chinese and Turkish rescue teams carrying out rescue operation inside earthquake ruins in Antakya in the southern province of Hatay, Turkiye, Feb. 9, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Feng)

A member of the China Search and Rescue Team carries out operation in earthquake debris in Antakya in the southern province of Hatay, Turkiye, Feb. 9, 2023. (Xinhua/Shadati)

Members from the Chinese Rescue Team of Ramunion conduct rescue work in Belen, Turkiye, Feb. 9, 2023. (Rescue Team of Ramunion/Handout via Xinhua)

Members of the China Search and Rescue Team transfer a woman survivor with their local partners in Antakya in the southern province of Hatay, Turkiye, Feb. 9, 2023. (Xinhua/Shadati)

(Web editor: Xian Jiangnan, Sheng Chuyi)
An aerial picture shows rescuers searching the rubble of buildings for casualties and survivors in the village of Salqin in Syria's rebel-held northwestern Idlib province. (Photo: AFP)

Antakya: The death toll in Turkiye and Syria from the earthquake that struck five days ago has surpassed 25,000.

Turkiye's president on Saturday raised the death toll in his country to 21,848, while in Syria, the reported number of dead was 3,553 in government and rebel-held areas.

Some 80,104 people have been injured in Turkiye alone, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, speaking in the city of Sanliurfa. A few survivors are still being pulled from the rubble, however, more than 130 hours after the quake.

Rescue teams in Turkiye on Saturday pulled to safety a family of five who survived inside their collapsed home for five days following a major earthquake in a sprawling border region of Turkiye and Syria. The death toll, however, was approaching 25,000.

They first extricated mother and daughter Havva and Fatmagul Aslan from among a mound of debris in the hard-hit town of Nurdagi, in Gaziantep province, HaberTurk reported.

The teams later reached the father, Hasan Aslan, but he insisted that his other daughter, Zeynep, and son Saltik Bugra be saved first.

Then, as the father was brought out, rescuers cheered and chanted God is Great!

Two hours later, a 3-year-old girl and her father were pulled from debris in the town of Islahiye, also in Gaziantep province, and an hour after that a 7-year-old girl was rescued in the province of Hatay, nearly 132 hours after the quake.

The rescues bring to 12 the number of people rescued on Saturday, despite diminishing hopes amid freezing temperatures.

What day is it? 16-year-old Kamil Can Agas asked his rescuers after he was pulled out of the rubble in Kahramanmaras, according to NTV television.

Members of the mixed Turkish and Kyrgyz search teams embraced each other, as did the teenager's cousins, with one of them calling out: He is out, brother. He is out. He is here.

The rescues brought shimmers of joy amid overwhelming devastation days after Monday's 7.8-magnitude quake collapsed thousands of buildings, killing more than 24,500 people, injuring another 80,000 and leaving millions homeless.

Another quake nearly equal in power and likely triggered by the first caused more destruction hours later.

Not everything ended so well, however. Rescuers reached a 13-year-old girl inside the debris of a collapsed building in Hatay province early on Saturday and intubated her. But she died before the medical teams could amputate a limb and free her from the rubble, Hurriyet newspaper reported.

Even though experts say trapped people can live for a week or more, the odds of finding more survivors were quickly waning. Rescuers were shifting to thermal cameras to help identify life amid the rubble, a sign of the weakness of any remaining survivors.

As aid continued to arrive, a 99-member group from the Indian Army's medical assistance team began treating the injured in a temporary field hospital in the southern city of Iskenderun, where a main hospital was demolished.

One man, Sukru Canbulat, was wheeled into the hospital in a wheelchair, his left leg badly injured with deep bruising, contusions and lacerations.

Wincing in pain, he said he had been rescued from his collapsed apartment building in the nearby city of Antakya within hours of the quake on Monday. But after receiving basic first aid, he was released without getting proper treatment for his injuries.

"I buried (everyone that I lost), then I came here,'' Canbulat said, counting his dead relatives: My daughter is dead, my sibling died, my aunt and her daughter died, and the wife of her son" who was 8 months pregnant.

A large makeshift graveyard was under construction on the outskirts of Antakya on Saturday. Backhoes and bulldozers dug pits in the field on the northeastern edge of the city as trucks and ambulances loaded with black body bags arrived continuously. Soldiers directing traffic on the busy adjacent road warned motorists not to take photographs.

The hundreds of graves, spaced no more than three feet (one metre) apart, were marked with simple wooden planks set vertically in the ground.

A worker with Turkiye's Ministry of Religious Affairs, who did not wish to be identified because of orders not to share information with the media, said that around 800 bodies were brought the cemetery on Friday, its first day of operation. By midday on Saturday, he said, as many as 2,000 had been buried.

People who are coming out from the rubble now, it's a miracle if they survive. Most of the people that come out now are dead, and they come here, he said.

Temperatures remained below freezing across the large region, and many people have no shelter. The Turkish government has distributed millions of hot meals, as well as tents and blankets, but is still struggling to reach many people in need.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, visiting quake-stricken Diyarbakir, said universities would switch to long-distance education until the summer, to free up state-run dormitories for survivors left homeless.

In the city of Kahramanmaras, where a stadium was turned into a makeshift camp, survivors walked among hundreds of tents, queued for hot meals and huddled around campfires.

In Antakya, an international charity helping Syrian refugees in Turkiye has offered shelter to dozens in the grounds of an intact building on the city's edge.

The problem is there is not a single home that is inhabitable in Antakya, so the only shelter is the street, said Ahmed Abou el-Shaar, founder of the Molham charity.

The disaster compounded suffering in a region beset by Syria's 12-year civil war, which has displaced millions of people within the country and left them dependent on aid. The fighting sent millions more to seek refuge in Turkiye.

The conflict has isolated many areas of Syria and complicated efforts to get aid in. The United Nations said the first earthquake-related aid convoy crossed from Turkiye into northwestern Syria on Friday, the day after an aid shipment planned before the disaster arrived.

The UN refugee agency estimated that as many as 5.3 million people have been left homeless in Syria.

President Bashar Assad and his wife have visited injured quake victims in a hospital in the coastal city of Latakia, a base of support for the Syrian leader.

Syrian state TV said Assad and his wife Asma on Saturday morning visited Duha Nurallah, 60, and her son Ibrahim Zakariya, 22, who were pulled out of rubble the night before in the nearby coastal town of Jableh.

The head of the World Health Organisation Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus arrived in Syria's northern city of Aleppo on Saturday, bringing with him 35 tons of medical equipment, state news agency SANA reported.

He said another plane carrying an additional 30 tons of medical equipment will arrive in the coming days.

The opposition Syrian Civil Defence, also known as White Helmets, said on Saturday that it is almost impossible to find people alive.

The total death toll in Syria's northwestern rebel-held region has reached 2,166 many of them women and children. The total dead in Syria was 3,533, while in Turkiye, officials counted 21,043 dead through Saturday.
Turkey and Armenia opened their border gate for the first time in 30 years for the passage of humanitarian aid for the victims affected by the devastating earthquakes that hit the former, Anadolu Agency reported.

Taking to Twitter, Turkey's special representative for normalization talks with Armenia, Serdar Kilic said that the Armenia delegation with five trucks overloaded with 100 tonnes of food, medicine and drinking water passed through the Alican border gate.

"In addition to the A/K team of 28 people and technical equipment, immediately after the earthquake, 5 truckloads of 100 tons of food, medicine, water and other emergency aid packages of the Armenian people left for Adiyaman by passing through the Alican border gate this morning. Thank you @RubenRubinyan Armenia,' Kilic tweeted.

Meanwhile, Vice President of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia, Ruben Rubinyan also said, "Trucks with humanitarian aid crossed the Armenian-Turkish border today and are on their way to the earthquake-affected area. Happy to have been able to assist."

Even Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia, Vahan Kostanyan, tweeted, "Humanitarian aid from #Armenia crossed the Margara bridge on #Armenia-#Turkey border heading to the earthquake-stricken region."

Relations between Turkey and Armenia have been strained for decades and the land border between the two neighbours has been closed since 1993, in the wake of clashes between Armenians and ethnically Turkic Azerbaijan, Al Jazeera reported.

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Since the 1990s, the relationship between the two countries is primarily at odds as over 1.5 million people in Armenia says were killed in 1915 by the Ottoman Empire, the predecessor to modern Turkey.

Armenia says this constitutes genocide.

The crime against humanity committed by the Ottoman Turks by killing the major part of this ancient Christian race has never been requited, or, in the case of Turkey, been the subject of apology or reparation.

The "Young Turks" who ran the Ottoman government did not use gas ovens, but they did massacre the men and sent the women, children and elders on death marches through the desert to places we only hear of now because they are overrun by ISIL, reported Al Jazeera.

They died en route in their hundreds of thousands from starvation or attack, and many survivors died of typhus in concentration camps at the end of the line.

Ankara admits that about 300,000 Armenians died at that time, but insists that although during World War I many Turks and Armenians died, there was no deliberate genocide policy. It should be noted that about 30 countries officially recognize the Armenian genocide.


The death toll stood at 33,179 on Sunday and was certain to rise as search teams locate more bodies in the rubble. Authorities said over 92,600 other people were injured in the disaster. Rescuers pulled more survivors from rubble on Sunday, six days after one of the worst earthquakes to hit Turkey and Syria, as authorities sought to maintain order across the disaster zone and started legal action over building collapses.



Soon, the search and rescue people will make way for the humanitarian agencies whose job it is to look after the extraordinary numbers of those affected for the next months, he added. The death toll from the massive earthquake in Turkey and Syria will double or more from its current level, UN relief chief Martin Griffiths told Sky News. Arriving in Turkeys southern city of Kahramanmaras, he said, I think it is difficult to estimate precisely as we need to get under the rubble but Im sure it will double or more.

Quakes cost pegged at $84 billion

The two massive earthquakes are expected to result in a loss to Turkeys economy of over $84 billion, or about 10 per cent of the GDP, according to estimates of a business group.

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The group, commonly known as Turkonfed, said losses to the labor force would cost Turkeys economy $2.9 billion. The quakes severely affected 10 provinces and 13.5 million people in Turkey, as well as in neighboring Syria. The quakes are projected to have caused about $70.8 billion of damage to residential buildings and a further $10.4 billion loss in national income, the Turkish Enterprise and Business Confederation said.



The estimate is also bigger than what other economists have calculated so far, although many, including Barclays Plc, have highlighted that its too early to assess the full impact. Turkonfeds calculations were based on 1999 earthquakes near Istanbul that killed about 18,000 people. The toll in the latest devastation has far exceeded that of the 1999 quake, and thousands remain missing.



President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his government would complete housing within a year and some 100 billion liras ($5.3 billion) have been initially allocated as disaster relief. The damage to Turkeys infrastructure, including roads and power grids, as well as to hospitals and schools, may push the nations budget deficit over 5.4 per cent of GDP this year, versus the official forecast of 3.5 per cent, according to the report.

Builders and looters add to the pain

Turkish officials have detained or issued arrest warrants for some 130 people allegedly involved in the construction of buildings that toppled down and crushed their occupants. Even though Turkye has, on paper, construction codes that meet current earthquake-engineering standards, they are too rarely enforced, explaining why thousands of buildings slumped onto their side or pancaked downward onto residents.



He said that three had been arrested pending trial, seven people were detained and seven other were barred from leaving the country. Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said on Sunday that 134 people were being investigated for their alleged responsibility in the construction of buildings that failed to withstand the quakes, according to Anadolu.



Authorities arrested two people in the province of Gaziantep on Sunday who are suspected of having cut down columns to make extra room in a building that collapsed, the state-run Anadolu said. Bozdag has vowed to punish anyone responsible, and prosecutors have begun gathering samples of buildings for evidence on materials used in constructions.



42 suspects were held for looting in southern Hatay province. Erdogan has warned that looters will be severely punished. Meanwhile, Turkish authorities have arrested 48 people for looting or trying to defraud victims, state media reported on Saturday. The suspects were held in eight different provinces as part of investigations into looting, Anadolu said.
The recent natural disaster in Syria has shown the inadequacy of UN aid for the survivors affected by the quake. Stricken northwestern Syria has gotten help, but more is needed to normalize after a 7.8 magnitude quake last Friday, noted Reuters.

Syrian Earthquake Survivors Receive Less Assistance

Based on sources, the UN Security Council permitted cross-border aid for affected Syrians in the northwestern region in 2014. Allegedly Syrian officials blocked humanitarian assistance in places controlled by them, commented the Cross Border Legal organization, reported Arab News.

Due to vetoes by Russia and China, only one of the four border crossings allowed is still working. Information from rescue teams and residents from the region mention the effects of the calamity surpassed the onslaught of war, according to The Guardian.

Caution was raised when a warning that the death toll would add up and assistance from the United Nations was urgently needed. One of the affected residents of Idlib, Fared Mahloul, said that 30 buildings collapsed with many trapped in the debris. He added they are all trapped and have no way to save themselves, and families are on their own.

Mahloul said they need many supplies and shelter as all homes are unlivable due to the calamity. He added that his uncle and family died, and another uncle survived, but his wife and three sisters were all dead. Syrians need other supplemental support for food, milk for kids, and medicine when people are in tents, schools, and public structures and asking for help from the UN.

Last Friday, about 14 UN trucks entered the part of the Syrian help opposition via the Bab al-Hawa crossing. Full of items needed by the survivors to weather the disaster, arriving after a six-lorry convoy went over the border loaded with essential supplies.

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Raed Saleh, chief of the White Helmets organization, was the first to assist after the quake struck. He added the lack of special rescue equipment needs to be fixed. The lack of coordination with the UN makes it hard to respond effectively, showing a bias toward humanitarian work and no respect for human life.

UN Aid Should Not Be Susceptible to Politics

The death toll reached 3,500 people killed, and thousands were trapped under debris. Last Wednesday, European countries asked how to send crucial aid without UN approval. Most of the aid has been sent to Damascus due to international law, which the UN uses as its basis not to act decisively to help the affected people, calling it a failure of the world body.

A letter signed by 16 international jurists before what happened asked for access to northwestern Syria. It slammed the application of international law that risked lives, also politicized by players. Demands increased last Thursday by humanitarian lawyers for more aid. Ibrahim Olabi, a lawyer of Guernica 37 chambers, urged the UN legal adviser to agree soon or people will die. The Syrian American Medical Society said to amend the rules to deliver aid.

It said the UN Security Council hampers crucial aid that allows the delivery of assistance. Called one passage to send help under political influence needs improvement. This calamity shows it is detrimental. Improved aid will prevent deaths and save lives. One border to cross won't work.

Syria's natural disaster lacked UN aid, impacting survivors who cannot get essential assistance because the world body is seen as politicizing the appropriate reaction.

Related Article: Turkey-Syria Earthquake: Why Hope Is 'Fading' in Rescue Efforts

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The high-altitude object was identified over Alaska late Friday evening and monitored by US military aircraft as it crossed into Canada, according to the Pentagon. Canadian and US aircraft were scrambled, and a US F-22 fighter jet successfully shot it down over the Yukon, said Trudeau, who coordinated the response with US President Joe Biden. The object was brought down by an AIM 9X missile. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ordered the takedown of an unidentified airborne object over Canada on Saturday, the third such aerial incursion into North American airspace this month, prompting alarm across the continent.



Less than a week later, Biden ordered the takedown of a smaller unidentified object spotted about 40,000 feet over Alaska on Friday. That same day, the third object was sighted at a similar altitude by the North American Aerospace Defense Command, a joint US-Canada military command responsible for aerospace and maritime warning. The drama began earlier this month when a balloon traversed North America, gripping global attention and sparking a diplomatic standoff between the US and China. The US has said the balloon was sent deliberately by China for surveillance, while Beijing countered it was a harmless weather-monitoring device that blew off course. The US military shot it down on Feb. 4 off the coast of South Carolina.



Its unclear what the last two objects were or where they originated. No evidence has yet been made public to indicate that the three episodes are connected. Anand declined to speculate on the origins of the latest object, saying it was too early, but added that broadly, we need to be wide eyes open on China. It appears to be a small, cylindrical object  smaller than the first balloon  and posed a reasonable threat to the safety of civilian flights, Anita Anand, Canadas defense minister, said of the latest object.

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In a sign of the heightened jitters over the incursions, the US on Saturday ordered a temporary closure of airspace over Montana after it detected a radar anomaly. Fighter aircraft sent to investigate didnt detect any object that correlated with the radar hits, NORAD said, adding it will continue to monitor the situation. The restriction has since been lifted. In order to determine more details on the purpose and origin of the devices, Canadian Forces will recover and analyze the wreckage of the latest object, while US crews have been working to recover the remnants of the balloon and the second object.



In a series of briefings and hearings with lawmakers on Thursday, US officials said the balloon was carrying equipment with sensors designed to pick up communications signals and pointed to the fact that it had hovered over sensitive US military sites during its transit across the US. Chinas Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said Friday that the balloon was a civilian craft and its transit across the US last week was an isolated, unexpected incident. The incidents have shone a spotlight on Chinas supposed surveillance programs. The US alleges the balloon was part of a years-long, military-led spy program spanning more than 40 countries, a claim rejected by Beijing.

A US intelligence report released in January said reporting of unidentified aerial phenomena has increased, as the stigma surrounding claims of UFO sightings lessens and awareness increases about the threats such objects may pose.
The US will welcome any attempt that could lead to ending the raging Russia-Ukraine conflict, including any effort that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is willing to undertake, the White House has said.

The remarks by National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby came on Friday, days after National Security Advisor Ajit Doval held talks with Russian leaders, including President Vladimir Putin.

When asked if there is still time for Prime Minister Modi to convince Russian President Putin to stop the war, Kirby said: "I think there's still time for Putin to stop the war. I think there's still time for it."



"PM Modi can convince; I will let PM Modi speak to (or make) whatever efforts he's willing to undertake. The US would welcome any effort that could lead to an end of hostilities in Ukraine that are in keeping with President (Volodymyr) Zelenskyy's objectives and his leadership, his determination of what is acceptable to the Ukrainian people," Kirby said.

India has repeatedly called on Russia and Ukraine to return to the path of diplomacy and dialogue and end their ongoing conflict.

Prime Minister Modi has spoken to the presidents of Russia and Ukraine on multiple occasions and urged for an immediate cessation of hostilities and a return to the path of diplomacy and dialogue for the resolution of the conflict.

In his remarks, Kirby said the single person responsible for what the Ukrainian people are going through is Putin.

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"And he could stop it right now. Instead, he's firing cruise missiles into energy and power infrastructure, and trying to knock out the lights and knock out the heat so the Ukrainian people suffer even more than they already have.

"He could end it right now. And since he's not willing to do that, clearly, we've got to make sure we can help the Ukrainians succeed on the battlefield so that when President Zelenskyy determines it's time to negotiate and he's the only one that can make that determination he can do it with the strongest hand possible," Kirby 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.

In his bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Uzbekistan on September 16, Modi said "today's era is not of war" and nudged him to end the conflict.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in January said that Prime Minister Modi has been in contact with the leaders of Russia and Ukraine, pressing them to return to dialogue and diplomacy as a prolonged conflict will not serve the interests of any party.

"We are also increasingly anxious about the knock-on effects of the conflict in terms of accessibility and affordability of fuel food and fertilisers. This is a growing concern for the Global South," Jaishankar has said.
To be sure, the CCIs actions were in no way a violation of the law  Section

Although the World Banks Ease of Doing Business ranking has been scrapped for irregularities in the process, the government had reiterated it would maintain a relentless focus on this dimension to activate the investment environment in India. At odds with this stated intention is the recent move by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to invoke the doctrine of necessity to clear six deals involving mergers & acquisitions (M&A) and investment proposals, though it lacked the requisite three-member quorum after Chairperson Ashok Kumar Gupta retired on October 25, 2022. The Competition Act stipulates there should be at least three members to approve deals but the CCI obtained the workaround for a two-member quorum following a green signal from the law ministry to the corporate affairs ministry, which is the CCIs administrative ministry.
Police on Sunday prevented AAP workers from staging a protest outside the BJP office here over the Adani-Hindenburg row.

Led by AAP's central Kashmir youth president Jibran Dar, party workers assembled in Jawahar Nagar area and raised slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and business tycoon Gautam Adani.

The protesters alleged that Modi was favouring Adani, but doing nothing for ordinary people.

Before they could reach the BJP office in the area, the protesters were detained by police and whisked away to the local police station.

Adani Group stocks have taken a beating after US-based activist short-seller Hindenburg Research made a litany of allegations, including fraudulent transactions and share price manipulation, against it.

The Adani Group has dismissed the allegations as lies.

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The AAP also staged a protest outside the BJP office in Jammu over the issue and demanded a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into independent India's "biggest scam".

AAP workers led by senior party leaders assembled outside the BJP office in Trikuta Nagar and chanted slogans against the BJP-led government, claiming that Modi gave all resources to one person and made him the second richest person in the world.

Terming it independent India's "biggest scam", senior AAP leader T S Tony said, "In 2014, Adani's assets were worth Rs 37,000 crore. They increased to Rs 59,000 crore in 2018, Rs 2.5 lakh crore in 2020 and Rs 13 lakh crore in 2022."



"We are here to bring the BJP's direct link to this scam before the people... the exposed government is running away and not giving answers," he said.

Tony, who is the chairman of the AAP's minority welfare wing, also demanded a JPC probe into the alleged scam.

Opposition parties have been demanding a JPC probe or a Supreme Court-monitored investigation into the allegations against the Adani Group.

Parliamentary proceedings during the first week of the ongoing Budget Session were virtually washed out amid protests by opposition parties, including the AAP.
Congress president and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge has called a meeting of "like-minded" opposition parties on Monday.

The meeting will be held at Kharge's office at Parliament before the start of the business of Rajya Sabha. The meeting is believed to be called to chalk out the strategy of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha on Monday.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday reiterated his party's demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the businesses of the Adani Group in the wake of the report by US short-seller firm Hindenburg Research.

Addressing a press conference, Kharge said, "Shouldn't there be an inquiry into the Adani scam? Shouldn't the matter be referred to the JPC? Should not there be a discussion on the money that public sector banks invested in Adani's businesses? Public money is involved in it. Why does the government have a problem taking Adani's name?"

Kharge alleged that PM Modi acted as an 'agent' for the Adani group of companies.The Congress national president added, "Modi-ji acted as Adani's agent and got him tenders in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Everybody knows about this."

Questioning the regulatory bodies of the country, Kharge said, "The RBI, SEBI, ED, Corporate Affairs Ministry, Income Tax, and the CBI seem paralysed. Can they not see the corruption here? Is Adani invisible to them? With our institutions in inertia, it is our duty to question the government. The people sent us to the Parliament as their representatives and it is our responsibility to safeguard the public."

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"We tried to raise several issues in the Parliament. However, the Prime Minister evaded all questions and just gave an election speech, boasting about himself," Kharge added.

Meanwhile, taking a serious note of the Opposition uproar in the Upper House on Friday over the demand for JPC probe into the Adani businesses in the wake of the report by US short-seller firm Hindenburg Research, Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar lost his cool and warned the protesting MPs that "every transgression from both sides would not go without his deep reflection".

The outburst came amid a heated exchange of words between Union Minister Piyush Goyal and Kharge, who is also the Leader of the Opposition in the Upper House, after the Congress alleged that Prime Minister Modi has 'links' with industrialist Gautam Adani.

Last week, amid the opposition sloganeering on the Hindenburg-Adani row and demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the matter by the Opposition, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed both houses of Parliament during the discussion on the Motion of Thanks on the President's address.

On Thursday, launching a scathing attack on Congress and other opposition parties who have been targeting him, Prime Minister Modi in the Rajya Sabha said "one person (Modi) is proving too much for so many" and that the more muck is raised by parties opposed to the BJP, the more the saffron party's lotus will bloom.

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.However, the Adani group had termed the report "nothing but a lie".

In a statement, Adani Group said Adani portfolio and the Adani verticals are focused on bringing India into the global economy and nation-building. In the summary of the long response by Adani Group, it said the report was "nothing but a lie".

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.
Central Regional High School is blamed for the Adriana Kuch suicide in Berkeley, New Jersey, and her bullies were arrested with charges upgraded. Based on sources, the 14-year-old teen girl killed herself at home last February 3 after a video of her getting attacked by four girls was spread online, but school authorities did nothing to stop it.

Four New Jersey Girls Arrested for Bullying Adriana Kuch

The girl had suffered several injuries and was emotionally distraught by the bullying she suffered before ending her life, reported MEAWW.

The three unnamed suspects, who were instrumental in the tragic suicide, were charged earlier with third-degree felony assault. Another fourth suspect is charged with disorderly conduct, but authorities elevate the charges. Out of the four accused, one is charged with an aggravated assault, one with harassment, and the other two with conspiracy to commit aggravated assault, as mentioned by The New York Post.

The Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D Billhimer released a media statement last Friday, February 10, that the teens and guardians will be given a complaint copy and will appear in court. They were recorded in the footage bullying and hurting the victim while walking with her boyfriend in the Central Regional High School hallway last February 1, according to NBC New York.

One of the suspected attackers poured liquid and struck the victim, while onlookers did not do anything to stop the girl from getting dragged, but they instead laughed. They cruelly pulled Kuch's hair and hit her with a small water bottle as one was overheard cussing at their victim.

Read Also: New York Cop Suspended for Punching Teen Girl

Michael Kuch, the victim's father, called out the school where it happened. He was upset how the school superintendent Triantafillos Parlapanides blamed his daughter because she got bullied to death.

NJ Central Regional High School Blamed for Suicide

He spoke to the DailyMail and gave a scathing barrage of how the school superintendent acted unprofessionally. Cited how Parlapanides went online to social media and then justified his actions, attacking other people too.Remarked that the administration should be replaced and removed on how they mishandled the issue, saying the school official does not deserve his position because of blocking justice, noted Daily Mail.

Another parent spoke out because her child studies at Central Regional High School by starting a petition. The mother, Racheal O'Dea, posted on Change.org that in January 2022, her daughter was physically attacked by several girls in school. Her daughter had told of their threats and getting stalked menacingly by them at the school, but the school administration ignored her. The assault was recorded and posted on social media, with a case filed against the high school for a year claiming negligence and involvement.

O'Dea weighed in on Kuch's death caused by bullies at the school. She states that nearly a year has passed since her family filed a lawsuit, here comes the suicide of the teen who was brutalized and attacked at Central Regional HS, leading to taking her life days later. She made it clear that the school is not taking full responsibility for what happened and stressed the violence at the school must stop. The administration must change to have more security for the kids.

As a result of Adriana Kuch's suicide, the bullies get arrested, and the school is blamed for not creating a safe atmosphere for students and not condoning bullying.

Related Article: Florida Teen Stabs 13-Year-Old Cheerleader

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US and Canadian officials reported that a high-altitude object that had been monitored across northern Canada had been shot down over the Yukon.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Twitter that he had given the order to shoot down "an unidentified object" that breached Canadian airspace, according to ABC News.

The Canadian leader also noted that a US F-22 was able to effectively fire at the high altitude object after being "scrambled" together with Canadian and American planes.

Trudeau has said that the Canadian Forces will collect the debris and conduct an investigation.

Pentagon spokesperson Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said the North American Aerospace Defense Command spotted the high-altitude object over Alaska late Friday evening.

The official said that two US F-22s were following the high altitude object over Alaska, and when it went into Canadian airspace, Canadian fighters joined them.

I ordered the take down of an unidentified object that violated Canadian airspace. @NORADCommand shot down the object over the Yukon. Canadian and U.S. aircraft were scrambled, and a U.S. F-22 successfully fired at the object.  Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) February 11, 2023

The Pentagon confirms the incident in its statement released on Saturday, saying that the United States military shot down a high-altitude unidentified flying object above Canada.

After speaking with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Saturday, Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder released a statement saying that US President Joe Biden has given NORAD permission to assist the Canadian government in shooting down a "high-altitude airborne object."

Read Also: Russia Deploys Missiles Against Ukraine Radars

The Pentagon claims that the high altitude flying object was seen above Alaska on Friday night and that NORAD, with the help of the Alaska Air National Guard, was following it attentively and taking time to describe "the nature of the object" as it flew through American territory, per Fox News.

According to the report, an US F-22 Raptor fired an AIM 9X missile at the UFO as it was flying over Canadian territory.

Is the Flying Object Another Chinese Spy Balloon?

The item's identity and relationship to last week's spy balloon and Friday's unidentified high-altitude flying object are unknown.

After determining that a 40,000-foot "high-altitude object" above Alaska constituted a "reasonable hazard to civilian aviation traffic," the US military shot it down on Friday. US Northern Command fighter jets downed the object, which Biden called a "success."

Debris on ice in US territorial waters is being recovered by recovery crews.

Less than a week before, following days of tracing the balloon's trip across US territory, a US fighter jet shot down a Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina.

Last Saturday, an American F-22 fighter plane shot down a Chinese spy balloon. According to the White House, the balloon was aiming for "critical military locations" as part of an ongoing plot that US officials had known about for years.

Chinese Spy Balloon Revealed To Be Capable of Capturing Communications, Photos

The spy balloon discovery worsened the tensions between the US and China, forcing US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to postpone his first high-level trip to Beijing.

Consequently, China blasted the United States for its "overreaction" and severe violation of "international norms."

Republicans and some Democrats have attacked Biden for neglecting to take down a 60,000-foot Chinese spy balloon that breached US airspace over Alaska on January 28. In the end, it got shot down off the coast of South Carolina.

The Chinese spy balloon was discovered to possess the technology to capture communications and photos, making the situation even more serious, according to an earlier HNGN report.

Related Article: Peru Deadly Protests Update

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A woman on Oak Street told police she uses Snapchat to communicate with her clients. The night before at 10:05 p.m. she received a friend request through Snapchat, which she accepted because she thought it might be a client. She then got a message from that person at 6:51 a.m. today letting her know they had inappropriate photos of her and they even sent some to her as proof. She has no idea how they got the photos or who this person is, and they were asking for more photos or they were threatening to send them to her clients. Also, the person had used her info - name, etc, - to set up another Snapchat account.



* * *

Police conducted a traffic stop at 4827 Jersey Pike on a vehicle that matched the description of a vehicle involved in a crime that occurred on Jan. 21. The driver was found to have a suspended license and failed to provide current proof of insurance.

* * *

A manager at a local Speedway called police about theft involving an employee who was on scene but was leaving prior to police arrival. The manager said she was informed by the contracted security company they had observed via camera one of the employees stealing while at work. She said the employee would not be at work until 8 a.m. the next morning. The manager said she would have to review camera footage and would have to go over the loss to come up with a total for money and inventory stolen. She said she would call back once she had gathered this information and footage of the thefts.

* * *

Police observed a suspicious vehicle, Chrysler 300, TN tag, in a business parking lot at 301 N. Holtzclaw Ave. after hours. Police identified the occupant, who informed police he was hanging out and that he would move along. A warrant check was conducted, showing no active warrants. The man left the area without incident.

* * *

A disorder was reported at the bus station at 740 E. 12th St. Upon arrival Police found there was an altercation between a manger and a couple. The manager requested to have both the man and woman trespassed from the property. Police notified both of them they were trespassed and to not come back.

* * *

Police were dispatched to the Speedway at 1330 E. 3rd St. for a disorder involving a customer and employee. The employee was requesting the customer be trespassed. Police identified the customer and informed her she had to leave and was trespassed from the property and could not return. She left the property without incident.

* * *

A woman on N. Moore Road told police that someone entered her vehicle during the night and broke the steering column. Nothing was taken from the vehicle and no force entry was used. Damage to the vehicle was estimated at around $300.

* * *

A man on E. Main Street told police when he came out to his vehicle this morning, he found that someone had broken out the window on his truck and stolen a DeWALT 20v Power Drill, DeWALT Drill Bit Set, and a DeWALT 20v Light. No suspect information was available.
Turkish authorities jailed more than 100 construction contractors, who may have caused the fallen buildings and fatalities, as the death toll from Monday's Turkey-Syria earthquake nears the 30,000 mark.

Turkey's justice ministry established the "Earthquake Crimes Investigation Units," resulting in more than 100 being detained this week for having failed to meet construction codes, according to Forbes, which cited information from the New York Times and Andalou Agency.

Turkey's health ministry estimates the death toll from the 7.8 magnitude Turkey earthquake reached 24,617 Saturday.

The earthquake death toll in government-controlled regions in northern Syria remains at 1,347, with 2,295 others injured, according to Syria's health ministry-though the office has not updated its estimates since February 9.

The Syrian Civil Defense noted the number of fatalities in the northwest region of the nation where rebels are based has risen to 2,167.

UN Aid Official Urge World To Remember Turkey-Syria Earthquake Victims

On Saturday, UN assistance director Martin Griffiths urged people to remember thousands of earthquake survivors who lacked shelter and food while rescuers searched southern Turkey and northern Syria.

Speaking during a news briefing in the Turkish province of Kahramanmaras, Griffiths said he spoke to families displaced and left freezing and starving by the Turkey-Syria earthquake, per Reuters.

The UN official told members of the press that he will "make sure these people are not forgotten."

Moreover, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator praised Turkey's response to the disaster as "extraordinary" and hailed the "courage" of first responders for working round the clock in search of survivors.

He also said what happened in the area around the epicenter of the quake was the "worst event in 100 years in this region."

Read Also: US Shoots Down Another High-Altitude Flying Object

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has announced that it would provide $85 million in emergency aid to local partners in Turkey and Syria, as earlier reported by HNGN.

Local partners would serve as channels for US assistance to Syria, as Washington has rejected Bashar al-Assad and sought responsibility for civil war atrocities.

Riots Force Rescue Teams To Suspend Operations

Meanwhile, German and Austrian rescue teams have suspended operations in southeastern Turkey, citing security concerns following the Turkey-Syria earthquake.

German relief organization ISAR director of operations Steven Bayer noted on Saturday that the earthquake victims' "grief is slowly giving way to anger."

ISAR and Germany's Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) said Saturday they were halting their activity after riot-like situations in the province of Hatay, according to DW.

THW and ISAR attributed the circumstances to food shortage and water supply problems in the earthquake area.

Separately, a spokesman for the Austrian military also said it had suspended its rescue operations in Turkey due to a worsening "security situation" on the ground.

Lieutenant Colonel Pierre Kugelweis of the Austrian Armed Forces said that there is rising "aggression between factions in Turkey."

The Austrian disaster relief unit has been helping with the search and rescue operations in Hatay since Tuesday. They were confined to their base camp until the Turkey-Syria earthquake situation improved.

Related Article: Lack of UN Aid for Natural Disaster Survivors

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In the United States, the average wait time for a kidney transplant is between three and five years. And according to the American Kidney Fund, there are 92,000 people currently awaiting the organ accounting for 87% of the national transplant waiting list.

But, in a remarkable new study, researchers from Duke-NUS Medical School and the National Heart Center Singapore (NHCS) have found that restoring impaired kidney function via regenerative therapy may be possible.

During a preclinical study, which has since been published in Nature Communications, the team discovered that blocking IL-11 a damaging, scar-regulating protein enabled damaged kidney cells to regenerate. This ultimately restored kidney function that was impaired by acute injuries and disease.

Kidney failure is a global epidemic. Closer to home, Singapore ranks first in the world for diabetes-induced kidney failure and fourth in terms of kidney failure prevalence. The contribution of chronic kidney disease to mortality is rapidly increasing, suggesting there are shortcomings in current therapeutic approaches, explained Anissa Widjaja, an assistant professor, and molecular biologist at Duke-NUS.

Widjaja ultimately joined forces with Stuart Cook, the head of Cardiovascular Genetics and Genomics at the National Heart and Lung Institute (NHLI) in London, as well as world-leading nephrologist Thomas Coffman and colleagues in Germany.

Then, the team began to investigate IL-11, a protein that triggers scarring in organs such as the lungs, liver, and heart in chronic and acute kidney disease.

The researchers findings suggest that IL-11 triggers a domino effect of molecular processes leading to fibrosis (scarring), inflammation, and loss of function.

Conversely, the team also discovered that kidney damage could be prevented and even reversed by using a neutralizing antibody to inhibit IL-11.

We found that IL-11 is detrimental to kidney function and triggers the development of chronic kidney disease, Cook detailed.

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Charges dropped against pastors who held worship services during pandemic

Prosecutors and a judge in Canada have dismissed charges against pastors and their associates in New Brunswick and Ontario who had been charged with violating public health orders for holding services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

All charges against Pastors Phillip James Hutchings and associates of His Tabernacle Family Church in Saint John and Pastor Aaron Rock of Harvest Bible Church in Windsor have been dropped.

In a Feb. 2 decision, Chief Justice Tracey DeWare of the Court of King's Bench dismissed a government motion to hold Pastors Hutchings and church director Cody Butler in contempt of court for holding church services in a commercial tent in the fall of 2021. The services came at a time the provincial government banned indoor public gatherings.

The justice stated that she was unable to determine that the tent erected by Pastor Hutchings for worship in Saint John was "clearly and unequivocally" an enclosed area as defined by a provincial health order.

Hutchings and his associates were issued tickets in October 2021 for violating the health order. A month later, they set up a commercial tent with sidewalls, which were left open during warm weather but closed when temperatures dropped.

Prosecutors claimed the church breached public health orders because the commercial tent was an indoor space and the pastors did not ensure attendees were vaccinated against COVID-19.

"[An] alternative and reasonable point of view can be that the Respondents moved their church services to the commercial tent in an attempt to avoid the restrictions on 'public indoor space' and therefore avoid breaching the Mandatory Order," DeWare wrote in the ruling.

Attorney Jonathan Martin represents the pastors with the support of The Democracy Fund. In November 2022, charges of obstruction and disobeying health orders were dropped against the pastors after the filing of a constitutional application challenging the legality of the health orders.

"This is a win for due process and also a win for government accountability against the drafting of vague regulations that provide limitless prosecutorial discretion," Martin told The Canadian Press.

In Windsor, Pastor Rock faced with the possibility of a penalty of up to one year in jail and a fine ranging from $10,000 to $100,000 for each of the two counts of alleged Reopening Ontario Act violations. He hosted in-person religious services with an attendance that exceeded the allowed limit at that time.

Crown prosecutors this week withdrew the charges, Windsor Star reported.

"I was a little bit surprised, pleasantly surprised," Rock was quoted as saying. "I've never been a guy in trouble with the law  it was kind of surreal."

Before being charged by the Windsor Police Service for hosting a Sunday service on December 20, 2020, with more than the maximum allowed 10 people for a religious gathering as mandated at that time, Rock was in the news for protesting and seemingly disregarding lockdown regulations, the newspaper noted.

Rock stated that he was not against vaccines or health restrictions for public safety, but he believed that the threat of COVID-19 was "exaggerated" and that the restrictions imposed on communities and businesses were "foolish" and highly damaging.

The case dismissals come as other Canadian pastors facing similar charges have either won their cases or had convictions overturned.
Indian pastor remains jailed despite bail after Hindu extremists file false conversion charges

NEW DELHI  A pastor in northern India remains in jail after more than three months despite winning bail because Hindu extremists filed new false charges against him, his wife said.

We are going through troubled times, and we dont know when this will come to an end, said Preeti Masih, whose husband, Pastor Vijay Masih, completed 100 days in jail on Feb. 7.

The pastor of an Evangelical Church of India (ECI) congregation in Fatehpur, Uttar Pradesh state, won bail orders on Jan. 16, but new cases filed against him extended his arrest term. Initially, he had been arrested on April 14, 2022, and was released on bail after three days, but then he was arrested again on Oct. 30.

Pastor Masih and 49 Christians in the Hariharganj locality of Fatehpur were arrested one after another starting last April under the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021, and other laws. The initial complaint was filed by an official of the local Hindu extremist Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) against 35 identified Christians and 20 unidentified Christians on April 15.

Pastor Masih and the other arrested Christians, plus a few more, faced newly filed charges in

a complaint by Virendra Singh on Jan. 23. The complaint lists 47 identified Christians and 20 unidentified Christians, and the same names figure in another complaint filed on the same day by Sanjay Singh.

In both the complaints, the Christians are baselessly accused under provisions of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, along with unfounded claims of forgery, cheating and criminal conspiracy.

We have a list of about 55 Christians whom to arrest, and we have arrested 49 of them and have received NBW (non-bailable warrant) for the six who were left, Senior Sub-Inspector of Kotwali police station in Fatehpur Santosh Kumar told Morning Star News.

He confirmed that all four of the registered complaints since April 14 repeat the same list of names with only few additions in the latter two.

If the six who are currently not arrested abscond from the police, we have orders to attach their properties under section 82 and 83 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, he said.

Maundy Thursday attack

The cases began when a mob of Hindu extremists shouting Jai shree Ram [Hail, lord Ram] surrounded Pastor Masihs Maundy Thursday church service on April 14, Preeti Masih said.

News media accompanied the extremists, who had brought locks that they used to lock the front and the back gates of the church property. VHP leaders called the police even as the Christians inside reported the attack to officers by phone.

Upon arrival, officers told the Christians to remain calm and allow them to handle the matter, even as they prepared to arrest them.

We were fooled by believing that the police will do the right thing, Preeti Masih told Morning Star News. They noted down the personal details of all the Christians, like the aadhaar number (government-issued ID), date of birth, present address and permanent address along with their names.

Officers told the Christians they would take them to the police station and then let them go, she said.

Like fools we believed the police, and 35 from amongst us were taken to the police station along with Pastor Vijay, she said.

As the Christians waited at the station, officers filed a First Information Report (FIR) against 35 identified and 20 unidentified Christians, and they were taken to court. Nine of them who were aged or had physical ailments were allowed to return home, and the rest  including women and young children  were sent to jail.

They procured bail and were released two days later, on April 16.

In his complaint, the local VHP official, Himanshu Dikshit, accused those gathered at the church service of forcibly converting 90 Hindus. Station Head Officer Amit Mishra then baselessly told news outlet ThePrint that the ECI was heavily involved in forcefully converting Hindus and others, Preeti Masih said.

Mishra reportedly said the Christians would give all kinds of allurements, like admissions to children in missionary schools and jobs to youngsters in the local missionary hospital and NGOs. They would go to villages and extend financial help to people. They would buy buffaloes for those who couldnt afford them.

The station head told ThePrint that 1,000 to 2,000 people were estimated to have been converted by church members named in the FIR.

Preeti Masih roundly denied the allegations, saying they were all made-up stories.

None of the allegations of allurement and forced conversion are true, she told Morning Star News. Police did not ask us anything. They have only heard one-sided complaints from the opposition party, and under pressure from them they have carried out arrests.

Edwin J. Wesley, legal officer and the general secretary of the ECI, said the VHP leader and his supporters made up the entire story. He called the case a complete fake.

The FIR is totally false and baseless, Wesley told Morning Star News. If one visits the church, it is evident that the church capacity itself is not more than 60 people, so those who were present at the time of the attack inside the church were the total number of people mentioned in the FIR.

Preeti Masih said she and her husband lived peacefully with area Hindus and had good relations with everyone.

We have been living cordially along with our neighbors for many years now, she said. We have had no problems on personal levels with anybody. It is very shocking as well as very hurting to see our neighbors speak against us. Only when media people arrived and interviewed our neighbors have they come up with stories and spoken against us, even when none of it is true, and we have done nothing to be targeted.

History of harassment

Three police stations in Fatehpur have filed at least seven FIRs since the beginning of 2022 on complaints from the VHP and Bajrang Dal, claiming Christians were trying to convert Dalits and Hindus through allurement, trickery, coercion and other means.

Most of the 35 named in the initial FIR are employees of the Broadwell Christian Hospital in Fatehpur, a 113-year-old hospital established in 1909. Police issued notices to the chairman of the hospital, Dr. Samuel Mathew, and clerk Parminder Singh on Jan. 4 to provide documents for the investigation, according to the FIR.

Officers also issued notices to the staff of World Vision Internationals Fatehpur office and the bishop of the Evangelical Church of India in Prayagraj to provide materials as part of the investigation.

Separate notices were issued on Dec. 28 to Chancellor Jetti Oliver, Vice-Chancellor Bishop Rajendra B. Lal and administrative official Vinod B. Lal of Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture Technology and Science (SHUATS), Prayagraj, to record their statements, according to the FIR. A notice has also been served to Senior Pastor the Rev. Paul Sigamony, ECI Church-Allahabad Bible Seminary, a resident of Prayagraj, about 80 miles from Fatehpur.

Fatehpur police on Jan. 20 filed a separate FIR against eight officials in Prayagraj, including the vice-chancellor and two pro vice-chancellors, alleging criminal conspiracy and violations under the U.P. Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance 2020.

As arrests continued the past 10 months and a local intelligence unit investigates accusations in Prayagraj, each day something new crops up, the ECIs Wesley said.

We knew this matter is false, and soon it will be sorted in Fatehpur, but sadly it has spread from Fatehpur to Allahabad [now Prayagraj], and many small villages in and around Allahabad where church fellowships are held, he said. They are enquiring of the village churches about the date of their establishment, and who is in charge of the church/fellowship.

Police have not limited themselves to small villages but also large institutions like SHUATS and Allahabad Bible Seminary, Wesley said.

Meantime, Preeti Masih has managed to sustain herself and her two children, ages 12 and 10, on her husbands salary that ECI continues to remit. She visits her husband at least twice a week and encourages him to press on.

Pastor Masih has been leading the ECI church in Fatehpur for last 13 years.

A spokesperson for the Evangelical Fellowship of India Religious Liberty Commission said local media have contributed to the surge of false accusations of fraudulent conversions in India.

Clearly forceful conversion is nothing but a sham, and its just a bogey that is being dragged with the idea of creating a false narrative, the spokesperson said on condition of anonymity. And media plays a major role in creating this perception about the community. As far as forceful conversion is concerned, there hasnt been any single instance of conviction in the past or even now, because Christians are merely followers of Christ and believe in the idea of serving, loving and taking care of each other.

The hostile tone of the National Democratic Alliance government, led by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, against non-Hindus, has emboldened Hindu extremists in several parts of the country to attack Christians since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took power in May 2014, religious rights advocates say.

India ranked 11th on Christian support organization Open Doors 2023 World Watch List of the countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian. The country was ranked No. 31 in 2013, but its position worsened after Modi came to power.
Nicaraguan court sentences Catholic bishop to 26 years in prison, strips him of citizenship for 'treason'

A Nicaraguan court sentenced Catholic Bishop Rolando Alvarez to more than 26 years in prison on charges of treason, undermining national integrity and spreading false news after the critic of President Daniel Ortega declined to be expelled to the United States as part of a prisoner release.

Alvarez, the bishop of Matagalpa diocese, was also fined and stripped of his Nicaraguan citizenship, Reuters reported, noting that his sentencing was moved up unexpectedly from its original date in late March without explanation.

The bishop declined to join 222 other political prisoners, including four priests, who were expelled to the United States on Thursday as part of an agreement with the U.S. State Department, Catholic News Agency said, adding that he chose to remain in Nicaragua to support the Catholics facing repression under the dictatorship.

In televised remarks, Ortega criticized the released prisoners as criminal mercenaries for foreign powers seeking to undermine national sovereignty.

Alvarez, who was being held under guard at a house in the capital city Managua, has been moved to La Modelo Tipitapa prison, the U.K.-based group Christian Solidarity Worldwide said in a statement.

CSWs Head of Advocacy, Anna Lee Stangl, said while her group appreciates the work of the U.S. to open a legal and safe channel for the prisoners to leave Nicaragua, we note that the choice reportedly offered to these individuals by the Nicaraguan government of remaining in prison in inhumane conditions or going into forced exile is one no one should ever be forced to make.

Bishop Alvarez and several other priests and seminarians were arrested last August amid escalating tensions between the Catholic Church and Ortega's government, which has grown increasingly intolerant of any form of dissent.

The Nicaraguan federal police claimed they arrested Alvarez in order to recover normality for the residents and families of Matagalpa, and had they not arrested him, he would have continued with destabilizing and provocative activities, Catholic News Agency reported at the time.

Silvio Baez, a senior Nicaraguan bishop exiled in Miami, called the sentencing irrational and out of control, praising Alvarezs moral high ground and predicting in a tweet that he would eventually be freed.

The Nicaraguan congress, dominated by Ortegas Sandinista National Liberation Front, had ordered the closure of over 1,000 nongovernmental organizations, including Mother Teresas charity, PBS reported at the time.

Pope Francis has expressed concerns about the persecution of Catholic Church leaders deemed a threat to the ruling powers.

I am following closely, with concern and sorrow, the situation in Nicaragua, which involves both people and institutions, the pope said in his address to pilgrims in St. Peter's Square for his weekly blessing after Alvarezs arrest. I would like to express my conviction and my hope that, through open and sincere dialogue, the basis for a respectful and peaceful coexistence can still be found, he said, as reported by Vatican News at the time.

An earlier report by Nicaraguan lawyer Martha Patricia Molina Montenegro, a member of the Pro-Transparency and Anti-Corruption Observatory, said more than 190 attacks had occurred against the Catholic Church since 2018. She was quoted by CNA as saying that Ortega fears no one.

The police are acting like a criminal group that does not submit to the rule of law and once again it makes clear that Nicaragua is a dictatorship where they proceed according to the whim and state of mind of President Daniel Ortega and his consort, she said.

An ideology in Nicaragua portrays Ortega as being anointed by God  for sacred Nicaragua.

A trend of persecution started in Nicaragua after protests against reforms to the public pension system in April 2018. The protests came after about a decade of deteriorating economic conditions in the country. Protesters, mostly students, demanded democratic reforms and that President Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, step down as they allegedly established a dictatorship marked by nepotism and repression.

During the initial days of the 2018 protests, Ortega requested that the Catholic Church act as a mediator. But his administration also began using brutal force against the protesters and later on Catholic clergy.

Catholic clergy aided and provided sanctuary to protesters and voiced support for the right to protest peacefully. But as a result, Ortega used his government and supporters to persecute clergy members, worshipers and various Catholic organizations.

Hundreds of people died in the protests in 2018.
Nicaraguan Priest Warns of Refugee Crisis Coming to America as People Flee Country

Nicaraguans are leaving the country for safety and "a lot" of them might arrive in the United States if the situation gets worse, says a Catholic priest whose parish recently came under siege during an ongoing brutal crackdown on anti-government protests in that country that has killed over 300 people.

"You can see that there's an exodus right now," Fr. Raul Zamora, the priest of Church of Jesus of the Divine Mercy in the capital Managua which was recently besieged by security forces after it gave refuge to protesting students, tells NPR.

The situation, he adds, will get "worse if it's not solved soon."

During the church siege, top Catholic clergy negotiated the release of about 200 university students, priests and journalists on July 13. But two students had been killed and dozens more injured.

Warning of a refugee crisis, Zamora continued, "If the situation gets worse, I mean, probably a lot will take refuge or come here just like I did when I was 11 years old. And I found this nation to be an open-armed nation that received us, you know. And we experience the American people's hearts, you know, and we know that in a moment like that, people will respond with the same generosity."

Protests across Nicaragua have been going on for over three months triggered by planned social security overhauls. Protesters, mostly students, are demanding democratic reforms and that President Daniel Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, step down as they have allegedly established a dictatorship marked by nepotism and brutal repression.

During the initial days of the protests, Ortega requested the Catholic Church to act as a mediator, but his administration also began to use brutal force against the protesters. Now, clergy are also being attacked by his supporters.

Senior Catholic priests are now on the front lines backing the opposition, and Juan Sebastian Chamorro, a member of the opposition alliance, recently told The New York Times that the government "has declared war on the church."

On Sunday, thousands of anti-government protesters took part in a march to show support for the Roman Catholic Church, according to BBC.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence has also said Ortega is waging war on the Church.

Zamora agrees. "The president actually said it," he tells NPR. "He said that the bishops were terrorists, that they're violent and all this, you know? And we hear that from his own people also around. It's a frontal attack now against the church, the bishop and the priests."
Average age of people in England, Wales identifying as Christian climbs above 50: census Over half of all Welsh age 45 and younger have no religious identity

The average age of people who identify as Christian in England and Wales has topped 50, as most younger adults now identify as non-religious, according to new census data.

In 2021, the median age of those identifying as Christian was 51, compared with 45 just a decade ago, according to a breakdown of religion by age and sex in England and Wales from the Office of National Statistics.

That median age marked the oldest average age among most religious groups among these two U.K. countries.

While in 2011 over two in 10 who identified as Christian were 65 or older, that number is now three in 10, while the percentage of those ages 21-25 who identify as Christian has declined from 5.1% to 3.9%.

People who identify as Muslim, meanwhile, had the youngest average age at 27, up slightly from 25 in 2011.

Other religious groups saw their averages slightly increase, including Hindus and Sikhs, whose average age jumped from 32 to 37. Those identifying as Jewish saw their average age unchanged at 41 years old.

As for the nones, those who say they do not hold any religious beliefs, their average age also increased from 30 to 32, while over half of the non-religious were in the 22 to 30 age range, with 27-year-olds holding the highest proportion (53%).

Many factors can cause changes in the size of religious groups, including changing age structure, people relocating for work or education, and differences in the way individuals chose to self-identify (or how children's religious affiliation was reported) between censuses, the report stated.

There were significant differences between respondents from England and Wales: while the number of people who say they have no religion was more than half of all people up to age 45 in Wales, only those ages 23 to 30 had roughly the same percentage in England.

Wales had an older peak age for those who identify a Christian  age 99 at over 82%  while the proportion of those who identify as Christian in England peaked at 89 years old at nearly 79%.

Among other religious groups, at least one in 10 people aged 18 or younger in England identified as Muslim, including data that recorded the religious identity of 1-year-old babies at nearly 12%, according to ONS.

As part of the census effort, secular atheist group Humanists UK launched a campaign urging people who dont believe in or practice any religion to identify as no religion.

Asserting that millions of non-religious people accurately identify as religious in the census due to the biased way in which the question is asked, Humanists UK warned that exaggerated religious data could be used for the purposes of unfair religious discrimination in our society.

As examples, the organization cited a number of what it characterized as adverse outcomes, including more faith schools, the enforcement of what it called compulsory Christian worship in schools, and using public service contractors from religious organizations who can discriminate against non-religious or LGBT service users.

The campaign did not cite any specific data or examples to support its claims.

According to Humanists UK, if the non-religious were counted more accurately by the census, it could result in replacing compulsory worship with inclusive assemblies, swapping faith-based religious instruction in schools for inclusive education about all the different beliefs and values, and taking a second look at allowing religious officials to vote in Parliament.

The only countries that do this are the U.K. and Iran! the website states.

For England and Wales, the trend toward godlessness has been fairly steady since 2016, when a data analysis found those without a religion outnumbered Christians in England and Wales for the first time ever.

Data collected through British Social Attitudes surveys over three decades showed when looking at England and Wales specifically, as many as 48.5% of the population stated they had no religion back in 2014. Those who belonged to Christian denominations, on the other hand, made up only 43.8% of the share.

Last November, Christians became a minority in the U.K. for the first time since the first census was taken in 1801.

Data released by the U.K.s Office for National Statistics showed fewer than half of the population identified as Christian, while the share of individuals who said they have no religion continued to increase along with those who identified with other religions.




By Yi Whan-woo







Hana Bank said on Sunday that it donated 500 million Indonesian rupiahs ($33,000) to a Korean school in Jakarta as a part of efforts for a joint-prosperity campaign carried out by its parent company, Hana Financial Group.







The lender said the donation will be used to support 20 students enrolled at Jakarta Indonesia Korean School for the next four semesters.







"I hope our donation helps the Korean students in Indonesia to dream bigger regardless of the obstacles they may face and grow as global talents," said Park Jong-jin, president director of Hana Bank Indonesia, during a ceremony to mark the donation at the Korean school.







The school's headmaster, Kim Yoon-ki, thanked Hana Bank for "all the attention and interest" toward the students and their future, saying, "I indeed hope the donation will help them enjoy learning and developing creative mindsets."







In addition to Korean students, Hana Financial Group has been making donations for outstanding university students from low-income families in Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and other developing countries.







The group's joint-prosperity campaign takes place under its broader goal of environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) practices.


Investigation into murdered NJ councilwoman shifts to her church

The investigation into the murder of a black Republican New Jersey councilwoman has shifted its focus to a congregation in Newark where she served as a pastor and treasurer.

Sayreville Councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour, a 30-year-old mother who had recently married a Nigerian pastor, was found shot to death just outside of her apartment on Feb. 1.

Investigators are looking into Champions Royal Assembly in Newark, a local chapter of a Nigerian Pentecostal megachurch where Dwumfour served as a pastor and was involved in finances, according to a report on Thursday by News 12 New Jersey.

Dwumfour went to the church along with Sayreville Council President Christian Onuoha. Both were listed as "officers or agents" of the church in corporate paperwork.

The investigation has not publicly announced any motive or suspects as of Friday. Her funeral was held Wednesday at EPIC Church International of Sayreville.

Onuoha told News12 that church members had their phones and modems looked at by investigators, adding that the car she was driving the night she was murdered was a gift from a congregant.

Dwumfour married to Eze King, the president of Fire Congress Fellowship Inc. King, who is not an American citizen, is in Nigeria and was not expected to return until May, according to 12 News.

Champions Royal Assembly was founded over a decade ago in affiliation with televangelist Joshua Iginla, who heads the Abuja, Nigeria megachurch of over 80,000 people, according to The Asbury Park Press. While the congregation met on the second level of a store, the address listed for Champions Royal Assembly and Fire Congress Fellowship was the same address as an apartment complex Dwumfour listed as her residence.

"She was a treasurer with her church. Anytime you're dealing with money, sometimes there are people who are not happy," said Democrat John Wisniewski, a former state assemblyman and lifelong Sayreville resident, told News 12.

"And the one thing I've learned in my 22 years in public life is that as much as we think we know people, people also have private sides. And they also have things that they're dealing with and people that they're dealing with that none of us know about."

A native of Newark, Dwumfour was elected to the Sayreville Council last year when she successfully defeated a Democrat incumbent in a heavily Democratic town.

Upon news of her murder, elected officials and political activists from both sides of the aisle gave condolences and touted her effective leadership.

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."

Democrat New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said in a statement that the New Jersey State Police would also support the ongoing investigation and spoke well of Dwumfour.

"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," said Murphy.

"I send my condolences to Councilwoman Dwumfour's family and friends, her governing body colleagues, and the entire Sayreville community."
Missouri pastor says God saved his life after 2 teens held him at gunpoint

A Missouri pastor is crediting God with saving his life after he was held at gunpoint and carjacked by two teenage boys a fortnight ago.

On most Friday evenings, Pastor Mike Coleman of Carondelet Baptist Church in St. Louis, Missouri, would join other men from the congregation to do maintenance work on the building. But the evening of Jan. 27 nearly ended in tragedy.

After he parked his minivan in the church's parking lot, Coleman said he began walking across the parking lot toward the entrance of the building. As he walked, two teenage boys passed by, but he didnt find that unusual because it's common to see pedestrians who have no affiliation with the church walking nearby.

Coleman told The Christian Post that he gazed his eyes downward for a moment and then back up and noticed the teen boys had walked out of his line of sight. Not thinking anything of it, Coleman said he continued walking across the parking lot.

Suddenly, the boys reappeared. They ran up to Coleman from behind, placed a gun against his face and demanded he hand over his phone, wallet and car keys.

Coleman told CP that the entire incident was recorded on a surveillance camera he had previously installed outside the church.

When I watched the playback of the surveillance video, I realized there's a 20-second period where the two boys are in my car doing nothing and they told me to stay still. And I had those 20 seconds, and in that time, I forgot that I was a pastor and administrator and a good guy, Coleman said.

I was thinking about how I can get my car back and what I could do if I had my own weapon or if I had my own instrument or device. I wasn't thinking Christian thoughts.

Threatened at gunpoint, Coleman said he was enraged with anger as he feared for his life, but he knew God was by his side the entire time.

I felt like I was outside God's grace as far as my thoughts went. But I knew I was inside His grace as far as protection. So, it was a bag of mixed emotions that I experienced during the incident, Coleman said.

I was so angry that I would have hurt two children if I was capable. And when I say hurt, I don't know how far I would have gone with that. But I know I would want to survive. And again, it was mixed emotions from the spiritual and the practical. It was hard to walk both lines.

Three days after the incident, a 13-year-old boy was taken into custody. The boys mother reported him to authorities and he was remanded to the Juvenile Courts, according to CBS' St. Louis affiliate KMOV4. Coleman said he has decided to press charges against the two boys to hold them accountable.

Coleman said he will never forget the moment during the incident when he told the two boys where to put the key to turn on the ignition.

The boys were young and seemed inexperienced and the pastor worried if he didnt help them figure out how to turn on the car they might retaliate by hurting him.

"I had no choice," he recalled. "They opened the door and with the gun still pointed at me, they told me to come toward them and to show them how to start the car. They were so inexperienced. They didn't even know how to drive the car."

I think they took their driving lessons from a video game or something. And they seemed to have never been behind the wheel of a car before. It would have almost been comical if the gun wasn't pointed at me at the time that they were asking me to do that.

The two boys smashed Colemans phone, stole his wallet and drove off with his van, which they crashed into two other parked cars in front of the church.

My wallet was a complete loss. I had to cancel everything, all my cards. The phone that they threw down and smashed slid underneath the truck. So, I got it back, but it was so badly damaged. Other than a few photos and some calendar dates, the phone wasn't much use, Coleman said.

Valuing the Scripture that says pray for those who persecute you, the pastor said he's prayed to God to not only help get the boys on the right track, but also to help him to be able to forgive the boys.

Crime has been rising in his St. Louis community in recent years, he added, explaining that the carjacking has motivated him, in his own ministry, to reach out to the youth in the community and share the Gospel.

The younger generation, I don't think they hear the Gospel enough. I don't think they hear about grace and mercy. I'm being criticized for prosecuting these kids because people are saying, There has to be forgiveness involved. And if you'll give them a chance to ask for forgiveness, then how can you do that? Coleman said.

The younger people need to be engaged and realize there's higher authority other than the city of St. Louis. Theres the state of Missouri and the United States. They need to start acting and growing in grace and they're not getting that, and that's partially my fault for not opening the doors of my church wider.

Coleman said he has received an outpouring of support and love from his church community and many have donated to help pay for his van to be restored after the wreckage.

He noted that this incident has taught him that having a strong faith goes a long way.

I was prepared to go and face death if that would have been my fate. Whether it's a car accident or something like this or whether I'm diagnosed with the disease, I'm not going to mourn or fret over it because my walk with Christ is strong, he said.
Newsmax CEO calls outlet's removal from DirecTV 'blatant act' of censorship of most faith-friendly news channel DirecTV claims news outlet's removal is 'not ideological'

Its been about two weeks since DirecTV canceled conservative news network Newsmax in what the channels CEO is calling a blatant act of political discrimination and censorship.

Late last month, DirecTV took Newsmax off the air in roughly 13.5 million homes after the two companies failed to reach an agreement on a new carriage deal.

Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy told The Christian Post that DirecTV is angry simply because the Florida-based Newsmax is seeking a very modest fee of about a dollar per subscriber.

For Ruddy, its a clear-cut example of political censorship for a network thats frequently touted by the likes of former President Donald Trump and potential 2024 presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Newsmax has been censored by DirecTV, he told CP. They removed us from their platform in 13 million homes almost two weeks ago and we're still off.

It's a blatant act of political discrimination and censorship, Ruddy added.

As a new channel, Newsmax programming was streaming for free and was also available on ad-supported services like Pluto TV and Roku.

That, Ruddy said, is a key factor in the current standoff.

"DirecTV knows that that stream is ending soon, and ... we'll be a traditional cable channel like CNN, FOX and all the rest, he said.

In a statement, DirecTV said the operators differences with Newsmax are economic, not political or ideological and began after Newsmax made unreasonable demands that would force DirecTV customers to fund the networks shift from a free nationwide streaming service to one that will require a pay TV subscription.

Since we would not agree to Newsmaxs demand to pay them tens of millions of dollars in licensing fees, DirecTV was no longer permitted by Newsmax to air its content, DirecTV said in a statement.

Ruddy, who launched the 24-hour news channel in 2014 as a kinder, gentler Fox, rejected DirecTVs assertion.

"That's baloney," he said.

They want to give us zero cable fees to carry us. That means that we would not only be treated differently than all the rest of the other cable channels, but if we got zero fees from them, we would end up getting zero fees from all other operators, he explained. That's how the industry works, and we would essentially be put out of business.

That's what they're trying to do, is to censor us by demonetizing us.

According to Ruddy, its an effort that stretches back to February 2021, when House Democrats wrote AT&T, Comcast and other distributors about their plans to continue carrying Fox News, One America News Network (OANN) and Newsmax.

Penned by California Democratic Reps. Anna Eshoo and Jerry McNerney, the letter sought to link the post-2020 election riot at the U.S. Capitol with what lawmakers described as misinformation, disinformation, conspiracy theories, and lies.

These phenomena undergird the radicalization of seditious individuals who committed acts of insurrection on January 6th, and it contributes to a growing distrust of public health measures necessary to crush the pandemic, the letter stated.

Last April, DirecTV announced it was dropping OANN.

That move, said Ruddy, was yet another signal that DirecTV is going after channels that produce content with a specific political  and often religious  slant.

The targeting is based on people with conservative political views, he said. Traditional Christians have traditional values, they're viewed as conservative-oriented.

Identifying himself as a believing Christian, Ruddy said Newsmax is considered the most faith-friendly cable channel out there," even more so than competitors like Fox News.

We make a very clear effort to make what happens in Christianity, and society, religious freedom to be very important to Newsmax, he said, pointing to segments such as Franklin Graham and Samaritan's Purse providing updates from Ukraine with Greta Van Susteren.

Newsmax is not a religious channel, but we believe Judeo-Christian ethics is key to the founding of this country and the principles upon which the founding documents and the Constitution were created, said Ruddy.

He also warned of a "greater and greater effort" by mainstream news channels to shun Christian audiences.

There are 22 liberal news channels they carry on DirecTV, Ruddy said. You never hear about them being deplatformed.

DirecTV has pushed back against such complaints and has even launched its own conservative network, The First, which features hosts such as Bill OReilly, Dana Loesch, Liz Wheeler and Jesse Kelly.

While it claims to be disappointed by the standoff, DirecTV says the operator is still interested in bringing Newsmax back under the right financial terms.

But for Ruddy, its unclear whether this will be resolved anytime soon.

I don't know, I can't predict the future, he said. I'll leave it in God's hands, but I do think there's been such an outpouring of support.  So far, they have not been a willing partner for us."
The freedom of religion or belief movement needs to be honest and talk about this

Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

As a Christian, I uphold the biblical basis for human rights that all people are created in Gods image and therefore are worthy of dignity and respect regardless of their religion or belief. Therefore, I readily agree with the purpose of article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. However, while the intentions of this statement are admirable  for persecution because ones faith or belief is wrong there is an essential element missing in the freedom of religion or belief (FORB) discussions by the various political, religious, and special interest groups that champion it.

As the CEO of The Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) in Canada, I have engaged personally with persecuted Christians worldwide. In sifting through the complicating factors that intersect religious persecution, I have observed three leading causes of Christian persecution.

1. Christians are persecuted because of their religious identity

The religious difference of being a Christian often leads to cultural separation, which becomes a root cause of persecution. In many countries, the basis of ones religious identity depends on the familys faith tradition to which they were born. Therefore being born into a Christian family  whether nominal or devoted  one is recognized as Christian within their cultural constructs. These Christians are loyal citizens and desire to live peacefully within their communities, raise families, obtain meaningful work that will provide for their families, and engage in activities that enhance their communities while remaining free to practice their religious beliefs and customs. However, the reality is that as a minority people, Christians will encounter discrimination, often deprived of the advantages and opportunities enjoyed by those of the majority. This fact is actual for nominal and practicing Christians.

For example, in Pakistan, all Pakistani Christians face difficulty, discrimination, and persecution because of their Christian identity. Several large-scale attacks have occurred in Christian colonies recently, including during Christmas 2017 and Easter 2018. Christians are generally trapped in a cycle of poor education and poverty. Many are employed as indentured servants in brick kilns or tree nurseries, street sweepers, and sewage workers. A few Christians have been imprisoned for long periods, while many others cycle in and out of prison, charged under the countrys infamous blasphemy laws. Recently the media has started to pick up reports of young Christian girls being abducted and forcefully married to a much older man who is not Christian.

2. Christians are persecuted because of faithful Christian witness

A vital aspect of the Christian life is to share the Gospel with family, friends, neighbors and strangers. This activity is the biblical mandate called the Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20). Therefore, Christians believe that evangelism is an essential component in practicing their faith, which is best accomplished in the spirit of the Great Commandment, To love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, and mind and to love their neighbor as themselves, found in Mark 12: 29-31. Evangelism is a means of sharing the Gospel (publicly and privately), which is the good news of Jesus Christ.

A sizeable portion of the persecution comes as a direct result of Church growth. In other words, the more a church is active in preaching the Gospel, the more it grows and therefore faces opposition.

For example in India, an estimated 27 million Christians live in India, but that is only 2.1 percent of the population. Christians in India are open and visible. Churches have been demolished and burned, worship gatherings have been disrupted, crosses in graveyards have been vandalized, Bibles and other Christian literature have been confiscated and burned, and more pastors are being beaten and jailed. Christians are often arrested and held for up to three weeks after being falsely accused of forcing Hindus to convert to Christianity. Vague policies such as anti-conversion laws (opposing the conversion of Hindus to other religions) have been passed in several Indian states. The push for a similar federal law is gaining support. The state anti-conversion laws have long been used against pastors, church planters, and evangelists.

3. Converts to Christianity are persecuted because they decided to change their religion

The outcomes of evangelism, whether through individual interactions or the deployment of technology like satellite TV and the internet, have resulted in tremendous church growth throughout non-Western nations. More compelling, however, is the distinct move of God to build His church, without human intervention, through dreams and visions. This phenomenon occurs primarily in, but is not restricted to, the Muslim world. Regardless of how a convert comes to Christ, they immediately experience a backlash of persecution and significant human rights abuses. Sadly, many of these abuses come from family, friends, and neighbors. The persecution at the hands of these friendlies comes through exclusion and social isolation, forcible detainment and torture, and in many cases, honor killings. In addition, anti-conversion bills and blasphemy laws are commonly used as a means of discouraging conversions and a means to apply pressure on converts to reconsider their conversions. Conversions can sometimes result in lengthy prison sentences and even execution.

For example in Iran, the Iranian government is among the most oppressive regimes in the world. It is illegal to leave Islam, and those who do face the constant threat of imprisonment and being falsely charged with acting against national security. Christian converts are routinely fired from their jobs, and it is difficult for a known believer to find a new job. They also are often evicted from rented homes. Several Christians are currently imprisoned, and many others are under house arrest awaiting sentencing. Bibles are highly restricted. It is illegal to import them and forbidden to have Bibles printed in the country.

I realize that what I have presented only scratches the surface of this critical issue. Difficulties for Christians are most common under communist/post-communist nations, religious nationalists, totalitarian/security states, and Islamic extremists. And while many religious freedom groups recognize these trends and agree that persecution of Christians because of their faith is unjust, little is said about the abuses Christians face as a result of the manifestation of their beliefs or conversion.

For article 18 to work and FORB to carry any real meaning, the conversation needs to move toward ones right and freedom to change their religion or belief, as well as to manifest their religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. This will require those in the FORB movement to have tangible and honest discussions, which in my opinion, is sadly missing today.

However, whether the advancement of FORB succeeds or fails, the Bible teaches Christians can expect opposition and persecution in this world because of their identity, their conversion, and their faithful witness of Christ. The Bible teaches a theology of suffering for righteousness which prepares Christians and helps them persevere in trials. This biblical understanding doesnt mean that we stop advocating for all those of faith who suffer repression, but for the Christian, true freedom is not granted by the state. We are compelled to serve Christ in a world that is hostile to His Gospel seeking to live godly lives in a world that is not our home.
Biden keeping Nigeria off religious freedom violators list despite targeted killing of 5,000 Christians last year

The U.S. State Department has reaffirmed its decision to remove Nigeria from its list of countries of particular concern for religious freedom violations after conducting a careful review" following objections from Nigerian Christians, human rights groups and members of Congress.

A State Department spokesperson told The Christian Post in an emailed statement that Nigeria does not meet the legal threshold for designation under the International Religious Freedom Act.

The act declares that it must be U.S. policy to condemn violations of religious freedom, and to promote, and to assist other governments in the promotion of, the fundamental right to freedom of religion.

However, the State Department told CP that it continues to have concerns about the religious freedom situation in Nigeria, and it will keep pressing the government to address them.

The State Department has redesignated Boko Haram and ISIS-WA as Entities of Particular Concern for religious freedom, the spokesperson stated. It has also designated these entities Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) and Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs).

The spokesperson pointed out that Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Rashad Hussain recently met with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs Geoffrey Onyeama and Nigerian National Security Advisor Babagana Monguno during his trip to Mauritania.

"[They] discussed a range of religious freedom concerns with them, the spokesperson continued.

Earlier this month, Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., and several of his Republican and Democratic colleagues introduced HRes82. The resolution urges the State Department to re-designate Nigeria as a country of particular concern and called for the appointment of a special envoy to monitor human rights abuses in the region.

The CPC designation carries with it the possibility for sanctions and other deterrence actions to influence those countries to improve religious freedom conditions.

Christian rights groups have warned for years about the deteriorating religious freedom conditions in Nigeria amid the rise of terror groups like Boko Haram and the Islamic State in the northeast. In addition, advocates have warned about an increase in deadly violence against predominantly Christian communities committed by radical herders in the farming-rich Middle Belt states as the country deals with desertification and erosion of natural resources. Critics of the Buhari government contend it is not doing enough to thwart the violence.

According to the watchdog group Open Doors, Nigeria ranks No. 6 on the organizations 2023 World Watch List, which ranks the top 50 worst countries for Christian persecution. The watchdog group reported that in 2022, 5,014 Christians were killed for their faith, and 4,726 were abducted.

As The Christian Post reported, the Biden administration has taken a different approach to its handling of the rising violence in Nigeria than the Trump administration. Secretary of State Antony Blinken removed Nigeria from the CPC list in November 2021 after it was added to the list by then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo under the Trump administration in December 2020.

A 2021 religious freedom report released by the State Department in June 2022 cited testimony from "civil society organizations and media," who "stated that insecurity was pervasive throughout the country and increased nationwide, particularly in the North West region."

As the report noted, the predominant religion in the countrys northwest region is Islam.

"There was pervasive violence involving predominantly Muslim herders and mostly Christian, but also Muslim, farmers, particularly in the North Central, but also in the North West (where most farmers were Muslim) and South West regions," the report noted.

"According to the Nigeria security tracker maintained by the Council on Foreign Relations, there were an estimated 10,399 deaths from violent conflict during the year, compared with 9,694 in 2020."

The report cited killings of Christians that CP had previously reported on, such as the death of a 39-year-old Christian pastor and his 3-year-old son by radical Fulani herdsmen in 2021.

The same month that Blinken first announced Nigeria's removal from the CPC list, he met with high-ranking government officials in Nigeria and raised concerns about religious freedom issues. Blinken and U.S. diplomats also met with President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

"U.S. officials also addressed religious tensions and efforts to bring religious groups together with several state governors  including the governors of Kaduna, Kano, Benue, Nasarawa, Taraba, Borno, Plateau, Akwa Ibom, Enugu, and Abia States  and other government officials throughout the country," the report reads. "They discussed government and government-supported grassroots efforts to reduce violence, combat insecurity, and promote religious freedom and interreligious tolerance."

The bipartisan U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, which advises the State Department and Congress about religious freedom matters, criticized Nigerias removal from the CPC list.

"USCIRF is especially displeased with the removal of Nigeria from its CPC designation, where it was rightfully placed [in 2020]," USCIRF Chair Nadine Maenza said at the time.

Nina Shea, a human rights lawyer and director of the Hudson Institute's Center for Religious Freedom, told CP last year "the State Department has missed the big picture of vulnerable Christian minorities of northern Nigeria being repeatedly attacked and driven from their villages by Muslim extremists and their agents who act with complete impunity."

"Authorities fail to investigate and prosecute the perpetrators of these large-scale atrocities, and moreover prosecute and threaten local journalists who report on them," she stated.

"There's an incomprehensible gap between the State Department's reporting and what desperate Christians on the ground are reporting to religious freedom advocates here. This gap reflects State's overreliance on sources that it and [United States Agency for International Development] funds, which in turn push a political narrative favored by State. That narrative says that northern violence is driven by a conflict over a scarcity of resources as a result of climate change."
Priest faces legal uncertainty after praying outside closed abortion clinic

A Catholic priest is pursuing a clear verdict as he potentially faces charges for praying silently outside a closed abortion clinic, holding a sign calling for free speech and displaying a pro-life bumper sticker on his car, his legal team says.

The legal nonprofit ADF UK announced in a statement Thursday that Father Sean Gough, a Catholic priest based in Birmingham, England, had faced charges of "intimidating service-users" of an abortion clinic covered by a Public Spaces Protection Order.

The Crown Prosecution Service ultimately dropped the charges but informed Gough that the charges could re-materialize at any point in the future. This led Gough to "pursue a clear verdict on his charges in court in order to clear his name."

"Though charges were dropped after several weeks due to 'insufficient evidence,' he has been warned that further evidence relating to the charges may soon be forthcoming, implying the entire grueling process could soon restart from the beginning," ADF UK Legal Counsel Jeremiah Igunnubole said in a statement.

The protection order prohibits 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 Roberts Clinic.

Gough held a sign reading "praying for free speech" in the vicinity of the abortion clinic, which was closed at the time. He also faced a charge for parking his car, with a bumper sticker proclaiming "unborn lives matter," near the abortion facility.

While police officers informed the priest that they did not believe he did anything wrong, they pressed charges after interrogating him at the police station.

"I pray wherever I go, inside my head, for people around me," Gough said in a statement. "How can it be a crime for a priest to pray? I often pray in my head near the abortion facility, but at the time in question, I was praying for free speech, which is under severe pressure in our country today."

"At all times, I believed my actions to be lawful  freedom of expression, especially when peaceful, is protected in domestic and international law. It is deeply undemocratic to censor public streets, particularly those places where we know that many women have benefitted from peaceful offers of help about services available."

Igunnubole said Gough's prosecution shows how "the process in and of itself has become the punishment" for pro-life activists who pray near abortion clinics and face "onerous legal battles simply for holding peaceful views in certain public spaces, against the will of authorities." He said the legal process creates "a chilling effect on freedom of expression."

Igunnubole maintained that "nobody should be criminalized for peaceful activities like praying for the state of free speech in our country, or having a bumper sticker on their car that expresses a belief that 'unborn lives matter.'"

"Father Sean's years of service to women in crisis pregnancies are testimony to the good of his character and intention," he added.

A large part of Gough's ministry is working for Rachel's Vineyard, a charity that supports hundreds of women and men in the U.K. wounded by abortion.

"I don't judge or condemn those who've had abortions  but volunteer my time to work for their healing," he said.

For Gough, it's not just the Catholic Church's teachings that inform his belief in the sanctity of life.

"My mom made a bold choice for life when I was a baby. I was conceived in the context of severe violence, and she found the grace and the strength to fight for us both," Gough said. "So many people thought she should abort me, but by the grace of God, she didn't."

Gough's case mirrors that of pro-life activist Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, who was also arrested in Birmingham for a similar breach of the Public Safety Protection Order that bars demonstrations outside the BPAS Robert Clinic. Like Gough, she had charges dropped but learned that the case against her "may well start again" if prosecutors uncover additional evidence against her.

Vaughan-Spruce is also pursuing a clear verdict, hoping that such a decision would set a precedent and provide a concrete "answer as to whether it's still lawful to pray silently in our own heads." ADF UK announced Friday that a court date for Vaughan-Spruce has been set for Feb. 16.
The headquarters of Osstem Implant located in western Seoul / Newsis



By Anna J. Park



The Korea Corporate Governance Improvement (KCGI) has decided to sell its 6.92 percent stake in Osstem Implant during a tender offer launched late last month by a consortium made up of Unison Capital Korea and MBK Partners, according to the activist fund. The tender offer is scheduled to last through Feb. 24.



KCGI said Friday that the decision to accept the tender offer is to respect a good faith principle for its fund investors. It means that under the principle, the activist fund company needs to perform actions that guarantee the best interests of its investors. As the private equity giants' consortium decided to pay 190,000 won ($150) per share during the tender offer, the activist fund company could reap an internal rate of return (IRR) of over 150 percent, if it responds to the offer.



The fund company worried that if it does not respond to the tender offer, the stocks held by the investment company might face a lower price than the tender offer price per share, during the remaining procedure of a possible delisting of the dental company from the KOSPI market, once the tender offer is closed.



The consortium of the two private equity companies plan to delist Osstem Implant from the main benchmark KOSPI, if it succeeds in gathering enough stakes during the tender offer. As this scenario would be violating the fund company's good faith principle owed to investors, the company reached the conclusion to sell its stake during the tender offer.





KCGI CEO Kang Sung-boo speaks during a press conference held at Glad Hotel on Yeouido, Seoul on Feb. 20, 2020. Newsis
Wilkes-Barre, PA (18701)

Today

Rain showers in the morning with numerous thunderstorms developing in the afternoon. High 73F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%..

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Mostly cloudy skies. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 59F. Winds light and variable.
A photo released by the North Korean Central News Agency shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his daughter Ju-ae attending a banquet to celebrate the 75th founding anniversary of the Korean People's Army (KPA) in Pyongyang, Feb. 7. Yonhap



By Nam Hyun-woo



North Korea is compelling people who have the same name as leader Kim Jong-un's daughter, Ju-ae, to change their name, as part of the regime's effort to idolate the young girl, who is assumed to be about 10 years old, and who is expected to be the country's next leader, according to a recent media report.





Radio Free Asia reported Friday that multiple unnamed sources in North Korea told the news outlet that the North's authorities are forcing people named Ju-ae to change their name.



"The safety department of Chongju, North Pyongan Province, on Feb. 8 summoned women who are registered under the name of Ju-ae and ordered them to change their names," said a source quoted by the news outlet.






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NEW MEXICO

Roasted chile could become official state aroma

ALBUQUERQUE  The sweet smell of green chile roasting on an open flame permeates New Mexico every fall, wafting from roadside stands and grocery store parking lots and inducing mouth-watering visions of culinary wonders.

Now one state lawmaker says it's time for everyone to wake up and smell the chile.

Sen. Bill Soules' visit with fifth grade students in his southern district sparked a conversation about the savory hot peppers and the potential for New Mexico to become the first state in the nation to proudly have an official state aroma, a proposal now being considered by lawmakers.

For New Mexico, chile is more than a key ingredient for every meal. It's life. It's at the center of the official state question  "Red or green?"  and is one of the state's official vegetables.

New Mexico produced more than 60% of the U.S. chile pepper crop in 2021 and is home to Hatch, an agricultural village known as the chile capital of the world for the unique red and green peppers it has turned out for generations.

Legislation recognizing roasted chile as the official aroma passed its first committee on Jan. 31, and supporters say it's not likely to fire up much debate  other than lawmakers sharing their own stories about how they can't go a day without eating it.

A legislative analysis of the bill noted that peak tourist season typically overlaps with the time for chile roasting. The analysis also noted that New Mexico has consistently lower visitation rates than neighboring Colorado, which reported 84.2 million visitors in 2021 compared with about 40 million in New Mexico.

"The new state aroma could help draw visitors away from Colorado, which, for some reason, thinks it has green chile comparable to that of New Mexico," the analysis quipped, in a nod to an ongoing feud between the two states.

Bill advances that would ban guns at polls

SANTA FE  A bill that would prohibit firearms at New Mexico polling places during elections with exceptions for police officers cleared its first hurdle at the Legislature on Feb. 1.

A Senate panel voted 6-3 along party lines, with Republicans in opposition, to advance the bill from Democratic Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth of Santa Fe. A second committee endorsement could send the bill to a full Senate vote.

New Mexico already prohibits guns on school grounds, where many election polls are located. But firearms can be carried at many other polling locations, openly or with a concealed-handgun permit.

Under the proposed changes, New Mexico would join at least 12 other states that prohibit guns and weapons at polling places, including neighboring Colorado, Texas and Arizona.

Wirth said he heard concerns from constituents in his district about firearms at polls during the 2022 election cycle, including one person who decided to stop working at the polls because people were bringing guns with them to vote.

Guns would be prohibited within 100 feet of any polling location.

Republican Senate Minority Leader Greg Baca of Belen voted against the measure and said he preferred that poll workers be able to carry a gun as a defense against people who might flout the restrictions.

GOP Sen. Mark Moores of Albuquerque unsuccessfully suggested an amendment that would allow people with concealed-handgun permits to bring their guns to the polls.

NEVADA

Recent snowfalls may slow water level decline at Lake Mead

LAS VEGAS  Hefty snowfalls that fed the Colorado River in recent weeks may slow the water level decline of Lake Mead on the Nevada-Arizona border, according to some experts.

Forecasters now expect Lake Mead to finish this year around 1,027 feet elevation, about 19 feet lower than its current level.

But that's about 7 feet higher than the 2023 end-of-year elevation in the bureau's forecast in December, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

The newspaper said Lake Powell, the reservoir on the Arizona-Utah border, now is expected to finish this year at 3,543 feet or about 19 feet higher than its current level.

While the projections have improved with the snowpack, the forecasted levels mean that Lake Mead would remain in shortage conditions for at least a third consecutive year.

The newspaper said the basin has been aided heavily by a series of nine atmospheric rivers that battered much of the West over a three-week period that started days after Christmas.

Snowpack numbers across the region are far above average, with some parts of California and Nevada currently near or more than 200 percent of average for this point of the year.

The majority of the runoff for the Colorado River will be snow melting off the Western Rockies where the snowpack currently sits at a healthy 146 percent of average, the Review-Journal reported.

OKLAHOMA

Judge: Banning guns for marijuana users unconstitutional

OKLAHOMA CITY  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 Court's conservative majority set new standards for reviewing the nation's 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 nation's 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.

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, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump, agreed with Harrison's lawyers, ruling on Feb. 3 that federal prosecutors' arguments were not a constitutionally permissible means of disarming Harrison.

In his ruling, Wyrick highlighted that under Oklahoma law, marijuana can be bought legally at more than 2,000 store fronts in the state.

ARIZONA

Ranchers to be paid for removing livestock carcasses

PHOENIX  The Arizona Livestock Loss Board is implementing a new incentive program that will compensate ranchers for removing livestock carcasses to locations where they aren't accessible to Mexican wolves.

Officials announced on Feb. 1 that the board will pay ranchers $250 for each carcass that is made unavailable to wolves.

A measure that stood out as being effective in other states was removing livestock carcasses from wolf-occupied areas to avoid wolves being drawn to and remaining in the area as they scavenge the carcass.

Although ranchers and Arizona Game and Fish Department personnel have been removing carcasses for years, the number has been limited by the cost of removals and the limited time that agency personnel have been able to commit to the program given the high demand in managing the wolves themselves.

The Mexican wolf is the rarest subspecies of gray wolf in North America. According to the most recent survey released in early 2022, there were at least 196 Mexican wolves in the wild in New Mexico and Arizona. It marked the sixth straight year the population had increased.
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Bailey Stover is a multimedia journalist with The Missourian. She is pursuing a double major in Journalism and Spanish and a double minor in Public Health and Sociology at the University of Missouri. She can be reached by email at bascnh@mail.missouri.edu.

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This photo, captured on Feb. 12 from a broadcast of North Korea's official Korean Central Television, shows North Korean workers engaging in antivirus efforts. Yonhap



A North Korean state broadcaster called Sunday for thorough quarantine efforts, pointing to the "very unstable" situation marked by the spread of COVID-19, seasonal flu and other contagious illnesses.



The North's official Korean Central Television said the country's entire society should continue to maintain the antivirus campaign by blocking all virus transmission routes, including border and coastal areas, until the world's public health crisis ends.






This photo shows the inside of a room cafe in Daejeon which was found to be illegally operating in a recent police crackdown. Courtesy of Daejeon Metropolitan Police Agency



By Lee Hyo-jin



A growing number of "room cafes" that do not comply with regulations has sparked debate on teenagers' sexual activities  a taboo subject in Korea  after the government vowed to crackdown on these facilities where underage students were found to be having sex.



Room cafes, which began appearing in the early 2000s, offer a private space with basic amenities to visitors. But in recent years, many of these establishments have evolved into hotel-like facilities.



Unlike the past, when curtains or partitions were installed to offer privacy, some cafes now provide separate rooms with lockable doors. Many rooms are also equipped with a screen, bed and even a bathroom in some cases.



Although these room cafes look no different from motels or DVD rooms  where minors are prohibited from entering under the Youth Protection Act  these facilities have been able to circumvent the law, as they are registered under general business or restaurant licenses.



As an increasing number of teenagers have been found to be drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes and having sexual intercourse at these facilities, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family has been urging local governments and the police to launch a crackdown on "illegal" room cafes.



The gender ministry on Friday held a meeting with related government bodies, including the ministries of education and health and welfare, as well as the National Police Agency, to come up with effective measures to regulate illegal room cafes that could pose a risk to minors.



"We will discuss various ways to improve current measures in order to better monitor business owners of newly-emerging types of room cafes and create a safe environment for young people," said Vice Minister Lee Ki-soon prior to the meeting.



Following recommendation from the family ministry, local governments, including Seoul, Daegu and Busan, are rushing to launch special inspections on room cafes that resemble motels.



However, some experts pointed out that regulating such facilities should come in line with improvements in sex education classes offered at schools to help young people make better decisions about their sex lives. Although it is the government's duty to regulate businesses that are harmful to minors, considering that similar facilities may appear in the future, a more fundamental solution would be to provide appropriate sex education.





Vice Minister of Gender Equality and Family Lee Ki-soon speaks during a meeting on government measures to crack down on illegal room cafes, held at Government Complex Seoul, Friday. Yonhap
What a spectacular own goal for UK plc! Just as we should be seizing the opportunities of Brexit to create a more dynamic economy attractive to foreign visitors and investors, the Treasury has decided to scrap tax-free shopping for international tourists.

It did this at the worst possible time, after the pandemic ripped the heart out of the British hospitality sector and the high street.

Liz Trusss short-lived government recognised the damage, and announced that it would stop slapping foreign shoppers with VAT on their purchases. At a difficult time for the economy, here was the Treasury helping beleaguered businesses weather the storm. Imagine my shock, therefore, when Jeremy Hunt announced a reversal of the move, claiming it would save the Government 2 billion a year.

Figures from Visit Britain show that shopping is one of the most popular reasons cited for visiting the UK. British business made 3.5 billion in tax-free sales to tourists every year. These visitors did not just spend in retail stores  their custom supported hotels like mine, restaurants and theatres.

It did this at the worst possible time, after the pandemic ripped the heart out of the British hospitality sector and the high street

Experts tell us this was worth at least 10 billion a year to the UKs wider economy.

But now we have suddenly started charging 20 per cent more than other countries do for the same goods, international visitors we should be doing everything we can to encourage to come here wont hesitate to go elsewhere.

Every single country remaining in the EU now offers tax-free shopping while we dont, putting our economy at a significant disadvantage.

Paris, Rome and Berlin cant believe their luck.

How depressing to learn that a great British brand like Mulberry is now closing the doors of one of its flagship stores as a result.

According to Oxford Economics, the reintroduction of tax-free shopping would attract more than 1.6 million extra visitors a year to the UK by 2025. We cant afford to turn them away.

However unfashionable tax cuts may be under this Government, the Chancellor must think again.
The boss of the top London PR consultancy was pulling no punches. 'Lee Anderson is a neanderthal Northerner,' he raged at the man appointed last week as the Tory Party's new deputy chairman.

The Lib Dems' Treasury spokeswoman Sarah Olney was equally direct. 'It is not good enough to say we have to have a range of voices in Parliament,' she haughtily proclaimed after another Tory MP had suggested MPs might perhaps be allowed to reflect the views of their constituents.

Labour's Lisa Nandy, the Shadow Levelling-Up Secretary, went further, comparing Anderson's elevation with her party's management of 'the scourge of antisemitism'. 'We kicked them out,' she chided. 'You're promoting people.'

Anderson, the plain-speaking former Labour councillor who represents a Red Wall swing seat in Nottinghamshire, has been in his new post for less than a week. But he's already done his job.

He's flushed out the liberal Left. He's exposed their thinly disguised hatred for anyone who dares challenge their self-styled 'progressive' consensus. And, most significantly, he's revealed how the rise of 'cancel culture' is set to ostracise huge swathes of the British working class.

Lee Anderson has already done his job by flushing out the liberal left, writes Dan Hodges

Take Nandy's comments. First, her claim is false. The majority of Labour MPs  including Sir Keir Starmer  did not initially purge antisemitism from their ranks.

Instead, they chose to tolerate it, appease it, and campaign for it to be transplanted into the heart of government through the election of Jeremy Corbyn as Prime Minister.

But then look deeper at what Nandy is implying. The outrage that greeted Anderson's appointment had two primary focal points.

The first was a speech in which he highlighted a food bank scheme in his constituency which requires participants to register for a budgeting and cooking course. 'We've got generation after generation who cannot cook properly, they can't cook a meal from scratch, they cannot budget,' he claimed.

The second trigger point was an interview in which he was asked if he backed the restoration of hanging. 'Yes. Nobody has ever committed a crime after being executed. You know that, don't you? 100 per cent success rate,' he replied.

Advocating working people should be given the skills required to cook and budget. Arguing for capital punishment for the most serious offenders. This  in the view of Nandy and her party  is equivalent to antisemitism. And should be sanctioned accordingly.

The comparison is obviously ridiculous. And indeed, odious to the millions who share Anderson's views. But whenever this is pointed out, his critics reach for the same formulaic riposte.

'Saying all working-class people identify with Lee Anderson is grossly patronising,' they argue. 'Not everyone north of Watford wants to hang people or blame the poor for their own poverty.'

And if that's what Anderson or anyone else was claiming, they'd be right. The fact is that the phrase 'working class' is of itself patronising. It assigns homogeneity to a vast and diverse social grouping.

A nurse from Peckham and a plumber from Hartlepool are both working class. Yet their world view will be different in myriad ways.

But unpalatable though it may be to his enemies, Anderson speaks for a sizeable proportion of working people.

According to the most recent YouGov polling, 55 per cent of those questioned support a reintroduction of the death penalty in cases of multiple murder; 54 per cent for terrorist acts of murder; 52 per cent for the murder of a child. So if it is deemed that Anderson  and by extension those who share his views  'have no place in mainstream politics', where do the liberal guardians of public morality think they'll end up?

The former Labour Party councillor has come out swinging in the weeks since he was appointed as deputy chairman of the Conservative Party

We know. In the polling booth voting for Brexit. Or for a latter-day Nick Griffin of the British National Party. Or a Donald Trump.

At which point, those same custodians of progressive virtue will clasp their pearls, throw back their heads and scream: 'How did this happen?!? How did we get here!?! What have we become?!'

Some on the Left have cynically welcomed Anderson's appointment. They believe it's only a matter of time before his plain-speaking crosses into gross political indecency, at which point Rishi Sunak would be forced into another humiliating U-turn and have to sack him.

Similarly, there are some on the Right who see a silver-haired knight galloping over the horizon. They think Anderson could be the man to finally turn the electoral tide back in the Tories' favour.

Both factions are set to be disappointed.

His appointment was personally approved by Sunak and, as a result, he is likely to be kept on a relatively tight leash.

'Lee's going to be given licence to be himself up to a point,' a Minister told me, 'but the deal is that he has to make sure he backs Rishi's five key pledges. He can wander off the reservation a bit but he has to be back in the tepee by nine.'

The reality is that Anderson is likely to become Sunak's Sarah Palin, the Right-wing ideologue chosen by Republican candidate John McCain in his unsuccessful 2008 US Presidential bid.

Anderson's appointment will cause an initial flurry of excitement and angst.

He will appeal to, and reassure, elements of the Tory base that have become disillusioned with the PM's spreadsheet managerialism. But in the end, his strategic impact on the outcome of the next General Election is likely to be negligible.

Anderson's support for the death penalty has infuriated members of the left including Labour's Lisa Nandy (pictured)

At which point the liberal Left will make another fatal miscalculation.

On Thursday, Labour retained the safe seat of West Lancashire with a ten per cent swing from the Tories. The result was broadly aligned with national polling showing the Government is on course for electoral annihilation.

And if that annihilation duly arrives, the progressives will use the moment to dance gleefully on the graves of Anderson and his supporters. They will see a Labour landslide as a repudiation of those voters who heard an echo of themselves in the Tory deputy chairman's plain-speaking. A rejection of those who saw merit in his advocacy of working-class self- sufficiency. A final, decisive rebuff to those uncouth enough to want to see child-killers hang.

Then they will pat themselves on the back and turn away. Turn away, in other words, from half of the people of Britain.

Anderson is fighting a losing battle. His Government is facing a cost-of-living crisis, the highest tax burden since the war, industrial strife, austerity and an NHS in crisis. Sunak could have appointed the Lord Almighty (He/Him) as deputy chairman and it would be unlikely to save his party.

But Anderson has at least managed to tear the mask away. The antipathy. The snobbery. The simmering contempt so-called progressives have for anyone who dares question their right to dictate the values of today's Britain.

For now, Anderson can be ridiculed as a 'neanderthal Northerner' with relative impunity. But his abusers may want to pause and reflect on whether such language is ultimately going to benefit their case or cause.

Because if they genuinely want to force Anderson  and the countless many he speaks for  out of the political mainstream, there is no majority Starmer can secure that will be big enough to shield them from what comes next.
Rosy prospects ahead for China-Cambodia community with shared future

Xinhua) 09:15, February 12, 2023

This photo taken on March 28, 2022 shows packages of China-donated Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine at the Phnom Penh International Airport in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. (Photo by Ly Lay/Xinhua)

Today, under the strategic guidance of the leaders of the two countries, China-Cambodia relations have been further energized and the building of the China-Cambodia community with a shared future has reaped bumper harvests, bringing tangible benefits to the two peoples and contributing to peace and prosperity in the region and beyond.

BEIJING, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- Rice, bananas, basa fish -- quality Cambodian products as such have appeared more frequently on the Chinese customers' shopping lists, a phenomenon attesting the growing trade between the two countries in recent years.

Official figures showed that facilitated by the China-Cambodia Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), both of which came into effect in January last year, two-way trade between the two sides hit a record high again in 2022, expanding 17.5 percent year on year to 16.02 billion U.S. dollars.

The flourishing trade relationship, as part of the China-Cambodia traditional friendship forged and carefully nurtured by the elder generations of Chinese and Cambodian leaders, is a treasure shared by the two peoples.

Today, under the strategic guidance of the leaders of the two countries, China-Cambodia relations have been further energized and the building of the China-Cambodia community with a shared future has reaped bumper harvests, bringing tangible benefits to the two peoples and contributing to peace and prosperity in the region and beyond.

Chinese tourists arrive at the Phnom Penh International Airport in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Feb. 7, 2023. (Photo by Phearum/Xinhua)

IRON-CLAD FRIENDS

"It gives me great pleasure to work with you to realize our three-year appointment and open a new era of building a China-Cambodia community with a shared future at the start of spring," Chinese President Xi Jinping said when meeting with Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia Hun Sen on Friday in Beijing.

Three years ago, Hun Sen visited China as a token of support and stood firmly with the Chinese people in their fight against COVID-19. The realization of the three-year appointment has witnessed the iron-clad friendship between the two countries.

Joseph Matthews, a senior professor at the BELTEI International University in Phnom Penh, said the close and special relationship between Cambodia and China is characterized by deep historical feelings.

"Long-term political mutual trust and equal treatment make Cambodia and China iron-clad friends," he said.

China-Cambodia relations have stood the test of times over the past 65 years. Xi has maintained frequent interactions with Cambodian leaders to draw the blueprint for closer relationship of the two countries.

In April 2019, China and Cambodia took the lead in signing an action plan for building a community with a shared future. Under the guidance of the head-of-state diplomacy, China-Cambodia relations have been elevated to new levels, and the building of a community with a shared future has yielded fruitful results.

China has always given full support and assistance to Cambodia's development, helping the country build its first four-lane expressway, first cement factory, first thermal power station, and its largest hydropower station. During China's toughest anti-pandemic days, King Sihamoni and Queen Mother Monineath offered generous support for China.

Facing major global changes and the pandemic, both unseen in a century, China and Cambodia have firmly promoted the building of a community with a shared future, setting an example of forging a new type of international relations, Xi said in a phone conversation with Hun Sen last year.

This photo taken on Nov. 7, 2022 shows vehicles lining up at a toll station on the Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville (PPSHV) Expressway in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. (Xinhua/Wu Changwei)

COOPERATION BEARS FRUIT

Every day, Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville Expressway witnesses hundreds of vehicles speeding over. The first-ever expressway in Cambodia is one of the many landmark achievements the two countries made under the framework of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation.

The 187-km Chinese-invested freeway connecting Cambodia's capital city of Phnom Penh to the international deep-water seaport in Sihanoukville attracted more than 1 million vehicles in the first three months since it was open to the public in October last year.

Sareth Sreypich, a 29-year-old supervisor at the toll stations, said the project has played an important role in enhancing the efficiency of travels and logistics system in the Southeast Asian nation.

"Previously, when we traveled on National Road 4, it took up to five hours, but now, traveling on the expressway, it takes two hours only," she said, bubbling with excitement.

Meanwhile, the Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone jointly developed by China and Cambodia has attracted more than 170 companies from around the world, creating nearly 30,000 job opportunities for local people.

Bilateral cooperation on economy and trade has also borne fruit. China has been Cambodia's largest trading partner for 11 consecutive years, and Chinese enterprises had invested more than 10 billion dollars in Cambodia by the end of 2022. And as Penn Sovicheat, undersecretary of state and spokesman for Cambodia's Ministry of Commerce, said, the coming out of the RCEP and the CCFTA has further deepened such practical cooperation.

Mak Chamroeun, chairman of e-commerce platform AgriBee (Cambodia), said the RCEP and the CCFTA would give a big boost to the bilateral trade and investment ties, expressing confidence that more Cambodian products, especially agricultural ones, would be exported to China.

"Both the RCEP and the CCFTA will provide tremendous opportunities for Cambodian farmers, producers, processors, traders and exporters," he said, adding that he believed more Chinese investors will flow into Cambodia's technology, digital economy and agricultural processing sectors.

Air China flight CA745, carrying some 125 Chinese tourists, arrives at the Phnom Penh International Airport in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Feb. 7, 2023. (Photo by Phearum/Xinhua)

HELPFUL DEEDS, INSPIRING VISIONS

On Tuesday, Air China flight CA745, carrying some 125 Chinese tourists, arrived at the Phnom Penh International Airport from Beijing and received a water cannon salute and warm welcome from Cambodia's Tourism Minister Thong Khon.

Noting that the Southeast Asian nation is projected to attract at least one million Chinese tourists in 2023, up from 110,000 in 2022, the Cambodian minister said, "China is the most important outbound tourism market for the world, so China's resumption of outbound tourism is very beneficial not only to Cambodia, but also to the whole world."

The importance Cambodia sees in China goes beyond the tourism sector. For years, the two countries have jointly carried out the conservation-restoration of cultural heritage, with the famed Angkor Archaeological Park as a fine example.

Covering an area of 401 square km, the Angkor site consists scores of key temples revealing a historical picture of the different capitals of the Khmer Empire from the ninth to the 15th century, some of which, including the Chau Say Tevoda temple, the Ta Keo temple and the Phimeanakas temple, China has helped restored since 1997.

"The contribution of the Chinese team to the conservation and restoration of Angkor park is very historical. It's very substantial," said Long Kosal, deputy director-general of the Apsara National Authority, a government agency responsible for managing, safeguarding and preserving the site.

What China has done for Cambodia is not the only thing Cambodians deem helpful. In the eyes of Chea Munyrith, president of the Cambodian Chinese Evolution Researcher Association, China's governance philosophy and experience have also meant a lot to Cambodia's development.

Learning from China's practices in poverty alleviation and taking into consideration Cambodia's actual situation, the Southeast Asian nation carried out a poverty alleviation project in January 2021, which has changed the life of millions of Cambodians.

"Cambodia hopes to avail of China's newly allocated resources for global development cooperation, at a time when it needs all the help it can get to tackle these pressing global issues, like COVID-19 response and vaccines, poverty alleviation, food security, climate change and green development," said Sok Siphana, the Cambodian government's senior advisor.

(Web editor: Xian Jiangnan, Sheng Chuyi)




First lady Kim Keon Hee decided to donate all 10 million won ($7,887) that she was awarded in a lawsuit against a YouTube-based media outlet that disclosed phone conversations recorded without her consent, a presidential official said Sunday.







"We're discussing where and how to donate," the official said without providing further details.







Sources said she is considering donating for relief efforts in earthquake-devastated Turkey. Also under consideration is to donate to an anti-animal abuse organization.







On Friday, the Seoul Central District Court ordered the media outlet, Voice of Seoul, to pay her the money in compensation over its broadcasting of phone conversations that she had with one of its staffers.







The disclosure was made in January last year ahead of March's presidential election. Kim had filed for an injunction against the planned disclosure, but a court allowed the outlet to go ahead and broadcast most of the conversations.







Kim later filed a damages suit seeking 100 million won in compensation, claiming the conversations were recorded and edited without her consent. The media outlet claimed that the phone calls and their disclosure were part of legitimate news reporting.







The outlet has said it will appeal Friday's ruling. (Yonhap)


One policeman was holding me down. His eyes were egg-like and his skin fish-belly pale. His stare had the menace of a hitman and his hands were all over me. He had two colleagues with him: one male, one female. It was the female who kicked me in the back.

I screamed and rolled over. Id never been in trouble with the law, in my privately educated, polite little life. But, with the suddenness of a striking adder, a police officer was now trying to handcuff me.

My wrists are narrow and my hands slipped through the cuffs like water, which seemed to make the officer angry. Bloody b***h keeps getting out of them, he said.

He and his colleagues began to drag me down the stairs. My head hit the bannisters repeatedly, but my yelps of pain didnt move them.

I was whimpering like an animal, as though nature had exerted some atavistic pull. I didnt know it at the time, but this was just the beginning of six hours of hell for me.

Cherished memory: Petronella with her mother Lady Wyatt

It is only now that I am able to speak of it at all, reminded of my nightmare when I read, last week, about a female protester, Dania Al-Obeid, who is suing the Metropolitan Police after she was handcuffed, arrested and charged with breaching Covid restrictions when she attended the vigil in South London for murdered Sarah Everard in March 2021.

For years after my encounter with the Metropolitan Police, I suffered panic attacks and night terrors. If I saw a police officer, the tremors began again, to be stilled only by alcohol and tranquillisers prescribed by my doctor.

It was my beloved, 87-year-old mothers illness that started my journey to hell and back. She had early onset dementia which was worsening every day and, at the time, we were living together in North London.

There were days when she suffered from paranoia and failed to recognise me; and others when she became another person, wild and staring, convinced I intended to attack her.

On that particular evening in April 2015, I had returned home to find the house in disarray. My mother was in her room, surrounded by open suitcases with clothes streaming out.

She turned at the sound of my tread. I had learned to look out for warning signs and her cello contralto voice was pitched unusually high. She regarded me blankly, before screaming: Who are you? Why have you stolen my things?

To reason with dementia patients is futile, they have a logic of their own. Confronted by my entreaties, my mother was as inert as if she were deaf. She threatened to call the police. Almost at breaking point, I snapped back the two words I would regret: Do that!

I was dozing on my bed when the police arrived. My mother had not only called them, but had let them in. Within minutes they were in my room, telling me I was under arrest.

For what? I asked stupidly. They wouldnt say. I was told, sharply: Come with us.

Why? I inquired. Then the taller of the male officers spoke: Weve had a complaint. Your mother says you are violent and are attempting to kill her.

It is odd how we react in times of extreme stress. I laughed, partly with relief. I would explain everything and they would go away, yet my laughter enraged them. So you think its funny? one of them asked.

To my astonishment, the policewoman began examining my wardrobe. I asked if she wanted to try anything on. Those must be expensive clothes, she remarked.

Im a journalist  I worked for them, I told her, angrily.

It was my beloved, 87-year-old mothers illness that started my journey to hell and back. She had early onset dementia which was worsening every day and, at the time, we were living together in North London

One of the male officers returned to the subject of my mother. Patiently and reasonably, I explained that she had early onset dementia. I recounted how I had come home to find her agitated and aggressive.

I was sitting on my bed now, barefoot. They didnt seem to be listening to me and I began to gabble.

You see, she has these fits of paranoia, thinks people are trying to kill her. Its a symptom of dementia. I gasped for breath. Its awful. Sometimes I cant cope. Help me.

But help would not be forthcoming. I listened, stunned, as I was told I would be taken to a police station and questioned over an allegation that Id assaulted my own mother.

I began to sob, agonised sobs that hurt so much I thought my ribs had broken. I lay on my bed in a foetal position, at which point they accused me of resisting arrest  and then it got nasty.

Handcuffs appeared as one officer twisted my arms. There was a crack and I remember wondering if he had dislocated my shoulder.

I had seldom seen a policeman on our local beat and I wondered, silently, why not one, but three officers were needed to subdue a defenceless woman in her own home.

I said I had to speak to my mother, she needed her heart medication, but my plea was dismissed: Youre not speaking to her at all!

All three officers dragged me out of the house, shoeless, holding me at either end like a sack. I was pushed into the back of a police van, the sort with grilles and a cage that they use for violent criminals, not law-abiding, middle-class women like me.

They wouldnt tell me where we were going, I wasnt even allowed to speak. When I cried, I was told to shut up.

It was getting dark. I looked at my watch. We had been travelling for 25 minutes, but I had no idea in which direction. As I wondered whether the journey would ever end, the van pulled up and I was taken through a back way into what I now know was Charing Cross police station.

My fingerprints were taken and a swab of my DNA. They took my mobile phone, my watch and my jewellery. I was asked if I wanted a lawyer. I havent done anything  why would I want a lawyer? I asked. Then I was led to a cell.

It was terribly cramped, about 10 x 4 ft, with no natural light. There was no bed, just a stone ledge.

By the door was a rudimentary toilet, without a seat. A dirty blanket lay on the floor and the cell smelled of vomit and disinfectant. Later, I found out, to my mordant amusement, that they call them custody suites. The windowless, steel door of my suite was slammed behind me.

I asked if I could see a superior officer and was told someone would take my statement  but not when. It would be a long wait.

I begged them to leave the door ajar as I suffer from claustrophobia, but this, too, was denied. It would be too dangerous, I was informed, as there would be drunks and vagrants coming in. I could already hear someone shouting in another cell, screams that got louder and became howls as I grew palpably afraid.

One officer appeared to have fun tormenting me. I would bang on the door begging for a glass of water and she would tell me she was busy and Id have to wait. How long?

I dont know, posh girl, she said, imitating my accent.

Please, I implored, I havent done anything. Her reply was chilling: Thats what they all say.

Meanwhile, my frail, sick mother was at home, alone. Her cognition would have returned to some extent, as it always did, and she would be frantic with worry. I knew she would remember nothing of the police.

Please let me call my mother, I begged. No. She was to be made a victim, too, it seemed.

How had this happened? I started to think back to my childhood, and how fond Id been of our local policeman, Constable Simms. He had eyebrows like the beating wings of an eagle and loved reading. We would talk about Ivanhoe and Camelot, and hed tell me that the police were modern-day knights.

I must have been 12 when Constable Simms was part of my life. His chivalrous knights were thin on the ground now.

It did not occur to me that night, but what has become so shockingly apparent is that the Metropolitan Police has a woman problem. It is a problem that has existed for decades in the covert world of policing but, recently, it has been brought out into the ugly light of day, by some truly shocking, high-profile cases. Following the public outcry over Sarah Everards abduction, rape and murder, at the hands of serving Metropolitan officer, Wayne Couzens, disturbing evidence of police misogyny began to emerge.

So poor is the reputation of the force that, last month, the head teacher of an independent girls school in South London told her pupils they should not allow a lone policeman to approach you at any time.

Fionnuala Kennedy, of Wimbledon High School, issued her grim indictment after the conviction of Met Police Officer David Carrick for 49 incidents of sexual assault, including 24 counts of rape.

I hadnt been raped or seriously assaulted, but, as a frightened, innocent woman, crouching on that concrete ledge in my locked cell for hour after hour that night, I certainly felt very let down.

Heavy handed: A protester at the Sarah Everard vigil is held down by male police officers

Still no one would see me or even tell me what I was formally accused of. I banged on the door again. There was a blond male officer on duty who seemed kinder. He smelt of soap and asked me if I wanted a book to read.

My wait would be long, he warned, as it was 9pm and very busy. He opened the door. Have you eaten? he asked.

Not since lunch. He gave me half of his own sandwich and a book. I took both gratefully and pulled the dirty blanket around me.

The book was a Mills & Boon title about a young nurse who falls in love with a dashing surgeon. I smiled at the incongruity.

Another hour passed, then another. I had ceased to care.

Finally the door opened and I was told that an inspector would see me. I was led into a room with recording machines.

The inspector was middle-aged, with darkish hair. I knew better than to antagonise him, so I made ridiculously polite conversation about the weather.

He then asked for my side of the story. I told him about my mothers dementia and her resulting paranoia and fantasies. He looked at me hard and then nodded. He believed me. I began to cry again.

Im sorry, he explained, but we have to investigate every charge, no matter how far-fetched it may seem. Its our job.

Was it over? Could I go? My hopes were dashed. Not yet. I have to wait for someone to sign this off. So back I went back to my cell. I lost track of time . . .

Finally, the door opened again. I was led back to the desk and my belongings were returned. I was not to be charged. I could go.

Suddenly, everyone was all solicitude. I refused an offer to find me a taxi, took my stuff and ran out into the streets.

Clearly, I was in the West End, but it was dark. I must have been a strange sight with no shoes, trying to hail a taxi. Someone took my fare and dropped me home.

When I returned, I found my mother crying: Where have you been? I thought you were dead.

Of course, she remembered nothing. It was now after 11pm. The whole thing had started at 5pm. More than six hours. I needed a drink  Ive never drunk a bottle of wine so quickly. Then the shaking began, and the hysteria. Both would be protracted. When people are in a position of trust and we regard them as our protectors, being confronted with the inverse breaks your inner compass.

After a sleepless night, I told friends what had happened. I was advised to make a complaint.

Eventually, weeks later, a policeman called to apologise, although he failed to acknowledge the trauma that had been inflicted upon me.

When approached for comment last week, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Police, said: At around 16:00hrs on April 6, 2015, police were called to a residential address in London, after it was alleged that an elderly woman had been assaulted. Officers attended. A woman known to her was arrested and taken into custody. She was later released with no further action.

My mother is now living in specialist respite home, but I hope to have her back with me soon. In robbing my mother of her memory, the gods may have been kinder to her than to me.

I remember a Henry Fonda film called Let Us Live. Fonda plays a cheerful, trusting Joe accused of a crime he didnt commit.

Slowly, his faith in the police begins to erode. When he is released, after his girlfriend proves his innocence, he is a bitter man.

I cant say I am bitter at life, but I am bitter at the police. The law doesnt like to admit its wrong.

When I think of my six hours at its hands, I am still tempted to reach for the bottle. And Im sorry to say that when I see a lone policeman at night, I break into a run.
Are you the next Stephen Hawking or Charles Darwin? Or is your science knowledge not even up to scratch with that of a 14-year-old's?

We are again asking MailOnline readers if their chemistry, physics and biology is at least as good as British Year Nine pupils - so we dug up another old science SATs paper from the archives.

Pupils took the SATs tests so their teachers can monitor their progress before they head on to study their GCSEs in Year 10.

So, MailOnline asks...

Can you solve these Year Nine science exam questions? - and remember calculators are not allowed (Answers at the bottom of the page)

THE SCIENCE SATs QUESTIONS

After teachers walked out last Wednesday the Prime Minister accused Keir Starmer of siding with striking workers after voting against the Government's anti-strike laws.

More than 20 Labour MPs joined picket lines on February 1 - known as 'Walkout Wednesday' - including former Labour frontbenchers John McDonnell, Richard Burgon and Ian Lavery.

And Sadiq Khan, the Labour mayor of London, sent a message of support to striking teachers, saying the 'way in which you've been treated is nothing short of a disgrace'.

Pupils took SATs tests so their teachers can monitor their progress before they head on to study their GCSEs in Year 10

He said of Sir Keir: 'He can't stand up to his union bosses, he can't stand up for Britain's school children today, and he can't stand up for the women in his party.'

It came as parents urged teachers not to let children be 'pawns in the middle' of their pay dispute as the first of four national teachers' strikes took place yesterday.

And as more than 100,000 members of the National Education Union walked out, parents had to arrange childcare or take unplanned leave.

But Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Oliver Dowden revealed on Friday that fewer than a third of teachers went on strike last Wednesday.

Mr Dowden condemned the disruption to teaching as he spoke in the House of Commons and revealed the numbers of those who went on strike.

The Hertsmere MP said that 12 per cent of civil servants participated in strike action on Wednesday, adding that 70 per cent of teachers also did not join in.

Mr Dowden, the chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said: 'I would also pay tribute to the overwhelming majority of civil servants who didn't strike yesterday, actually only 12 per cent participated in that strike, and ensured that essential public services continued uninterrupted.'

There were also concerns about the impact of the strike on children who have already had their education disrupted by lockdowns.

Dan Little, a father of school-age daughters who runs an engineering firm, said: 'The vast majority of the issue is government-related [but] I just don't agree with striking, particularly in the public sector. Nor do I think that the children should ever be pawns in the middle.'

Rishi Sunak (right) slammed Keir Starmer (left) for putting 'extremist protesters' and Labour's union paymasters ahead of schoolchildren during bruising PMQs clashes today

Striking teachers and their supporters marching in Newcastle last week

Mr Little, 45, of Upminster, Essex, added: 'Let's just hope the Government and unions agree something sensible ASAP.'

Another parent wrote online: 'Children have been deeply scarred by [lockdown] school closures and the last thing they need is adults walking out on them again. It is morally wrong.'

WHAT ARE THE ANSWERS?
These high-flying couples have no children and earn two incomes

It was only recently that family bloggers took over our social media channels - sharing snippets of their idyllic lives raising children and embracing parenthood.

And while 'mummy bloggers' are still popular, there's a new trend taking over; the DINKs.

The acronym stands for dual income, no kids, and increasingly young couples are identifying as part of the growing community, boasting online about their luxury lives as a result.

Instead of spending their money on children, couples are sharing all the perks of putting off starting families - or forgoing it all together.

They spend lazy Sunday mornings in bed, brunching and doing couple's workouts. They dine out at fancy restaurants and spend money on candy that they don't have to share with little ones.

They spend lazy Sunday mornings in bed, brunching and doing couple's workouts

Videos on TikTok under the DINK hashtag have amassed 164 million views, with thousands of comments from envious fans.

Speaking with MailOnline, 'DINK' creator Mollie said that while she and her partner don't plan to stay childless forever, they're embracing this chapter of their lives.

'[Our days are] literally whatever we want it to look like, which is what we love so much and make the most of being 'DINKS'.

'If we want to spontaneously go out or stay away, we can, or if we just want to relax and do nothing all day just chilling at home, we can.'

Mollie noted that many of the DINK perks can still be achieved with children, but there's one less factor to consider when organising.

'We love peaceful weekend brunches out, lie ins, shopping, evenings out with friends and trips to art galleries or exhibitions which we have learned from family members can be a lot more challenging with children involved.'

Both she and her partner are only 25, and they hope one day to start a family, but they also appreciate why some DINKs have no intention of having children.

'I think it's just really important to consciously take in, recognise, appreciate and truly enjoy these years of 'freedom' before making such a huge and life changing decision. It's a chance of showing gratitude for these years, living in the moment and recognising elements of our life that would drastically change or be compromised so much when and if we do have children in the future.

The acronym DINK stands for dual income, no kids, and increasingly young couples are identifying as part of the growing community, boasting online about their luxury lives as a result

There are several common themes between all the couples choosing this lifestyle.

One of the many creators who in a DINK marriage said: 'I am a child free by choice person and love my life. I have so much time to dedicate to my hobbies, things that I enjoy, my sibling's children.

'I can have a cream sofa and know that it's not going to get dirty and nothing in my home is sticky. I have plant babies, I have more money to travel with, more time to dedicate to my husband. It's wonderful.'

She added: 'Double income, no kid lifestyle is fantastic and I would recommend.

'There are people like us who enjoy our lives and don't feel the need to have tiny humans.'

It's the latest trend to sweep the platform after a slew of economic and lifestyle trends that came before it.

And it speaks to changing societal trends and expectations

Instead of spending their money on kids, couples are sharing all the perks of putting off starting families - or forgoing it all together

Millennials are getting married later in life or forgoing it entirely, while home ownership is also happening at an older age for most people and birth rates are down.

On average, it costs up to 200,000 to raise a child to 18 in the UK, not including luxuries like vacations, gifts or hobbies.

Matt Benfield, a self-titled DINKWAD (dual income, no kids with a dog) from the US, told Business Insider that current generations simply 'don't have the money to support themselves and much less a child'.

'They can barely afford rent. They can barely afford utilities, like grocery bills are through the roof. This idea of the DINKWAD is you have to just look out for yourself first before going for a kid or anything else.'

Another creator said: 'We chose to stay as DINKs for the foreseeable future because there are other things we'd like to invest our money in and spend our money on before we have children.'

They dine out at fancy restaurants and spend money on candy that they don't have to share with little ones

Some of the most common reasons to remain DINKs are; to travel more, to invest in property, to get a higher education, dedicate more time to hobbies or even something as simple as enjoying nice restaurants without anxiety.

DINKs are often the target of marketing efforts for luxury items as trips as they often have higher disposable incomes, but others say they're using the time as DINKs to prepare for the future.

One said: 'I want kids eventually, this won't be our lives forever so we're saving and getting ahead now.'

Another said: 'Welcome to the DINK side of TikTok where we travel with only carry-on, go on backpacking adventures, tour wineries, sleep in on the weekends, go to the spa and enjoy a hot coffee while we enjoy our last few years without kids.'

DINK couples have also been sharing the pitfalls of the lifestyle too.

One woman, an academic and PhD student from the UK, said she struggles with feeling like she 'shows up' more for her friends' successes than they do her own.

'I've been in this type of relationship for the last five years. Everyone around me has been getting married, having kids, hitting these milestones. We've always turned up for people... It's baby showers, gender reveals, we'd turn up with a smile and with presents all the time.

'We've recently had our first milestone, getting engaged, and people with kids really did not turn out for us the way we've been turning up for them the last five years.'

Still, she said the perks of her lifestyle outweigh any cons. She and her partner have had extra time as a couple to truly understand one another's love language, they've travelled almost all of Europe and have dedicated plenty of time to hobbies and education.

And while the DINK trend is rapidly taking off online, there are some doubters who aren't thrilled with the term.

'Y'all have to have a label for everything,' one critic said.

'So... just a normal married couple?' another asked.
An intimacy expert shares her ten sex tips to save your relationship and 'jump start' libidos' - and it all starts with 'communication'.

Clinical psychologist Dr Britney Blair, from Stanford University School of Medicine, in the U.S., claims following her advice could improve your relationship in the long run and resolve problems in the bedroom.

For more of Dr Blair's sexual wellness advice, people can visit the Lover app, which describes itself as 'a personal trainer for your sex life'.

Lover offers guidance through both audio and video content and provides exercise techniques for millions of people globally developed by Dr Blair with a team of sexual medicine experts.

Alongside two other co-founders, Jas Bagniewski and Nick Pendle, Dr Blair manages the app and works as chief science officer. She specialises in sexual health and is the founder of northern California's largest group of independent sexual health clinics.

Clinical psychologist Dr Britney Blair, from Stanford University School of Medicine, shares her professional tips on how to improve sex and your relationships

Lover co-founders (from left): Jas Bagniewski, Dr. Britney Blair and Nick Pendle

Dr Blair has drawn on more than a decade of clinical experience to create these top ten sex tips that are the key to keeping couples together.

Communication

'Communicate. Communicate. Communicate. You are not a mind-reader, and neither is your partner. Make communication about your relationship and your sex life a regular practice.

'If you want to talk about something vulnerable - for example, something that is not going so well or something you want more of - consider having that conversation while driving or on a hike. It's easier to be vulnerable when you're not making eye contact.'

Be spontaneous with your partner

'Don't wait until you want. It is normal for 'spontaneous' desire/libido to dip after six-12 months into a monogamous relationship for both men and women.

'However, by choosing to engage erotically with your partner, you can actually 'jump start' your sexual desire.'

Prioritise pleasure

'Decrease the pressure on sexual performance (e.g., getting an erection or having an orgasm) and really focus on pleasuring yourself and your partner whatever that looks like for you!'

Schedule sex

'Clinical research suggests that sex two times per week is correlated with the highest relationship and life satisfaction. But life will get in the way.

'As un-sexy as it may sound, scheduling time to erotically connect with your partner will send the signal that you are both prioritising this aspect of your relationship, it will build sexy anticipation and will pay off big time with increased relationship satisfaction.'

Focus on the attitude of gratitude

Too often in relationships, we focus on what is not going well. Criticism can cut away at your connection (and is definitely NOT sexy). Notice and then express gratitude for the things that your partner is doing for you or for the relationship. This expression has to be sincere AND specific.

Dr Blair says the key to a healthy relationship is communication - she advised that for vulnerable topics, it's best to have the conversation without eye contact (stock image)

Nurture independent hobbies and relationships

Foster hobbies, activities, relationships outside of your partnership. A healthy level of independence is crucial in navigating a long-term relationship. Each partner will differ in the amount of closeness or distance desired, don't take this personally!

Navigate differences

'Every successful relationship depends on the couple's ability to navigate differences. Communication and compromise are key but both partners need to be communicating and compromising. If this falls on one side, resentment can develop.'

Touch one another

'Hold hands. Make out. Don't fall into a touch rut! Have moments when you agree you're just going to make out and nothing more sexual will happen.'

Spend quality time together

'Have quality time together not involving any sexual activity.

'Make sure you are having uninterrupted - no phones, TV, kids, job talk, finance talk, critical talk - time together every week. Even if it's for 15 minutes.'

Create a sacred sanctuary in the bedroom

'Make sure your bedroom is a place associated with calm and desire. Think about lighting, textures, colors that facilitate calm and sensuality. Think more soft music and candles and less pizza boxes, unpaid bills, doom scrolling and dirty laundry.

'Avoid arguing in the bedroom, if at all possible. This space should be held sacred for sex or sleep.'
Rare items were made by Scott & Co, previously owned by Christys' hat makers

A remarkable collection of over 100 Victorian and Edwardian hats - which were made by the Royal family's favourite hatters - have come up for sale.

The one-of-a-kind collection of Scott & Co hats is up for auction for a staggering 30,000 this week.

They include a rare set of 10 miniatures made by an apprentice in 1880 while honing his craft at the London hatters.

Despite their diminutive size, the tiny hats could fetch a whopping 5,000.

Their owner, from the Cotswolds, amassed his collection over the past 25 years from antique fairs or private sellers.

The impressive collection include these miniature hats made in 1880 by an apprentice at Scott & Co. They are expected to sell for 5,000 this week

The hat-obsessed vendor collected gentlemen's top hats, riding hats and hunting hats, as well as hat stands and hat-shaped inkwells.

Scott & Co was owned by the Christy family - who have been Britain's pre-eminent milliners since Miller Christy established their first manufacturers' in 1773.

Their flagship store, set up in 1851 at number 1 Old Bond Street, was renamed Scott's after a manager, but remained in Christy hands.

The hatters sold Scott's to one of their foremost competitors, Lock & Co, in the 1960s.

Christys' was one of the first companies to receive a trademark, and was given the Royal Garter in 1876 - which it still holds to this day.

They have made plenty of miniature hats since their establishment, and were commissioned by the Queen Mother to make some for Queen Elizabeth II's doll's house.

The tiny hats now up for sale - which would only be fit for a doll - even come with perfectly proportioned hat boxes to keep them dust-free.

Scott's were hatters to His Majesty King George V and the Royal family, as a box which is also on sale stipulates.

The tiny hats now up for sale even come with perfectly proportioned hat boxes to keep them dust-free

The collection includes a range of styles, with each crafted from materials like beaver pelt, felt and velvet.

The hats, many of which come with their original boxes, are going under the hammer with Duke's Auctions, of Dorchester, Dorset.

Julian Smith, a specialist at Duke's, inspected each of the hats, with pictures of him showing just how small the miniature versions are.

A collection of over 100 hats, many of which come with their original boxes, are going under the hammer with Duke's Auctions, of Dorchester, Dorset

He said: 'The vendor, based in the Cotswolds, has a particular interest in hunting and riding, and sourced hats from the finest London hatters of the Victorian and Edwardian period, including Scott & Co, Lincoln Bennett and Co, and Herbert Johnson.

'He picked up these hats at antique fairs and privately from people he knew in the hunting world.

'The miniature hats were produced by an apprentice at Scott & Co in 1880.'

Scott's were hatters to His Majesty King George V and the Royal family, as a box which is also on sale stipulates

Duke's hat expert, Senan MacDonagh, posed with the collection of larger hats - trying a few on for size

Another Duke's hat expert, Senan MacDonagh, posed with the collection of larger hats - trying a few on for size.

Some antique hats are able to be worn, while others will likely have to be display pieces due to their age and delicate nature after years of wear.

The auction of this one-of-a-kind collection is set to take place on Wednesday.
A cat that was returned to an animal shelter for being 'too affectionate and playful' has found a loving new home thanks to an emotional Facebook post.

Last month, Montville Animal Shelter, in New Jersey, rehomed two-year-old Bruno with a working single mother and her daughter.

Although the family were initially excited about having their first pet, Bruno's need for attention became too much for them to handle.

The adorable young feline - whose first owner was allergic to him - loves to headbutt people to show affection, which made it difficult for his owner to work from home.

What's more, the owner took issue with Bruno sleeping on her daughter's bed and racing around their home in the evenings.

Two-year-old Bruno pictured in his bed at the New Jersey shelter after being returned after just one week with his second owner

At the end of last month, the animal sanctuary announced to their 4,500 Facebook followers that Bruno had been returned by his new family after just seven days.

They wrote: 'Sad news Bruno came back after only a week! The family never had a cat before and said he was too affectionate, always wanted to sit on their laps, follow them around, and head butt them for kisses and pets.

'He was also too playful and got zoomies in the evening!'

Joking about Bruno's loving nature, the shelter added: 'So if anyone is looking for a Velcro cat, hes your guy!'

The shelter then included two photo of a sad-looking Bruno snuggled up in a fluffy bed - which pulled at the heartstrings of the shelter's Facebook community.

Commenting on the photos, one replied: 'Hang in there sweetheart, your forever home is out there. You deserve all the best.'

Another emotional user wrote: 'Aww he just wants love!'

'He sounds amazing,' a third added.

The shelter's Facebook post pulled at the heartstrings of their 4,500 followers - prompting several to put in applications to rehome Bruno

One person replied to this photo with: 'Hang in there sweetheart, your forever home is out there. You deserve all the best.'

Joking about Bruno's loving nature, the shelter added: 'So if anyone is looking for a Velcro cat, hes your guy!'

The post racked up over 1,700 'likes' and 1,400 shares in two weeks - resulting in several families sending in applications to rehome Bruno.

Speaking to NorthJersey.com, Denville-based couple Catherine and Andrew explained how they had spotted Bruno on the shelter's website the night before the post went out.

However, the couple didn't want to rush into the decision and opted to sleep on it. The next day, they saw the shelter's viral post and rushed into action.

Andrew says they managed to get their application just 'before the post blew up'.

When they went to pick him up from the shelter, Catherin says Bruno 'basically crawled into her] neck' and was 'very excited' to be leaving.

The first night they had Bruno, the couple said he woke them up with headbutts and Catherine started working from home to help Bruno settle into his new living space.

What's more, the couple revealed that Bruno's story has helped nearly all the remaining rescue cats the shelter find loving homes.
She wants people to realise treatment is half the battle

Doctors dismissed her for months, told her to lose weight

Hannah Catton was 24 when doctors found a watermelon-sized tumour on her left ovary

Hannah Catton was just 24 when doctors found a watermelon sized tumour on her left ovary months after they sent her home to lose weight when she complained of bloating and fatigue.

The vet nurse, who lives in Warrnambool in country Victoria, but is originally from the UK, is in the clear as far as cancer goes - but her recovery is far from over.

Hannah is speaking out about her ordeal in the hope other women will recognised the signs of ovarian cancer and fight to be heard when they know something is wrong with their body.

The 25-year-old explained to FEMAIL that she has a long way to go mentally - especially when it comes to 'loving the body that tried to kill her'.

'I feel like my 20-something-year-old body was stolen from me and replaced with the body of an 80-year-old,' she said.

'I have gone through post-menopause weight gain, have fatigue and joint pain and have to come to terms with the fact it just can't do the things it used to.'

The post-treatment struggles hit Hannah hard - she was so focused on fighting the cancer on her left ovary that she hadn't stopped to consider what happens next.

'You go from doing treatments every day to being dropped in post-treatment life, and it's hard not to feel incredibly alone,' she said.

'It just feels a bit like.. what's next. What do I do next.'

While Hannah is grateful that her body pushed through the treatments, she can't help but feel betrayed by it.

'The general consensus out there is that you should be happy to be finished chemo - and you are but it is hard,' she said.

Hannah went through four months of chemotherapy and surgery to beat the disease

She wants people to know the signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer and to feel comfortable to push for answers when they know something is wrong with their body

Hannah went to the doctors in the months before the 20cm tumour was discovered and was initially told she needed to de-stress and lose some weight.

In August 2021, when symptoms persisted, she went back and was told she likely had a benign growth which could be removed to ease her discomfort.

'I was put on the waiting list and told it would be happy days,' she said.

Then on a Saturday near the end of October the discomfort turned to crippling pain.

'I was on a horse ride with friends when I went grey and felt a huge amount of pain,' she said.

'It felt like someone was stabbing me, I was so confused by it,' she added.

Hannah moved to Australia from the UK and described being separated from her family throughout her cancer journey as incredibly isolating

But she had been told nothing was wrong for so long she decided to go home and sleep it off. The pain lasted for seven hours.

It came back the following Tuesday - and was much worse than the day before.

'It was indescribable,' she said.

Her boyfriend took her to the emergency department at the small country hospital - two days later she was going under the knife in Melbourne, and being diagnosed with cancer.

'It was terrifying, especially because of the Covid rules at the time which meant my family couldn't come over to Australia and I couldn't have any visitors in hospital with me,' she said.

Hannah has always wanted a family and was able to have some eggs frozen before going through chemical menopause and starting chemo.

Hannah was horse riding when she felt the tumour rupture days before she was diagnosed with cancer

She is slowly getting back into activities she loves - including aerial gymnastics (pictured) - but says she has to take things slow because her body is 'like an 80-year-old's'

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'The menopause was to protect my remaining ovary from the treatment,' she explained.

She has since been taken off the menopause-inducing drugs and says her ovary 'appears to be waking up' which means she may be able to have children naturally after all.

'At the time it was a long way from my mind, after I had my eggs frozen I just focused on getting better because if I was dead I wouldn't be having kids anyway,' she said.

Hannah has been put in contact with two other young women who have had similar cancers in their 20s.

'Most women who get it are in a later stage of life, they have had families and have that support around them,' she said.

She is finally back at work fulltime after having to slowly work up to a whole day, then a full week, in the office.

'I have moved to an admin role though - because I can't be on my feet all day,' she added.

Her 'brain fog' is also lifting.

Hannah feels like she was robbed of her 20-something body

She said she would often get frustrated by her inability to think through problems - even simple issues like what she needs at the supermarket.

Hannah is 'jumping at every opportunity' to tell her story in the hopes it will help other women advocate for their health.

'It is surprising to me how many women still don't know the symptoms,' she said.

'If I can help other people know the signs and give them the courage to advocate for themselves then it gives purpose to me going through this,' she said.

Hannah's cancer came 'out of the blue' and wasn't linked to any genetic disease.

'If you think something is wrong then keep going back until you find a doctor that will listen. That's part of their job,' she said.

'I didn't go to the hospital when I had excruciating pain because I had been told there was nothing to worry about and I didn't want to waste anyone's time.'
A woman has revealed that her husband has left her in a tricky position by quitting his job unexpectedly - and expecting her to support him financially while he seeks new employment.

The anonymous poster, who is believed to be UK-based, took to parenting forum Mumsnet to discuss her predicament.

And while the majority of respondents appeared to agree with her, some suggested that she should be more supportive, as her husband may have quit his job as a result of reaching breaking point.

The post was titled [Am I being unreasonable] to be fuming that DH [darling husband] has quit his job without another job to go to.'

It said: 'He's just told me this evening that he handed in his notice yesterday, his sole reason being that his department (hes the head of department) is going to have a flat budget for the next 3 years.

'Hes saying he wants me to "support" (basically pay for everything and all the bills) him financially until he finds a "similar job", it could be years until he finds a similar job as jobs like the one he was in dont come about often.

'I'm absolutely furious but DH doesnt seem to understand why even though I've explained it to him. I don't think a flat budget is an acceptable reason for him to quit with no other job to go to and then to only tell me 24 hours later.'

Many respondents were highly supportive of the poster, and agreed that the situation was serious.

One wrote: 'My dad did this. Its not a good sign. I would expect him to get a job asap or I would seriously reconsider my future with him.

'If he doesnt seem to register the seriousness Id see a solicitor sooner rather than later, you may be better to split now then after hes long term unemployed. Hopefully it wont come to that.'

Another agreed, adding: 'He needs to be employed in any job he can find while he hunts for a career job. Something that involves weekend or shift work so he is still free for interviews.

'And you have every right to fume. Financial decisions are a joint decision.'

An anonymous woman has revealed that her husband quit his job without warning - before asking her to support him financially until he finds an equivalent position

Many respondents were extremely sympathetic with the poster, and felt that the husband was being unfair in how he was behaving

And a third wrote: 'Set a deadline for him earning something. He can be in a warehouse or pub job, or cleaning by the end of next week. I'd give him to the end of the month.

'I hope you don't have a joint account. He is taking the mick.'

Meanwhile, many other forum users were suspicious that the husband may have been fired, rather than quitting, or had been forced to quit to avoid being told to leave.

One wrote: 'Or could have been he was about to get fired so got ahead with a resignation. This happens ALOT - something happens in work, they know its a sackable offence, so they quickly resign with no discussion to avoid issues with references.

'I often wonder what those people go home and tell their spouses..... it usually happens fast.'

A significant number of respondents were suspicious about what had actually happened, suggesting that the man may have been fired, rather than choosing to quit

And another added: 'He's been fired would be my guess. That's why so sudden and why he told you after the fact.'

A further Mumsnetter said: 'Likely he's been fired or forced to resign as an alternative to being fired.

'He'd get a week's grace from me. Jobs are everywhere at the moment, and if he wasn't in a supermarket, factory or delivering Amazon parcels (or waiting on the vetting process for one of the above) by next Monday he'd be out the door.

'No way would I be supporting him waiting for his dream job.'

However, some forum users were more sympathetic about the husband's position, suggesting that circumstances may have brought him to breaking point.

While the majority of forum users agreed with the poster that her husband was behaving unreasonably, others suggested that she should be more sympathetic

One wrote: 'Ive known people quit on the spot. Its never for a sole reason as a ou have described. Its almost always a multitude of reasons and a final straw.

'You should communicate deeply with your oh. He may be feeling worried but free. A conflicting set of emotions that lead people to act erratically.

'Support him mentally. Financially discuss realistic practical options as you can.

'If people quit on the spot, they are already at breaking point. Help de-escalate them so they feel safe to say how feel.'

Another added: 'I wouldnt have discussed it prior with you either if I thought youd try and force me to stay in a job I was unhappy in and dictate my career choices. Hes now made his decision as he is entitled to and you need to accept that, you dont however have to financially support him thats his problem.'

Meanwhile a third simply asked: 'Has he previously talked about being unhappy in the job? How is his mood generally?'
They've put 'everything' into the business, included money and countless hours

Laura Oosterloo and husband David wanted the brand to become global

A young couple has revealed how they started a fake tan business from scratch and turned it into a thriving global brand by following five key rules.

Laura and David Oosterloo, from Melbourne, saw a 'gap in the market' for a natural, vegan suncare that didn't irritate the skin while living in Bali nine years ago.

Ever since, their company Bali Body has gone from strength to strength, attracting hundreds of thousands of customers worldwide with the $30.95 Ultra Dark Self Tanning Mousse.

Laura, now 36, has suffered a skin condition her entire life and previously couldn't use any tanning products on the market because it would aggravate her skin.

Australian couple Laura (right) and David Oosterloo (left) launched tanning brand Bali Body in 2014. Since then the brand has become a global success

Bali Body is best known for its $30.95 Ultra Dark Self Tanning Mousse (pictured), which provides the 'deepest, darkest' self-tan possible with just one layer

Bali provided the couple endless inspiration to create a brand with natural formulations that delivered radiant, healthy skin.

Since then the business has grown to gain an Instagram following of more than 1.4million people and the products are loved by thousands.

In the early days, the couple invested $30,000 to develop the perfect tanning product before launching into the market.

By leveraging social media and influencers to their advantage, the brand quickly took off.

The products encapsulates the idea of enjoying yourself while on a holiday and coming back all bronzed and tanned - something everyone enjoys.

'We work hard to define our unique selling propositions (USP), knowing our community and the types of marketing and products they want to see/try, and put emphasis on projecting a consistent brand image and high-quality content,' Laura told FEMAIL.

And neither of them have any previous business experience.

To date the brand has sold roughly 1.2million bottles of the Dark Self Tanning Mousse, generating approximately $36million in revenue.

The second best selling product is the Ultra Dark Self Tanning Mousse, which launched in 2019, and has turned over $31million.

How to build a business from scratch: Laura shared her tips for those starting out in business: 1. Be consistent and post everyday on social media 2. Invest as much as you can at the start 3. Respond to customers quickly and have good customer service 4. Stand out from the crowd and have a point of difference 5. Think of a catchy brand name Advertisement

In the early days, the couple invested $30,000 to develop the perfect tanning product before launching into the market. By leveraging social media and influencers to their advantage, the brand quickly took off

Thousands of customers from around the world have shared before and after images of how good their skin looks after applying the self-tan

But the road to success hasn't been smooth sailing, with the couple dedicating both their time and money into the brand.

Today, despite having a huge following, Laura and David - a former carpenter - plan to take the brand to new heights, all while parenting two young children.

On the Startup Diaries Podcast, the couple shared how they went from zero to 1.4million Instagram followers, and how they started out.

'Since launching we've posted five times per day for the last eight years on Instagram, and never missed a post. So we're super consistent in our messaging,' Laura said.

'For three years, seven days a week, I'll be out at 11pm having an espresso and be like.. oh alarm, post. So the dedication is legit.

'We wanted to be a global brand from the start and we took key influencers from different parts of the world.

'Those big influencers would post something and you would make a direct ROI (return on investment) because it was still new, whereas now it's gone through more like micro-influencers.'

In the podcast Laura also touched on 'now culture' and how today everyone wants things instantly, so the brand pushed the message of 'free and fast shipping' to ensure customers will buy and return to buy more.

On the Startup Diaries Podcast, the couple shared how they went from zero to 1.4million Instagram followers, and how they started out

Laura said she 'isn't scared' to tackle what's required for the brand to become even more well known internationally.

Today Bali Body products can be purchased in the US, UK and across Europe.

Those wanting to follow in their footsteps and take a risk on a business venture, Laura said to prepare yourself.

'It will likely consume the majority of your life at least for the first five years, ensure you are prepared for that commitment,' she said.

'To be successful, you must be willing to sacrifice almost all of your time and energy into driving the business forwards, and ensure you are prepared for failure, because you will fail in almost everything you do initially but that is how you learn how and where to go next!'

The 'game changing' Bali Body fake tan now sells every three minutes and late last year the brand launched a revolutionary self-tanning product that has sold out five times globally since launching

The Instant Tan spray has quickly become a cult-favourite product that transforms the skin and provides a natural looking tan once applied. The tan can be smoothed out with a body blender brush

The 'game changing' Bali Body fake tan now sells every three minutes and late last year the brand launched a revolutionary self-tanning product that has sold out five times globally since launching.

The Instant Tan spray has quickly become a cult-favourite product that transforms the skin and provides a natural looking tan once applied.

To date more than 50,000 bottles have sold globally generating more than $1million in revenue.
An expert has explained why some women are attracted to murderers like Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy, and Chris Watts despite their horrific, violent crimes.

Dr Sohom Das, 44, is a forensic psychiatrist based in London, as well as a YouTube content creator, making videos about mental health topics for his channel A Psych for Sore Minds.

In a recent video, he addressed why some women are drawn to men who commit the most violent crimes, putting forward several explanations - from childhood trauma to a condition called hybristophilia.

Explaining the complexities of why some women are drawn to violent criminals in his video, Dr Das explains: 'I've mentioned Ted Bundy, but there are also other high profile murderers, including Charles Manson, Jeffrey Dahmer, and then Night Stalker Richard Ramirez, who was sent letters and gifts from women all over the world.

'To me, the Dahmer case is extremely shocking, because these pure, kind hearted women managed to look past the cannibalism...the sex offending, the dismembering, they even looked past his own sexuality and they still swiped right.'

Despite being convicted of committing numerous murders, Jeffrey Dahmer (pictured in court in 1991) was sent fan mail and proposals while in jail

The psychiatrist also referenced the more recent case of Chris Watts, who murdered his pregnant wife Shanann, and their two daughters Bella, 4, and Celeste, 3, in 2018.

He says: 'Chris Watts received love letters and photos from female admirers...One even sent a photo of herself in a bikini to Chris Watts in prison.'

Looking at possible reasons for this, the first factor Dr Das cites is psychosis.

1. Psychosis

He describes a case in which a women experiencing psychosis believed she was communicating telepathically with a criminal, and that they were in a relationship, despite the two never having met.

In these cases, he says, the women are 'mentally unwell...they're not making a rational choice.'

He adds: 'And also, this is an extremely rare presentation so we can just sort of put it off to the side...I just wanted to give it an honourable mention.'

2. History of trauma

A more common explanation, according to Dr Das, is a history of trauma.

He explains: 'So they've either been physically sexually and or emotionally abused by a partner or by their parents [and] they want to repeat this kind of cycle, either subconsciously or intentionally.

'And so unfortunately, these women tend to gravitate towards what's familiar instead of what's safe. And we see this phenomenon in victims of abuse.

'Sometimes they become abusers themselves, and...tragically some young girls who witnessed domestic violence as a child...pick abusive partners when they become adults themselves, partly because they it's ingrained in them to see violence as a way of conflict resolution.'

He explains that ironically, these women feel safe in their relationships with killers, because even though they are violent offenders, they are behind bars, allowing the women to 'actually control and dominate the relationship, maybe for the first time ever'.

Despite being convicted for a string of murders in the 1970s, serial killer Ted Bundy (pictured) had groupies, and even tied the knot while he was on death row awaiting execution

Dr Sohom Das (pictured) is a London-based forensic psychiatrist who also makes YouTube content on his channel A Psych for Sore Minds

Despite being imprisoned after being found guilty of the murder of his pregnant wife and their two young daughters, Chris Watts (pictured) has received mail from fans - including photos of women in bikinis

3. Saviour complex

There are other cases in which women 'feel that they could save or transform the prisoner or the killer', seeing it as a challenge.

4. Idealised relationship

A further psychological aspect cited by the psychiatrist is that 'some of these women have this kind of notion of a perfect relationship'.

By being in a relationship with someone in prison, they 'don't have to endure the day to day issues that are actually involved in most relationships'.

He explains: 'They don't have to go through the mundane stuff. There's no laundry to do. There's no need to cook for him. There's no smelly socks left on the staircase.'

5. Hybristophilia

The final element Dr Das touched on was a condition known as hybristophilia.

He explains: 'I think it's very fair to say that some of these women do this because they...crave attention or fame. In extreme cases, this is a phenomenon called hybristophilia, otherwise known as Bonnie and Clyde syndrome.'

What is hybristophilia? Hybristophilia is a paraphilia, which is defined by the American Psychological Association (APA) as 'a group of disorders in which unusual or bizarre fantasies or behaviour are necessary for sexual excitement'. It is colloquially known as 'Bonnie & Clyde syndrome', after the American crime couple immortalised in the eponymous film. Those with hybristophilia are deemed to have a sexual interest in and attraction to those who commit crimes, according to the APA. In some cases, this may be directed toward people in prison for various types of criminal activities. Advertisement

This is a type of paraphilia, an intense sexual arousal to atypical objects including situations, fantasies, behaviours and particular individuals.

Dr Das points out that this isn't a phenomenon limited to any particular social economic class, as it has afflicted all kinds of women (it has also been documented in men, but to a much lesser extent).

He says: 'I've heard there are examples of educated women with careers, including lawyers and barristers, who fell for or married killers who will either be sentenced to death or will never be released.'

The psychiatrist goes on to explain that in his opinion, much of this is 'connected to the celebrity worship, and some women have done this very overtly'.

'So they have clearly hoped to share some of the media spotlight or to get a book deal or a movie deal afterwards,' he says. 'And this is all kind of psychologically linked, in my opinion, to conflating being famous and being infamous.

'And I think that's a relatively recent phenomenon, something that we've seen grow hugely in front of our eyes for the last couple of decades...we see it in reality TV stars, they often become famous just for the sake of fame. And I think that the public feed this and we're partly to blame'.

Finally, he touches upon the character traits of the serial killers themselves, and how they are attractive to women.

'I think it's fair to say that many of them are psychopaths and narcissists, and those groups of people often attract women because they have the ability to be charismatic and to charm vulnerable people who are susceptible to this kind of manipulation,' he says.

'Narcissists are very grandiose, and they're very entitled entitled to things like sex and relationships.

'Psychopaths are the same so they have this inflated self esteem, but they're also very charming and they're calculating and they're quite devious, so they're very good at knowing...what to say, to make the women feel special, to feel loved to feel privileged to feel that they're part of like, some sort of special bond.'

Dr Das told FEMAIL he started his channel because he saw numerous creators sharing inaccurate information online, incorrectly psychoanalysing people and coming to the wrong conclusions.

'I just wanted to create some material that came from somebody that actually works with mentally disordered offenders,' he explained.

He added that as interest in true crime is growing, with an increasing amount of content available, viewers are increasingly seeking out expert views and analysis when it comes to criminals.

He explained: 'So much content is put out now on true crime, from the professional content from Netflix to podcasts.

'So it's almost like you need to find a new angle...it's not just enough to tell you about murders because people have heard of hundreds of cases now.

'I think that a really interesting angle, which is probably one of the most complex as well, is to understand why people do what they do.'

Dr Sohom Das told FEMAIL that he has always had a fascination with true crime, but when he was young, he didn't know that there were career options to quench that interest.

At medical school, when training in different disciplines, he was drawn to psychiatry.

Then, as a junior doctor, one of his placements involved working for six months in a medium secure unit in North London.

He said: 'Every patient was male, and every patient had committed quite serious violence, some of them had killed people.

'Their backstories...are fascinating. There's always something you can trace it back to, the reason...they end up living a violent lifestyle, and it's often the same compounding factors.. poverty, abuse, and drug or alcohol use is a huge factor as well.'

Dr Sohom Das is on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok, as well as YouTube.
President Yoon Suk Yeol enters a hall to appoint the new vice chair of the presidential committee on low birthrates at the presidential office in Yongsan District, Seoul, Feb. 8. Yonhap



By Nam Hyun-woo



Recent decisions from the National Assembly  a refusal to revive key pension rates and a vote to impeach the interior minister  seem to be thwarting President Yoon Suk Yeol's efforts to reform the nation's pension system and governmental working processes.



The parliamentary special committee on pension reform said last week that "it is not the time to discuss revisions to the income replacement rate of pensions and premium rate," adding that it will concentrate on "long-term structural reforms of the country's national pension system."



Revising the income replacement rate of pensions and premium rate is seen as the most challenging job in pension reform, because the former determines the amount of benefits that a holder will receive, while the latter affects the amount the holder will pay.



With the general election coming up next year, rival parties have been hesitant to make a decision between two scenarios as the revision could potentially yet negatively affect the public sentiment. Both of the scenarios involve increasing the premium rate to 15 percent from the current 9 percent, but they differ in their approach to increasing the pension replacement rate, which is currently at 40 percent, to 50 percent or keeping it at the current level.



"There are various opinions on revising the premium rate and pension replacement rate, and this is not a matter that can be easily determined by the (Assembly's) pension reform committee or private advisory committees," said Rep. Kim Sung-ju of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, who is a member of the pension reform committee.



"If the government drafts its comprehensive national pension operation plan in October, the Assembly will make a decision based on the plan."



However, questions remain whether the Assembly will prioritize this sensitive issue in October, when the general election is just a few months away. In light of this, Deputy Prime Minister Choo Kyung-ho urged on Feb. 10 that the Assembly should "make more fundamental approach, rather than delaying its discussions."



Though the government said it will have the Ministry of Economy and Finance to carry out pensions reform without setback, but pundits and government officials are skeptical of Yoon's pensions reform drive delivering tangible outcomes before the general election in April next year.





Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min leaves his home in Apgujeong-dong, Gangnam District, Seoul, Feb. 9. Yonhap
A news producer turned businesswoman who sells affordable DIY nail kits is turning over thousands of dollars from the comfort of her own home.

News producer Stephanie Picone was made redundant in 2019 when Today Tonight in Adelaide was cancelled.

The now 36-year-old moved back home to the Gold Coast and had a short stint in another newsroom but left as it 'wasn't the same'.

So in 2020, she launched the popular press-on nail business Instant Mani Co, which is adored by several reality TV stars including Abbie Chatfield, Bachelor star Alisha Aitken-Radburn and Neighbours star April Rose Pengilly.

Small Australian business Instant Mani Co is adored by influencers and customers around the country. The $28 kits are now also available on the Sephora Australia website and sells 1500 products every month

News producer Stephanie Picone (pictured) was made redundant in 2019 when Today Tonight in Adelaide was cancelled. The now-36-year-old moved back home on the Gold Coast and had a short stint in another newsroom but left as it 'wasn't the same' to what she knew

'If someone had told me years ago I would be doing this, I'd never have believed them,' Steph told FEMAIL.

The beauty enthusiast has always enjoyed wearing fake nails and claims she hasn't had bare nails for over a decade.

But when Covid hit and salons started to shut, Steph was forced to look for alternatives.

'When I had to remove my fake nails in lockdown, my real nails were so weak. They hurt. So I went searching for a solution and I was really surprised to learn how far press on nails had come,' she said.

Steph claims she noticed a 'gap in the Australian market' for affordable, stylish press-on nail kits.

'Australia was really lagging. I remember thinking 'someone needs to do something about this'.'

So she took part of her redundancy pay and invested $8,000 into the business idea, despite having 'no idea' what she was doing.

'I didn't want to gamble the whole amount (from the redundancy) as I honestly wasn't sure if the general public would be as excited about the new era of press on nails as I was,' Steph said.

The stylish nails are perfect for those wanting to save both time and money on acrylic nails.

Steph packed orders by hand at home and, although it was time consuming, it allowed her to 'put quality under the microscope'.

Steph (pictured, right in left, with Tiffany Warne) claims she noticed a 'gap in the Australian market' for affordable, stylish press-on nail kits

In the first year, she also learnt several helpful lessons when it comes to business - and how easily things can go wrong.

Before launching, Steph would pack each piece in the set by hand to keep costs down.

'I had different manufacturers for each (glue, cuticle sticks, nails, files). I had sampled a range of glues and found one I was happy with quality-wise, so ordered 3,000,' she said.

'When they arrived the tube was bigger than the sample and couldn't fit inside my packaging properly. Thankfully, I ordered these quite far in advance of the launch so I was able to get replacements in time.'

Unfortunately the replacements were also the incorrect size.

'I couldn't believe it. So for the first week, until another lot of replacements arrived, the tube of glue was kept in a tray under the nails,' she said.

The stylish press-on nails are perfect for those wanting to save both time and money on acrylic nails. Looking back, Steph is proud of how far the brand has come and says those wanting to start a business should take the leap of faith

When podcaster Abbie Chatfield bought from her website, Steph thought it was another customer with the same name.

To her delight, Abbie promoted the nails on Instagram and has since been a supporter of the small business.

Looking back, Steph is proud of how far the brand has come and says those wanting to start a business should take the leap of faith.

'Accept that things are going to go wrong, lots of them, but you can't dwell on them. While having a start-up can look really glamorous on social media, I'm yet to see that side,' she said.

'And find a friend or mentor going through the process. Starting a business can be extremely isolating, you'll constantly second guess yourself.

'It really is an emotional rollercoaster and sometimes you'll need a friend who is also on the ride to pep you up, otherwise you just might want to get off before the fun begins.'
Parents have been shamed online for admitting feelings of 'disappointment' after finding out the gender of their unborn babies, but researchers claim it's 'very normal'.

The conversations around gender disappointment are always awkward and parents-to-be like MAFS star Martha Kalifatidis and Australia's most well-known paramedic Nikki Jurcutz have been publicly shamed for starting them.

But research by antenatal and postnatal psychologists suggest that gender disappointment is a very common feeling.

It is most often experienced by expecting mums when they learn they are not having a daughter, but can be felt by all parents, siblings and people in the baby's life.

Experts say that as soon as people imagine having a child, narratives of what that child and their lives together would look like start to form.

Scroll down for video

Martha Kalifatidis (pictured with her husband Michael Brunelli) has revealed she was 'devastated' when she found out her unborn child is a boy

Paramedic Nikki made her post alongside this heartbreaking picture of her disappointed eldest daughter

It is believed that the expectations are built from a woman's own experience and relationships.

Those wishing for a girl may have grown up with sisters and no brothers, always identified as a 'girly girl' and want to share the feeling or those who had a difficult relationship with their mum and want to repair it.

The feeling of gender disappointment is often intermingled with shame as many people feel judged as they are perceived to not be appreciating their baby, however experts say that feelings of gender disappointment do not negate the gratitude and joy women feel for their child.

Poll Have you experienced 'gender disappointment'? Yes No No, only because I got what I had hoped for Have you experienced 'gender disappointment'? Yes 100 votes

No 238 votes

No, only because I got what I had hoped for 56 votes Now share your opinion





Australian paramedic Nikki Jurcutz previously urged people to be more open and honest about gender disappointment after finding out her third child would be a boy.

She has since found out there was an error and the baby is a girl - but her family publicly shared their feelings of grief and loss before the mistake was found.

While MAFS star Martha Kalifatidis also revealed she was disappointed after discovering her baby was a boy after 'dreaming of a life with a girl'.

But it's not just high-profile parents who admit to feeling disappointed after finding out the sex of their unborn babies.

In 2021 Ashely Cesare, 21, found out she was pregnant with twin boys.

She was devastated as she had always dreamed of having a little girl and was hoping for a boy and girl when she found out she was expecting two babies in August 2021.

The stay-at-home-mum, from New York, couldn't hide her disappointment when only blue confetti fell on her and her fiance, Heath Boyle, 27, who works in construction, during their gender reveal.

Another mum, Nicole Shamlin posted a TikTok video sharing her reaction to her gender reveal party, along with how she felt after.

Ashley Cesare with her twin sons Carter and Jaxon. Ashley revealed that she was initially disappointed to find out she was having boys

As the blue confetti flew in the air, symbolising she's having a boy, Nicole and her partner looked joyous.

But later Nicole, from the US, was crying by herself and 'grieving' over the fact she won't be having a daughter.

Dads can also feel gender disappointment.

One man rose to internet fame after his face dropped when he found out his baby would be a girl, during his backyard gender reveal party.

Mum Nicole Shamlin posted a TikTok video sharing her reaction to her own gender reveal party, along with how she felt after. As the blue confetti flew in the air, symbolising she's having a boy, Nicole and her partner looked joyous

Speaking to KISS FM's Will & Woody Martha revealed that she was '100 per cent sure' the baby would be a girl, something she had been waiting for her whole life.

The eight-month pregnant influencer had already been searching baby girls clothing and was excited to welcome another girl into the household.

Michael gifted Martha a ring which the couple had requested a jeweller to inlay with blue stones for a boy and pink for a girl.

The blue ring revealed the baby's sex.

'It's a boy,' Michael could be heard saying in the video when Martha opened the jewellery box.

One father-to-be's reaction to the revealed gender appears to be less than impressed compared to the other party guests (pictured)

Gender disappointment: what is it and what can be done to help? Gender disappointment is a very common feeling, and is most often experienced by mums when they learn they are not having a daughter. As soon as people imagine having a child, narratives of what that child and their lives together would look like start to form. It is believed that the expectations are built from women's own experience and relationships. Common causes of gender disappointment: 1. Replication - those wishing for a girl may be women who grew up with sisters and no brothers. 2. Reparation - Some women who had a difficult relationship with their mum may want to repair it in their own mother/daughter relationship. 3. Reflection of self - women who always identified as a 'girly girl' may want to share the feeling and see that in their child. How to feel better about the situation: Parents should acknowledge and accept their own feelings and work through why they desired a certain gender. Experts recommend seeing a therapist to work through the feelings and help prepare to welcome the child you are having rather than the one you had pictured. The feeling of gender disappointment are often intermingled with shame as many people feel judged as they are perceived to not be appreciating their baby, however experts say that feelings of gender disappointment do not negate the gratitude and joy women feel for their child. (Source: antenatalandpostnatalpsychology.com) Advertisement

'Oh my god, it's a boy,' Martha gasped.

Paramedic Nikki, who runs the Tiny Hearts social media accounts, found thousands of supporters when she revealed her own gender disappointment.

The results were wrong however, and weeks later she found out she would in fact be having a girl.

At the time she courageously admitted she, her husband and her daughter were all feeling 'sad' when they found out the sex of her unborn baby.

The Tiny Hearts Education founder has been very open about her pregnancy journey, including suffering losses, so is no stranger when it comes to embracing 'taboo' subjects.

'It's a taboo topic for sure but last night 11k people admitted that they experienced it, whether it was a slight ohh or severe disappointment, and another 6k said they only didn't because they got what they wanted but otherwise would have,' the mum wrote in a post on Instagram.

She added that the numbers came from her own poll and represented 65 per cent of participants - proving it is 'very real'.

'We wanted a little girl, for many reasons and that's ok, and it's ok to feel sad that we are saying goodbye to that idea. The sadness you feel can coexist with excitement,' she wrote in the post alongside a picture of her very disappointed eldest child.

'We were sad that our little girl didn't get the dream of a little sister, that we couldn't give aunties, uncles and grandparents a girl, in a sea of boys.'

Nikki is due to welcome her son in June, and says the gender disappointment 'absolutely coexists with love, joy and happiness'.

'Above all, all we truly care about is a healthy baby and we feel blessed.'

She also asked people to be kind.

'Remember, we all walk life in different shoes, we have different life experiences and this forms the people we are and our perspectives. Some are more privileged than others, I acknowledge that.'

'So for some it's completely incomprehensible to have these feelings and that's ok. I certainly got some heated messages through last night but I'm not about to tell those people not to feel their feelings, because that would be hypocritical of me but what I will say is that just because you didn't experience it or don't understand it, doesn't mean you have the right to minimise how others feel,' she said.

'We have to stop telling women that we should or shouldn't feel a certain way. We don't always feel what we expect or want to feel, that's life.'

She also shared this grab in her stories - showing the raw reality of the situation

Nikki's long post was met with enthusiasm from her followers, many of whom thanked her for her raw honesty.

'Thank you for sharing this. It's so hard to put into words sometimes for friends and family to understand, I personally don't like the word gender disappointment because the stigma of the word 'disappointment' makes people think we are disappointed in the babies we are currently pregnant with or the babies we have which is so hard to explain. I like to call it gender grief because it's grief over mourning a child you may never have' one woman wrote.

'Just because you wanted a gender doesn't necessarily mean you love your baby any less or would trade them. Thanks for being brave,' said a second.

Others shared their own experiences with gender disappointment.

'Someone put it to me like this ''I'm not sad to have a boy, I'm grieving the daughter I'll never have and the dreams l've had for her my whole life'' it hit the nail on the head for me and made me feel a lot less guilt. I love my boys and I never cared if I had boys. I just really wanted a daughter too,' one mum wrote.

'I am a girl mum to two beautiful babes. I absolutely adore them both with everything I have but mourn the fact I'll never have a boy,' another added.
Bizarre facials from bee stings, leeches and placenta all have celeb approval

Looking young and staying healthy doesn't come without sacrifices  but some wellness hacks go to a whole new extreme.

Bee stings, leeches and butter are some of the bizarre things celebs have used for facials and in health foods in bid to stay looking healthy, wrinkle free and radiant.

And it is not just the Kardashian's and pseudoscience-peddling Gwyneth Paltrow who have tried these strange techniques.

Gwyneth Paltrow, 50, pictured left, at Veuve Clicquot in Beverly Hills. The actress is no stranger to a bizarre health hack, from goat-milk cleanses to bee-sting therapy. Bee-sting therapy, dubbed the organic alterative to Botox, uses bee sting venom as the main ingredient to stimulate blood flow and collagen

Bee-sting facial

She may have blossomed as a young actress in the late 1990s, but Gwyneth Paltrow has since built herself a reputation for selling bizarre wellness products, as part of her lifestyle brand Goop.

As well as a goat-milk cleanse and vaginal steam, the actress, 50, has gone to painful lengths in the name of health and wellbeing  including being stung by bees.

The Goop founder believes the bee stings  dubbed the organic alterative to Botox  actually get rid of inflammation and scaring, leaving skin looking radiant.

She confessed to The New York Times in 2016: 'I've been stung by bees.

'It's a thousands of years old treatment called apitherapy.

'People use it to get rid of inflammation and scarring. It's actually pretty incredible if you research it.'

Apitherapy is the term for any treatment using products that come from bees, such as facials using Manuka honey, which advocates say has soothing properties.

Gwyneth admitted her approach to the alternative therapy was 'painful'.

When bees sting, their venom stimulates blood flow and collagen in the face, which has the effect of smoothing wrinkles, advocates claim.

But deliberately getting bees to sting you probably isn't the wisest idea, and not just because it hurts.

Bee stings, like most insect venom, cause inflammation.

If you are stung, it will usually cause a red, swollen lump on the skin, which can be painful and in some cases can be very itchy, according to the NHS.

But people use bee venom to treat a variety of illnesses, including Parkinson's disease, MS, arthritis, and nerve pain. It has been used as a traditional medicine for centuries from the ancient Greeks and Egyptians to Chinese civilizations.

Oil pulling

Forget the minty fresh taste of Listerine  some people use coconut oil to clean their mouth.

The Fault in Our Stars actress Shailene Woodley confessed in an interview with Into The Gloss in 2014 that she keeps her teeth white by swilling oil around her mouth.

Known as oil pulling, it involves putting a spoonful of coconut oil in your mouth and swilling it around for up to 20 minutes before spitting it out.

It derives from a tradition in ancient India almost 5,000 years ago, which saw people use sesame oil as a mouthwash.

Shailene Woodley, pictured left, at the The Earthshot Prize 2022 at MGM Music Hall at Fenway in Boston, Massachusetts. The star revealed she keeps her teeth white by swilling oil around her mouth. The trend known as oil pulling, involves putting a spoonful of coconut oil in your mouth and swilling for 20 minutes before spitting it out. But Miss Woodley uses sesame oil, pictured right

The technique is thought to pull the plaque and bacteria away from the teeth, helping to keep the mouth clean and fresh.

'It really makes your teeth whiter, because the plaque on your teeth is not water soluble, it's fat-soluble,' says Shailene.

But there is no evidence that oil pulling can prevent cavities, despite claims made online, according to an article published in the British Dental Journal.

However, one study published in the Nigerian Journal of Medicine in 2015 backs celeb claims that the technique works.

The study found that after just seven days of oil pulling, levels of plaque and gum disease significantly reduced, and continued to decrease over a period of a month.

But dentists are not convinced we should be adding oil pulling to our daily routines.

Cosmetic dentist Dr Tara Francis stresses it definitely should not replace your normal brushing. She said: 'There's currently not enough scientific data to give a definite answer on whether oil pulling is beneficial.

'If you do decide to practice oil pulling, it should not be a replacement to good oral hygiene which should include brushing twice a day and cleaning between your teeth with floss and/or interdental brushes.'

Vampire facial

When you think of a facial you may imagine a gentle massage, cleansing balms and moisturising oils.

Injections of blood certainly wouldn't cross your mind.

Yet that is exactly what Kim Kardashian, 42, did in the name of beauty.

The procedure sees injections of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) jabbed into the face, with the aim of banishing wrinkles.

Plasma is nicknamed 'liquid gold' for its yellow-ish colour and array of supposed skin benefits. Meanwhile, platelets are a type of blood cell vital for healing.

Cosmetic doctors claim the treatment can slow and even reverse the aging process by plumping the skin and reducing the appearance of wrinkles.

Kim Kardashian is pictured after having a vampire facial. Cosmetic doctors claim the treatment can slow and even reverse the aging process by plumping the skin and reducing the appearance of wrinkles. The procedure was featured in an episode of the Keeping Up With the Kardashians spin off show, Kim and Kourtney Take Miami in 2013

The technique was featured in an episode of the Keeping Up With the Kardashians spin off show, Kim and Kourtney Take Miami in 2013.

But it is not something Kim will be doing again any time soon.

She later admitted in a blog post in 2018 that the treatment was 'rough' and 'painful'.

'Before I got the procedure, I just found out that I was pregnant, so I couldn't use the numbing cream or a pain killer and both are suggested,' she wrote.

A medical review in 2018, led by Dr Alexes Hazen, of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, suggests that PRP can help to decrease the appearance of wrinkles.

But Dr Hazen warned that the evidence is still limited.

A spoonful of Ghee

When it comes to staying in shape, eating a spoon of clarified butter every day is certainly not what comes to mind.

But that is Kourtney Kardashian's secret to staying healthy.

The 43-year-old TV personality and socialite, revealed on her blog in 2016 that she eats a spoon of ghee every morning.

She wrote: 'A teaspoon a day does a body good.'

Kourtney claims the clarified butter  which originated in ancient India and is now used to fry food and make curries  promotes weight loss, keeps the gut healthy, strengthens the immune system, hydrates skin, makes hair grow thick and nourishes the nervous system.

Ghee which is a type of clarified butter is used as a health hack by Kourtney Kardashian, picture left. She claims it promotes weight loss, keeps the gut healthy, strengthens the immune system, hydrates skin, makes hair grow thick, and nourishes the nervous system

The reality TV star said she melts a teaspoon of the fat on the hob, before pouring the liquid into a cup and drinking it.

She then waits 20 minutes before she downs a glass of water and eats breakfast.

But there is not much evidence that eating ghee will help you stay slim.

Professor Chandradhar Dwivedi, a pharmacologist at South Dakota State University, told Time in 2019 that the calorie-dense fat is packed with vitamin E and A  which support healthy skin.

But it may raise levels of 'bad' cholesterol, according to his 2010 study, which can increase the risk heart attacks and strokes.

Sheep placenta facial

Simon Cowell has, over the years, gone to great lengths to stay looking young.

The 63-year-old music mogul previously admitted to treating himself to a sheep placenta facial in a bid to maintain a youthful appearance.

TV judge and music mogul, Simon Cowell, pictured left at BGT auditions at the London Palladium, confessed he has had a sheep placenta facial. A sheep placenta facial is said to have clock rewinding effects making your skin look more youthful. The high collagen levels and rejuvenating stem cells in the after birth is thought to help smooth wrinkles

The TV judge, who has sparked concern with his ever changing face and unrecognisable appearance lately, told The Mirror in 2015: 'I also had a sheep placenta facial once, which was quite out there.'

The sheep placenta secret was originally revealed by a beauty therapist from Beverly Hills Lancer dermatology clinic in California in 2012.

The high levels of collagen and stem cells in the organ are said to help smooth wrinkles. The ingredient is added to moisturisers for that very reason.

But Simon's routine was revealed to not be as simple as applying cream.

His skin was exfoliated for 30 minutes before a bright LED light was directed at his face to open his pores, it was reported.

A beauty professional then applied the placenta, which is mixed with flakes of 24 carat gold, and comes in the form of a gel.

Although products containing sheep's placenta claim to help rejuvenation and collagen production there is not much evidence to support these statements.

Leech facial

Just when you thought beauty treatments couldn't get any more gruesome, blood sucking leeches are now used for facials.

Victoria's Secret model Miranda Kerr, 39, admitted to having a leech facial in an interview at Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop summit in 2017.

It involves placing live leeches on the face, after which the blood they consume is smeared across the skin like a mask. Proponents say the therapy tightens skin and leaves it looking younger.

Model Miranda Kerr, pictured left, revealed at Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop summit in 2017 that she had tried a leech facial. Leeches are used for cosmetic reasons because they secrete proteins, which is said to tighten the skin, but this has not been medically proven

After the model revealed she had the unusual beauty treatment, she confessed to even holding on to the leeches afterwards.

She said: 'I kept the leeches, they're in my koi pond.

'You're not allowed to reuse them and if you don't take them home then she kills them and I didn't like that idea.'

Even though it sounds horrible, the blood suckers have been used for thousands of years, but mainly for the practice of bloodletting for illness.

Leeches are used for cosmetic reasons because they secrete proteins, which is said to tighten the skin. However, this has not been medically proven.
More than 750,000 people in need of a hip or knee replacement and half a million awaiting ear, nose or throat treatment.

With NHS waiting lists for routine ops at breaking point, it's no surprise that so many Brits are seeking alternative solutions. Google searches for terms relating to private health insurance hit an all-time high last month.

But should you join them? Here, MailOnline answers all of your questions about the schemes, from the rewards they offer to their monthly costs.

MailOnline spoke to top private healthcare expert, myTribe Insurance to find out everything you need to know about private treatment

Who are the main insurers in the UK?

According to myTribe Insurance, which offers info on private health insurance in the UK, WPA is currently ranked as the best health insurer and is their top pick for 2023.

Awarded a 9.7 out of 10 rating, their Flexible Health Premier policy also clocks up a customer satisfaction rating of 4.8 out of 5 on TrustPilot.

The Exeter's Health+ policy ranks second with a 9.6 out of 10 myTribe ranking, having recently introduced a new 'guided consultant list', making it 'one of the best-priced providers in the market'.

Bupa's 'Bupa by You' takes third place, while Vitality is awarded fourth. The insurer offers new members a 10 per cent discount if they haven't needed any treatment or specialist advice in the three years before taking out a policy.

Axa Health's flagship 'Personal Health' policy rounds off the top five, offering unlimited diagnostic tests and up to three specialist consultations per year and the opportunity to protect your no claims discount.

Under the flagship basic policies of all five insurers, inpatient and day patient treatment, out-patient treatment and cancer care are included as standard. There may be some limits on specific out-patient treatments.

Searches for private medical insurance have hit an all-time high in the wake of the NHS's worst ever winter. Hundreds of Brits Googled policies and sought information on the ins-and-outs of making the switch every day in January - marking the busiest ever month for such queries, according to myTribe Insurance

What isn't covered?

Each insurer will have its own exclusions, but these are the ones that will appear in most of their policy documents: emergency services, routine pregnancy, chronic conditions, alcohol or substance abuse and cosmetic surgery.

And cosmetic doesnt just mean things such as boob jobs  the operation to remove varicose veins in the legs, for instance, is rarely offered on the NHS unless they are severe, and linked to ulcers, bleeding and pain.

All new health insurance policies also exclude pre-existing medical conditions, but there are two types of underwriting and which you choose will affect how they are handled.

Around 95 per cent of all new policies are written using moratorium underwriting, according to myTribe insurance.

Under this type of underwriting, any conditions you've suffered from in the five years before taking out a policy will be automatically excluded.

However, with most policies, if you go for two policy years without suffering symptoms or requiring treatment for that condition, the exclusion will be lifted.

However, the insurer doesn't look at your medical records until you claim, so it could be that something you had issues with several years ago then causes a related issue, and it's only when you claim you find out it's excluded.

Fully medically underwritten health insurance - the other five per cent - is often used by those who are older or have more complex medical histories, as this provides more clarity about what is and isn't excluded.

The insurer will ask for your medical records and then provide you with a detailed list of exclusions.

According to myTribe Insurance, the cost is largely the same.

So what is covered under private health insurance?

'Unlike other types of insurance, health insurance is complicated with many moving parts,' Chris Steele, founder of myTribe Insurance, told MailOnline.

'It's not a case of getting an online quote and buying, you need to speak to a broker to ensure what you're signing up for is right for you.'

Broadly speaking, there are two levels of health insurance to consider: treatment only, which is a basic policy that you can add or remove services from, or comprehensive cover.

Treatment only typically covers the cost of treatment in a private hospital where you need to be admitted as an inpatient or day patient.

It's worth noting that, with this option, you'll need to be diagnosed via the NHS before opting to be treated privately.

Normally treatment-only policies cover: cancer treatment, hospital charges and specialist fees, surgical and anaesthetist fees, access to treatments not routinely available via the NHS, and a private room while staying in hospital.

Under a comprehensive policy, the cost of scans, tests and consultations as an outpatient leading up to your treatment, will also be included.

On this policy, you don't need to wait to be diagnosed via the NHS.

Typically, comprehensive policies includes: more extensive cancer cover - from diagnosis to recovery, consultations, diagnostic tests and scans as an outpatient, virtual 24/7 private GP service, outpatient treatment and physiotherapy, osteopathy, acupuncture, and other therapies.

On top of the two types of policies, for an additional cost, there are options to include alternative therapies, mental health cover - although some providers include this as standard - travel cover, and routine dental and optical cover.

What does a treatment-only policy include? Typically, treatment-only policies will cover the following:  Cancer treatment  Hospital charges and specialist fees, if youre admitted to hospital  Surgical and anaesthetist fees  Access to drugs and treatments not routinely available via the NHS  A private room while youre in hospital Advertisement

What is included under comprehensive cover? Typically, comprehensive policies will cover the following:  Extensive cancer cover, from diagnosis to recovery  Consultations, diagnostic tests and scans as an outpatient  Virtual 24/7 private GP service  Outpatient treatment  Physiotherapy, osteopathy, acupuncture and other therapies Advertisement

On average, a private hip replacement costs 12,825, a knee replacement 13,925 and cataract surgery on one eye 2,775, according to myTribe Insurance

myTribe calculated the current average cost of health insurance in the UK by obtaining over 800 quotes across the country from the leading providers. On average those aged 20 can expect to pay 18 per month for a basic policy and 37 under comprehensive cover

What does it cost?

Mr Steele told MailOnline: 'The cost of your policy depends on many factors, not least, your age, where you live and what options you choose when you configure your policy.

'While our research is useful and helps people understand the rough cost of health insurance, it's only meant as a guide, and you should speak with a broker and get a personalised quote and advice.'

The cost of going private In January, myTribe Insurance researched the cost of private treatment at 27 hospitals around the UK. Here is the average treatment cost: Gastroscopy - 1,766 Colonoscopy - 1,994 Carpal Tunnel Release - 2,068 Wisdom Tooth Removal - 2,317 Cataract Surgery - 2,775 Tonsillectomy - 3,084 Knee Arthroscopy - 4,327 Slipped Disc Removal - 7,930 Hip Replacement - 12,825 Knee Replacement - 13,925 Advertisement

On average those aged 20 can expect to pay 18 per month for a basic policy and 37 under comprehensive cover.

For a typical 50-year-old this rises to around 58 for a treatment only policy and 77 with comprehensive cover.

Those aged 70 would be looking at parting with 137 per month under basic cover and 177 for a comprehensive policy.

On average, a private hip replacement costs 12,825, a knee replacement 13,925 and cataract surgery on one eye 2,775, according to myTribe Insurance.

London and Manchester are currently the most expensive places to seek treatment, while Wales and Scotland are among the cheapest.

How are hospitals rated?

Currently, there are between 500-600 private hospitals and clinics across the UK.

myTribe Insurance rates each provider's hospital cover out of 10. All five offer access to hundreds of the private hospitals.

Awarded 9 out 10 stars, Axa tops the chart as it provides the largest number of hospitals under their standard list.

WPA follows in second, with Vitality, Bupa and The Exeter in close pursuit.

The ratings are approximations and are based on the prices charged.

What should you look out for when comparing premiums?

All of the big providers offer both unrestricted access to medical specialists and restricted access - known as guided.

Often when given an online quote, the policy will include a guided consultant list by default.

Opting instead for an unrestricted list will provide access to almost any consultant in the UK. Both WPA and Freedom Health Insurance only offer unrestricted access.

But under a guided consultant list, you can receive approximately 20 per cent off the cost of the policy.

It's worth also noting that the biggest providers - Bupa, Axa, Vitality and Aviva - also operate a traditional no-claims discount-based model.

If you don't claim, your premiums won't rise too significantly each year; if you do, they will.

However, most of the smaller providers, The Exeter, WPA and Freedom, offer a 'community-rated scheme', where it's not your claims that affect your renewal premiums, it's the claims of all of their members on the same scheme.

The Exeter is the only leading provider to offer the choice between a no-claims discount or a community-rated scheme.
Hundreds of billions of dollars have been spent trying in vain to cure dementia  one of the world's leading killers that burdens millions of families every year.

Much of the focus has been on drugs which clear clumps of protein associated with the disorder in the brain or slowing the cruel cognitive decline that blights sufferers.

But a growing body of research suggesting viruses may contribute to Alzheimer's has left experts wondering if vaccines could help stop the disease before it ever occurs.

Studies have suggested that the relatively innocuous virus that causes cold sores might play a role in the onset of the condition.

Last year, one in every nine Americans aged 65 and over had Alzheimer's disease  the most common form of dementia

And scientists predict that the number of Americans over the age of 85 with dementia will increase even more over time, with an estimated 13.8 million suffering from the condition by 2050

The link between viruses and dementia is not entirely new.

Studies have repeatedly shown that people who are vaccinated against other viruses have a lower risk of dementia.

For example, limited evidence has suggested that flu shots reduce the risk of developing dementia up to 29 percent, while the herpes zoster vaccine (shingles vaccine) has been linked to a 30 percent lower risk.

Experts believe that Alzheimer's is linked to the build-up of amyloid beta proteins in the brain which clump together and cause damage to key neurons, setting off tell-tale symptoms such as memory deterioration and loss of general cognitive function.

But there some uncertainty over whether the accumulation of the plaques is the cause or one of the symptoms of dementia.

There are drugs treat Alzheimer's by decreasing amyloid production. But so far, these have not worked well, said Diego Restrepo, professor of cell and developmental biology at the University of Colorado.

And even if the drugs remove some of the amyloid plaque, it is difficult to reverse the damage already done to the brain.

In studying the amyloid plaque, scientists have discovered it has antiviral properties, leading them to believe it could be the brain's way of trying to protect itself from infections.

Maria Nagel, professor of neurology and ophthalmology at the University of Colorado, told DailyMail.com: 'We believe one of the ways the virus contributes to dementia is decades prior, before the patient is demented and you see all these amyloid plaques.

'The virus itself can trigger the formation of these amyloid aggregates to the point that then you get the clinical symptoms of dementia.'

Over time and as we encounter different infections, the amyloid plaque builds up, so much so that it interrupts the brain cells from being able to communicate to one another, which starts a cascade of memory problems.

Dr Nagel said: 'So one of the thoughts is... where the virus is accelerated, the accumulation of the deposit that you can prevent the deposit and the inflammation and other effects before you actually are so severe that you're demented and it doesn't matter if you've got the amyloid, it's too late.

'We think it's an early risk factor that will prevent the actual clinical dementia.'

Over time and as we encounter different infections, the amyloid plaque builds up, so much so that it interrupts the brain cells from being able to communicate to one another, which starts a cascade of memory problems.

A virus is normally breathed in through our nose or mouth where it travels to the nasal cavity and binds itself to the little roots of the olfactory nerve dangling there.

The virus itself then attaches itself to the nerves, which can cause us to lose the ability to smell.

The virus also has access to our brain through the olfactory nerve, where it causes inflammation, another telltale sign of Alzheimer's.

Dr Trinh, chief medical officer of Irvine Clinical Research and a board member for Alzheimers Orange County, told DailyMail.com: 'In every brain that we have autopsied for Alzheimer's patients, we always find a bunch of a lot of inflammatory cells in the brain.

'Infections, especially chronic infections with viruses, can typically induce an inflammatory response via the immune system. So as your immune system is trying to fight the viruses that come on, it creates the presence of chronic inflammation.'

He added: 'We know that chronic inflammation is not good for the brain. So I think there's a link there for sure, with chronic infection, inflammation and Alzheimer's.'

According to Dr Nagel, the most likely pathogens which could affect the brain and cause cognitive decline in the elderly are the chickenpox-causing varicella-zoster virus and the herpes simplex virus type one (HSV-1).

More than 90 percent of adults in the US have HSV-1 and the majority never get cold sores.

'The reason why these viruses are suspect is they are actually dormant or asleep, in a sense, in neurons in the head region and they have direct access to the nose when they flare up, and also to the brain,' Dr Nagel told DailyMail.com.

Other viruses can play a part. HIV can also cause early dementia in patients as it can replicate in the brain and cause some changes, but it is not necessarily an Alzheimer's-type dementia.

Last year, one in every nine Americans aged 65 and over had Alzheimer's disease  the most common form of dementia.

It is unclear how many cases could be prevented by vaccines, but Andrew Bubak, assistant research professor of neurology at the University of Colorado, said:

'We always see this number pop up of around 28 to 30 percent reduction in a risk following different vaccines, not just shingles vaccine but also seasonal flu vaccines. Whether that translates to stopping 30 percent of Alzheimer's disease, that's not how that how that math works out.

'Nonetheless, it does seem to be a significant proportion of cases that can at least be delayed, probably not prevented, but delayed.'

The above graph shows the prevalence of the oral herpes virus (HSV-1) and the genital herpes virus (HSV-2) among Americans aged 14-49. There are currently no available vaccines for HSV-1, though some are being developed

Viruses are thought to cause dementia by triggering the build up of amyloid plaques which can lead to degeneration in the brain and years later, potentially Alzheimer's

There are currently no available vaccines for HSV-1, but some are being developed.

Dr Trinh said the idea is that we could use the vaccines that will prevent people from getting these infections which would then in turn prevent amyloid build-up in the body.

He said: 'I think [vaccinating against viruses] is a viable route. I don't think it's going to cure Alzheimer's because there are multiple routes to Alzheimer's. But I think we should do everything we can to close all the loops and all the different routes.

'Vaccinating against viruses is definitely a good route because it's actionable, it's something we can do now.'

Scientists develop blood test that can detect Alzheimer's The new blood-based test developed by a cadre of scientists from the UK, the US, Sweden, and Italy paves the way for cheap and easy diagnostics that could help millions of Americans begin treatment for the disease in very early stages. Advertisement

In the brains of people who have died due to Alzheimer's, researchers are still working on pinpointing the exact viruses that might have played a role.

This is because the process of dementia can begin years before symptoms occur, and so by the time scientists are examining patients' brains, detectable elements of previous viral infections are gone and it is hard to establish causation.

Researchers have therefore proposed that viruses accelerate a process of cognitive decline that is already occurring.

A University of Colorado study, published in December last year in the journal Neurobiology of Aging, found that viruses causing damage to patients' sense of smell in particular can accelerate the onset of Alzheimer's.

Loss of smell is an early sign of disease for up to 90 percent of Alzheimer's patients.

The researchers looked at six people with Alzheimer's and six people without.

The patients had the inherited form of Alzheimer's, which has less variability.

They focused on the nose as it is the most vulnerable entry point to the brain and looked at samples taken from patients' olfactory bulb and tract - the bottom side of the brain above the nasal cavity responsible for sense of smell.

The Alzheimer patients' samples showed altered gene expressions demonstrating past viral infection in the olfactory bulb, as well as inflammatory immune responses in the olfactory tract.

The samples also had more proteins that contribute to the myelin damage.

Myelin is a protective layer around nerves allowing for easy and fast movement of electrical impulses in the brain. When this layer is impaired, parts of the brain cannot talk to each other as well, which contributes to overall cognitive decline.

The findings led the researchers to believe that viral infections and the resultant inflammation in the olfactory system may stop the hippocampus in the brain from being able to communicate with the olfactory bulb  contributing to neurodegeneration and, ultimately, Alzheimer's.

One explanation is that viruses such as herpes trigger the production of amyloid clumps, a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease.

Another theory is that if infectious bacteria reach the brain, they can activate immune cells in the brain called microglia. In turn, this causes inflammation in the brain which leads to nerve cell death and ultimately the progression of dementia.

In most people, the immune system will have suppressed the virus from a primary infection before it can have a significant effect on the central nervous system.
When a shocked paramedic found the body of spina bifida sufferer Kaylea Titford in horrific circumstances in 2020, he felt compelled to report her family to social services.

The 16-year-old, who weighed 23 stone at the time of her death, was neglected by her parents, whose failures were masked by the first Covid lockdown.

Kaylea, who was 'fiercely independent' before lockdown, was discovered in a maggot-infested bed, with the smell described by the paramedic as being like 'someone had died'.

But Kaylea was just the latest of a series of children whose deaths in the depths of the pandemic shocked the nation.

MailOnline has examined each high-profile case - highlighting how in nearly every instance, the lockdowns that were intended to save lives created the very conditions that allowed horrific abuse to flourish.

Kaylea Titford - died after being 'neglected by parents'

Paramedic Gareth Wyn Evans found the body of Kaylea in her bedroom in October 2020.

Mold Crown Court heard how she was not breathing when she was found, and the paramedic was greeted with a 'horrific' smell when he pulled back the covers of her bed.

Paramedic Gareth Wyn Evans found the body of Kaylea Titford in her bedroom in October 2020

He told jurors that he believed the smell coming from her legs was 'gangrene' or 'something putrid'.

The court previously heard that Kaylea had not had her nails cut for six months prior to her death and that 'well grown' maggots were found in her body around her buttocks and legs.

Her father, Alun Titford, 45, was this month found guilty of gross negligence manslaughter after Kaylea was found dead in her bed.

Kaylea's mother, Sarah Lloyd-Jones, 39, had already pleaded guilty to the same charge.

During Titford's trial, Mr Wyn Evans told how Kaylea's room was 'cluttered, dirty and untidy' and had clothes piled up on her wheelchair and dirty crockery around the room.

He said when removing electrodes from Kaylea's ankles to check for an electric impulse the smell of her body made him retch and he had to seek fresh air.

He told the court that later that day he made a safeguarding referral to social services.

Whilst she had taken part in high school PE lessons in her wheelchair before lockdown, afterwards her parents allegedly allowed her weight to soar and her health to deteriorate as they left her alone in her adapted room and failed to keep her clean.

Kaylea had allegedly not seen a doctor in the nine months before she died despite a series of health problems and had not been washed for weeks.

Star Hobson - murdered by her mother's girlfriend

Star Hobson was just 16 months old when she was murdered by her mother's girlfriend, Savannah Brockill, in September 2020

Star Hobson was just 16 months old when she was murdered by her mother's girlfriend Savannah Brockill in September 2020.

In the lead-up to her death, she had suffered months of abuse in her home in Keighley, West Yorkshire, during the coronavirus lockdown in 2020.

Former Children's Commissioner for England Anne Longfield, the chairwoman of the Commission on Young Lives, warned after Star's murder that the Covid lockdown 'brought its own opportunities for those who harm, groom and abuse children.'

Brockill is now serving a life sentence with a minimum term of 25 years at HMP Styal in Cheshire, after being convicted in December 2021.

Star's mother, Frankie Smith, was convicted of causing or allowing the toddler's death and was initially sentenced to eight years behind bars.

This was increased to 12 years after a judicial review.

Social services missed five opportunities to stop Star's killers, with her great-grandfather Dave Fawcett saying after their convictions: 'It's disgusting because there were five referrals. Not one of them did anything. It's just beyond belief, really.'

Brockill (left) is now serving a life sentence with a minimum term of 25 years at HMP Styal in Cheshire, after being convicted in December 2021. Star's mother, Frankie Smith (right), was convicted of causing or allowing the toddler's death and was initially sentenced to eight years behind bars. This was increased to 12 years after a judicial review

Star died after being taken to hospital with injuries that were described as 'utterly catastrophic' and 'unsurvivable'.

Prosecutors described how the injuries that caused Star's death involved extensive damage to her abdominal cavity 'caused by a severe and forceful blow or blows, either in the form of punching, stamping or kicking to the abdomen'.

Jurors heard that Smith's family and friends had growing fears about bruising they saw on the little girl in the months before she died and made a series of complaints to social services.

In each case Brockhill and Smith managed to convince social workers that marks on Star were accidental or that the complaints were made maliciously by people who did not like their relationship.

Arthur Labinjo-Hughes - murdered by his stepmother

Arthur Labinjo-Hughes, aged just six, was murdered in June 2020 after being abused for months during the 2020 coronavirus lockdown.

Arthur was tortured, starved and beaten by his stepmother Emma Tustin and father Thomas Hughes.

Tustin killed the little boy by repeatedly slamming his head on a hard surface after she and Hughes had deprived the youngster of food and force-fed him salt.

After killing Arthur, Tustin immediately fetched her mobile phone to take a photograph of him as he lay dying in the hallway to send to her boyfriend.

Arthur Labinjo-Hughes, aged just six, was murdered in June 2020 after being abused for months during the 2020 coronavirus lockdown

She called 999 and told the operator Arthur had 'banged his head'. After police arrived at her home, the self-pitying stepmother cried and tried to convince them the stick-thin boy had attacked her - while several miles away he lay dying in hospital.

He passed away the next day when his life support was turned off, with medics deciding there was nothing they could do due to the catastrophic nature of his injuries.

In the months of lockdown while Arthur was being abused, social workers and police missed four opportunities to save him, brushed away pleas from his family and even threatened them with arrest under Covid rules if they tried to visit him at Tustin's home.

Arthur's grandmother, Joanne Hughes, called social services on April 16, 2020, to say she had seen the youngster covered in bruises.

However, social workers failed to spot them during a visit to his home.

Arthur was tortured, starved and beaten by his stepmother Emma Tustin and father Thomas Hughes. Tustin was convicted of murder and sentenced to at least 29 years in prison, whilst Hughes received a 21-year sentence for manslaughter

Arthur had been put into the custody of his father after his biological mother Olivia Labinjo-Halcrow, 29, killed her partner Gary Cunningham by stabbing him 12 times with a kitchen knife in a drunken rage in February 2019

Four days later, Ms Hughes also told Arthur's school what she had seen. A member of staff called social services but was told the bruises had been caused by 'play'.

Arthur's uncle, Daniel Hughes, then reported his concerns to police but was threatened with arrest if he tried to go back to the youngster's home.

The final opportunity to intervene came when John Dutton, Tustin's stepfather, made an anonymous call to social services weeks before Arthur's death.

Hughes and his son had moved in with Tustin when the Government imposed the first lockdown in March 2020.

He had been put into the custody of his father after his biological mother Olivia Labinjo-Halcrow, 29, killed her partner Gary Cunningham by stabbing him 12 times with a kitchen knife in a drunken rage in February 2019.

Tustin was convicted of murder and sentenced to at least 29 years in prison, whilst Hughes received a 21-year sentence for manslaughter.

There were later calls for Tustin's sentence to be increased to a whole life term.

Logan Mwangi - murdered by his mother, stepfather and 14-year-old boy

Logan Mwangi was aged just five when he was murdered in July 2021 by his mother Angharad Williamson, father John Cole and 14-year-old boy Craig Mulligan.

His body was found discovered partially submerged in the River Ogmore in Bridgend, after being shut in his bedroom following a positive Covid test.

The schoolboy - who was just 3ft 5in and weighed 3st at the time of his death - was tortured, starved and forced to do push-ups until he collapsed.

Logan had suffered 56 external cuts and bruises, and 'catastrophic' internal injuries likened to a high-speed road accident, caused by a 'brutal and sustained assault' in the hours, or days, prior to his death.

Logan Mwangi was aged just five when he was murdered in July 2021 by his mother Angharad Williamson, father John Cole and 14-year-old boy Craig Mulligan

Experts said his injuries were 'consistent with child abuse' and prosecutors said in the months and weeks leading up to his death, Logan had been 'dehumanised' by his family.

A review by safeguarding officials later found that Williamson and Cole were able to hide their abuse of Logan due to the coronavirus lockdown, with social workers too scared to force meetings.

In June 2021 the family were removed from the child protection register - meaning it was believed there was no longer a risk of significant harm.

John Cole (left) was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 29 years, whilst Angharad Williamson (centre) was handed 28 years and Craig Mulligan given 15 years

Social workers visited Logan's house the day before he died, and took no action in May 2021 when he burned his neck on a hot bath tap.

Social services had also been aware that Cole had a criminal record for violence.

Cole was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 29 years, whilst Williamson was handed 28 years and Mulligan given 15 years.

Alijah Thomas - strangled by her mother

Five-year-old Alijah Thomas was strangled by her mother Martina Madarova in September 2021.

Madarova had suffered with her mental health and turned to alcohol during the Covid lockdown.

She was handed just five years in prison after a judge ruled she had 'low responsibility' over her daughter's death.

Madarova had put on cartoons for her Alijah before strangling her as the child said: 'Mummy, don't kill me.'

Five-year-old Alijah Thomas was strangled by her mother Martina Madarova in September 2021. Madarova had suffered with her mental health and turned to alcohol during the Covid lockdown

She then 'tucking her in with a blanket' at their home in Ealing, west

Madarova was said to have become 'increasingly stressed' in the lead-up to killing her daughter and family members and friends became concerned.

Along with concerns about her mother contracting Covid, and being stuck in her flat all day due to the lockdown, she had eventually begun to turn to alcohol as a 'coping mechanism.

Children and mother killed by father with shotgun

Robert Needham killed his partner and their two children with a shotgun during the first Covid lockdown at the end of March 2020.

Ava, four, was shot in the head, whilst two-year-old daughter Lexi was blasted in the chest. The pair's mother, Kelly Fitzgibbons, was shot in the head and neck.

Needham, who had wracked up combined debts exceeding 30,000 with Ms Fitzgibbons, then shot himself.

Robert Needham (left) killed his partner Kelly Fitzgibbons and their two children, Ava, four and Lexi, two (also pictured)

All four were found dead at the detached property in the quiet village of Woodmancote on Sunday evening, March 29 2020 - just a week after lockdown was imposed.

In a statement read at an inquest into the family's deaths, relatives said the killings were a 'diabological tragedy'.

Baby boy - died after being left to sleep alone in a shed

During the Covid lockdown in June 2020, a two-month-old baby, named only as Baby Z for legal reasons, died after being put in an outhouse-style building by his parents.

The parents, who also cannot be identified for legal reasons, had denied putting him in the shed and claimed he had been asleep in their bedroom when the father found he had stopped breathing.

When paramedics attended the house, Baby Z was in a bedroom with his parents. However, police searched the house within half an hour of him being rushed to hospital and found the carry-cot in the shed in a 'tipped up' position, with a dummy and some vomit inside.

The medical cause of death was unclear, and lawyers for the parents argued that the baby had died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

During the Covid lockdown in June 2020, a two-month-old baby, named only as Baby Z for legal reasons, died after being put in an outhouse-style building by his parents

However, the court concluded that his breathing or ventilation had been 'compromised' after the cot tipped 'head first' off the box leaving his head pressed against the side in an 'unnatural position'.

The case was heard at Liverpool Family Court, where the judge had been asked to make 'findings of fact' over the incident so decisions could be made over Baby Z's siblings, both born after his death.

The local authority or police force involved also cannot be named.

Judge Steven Parker concluded that the parents had 'colluded to provide a false account of the circumstances' to police officers, medical professionals and social workers.

In an anonymised written judgment, he described how the family lived in a bungalow with baby Z's paternal grandparents, and had been struggling due to the overcrowded living conditions.

Judge Parker wrote: 'At the time Z died there was tension in the mother and father's relationship caused by living in overcrowded circumstances and during lockdown, lack of sleep and intimacy and poor mental health on the father's behalf.

'These matters led to poor communication and arguments between the mother and father, and reached the point where parents were not coping well and needed a break from caring for Z.

'Contrary to safe sleeping guidelines, aged less than eight weeks old, Z was sometimes placed on the floor in a room on his own away from his parents, to cry and self-soothe.'
There are an estimated 85 million public and private surveillance cameras across America, making it the most monitored country in the world per capita

The clearest footage of the deadly beating was filmed by one of Memphis's 2,100 SkyCop cameras, installed at a combined cost of around $10 million

When police in Memphis launched the first SkyCop surveillance cameras in 2007, department chiefs could hardly have imagined the most horrific crime caught by the network after 16 years in operation would be carried out by its own officers.

The clearest video of the brutal January 7 attack that killed Tyre Nichols was filmed by one of the 2,100 cameras installed around the city at a cost of more than $10 million.

They are supposed to make people safer. However, critics feel Americans are trading their privacy for a tool that helps catch criminals but struggles to fulfill its promise of preventing crime.

Harrowing, high-definition footage captured by a SkyCop shows five Memphis PD officers take it in turns to punch, kick and pepper-spray Nichols in a brutal attack which lasted around five minutes.

The remainder of the 31-minute video shows Nichols, 29, dragged over to a nearby car and propped against it. Officers are recorded strolling around his slumped body as he writhes in agony. At one point, an officer lights a cigarette. Others repeatedly shine their flashlights into the young man's battered face while they wait for paramedics to arrive.

The SkyCop footage provided the clearest view of the shocking beating of Tyre Nichols at the hands of officers from Memphis Police Department

There are more than 2,000 SkyCop cameras like this in Memphis. One of the police-operated surveillance cameras captured the clearest footage of the horrific beating of Tyre Nichols

Tyre Nichols, 29, died on January 10 from cardiac arrest and kidney failure, three days after he was beaten by police officers in Memphis. A SkyCop surveillance camera operated by Memphis Police Department recorded the clearest footage of the brutal beating

Charged with second degree murder are (clockwise from top left) Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Justin Smith and Desmond Mills Jr. The attack was filmed by one of Memphis PD's own cameras

Police body cameras also recorded footage and audio of the beating, but it's shaky, chaotic and at times obscured. SkyCop provides the clearest footage of the incident which triggered protests across America.

As Van Turner, the president of the NAACP's Memphis branch, puts it: 'Glory be to God that a SkyCop camera was there to catch what happened.'

The SkyCop cameras in Memphis form part of the growing network of surveillance cameras across the United States. There are an estimated 85 million, roughly one for every four citizens, making it the most monitored country in the world per capita.

While these cameras have provided crucial evidence of countless crimes, critics say not only is there little proof they work as a prevention tool, they claim the increasingly sophisticated devices also present a growing threat to privacy and civil liberties.

The role played by a surveillance camera in Nichols' killing has triggered fresh scrutiny over their use as a tool for law enforcement. The grim irony that it was police officers filmed committing such a brutal crime is not lost on observers.

Turner added: 'Little did we know we would be combating this type of criminal behavior, as well. We put SkyCop cameras up to assist the police in fighting crime in our community. And yet they come and commit the very same crimes we are trying to fight against.'

This also isn't the first time police misconduct in Memphis has been recorded by one of their own SkyCop devices. In November 2018, officers from the city's Organized Crime Unit were recorded firing at a suspected drug dealer who was attempting to flee cops in a Chevy Malibu. An official report found the shots, which apparently struck the car but not the suspect, were 'not justified'.

Other major cities across the country use similar surveillance networks to deter and combat crime.

Memphis' SkyCop cameras are monitored from the police department's real time crime center. As well as receiving live feeds of more than 2,000 cameras, the center also uses technology including vehicle number plate recognition and gunshot detection sensors

The real time crime center in Memphis is fitted with dozens of screens that allow police to monitor the network of SkyCop cameras in real time

A SkyCop camera provided the clearest footage of the deadly beating of Tyre Nichols in Memphis on January 7. SkyCop is part of America's growing network of surveillance cameras

In New York City, the NYPD uses the 'Domain Awareness System', the largest network of its kind in the world. It was launched in partnership with Microsoft and cost hundreds of millions of dollars to establish, maintain and operate. It consists of around 20,000 surveillance cameras, along with license plate readers and audio sensors that can detect gunfire and triangulate its location.

Like in Memphis, the information is fed back to a 'real time crime center' staffed by officials day and night.

Joe Patty, a former Memphis police official who's now a consultant for SkyCop, installed the camera which captured the beating of Nichols.

He told the Washington Post: 'Crimes of passion cannot be deterred. I don't care if there's a squad car sitting on a lot. We don't even try to sell it or pitch it like that.

'In the Nichols case, that was a crime of passion, and it was caught on video. So it had a dual purpose: There was no deterrent factor, but it was valuable in this case.'

He added: 'SkyCop is there, 365 days a year. It doesn't take vacations or breaks. It's the most indiscriminate form of policing there is. The camera doesn't care. It just records.'

An investigation by the Daily Memphian found crime in Memphis has increased more than the national average even throughout the growth of the SkyCop project. The report said Memphis had a violent crime rate of 1,500 per 100,000 people in 2010 - four times the national average.

By 2020, as the number of SkyCop cameras reached around 2,000, the rate was 2,351 per 100,000, compared to the national average of 402 per 100,000.

The investigation also uncovered little evidence of the cameras' effectiveness in solving crime. In 2021, only 3 percent of 74,000 crime reports mentions SkyCop, the outlet reported.

A separate report into the addition of hundreds of cameras on New York's public transport networks did little to reduce crime.

Chad A. Marlow, a senior policy counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, said the Nichols beating was evidence in itself that surveillance cameras don't prevent crime.

He told the New York Times: 'The police officers knew the camera was there and obviously it did not deter their bad behavior. It does from time to time capture evidence of wrongdoing and that is certainly what occurred here.

In New York City, the NYPD uses the 'Domain Awareness System', the largest network of its kind in the world. The highly-complex network consists of around 20,000 surveillance cameras, along with license plate readers and gunshot detection sensors

Memphis Assistant Chief of Police Don Crowe said in 2018 that the SkyCop cameras were not going to 'end crime' but said they help serve as the police department's 'eyes and ears'

San Francisco Police Department can access private surveillance cameras in real time under a rule described by critics as '[putting] the entire city under live surveillance indefinitely'. Pictured: SFPD Police Chief Bill Scott

Many police forces in the United States also ask residents and business to register their surveillance cameras, so officers can access the footage while investigating crime

'But ultimately what you have is a tool that brings more police into these communities and creates more dangerous police interactions, and in this one case, it happens to provide evidence of police misconduct.'

Memphis Police Deputy Chief Don Crowe said in 2018 that 'cameras are not going to end crime', adding: 'The classic example that we discussed is that every bank has a camera in it, but people still rob banks.'

Speaking during an interview from inside the city's real time crime center, Crowe explained it was about 'so much more' than cameras and that the center served as the forced 'eyes and ears'. The department also uses gunshot detection devices and license plate recognition.

Finding a detailed breakdown of how many police-operated cameras there are in the United States is difficult. As well as maintaining their own cameras, many PDs also use footage from privately operated devices, such as those installed by businesses and homeowners.

Departments across the country ask citizens to register their private surveillance cameras so officers who respond to crimes have a register of which might have recorded evidence.

In Boulder, Colorado, the city PD explains: 'Knowing ahead of time where cameras are located greatly speeds up investigations. Many times, the best available video evidence isn't of the crime itself, but of pathways and streets leading into and out of the scene.'

The Randolph Township Police Department in New Jersey, which also asks its citizens to register their privately-owned surveillance camera systems, explains: 'As our officers respond to reports of criminal activity in our community, they may be able to use the information or footage captured on these security cameras to assist in the apprehension and prosecution of the criminals involved.'

San Francisco Police Department can even access private surveillance cameras in real time under a policy described by critics as '[putting] the entire city under live surveillance indefinitely'.

Some campaign groups say there's evidence the footage isn't only used to detect crime and catch suspects.

Amnesty International published a report in 2021 which said images from the surveillance cameras in New York were being fed 'into invasive and discriminatory facial recognition software'.

Matt Mahmoudi, an artificial intelligence and human rights researcher, at Amnesty said New York's camera network risked turning it into 'an Orwellian surveillance city'.

The effectiveness of surveillance cameras as a deterrence tool has been studied extensively, but questions remain.
With primary school selection just a few months away, many parents will be wondering where to send their children.

Councils across England will confirm children's places for primary schools in just two months on April 16.

There are more than 120 primary schools rated as having serious weaknesses, inadequate or placed in special measures by Ofsted in England.

Here, MailOnline reveals Ofsted's worst-rated primary schools in an interactive map.

To use the map, simply hit the play button then scroll across the map and click on your child's school.

The Covid pandemic created turmoil in the education system and many schools have faced illness, closures and periods of remote teaching.

Education watchdog Ofsted carries out weekly inspections across the country to maintain standards.

Inspectors grade each school on quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development and leadership and management.

Overall grades range from Grade One, meaning the school is outstanding, to Grade Four, meaning it is inadequate.

Grade Two means the school is good while Grade Three means the school needs improvement.

Councils across the UK will confirm children's places for primary schools in just two months on April 16 (Our Lady of Victories Primary School)

Southminster Church of England Primary School in Essex is in special measures after it failed to live up to Ofsted standards

Chief inspector of Ofsted, Amanda Spielman, expressed her surprisal on hearing about primary and early secondary school children having mobile phones

There are 97 primary schools as of May 3 last year that have the lowest rating from Ofsted and are therefore inadequate in the eyes of the education watchdog.

Inspections by Ofsted can be a stressful time for teachers and the National Education Union has called for the government to scrap the organisation.

The watchdog's chief inspector, Amanda Spielman, has been outspoken already this year about standards in primary schools.

Ms Spielman expressed her surprisal on hearing that primary and early secondary school children sometimes own mobile phones.

There are 97 primary schools as of May 3 last year that have the lowest rating from Ofsted (Inglehurst infant school in Leicester)

Bracebridge Heath St John's Primary Academy in Lincolnshire currently has a poor Ofsted rating

In a conversation with BBC Radio 5 Live about accessing explicit content online, she said: 'I'm not comfortable with younger children having unlimited internet access.

'I'm very surprised when primary-aged children have smartphones, for example, and even in early secondary school. It's really hard to manage that.'

Ms Spielman also suggested that it was the role of parents and schools to 'make sure that children can steer past all of these undesirable influences'.

READ MORE: Primary school pupils should NOT have smartphones or unlimited internet access, head of Ofsted tells parents Advertisement

In spite of Ms Spielman's views, a number of headteachers as well as Britain's largest teacher's union have called for an end to Ofsted's graded judgements.

National Education Union joint general secretary Kevin Courtney said: 'Ofsted needs to be replaced with a system that is fair and supportive.'

Meanwhile, the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) have published a paper proposing long and short-term changes to the inspection system.

Geoff Barton, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: 'Graded judgements are a woefully blunt tool with which to measure performance, failing to account for the different circumstances under which schools operate.

'Negative judgements come with huge stigma attached and create a vicious circle that makes improvement more difficult.

'We know from speaking to members that the punitive inspection system is contributing to the recruitment and retention crisis in education by adding to the pressure school leaders are under, and by making it more difficult to recruit high-quality staff in the schools which most need them.'

Tom Middlehurst, Curriculum, Assessment and Inspection Specialist at the Association of School and College Leaders, added: 'We appreciate the need for an independent inspectorate, and acknowledge the current Education Inspection Framework has some positive aspects.

'But many school and college leaders feel the framework is flawed and Ofsted risks losing the trust of the profession.

'We think that, if implemented, the changes put forward in this paper could help win back that trust and produce an inspection system that is just, reliable and in the best interests of children and young people.'
Some of the chilling tools used by Britain's most famous hangman are being put up for auction.

Albert Pierrepoint executed around 600 people including notorious German Nazi war criminal Josef Kramer and the last woman to be hanged in the UK, Ruth Ellis.

Items from the execution kit that Pierrepoint used throughout his 25-year career featured several grisly tools, including his cloth execution hoods, which will now go for sale, The Daily Star reported.

Tools belonging to the famed executioner have previously gone to auction and sold for thousands of pounds.

Some of the chilling tools used by Albert Pierrepoint (pictured in 1973), Britain's most famous hangman, are being put up for auction

The execution kit he used throughout is 25-year career featured several grisly tools. His execution book previously went to auction as part of a lot that sold for 20,000

Pictured: Albert Pierrepoint's execution hoods that sold at a previous auction

Pierrepoint, the country's chief hangman, was the third in his family dynasty to take up the lethal profession.

The Yorkshire native grew up with dreams to continue the family profession, once writing: 'When I leave school I should like to be the Official Executioner.'

He handed out capital punishment from 1932 to 1956 and performed hundreds of executions.

The hangman was summoned to Germany after World War II to mete out justice to Nazi war criminals.

It is believed that former green grocer was responsible for the death of more than 200 Nazi war criminals and once his identity was revealed he was treated like a hero by many.

An accountant, he never discussed his 'other' job, which paid no retainer but came with a fee of about 1,250 in today's money for each execution.

His full-time employer, a wholesale grocer, gave him time off to carry out his duties and asked no questions.

Neither did his wife, Anne. When he was called to carry out a hanging, he would simply say to her, 'I shan't be seeing you for a couple of days.'

Albert Pierrepoint, the official executioner of England seen here on honeymoon with his wife

Albert Pierrepoint executed around 600 people including notorious German Nazi war criminal Josef Kramer (pictured)

Irma Grese, Juana Bormann, Elisabeth Volkenrath and Franz Hassler (pictured) were found guilty of war crimes, sentenced to death by a British military court and executed by hanging on December 13, 1945 at Hamelin prison by British executioner Albert Pierrepoint

The executioner reportedly believed a 'higher power' had selected him to carry out the 'sacred' work of hangings.

Pierrepoint would take great care preparing for his execution and was renowned for his notekeeping. He would note in his execution book if a person was 'wiry' or 'flabby'.

He also would measure their height so he could accurately determine that length needed length for their neck to break.

Despite his long career in execution, Pierrepoint later admitted he didn't believe in capital punishment.

The death penalty was scrapped in Britain in 1965 and in his 1974 autobiography Pierrepoint said he did not think it was a deterrent. He said: 'It is said to be a deterrent. I cannot agree. There have been murders since the beginning of time, and we shall go on looking for deterrents until the end of time.

'If death were a deterrent, I might be expected to know. It is I who have faced them last, young men and girls, working men, grandmothers.

'I have been amazed to see the courage with which they take that walk into the unknown. It did not deter them then, and it had not deterred them when they committed what they were convicted for.

'All the men and women whom I have faced at that final moment convince me that in what I have done I have not prevented a single murder.'
Banned neurosurgeon Charlie Teo has launched a scathing attack on the media and medics who he claims 'destroyed' him - saying they have 'blood on their hands' because they let children die when he could have saved them.

Dr Teo has been banned from operating in Australia for the past 15 months without written approval under NSW Medical Council restrictions following a previous investigation into alleged unsatisfactory conduct in the workplace.

Next week he will front a five-day Health Care Complaints Commission hearing which is probing five new allegations against him.

But the brain surgeon, who can also no longer work in the USA or Singapore, says he has been demonised in the Australian press - and he insists it's costing lives.

'I don't know why a particular journalist or particular newspaper, a particular show or 14 particular neurosurgeons have taken on this task of destroying me,' Mr Teo, 64, told Wizard Home Loans founder Mark Bouris on his Straight Talk podcast.

'But as long as they understand they have blood on their hands.

'I really want them to know that. I want them to know that, you might not like me, you might want to destroy me, and you've succeeded.

'But there's not a day goes by that I don't see a case that's died, or was going to die that I could have saved. It's terrible.'

Banned neurosurgeon Charlie Teo (pictured with girlfriend Traci Griffiths, 47) says the media and medics who 'destroyed' him have blood on their hands - and allowed children to die who he could have saved

Dr Teo says his ground-breaking brain surgery on 'inoperable' tumours was at first lauded by patients and the media, and gave him a 'Bambi-like' reputation.

But he argues his Messiah-like status was sabotaged by jealous rivals and the media.

'I don't know who's behind it all but all the media has basically tried to make me look like I'm some sort of terrible person,' he said.

'Once they came out with all those headlines, all the colleagues who were jealous and fuming, wanting to destroy me, go, "Yes, Now we can go in for the kill!"

'It was like a wolfpack seeing blood - a feeding frenzy. All these complaints started coming in.

'Suddenly, Bambi was no longer Bambi. Bambi was a demon. And now we can go get him and we destroy him.'

Charlie Teo will face five more complaints alleging unsatisfactory professional conduct at a meeting of the Health Care Complaints Commission on Monday

One of his patients, Bella Howard, 7, of Shoal Bay, NSW was operated on by Dr Teo after her parents \tried to prolong her life when an aggressive tumour was detected on her brain stem

THE FOUR WIN OR LOSE OPTIONS OF BRAIN SURGERY Charlie Teo insisted he told every patient there were four possible outcomes to their surgery - win-win, win-lose, lose-win and lose-lose. 'Win-win is when I take out the tumour, it buys you some time or cures you everyone's happy,' he said. 'A win-lose is I take out the tumour and doesn't make it worse, but it's malignant, you still going to die in three months anyway. 'Lose-win as I do the operation, I'm very aggressive or too aggressive, and you end up being worse than you were before the operation. 'But I've been so aggressive and it actually buys your time but in a bad clinical state. 'And a lose-lose - this is what I say to patients - thankfully, it doesn't happen that often. But I can tell you now there are patients out there who have lost-lost. 'A lose-lose is where I do the operation, you're much worse off than you were before surgery, potentially even dead or paralysed, and it doesn't even buy you any time. 'No advantage at all. 'And so you can fall into any one of those categories. And then I'll leave it up to them.' Advertisement

One of his patients, Bella Howard, 7, of Shoal Bay, NSW was operated on by Dr Teo after her parents desperately tried to prolong her life when an aggressive tumour was detected on her brain stem.

She was left with left-side paralysis after the family paid Dr Teo $100,000 in April, 2020 for surgery and died seven months later after the tumour returned.

He admits his pioneering high risk surgery - usually where other doctors have said the associated dangers of an operation were too high - often had 'terrible' outcomes.

But more often than not, he said he had good outcomes - and he has been treated unfairly.

He added: 'I've done 11,000 brain tumours, can we please talk about some of the good results?

'The judge at the time stopped me and said, "We're not here to talk about the 11,000 cases, we're here to talk about the two patients on the table."

'But that's so unfair, because the outcomes of those patients was terrible.

'They're using those bad outcomes to say I should never have operated in the first place. It led to my professional demise.

'There's 11,000 other cases out there, of whom the majority have done well. I think that should be put into the equation as well before you start persecuting someone.'

He said he had been victimised by rivals who had used the system to ruin him.

'It's got nothing to do with fairness and what's right or wrong,' he said.

'It's all got to do with people's agendas. And the agenda is to destroy Charlie Teo.

'And they have succeeded.'

He said even sympathetic neurosurgeon colleagues were unable to help him return to surgery in Australia because of the strict restrictions on supervising him.

He said he now mentors neurosurgeons in Spain on his specialised techniques on brainstem tumour operations which were previously avoided by surgeons.

And he hopes to be able to still operate in other countries - but is keeping them secret for fear of sparking another media outcry which will shut him down again.

'I've got this skill. I mean, I know it,' he said. 'I take out tumours that no one else can take out.

'And all the surgeons around the world that watch me are just absolutely amazed by it. I still have the passion, the desire and the skills to do it. It's just I can't do it.

'There are some countries in the world that want me, but the trouble is that particular journalist has gone to those countries.

'As soon as [they] find out that I'm operating in a particular country, they go and try and destroy my reputation there as well.

'I'm not going to say anything at this stage, but a few countries have been trying to seduce me to operate there.

'So I'm hopefully going to be able to operate in some other countries.'

He also said the medical service had been exposed by the way it handled the Covid crisis when it attacked any doctor straying from the mainstream on vaccinations.

'Covid has actually shown the public how conservative doctors are, and the system is,' he said.

'We were told we couldn't say anything bad about the vaccine. It was mandated. You cannot say anything negative about the vaccine. And if you do, we're gonna go gunning for you.

'And the public knew that. The medical governing bodies made it very clear.

'And I think the public stood back now. Oh, my God, really? I mean, what if there is something bad about the vaccine doctors aren't allowed to say that?

'You saw those YouTube videos of American doctors who were saying, some negative things about the vaccine - they were absolutely persecuted.'

PRAISE FOR SURGEON Former patients and their family and friends flocked to a TikTok post from Mark Bouris plugging his podcast interview with Charlie Teo. They hailed his life-saving skills despite the controversy surrounding him. One follower, Bri Kniepp, posted: 'He saved my life. I would not be here without him. 'It's painful to hear the slander against when there are so many great outcomes.' Another added: 'He saved my beautiful girl operating on her in Madrid last year. Love you Charlie.' 'Charlie Teo needs to be protected at all costs,' posted one. 'He saved my auntie's life when no-one would operate on her.' Another added: 'Gave my mate an extra 18 months.' Posted another: 'He saved my friend! Her life is completely different now...we love you Doc!' One grateful son added: 'He saved my dad's life. Charlie is the GOAT.' Advertisement

He also compared himself to controversial Canadian YouTube psychologist and mens' rights activist Jordan Peterson and said they had both fallen victim to Tall Poppy Syndrome.

'He's going through the same thing as what I'm going through with the Canadian psychologist board now persecuting him,' said Mr Teo.

'He goes, "Hang on, until I got a profile, no-one made any complaints about it. But now that I've got a profile as this famous celebrity psychologist, suddenly all these complaints start coming in."

'That's that whole tall poppy thing where it's not about if you're a good psychologist or a bad psychologist, or whether you're helping people or not, it's all about, they just don't like the profile.'

He said he had questioned himself over whether his patients were surviving because he was a great surgeon or just a great healer where he simply gave patients hope.

'Maybe they really believe that I've got healing hands and the ability to heal,' he said.

'If you're having surgery by me because you think I'm some sort of God-like figure, some Messiah, then you know, so be it.

'My patients are living longer because they've got Charlie Teo looking after them - whether it's my surgical technique, or whether it's the fact that I care for them and I make them feel important and I give them autonomy

'It doesn't really matter what it is - they're living longer. Whether you believe in placebo or not, if it works, it works.'

The surgeon has come under fire for giving false hope to prospective patients and leaving some in a vegetative state while charging huge fees for surgery.

His fame and reputation as a celebrity surgeon caused Charlie Teo (pictured with supporter and model Cheyenne Tozzi) to be targeted by jealous rivals, he claims

But Mr Teo defended the costs and the risks - and revealed he had secretly never charged half his patients.

'I haven't really wanted this to be known, but more than half my patients I don't charge,' he said. 'I didn't want to say that publicly 20 years ago.

'But I can tell you now, at the end of my career, that I didn't charge police officers, fellow doctors, nurses, friends of friends and pensioners who couldn't afford it.

'My career has been based on doing the operation that needs to be done regardless of whether they can pay or not.'

But he admitted hospitals still demanded to paid.

He said the $100,000 fee it can cost for surgery was misleading.

'The $100,000 is everything,' he said. 'The hospital bill, the assistant, the pathologists, radiologists - it's not mine.

'I've never not done an operation if someone hasn't been able to pay. Of course, I want to get paid. And we would love to be paid upfront, but we don't insist on it.

'The hospital insists on it before they let the patient in. That was interpreted as me saying, I'm not going to do your operation, unless you put the money in the bank.

'That is absolutely not the case.'

Brain surgeon Charlie Teo says he has been demonised so badly in the Australian press, he now can't work in the USA or Singapore either - and he insists it's costing lives
Korean rescuers save a 17-year-old boy from the ruins of a building in Antakya, Turkey, Saturday (local time). Courtesy of Korea Disaster Relief Team



By Lee Hyo-jin



A Korean rescue team deployed in quake-hit Turkey rescued three more survivors from the rubble on Saturday (local time), raising the number it has saved to eight.



The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Korea Disaster Relief Team (KDRT) has managed to pull out two family members  a 17-year-old boy and his 51-year-old mother from the ruins of a building in Antakya, at around 7:18 p.m. and 8:18 p.m., respectively. The rescuers used specialized equipment in the operation which lasted for some five hours.



The woman was in a relatively stable condition, but her son was unconscious as his lower body had been trapped under concrete slabs. The Korean medical team provided first aid to the teenager before he was transferred to a hospital.



Earlier in the day, around 2:02 p.m., a 65-year-old woman was rescued in a joint operation by the KDRT and local rescuers. She was transferred to a nearby hospital, the foreign ministry said.






From secret tunnels to forgotten palaces, fantastical tales of Nazi gold have long gripped the nation. With intriguing yarns of mystery, mayhem and even murder, for MailOnline's Ed Wight it was like stepping into the pages of a real life Boy's Own adventure novel.

But despite no gold being found anywhere, after eight years of covering every twist and turn, he says the surprises along the way were worth more than their weight in gold.

Intrepid treasure hunter and MailOnline reporter Ed Wight

I'd never considered myself an Indiana Jones type before, more a male equivalent of Bridget Jones.

But then I met a man called Mr Boczek, an affable, ruddy-cheeked gentleman who belonged to a collective of amateur detectorists called The Silesian Research Group.

And he said he had 'information' about the Nazi gold train. Meeting in a cafe in the town of Walbrzych, southwest Poland, as his story unfolded I began to feel a 'cometh the hour, cometh the man' moment.

Apparently discovering the train two years previously, his tale had everything: Nazis. Gold. Spies. Adventure. Proper Indiana Jones stuff. He led me to a forest where after several minutes of clambering through undergrowth he came to a stop and pointed to a hillock.

'That's where the train is,' he said emphatically. It wasn't, of course. Nor was it the typical Indiana Jones setting I'd had in mind. Rather than a snake-infested jungle littered with boobytraps and spear-carrying warriors, this was a raised stretch of earth in a clearing of rather bland trees.

On the hunt for Nazi gold: Ed Wight's quest to unearth the gold bullion hidden since WWII

The Silesian Research Group member Andzrej Boczek (pictured) showed MailOnline reporter Ed Wight where he believes the treasure was hidden

Buried treasure: The train - which legend says disappeared in 1945 as the Nazis tried to get their stolen treasure to safety - is said to be buried underneath this hill in Poland

But as I took a photo and sat on a stump to write up the story, little did we know that as a consequence, the sleepy town of Walbrzych would suddenly be transformed into the centre of a global media frenzy.

Sure enough, the next day madness broke out. Fanning the flames, Mr Boczek revealed he had more up his sleeve, a bag of Nazi regalia he said he'd found close to the hillock. These included some buttons, coins and other bits and bobs emblazoned with Swastikas.

Not exactly the holy grail, nor the tonnes of gold which had sparked a manhunt for the two unknowns who said they'd uncovered it. But it was something a Dutch journalist told me was the reason he was there. 'My editor love this,' he exclaimed.

Good for him. Then I met a sprightly 85-year-old named Tadeusz Slowikowski. Having spent half his life searching for the train, he said its location had been revealed to him in the 1950s by a German he had saved from being beaten up.

He even had a model train set showing the locomotive inside a tunnel. Taking me through his detailed maps and exhaustive research he explained that after he began searching for the train his dog was poisoned, his phone was tapped and his front door was smashed in.

'These were classic tactics of the secret police when they wanted to intimidate people,' he said.

This sounded more like the Indian Jones territory I was after. And that's what I told the local TV people when they cornered me for a comment. And Radio 4's Today programme.

All that was missing was a hard-drinking love interest and a Nazi-loving femme fatale. Instead I was approached by a portly middle-aged man who said Slowikowski's research was 'nonsense' and offered me an 'X marks the spot' map in return for 300.

Another told me he knew of a secret cave where as a boy he had found a stash of looted art. Meanwhile, a confidante revealed he knew someone who had a secret recording of the Gold Train men claiming they had 'more evidence' and there could be TWO trains!

Treasure diary: A man turned up with a diary. A NAZI diary! Claiming it had been written by an SS officer, he added that it revealed the locations of 11 places where WWII treasure was buried

Just keep digging: It took a year before Roman Furmaniak pinpointed a former palace as being one of the locations where the treasure could be buried And another year to announce the start of digging

The gold: Mr Boczek revealed he had more up his sleeve, a bag of Nazi regalia he said he'd found close to the hillock. These included some buttons, coins and other bits and bobs emblazoned with Swastikas.

Press pressure: As I took a photo and sat on a stump to write up the story, little did we know that as a consequence, the sleepy town of Walbrzych would suddenly be transformed into the centre of a global media frenzy

Network: It is thought the train went into one of a series of tunnels the Nazis built in the mountain, like this one

Everyone in Walbrzych, it seemed, had a story. And everyone seemed to know someone who knew someone who knew a 'secret'.

But the two men with the biggest secret of all, the location of the gold train, were at that point still a mystery. They, it turned out, were a local builder and a German genealogist who later appeared on telly having struck a deal with a local broadcaster.

The same day, a mysterious black van guarded by police showed up at the location they said the train was hidden. As I crouched in bushes taking discreet photos, a burly officer came over. 'Get away from here,' he said.

'The whole area is sealed off. Go now and don't come back.' I didn't go back. But what was this van? Secret Service? According to one man, the answer was yes.

'The whole area is sealed off. Go now and don't come back.' I didn't go back. But what was this van? Secret Service? According to one man, the answer was yes

Sitting in the hotel bar on my last evening, he appeared dressed in camouflage gear and wearing what appeared to be a fake moustache. Introducing himself as 'a friend of interest', he squeezed his throat, to disguise his voice he said, and in a Stephen Hawking timbre told me that the train was packed full of chemical weapons and dead bodies.

According to him 'a secret pact had been made with the CIA' to keep the train's loot safe.

And so there, I thought, my Indiana Jones days had come to an end. No weapons, no train, and sure as hell no gold. The closest I got was a gold train T-shirt from the local council.

And a mention in a book. Penned by a local historian, in a chapter headed 'Where is Indiana Jones when you need him?' the opening paragraph said: 'Ed Wight has a beautiful English accent, perfectly ironed shirts with blue stripes and a cheerful persona.'

Yay me. In the years that followed, there were a couple of flurries of follow up excitement. A secret bunker containing an Amber Room looted by the Nazis from St. Petersburg? Nope! A sunken ship containing the same Amber Room? Nope! And then a man turned up with a diary. A NAZI diary! Claiming it had been written by an SS officer, he added that it revealed the locations of 11 places where WWII treasure was buried.

'Cometh the hour,' I muttered. If I had a hat I would've grabbed it. The man in question was Roman Furmaniak.

Tall and enigmatic with bushy eyebrows, he had an air of 19th century nobility about him. But not much more. It took a year before he pinpointed a former palace as being one of the locations where the treasure could be buried And another year to announce the start of digging, which turned out to be nothing more than a group of men sifting through mud with hand trowels.

Loot: An American soldier pictured with a box full of rings discovered after the liberation of Buchenwald concentration camp. Huge hauls like this one were found by the Allies when the Nazis fled

Fairytale: Local legend has it the train disappeared not far from Ksiaz Castle, which was the Nazi's headquarters in the area, which was under their control during the Second World War

The closest Ed Wight got to Hitler's lost bullion was a gold train T-shirt from the local council.

In the meantime, rumblings were beginning to circulate within the Gold Train gang.

'Lamps', a shrewd WWII historian and investigator, said she had also received the diary and it was 'complete tosh'.

Another said the name of the SS officer didn't exist and nor did the woman called Inge he'd entrusted the gold to.

A German woman did remain in the area after the war, 'Lamps' explained, but she wasn't called Inge. Another year dragged by and then Furmaniak revealed he had uncovered a buried canister.

But as proper digging got underway, all his team managed to find was a handful of Nazi era coins.

My thoughts turned briefly, and fondly, to Mr Boczek and his hillock.

The dig then ran out of money and started a crowdfunder, but by then it was too late to avoid the incoming missile.

An historical group Furmaniak had given the diary to for analysis revealed large sections of it had been copied verbatim from a book published years after the war.

I've not heard from Furmaniak since, and nor do I expect to. But, and this is a but with a big B, I genuinely believe Furmaniak thought the diary was real.

And if he was duped, the question is: who by and why? As I stumble back into my Bridget Jones lifestyle and 'perfectly ironed shirts with blue stripes', I'll keep my imaginary Indiana Jones hat on standby, just in case
Gretchen Pfeffer, 71, was last seen at the end of March 2020 before her murder

An American man on trial for murdering his elderly mother, chopping her into pieces before throwing her remains into a river told a court in Poland he is 'no threat to society.'

Karl Pfeffer, 28, was arrested in October last year after fleeing Warsaw, Poland, where he and his mother Gretchen had lived - he was seized by the FBI on an international arrest warrant.

Appearing before judges in the Polish capital, Pfeffer grinned at court photographers before saying: 'I don't want to look like a psycho in the media, I don't want to be the next Jeffrey Dahmer.'

Described as an 'oddball', the 28-year-old is said to have lived off his 71-year-old mother, a wealthy widow whose body has yet to be found, and taken up drugs.

He continued to tell the court: 'Allow me to admit that I buried the body in the river and explain why this person is dead.

Karl Pfeffer (pictured), 28, is on trial in Warsaw, Poland, for murdering his elderly mother and chopping her into pieces before throwing her remains into a river

Appearing before judges in the Polish court, Pfeffer grinned at photographers before saying: 'I don't want to look like a psycho in the media'

Gretchen Pfeffer (pictured), 71, was last seen at the end of March 2020 before police concluded that Karl Pfeffer had killed his mother

'If I were to say what my mother did in the USA, she would be publicly executed. She would be crucified in Seattle.'

Pfeffer claimed that out of the 'hundreds of good relationships [he holds] all over the world' his relationship with his mother 'was the one that turned sour.'

He added: 'She went from being totally cultured and friendly to being absolutely vulgar.

'I don't want to be treated as a murderer and a psychopath.

'Honestly, I want to go back to the beach. I am not a threat to society.'

His deceased mother, Gretchen Pfeffer, was described as being 'social, intelligent, and communicative'.

Wanting to reconnect with her Polish roots, she had moved to Poland from Seattle in 2016 following the death of her husband and settled into the well-to-do suburb of Zoliborz.

She spent her time visiting friends and neighbours and also had daily contact with loved ones back in the United States.

Pfeffer (pictured right), 28, was arrested in October last year after fleeing Warsaw, Poland, where he and his mother Gretchen had lived

The 28-year-old is said to have lived off his 71-year-old mother, a wealthy widow whose body has yet to be found, and taken up drugs

According to those who knew her, her relationship with her son had allegedly become strained.

Witness statements revealed that he refused to work, relied upon her for financial support and abused drugs. He also started becoming violent towards her.

A chilling court document revealed that one of her friends 'told investigators that Gretchen Pfeffer confided in her that Karl Pfeffer had beat her around the head with a frying pan during one of their arguments.'

Polish investigators also found that after moving out of their shared apartment he started to use her credit cards 'until they were blocked by his family.'

At one point, he had asked his then girlfriend, identified only as I.B.K, to call the bank and use his mother's documents to try to unlock the accounts.

Last seen at the end of March 2020, investigators said: 'From that day on [31 March], all in-person contact with Gretchen's friends stopped, and the occasional social media post or message sent from her phone was strikingly different from Gretchen's typical style of speech and the way she wrote.'

After finding her things missing from her apartment, police concluded that 'on March 31, 2020 or April 1, 2020, Karl Pfeffer killed his mother Gretchen in her Warsaw apartment.'

Further investigations revealed that on April 1, Pfeffer had bought a handsaw and duct tape.

After finding her things missing from her apartment, police concluded that 'on March 31, 2020 or April 1, 2020, Karl Pfeffer killed his mother Gretchen in her Warsaw apartment'

According to those who knew her, Ms Pfeffer's relationship with her son (pictured) had allegedly become strained

Analysis of his phone log-ins, and Uber and myTaxi data further revealed that two days later he had traveled to Warsaw's main river the Vistula.

On April 4, a post appeared on Gretchen's Facebook profile saying that she was in Seattle.

But analysis of flight records showed there was no record of her leaving Poland or arriving in the States.

Going into hiding, in September Pfeffer contacted a family member and confessed.

His arrest warrant made public by the US Attorney's office revealed that: 'On September 13, 2020, officers of the District Police Headquarters received information that Karl Pfeffer had contacted his half-sister, Michelle Pfeffer, and informed her that he had killed his mother, dismembered her corpse, and thrown her in pieces into the river.'

Flight records show that he eventually left Poland from the city of Gdansk, over 200 miles from Warsaw, on October 15, 2020.

From there he flew to Amsterdam before jumping on a connecting flight to the US.

Tracked down six months later, during questioning by FBI officers Pfeffer confessed to murder and detailed how he dismembered the corpse, packaged the remains in to six bags and then dumped them in the Vistula River.

However, police are yet to find any trace of the mother.

First appearing in court in December last year, Pfeffer told judges: 'The packages that I threw into the Vistula River were very well sealed.

Going into hiding, in September Pfeffer (pictured) contacted a family member and confessed to his crimes

'No smells. No leaks. I bought so many fragrances and air fresheners that my luggage smelled of mint like an ordinary tourist.'

Now, in a bizarre twist, Pfeffer lawyers are asking for his release because of 'lack of evidence' and because of his 'ill health'.

Speaking for the defence, Grzegorz Roman said 'The evidence does not provide grounds for any of the allegations against Karl to be justified.'

'If the body really had been dismembered it would be easier to find at least parts of this body.

'Dismemberment of a body always increases the probability of finding at least one of its parts, that's an obvious conclusion.

'But no part could be found.

He added that being in pre-trial custody 'for about two years has had a negative impact on his mental state.

'Unfortunately, this affects the state of health of the accused.

'He does not tolerate such a long period of being in custody properly.

'I am requesting the repeal of the preventive measure in place, which is now approaching two years.'

Judge Agnieszka Domanska dismissed the appeal saying that Pfeffer was a 'flight risk because the charges against his are punishable by life imprisonment'

The trial resumes on February 10.
UN relief chief said more was needed for to support the devastated millions

Shocking aerial photos captured over Turkey show buildings collapsed to the ground and barely-standing structures after earthquakes shook the country and killed at least 33,000.

Two substantial tremors, each with a magnitude of well over seven, demolished tens of thousands of buildings throughout Turkey early on Monday, leaving thousands dead in the south and in Syria's northeast.

Photos taken today revealed that mounds of debris has covered the streets of Hatay, a hard-hit Turkish city located close to the centre of the quakes.

Rescue crews are scouring piles of concrete and metal for trapped survivors, demanding silence as they sift through the rubble with thermal cameras.

The rescuers reported finding more survivors, but the death toll expected to rise as the rubble of thousands of buildings has yet to be cleared.

Two substantial tremors, each with a magnitude of well over seven, demolished tens of thousands of buildings throughout Turkey

The UN announced that war-torn regions of Syria were facing a failure to get desperately needed aid

The death toll is set to keep rising as the rubble of thousands of buildings has yet to be cleared

In hard-hit Hatay, a 50-year-old woman who appeared badly injured was carried out by crews in the town of Iskenderun.

Similar rescues in the province saved two other women, one of them pregnant, according to broadcasters TRT and HaberTurk.

HaberTurk showed a six-year-old boy rescued from his wrecked home in Adiyaman.

An exhausted rescuer removed his surgical mask and took deep breaths as a group of women cried in joy.

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca posted a video of a young girl in a navy blue jumper who was found alive. He Tweeted: 'There is always hope!'

Rescuers in Antakya, elsewhere in Hatay province, pulled a man in his late 20s or 30s from the rubble, saying he was one of nine still trapped in the building.

But when asked if he knew of any others, he said he hadn't heard anyone for three days.

He waved weakly as he was removed on a stretcher as workers applauded and chanted, 'God is great!'

Security concerns prompted the suspension of some rescue operations, and dozens of people have been arrested for looting or trying to defraud earthquake victims

The UN's relief chief Martin Griffiths said much more was needed for millions whose homes were destroyed

The damage photos come as the United Nations (UN) has announced that war-torn regions of Syria were facing a failure to get desperately needed aid, despite a convoy arriving with supplies.

The agency's relief chief Martin Griffiths said much more was needed for millions whose homes were destroyed.

'We have so far failed the people in northwest Syria. They rightly feel abandoned. Looking for international help that hasn't arrived,' Griffiths said on Twitter.

The UN convoy of ten trucks crossed into northwest Syria included shelter kits including plastic sheeting, ropes and screws and nails, as well as blankets, mattresses and carpets.

Assessing damage in southern Turkey yesterday, when the toll stood at 28,000, Griffiths said he expected the figure to 'double or more' as chances of finding survivors fade with every passing day.

Supplies have been slow to arrive in Syria, where years of conflict have ravaged the healthcare system, and parts of the country remain under the control of rebels battling the government of President Bashar al-Assad, which is under Western sanctions.

Search and rescue efforts continue on collapsed buildings in Adiyaman, Turkey today after 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude earthquakes hit multiple provinces of the country

Crews are pictured in Adiyaman, Turkey today as they look for survivors trapped under debris

Search and rescue crews searched collapsed buildings in Adiyaman today

But a 10-truck UN convoy crossed into northwest Syria via the Bab al-Hawa border crossing, carrying shelter kits, plastic sheeting, rope, blankets, mattresses and carpets.

Bab al-Hawa is the only point for international aid to reach people in rebel-held areas of Syria after nearly 12 years of civil war, after other crossings were closed under pressure from China and Russia.

The head of the World Health Organization met Assad in Damascus earlier today and said the Syrian leader had voiced readiness for more border crossings to help bring aid into the rebel-held northwest.

'He was open to considering additional cross-border access points for this emergency,' WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters.

'The compounding crises of conflict, Covid, cholera, economic decline and now the earthquake have taken an unbearable toll,' Tedros said a day after visiting Aleppo.

He added that he was 'waiting to move across lines to the northwest, where we've been told the impact is even worse'.

But while Damascus had given the all-clear for cross-line aid convoys to go ahead from government areas, Tedros said the WHO was still waiting for a green light from rebel-held areas before going in.

Thousands of rescue workers are continuing the search for survivors nearly a week after a massive earthquake hit Turkey and Syria

A woman holds photos of her missing grandchildren Hatay, Turkey

Relatives identified a body in Turkey's Kahramanmaras as the search continues in the aftermath of the earthquake

Bashar Hafez al-Assad, President of Syria, today thanked the United Arab Emirates for providing 'huge relief and humanitarian aid' with pledges of tens of millions of dollars in aid as well.

However, security concerns prompted the suspension of some rescue operations, and dozens of people have been arrested for looting or trying to defraud victims in the aftermath of the quake in Turkey, according to state media.

An Israeli emergency relief organisation said it had suspended its earthquake rescue operation in Turkey and returned home because of a 'significant' security threat to its staff.

It was also reported that a number of people were deprived of their livelihoods and were cast onto the street to survive the bitter cold when faced with a lack of resources.

Quake victims were forced to break into supermarkets and loot for food and shelter, lest they succumb to the sub-zero temperatures with no supplies.

However, in Antakya, residents and aid workers who came from other cities have claimed worsening security conditions, with widespread accounts of businesses and collapsed homes being looted.

The United Nations warned that at least 870,000 people urgently need hot meals across Turkey and Syria

A boy searching building rubble for items to salvage in Jableh as the destruction continues to ruin the lives of millions

Officials say 12,141 buildings were either destroyed or seriously damaged in the earthquake

Some residents who were left homeless by the earthquake and are now sleeping in their cars and tents have claimed their valuable belongings, including gold, have been stolen.

Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said today that 57 people had been arrested for looting.

President Tayyip Erdogan said the government would deal firmly with looters, with a state of emergency being declared.

The military and police presence in Antakya has increased in recent days after Erdogan declared a state of emergency.

Yuksel Uzun, the owner of an electronics store, said: 'Our shop is in ruins. Swindlers and thieves have (looted) it. They took what they could. We are left with what they left behind'.

He said the looters couldn't enter from the front of the store, which was protected, and had gained access to the storage space from the back.

Uzun said he had seen supermarkets, pharmacies and various other businesses being broken into.

'They looted everywhere. The market across the street, shoe stores... I saw them break into a pharmacy,' he said, adding he would store his merchandise outside the city.

Destroyed homes in Jindayris, in the rebel-held part of Syria's Aleppo province, where the UN said sufficient aid had failed to arrive

A distraught woman mourns over the grave of her loved ones following the aftermath of the destructive earthquake

He said there were enough security forces in the city today but that there hadn't been in the first few days after the quake.

'Police and soldiers who live here went through the same things as we did. So we cannot expect them to have taken the necessary measures for the first couple of days,' he said.

Berkan Yogurtcuoglu, the store manager, said it was normal to loot supermarkets in the first days because aid and supplies only arrived later.

'For the first few days, everybody looted supermarkets because they needed to. I looted a supermarket because I needed diapers for my kids,' he said.

The United Nations warned that at least 870,000 people urgently need hot meals across Turkey and Syria. In Syria alone, up to 5.3 million people may have been made homeless.

Officials say 12,141 buildings were either destroyed or seriously damaged in the earthquake.

It is said that 29,605 people had died in Turkey and 3,574 in Syria from last Monday's 7.8-magnitude quake, bringing the confirmed total to 33,179.
Temperatures are expected to be 10C above average

Queensland will swelter through a heatwave on Sunday

Queensland will swelter through a heatwave in what could be the hottest day for the state this year - as Norfolk Island avoids the worst of tropical cyclone Gabrielle.

Temperatures in the Sunshine state are expected to soar 10C above average on Sunday, with some towns set for a 40 degree scorcher.

A severe heatwave warning has been issued for QLD Central Coast and Whitsundays, Capricornia, Central Highlands and Coalfields and Wide Bay and Burnett Districts.

Inland areas will reach the low's 40s, while parts of the coast will experience maximum temperatures in the mid-30s.

Queensland will sweat through a heatwave on Sunday, with some towns set to reach maximum temperatures above 40C (pictured, a beach on the Gold Coast)

Temperatures will be 10C above average for parts of Queensland, especially in the south east

Gympie, Gayndah, Rolleston, Taroom and Woorabinda are some of the towns and localities to be hit by the hot weather, according to the Bureau of Metereology.

Brisbane is predicated to reach a peak of 36C for the day, which will be the hottest day for Queensland's capital since October 2021.

Records are also set to be broken for suburbs within the City of Ipswich.

These areas are expected to peak in the high 30s, with some clearing 39C. This will be the hottest day for these suburbs since December 2020.

The Capricornia coast is also set to reach 40C.

Fire danger warnings have also been flagged for the Darling Downs and Granite Belt District.

The Bureau of Meteorology said the scorching temperatures combined with the 'fresh west to southwesterly winds' would raise 'fire danger in the southeast interior'.

The severe heat is expected to cool down on Monday as a cooler onshore wind change arrives, which will bring showers and some storms early next week.

It comes as Norfolk Island avoids the worst of ex-tropical cyclone Gabrielle.

Norfolk Island was struck by 105km/h winds on Saturday night, bringing down power lines and trees.

Inland areas will reach the low's 40's, while the coast will see maximum temperatures in the mid-30's

Norfolk Island (pictured) avoided the worst of ex-tropical cyclone Gabriella as the category two storm moved offshore overnight

The island was struck by 105km/h winds, which brought down power lines and trees

The eye of the category two storm reached the centre of the island before moving off shore and changing into a sub-tropical low pressure system.

While Norfolk Island has been cleared, New Zealand has been hit with strong winds and heavy rain from the storm on Sunday.

The country's national meteorological service, MetService, has issued 'red' heavy wind and rain warnings for Auckland and Northland.

Up to 200mm of rain and wind speeds of up to 130km/h are expected for parts of the north island.

Multiple international and domestic flights coming in and out of Auckland have been cancelled, including flights scheduled for Monday, due to the weather.

Electricity is being restored on Norfolk Island and a massive clean up operation is underway as workers from Norfolk Island Regional Council clears up debris and trees from the roads.

Emergency Management Norfolk Island issued an all clear alert early on Sunday.

'Tropical Cyclone passed the island last night and has transitioned to a tropical low and is estimated to be 185 kilometres east southeast of the island, EMNI said.

'Gale force winds are no longer expected around the island however abnormally high tides and very heavy surf may lead to localised damage and coastal erosion during today.'

EMNI added that the island was lucky not to be hit by stronger winds.

'We have been extremely fortunate with the passage of the cyclone as the most destructive winds have just missed us.'
An expectant Australian mum fighting to keep her baby shared a traumatic two-hour ambulance dash with a woman who'd just lost her own unborn child.

Jaymie Jenkins, 27, said she was horrified when she realised the other woman on the mercy trip was going home alone because her baby didn't survive childbirth.

She remembers the grieving woman didn't talk much on the frightening long drive through rain along a punishing 'bumpy road' from from Gladstone to Rockhampton Hospital in central Queensland.

Jaymie Jenkins said her whole birthing experience was like a 'horror show' and may prevent her from having another child because of fear of a repeat

Ms Jenkins was 'horrified' when she realised the other woman taking the trip from Gladstone to Rockhampton Hospital was going home alone because her baby didn't survive childbirth

Ms Jenkins was already scared her own unborn child might not make it and the devastated woman by her side brought home that horrific reality.

She had been diagnosed with cholestasis during her pregnancy, when the normal flow of bile from the liver is reduced or blocked.

That led to a dire warning from doctors that her baby could be stillborn or have a disability.

Ms Jenkins was set to drive herself from Gladstone to Rockhampton to give birth after an examination showed she'd reached three centimetres dilated .

But medics discovered a massive blood clot and she was told to take an ambulance because her baby was 'coming fast'.

Ms Jenkin's labour slowed and in the end she didn't give birth to son Mason for another six exhausting days, moving between the hospital and two different hotels.

When she arrived at Rockhampton Hospital she was informed her waters would be broken, but it never happened as the facility was short on midwives.

Ms Jenkins eventually had her son after six days of labour (pictured left) and she also has a three year old (pictured right)

A shortage of midwives at Rockhampton Hospital means staff couldn't break Ms Jenkins' waters, causing her to wait six days in labour

'It was a nightmare journey to have Mason but thankfully it had a happy ending as he was born healthy and with no disabilities as was predicted,' she told the Courier Mail.

'When I hold him in my arms I have flashbacks to that awful two hour ambulance ride in the rain.'

Ms Jenkins said the whole birthing experience was like a 'horror show' and may prevent her from having another child because of fear of a repeat.

Central Queensland Hospital and Health Service wouldn't comment on Ms Jenkins' birth, but a spokesman said staff can face 'competing priorities' when several births happen at once.
In one case woman, 78, allegedly bit arm of flight steward

A 78-year-old woman allegedly bit the arm of a flight attendant as trouble-making travellers caused summer chaos at Australia's airports, police have revealed.

Australian Federal Police, who handle security at the nine major mainland airports, charged 49 people with 69 offences and issued a further 24 infringement notices over the peak flying period.

In one incident a 78-year-old woman was charged with assault after allegedly striking another passenger in the face and then biting the arm of a flight attendant who was trying to intervene during a trip from New Zealand to the Gold Coast on January 29.

The Australian Federal Police maintain security at nine of Australia's major mainland airports

In another incident, a man, 41, allegedly downed a 700ml bottle of duty free scotch during the three-hour flight from New Zealand to Australia and began abusing airline staff on January 23.

The drinker lost consciousness when the plane landed in Sydney and police had to organise taking him to hospital.

Boozed-up passengers were so out of control, several flights had to be turned back.

A 47 year old was arrested on January 10 after he also allegedly drank his duty free booze on board when he is accused of abusing staff and and triggered a turn back to Sydney.

And another flight was stopped from even leaving the Gold Coast for Melbourne until police came on board to remove a drunk female passenger on January 8.

The Australian Federal Police were called out to about 20,000 incidents in the nation's airports during 2022

The targeted operation during the holiday season was sparked after the AFP responded to about 20,000 incidents at AFP-protected airports across Australia last year.

The AFP charged more than 360 people with about 520 offences at airports during 2022.

AFP Commander Geoff Turner lamented a marked increase in bad passenger behaviour over the summer holidays, which led to the AFP crackdown codenamed Operation Sleigh.

He noted that during the same period (December 20 to January 29) beginning in 2021 only 28 people had been charged and 16 issued with infringement notices

This is less than half the actions take by police during the recent summer.

Police charged 49 people with 69 offences over the busy airport summer period (December 20 to January 29)

Overall more than 360 people were charged with 520 offences at airports during 2022 with the AFP responding to about 20,000 incidents.

He warned travellers that airports 'are not nightclubs'.

'Most people do the right thing and they should not have their travel disrupted or feel unsafe because of the minority's bad behaviour,' CDR Turner said.

'We have zero tolerance for abusive and aggressive behaviour at airports and on aircraft.

'Passengers who are convicted of an act of violence at an airport or endangering the safety of an aircraft in flight face serious penalties.'

Air traffic offenders can face up to 20 years in jail.
A NSW Police worker has been charged after he was allegedly busted drink driving at twice the legal limit when he was pulled over for speeding.

Officers were patrolling the Pacific Highway at Ourimbah, on the Central Coast, about 12.30am on Friday when they allegedly spotted a Kia travelling at almost 90km/h in a 60km/hr zone.

The officers stopped the car and gave the 41-year-old male driver - who is a civilian member of the force - a breath test.

The test returned positive and he was arrested and taken to Gosford Police Station where a breath analysis returned an alleged reading of 0.102.

A man, 41, who works as a civilian member of the NSW Police force has been charged with allegedly drink driving and speeding on the Pacific Highway (pictured)

The man was charged with mid-range PCA and is due to appear at Gosford Local Court on Wednesday 15 March 2023.

He has also been issued with a traffic infringement notice (TIN) for motor vehicle exceed speed more than 20km/h.
A Delta Airlines flight from Edinburgh bound for JFK was forced to make an emergency landing shortly after taking off after flames were spotted shooting out from underneath from the wing.

Flight 209 departed at 10:50am bound for New York from Scotland, but an emergency was declared within half an hour of the Boeing 767 taking off and by 11:30am the plane was back on the ground at nearby Glasgow Airport.

Footage shot by one of the passengers shows a stream of flames coming from the rear of the wing in what appears to be an engine surge.

Anxious passengers could be heard speaking in the background, while some were in tears.

Some travellers feared for their lives as the crew made preparations for an emergency landing.

A Delta Airlines flight en route from Edinburgh to JFK had to make an emergency landing after an engine surge led to flames coming from underneath the wing

The flames appeared to be coming from the engine having suffered an 'engine surge'

'An announcement was made that we were heading to Glasgow Prestwick. The noise then cut to nothing like the engines had gone. At this point there was an eerie silence then gasps,' Julie Nisbet told STV.

'We saw the captain walk up and down the flight and thought this could be serious.

'It felt like it was gliding at one point when the engines cut. I didn't think we'd get down safely. When we did, we clapped and cheered and whistled. I'm just happy to tell the tale.'

A reporter for BBC Scotland also happened to be on the plane and gave her account of what happened.

'The plane took off and there was a loud engine noise, similar to the noise normally during take-off and landing, but it seemed to continue once we were in the air,' BBC News journalist Laura Pettigrew who was on the flight, explained.

'The captain walked up the length of the plane and then there was a Tannoy announcement - although no-one could hear it.

'When the plane touched down we could see fire trucks and firefighters with hoses rushing towards us,' Pettigrew said.

'We were told to leave all our belongings and get off as quickly as we could. There was no real panic among passengers, more just confusion. However some families with kids were pretty distressed.'

The Boeing 767 took off at 10:50am but just 30 minutes later, an emergency was declared, and by 11:30 AM the plane had landed at Glasgow Airport

'The pilots seemed to do a smooth job of getting us down safely. Apparently the cabin crew were preparing for a crash landing.'

Four fire engines met the aircraft which Delta has described as a 'mechanical fault'.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service also released a statement: 'We were requested at 11.23am on Friday, February 10, to assist our fire service partners at Prestwick Airport.

'Operations Control mobilised four appliances to the site, where firefighters remain working to support their partners.'

The airline also released a statement following the incident: 'Delta flight 209 from Edinburgh to New York-JFK safely diverted to Prestwick, Glasgow after a mechanical issue with the aircraft.

'We apologise to our customers for this inconvenience and are working to get them to their final destination as quickly as possible.'

Four fire engines met the aircraft which Delta has described as a 'mechanical fault' (file photo)

On the other side of the Atlantic, four people have been hospitalized after an empty American Airlines plane stuck a passenger bus on the taxiway at Los Angeles Airport, (LAX).

The plane was being towed to the parking area when the 'slow-speed collision' happened near the southside of the terminal around 10pm on Friday, injuring five and hospitalizing four.

'A jet being towed tonight from a gate to a parking area made contact with a shuttle bus, resulting in injuries to about five people,' the airport announced on Twitter.

The driver, two passengers, and the tug driver were taken to the hospital. Another LAX worker was injured but not hospitalized. They are believed to be in moderate condition, according to Fox News.

Overhead footage, taken by ABC 7 shows the driver being wheeled toward an ambulance with a head wound wrapped up.

Four people have been hospitalized after an empty American Airlines plane (left) struck a passenger bus (bottom right) on the taxiway at LAX

The plane was being towed to the parking area when the 'slow-speed collision' happened near the southside of the terminal around 10pm on Friday, injuring five and hospitalizing four

There was reportedly a lot of damage to the underside of the plane under the nose after the collision and video shows the front windows on the bus with deep cracks.

An investigation into the crash has been opened.

Last month an American Airlines plane narrowly avoided slamming into a Delta plane going 115mph during takeoff at JFK last month.

The Boeing 737 was traveling at 115mph down a runway at the New York airport at around 8.45pm when an air traffic controller noticed that the American Airlines flight to the UK crossed from an adjacent runway right in front of the departing plane, ABC 7 reports.

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 driver (pictured) was seen being escorted to an ambulance with a head injury

There was reportedly a lot of damage to the underside of the plane under the nose after the collision and video shows the front windows on the bus with deep cracks (pictured)

The Delta pilot was 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 take off again until the next morning, while the American Airlines flight arrived in the UK on time.

A Delta pilot remained cool, calm, and collected, despite nearly colliding nose-first into the side of an American Airlines flight.

The unnamed pilot could be heard in audio recordings from the JFK air traffic control tower simply saying he will need to make a few phone calls about the nearly fatal crash.

'Yeah, we're gonna have to go somewhere, run a couple of checklists and probably make some phone calls for Delta 1943,' the pilot says calmly.

LAX confirmed the collision on its Twitter page on Saturday morning

Earlier this month, 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 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.
A powerhouse couple whose fleet of superyachts have hosted the likes of Jennifer Lopez and Kim Kardashian have been investigated by the IRS over a boat donation that led to a $4.6million tax bill.

Miami socialites J.R. and Loren Ridinger made the multimillion-dollar donation in 2016 - parting with the 116-foot Utopia II after 17 years of sailing the recognizable vessel in the scenic waters of Biscayne Bay.

Thinking the donation would save them about $2 million in taxes, the pair gifted the mega-yacht to Massachusetts-based Veterans Inc, claiming a $4.9million deduction based on an outside estimate of the yachts value, according to court filings.

Two New York attorneys - one of whom lived in the same Manhattan building as the Ridingers - provided that estimate, and created a limited-liability company to buy the yacht from the charity, for $4.9million, immediately after the donation.

The lawyers sold the boat a year later for $1.3 million, allowing the charity - whose board includes one of the Manhattan attorneys - $130,000 from that transaction, issuing a promissory note that gave the charity just a 10 percent administrative fee.

The IRS soon got involved, alleging that J.R. - a retail tycoon who died suddenly last September at age 72 - knew that the boat was not worth the amount listed on tax returns.

Miami socialites J.R. and Loren Ridinger made the multimillion-dollar donation in 2016 - parting with the 116-foot Utopia II after 17 years of sailing the recognizable vessel

Thinking the donation would save them about $2 million in taxes, the pair gifted the mega-yacht to Massachusetts-based Veterans Inc, claiming a $4.9million deduction based on an outside estimate of the yachts value, according to court filings

The Ridingers have since paid $3.5million in taxes and penalties, and are suing their former lawyers for misrepresenting the yachts value, and misleading them into a transaction the couple says ultimately benefited only them.

The saga started in 1999, when the couple's marketing empire, Market America, first began to take off, earning them tens of millions of dollars as well as socialite status in the local Florida scene.

At that point, the high-powered pair bought the boat in question - the Ridingers' second ship in an expanding fleet that would eventually host some of Hollywood's biggest names.

The steel-hulled Feadship yacht was christened the Utopia II - but within a few years, the couple were already looking for an upgrade.

Seeking more space to accommodate their increasingly A-list friends, the family purchased the 151-foot Utopia III - the same boat where Lopez, 53, would celebrate her 43rd birthday, and where Kardashian and Kanye West would share a passionate kiss on July 4, 2015.

In 2016 - a year in which the couple reported and adjusted gross income of more than $36 million - the Ridingers again shelled out the big bucks for another over-the top boat, a sleek 207-footer that they would name Utopia IV.

Seeking more space to accommodate their increasingly A-list friends, the family decided on making the donation after purchasing the 151-foot Utopia III

The boat - which sank in 2021 after crashing into a 160-foot gas tanker near the Bahamas - cost the couple more than $40 million.

At that point, the couple decided it was time to part with the aging Utopia II - which already had been on the market for the better part of decade for $5.4million.

After failing to attract a buyer, the Ridingers decided to gift the boat as charitable donation - thinking that they would get a tax break for their troubles.

At first, the couple considered donating the boat II to AMIkids Inc., a charity known for accepting yachts - a somewhat unusual donation considering the luxury ships' inherent extravagance.

The Utopia III has been rented out to the likes of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, pictured here sharing a passionate kiss on the vessel on July 4, 2015

Jennifer Lopez showed off her bikini body on the Ridingers' Utopia III in Miami in January 2013

However, that plan soon changed, a lawsuit filed by 53-year-old Loren and her husbands estate, when a Manhattan-based lawyer who lived a dozen floors below the Ridingers named Rachel Gould caught wind of the looming transaction.

After speaking to Gould, the couple decided to to ditch their deal with AMIkids and instead donate to Veterans, a charity, based in Worcester.

Gould's legal partner Ralph Stone, who also represented the Ridingers over the course of the donation, currently serves on the charitys advisory council. Records show the charity, founded in 1990, had never before excepted a donation of a yacht - nor has it since.

The Ridingers have since paid $3.5million in taxes and penalties, and are suing their former lawyers, Ralph Stone and Rachel Gould, for misrepresenting the yachts value, and misleading them into a transaction the couple says ultimately benefited only them

The Utopia IV a $51 million yacht, owned by JR Ridinger struck and sunk a gas tanker owned by Maritime Management in the Bahamas on Christmas Eve, 2021

The attorneys, according to the Ridingers suit, proceeded to create a limited-liability company to buy the yacht from the charity for the aforementioned $4.9 million immediately after the donation.

At the time, the Ridingers said, the Manhattan lawyers issued the charity a promissory note that promised the agreed-upon sum - which the attorneys said they arrived at after receiving estimates from unnamed outside parties - instead of cash.

The charity then assigned the note to a production company called Killer Impact, which was co-founded by Gould to make socially responsible films and other largely progressive projects.

An agreement reached between the two companies saw Killer Impact agree to continue to create projects aligned with its charitable purpose - while Veterans Inc would eventually get a 10 percent administrative fee of any future sale.

At first, the couple considered donating the boat II to AMIkids Inc., a charity known for accepting yachts. The transaction came under scrutiny by the IRS who said the family inflated the boat's value on tax returns

Jennifer Lopez, who celebrated her birthday on a Ridigner yacht in 2013, sat next to Lorin at JR's funeral in October. Lorin filed the lawsuit against her former lawyers a few weeks later. It is sill making its way through federal court

The lawyers soon sold the boat the next year for $1.3 million - a fraction of the previously arrived $4.9 million.

The charity would then receive their agreed upon $130,000 - coming under the IRS's radar in the process.

Assessing the boats worth at $1.5 million, the federal agency audited Ridinger, alleging he knew the Utopia II was not worth the $4.9million sum listed on his tax returns.

What's more, after examining the boat donation, the agency demanded $6.2million in taxes and penalties from the Ridingers for 2016 and 2017 over the inflated sum and other supposed issues on the returns.

One of those issues, court documents show, include whether the yacht was used for Market America business.

In response, Lorin and her husbands estate challenged the IRS in tax court, while filing a lawsuit against their former attorneys, alleging they provided the couple with 'improper, self-interested and unsound legal advice' regarding the donation.

The IRS, menahwile, contend that the late Ridinger, along with Gould and Stone, 'planned a fraudulent transaction.'

The real estate tycoon, who died at 72, was also publicly mourned by Kardashian, who also attended the socialite's memorial in Miami in October

Through their lawyer, both Gould and Stone contend that the Ridingers lawsuit is meritless.

The Ridingers hace settled with the IRS over the transaction, agreeing to pay $3million in back taxes and $450,000 in penalties in July - avoiding any fraud penalties in the process.

By then, the Ridingers had also donated the Utopia III to another charity, this one with a history of accepting boats, before moving on to its $51million Utopia IV.

That boat too came under scrutiny, after becoming the subject of not one, not two, but three bitter legal battles, the first of which came after the Ridinger family sued the family that manufactured the vessel in 2019.

The since settled suit claimed technical flaws caused the boat - which would eventually crash into an oil tanker two years later - to 'toss uncontrollably, inciting crew panic, damaging major equipment onboard and ripping furniture and fixtures off their floor mountings, and shattering glass on various surfaces.'

Kim and sister Kourtney are seen aboard the Utopia III during a stay in Miami in March 2010

The suit was eventually settled for an undisclosed sum out of court.

Then, in August 2021, after investor Ron Conway chartered the boat for 11 days for almost $600,000, he too sued the vessel, claiming the Ridingers were negligent and left staff ill-equipped.

The suit alleged that he injured his knee while trying to disembark from the boat in Marthas Vineyard, causing U.S. Marshals to arrest the yacht. WIthin days, Market America paid $3 million to reclaim the yacht in November 2021.

The next month, while leaving for the Bahamas to pick up a new set of charter guests, the boat crashed into and sank a 160-foot gas tanker near the Bahamas on Christmas Eve.

Former crew members on the boat have since sued the Ridinger estate, claiming they were injured in the crash and havent been paid or had medical bills covered in accordance with the law - allegation the Ridingers have denied.

The Utopia IV has since been towed back to the U.S. for repairs. A lawyer for the Ridingers has said any issues with the boat has been addressed.

Then, this August, a month after reaching a settlement with, Ridinger suffered a pulmonary embolism and died.

Lopez and her husband, Ben Affleck, sat next to Lorin Ridinger at the tycoon's October funeral, after which he was also publicly mourned by Kardashian.

Lorin filed the lawsuit against her former lawyers a few weeks later. It is sill making its way through federal court. Utopia IV, meanwhile, is on the market for $48 million.
Two of Donald Trump's personal lawyers testified before a grand jury regarding the discovery of hundreds of classified documents at the ex-president's Mar-a-Lago residence in August 2022.

The attorneys, identified by the Wall Street Journal as Evan Corcoran and Christina Bobb, made their appearances in early January. The newspaper did not report on what said during their respective testimonies.

Prior to the WSJ report, the New York Times' Maggie Haberman reported on Corcoran's appearance and described it as a 'major moment' in the investigation into the documents.

Haberman tweeted, 'Its unclear if Trump knew his lawyer Evan Corcoran went before the grand jury prior to tonights news breaking (hell know now, if he didnt before).'

The investigation into Trump's possession of classified documents and the former Apprentice's host's efforts to stay in power in 2020 continues to escalate under the direction of Special Counsel Jack Smith.

Bobb is a former OAN host who has publicly supported the ex-president's attempts to have the 2020 presidential election reversed

Evan Corcoran is another of Trump's lawyers, he was previously best known for unsuccessfully defending MAGA ally Steve Bannon on contempt charges

This week, it was reported that more documents were discovered at Trump's Florida home in January as former Vice President Mike Pence was subpoenaed by Smith.

The extraordinary scenario of a former vice president potentially testifying against his former boss in a criminal investigation comes as Pence considers launching a 2024 Republican presidential bid against Trump.

The two have been estranged since a mob of Trumps supporters on Jan. 6, 2021, in an attempt to stop Democrat Joe Bidens victory.

Trump lawyer Christina Bobb was at Mar-a-Lago during the FBI's August 8 raid.

The New York Times reported that she is the lawyer who signed a statement attesting to a 'diligent search' for classified government documents. It was later reported that Bobb was told to sign the statement by Evan Corcoran.

Bobb told federal investigators during an interview in October that the letter was actually drafted and prepared by another of Trumps lawyers, Evan Corcoran, and that he had asked her to sign it in her capacity as custodian of the records.

During that interview, Bobb was offered immunity in exchange for further testimony something she refused, stating that she didn't need it.

Bobb is a former OAN host who blasted the FBI following the August raid  she even said she anticipated the FBI would 'make stuff up and come up with whatever they want.' Describing what was at Mar-a-Lago, she said, 'There's just nothing there.'

Trump lawyer Christina Bobb was at Mar-a-Lago during the FBI's August 8 raid

Bobb is a former OAN host who blasted the FBI following the August raid  she even said she anticipated the FBI would 'make stuff up and come up with whatever they want'

That statement was belied by the filing, which says agents seized 33 boxes containing 'over a hundred classified records.'

Bobb told OAN shortly after the raid there was 'not anything there,' and said she was 'a little bit befuddled as to why [the FBI] would do such a drastic thing, so disrespecting and so dishonoring, other than the fact it's a political tool.'

She said she was precluded from watching the search, but said members of the FBI 'just make stuff.'

She told Fox News August 12: 'We've been very cooperative with the Biden administration and the DOJ and turned over everything that we found, that we had.'

Following the raid, Trump's son, Eric, told DailyMail.com that Bobb was forced to stand at the end of the Mar-a-Lago driveway throughout the raid.

Bobb also promoted the Arizona Senate's audit of the 2020 election that ultimately affirmed Joe Biden's win in the state.

In July, Corcoran represented long-time Trump ally Steve Bannon in his contempt of Congress trial. Bannon was found guilty and sentenced to four months in prison. The former Breitbart editor is appealing his conviction.

Corcoran later spearheaded Trump's attempts to have documents that were given to the National Archives returned to him.

On Friday, it was reported that Trump's legal team gave Department of Justice investigators an envelope with classified markings that found at the ex-president's Mar-a-Lago residence.

The material contained in the envelope had also been electronically copied on to a laptop and thumb drive that belonged to an aide who works for the Save America PAC. That laptop and thumb drive are now in the hands of the government, ABC News reported Friday.

The envelope was discovered by Trump aides in January as they searched the resort in the hunt for further classified documents in order to comply with the DOJ's investigation. It was turned over to the feds by Trump lawyer James Trusty.

The material-in-question was found inside Mar-a-Lago and not in the storage facility that was being used to house the hundreds of documents that were seized by investigators in August 2022.

In a statement to ABC News, Trump's team maintained their stance that the investigations are 'politically motivated' and a 'witch hunt' designed to hurt his chances of winning the presidency in 2024.

The statement jokingly referred to the DOJ as the 'Department of Injustice' and went on to redundantly call the probe a 'fake hoax.'

The development comes hours after it was revealed that the FBI has found more classified documents at Mike Pence's Indiana home, adding to the material discovered by his own team earlier.

Pence adviser Devin OMalley said the Department of Justice completed a five-hour search and found at least one more file with classified markings following a 'consensual search of his residence' Friday.

O'Malley said in a statement that the Justice Department 'completed a thorough and unrestricted search of five hours and removed one document with classified markings and six additional pages without such markings that were not discovered in the initial review by the vice presidents counsel.'

'The vice president has directed his legal team to continue its cooperation with appropriate authorities and to be fully transparent through the conclusion of this matter,' he continued. The search came hours after it was revealed Pence was subpoenaed by Special Counsel Smith.

Following that subpoena, Trump called Pence 'an honorable man' on social media.

Last month, Pence's lawyers disclosed that a 'small number' of documents with classified markings were discovered at the ex-veep's home. On Friday more were found.




Korea reported an African swine fever (ASF) case from a local farm in the eastern region of Gangwon Province, officials said Sunday.







The latest ASF case was found in Yangyang in Gangwon Province, some 174 kilometers east of Seoul, according to authorities.







It is the fourth ASF outbreak that Korea has reported this year, following ones in Pocheon, Cheorwon and Gimpo.







Authorities issued a 48-hour standstill order for pig farms and slaughterhouses in areas in the province, except for the northern region of Cheorwon.







Officials plan to cull pigs that were being raised at the farm in a preventive measure, while farms and livestock facilities located in a radius of 10 kilometers will be subject to close examinations.







ASF does not affect humans but is deadly to pigs. There is currently no vaccine or cure for the disease. (Yonhap)


A senior MP has launched an astonishing public attack on the Metropolitan Police following what he claims is an attempt by a third party to blackmail him over a false claim of sexual assault.

Julian Knight was suspended by the Tory Chief Whip in December after he was reported to the police over the allegation, forcing him to step aside as chairman of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee.

Now Mr Knight, 51, has written to Sir Mark Rowley, the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, to complain that his reputation has been destroyed after being widely and repeatedly publicly named as being suspected of a sex crime.

The case follows a string of so-called Pestminster scandals, which has led to calls for reforms to the culture at Westminster. Some critics have argued that the re-action to the abuses has led to an over-correction, under which false or exaggerated claims have led to MPs reputations being unfairly tarnished before they have been properly investigated.

Julian Knight (pictured) was suspended by the Tory Chief Whip in December after he was reported to the police over a claim of sexual assault

In his letter, Mr Knight, who has represented Solihull in the West Midlands since 2015, said that he had incontrovertible proof of my innocence as well as clear doc-umentary evidence of a conspiracy to blackmail me using a false and malicious allegation. It is understood that this relates to a cache of private messages which Mr Knights friends say vindicates his version of events.

Mr Knight cites the recent accusations of sexism, racism and corruption which have dogged the Met, saying: I am raising this at a time of considerable, and quite possibly unprecedented, reputational challenges to the Met.

The MP, who says he is addressing the conduct, operational procedures and probity of the Metropolitan Police, writes that he has not been given a scintilla of the protection of the anonymity rightly granted to complainants, adding: I am still being denied any opportunity to be interviewed under caution by your investigating officers. This is despite repeated requests from my lawyer for this to happen. All that has been disclosed to my lawyers is that your officers investigation is into a single complaint of a sexual nature against me.

Mr Knight says that his evidence of innocence includes a sworn statement by an independent third party referring explicitly to plans to make a false allegation against me. This affidavit, to which the signatory will testify in court, sets out motive for making such an allegation: it refers to a potential party to the accusation as using the phrase to the signatory  Basically, its blackmail.

Now Mr Knight, 51, has written to Sir Mark Rowley (pictured), the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, to complain that his reputation has been destroyed

He adds: Im sure your officers will suggest that they have used the intervening two months searching for further evidence against me before intervewing me. I would suggest that such a modus operandus both contravenes natural justice and constitutes a waste of police time. I also believe that, were it not for the high-profile nature of my case, the obvious step of interviewing me under caution would been have been taken expeditiously.

The fact that I remain after two months a suspect without any chance to have his voice heard is due to the flawed and fundamentally unjust conduct of your officers investigation.

And he goes on to warn: Once this situation is resolved and my name is cleared, I do not intend to let the matter rest.

Rather, I shall be pursuing all legal means to achieve proper redress for the flawed handling of this matter by all involved. Naturally, I will also raise in Parliament all issues arising from it. Scotland Yard declined to comment.
Outback Wrangler star Matt Wright could lose his aviation licence as he faces charges over a helicopter crash that killed his mate.

The high profile wildlife warrior, 43, is accused of seven serious criminal offences after the crash claimed the life of his television co-star Chris 'Willow' Wilson in the Northern Territory.

Mr Wilson was collecting crocodile eggs in a remote area of West Arnhem Land when the Robinson R44 helicopter he was dangling from collided with trees and plunged to the ground on February 28 last year.

Wright has since been hit with a range of charges, including destroying evidence and attempting to pervert the course of justice.

As the matter returned to Darwin Local Court on Wednesday, it was revealed Wright's company Helibrook, which held the registration for the Robinson R44, is being investigated by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority.

Outback Wrangler star Matt Wright (pictured recently in court) was recently charged with seven serious criminal offences in a relation to a fatal helicopter crash last February

The court heard Wright's aviation licence could be suspended depending on the outcome of the investigation, NT News reports.

The court heard Wright returned home in the Top End a week ago to manage his tourism and adventure business operations - which include fishing charters, safari camps, adventure boats, and helicopter tours - ahead of the upcoming peak season.

He has spent the last six months living in Queensland with his wife Kaia and their two young children.

However, Prosecutor Steve Ledek said Wright's flight businesses may soon be forced to shut down.

'We understood there was a prohibition on him being able to re-engage in at least the flight services of his operation because of CASA determination that there ought to be a notice of suspension for his aircraft operator's certificate,' Mr Ledek said.

'However, that suspension doesn't actually take effect until the issue is resolved.

'He is therefore entitled to be in charge of those air services and those aspects of his operation.'

According to Wright's website, the commercial helicopter company was a sub-entity of Matt Wright Wild Territory and was 'one of the biggest and most successful tourism and commercial helicopter businesses in the Northern Territory'.

Wright (pictured with wife Kaia) could lose his aviation licence depending on the outcome of an investigation into his company

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority has confirmed it is investigating Wright's company, with a spokesperson saying: 'deliberations relating to Helibrook are continuing.'

However, it should be noted no decision has been taken at this time to suspend Helibrook's Air Operator's Certificate,' the spokesperson added.

'Given the ongoing investigations by police and the Australian Transport Safety Bureau it would be inappropriate for us to comment on any specific actions at this point.'

During Wednesday's hearing, Wright's lawyer Giles O'Brien-Hartcher successfully fought to have some of his client's bail conditions ease, with Wright now no longer required to wear an electronic ankle monitor.

Mr O'Brien-Hartcher also sought to have nine associates removed from Wright's 46-person non-contact order.

The court heard Wright wanted to freely return to NT, a request the Crown agreed to on the condition he wear an electronic monitoring device to protect the 'sanctity' of the evidence, The Australian reported.

Wright's close friend and television co-star Chris 'Willow' Wilson (pictured) was tragically killed almost a year ago

Wilson was collecting crocodile eggs when the helicopter he was travelling in, which was registered to Wright's company Helibrook, crashed (pictured)

'The protection of the interference of witnesses goes to the heart of the allegation that we're prosecuting in the first instance,' prosecutor Steve Ledek told the court.

Wright's lawyer argued an ankle monitor was a 'restraint on liberty that doesn't serve a purpose' and that his client did not intend to breach conditions.

Judge Richard Wallace agreed.

'It doesn't seem to me that there's any justification for compromising the privacy of Mr Wright in this way,' he said.

He instead ordered Wright to provide police with 12 hours' notice before changing his residential address.

Wright can now contact four business associates who were previously on the non-contact list.

Five more names are expected to be dropped from the non-contact list at the next preliminary examination mention in March.

Wright has been charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice, destroying evidence, fabricating evidence, unlawfully entering a building, unlawfully entering a dwelling, making a false declaration and interfering with witnesses in a criminal investigation or court process by making threats/reprisals.

Matt Wright (pictured with wife Kaia) doesn't have to wear an electronic ankle monitor after he recently returned to the Northern Territory

Wright has previously strenuously denied any wrongdoing in relation to the crash.

This month marks one year since Chris Wilson's helicopter collided with trees and crashed the ground during a crocodile egg retrieval mission in West Arnhem Land.

He was attached to a line using a harness so he could harvest eggs from crocodile nests in swampy areas while the helicopter hovered above.

Multiple investigations into what happened before, during and after the fatal helicopter crash continue.

The NT police investigation is expected to be completed by early March.

Wright and other two men charged in relation to the crash are all due to reappear in court on March 8.

Wright became a household name more than a decade ago as the star of National Geographic Channel series Outback Wrangler, which has since been aired in almost 100 countries.
The superintendent of the New Jersey school district where a 14-year-old student died by suicide two days after a video of her being bullied was posted online has resigned.

Adriana Kuch, a freshman at Central Regional High School in Berkeley Township, took her own life following a premeditated bullying incident involving four of her schoolmates.

The girls involved in the attack had already been suspended indefinitely before they were charged for the incident.

Superintendent Dr. Triantafillos Parlapanides, stepped down on Saturday from the $190,000-a-year role, a day after a funeral home opened its doors for visitation to allow people to pay their respects to the teenager.

Parlapanides resignation follows a series of interviews that caught the attention of the school board including some with DailyMail.com in which he made comments regarding Adriana's behavior and possible drug use, which prompted action from the board.

Superintendent Dr. Triantafillos Parlapanides stepped down on Saturday, a day after the funeral services were held for the teenager

New Jersey teenager Adriana Kuch, 14, took her own life after she was relentlessly bullied just days after a video showing her being punched and kicked at school was circulated online

This is the email response Parlapanides provided to DailyMail.com when asked what counseling Adriana had been given. He claimed her 'choices declined', that her mother committed suicide 'since her father had an affair'

'The Central Regional School District Board of Education has accepted the resignation of Dr. Triantafillos Parlapanides,' the board said in a statement on Saturday evening.

'The Central Regional family continues to mourn the loss of one of our children. We are all praying for the family and loved ones and our entire community. The Central Regional School District is evaluating all current and past allegations of bullying.

'The District has contacted the Department of Education and will undergo an independent assessment of the District's anti-bullying policies and ensure every necessary safeguard is in place to protect our students and staff. Dr. Douglas Corbett is acting Superintendent effective immediately.'

Parlapanides told DailyMail.com personally, 'Her father was having an affair at the end of her 6th grade. Her father married the woman he had an affair with and moved her into the house.'

He continued, 'Her grades and choices declined in 7th and 8th grade. We offered her drug rehab and mental services on five occasions but the father refused every time.'

Sneaking out of his office at the Ocean County school, the embattled school Superintendent told DailyMail.com that he had 'nothing more to say' when asked whether his earlier comments were an attempt to steer blame away from the administration and whether he believed them to be insensitive.

Students and parents congregated outside the school grounds on Friday holding signs of protest in what they described to be 'a shocking lack of sensitivity' and action from the 'administration who swore to protect' them.

Parlapanides did his best to avoid answering DailyMail.com's questioning on Friday afternoon

The embattled school Superintendent told DailyMail.com that he had 'nothing more to say'

The officer of now former Superintendent Triantafillos Parlapanides is pictured, above

Central Regional High School in Bayville, New Jersey

Students from the Central Regional High School are protesting over the suicide of Adriana due to bullying, as seen on Friday

Students and parents congregated outside the school grounds holding signs of protest

The four students allegedly involved in tormenting and bullying Adriana have now been charged prosecutors said on Saturday.

The 20-second viral clip shows several students attacking the teen and hitting her with a water bottle as she walked with her boyfriend. Bystanders are also seen laughing at Adriana after she was punched, kicked and had her hair pulled, while she lay in the fetal position on the floor of the school hallway.

One of the attackers could be heard yelling, 'That's what you get you stupid a** b****.'

One juvenile was charged with aggravated assault, two were charged with conspiracy to commit aggravated assault and one was charged with harassment, prosecutors in Ocean County, New Jersey, said.

All four juveniles and their guardians were given copies of the complaints and they were released pending future court appearances, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said in an email Saturday.

The family of Adriana Kuch found her body on February 3, two days after her beating beside school lockers at Central Regional High School in Bayville, her father has said.

According to her father Kuch was 'smashed in the face three times with a water bottle' and 'blacked out.' He then had to take his blood covered daughter to the police station to file a report because the school refused to do so

Michael Kuch, shown here on Friday at his daughter's visitation, told DailyMail.com that he in discussions with a family lawyer regarding the family's next legal steps

Michael Kuch speaking to DailyMail.com outside of his daughter's visitation

Her father, Michael Kuch, said Adriana had been hit with a 20-ounce water bottle.

She received care from the school nurse after the attack left her with bruises and wounds.

'I do know why it happened,' he said. 'It happened because these two havent liked each other for a couple years, and she had been threatening my daughter online.'

After students at the high school participated in a walkout on Wednesday, District Superintendent Triantafillos Parlapanides wrote in a letter to parents that the protest interfered with 'the learning process' and future 'rallies' will need prior approval from the administration.

In astonishing emails to DailyMail.com Triantafillos Parlapanides, the Superintendent of Central Regional School District, said Adriana - who killed herself in her bedroom closet on February 3 two days after being beaten - had been offered counseling 'for drugs'

'I spoke with the student protestors in front of the school on Wednesday and offered to sit down and meet with them to discuss their concerns,' said the prosecutor, Billhimer, who was at the high school again on Friday to meet with protest organizers for more than two hours.

Billhimer said he discussed ways to improve the district's response to school 'incidents' during a meeting on Saturday with Parlapanides.

'I also shared some suggestions regarding staff changes as well as programming and services to respond to the needs of the students,' Billhimer wrote.

Adriana was born in Toledo, Ohio, and moved to Bayville seven years ago, according to her obituary.

She was described as an animal lover and a girl who helped children with special needs.

The 14-year-old was said to be a nature lover who loved to go on walks with her brothers

Michael Kuch told DailyMail.com that his daughter had been told not to come back to school in case she was bullied further over her injured face.

He went on to describe the administration at Central Regional High School in Berkeley Township, New Jersey, as a 'cancer' after the superintendent blamed the dad's 'poor choices' and alleged 'affair' for his daughter's tragic death.

Adriana's dad was speaking at a visitation at the Mastapeter Memorial Home in Bayville for his daughter on Friday night, where hundreds came to pay their respects to the teenager.

Michael told DailyMail.com that he in discussions with a family lawyer regarding the family's next legal steps. He also said that attorneys from across the country have been in contact with him.

'We cant stop crying this is the last time Im ever going to see her.

'It was not supposed to happen we heard it over and over again your child isnt supposed to go before you,' Michael wept.

On Friday, Kuch said of Parlapanides, 'Whats insensitive is him going on social media and defending his actions and attacking other people.

Adriana killed herself sometime after 10.46pm on February 2nd

'The administration needs to be completely shaken up and by shaken up I mean they need to be removed,' he added.

Kuch continued, 'I dont know why hes been there that long I have no idea why that man still has a job.'

The teen's dad went on to rail against the school's management repeatedly calling them incompetent and saying that the school didn't want to expel his daughter's tormentors because they were worried about loss in revenue.

He said, 'If my daughter is only worth $23,000 a head to them then because they would lose four students then what is anybodys kid worth.'

The grieving father said that he had to wait until the video was posted online to see the attack as the school management wouldn't show it to him.

He added, 'I think the superintendent should be charged with obstruction of justice.'

Adriana Kuch was described online as a 'one-of-a-kind kid' who was the 'spitfire' of her family

Michael Kuch's sister-in-law Sami Nye told DailyMail.com in a prepared statement, 'Adriana to the public, Age to her friends, sissy to her family we love you. The love and joy that you brought to our family will never be forgotten.

'For those of you who did not know Adriana she was our spitfire. She was stubborn, funny and charismatic, and would light up any room she walked into.'

'She loved exploring the woods, hanging out with friends and spending time with her brothers on summer break. She befriended the ones that needed friends the most.'

'Adriana also loved animals and loved trying new hobbies. Losing her has been the most painful thing imaginable we wish that she was still here and wish we could make new experiences with her.'

'And cherish new memories. More laughs more moments and more smiles. And even for the debates and disagreements. As those would mean that she was still here.

She concluded by saying, 'Instead we are left broken hearted and wondering what she would have achieved in life that she had a future with us.'

Nye then thanked those who have reached out and offered support to the family.

Adriana with her boyfriend Jason, who tried to pull the other girls off her and protect her

Amanda Ramirez, mother of Nevaeh Alvarez Ramirez a student who took part in a protest following Adrianna's death told DailyMail.com as she mourned the loss of the 'beautiful' 14-year-old at Friday's visitation said that she supports the students speaking out about bullying.

'I 100 percent support her it's just hard to watch these kids hurting they just want to be heard,' she said.

She was appalled by the lack of sensitivity shown by the school saying there was 'no moment of silence or assembly' for the students or staff to process the horrific death.

'It was just like swept under the rug they talk about how 'oh if you're fighting there will be consequences' but a kid is gone because nobody did anything,' she said.

'The fact that she was beat up on school premises, she blacked out, that her parents weren't called, that an ambulance wasn't called a kid blacked out that is a medical emergency.

'Her hair was ripped out and on the floor like it's just disgusting and I hurt because I have a lot of respect for teachers there, but hearing that some of them saying it 'wasn't a big deal' that's, uh, a lot it's just mental health is so serious.'

Kuch was just a freshman at Central Regional High School in Bayville, New Jersey

Trisha Tucker, who had also been paying her respects at the visitation told DailyMail.com that her daughter had also been bullied at the school.

'My daughter was being bullied from September/October and I'd been to the freshman principal numerous times told me that it was being handled, my daughter went from being an honor role student to dropping out of marching band to failing her classes and not even wanting to go to school,' she said.

'Now she's cutting herself so yeah they don't do a damn thing they don't care about these kids they're going to sweep it under the rug so they aren't embarrassed.'

Kuch was just a freshman at Central Regional High School in Bayville, where her family moved seven years ago after repeatedly having to locate because her father was an Army Airborne soldier serving the country.

Adriana's bruised legs after the attack. Her father said she was mostly 'humiliated' by the video, which made her feel like she'd been attacked 'twice'

An obituary posted online says the 14-year-old 'adored all animals, she helped children with special needs, she loved jogging with her brothers and was a true nature lover.

'Adriana also enjoyed her walks in the woods, skateboarding, riding dune buggies and dirt bikes,' it continues.

Her sister-in-law, Jennifer Ferro, also posted online that Adriana was a 'one-of-a-kind kid.

'Our family and her parents would describe her as a beautiful girl who was happy, funny, stubborn, strong, loved animals, could make friends easily [and] would draw all time time.

'She loved going on runs with her older brother and our dogs when she came to visit us during the summer, and she always wanted to try out new hobbies... but would get tired of them fast.

'She talked about how she wanted to be a tattoo artist when she turns 18, and although I didn't take it seriously in the past, I really wish I could've seen what that future was like to know he still had a future,' Ferro continued.

'Sissy was our family's spitfire, and although she had her moments (the good, bad and ugly) we loved her more than life itself and are heartbroken knowing she's gone.'

Adriana was predeceased by her mother, Brandy, and is survived by her father, Michael, and step-mother, Sarah, as well as eight siblings.

If you or someone you know is in crisis, call 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call the network, previously known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional help and information.
A Florida rapper has been charged with shooting dead his pregnant girlfriend, three days after he was acquitted of murdering two men in a recording studio in 2020.

Billy Bennett Adams III, 25, allegedly lay in wait for Alana Sims, 22, on January 30 - having told her that they were going to a party to celebrate his acquittal.

Police said Adams killed Sims because he did not want to be in her life and he was not ready to have a child.

Sims was five months pregnant when she was shot dead by her car. Her 18-month-old son was found sleeping in the vehicle.

Billy Bennett Adams III, 25, is accused of shooting dead his five-months-pregnant girlfriend Alana Sims, 22, on January 30

Sims was mother to an 18-month-old son and expecting her second child when she was killed

Adams, who according to The Tampa Bay Times recorded three albums, two EPs and several singles, gave conflicting accounts to police after Sims' murder.

He initially said he did not believe he was the father of her unborn child, and said he was at home on the night of January 30.

He then changed his story and said he was with friends, but nowhere near the crime scene.

Sims was lured to the scene of her murder, police believe

Adams gave police a video showing him with his friends, but investigators analyzed the footage and determined it had been altered, and was actually shot on February 1.

Adams then admitted killing her, police said - but insisted it was self defense after she pulled a gun on him.

'Initially the defendant stated that the victim pulled a gun on him, and while the defendant wrestled with the victim he shot her,' authorities said.

'When the defendant could not demonstrate the events, the defendant changed his statement to the fact that the victim pulled a gun on him and he was able to get the gun away from the victim and then shot her in the head as self-defense.'

Adams allegedly said he knew Sims was pregnant and that he might be the father.

'Mere days after he was acquitted of a separate crime, our homicide suspect did the unthinkable when he killed an innocent woman and her unborn child,' said Lee Bercaw, Tampa's interim police chief.

'I hope this arrest brings some closure to the victim's family, who is mourning the loss of two loved ones.

'We are working with the State Attorney's Office to ensure the suspect is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.'

Sims was killed three days after her boyfriend was acquitted of double murder

Sims' funeral was held on February 12 in Tampa

Trevon Albury was shot and killed by Adams in November 2020, while at a makeshift recording studio in Tampa. Adams insisted it was self defense

Adams went on trial in Tampa on January 23, charged with killing Trevon Albury and Daniel Thompson in November 2020.

The group was at a makeshift recording studio in the city, in a shed behind a friend's parents' house, when a dispute erupted.

Adams said that he heard Albury and Thompson planning to rob the studio owner, Joseph Meeks.

He told the court he saw Albury pull a gun and put it to Meeks' head, while Meeks was sat at his computer in the studio.

Adams said he shot Albury dead, and then show Thompson, when he dived for Adams' gun.

Assistant State Attorney Melissa Grajales told the court the evidence at the scene did not support Adams' account of where he stood and what he did when he fired the fatal gunshots.

'This wasn't self-defense,' Grajales said. 'These were executions.'

The jury believed Adams' account, though, and at the end of a week-long trial acquitted him after four hours of deliberations.
A mosque that has been visited by William, Harry and Meghan should have had its counter-extremism funding reviewed after it was linked to jihadists, according to the report into Prevent.

The report highlighted how Al-Manaar Muslim Cultural Heritage Centre in West London was attended by terror suspects, including members of the ISIS execution gang dubbed the Beatles.

The centre, which has received at least 100,000 in Prevent funding, was visited frequently by the Duchess of Sussex in 2018. Several times she went to a community kitchen there as its staff were at the forefront of helping victims of the Grenfell fire. The Duchess also championed a cookbook that raised funds for the centres Hubb Community Kitchen.

The Al-Manaar Muslim Cultural Heritage Centre in West London, which has received at least 100,000 in Prevent funding, was visited frequently by the Duchess of Sussex in 2018

In November 2018 an investigation by the Henry Jackson Society, the anti-extremism think tank, linked the mosque to 19 jihadists.

Now William Shawcross, a former boss of the Charity Commission and the author of a long-awaited review into Prevent, has raised his own concerns about Al-Manaar and said he is disappointed its funding from the counter-terrorism programme was not reconsidered.

Although Al-Manaar is not named in the report, it can be identified via footnotes, which include an invitation to an event it hosted.

While the institution has stated it rejects and condemnsterrorism, with such coverage raisedI am disappointed the severity of these concerns was not sufficient for the [organisation] to have its Prevent funding re-considered, he added.

In a statement issued in 2018, Al-Manaar said it rejected and condemned extremism and terrorism.
Dozens of children have 'walked out' of school in protest at the installation of locked metal barriers outside toilet to encourage students to go at 'regular set times'.

The barriers, which are allegedly locked during lessons, have appeared at The Discovery Academy, in Bentilee, Staffordshire, this week.

The gates are then said to be unlocked at break and lunch times.

Angry parents are now planning to stage a protest outside the school on Monday morning.

One mother says she saw more than 70 pupils leave the school on Thursday - including her son after she pulled him out of lessons.

Dozens of children have walked out of school following the implementing of the 'humiliating' toilet barriers at The Discovery Academy, in Bentilee, Staffordshire

The 30-year-old said: 'I was flicking through Snapchat when I saw one of the gates. I asked my son, ''Are there gates on the toilets?'' He said ''yes''. I phoned the office and asked them about it.

'I said ''send my son home now''. They asked me why and I told them ''because I said so, that's why''.

The concerned mother added how her son had been denied at his request to use the toilet, despite having a medical pass.

She added: 'The parents are taking a stand against the school. I just hope that they see things from our point of view and cut the ridiculous rules.

'The kids are going to rebel even more, the behaviour is going to be worse. If you teach children respect then they give you respect back. Treating them like animals is going to make them bad.'

Parents believe that the barriers have been installed after recent vandalism and concerns that children are going on their phones in the toilets during lessons.

However, there are also concerns that the move is 'humiliating' for girls.

Another mother said: 'Girls of a certain age need to use the toilet - sometimes at short notice. It's hard enough being a girl at that age never mind bleeding through in front of your whole class. I'm not having my daughter humiliated.

Parents were said to have been furious at the installation of the barriers and have decided to protest on Monday

'With periods young girls don't know when they are coming. You try to prepare as much as possible but there are still incidents. You can't prepare for an upset stomach, I think it's disgusting.'

Medical passes are claimed to be available for pupils to use the toilet at any time.

It comes as tensions are already running high at the school after parents were offended by comments regarding make-up made in an assembly earlier this week.

One parent said: 'A bit of make-up is not affecting their chances.

'Covering a spot on your cheek at that age is important to them because they've got low self-esteem, but it doesn't mean they won't go anywhere in life.'

Alpha Academies Trust (AAT) runs The Discovery Academy. It has not commented on when the barriers are opened and locked and who qualifies for a medical pass.

An AAT spokesperson said: 'At AAT we have high expectations of learning and clear processes in place to support. We have high standards of uniform ready for the world ahead and have processes in place for those who truant.

'We encourage students to go to the toilet at regular set times during the day and support those with medical needs by accessing toilets at any time.

'Parental engagement is extremely important to us and we value opportunities to listen to concerns and explain the reasons for our decisions.'
Greg Hands said he recognises that a big proportion of British public support it

It was an eye-catching start for new Tory Party chairman Greg Hands, appointed to build a team capable of overhauling Sir Keir Starmers daunting opinion-poll lead in the space of 18 months.

Lee Anderson, the comically outspoken Ashfield MP appointed Mr Handss deputy, crashed to the top of the news agenda by calling for the return of the death penalty and picking a fight with a local radio host who questioned his honesty.

He is a great asset to the party, insists Mr Hands of the former miner who has become the most high-profile of the Red Wall MPs whose seats in the North and Midlands will be pivotal to the Tories chances at next years Election.

But does he agree with Mr Andersons view that executions have a 100 per cent success rate in stopping reoffending?

I am not in favour of it [the death penalty] but I also recognise that a big part of the British population believe in the death penalty, it is not a fringe view and we are a broad church in the Conservative Party. I think Lee Anderson and I represent part of our broad church, says Mr Hands, a multi-lingual Remain supporter with a German wife who will have to work in tandem with arch-Brexiteer Mr Anderson.

It was an eye-catching start for new Tory Party chairman Greg Hands (pictured), appointed to build a team capable of overhauling Sir Keir Starmer s daunting opinion-poll lead in the space of 18 months

Lee Anderson (pictured), the comically outspoken Ashfield MP appointed Mr Handss deputy, crashed to the top of the news agenda by calling for the return of the death penalty

Problematically for Mr Hands, that same church will also have to accommodate the gravitational force which is Boris Johnson.

Boris is a great asset, says Mr Hands, a former Chief Secretary to the Treasury whose Fulham seat is vulnerable to Labours surge in the capital. Boris is somebody Id like to deploy for the party. I worked really well with him as Mayor of London. He is an amazing campaigner... he can get involved at a local and at a wider level.

Mr Hands  who tells a Channel 4 documentary this week that he believes a Russian spy tried to recruit him at a Tory event in 2004  was appointed after Nadhim Zahawi was sacked in a tax furore.

Labours win in the West Lancashire by-election on Thursday shows the scale of Mr Hands task, as they drubbed the Tories with a ten per cent swing.

Tories are braced for fresh losses at council elections in May, with modelling showing they could lose more than 200 MPs at the Election.

Asked why there has not been an electoral bounce from Mr Sunaks premiership, Mr Hands says: Weve come off the bottom but theres clearly a lot of work to be done.

He has an embryonic strategy to stop Labours march to power  a combination of highlighting the presence of hard-Left Corbynistas with the hope that voters will trust Mr Sunak on the economy more than Sir Keir Starmer, plus a determination not to dwell on Tory infighting.

Liz Truss has re-entered the fray with a defence of tax-cutting plans which led to her being turfed out of No 10. Was her intervention helpful? We represent a broad coalition across the party and Liz is very much within that, says Mr Hands.
It is being described disparagingly by disgruntled Tory MPs as 'Chamberlain's Cabinet'  the informal social grouping of Rishi Sunak, William Hague and George Osborne, which Mr Sunak's backbench critics blame for encouraging the PM to 'sleepwalk to disaster' at the next Election.

Lord Hague, who led the party during the electoral wilderness of the late 1990s, has infuriated supporters of Liz Truss and Boris Johnson by saying the two former PMs should take responsibility for sowing 'chaos'.

Writing in The Times, he accused them of looking for scapegoats after 'completely screwing things up', and condemned them for 'false narratives of conspiracies and misrepresenting failure as victimhood'.

Lord Hague concluded: 'If you became Prime Minister, with a majority behind you and a decent term in front of you, but were overthrown amid chaos, there is indeed someone to blame. It's you.'

Lord Hague (left), who led the party during the electoral wilderness of the late 1990s, has infuriated supporters of Liz Truss and Boris Johnson by saying the two former PMs should take responsibility for sowing 'chaos'

The retaliation from backbenchers was swift and brutal. Some used the visit of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky to cast Lord Hague as an 'appeaser' in the mould of Neville Chamberlain for 'failing to stand up' to Russia's annexation of the Crimea in 2014, when he was still Foreign Secretary.

Chamberlain signed the Munich agreement in September 1938, ceding the German-speaking Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia to Nazi Germany a year before Hitler invaded Poland. He was succeeded by Winston Churchill in May 1940.

One hawkish Tory said: 'Hague, like Chamberlain, decided that Ukraine was a faraway country of which we knew little and that our interests were not engaged.

'So he allowed France and Germany to set up the so-called Normandy process by which Russia and Ukraine were treated as if they were somehow jointly responsible for the war.'

The MP added: 'Hague failed to attend the key meeting at Normandy that set up the whole useless cycle of negotiations.

'As a direct result of his laziness and apathy, the UK had no say in the talks and was basically frozen out.'

Ms Truss and Mr Johnson have both advocated a tough line on Russian aggression, with Mr Johnson calling for the UK to send jets and tanks to help with the Ukrainian war effort.

Fingers are also being pointed at former Chancellor Mr Osborne, a regular lunch partner of Lord Hague's.

Some used the visit of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky to cast Lord Hague as an 'appeaser' in the mould of Neville Chamberlain for 'failing to stand up' to Russia's annexation of the Crimea in 2014, when he was still Foreign Secretary

Mr Osborne is also understood to be in regular contact with current Chancellor Jeremy Hunt.

One senior source said: 'Rishi, Hague and Osborne are best buddies and all in favour of the suffocating high-tax policies and pusillanimous foreign policy which are seeing us sleepwalking to disaster at the election. Boris is Winston in the shadows. History always repeats itself.'

For his part, Mr Osborne told The Mail on Sunday that claims he was acting as an informal adviser to Mr Hunt and was a regular visitor to No 10 were 'hugely exaggerated'.

Mr Osborne's friends say he is very content with his post-political life. Last year he was one of four partners sharing a 26.5 million bonus at the investment bank Robey Warshaw. In December he celebrated the birth of his second child with fiancee Thea Rogers.

A source close to Lord Hague dismissed the Chamberlain jibe last night, saying: 'This is nonsense when you look at the facts.

'William Hague led the demands for EU sanctions on Russia in 2014. He warned European foreign ministers they would have to wean themselves off Russian gas, having rebuffed Russian offers to sell more gas to the UK when other countries were signing up for it.

'He went quickly to Kyiv when the crisis of 2014 began and co-ordinated policy closely with the Ukrainian government of the time, who were highly appreciative of British support. He was also part of kicking Russia out of the G8.

'Germany and France did not want Britain in the Normandy talks because we took a tougher line with Russia.'
The photographer who captured King Charles' and Camilla's wedding is now to take snaps at His Majesty's coronation nearly 20 years on, it has been reported.

Hugo Burnand is to be the official snapper at Westminster Abbey in May as the King and Queen Camilla are finally crowned, according to The Times.

The 59-year-old is known for his majestic shots of William and Kate at their wedding in 2011 and Charles and Camilla's six years before.

His portfolio also includes photographs of Lady Margaret Thatcher and Sir Denis in addition to Michael Jackson and even Jeremy Clarkson.

It is reported that pictures of the upcoming royal event will have both traditional and modern aspects echoing Buckingham Palace's intentions for the day.

Hugo Burnand is to be the official snapper at King Charles' coronation. Pictured: Camila and Charles celebrating their 15th wedding anniversary, photographed by Hugo

A spokesman said in October: 'The Service will be conducted by and will reflect the Monarchs role today and look towards the future, while being rooted in longstanding traditions and pageantry.'

While photographing previous celebrations, Hugo was reportedly helped by his stepmother who is also a successful photographer.

She raised Hugo after his mother died in car accident, and taught him how to turn their kitchen into a darkroom during his younger days.

Preparing for William and Kate's big day was said to have taken more than three weeks, with Hugo bribing young bridesmaids with jelly beans amid numerous rehearsals.

He told the newspaper: 'We had spares for everything and then spares for the spares. We did dress rehearsals with stopwatches using endless staff from Buckingham Palace to fill in as family members, so we knew we had just enough time.'

King Charles' coronation will take place on a bank holiday weekend, allowing Britons to celebrate on Monday, May 8 as well.

The occasion is expected to be a smaller affair than the late Queen's ceremony.

The spokesman in October added: 'The coronation is a solemn religious service, together with an occasion for celebration and pageantry.

The 59-year-old is known for his previous iconic pictures taken of William and Kate at their wedding in 2011 and Charles and Camilla's six years before

Pictured: The wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton in 2011 taken by Hugo

It is reported that pictures of the upcoming event will have both traditional and modern aspects echoing Buckingham Palace's intentions for the day

'The ceremony has retained a similar structure for over a thousand years, and this year's coronation is expected to include the same core elements while recognising the spirit of our times.

'For the last 900 years, the ceremony has taken place at Westminster Abbey, London. Since 1066, the service has almost always been conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury.'
The Tory Party is considering a complaint to Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle after MPs said they had been approached with a 400,000-plus bribe to join Nigel Farages Reform UK party.

Sources said a number of Conservative MPs have reported to senior party staff that they have been offered significant financial incentives to defect.

They say the offers were based on an agreement that if they joined Reform UK  founded with support from Mr Farage in 2018 as the Brexit Party  they would be guaranteed to receive several years of their MPs salary if they lost their seat after defecting.

From this April, MPs pay will rise to 86,584, or well over 400,000 for a full Parliament. Reform UK, of which Mr Farage is Honorary President, dismissed the incentives claim last night and accused the Tories of peddling desperate nonsense.

But senior Tory figures  who fear Reform will split the Right-wing vote in pivotal Red Wall seats of the North and Midlands  are taking legal advice over whether the Bribery Act might have been breached by an offer of money.

Offers were based on an agreement that if they joined Reform UK  founded with support from Nigel Farage (pictured) in 2018 as the Brexit Party  they would be guaranteed to receive several years of their MPs salary if they lost their seat after defecting

A source told The Mail on Sunday: We have been told that people representing Reform have offered MPs financial deals worth hundreds of thousands of pounds to defect to the party. This offer is that if they should do so and lose their seat at the next General Election, then Reform would pay them between three and five years worth of their MPs salary.

It is understood that if a formal complaint is made to the Speaker, he would refer it to election watchdog the Electoral Commission.

The bribe claims come after Reform leader Richard Tice ruled out a pact with the Conservatives at the next General Election and threatened to field a candidate against every Tory MP.

With Rishi Sunaks party trailing Labour badly in the polls, the threat has sparked fears of a True Blue wipeout at the Election, which is expected in 2024. Mr Farages Brexit Party  which became Reform UK in 2021  helped Boris Johnson to his 2019 Election landslide by not standing in Tory-held constituencies.

But last month, in a scathing verdict on the Tories record in power, Mr Tice branded them high-tax Consocialists and claimed: The Tories have broken Britain, they have wrecked our country.

He railed against the UKs record tax burden and the number of people on benefits as he demanded that the Government make work pay and called for Ministers to make better use of the nations energy treasure.

Mr Tice also claimed immigration was completely out of control, adding: Surely one of the most important things a government can do is maintain secure borders  to know whos coming in and going out.

Last night, a Reform UK spokesman dismissed the Conservative claims of wooing potential defectors with financial incentives.

He said: This just shows how worried the Tories are about the impact of Reform when they are resorting to this desperate nonsense.

They can be assured that the increasing number of members, councillors and voters deserting the Tory Party to join Reform are doing it primarily because of the Tories woeful lack of courage and leadership.
Japanese troops near Namdaemun in 1904 / Robert Neff Collection



By Robert Neff



The traveler, dressed in Korean clothing, tried desperately to hide his nervousness, but with each passing minute, it became more and more obvious that the Russian patrol and their Korean interpreters were suspicious of him. First, they questioned him rapidly in Korean as to his identity and his business in this part of the country. Then they began to examine his baggage noting the amount of Japanese silver he had with him. When he was asked to take off his hat and the Russian officer began to examine his hair, he began to sweat profusely. Excitement and suspicions were in the air. The Korean traveler was visibly shaken when the officer commanded him to take off his footwear so that his feet could be examined. The examination lasted only a few minutes before the Russian officer declared the traveler a Japanese spy and summarily executed him with a bullet.



The above could have taken place anywhere in northeastern Korea in 1904-05. Spies were an important part in the Russo-Japanese War: they reported the strengths and weaknesses of the enemy, spread rumors and sedition amongst the Korean population and in some cases sabotaged or attacked important but poorly defended sites such as telegraph offices.





Russians on the Korean border prior to the start of the 1904-05 Russo-Japanese War / Robert Neff Collection

For the Russians, spying in Korea was not easy. They were at a great disadvantage mainly because of their appearance and inability to blend in with the general population. It was next to impossible to mistake a tall, bearded Russian with red hair for a Korean, but the Japanese had few problems and blended in more easily with the Korean population.



Like the French nearly 100 years earlier, the Japanese spies at first wore the white sack-cloth clothing of the traditional Korean mourner. The Russian authorities soon became wise to this and began scrutinizing people in white mourning cloth more closely so the Japanese switched to the newer black hats and clothing. According to some missionaries in the Pyongyang area, the Koreans were more than aware the men were Japanese but did not inform the Russians because they preferred the Japanese to the Russians  at least in that region.



Unfortunately for the Russians, some of their Korean interpreters were actually working for the Japanese, sowing dissent and spreading rumors amongst the Korean population for the same reason. One Korean spy was even transported by a Japanese warship to a coastal area behind the front lines so that he could report on Russian troop strength.



Thomas Cowen, an English newspaperman, described one Japanese spy as dressing up like "a Buddhist priest, collecting subscriptions for the repair of a shrine that never existed." What he was actually collecting was information on Russian troop movement in the northern part of the peninsula.



He also described a Japanese spy disguised as an itinerant peddler who wandered the countryside "selling cheap penknives and tiny mirrors, brass pipe-bowls and rubbishy cigarettes. Between sales, he made careful entries in his notebook; presumably, he was adding up his accounts. If he did not quite speak the (Pyongyang) dialect of Korean, it was because he came from (Jeolla) province; or if a (Jeolla-do) man found fault with his accent, it was because he had been so much in (Hamgyeong) province. Why tell the truth when lies pass so easily?"





A Japanese encampment outside of Seoul in early 1904 / Robert Neff Collection



Speaking of lying, Cowen  whose sentiments were decidedly with the Japanese  never missed an opportunity to denigrate his Korean hosts. He claimed the Russian-hired Koreans often failed in their missions due to their own innate ineptitude and came to much grief for their efforts.



"A Korean is a willing liar, but unskilled, and easily found out," Cowen claimed, offering as proof that when Korean spies from the northern provinces were asked for news of the war, they replied they had no idea as they had never been to the northern part of the peninsula. They answered in the Hamgyeong dialect: "To lie with diffidence is worse than to tell the truth."





Battle between junks on the Yalu River during the Russo-Japanese War / Robert Neff Collection

Cowen also provided this somewhat amusing anecdote. It should of course be taken with a grain of salt but it is entirely possible:



"There was one Korean with a bullock-load of charcoal, which he seemed to be trying to sell, but he never could get a purchaser to pay his price. As he wandered from village to village there was a blind Korean beggar who was keeping an eye on him, being not quite so blind as the charcoal hawker. And, by a strange chance, the blind beggar wandered from village to village just wherever the bullock and his owner went. The reason was that the man with the animal had been sent out by the Russians from Wiju (a Korean city near the Chinese border on the Yalu River) to see all he could about the Japanese, and the beggar was a Japanese, who had been in Wiju and tracked the other from the start. At length, they came to Seoul, and quite accidentally, the blind beggar collided with a Japanese gendarme. Both apologized, and a word or two of Japanese came from the supposed Korean beggar; the people passing by in the street did not notice, but the gendarme at once wanted to buy charcoal. The last of that Russian spy was that he went into a barrack yard to sell his goods and look round."



It should be pointed out that many of the Russian spies were actually naturalized Russians  Koreans who had immigrated to Vladivostok and the Korean-Russian border area. They seem to have been especially effective in the northeastern provinces and in Seoul.





Execution of suspected Japanese spies by the Russian military during the Russo-Japanese War / Robert Neff Collection

While most of the Korean Peninsula was relatively safe for Japanese spies, the northeastern provinces  where many Koreans favored the Russians  were very dangerous. Bounties were offered for information leading to apprehension of them and their Korean supporters. Travelers  especially those who elicited suspicion  were subject to "spy examinations" by the Russian authorities. The traveler was questioned about his business and destination  the whole time his intonation and grammar were carefully checked to determine if he was a native speaker, and, if so, from which province.



Of course, the baggage was carefully checked and all scraps of paper were scrutinized to determine their purpose and noted along with the amount and type of money that he carried. Japanese money was used throughout the peninsula whereas Russian money was found mainly in the northeastern provinces and the open ports. In the Russian-controlled zones of the country, Russian soldiers often tried to pay for their goods with rubles but the Korean merchants refused to accept the currency  and, for good reason. If Japanese soldiers discovered the rubles they might mistake the innocent merchant for a Russian spy and execute him. This was one of the reasons why Russian soldiers resorted to plundering supplies  their money was no good in the Korean market.



Sometimes they not only plundered, they also made an example out of a magistrate to compel Korean businessmen to be more willing to cooperate.





Korean coolies (laborers) working for the Japanese army during the Russo-Japanese War. Some were recruited with high pay while others were forced with violence. Robert Neff Collection

According to the Korea Review in April 1904, a Korean prefect was killed by the Russians when he refused to supply them with provisions. A Korean official was sent to recover the body and found that the prefect had been decapitated, his limbs severed from his body and his torso "frightfully mutilated." Homer Hulbert, the editor, added, "We cannot assert that the Russians mutilated the body but there is no doubt that they killed the prefect."



Sometimes the traveler's hair was examined. If the hair was soft and fine, there was a good possibility that the person was actually Korean, but, if the hair was thick and coarse, the person was probably Japanese or a Japanese sympathizer. Japanese usually kept their hair short  in the style of the West  and many believed that hair grew thicker and coarser with each cut; a large majority of Koreans kept their hair in the traditional manner.



At the beginning of the war, when the Russians occupied the Wiju area, they disarmed the Korean army stationed there and encouraged their soldiers to leave as soon as possible as their short hair might cause them to be mistaken for Japanese spies. Those who did not leave fast enough were eventually accused of being spies  what happened to them is unclear.



The final and most crucial test was the feet. Koreans wore sandals that were held in place by a strap that ran over the top of the foot but Japanese sandals had a thick cord that ran between the big toe and the rest of the toes. If there was a wide space between the toes or calluses  the traveler probably wore Japanese sandals and hence was a Japanese spy.



When either side discovered a spy, he was often dealt with quickly and permanently. Generally, he was hanged or shot on the spot, but there were a few cases where the Japanese showed mercy and merely beat the suspected spy. This brutal mercy was generally an exception and not the rule.





A postcard of a fallen Japanese officer during the Russo-Japanese War / Robert Neff Collection
For decades, its fields, farms and towns were shaped by the ideals of King Charles  but now the Duchy of Cornwall is undergoing radical change as Prince William takes charge, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

Its new priorities are mental health  particularly that of Duchy tenants and staff  and battling climate change.

The Duchy will also no longer be driven by Charless architectural crusade, and its former opaque style will be replaced by greater transparency.

On Thursday, William and Kate made their first official visit to the county since becoming Duke and Duchess of Cornwall last year.

The Duchy will also no longer be driven by Charless architectural crusade, and its former opaque style will be replaced by greater transparency

The new order for the Duchy links it to the environmental Earthshot Prize and Heads Together mental health charity, both championed by the couple.

Sources say William recognises his fathers passion for forward-thinking, sustainable, innovative communities.

But he wants to focus on energy-efficient housing projects rather than traditionally-designed ones.

The first meeting of the ruling body of the Duchy, the Princes Council, since William became Duke of Cornwall took place at the end of last year, with the King also present.

There was also a reception at St Jamess Palace, which a source described as a handing over of the baton, adding: It was almost a celebration of everything the King has done for the Duchy.

'But William is looking at how we raise that bar  encourage tenants to think differently and raise their game on sustainability, drive improvement around the land thats managed and use Earthshot ideas to achieve all this. The Prince wants to move the needle on climate change.

The new order for the Duchy links it to the environmental Earthshot Prize and Heads Together mental health charity, both championed by the couple. Pictured: Sir David Attenborough speaks on stage, during the first Earthshot Prize awards ceremony at Alexandra Palace in London last year

The source said William wants officials to play a key role in mental health, adding: How can they promote good mental health across the Duchy, for tenants, employees and the communities that are cared for.

Earthshot gives five 1 million annual prizes for breakthrough solutions to protect nature, clean the air, revive oceans, fight climate change and build a waste-free world.

In 2021, the 130,000-acre estate made 23 million for Charless public, private and charitable work as Duke of Cornwall.

It has 21 tenant farms across the country, with half its land on Dartmoor. One farmer said Williams plans would be generally welcomed.
A 12-year-old entrepreneur has returned to his streetside stall after a desperate fight to stop his much-loved stall from being shut down.

Jesse Lane first won the hearts of locals and banked serious pocket money from selling cold drinks, insect repellent and sunscreen in a tent on the Bondi to Coogee walk, in Sydney's east, last year.

But the venture was shut down after two complaints from busybodies who said the youngster shouldn't be able to make profit on public land.

This followed the Randwick Council rejecting Jesse's trading application as he didn't have insurance.

Jesse has returned after a fight to stay last year.

When insurance was acquired months later, the application was again rejected.

But now, he'sback on the popular trail with the support of locals who say they admire his business sense.

'We've got first dibs on hiring Jesse when he's older (wish we could now),' one man said.

'Man's an absolute genius, knows his market to a tee, with square payments to take any card transfer so no one has an excuse.'

'This kid has a big future. Seen him everyday, twice a day during the school holidays. Coconut water was a winner. Keep up the hustle Jesse,' wrote another.

Despite the support, Jesse's venture was shut down in October after the complaints and council rejections came through.

The youngster set up his stall in Sydney's eastern suburbs.

The budding businessman sells drinks to passersby.

Faced with the forced closure of the pre-teen's business, eastern suburb locals threw their support around Jesse.

Deputy Liberal party leader Sussan Ley even chimed in with support, saying Jesse should be commended for 'having a go'.

'We won't have the small businesses and entrepreneurs of tomorrow if we don't back them today,' she said.

'This is a foolish decision @RandwickCouncil and it should be reversed.

'Local community (equals) happy, 12-year-old kid having a go ... what's the problem?'

More than 6000 locals signed a petition to stop the closure of Jesse's business.
It has long been a destination for fashionistas seeking out the luxury bags beloved by the Princess of Wales and A-list stars.

But now the gleaming Mulberry store on Bond Street is to close its doors for good  a victim of the tourist tax which means international visitors can no longer claim back 20 per cent VAT.

The moment it shuts its doors for the final time today marks an end to the renowned brands presence on the street, where it first opened up in 1995.

The latest setback for businesses that thrive on foreign shoppers comes after Chancellor Jeremy Hunt pressed ahead with the levy.

The incentive is still on offer in mainland Europe, with experts saying people are now flocking to France and Spain instead.

A Mulberry spokesman said last night: The lack of VAT-free shopping in the UK has been particularly felt on Bond Street, which has always been an iconic shopping destination for tourists. The decline in visitors has impacted footfall and sales.

The gleaming Mulberry store on Bond Street (pictured) is to close its doors for good

Mulberry has long been a destination for fashionistas seeking out the luxury bags beloved by the Princess of Wales and A-list stars

They added that high rents and business rates have also conspired to make the store commercially unviable resulting in us taking the difficult decision to close.

Tourists visiting Britain were allowed to reclaim VAT on purchases until January 2021, when the tax break was axed by then Chancellor Rishi Sunak.

Kwasi Kwarteng tried to reintroduce the incentive in his mini-Budget but Mr Hunt reversed the decision a month later.

The Treasury claims it will save 2 billion a year  a figure disputed by some economists who think it will actually hit the public purse.

In December, bosses at both Harrods and Selfridges backed calls for a review of the tax.

And last month the finance chief at rival Burberry, Julie Brown, said demand from foreign tourists in London had bounced back at a much slower rate than in Europe since the pandemic. The biggest increase in spending was by Middle Eastern visitors which was up 122 per cent in its European outlets, but only 14 per cent in the UK.

Michael Ward, chief executive of Harrods, said: There is very clear, factual evidence to show Paris has done disproportionately well as a consequence of this.

Paris, Rome and Berlin can't believe their luck! When Britain should be seizing the opportunities of Brexit, scrapping tax-free shopping for international tourists is a spectacular own goal, writes SIR ROCCO FORTE

What a spectacular own goal for UK plc! Just as we should be seizing the opportunities of Brexit to create a more dynamic economy attractive to foreign visitors and investors, the Treasury has decided to scrap tax-free shopping for international tourists.

It did this at the worst possible time, after the pandemic ripped the heart out of the British hospitality sector and the high street.

Liz Trusss short-lived government recognised the damage, and announced that it would stop slapping foreign shoppers with VAT on their purchases. At a difficult time for the economy, here was the Treasury helping beleaguered businesses weather the storm. Imagine my shock, therefore, when Jeremy Hunt announced a reversal of the move, claiming it would save the Government 2 billion a year.

Figures from Visit Britain show that shopping is one of the most popular reasons cited for visiting the UK. British business made 3.5 billion in tax-free sales to tourists every year. These visitors did not just spend in retail stores  their custom supported hotels like mine, restaurants and theatres.

It did this at the worst possible time, after the pandemic ripped the heart out of the British hospitality sector and the high street

Experts tell us this was worth at least 10 billion a year to the UKs wider economy.

But now we have suddenly started charging 20 per cent more than other countries do for the same goods, international visitors we should be doing everything we can to encourage to come here wont hesitate to go elsewhere.

Every single country remaining in the EU now offers tax-free shopping while we dont, putting our economy at a significant disadvantage.

Paris, Rome and Berlin cant believe their luck.

How depressing to learn that a great British brand like Mulberry is now closing the doors of one of its flagship stores as a result.

According to Oxford Economics, the reintroduction of tax-free shopping would attract more than 1.6 million extra visitors a year to the UK by 2025. We cant afford to turn them away.

However unfashionable tax cuts may be under this Government, the Chancellor must think again.
Murderers, bomb plotters and would-be suicide bombers are among 53 foreign terrorists whose deportation is being blocked by European human rights laws, a Mail on Sunday investigation today reveals.

In one extraordinary case, an Islamic State member from Bangladesh who was jailed for attempting to recruit new members in Birmingham has successfully blocked his deportation because he would lose access to free NHS healthcare.

Another terrorist, an Iranian who had ingredients for a bomb in his garage in Surrey, has managed to stay in Britain by claiming he suffers from depression.

Our shocking dossier, obtained from top-level security sources, will ignite the row over Britain's continuing membership of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

Wahbi Mohammed (pictured), who helped plan the failed July 21, 2005 bombings in London, an attempt to replicate the 7/7 bomb attacks which killed 52 two weeks earlier

Fahad Mihyi (pictured), who murdered one woman and wounded nine other victims using a sub-machine gun and hand grenades in an attack on a bus carrying Israeli El Al air crew in Central London in 1978

Shah Rahman (pictured), a Bangladeshi Al Qaeda terrorist jailed in 2012 for plotting to bomb the London Stock Exchange

The dangerous extremists have all been convicted of serious terror offences but most are living in the community at taxpayers' expense.

Among the terrorists whose deportations have been blocked under European human rights laws are:

Fahad Mihyi, who murdered one woman and wounded nine other victims using a sub-machine gun and hand grenades in an attack on a bus carrying Israeli El Al air crew in Central London in 1978. The Palestinian militant was jailed for life but released in 2005;

Shah Rahman, a Bangladeshi Al Qaeda terrorist jailed in 2012 for plotting to bomb the London Stock Exchange. A hand-written target list found at his home gave the names and addresses of then London Mayor Boris Johnson, two rabbis and the US ambassador;

Ahmed Alsyed, a Sudanese extremist who was jailed for four- and-a-half years in 2018 for preparing for acts of terrorism and had his 'heart set' on joining Islamic State. He was freed after just 19 months, despite objections from the Home Office;

Mourad Mosdefaoui, a recruiter who lured youngsters to Islamic State on social media, who was jailed for two years in 2015. His asylum claims have been refused but he cannot be deported, after arguing that being returned to Algeria may breach his human rights.

Wahbi Mohammed, who helped plan the failed July 21, 2005 bombings in London, an attempt to replicate the 7/7 bomb attacks which killed 52 two weeks earlier. The Somalian was jailed for 17 years, reduced to 13 on appeal. He cannot be deported after arguing that he may face inhumane treatment in his native country.

Ismail Abdurahman, a Somalian who also helped the 21/7 bombers. He was jailed for ten years in 2008, reduced to eight on appeal, for assisting an offender and four counts of having terrorist information. He has successfully argued that his human rights may be breached if he is returned to Somalia.

Mourad Mosdefaoui (pictured), a recruiter who lured youngsters to Islamic State on social media, who was jailed for two years in 2015

Aspiring Islamist killer Ahmedeltigani Alsyed (left) and his brother Yousif (right) during a paintballing session

Ambulances attend victims of Fahad Mihyi, who attacked a bus carrying El Al air crew, Grosvenor Square, 1978

Politicians and lawyers critical of the ECHR, developed after the Second World War to prevent atrocities such as the Holocaust, say it is no longer fit for purpose in an era of mass migration, litigation and lone-wolf terrorism.

The three sections most commonly used by terrorists facing deportation are Article 3, which prohibits torture and inhumane treatment; Article 5, the right to liberty and security; and Article 8, the right to private and family life.

The new UK Bill of Rights going through Parliament may allow judges to ignore parts of the ECHR when dealing with terrorist deportations.

Security analyst Dr Rakib Ehsan conducted a study for the Henry Jackson Society think-tank, which concluded that failing to deport foreign terrorists 'poses a fundamental threat to British national security'.

After seeing The Mail on Sunday's shocking dossier, he said: 'This shows that our current laws are simply not fit for purpose.

'Article 3 was a response to the horrors of Nazism. It is appalling that it is now being exploited by foreign terrorists to remain in Britain  including those who have been linked to terror groups such as IS and Al Qaeda.

'Having a country of origin with substandard healthcare and mental health services compared with the NHS should not be used by foreign terrorists to block deportation.'

Sir Bill Cash, a leading Eurosceptic MP and constitutional lawyer, said: 'The Mail on Sunday's investigation powerfully highlights the unacceptable way in which human rights law is routinely exploited by those who couldn't care less about human rights.

'Allowing foreign terrorists to remain in the UK is a monstrous attack on the human rights of the rest of the population.

'There is no excuse for these people to be here. The number is excessive and so are the dangers.

'It doesn't matter where they come from, they deserve no protection under the ECHR.

'The law must be amended so it's crystal clear that those who engage in terrorism have relinquished their right to use human rights excuses to stay here.

'I believe the Prime Minister is getting the message. This must be one of the Government's highest political priorities.'
Apple came under pressure last night from children's charities and police over a new 'privacy' feature that has been dubbed a charter for paedophiles and terrorists.

Its 'private relay' feature creates problems for police and security services since it makes most web traffic on iPhones or iPads that are using the service totally secret.

Even if officials obtain a court order to access internet traffic, there would be no information available to see. This makes tracking and then prosecuting criminals much more difficult.

Private relay uses double encryption so that no company  whether the internet service provider (ISP) such as BT, the content provider or Apple  can link a site to a user.

Apple offers the feature to stop the likes of social-media sites tracking user's activities online, which they can use to build up profiles and sell them personalised ads.

Apple came under pressure from charities and police over a new 'privacy' feature that has been dubbed a charter for paedophiles and terrorists

But police bodies, the NSPCC and ISPs all have serious concerns.

Anna Edmundson, head of policy at the NSPCC, said: 'Online child sex offences are at record levels with more than 100 crimes a day recorded by police in England and Wales last year. Rolling out features like private relay entrenches the misconception that there needs to be a trade-off between privacy and disrupting child abuse.

'The Online Safety Bill is an opportunity to incentivise investment in solutions that both protect privacy and keep children safe.'

The Bill, which will give telecoms regulator Ofcom new powers to monitor the internet, is going through Parliament.

A spokesman for the National Police Chiefs' Council said: 'End- to-end encryption makes investigating online crimes significantly harder. While we continue to prosecute those who abuse and exploit children online, we repeat our call for more to be done by technology companies in this space.'

It is understood Ministers are concerned about private relay, as they have been about Facebook-owner Meta using encryption.

Apple said private relay is one of many ways it protects users' privacy. It also said it works with police and charities to address concerns. Half of smartphones in the UK are iPhones, but private relay is not used by all of those, as it requires a subscription.
Two Albanian brothers who organised a protest in which their nations flag was draped over Winston Churchills statue lied to get into the UK, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

In November, Taulant and Enkeleid Omi led a demonstration in Westminster in which 1,500 of their countrymen proclaimed they were not criminals  after Home Secretary Suella Braverman said that Britain faced an invasion of illegal migrants.

Now it has emerged that the brothers  who this newspaper has previously revealed were convicted people smugglers  made a false asylum claim to enter the UK.

The Home Office discovered they used false identities to claim they were fleeing the 1998 war in Kosovo, rather than coming from peaceful Albania.

In November, Taulant and Enkeleid Omi led a demonstration in Westminster in which 1,500 of their countrymen proclaimed they were not criminals

In a letter sent to Taulant last month, the Home Offices fraud team said that revoking his citizenship had been considered, but rejected it as it does not fall within our policy.

It said: The Secretary of State was considering depriving you of your British citizenship on the grounds that it had been obtained as a result of fraud.

The letter went on to offer Taulant an amnesty to correct his record using his real name.

But in response, he mocked the Government, boasting on social media that he has received free tickets to the UK and the Home Office has done me a favour.

The Albanian nationalist, 46, also appeared on the Euronews TV channel to boast about being cleared  and even offered help to other Albanians who also entered Britain illegally.

He said: The Home Office in that letter is telling me yes, you made an application with fake details. Whoever has done this did me a huge favour, saving me huge amounts of money to correct the details. In the end I am so happy about all of this. No sanctions at all for me.

It is understood that the Home Office was hamstrung and unable to remove the brothers citizenship on a technicality. Taulants first application for asylum was refused but he won an appeal in 2006 and later acquired British citizenship.

In May 2013, the brothers and another accomplice were caught by Border Force officers attempting to smuggle someone into the UK illegally.

They were found guilty at Canterbury Crown Court in September 2015 and were both given 12-month prison sentences, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to carry out 200 hours of community service.

Taulant declined to comment last night. A Home Office spokesman said: Our utmost priority is the safety and security of the UK. All cases are assessed individually and deprivation of citizenship is used proportionately.
Because of our mighty past, and because of our victory over global evil in 1945, most British people tend to assume that this country has always been and remains a major military power in the world.

But there are worrying signs that this confidence is misplaced. Of course there are still many fine military units, notably our Special Forces. And there is some outwardly impressive new equipment, such as the Navys two new aircraft carriers and the ultra-modern F-35 jets, which fly from them.

But since the end of the Cold War, now 30 years ago, governments of both major parties have taken the opportunity of the so-called Peace Dividend.

They have felt free to switch spending away from the Armed Forces to education, welfare and health. They have also continued to devote very large parts of the defence budget to maintaining our increasingly costly nuclear deterrent.

Bit by bit, this policy has eaten away our conventional strength. At the end of the Cold War, there was a pledge to maintain about 50 surface ships, such as destroyers and frigates, in the Navy. That number is now closer to 20. The Army has undergone an even steeper decline, from around 150,000 soldiers in 1990 to 80,000 now.

Since the end of the Cold War, now 30 years ago, governments of both major parties have taken the opportunity of the so-called Peace Dividend Pictured: Defence Secretary Ben Wallace attends a press conference following a roundtable between Italy-UK Foreign Affairs and Defence ministers in Rome on February 9

At the end of the Cold War, there was a pledge to maintain about 50 surface ships, such as destroyers and frigates, in the Navy. That number is now closer to 20. Pictured: Flight deck crew on the deck of HMS Queen Elizabeth

There has also been recent disquiet about growing political correctness in recruiting and discipline. A few days ago it emerged that an American general had told Defence Secretary Ben Wallace that the British Army is no longer seen as a top-level fighting force. And what of the equipment? Our surface ships are plagued with faults, and the mighty new HMS Prince of Wales is becoming a laughing stock, after two serious leaks and a propeller shaft failure.

It is claimed that she has spent more time in dock than at sea since coming into service. Now, as The Mail on Sunday reports today, it is asserted in Germany that Nato does not think we are equipped for a spearhead role, which our army is due to take up shortly. There are many reasons for this, the most creditable being our generous supply of ammunition and equipment to Ukraine, and our role in training Ukrainian troops. But whatever the cause, this is a serious warning. The US and Germany are the other key members of the Nato alliance, and if they think our defences are too weak, then we need to worry.

It is, of course, right for us to help a nation under attack and in need, but we ought to be able to do so without stripping our own defences to the bone and beyond. The key thing about defence is that it cannot be built up quickly, just as you cannot fatten a pig on market day.

The training of soldiers, sailors and aircrew, especially in this era of complex technology, can take years. The establishment of a tough, experienced core of non-commissioned officers, the spine of any fighting service, not only takes a long time but must be maintained, against wastage and retirement, by a constant recruitment of new talent. The same is even more true of equipment.

Designing, building and trying out ships, guns, vehicles and aircraft is an unceasing and costly task. If we wish to regain our place as a respected front-rank military power, brave speeches about Ukraine will not do the trick. The money must be found, and it must be spent wisely and carefully. We have had enough warnings. Now is the time to respond to them.

It is no good waiting until we are on the brink of war to recognise that our security and future depend, as they have always done, on being prepared.
A bank manger who was made to rob the branch she was managing after kidnappers strapped dynamite to her and her daughter has revealed how she ultimately helped police solve the case, despite the suspect trying to accuse her of planning the heist.

Michelle Renee, from San Diego, was forced to steal $360,000 from her Bank of America branch in Vista in November 2000.

Three robbers had been casing the branch in the months prior to the robbery and knew where Renee, her seven-year-old daughter Breea and a roommate lived.

Michelle, Breea and the roommate were held hostage for 14 hours and bound with duct tape after the masked intruders stormed into their home, before strapping sticks of dynamite on them all.

'Are you gonna kill my mommy? Are you gonna kill me?' Breea, the little girl, asked the kidnappers.

Michelle Renee, a bank manager, was held hostage with her 7-year-old daughter Breea and forced to rob the bank where she worked in Vista, California in November 2000

Renee's seven-year-old daughter Breea is seen with the fake stick of dynamite strapped to her

Investigators recreated the fake dynamite sticks and strapped them to the victim's backs

'No, not if your mommy does everything that we tell her to do,' one of the men replied.

They warned Renee that they would detonate the explosives if she didn't comply and take the money from the bank's vault for them.

Renee told CBS's 48 Hours that the kidnappers managed to exert a psychological control over her, saying 'we know everything about you.'

They explained clearly to her why they had chosen her and how they had followed Renee for months.

'You're gonna rob the bank for us, or you will die, your daughter will go first,' they threatened.

They told Renee said that if she made one false move, they would be able to detonate the dynamite within a 10-mile radius.

Once the bank opened at 9am, Renee went in as usual as if going to work and then walked out with a duffel bag filled with the cash.

During his police interview, Chris Butler denied having any part in the bank robbery

During the hostage situation, Renee recognized the ringleader's eyes. He had been at the bank hours before the break-in, posing as a customer and had even left his real business card

Christopher Huggins, left, was another who took part in the heist. Investigators recovered $93,000, part of his share of the stolen cash. Robert Ortiz, right, was the masked man who had held a gun to Breea's head. He was arrested in February 2001 in Wisconsin

The gunmen bound Renee and Breea with duct tape.

Renee walked out of the bank with $360,000 and handed it to the ringleader, who was waiting in her Jeep

On the night of November 21, 2000, Renee and Breea were at home on the couch when three masked gunmen wearing all black broke into the house through the back door. They pointed guns at Renee and the 7-year-old's heads and forced them down to the floor

Following the robbery, Renee raced home to find her daughter hiding in a closet.

'I didn't know if Breea's gonna be there,' Renee says she recalled thinking. 'I don't know if she's gonna be alive when I get there.'

The police bomb squad determined that the explosive device that was still strapped to Breea's back was a fake and was made up from just two wooden broomstick handles cut up, painted and taped together to look like dynamite.

Renee then set about helping the police. She told investigators how she recognized one of the kidnappers' eyes after he posed as a customer while earlier casing the bank.

'My brain was going, "Oh my gosh, don't let him know that you know,"' Renee said.

In what became a schoolboy error Butler had left his real business card at the bank containing his name and phone number. It ultimately became a key piece of evidence in the case.

The men strapped what they said was dynamite on Renee, her daughter and their roommate

Michelle Renee drove her Jeep to the bank with the ringleader crouched in her back seat. He held a gun to her side while she drove and told her, 'Do everything you would normally do.'

This is the caseload of money Renee walked out of the bank with and handed to the robbers

The bomb squad determined the dynamite used to threaten was fake. It appeared to be nothing more than broomsticks painted red and strapped with wires and tape

Investigators got Renee to return to the house and walk through the events of the night of the break-in and bank robbery the following morning, although she never returned to live there

One of the robbers, Lisa Ramirez, is pictured during an interview with investigators

The suspect, Christopher Butler, had a history of bank robberies and was placed under surveillance.

Ten days later, he was arrested during a traffic stop along with his fiancee Lisa Ramirez, who police believed also had helped to plan the robbery with him.

Investigators found physical evidence tying them to the crime which included a BB gun, ski masks with cutout eye holes, Renee's credit cards, and money straps from the cash taken from the bank.

At Butler's home, investigators also found 'all the ingredients to make the fake bomb' together with the colored paint used for the fake dynamite sticks.

Christopher Butler and Lisa Ramirez were arrested during a traffic stop in December 2000. In the glove compartment police found evidence including Renee's credit cards, money straps from the bank, and BB gun that looked like one used during the robbery

Twenty years later, in 2020, Butler finally recanted his testimony and admitted at a parole hearing that Renee, pictured, had absolutely no involvement in the kidnapping

Michelle Renee is pictured alongside her daughter in 2000, Breea

During his trial, Butler and Ramirez claimed that Renee was in on the heist and subsequent kidnapping.

Butler even claimed Renee had masterminded the entire robbery and he claimed that the two of them had previously had an affair - all complete lies.

It led to defense lawyers relentlessly attacking her credibility on the witness stand.

'They were trying to paint me as somebody that was irresponsible, Renee told CBS News. 'A selfish, terrible mother... that... would do anything for money,' she explained.

Twenty years later, in 2020, Butler finally recanted his testimony during a parole hearing and admitted that Renee had absolutely no involvement in the kidnapping.

'There was never, ever a chance...that I would...have been involved in anything like this,' Renee said. 'In a weird...way, I could breathe...I could exhale, finally, after all these years.'

For Renee, a cloud of suspicion that had hung over her for decades, was finally lifted.
A 'lovable larrikin' racing driver has died in a horror speedway crash just hours after winning a race at a popular track event in Victoria.

Stephen Douglas, 48, was killed while competing at the annual Chivers Memorial Race at Daylesford's Speedway, in the state's northwest, about 7.30pm on Saturday

The beloved grandfather suffered critical injuries and was rushed to hospital, where he later died.

Stephen Douglas, 48, has died after crashing his car during a race at Daylesford Speedway, in Victoria's northwest

Mr Douglas' car reportedly slammed into a fence and rolled before being hit while upside by two other drivers as hundreds of shocked spectators watched on, the Herald Sun reports.

A photo taken just hours earlier show a smiling Mr Douglas hanging out of the driver's side window holding an award after winning a heat at the race.

Mr Douglas, who worked in the agriculture industry, was an experienced driver, having raced competitively for around 10 years and also volunteered at Nyora Raceway.

He was also a member at Drouin Speedway and a Country Fire Authority volunteer for his local community of Poowong, located 116km southeast of Melbourne.

Friend Dean Thompson said Mr Douglas, who was known as Dougo to loved ones, was a 'lovely larrikin' and the 'quintessential Australian bloke'.

'A bonds singlet, a beer, a laugh and that Mo that made him look like the Solo man, from that ad,' he said.

'Lovely larrikin who would help anybody else before himself.

'Im going to miss laughing with Dougo every time we crossed paths.'

Mr Douglas leaves behind his wife Sandra, children, and grandchildren.

Mr Douglas, pictured with his wife Sandra, has been remembered as a 'quintessential Australian bloke'

Tributes have also poured in online for Mr Douglas as friends remember him as a 'genuine bloke'.

'Dougo was a top bloke and my best friend,' Shane Ardley said.

'He would take the shirt off his back to help anyone, thats how he was.'

Stig Sebbesen said he called Mr Douglas his 'brother from another mother'.

'Stephen was always funny and there for me, as a good friend,' he said.

'Rest in peace Dougo, you will always be in my heart and memories.'

Drouin Speedway announced on Sunday its Saturday's Open Standards Race on 18 February will be in honour of Mr Douglas.

Victoria Police are continuing to investigate the crash and will prepare a report for the coroner.
Police are searching for a mother who left her son and daughter aged three and 12 alone in the family's Texas home for two months - who were only found when they asked their dad in California to send them food.

A warrant was issued for the children's mother, 31-year-old Roman Forest Resident Raven Yates, on Friday, who is on the run after the kids' concerned father called cops on November 14 to report he had not seen them since September 28.

Concerned the children were left at his ex's home alone, the father, a music producer who lives in California, told cops he had been ordering food to the house for the children when family members told him Yates had been spotted alone in Mobile, Alabama.

Police in the small town of 1,700 - set thirty miles northeast of Houston - descended on the residence and the children's father flew out to Texas as well.

Upon entering the home, cops found the kids alive - despite being holed up in a house with very little food for nearly eight weeks.

Yates - who in 2018 was featured on Fox's Fugitive Files for attempting to slash a repo man with a box cutter - is thought to still be somewhere in Mobile, police said Friday.

A warrant was issued for the children's mother, 31-year-old Raven Yates, on Friday, after the kids' father called cops on November 14 to report he had not seen them since September 28

The kids survived for two months in this house 30 miles from Houston with no food on the shelves or in the fridge - something police credited to the older sibling

Yates is charged with two counts of abandoning/endangering a child without the intent to return, cops confirmed.

Their statement added that officers from Roman Forest Police Department had been cooperating with cops in Alabama to try to make an arrest.

Police added that the two children are safe with their maternal grandmother in Alabama.

Investigators added that Yates left the house in late September, after which the kids were left to fend for themselves. Neither of the children were registered in school.

'No food in the house, everything was empty,' Chief Stephen Carlisle said over the weekend of the conditions the kids were left in. 'There were some dry beans and spices. That was it.'

Currently a fugitive from the law, Yates - who in 2018 was featured on Fox's Fugitive Files for attempting to slash a repo man with a box cutter - is thought to still be somewhere in her Mobile, police said Friday upon announcing their ongoing search

Somehow, Carlisle said, even with no food on the shelves or in the fridge, the kids appeared healthy - something the police chief said was thanks to the older sibling.

'I guess the 12-year-old was very resourceful,' Carlisle said. 'But she shouldnt have had to do that.'

The chief added that apart from the refrigerator and cabinets being empty, with officers also noticing a 'heavy urine odor coming from the 3-year-old's bed.'

'A 12-year-old cannot take care of a 3-year-old for a long period of time, especially over a month and a half,' Carlisle said, decrying Yates' alleged treatment of the youngsters.

'It's dangerous and irresponsible of a parent. Without medical supplies or ways to get food, that's very dangerous.'

Now facing two counts of felony child endangerment that could see her put behind bars for 20 years, Yates is still nowhere to be found, and is being pursued as a fugitive - the second time she has been in a matter of years

Cops added that the 12-year-old, when reaching out to her father for food, told him that Yates was busy working.

Police also revealed that the two children have different fathers - with Yates reportedly threatening the 12-year-old by saying the girl's father would take her and leave her brother alone if she told anyone the truth.

Now facing two counts of felony child endangerment that could see her put behind bars for 20 years, Yates is still nowhere to be found, and is being pursued as a fugitive - the second time she has been in a matter of years.

In 2018, Yates was featured on 'Fugitive Files' after she attempted to slash a repo man with a box cutter when he tried to repossess her car in her native Mobile, assaulting him with a rubber mallet and fire extinguisher in the process.

Yates fled before MPD could make an arrest, but a traffic charge in Texas soon saw her extradited and charged in Alabama.

Despite now facing charges decidedly more serious, the 31-year-old mom was seen active on social media in recent days, showing off her figure in suggestive posts published while the kids were alone, scared, in her two-story house.

Despite now facing charges decidedly more serious, the 31-year-old mom was seen active on social media in recent days, showing off her figure in suggestive posts published while the kids were alone, scared, in her two-story house

Posts over the past several months saw the mom make no mention of her kids, with Yates instead using her platform to show off various outfits including lingerie. Her kids, meanwhile, were starving and trying to survive, cops said.

On Friday, police revealed Yates and the kids moved to Texas about a year ago, during which time the kids were not enrolled in school.

What's more, weeks before Yates left her children alone, cops said the mom reported that a third, 14-year-old child had run away from the residence. Police said the child somehow was able to make it to their grandmothers house as well.
Members of the Korea Disaster Relief Team (KDRT) and their Turkish counterparts move to an ambulance a survivor in her 60s who was rescued from the rubble in Hatay Province, Turkey, Saturday (local time). After launching search and rescue operations on Thursday, the Korean rescue team dispatched to the quake-ravaged area has so far rescued eight survivors, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sunday. Newsis



Rescuers pulled a two-month-old baby and an elderly woman from the rubble on Saturday, five days after an earthquake devastated Turkey and Syria leaving more than 28,000 dead.



But security concerns led some aid operations to be suspended, and 48 people have been arrested for looting or trying to defraud victims in the aftermath of the quake in Turkey, state media reported.



Tens of thousands of rescue workers are still scouring through flattened neighborhoods despite freezing weather that has deepened the misery of millions now in desperate need of aid.



In the midst of destruction and despair, miraculous tales of survival continue to emerge.



"Is the world there?" asked 70-year-old Menekse Tabak as she was pulled out from the concrete in the southern city of Kahramanmaras  the epicenter of Monday's 7.8-magnitude tremor  to applause and cries praising God, according to a video on state broadcaster TRT Haber.



In the city of Antakya, a two-month-old baby was found alive 128 hours after the quake, state news agency Anadolu reported.



A two-year-old girl, a six-month pregnant woman, and a four-year-old and her father were among those rescued five days after the quake, Turkish media reported.



In southern Turkey, families clutched each other in grief at a cotton field transformed into a cemetery, with an endless stream of bodies arriving for swift burial.



26 million people affected





Turkish rescue workers carry Sevgi Colak, 45, to an ambulance after pulling her out from a collapsed building five days after the earthquake, in Adiyaman, southern Turkey, Saturday, Feb. 11. AP-Yonhap



Compounding the anguish, the United Nations has warned that at least 870,000 people urgently need hot meals across Turkey and Syria. In Syria alone, up to 5.3 million people may have been made homeless.



Almost 26 million people have been affected by the earthquake, the World Health Organization (WHO) said as it launched a flash appeal on Saturday for $42.8 million to cope with immediate, towering health needs.



It warned that dozens of hospitals had been damaged.





Rescuers help Hediye, 16, from Syria, who survived a deadly earthquake in Kahramanmaras, Turkey Feb. 11. Reuters-Yonhap



Turkey's disaster agency said over 32,000 people from Turkish organizations are working on search and rescue efforts. In addition, there are 8,294 international rescuers.



In Turkey's gourmet capital Gaziantep city, restaurants are working hard among tens of thousands of volunteers to help and feed families.



"We want to help," said Burhan Cagdas, owner of a local diner.



"Our co-workers are in a bad situation. Their families are victims and their houses are destroyed," said Cagdas.




A Montana congressman said on Saturday night that he had been told an unidentified object was spotted over his district, forcing the temporary closure of airspace - and the search for it would resume at daylight.

Matt Rosendale, a Republican elected in 2020, said he had been briefed by the Department of Defense, while he was at a Lincoln Reagan dinner.

Fighter jets were scrambled and airspace above Havre, a town of 10,000 people, 30 miles south of the Canadian border, was shut at 7:50pm before being reopened about 50 minutes later.

'I'm at an event, a Lincoln Reagan dinner in Columbus, Montana right now,' Rosendale told Fox News.

'And DOD called me as I have been sitting here and started giving me briefings to tell me what was going on.

'I clarified with them that this is actually the fourth balloon, OK.'

Matt Rosendale, a Montana congressman whose district includes Havre, said on Saturday night he had been told the U.S. military was 'going to track the object until it gets light again'

Earlier on Saturday, Justin Trudeau, the Canadian prime minister, confirmed an object had been shot down by U.S. F-22s in Yukon, as part of a joint Canadian-U.S. operation.

Rosendale continued: 'The first we shot down over the Atlantic. One was shot down before it entered into Alaska's airspace. A third was shot down, Trudeau ordered over Canada. So now we're talking about a fourth incident.'

He said he was told the Pentagon would follow the object, but were unable to shoot it down because it was dark.

'DOD told me that they are going to be tracking the object - they can't even say exactly what it is - they are going to track the object until it gets light again,' he said.

'They don't have the ability to put any more eyes on it with aircraft until it's light again.

'And then tomorrow morning we'll be dealing with it.'

NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, issued a statement shortly after Rosendale's interview and confirmed it was a false alarm.

'With the cooperation of the Federal Aviation Administration, North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) implemented a temporary flight restriction airspace in central Montana on Feb. 11, 2023, to ensure the safety of air traffic in the area during NORAD operations,' the statement said.

'The restriction has been lifted,' it continued. 'NORAD detected a radar anomaly and sent fighter aircraft to investigate. Those aircraft did not identify any object to correlate to the radar hits. NORAD will continue to monitor the situation.'

NORAD said a 'radar anomaly' was seen, but jets 'did not identify any object to correlate to the radar hits.'

Greg Gianforte, the governor of Montana, tweeted that he had been briefed at the White House.

'I received a briefing tonight at the White House about an object in Montana airspace,' he tweeted.

'I will continue to receive regular updates.

'With questions about the Chinese spy balloon still unanswered, the Biden administration must be fully forthcoming with Montanans and all Americans.'

Rosendale's assertion that the object could not be shot down because it was dark was greeted with much mockery online.

One man joked: 'NORCOM to pilots: "Well guys, we're all getting pretty tired here and it's close to quitting time. Let's all just go home, get some shut-eye, and continue this at, let's say, nine-ish."'

Another added: 'We have flashlights maybe.'

'What hours is our military open?' another asked.

'That Montana law that says no objects can be shot down after 5pm really needs to be changed,' said another.

And another remarked: 'Gee I hope no-one ever bombs us at nighttime.'

Trudeau announced earlier on Saturday that he had requested U.S. and Canadian forces scramble to intercept 'an unidentified object that violated Canadian airspace', and a U.S. F-22 shot it down at 3:41pm Eastern Standard Time.

Canada's defense minister said it was a 'a small cylindrical object' that was not as big as the South Carolina spy balloon.

A NORAD spokesman, Maj. Olivier Gallant, said on Saturday evening the military had determined what it was but would not reveal details.

Two F-22s were dispatched from the U.S. from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska; and two F-18s from Cold Lake Air Base in Alberta, Canada.

Instructions were given that whoever had the first clear shot should shoot it down.

It was shot down with an AIM-9X missile at 3:41pm Eastern Standard Time, and was flying at about 40,000 feet. The missile is described by the manufacturer as 'the most advanced infrared-tracking, short-range, air-to-air and surface-to-air missile in the world.'

The incident came a day after Joe Biden ordered another 'unidentified object' be shot down over Alaska, and a week after a spy balloon which crossed the U.S. was shot down off South Carolina.

Havre, home to 10,000 people in northern Montana, is 30 miles south of the Canadian border

Justin Trudeau, Canada's prime minister, is seen on Tuesday. On Saturday he announced an 'unidentified object' had been shot down over the Yukon

The airport in the tiny village of Mayo, home to 200 people in remote Yukon wilderness, was closed while the operation was taking place.

A senior government source told CBC News that the object crossed into Canadian territory on Saturday morning.

Trudeau tweeted that Canadian teams were now working to recover the debris. The debris was being monitored from a CP-140.

'I ordered the take down of an unidentified object that violated Canadian airspace,' he tweeted on Saturday.

'@NORADCommand shot down the object over the Yukon. Canadian and U.S. aircraft were scrambled, and a U.S. F-22 successfully fired at the object.

Trudeau said that he had been in contact with Biden about the intrusion.

He thanked NORAD - the North American Aerospace Defense Command, based in Colorado Springs, Colorado - for their work with his forces.

'I spoke with President Biden this afternoon. Canadian Forces will now recover and analyze the wreckage of the object,' Trudeau said.

'Thank you to NORAD for keeping the watch over North America.'

The involvement of U.S. jets raised eyebrows among some Canadians, with questions asked as to why Canada itself wasn't able to deal with the situation.

'So it's just confirmed that this 'object' over Canadian airspace was taken out by a U.S. F-22 jet,' tweeted Michael Chong, the shadow foreign minister.

'We do not have the capacity to defend ourselves and our sovereignty. Hard questions need to be asked about the state of the Canadian armed forces.'

Canada's defense minister, Anita Anand, praised the joint operation.

Anita Anand, Canada's defense minister, is seen on Saturday evening at a press conference

She said that she had discussed the incident with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin 'and reaffirmed that we'll always defend our sovereignty together.'

Anand, asked during a press conference on Saturday evening why a Canadian jet did not shoot it down, said this was 'NORAD doing what it was supposed to do.'

She added: 'We wanted to ensure we had enough assets in the air to ensure a successful mission.'

Asked whether it was from China, she said: 'It would not be prudent to speculate on the origins of this object at this time.

'It's a cylindrical object we are working to analyze the debris to identify the specifics.

'But it appears to be smaller in size than the one that was shot down off the coast of South Carolina.'

She said they are working to confirm further details.

'At this point we can say that it appears to be a cylindrical object, smaller in size than the one shot down over the coast of North Carolina, and further details will be available as we have them.'

A White House source told NBC News on Saturday that the object was closely tracked over last 24 hours, and Biden was continually briefed. He authorized the F-22 activity.

NORAD earlier on Saturday said they were monitoring the balloon.

'We have positively identified a high-altitude airborne object over Northern Canada,' said Major Olivier Gallant, a NORAD spokesperson, in a statement.

'While we cannot discuss specifics related to these activities at this time, please note that NORAD conducts sustained, dispersed operations in the defense of North America through one or all three NORAD regions.'

Earlier Saturday, Canada's Global News has reported that security sources were monitoring 'one or two more objects' that they thought could be spy balloons.

A source told Fox News the earlier unidentified object was discovered 'over Alaska not far from the northern coast'. The object was first spotted north of Anchorage, Fox News' Lucas Tomlinson tweeted.

It comes after sources told CNN the military had developed a method to track spy balloons last year - despite the object, which is said to be the size of a small car, not being picked up on radar until after it was over Alaska.

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby revealed on Friday it had been shot down within an hour of an order issued by President Joe Biden. The Pentagon has since sent military helicopters to recover it from frozen waters.

Officials are yet to confirm what the object is or which country it belongs to. It is unclear if it is another Chinese spy balloon similar to the one shot down off the coast of South Carolina earlier this month.

Officials said it was traveling at an altitude that was potentially harmful for civilian aircrafts, The New York Times reported.

The object was taken down by an F-22 using an A9X missile out of Joint Base ElmendorfRichardson in Anchorage.

Several officials also said the object shattered into pieces after being struck by the missile, adding to the mystery of what the object truly is.

A US official revealed the pilots who intercepted the object said it had a cylindrical shape and no observable surveillance equipment attached.

The Pentagon has now launched a recovery operation to collect the debris from the surface of the frozen waters off Alaska.

A flight radar shows military aircraft scrambled off the northeast coast of Alaska to search for the debris from the second unidentified object. This comes after the US reportedly developed a system in 2022 to detect spy balloons on a radar

The US began developing a system to detect spy balloons shortly after Biden took office in 2021, after a Chinese spy balloon briefly flew over the US.

They used the balloon's signals to run test to see where other balloons might have popped up in the past.

What they found allowed them to create a consistent technical method to track balloons around the world.

The Chinese 'spy balloon' is pictured being shot down last weekend

They began using the method in 2022 and has not revealed how it was ultimately developed or how signals are detected, according to CNN.

Biden called the second Alaska operation a 'success' when asked by reporters at the White House - but Republicans were quick to ask why the US didn't shoot down the Beijing surveillance balloon earlier.

'So we can shoot down suspicious objects BEFORE they get over our border Just as I suggested,' Kansas Republican Senator Roger Marshall tweeted Friday afternoon.

Alaska Senator Dan Sullivan, a Republican, said in a Friday press release that he 'appreciated the senior Defense Department officials who briefed me this morning on the sighting of this latest object.

'As I've been doing for the past week, including in a classified briefing with senior Pentagon officials yesterday, I strongly encouraged the NORTHCOM Commander this morning to shoot down this latest unidentified intrusion into Alaska air space,' Sullivan said.

'I commend them for doing so today.

'As I reiterated with senior Defense Department officials yesterday, we need to reestablish deterrence with regard to Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party, which believes they can willfully infiltrate American airspace whenever they want.

'That has to stop. The best way to do this is through the type of actions that we've taken today in Alaska and to publicly reiterate that we will be shooting down any and all unknown aircraft that violate our airspace.

'We also need to appropriately equip our military in Alaska with the sensors and aircraft needed to detect and, if necessary, destroy everything from slow-moving balloons to hypersonic missiles.

'Alaska is the frontline of defense for our nation. The past few weeks have made this even more evident.'

The Pentagon said on Wednesday that four previous Chinese spy balloon flights over the United States passed over sites that would be 'of interest to the Chinese'.

Officials did not elaborate on the paths the balloons took or whether the US sites were military ones.

Brig. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder, Pentagon spokesman, said the United States was aware of the four past flights before it detected the latest Chinese balloon prior to its arrival over Alaska on January 28.

The fighter jets were scrambled from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson near Anchorage on Friday morning to intercept the object near Deadhorse Bay (above) on the northeast coast

A US military fighter jet shot down that balloon off the South Carolina coast, triggering condemnation from China, which claimed it was a civilian air vessel.

China insisted the flyover was an accident involving a civilian aircraft and threatened repercussions.

Biden issued the order but had wanted the balloon downed even earlier, on Wednesday.

He was advised that the best time for the operation would be when it was over water, US officials said.

Military officials determined that bringing it down over land from an altitude of 60,000 feet would pose an undue risk to people on the ground from falling debris.

China responded that it reserved the right to 'take further actions' and criticized the US for 'an obvious overreaction and a serious violation of international practice.'
A dramatic drug raid and the threat of time behind bars has led a 152kg bikie with 'self-esteem issues' to drop one third of his bodyweight, a court heard.

Joseph Raimondi, 35, lost 51kg following gastric sleeve surgery after police busted through his front door in June last year to find the Rebels figure in a bathroom, where a zip-lock bag and about two grams of meth were floating in the toilet.

Raimondi was charged with trying destroy evidence, and was staring down the barrel of three-and-a-half-years in prison.

Joseph Raimondi (pictured) lost 51kilograms after having gastric sleeve surgery to help get his excessive weight under control

Western Australia's District Court heard he was in the garage of his home in Landsdale in northern Perth when police arrived, the West Australian reported

Raimondi, who was once considered close to slain Rebels boss Nick Martin, ran inside the house and locked himself in an ensuite, but the police were quickly able to gain access.

Barrister Michael Tudori said his client tried to flush the drugs down the toilet in a panic.

But he was unsuccessful getting rid of the package, arguing it was 'an attempt as opposed to an actual destruction'.

Mr Tudori added that father-of-three, who was photographed at the scene of the gangland-style shooting of bikie enforcer Joseph Versace last September, had used drugs to cope with 'self-esteem issues' over his weight.

Raimondi (pictured) was once considered close to slain Rebels boss Nick Martin

But in the aftermath of the raid, the court heard the fishing shop owner and bricklayer finally reached out to get the help he needed and spent time at the Whitehaven Clinic, a private drug and alcohol rehab centre.

'The reality is, if it wasn't for that, the police entering that day and these charges, he probably wouldn't have gone to Whitehaven,' Mr Tudori said.

'Now, he's had a gastric sleeve, he's dropped 51kgs to date, so he's just sitting on 100, he obviously wants to go more, but that's important.

'Because he wants to remain drug-free.'

Mr Tudori told Judge Belinda Lonsdale that Raimondi now feels much better about himself and had even started fishing again - as now he was able to get into a small boat without it 'almost tipping over'.

Judge Lonsdale said Raimondi had a lengthy criminal record and a fine would not be appropriate.

Raimondi (pictured) tipped the scales at 152kgs before starting on the process of trimming down

She sentenced him to nine months in jail but suspended it for nine months.

The Rebel did get fines for other recent transgressions, though, including one of $1,000 for showing his gang ink in a public place - a Bunnings shop.

Raimondi pleaded guilty to the charge, which related to the 'Rebels' tattoo on the left side of his head.

He also got another $1,000 fine and had to pay $264.30 in court costs for displaying his bikie tattoos at Perth's Crown Casino in June last year.
A homicide investigation has been launched after police attending a routine welfare check at a suburban Gold Coast property discovered a body.

The 62-year-old was found in the backyard of the home on Lillian Cr in Ashmore, a 10 minute drive from Southport, about 8.45am on Sunday after police were called to check on the man.

Police are interviewing a male person of interest after he was found near the victim's car at another location shortly after.

Police were called to the house in Ashmore (pictured) to check on the welfare of the man

A crime scene has been established at the Ashmore property with specialist forensic and scientific officers scouring the area on Sunday afternoon.

A mobile police facility has also been deployed to the street to assist with the investigation.

Queensland Police are asking anyone who has information about the case or who has dashcam or CCTV of the area to contact them.
SpaceX successfully launched its tenth mission of the year on Sunday by blasting 55 Starlink internet satellites into space aboard its Falcon 9 rocket.

The launch took place just after midnight with cameras capturing the spectacular moment as the rocket appeared to traverse the moon.

The first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket landed on the SpaceX droneship out in the Atlantic, positioned a few hundred miles off the Florida coast.

Falcon 9 is the safest and most experienced active American rocket and the only one currently certified for transporting humans to the International Space Station.

So far, this particular Falcon 9 booster rocket has been used for 12 launches and landings, including six Starlink missions and two historic private astronaut flights.

The launch took place just after midnight with cameras capturing the spectacular moment as the rocket appeared to traverse the moon

SpaceX successfully launched its tenth mission of the year on Sunday by blasting 55 Starlink internet satellites into space aboard its Falcon 9 rocket

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched with another batch of Starlink internet satellites just after midnight

WHAT'S DIFFERENT ABOUT THE 'GEN2' STARLINK SATELLITES? The 'Gen2' Starlink satellite is an upgraded version of the first generation model, of which SpaceX has launched more than 3,500. These are said to be more powerful, so can handle more traffic and provide faster service. SpaceX founder Elon Musk has said in the past that they will also provide direct smartphone connectivity, helping to expand cellular coverage into 'dead zones' around the world'. However it is unclear whether the satellites launched today will have this capability, as documentation suggests the required hardware makes them too heavy to be able to be launched using a Falcon 9 rocket. Advertisement

The upper stage of the Falcon 9 rocket then continued its journey to a low Earth orbit to deploy the Starlink satellites approximately one hour after liftoff.

The Starlink network currently consists of more than 3,500 operational satellites and is expected to grow considerably larger with permission to deploy up to 12,000 satellites.

The company have requested approval of an additional 30,000.

The satellites provide low-latency, high-speed internet at an affordable cost  often to remote areas without existing WiFi  and last year expanded to yachts, cruise ships and RVs.

In tests, the service has been shown to offer speeds of up to 200 megabits per second, which is higher than what copper cables that are typically used in more remote areas, can achieve.

Although all of the Starlink launches so far have been deployed with the help of a Falcon 9, that could soon change when Starship is airborne.

That's because Musk's $3 billion (2.4 billion) spacecraft  a vehicle that could be a game-changer for long-distance space travel  is expected to be able to carry the larger and heavier Starlink 2.0 satellites, which could soon allow internet to be beamed to smartphones.

The first batch of up to 7,500 units of the upgraded model were sent to space at the end of 2022.

These are said to be more powerful than the first generation models, so can handle more traffic.

The rocket blasted past the moon as the launch was viewed from Cape Canaveral in Florida

In a quirk of perspective, the rocket appeared to be aiming directly for the moon

Flames blast out the bottom of the rocked. So far, this particular Falcon 9 booster rocket has been used for 12 launches and landings, including six Starlink missions and two historic private astronaut flights

SpaceX founder Elon Musk has said the Starlink satellites will provide direct smartphone connectivity, helping to expand cellular coverage into 'dead zones' around the world'

No spacecraft is currently capable of sending humans to Mars, but all that could change with the development of Starship, which has been built to take the first astronauts to the Red Planet by 2030.

Its creation is part of the Musk's grander vision of making us a 'multi-planetary species', first by starting a human colony on Mars and even getting to the point of building cities.

Starship will be capable of carrying up to 100 people to the Red Planet on a journey that is 250 times further than the moon and would take around nine months each way.

In April 2021, NASA also announced that it had selected SpaceX's next-generation vehicle as the first crewed lunar lander for its Artemis III mission  due to put the first woman and first person of color on the moon in 2025.

SpaceX launched its hugely successful Falcon 9 rocket to space for the 201st time today, as it deployed 55 more Starlink internet satellites into orbit (pictured, the launch from February 2)

It was the sixth launch of Starlink satellites so far this year. Pictured is a lift-off on January 31
A Comanchero bikie who patched over from rival outlaw club the Rebels has been found dead at a luxury resort in Western Australia.

Jason Kemp was discovered floating face down in the private pool of a villa at The Pearle of Cable Beach about 12.10pm on Saturday.

Emergency services were called and rushed to the site but Kemp, aged in his late 30s, could not be revived - with WA detectives now investigating how he died.

Jason Kemp (pictured) was found dead at a Western Australian resort on the weekend

He was found floating face down in a private pool attached to a villa (similar villa pictured)

He had been staying at The Pearle at Cable Beach (pictured) in Broome with his girlfriend

He had been staying at the five-star resort near the popular tourist beach at Broome, in northern WA, with his girlfriend.

It is not known how he died but police are at this stage treating it as accidental with homicide detectives not involved, reports The West Australian.

The villa remained cordoned off by police tape on Sunday, however, as investigators try to determine exactly what happened.

It is understood Kemp has been a member of the Comanchero outlaw motorcycle club since mid-2021.

Before that he was a full member of the Rebels.

The switch, usually considered a great offence in bikie circles, occurred after he was savagely beaten by a fellow Rebel in May of that year inside Casurina Prison in WA.

Kemp, who was doing a stint for drug and traffic charges, was left with severe head injuries that required a lengthy hospital stay.

A large Rebel tattoo is seen on Kemp's forearm (pictured) before he was bashed by a fellow club member in 2021

WA Police said the bashing was a result of an internal dispute between the two club members and was not linked to tensions over the assassination of Rebels boss Nick Martin months earlier.

Martin was gunned down by a sniper at the Kwinana motorsport complex, with a former soldier linked to the international mercenary group Shadows of Hope later pleading guilty.

By July 2021, Kemp was blacking out his large Rebels forearm tattoo on photos he posted online.

Later that month he posted a photo showing the word 'Comanchero' inked onto his forearm over the old tattoo.

Within a few months he had inked over the tattoo with the word 'Comanchero' after joining the new club (pictured)

Kemp has a lengthy criminal history.

In addition to driving charges, including reckless driving to escape police pursuit, he was jailed in 2017 for holding his ex-girlfriend and her mother at gunpoint in a four-hour siege with police.

'It's actually quite amazing that he's been allowed in the community for this long,' state prosecutor Jason Chu said before his most recent prison stint.
A 17-year-old boy has been charged with murder after the body of a man was found on Sunday morning near a boat ramp, two days after he was reported missing.

The 47-year-old Toogoom man was located at Howard on Queensland's Fraser Coast, 280km north of Brisbane.

He was reported missing to the police on the evening of February 10, but was last seen leaving a Toogoom residence on February 6 at approximately 6pm.

A 17-year-old boy has been charged with murder after the body of a man was found on Sunday morning near a boat ramp, two days after he was reported missing. The area where the man's body was found is pictured

The man's vehicle had been found burnt out near Wieland Road at Pacific Haven on the morning of Tuesday, February 7.

A search operation using officers, water police, SES volunteers and drone technology was launched in the area and surrounds.

Just after 11.30am on Sunday, a body believed to be the 47-year-old man, was found near a boat ramp on Powerhouse Road, Howard.

Police then got a search warrant for a Pacific Haven address, where a 17-year-old boy was arrested.

He has been charged with one count each of murder, arson and unlawful use of a motor vehicle.

Bail has been refused and the teenager will appear before Hervey Bay Childrens Court.

Investigations into the man's death remain are continuing.

The police have appealed to anyone who may have relevant information or dashcam footage to come forward.

They are looking into the movements of a blue 2017 Nissan X-Trail with Queensland registration 675YVF on Torbanlea Pialba Road between 11pm and midnight on Monday February 6.
A retired detective has claimed that police are right to still think that missing mother-of-two Nicola Bulley fell in the river Wyre.

The 45-year-old mortgage adviser, who was last seen on January 27, disappeared from the small village of St Micheals on Wyre in Lancashire.

A massive search operation has been launched and police have spent weeks combing the area and calling for witnesses to come forward.

Detectives were seen searching an area seven miles away from where Nicola went missing earlier this week and the search was expanded to Morecambe Bay.

Police have insisted that their main working hypothesis is that Ms Bulley fell in the river as investigations enter a seventeenth day, despite suggestions from friends and independent investigators that it is unlikely.

Retired Detective Superintendent Julie Mackay told The Mirror that police would be basing their hypothesis on three factors.

The 45-year-old mortgage adviser, who was last seen on January 27, went missing from the small village of St Micheals on Wyre in Lancashire

A map of the area showing the location of the broken camera, the path leading to Garstang Road that is not covered by CCTV (top right circle) and a riverside path leading from the Wyreside Farm Caravan Park through to the A586 (left circle)

The fact that there has been no new information, that it is unlikely to be criminal due to the time Ms Bulley disappeared and that the wintry conditions will make it harder to find her will all be part of police decisions.

The former detective, who solved a 32-year-old murder case, said she still believes that Ms Bulley went into the river, and said just because she hasn't yet been found doesn't mean she isn't there.

'I still believe she's gone in that river - today when you look at the last two weeks and review it, nothing has changed,' she explained.

The 45-year-old has not been found despite extensive searches by police and by forensic expert Peter Faulding and his team.

Ms Mackay said debris in the river may have hidden the mother-of-two and that because it was cold any body would take longer to decompose.

'It's not as unusual as you think. If she's then sadly gone over that Wyre it becomes tidal and then the possibility that she's gone out to sea is still quite possible.'

Retired police detective Julie Mackay said she believes investigators are right to think the missing mother went into the river

Ms Mackay had previously said that her experience of working along the Somerset coast showed people aren't always immediately found if it involves water.

She added that Ms Bulley's winter clothes could have weighed her down and that cold water shock would have disorientated her.

'That cold water shock very quickly disorientates you and with winter clothes it's heavy and panic will set in.

'And once you start losing control it can be quite difficult to regain it.'

The retired police officer said she didn't believe that there was criminal involvement as most attacks on women are spontaneous.

'It's rare they [the attacker] would camp out the area, check the route, the CCTV and do it at all around 9am.'

It comes as Nicola's desolate partner Paul Ansell detailed his own movements that day in an interview on Channel 5.

Mr Ansell said: 'Nothing was out of the ordinary, everything was normal.

'I work for a US firm so my hours are like six hours behind UK time.

'I usually start a little bit later in the morning. When Nikki takes the girls to school, I then know I've got an hour to myself.

'I went in the house, put the kettle on, made a cup of tea, went into the living room and thought I've got on an hour now to chill and get myself ready for the day.'

Nicola typically came home from her dog walks at around 9.45am, or 10am 'at a push'.

When she didn't return on January 27, Mr Ansell said he wasn't 'massively concerned' at first. He started to worry at 10.30am.

Mr Ansell said: 'I thought you know, she's quite, quite late now.

People are being urged to call police if they have any dashcam footage from the time she vanished

Mr Ansell said he knew his partner's disappearance wasn't normal 'straight away' in the Channel 5 interview

Paul Ansell, 44, (left) accompanied by 45-year-old Nicola Bulley's beloved Springer spaniel Willow, was interviewed by Channel 5 News's Dan Walker (right)

'More late than usual. So I tried ringing her phone. And there was no answer. I tried ringing again on WhatsApp. And again, there was no answer. I tried the mobile again and no answer.

'Now I sort of started to get a bit panicky.

'That's when I thought I'm gonna have to go down there and see if she's alright.

'See if I can see the car or see what's going on.

'I still expected that I'd just get there and there she is.'

Mr Ansell said he usually goes to the gym on Fridays at lunchtime.

He said: 'I quickly got my gym stuff on. I just thought basically I'm gonna go out, find her, come home, do a bit of work.'

The father-of-two detailed his movements minute-by-minute on the day his partner vanished during a dog walk in Lancashire

A police Search and Rescue team in Knott End-on-Sea, Lancashire, on the southern side of Morecambe Bay on Friday morning

As he was getting ready to leave, the receptionist at their daughters' school rang and told him Nicola's phone had been found on a bench.

He jumped in the car and drove to the river, where he calmed Springer spaniel Willow and was handed Nicola's phone.

He told Dan Walker: 'I knew straight away that it wasn't normal', adding that he became 'extremely concerned' knowing Ms Bulley would not have left Willow alone in the field.

'I know that never in a million years would she leave Willow. Willow is like our third child.'

He added: 'People don't just vanish into thin air. It's absolutely impossible. So something has happened. Something has happened. Find out what it is.

'You cannot walk your dog down a river and just vanish into thin air.'

After joining others who were searching the area, the group decided to call 999.

The police told him to go home with Willow.

Mr Ansell said: 'I'd gone home then, taken Willow back, a police officer had come to the house and although I was obviously extremely worried and concerned I still expected any second they'd just go, "Oh, found her".

'That never happened. The day then just spiralled and end of the day came and no answers.

'Here we are, two weeks later.'

The distraught father-of-two insisted Nicola 'is coming home' as he launched a fresh appeal in the two-week search for the missing mother, who he had been planning to marry with his daughters as her bridesmaids.

He also said he believes something must have happened to his partner 'in the village' of St Michael's on Wyre.

Mr Ansell said he is '100 per cent' sure that the mortgage adviser did not fall in the River Wyre in Lancashire.

He revealed they had frequently spoken about getting married, but had to put their plans on hold due to the pandemic - adding he hopes to be able to still marry her.

Although he doesn't believe Nicola fell into the river, he said he 'cannot fault the police in any of this'.

'They have been incredible,' he said.

However, he suggested the phone and harness found at the scene could 'be a decoy'.

He added: 'I'm personally a hundred per cent convinced it's not the river. The only thing we're bothered about is finding her, nothing else matters.'

Mr Ansell said: 'The most obvious thing, of course has always been the river. It's always been my gut instinct and her sisters, and family that, that isn't the case.

'Extensive searching, as you know is probably well aware has gone on in that river.'
Ukraine's close ally Poland has warned that sending fighter jets to Ukraine is 'not an easy decision' - after Rishi Sunak dodged over Volodymyr Zelensky's appeal.

Polish president Andrzej Duda warned there were 'serious problems' with donating aircraft for deployment by Kyiv to resist the Russian invasion.

In a BBC interview, Mr Duda said Poland did not have enough F16s to spare and pointed out they need maintenance and technical support crews on the ground.

The comments came after President Zelensky visited London, Paris and Brussels urging allies to supply jets.

As Vladimir Putin masses forces for what is expected to be a Spring offensive, Mr Zelensky asked for 'wings for freedom', warning that without more air power there was a serious risk the conflict will 'stagnate'.

Polish president Andrzej Duda warned there were 'serious problems' with donating aircraft for deployment by Kyiv to resist the Russian invasion

Mr Sunak announced during Volodymyr Zelensky's visit last week (pictured) that Ukrainian pilots will start being trained on the UK's Typhoons and F-35s

In a BBC interview, Mr Duda said Poland did not have enough F16s (file picture) to spare and pointed out they need maintenance and technical support crews on the ground

Mr Sunak announced during Mr Zelensky's visit that Ukrainian pilots will start being trained on the UK's Typhoons and F-35s.

The PM insisted 'nothing is off the table' on whether aircraft would be offered.

Boris Johnson was among those calling for Britain to hand over jets and more tanks to help thwart Russian aggression.

However, Mr Sunak played down the prospect that jets could be used any time soon, arguing that it would take years for pilots and ground crews to be ready to operate them.

Experts have also questioned whether the UK's aircraft would be the best option for Ukraine, suggesting the Swedish Grippen or the F16 is more realistic.

Speaking through an interpreter on the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, Mr Duda said that Nato allies will need to take a 'joint decision' on supplying jets. Although Ukraine is receiving strong support from the military alliance it is not a full member.

He stressed it was 'not only about the jets', as 'you also need maintenance and technical background, technical servicing'.

'So it is not enough just to send a few jets, and a problem that we are facing  at least in Poland is as follows: We have such jets but they are fewer than 50. So as a matter of fact, this is the only stock of jets that we have.

'This poses a serious problem if we donate even a small part of them anywhere. Because I don't hesitate to say we have not enough of these jets. We would need many more of them.'

He added: 'A decision today to donate any kind of jets, any F16s, to donate them outside Poland is a very serious decision. And it is not an easy one for us to take.'
The suspected Chinese spy balloon drifts to the ocean after being shot down off the coast in Surfside Beach, South Carolina, U.S. Feb. 4. AFP-Yonhap



A U.S. fighter jet shot down an unidentified object over Canada on Saturday, the second such incident in North American skies since the dramatic downing of a suspected Chinese spy balloon a week ago.



Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said a joint U.S.-Canadian military operation led to the takedown of the object, the latest in a series of mysterious air intrusions.



"Canadian and U.S. aircraft were scrambled, and a U.S. F-22 successfully fired at the object," Trudeau tweeted Saturday.



Shortly after the 3:41 pm (2041 GMT) downing of the object, aviation authorities shut down part of the airspace over the northwest U.S. state of Montana after detecting what they called a "radar anomaly," the U.S. Northern Command said.



In a sign of jitters over possible intrusions, Northern Command said U.S. fighter jets took to the skies but "did not identify any object to correlate to the radar hits."



Skies were then reopened to commercial air traffic.



The object shot down in the Yukon was "small, cylindrical" in shape, said Canada's defense minister, Anita Anand.



"The object was flying at an altitude of approximately 40,000 feet, had unlawfully entered Canadian airspace, and posed a reasonable threat to the safety of civilian flight," Anand told reporters.



Trudeau said Canadian forces in the Yukon "will now recover and analyze the wreckage of the object."



He said he spoke with U.S. President Joe Biden over the latest incursion, while Anand also said she spoke with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.



The new incursions into Alaska and the Yukon came after the United States said Wednesday that suspected Chinese spy balloons like the one it shot down Feb. 4 were part of a "fleet" that has spanned five continents. NATO also voiced concern.



Anand, however, said "it would not be prudent for me to speculate on the origins of the object at this time."









U.S. and Canadian planes flew together to take on the object Saturday, the U.S. Department of Defense and Anand said.



"President Biden authorized U.S. fighter aircraft assigned to NORAD to work with Canada to take down a high-altitude airborne object over northern Canada today," Pentagon Spokesman Pat Ryder said in a statement, referring to the North American Aerospace Defense Command.



An F-22 fighter jet fired an AIM 9X missile that brought it down, he said.



The White House said Biden and Trudeau spoke Saturday, and "commended NORAD's and U.S. Northern Command's strong and effective partnership and agreed to continue their close coordination to detect, track, and defend our airspace."



The object taken out over the Yukon, which borders Alaska, came after fighter jets downed another object Friday off the U.S. state's north coast near the village of Deadhorse.



Search and recovery operations for the remains of that object continued Saturday but were hindered by Arctic "wind chill, snow, and limited daylight," Northern Command said in a statement.



"Recovery activities are occurring on sea ice," it said, adding that the Pentagon could offer "no further details... about the object, including its capabilities, purpose, or origin."





Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks in Vancouver, British Columbia, Sunday, Jan. 22. AP-Yonhap
Clashes, 'gunfire' between 'rival factions' and arrests are halting rescue efforts

A 10-year-old girl has been pulled from the rubble after six days in quake-hit Turkey - as violent clashes between survivors fighting for food and water halt rescue efforts.

Video footage shows the young girl, Cudi, being pulled from a deep, narrow hole in the ground by rescuers after being trapped for almost a week.

The debris-covered child is then placed on a bed, covered in a foil blanket and carried to safety.

It comes amid fears that the death toll could reach 50,000, currently passing 28,000 since the earthquake struck on Monday.

Multiple aid organisations were forced to suspend operations due to security fears after gunfire was reported in the disaster zone.

A 10-year-old girl, Cudi, was pulled from the rubble almost a week after the quake in Turkey

She is placed on a bed, covered in a foil blanket and carried to safety by rescuers

The rescue team entered a deep hole before pulling out Cudi whose hair and body was covered in dust and debris

Meanwhile, German rescuers and the Austrian army reported clashes between unnamed factions, which are expected to become more violent as food supplies decrease in coming days.

Officials in Turkey said 113 arrest warrants were issued in connection with the construction of buildings that collapsed in the quake.

This has halted rescue efforts as 10-year-old Cudi was pulled from the rubble almost a week after the quake.

Footage shows a rescue team entering a deep hole before pulling out the young girl whose hair and body was covered in dust and debris.

She is then placed on a bed, covered in a foil blanket and assisted by a crew.

Rescuers also pulled a seven-month-old baby and a teenage girl from the rubble earlier today.

UN relief chief Martin Griffiths said he expected the death toll to at least double after he arrived in southern Turkey yesterday to assess the quake's damage.

Dozens of rescuers came to her aid after she was trapped underground for almost a week

Families were racing against time to find their missing relatives' bodies in southern Turkey

UN relief chief Martin Griffiths said he expected the death toll to at least double after he arrived in southern Turkey yesterday to assess the quake's damage

Officials in Turkey said 113 arrest warrants were issued in connection with the construction of buildings that collapsed in the quake

Tens of thousands of rescue workers continue to scour flattened neighbourhoods despite freezing weather that has deepened the misery of millions.

A seven-month-old baby named Hamza was rescued in southern Hatay more than 140 hours after the quake, while Esma Sultan, 13, was saved in Gaziantep.

Families were racing against time to find their missing relatives' bodies in southern Turkey.

'We hear (the authorities) will no longer keep the bodies waiting after a certain period of time, they say they will take them and bury them,' Tuba Yolcu said in Kahramanmaras.

Another family clutched each other in grief at a cotton field transformed into a cemetery, with a seemingly endless stream of bodies arriving for swift burial.

Griffiths toured quake-hit areas of Kahramanmaras on Saturday, telling Sky News he expected the death toll to 'double or more'.

'Soon, the search and rescue people will make way for the humanitarian agencies whose job it is to look after the extraordinary numbers of those affected for the next months,' he said in a video posted to Twitter.

Today 28-year-old Elif Kirmizi was rescued from under the rubble after quakes hit

Many people came to her rescue as she was placed on a bed and carried to safety

The United Nations has warned that at least 870,000 people urgently need hot meals across Turkey and Syria. In Syria alone, up to 5.3 million people may have been made homeless.

Almost 26 million people have been affected by the earthquake, the World Health Organization (WHO) said as it launched a flash appeal on Saturday for $42.8 million to cope with immediate, towering health needs.

It warned that dozens of hospitals had been damaged.

Turkey's disaster agency said more than 32,000 people from Turkish organisations are working on search-and-rescue efforts. There are also 8,294 international rescuers.

Restaurants are working hard in Gaziantep city, Turkey's gourmet capital, among tens of thousands of volunteers to help and feed families.

'Our co-workers are in a bad situation. Their families are victims and their houses are destroyed,' said Burhan Cagdas, the owner of a local diner that has served up to 4,000 free meals a day outdoors since the tragedy struck.

Tens of thousands of rescue workers continue to scour flattened neighbourhoods despite freezing weather that has deepened the misery of millions

Turkey's disaster agency said more than 32,000 people from Turkish organisations are working on search-and-rescue efforts. There are also 8,294 international rescuers

His own family has been sleeping in cars since Monday in the city where at least 2,000 have died and tens of thousands have been forced out of unsafe homes.

Clashes have also been reported and the UN rights office on Friday urged all sides in the affected area - where Kurdish militants and Syrian rebels operate - to allow humanitarian access.

Austrian soldiers and German rescue workers called off their searches for several hours on Saturday in Hatay, citing difficult security amid firing between local groups.

The outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, considered a terrorist group by Ankara and its Western allies, has announced a temporary halt in fighting to ease recovery work.

A border crossing between Armenia and Turkey also opened for the first time in 35 years on Saturday to allow five trucks carrying food and water into the quake-hit region.

Almost 26 million people have been affected by the earthquake, the World Health Organization (WHO) said

Officials say 12,141 buildings were either destroyed or seriously damaged in the earthquake

Aid has been slow to arrive in Syria, where years of conflict have ravaged the healthcare system and parts of the country remain under the control of rebels.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus took a flight full of emergency medical equipment into the quake-stricken city of Aleppo on Saturday.

Tedros toured damaged areas of the city and met two children who lost their parents in the earthquake.

'There are no words to express the pain they are going through,' he tweeted.

Damascus said it had approved the delivery of humanitarian assistance to quake-hit areas outside its control in Idlib province and a convoy was expected to leave on Sunday. The delivery was later postponed without explanation.

The transport ministry said 57 aid planes had landed in Syria this week.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged the Security Council to authorise the opening of new cross-border aid points between Turkey and Syria. The council will meet to discuss Syria, possibly early next week.

Turkey said it was working on opening two new routes into rebel-held parts of Syria.

Five days of grief and anguish have been slowly building into rage at the poor quality of buildings as well as the government's response to Turkey's worst disaster in nearly a century.

Officials say 12,141 buildings were either destroyed or seriously damaged in the earthquake.

Turkish police reportedly detained 12 people on Saturday, including contractors, over collapsed buildings in the southeastern provinces of Gaziantep and Sanliurfa.

Officials and medics said 24,617 people had died in Turkey and 3,574 in Syria. The confirmed total now stands at 28,191.
Firms pursuing 'woke' policies are risking the wrath of Brits, according to stark research today.

A poll showed 58 per cent believe companies should not be able to force employees to declare their gender pronouns.

A majority also opposed workers being sacked for controversial - but legal - views expressed on social media.

The findings of the study, carried out by People Polling for Policy Exchange, indicate there is widespread opposition to companies taking divisive political positions - and scepticism about why they do.

Just 10 per cent of think firms adopt a stance because they believe it, while 23 per cent said it was because businesses wanted free publicity.

A fifth suggested they wanted to distract from bad behaviour, such as not paying taxes.

A poll showed 58 per cent believe companies should not be able to force employees to declare their gender pronouns

Just over half of respondents - 52 per cent - oppose companies firing employees for sharing controversial but legal beliefs on social media outside of working hours. Just 12 per cent said it should be a sacking offence.

Only one in five voters think companies should be able to refuse to do business with customers due to their beliefs. Half disagree.

Most people - 54 per cent - said workers should not be discriminated against because of political beliefs they express at work. Just 18 per cent disagree.

Some 58 per cent were against companies being able to demand workers declare their gender pronouns.

There were 45 per cent who disagreed 'completely' and another 13 per cent 'somewhat'.

That included a clear majority of both Conservative and Labour voters.

Just 16 per cent agreed that companies should be able to make employees state their pronouns.

Policy Exchange is about to launch a project exploring 'woke capitalism'.

Professor Matthew Goodwin said: ''What this comprehensive polling shows is that large numbers of people are instinctively opposed to corporations getting involved in the culture wars.

'They don't think companies should be discriminating against workers because they might hold or express particular beliefs, they don't think companies should refuse to do business with people who hold particular views and they don't want their employer to be demanding they align themselves with particular political belief systems, such as gender identity theory.'

:: People Polling surveyed 1,169 Brits this month. The results were weighted to represent the wider population.
A year ago, doctors feared Cailey Wu would never walk again, after a tumour left her with a spinal injury and paralysed from the waist down.

The brave young battler, 11, from Penshurst in Sydney's south, had emergency surgery to remove the growth which was later discovered to be Ewing sarcoma - a rare cancer most commonly diagnosed in children and young adults.

She then had to go through month after month of radiation and chemotherapy while confined to a wheelchair in a desperate bid to save her life.

But she never gave up hope and after a year of treatment and painstaking rehabilitation, she miraculously walked out of Sydney Children's Hospital this week and is headed back to school.

A year ago, doctors feared Cailey Wu (pictured) would never walk again after a tumour left her with a spinal injury and paralysed from the waist down

Cailey Wu's (pictured) physiotherapist said she initially had no movement at all in her legs

What is Ewing sarcoma? Ewing sarcoma is a type of tumour that forms from a certain kind of cell in bone or soft tissue. Signs and symptoms of Ewing sarcoma include swelling and pain near the tumour. Tests that examine the bone and soft tissue are used to diagnose the tumour. Source: cancer.gov Advertisement

Her incredible recovery has stunned hospital staff, who were with her every step of the way through the traumatic journey.

'When I first saw her after spinal surgery she had no movement at all in her legs,' Physiotherapist Sky Fosbrook told 9News.

'She went from coming in using a wheelchair to independently using crutches.

'It was just amazing.'

The tumour had put pressure on the little girl's spinal cord to point where it damaged the nerves and left her unable to move from waist down.

'It was a bit scary, I didn't really know what was happening,' Cailey said.

Simply removing it however, was only half the battle as she now had to learn to walk all over again.

On top of the eight months of intensive radiation and chemotherapy to treat the cancer, she also began gruelling rehabilitation exercises to get the nerves in her legs firing again.

Cailey Wu is pictured before being diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma

During that time, Sydney Children's Hospital in Randwick became a second home for the Wu family.

Her dad Dan said it turned the family's world upside down.

'One day everything's fine and then suddenly we're in hospital,' he said.

But Cailey defied all the odds and is now in remission and has just started back at school.

Although medical staff have warned her there may be a few more bumps in the road before she is fully healed, they have no doubt she will be ready to take them on.

'It's so good. We couldn't have hoped for more really,' her mum Gemma said with a proud smile for her brave daughter.
Ms Giuffre claims she was abused by the prince in 2001, which he denies

Prince Andrew's lawyers are making moves to disclose legal documents involving Virginia Giuffre in the hope that it 'demolish' her story and restore his reputation, it has been revealed.

The Duke of York, 62, paid an estimated 12million settlement to Giuffre after she made claims he had sex with her when she was 17, which he has denies.

His legal team have sought access to papers from a lawsuit between Ms Giuffre, 39, and US lawyer Alan Dershowitz, whom she formerly accused of abuse but later admitted she'd made a mistake, The Sunday Times reports.

The prince was stripped of all royal duties and his military titles in the fallout from his 2019 BBC Newsnight interview, in which he was unrepentant about his friendships with Ghislaine Maxwell and convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

He has insisted Giuffre's claim of a sexual encounter in 2001 'didn't happen', and questioned the validity of a photograph of them both taken at Maxwell's Mews house.

Insiders say Prince Andrew, 62, is 'the longest man in lockdown' and is anxious to regain his public duties

The Prince is said to be considering mounting a legal challenge against Virginia Giuffre, 39, whose claims he denies

Insiders say the prince is the 'Millwall' among the royals 'the longest man in lockdown'. He is anxious to regain his public duties.

The source said: 'Dershowitz has made it clear that if the documents are unsealed, it will demolish the established narrative. People underestimate the duke's resilience and patience.

'It has been more than three years since the interview, eight years since the accusation and 12 years since the publication of that photo. What's a few more months, if the evidence is unsealed this year and the story turns on its head? There is very much a feeling among those of us who resolutely support the duke, that this is only a half-written story.'

Last week, the prince was seen in public amid reports that he may take legal action or write a book in attempt to restore his tarnished reputation. He was spotted horse riding on the grounds of the Windsor Estate last Saturday.

Royal analysts believe he was left a substantial inheritance by the Queen and this has provided him with the security  should he wish  to mount the legal challenge against Ms Giuffre.

Others suspect Andrew, who was recently branded one of the most unpopular royals, may pen a memoir to try and clear his name after having consistently denied Ms Giuffre's allegations.

Prince Andrew (pictured today at Windsor) has finally broken cover amid reports that he may take legal action or write a book in attempt to restore his tarnished reputation

The Duke of York, sporting a seemingly glum expression, was seen horse riding on the grounds of the Windsor Estate today (pictured)

Ms Giuffre, a trafficking victim of paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, accused Andrew of sexually abusing her when she was a minor under US law.

Andrew denied the accusations but paid a reported 12million out-of-court settlement last year to get her to drop the civil claim in the US.

The settlement is believed to include a non-disclosure embargo, which prevents either or both sides from revealing any details of the agreement, that is set to expire in March.

It was crafted to cover the year of the late Queens Platinum Jubilee, a source told The Daily Mail. Once it is up, there is nothing to stop the Duke possibly becoming more pro-active.

Andrew - who recently claimed to friends that a 'mystery development' will restore his disgraced reputation within the coming months - is also in a much stronger financial position than he was a year ago, at the time of the settlement.

Prince Andrew with his arm around the then-17-year-old Virginia Roberts (now known by her married name Giuffre)

Andrew paid Virginia Giuffre (pictured in November 2022) a reported 12million out-of-court settlement last year to get her to drop the civil claim in the US

There is, of course, a further remedy Andrew could consider: to follow the lead pf his nephew Prince Harry and write a book.

It is inconceivable that he has not thought of this, a long-time friend of the Duke said. Plenty in his circle think thats just what he should do and Fergie, who has written her own memoir, My Story, has got all the contacts in publishing.

He would never have considered it while his mother was alive but it would be the perfect riposte now. Of course the royals wouldnt like it, but Fergie did hers and wasnt ostracised  and as for Harry, they are even now talking about family reconciliation.

Lawyer nicknamed 'Mr Loophole' says Prince Andrew should not unravel his settlement with sex assault accuser Virginia Giuffre: READ MORE There are whispers Andrew is preparing to mount an extraordinary bid to clear his name after settling out of court with his accuser for a sum worth an estimated 12million Advertisement

Analysts say a book might offer Andrew a swifter and more satisfying form of redemption than devoting himself to charitable causes.

It is also understood that Andrew has consulted lawyers in Los Angeles in an attempt to get Ms Giuffre to retract her allegations and possibly secure an apology.

He is reportedly ready to launch a $100million (nearly 83million) lawsuit against Ms Giuffre if she repeats sex claims against him in her upcoming memoir.

Legal sources close to the Prince say he is prepared to go on the attack should she repeat the allegations.

Lawyers for Ms Giuffre declined to comment when approached by DailyMail.com earlier this week, but a source close to her insisted the settlement does not preclude her from writing about him, saying: She will be able to discuss Prince Andrew.

A leading US lawyer has also claimed Andrew should challenge Ms Giuffre to give back the settlement amid questions about her 'credibility.'

The Epstein victim sued Alan Dershowitz for calling her a liar over her claims that she had been forced to have sex with him.

But in a statement in November Ms Giuffre admitted she 'may have made a mistake' in pointing the finger at Mr Dershowitz, who denied her claims.

Mr Dershowitz told The Daily Telegraph this week that Andrew made a 'mistake' in not taking the case to trial and should now try to overturn the settlement.

He said: 'I have never understood why he accepted the settlement. There were many, many good defences he could have raised.

'He should pursue every legal remedy and the media should investigate thoroughly all of the allegations because this is just the tip of the iceberg.'
The mother of a transgender rapist has said the predator showed no signs of gender dysphoria as a child.

Janet Bryson, 63, said her son was a 'typical little boy' and never asked to be called any other name than Andrew.

Transgender rapist Isla Bryson, 31, formerly known as Andrew Graham, was convicted of raping two women at Glasgow High Court in January and is awaiting sentencing.

The former DJ began to identify as a woman while on bail having appeared in court initially as Andrew Graham.

Following the conviction, Bryson was housed at Stirling women's prison, causing huge political and public concern.

Transgender rapist Isla Bryson, 31, formerly known as Andrew Graham, was convicted of raping two women at Glasgow High Court in January (pictured outside court)

Nicola Sturgeon, the First Minister of Scotland, has refused to say whether she believes Bryson is a man or a woman but did announce that the sex pest has been moved to a male prison, believed to be HMP Edinburgh.

Mother-of-three Janet Bryson, 63, told the Sunday Mail she is 'disgusted and heartbroken' that her son has turned out to be a rapist.

Giving evidence during the trial at the High Court in Glasgow, Bryson spoke of identifying as transgender at the age of four but not making the decision to transition until the age of 29.

The court heard that Bryson is currently taking hormones and seeking surgery to complete gender reassignment.

The 31-year-old's mother told the Sunday Mail her child gave no indication of being transgender while growing up.

She said: 'I don't know why it took him until he was 29 to say he wanted to become a woman. But I understand why some people think it's just a way of getting out of going to a male prison.

'My son never expressed any wish to me that he wanted to be a girl, dressed in any other way or ever asked to be called by any other name than Adam growing up. Never once, at the age of four or at any other age.

The court heard that Bryson is currently taking hormones and seeking surgery to complete gender reassignment

Nicola Sturgeon, the First Minister of Scotland, has refused to say whether she believes Bryson is a man or a woman (pictured outside court)

'I would understand it more if this had been something he had been doing for years but that's just not the case.'

She struggles to look at pictures of Bryson and said while she saw the story about the rape case, she hadn't realised it was her son until a friend pointed it out.

Ms Bryson added that, although Bryson was taken into care as a child, the convicted rapist had been a normal, happy child.

'Despite everything, Adam was a happy child  he was just your typical little boy. He would throw temper tantrums like normal kids do but he wasnt violent or anything.'

Ms Bryson said she'd had no idea her son had married Shonna Graham in July 2016 and taken her surname and the last time she'd seen him was at Hogmanay in 2016.

The Scottish Prison Service carried out an urgent review of the case and made recommendations on the management of transgender prisoners.

The Scottish First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has refused to say whether she thinks Bryson is a man or a woman

Ms Bryson said she understands the concerns about housing people who have been convicted of sexual offences in women's prisons.

She said: 'My son is a rapist. I don't see how he can go to a women's prison. I understand why people have been so worried about someone like Adam, who has done what he has done, being sent to a prison full of women.

The mother-of-three added that she had every sympathy for the victims of Bryson's attacks.

'I know the pain and suffering he will have caused those women.'

Isla Bryson is due to be sentenced later this month.
More than 1,000 children at the NHS's controversial child transgender clinic were handed prescriptions for puberty blockers, a new book has claimed, as former staff compare it to the 'doping of East German athletes'.

The Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) at Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust in London will close later this year after being slammed in a report amid accusations it was rushing children onto puberty blocking drugs.

Now former clinicians at the service have revealed how 'incredibly complex' children were handed he life-altering drugs after just one assessment - despite having a multitude of mental health or background issues.

GIDS was formerly the sole provider of gender dysphoria and gender identity services for children and young people across the whole of the UK.

The controversial clinic treated at least 9,000 children for gender dysphoria from when it opened in 1989, but a review led by senior paediatrician Dr Hilary Cass warned it was that 'it has become increasingly clear that a single specialist provider model is not a safe or viable long-term option'.

Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust in London will close later this year after being slammed in a report amid accusations it was rushing children onto puberty blocking drugs

It came amid reports the service had become overwhelmed with a waiting list of up to two years.

In a new book, former clinicians at GIDS have spoken of their 'regret' of how the clinic regularly prescribed children under the age of 16 with puberty blockers and cross-hormone treatment, The Times reports.

The claims made in Time to Think: The Inside Story of the Collapse of the Tavistocks Gender Service for Children Journalist Hannah Barnes sees former clinicians at GIDS speak of their 'regret' of how the clinic regularly prescribed children under the age of 16 with puberty blockers and cross-hormone treatment. The claims include: - Children as young as aged just three were living as the opposite gender with an altered name, appearance and pronouns - The GIDS generated nearly a third of the Tavistock Trust's income, with staff describing it as resembling a 'tech start-up' - GIDS made up just under a third of the trust's income in 2021, with staff describing the culture as more like a 'tech start-up' - Then Mermaids chief executive Susie Green emailed the head of the clinic asking that the period of time children spend on puberty blockers before irreversible cross-sex hormones could be given - She also requested that some children see a different clinician in the belief they were more likely to prescribe the drugs - The trust's head of safeguarding Sonia Appleby revealed that staff were 'demonised' if they raised concerns. Advertisement

It came despite concerns there was 'scarce and inconclusive evidence to support clinical decision making'.

Time to Think: The Inside Story of the Collapse of the Tavistocks Gender Service for Children, written by BBC journalist Hannah Barnes, will be published later this month, The Times reports.

Former medical staff compare the prescriptions to the doping of athletes representing East Germany through the 1960s and 1970s.

Governors, children and their parents have also contributed to the new book.

Figures show 354 children under the age of 16 agreed to puberty blocker at University College London Hospital Trust and Leeds Childrens Hospital over a nine-year period from 2012 to 2021 after being assessed by therapists and psychologists at its clinic.

From 2009 to 2017, a total of 1,256 children were referred for medical intervention - the 'vast majority' of whom were prescribed the puberty blocker.

In 2009-10, GIDS received 97 children, but this soared to 2,728 by 2019-20.

The significant jump left staff feeling overwhelmed, with some telling of how assessments of young people subsequently began to feel rushed.

Dr Anna Hutchison, senior clinical psychologist, recalled how the service began 'accepting everyone'.

Instead of prescribing puberty lockers to provide children with adequate time to consider whether they wanted to make a full transition, almost all cases resulted in cross-sex hormones, including testosterone and oestrogen, being taken - with irreversible results.

She said: 'It totally exploded the idea that when we were offering the puberty blockers, we were actually offering time to think.

'Because what are the chances of 100 per cent of people, offered time to think, thinking the same thing? If the service was getting this wrong, it was getting it wrong with some of the most vulnerable children and young people.'

Dr Hutchison also said she believes some of the children would not have been identified as transgender now if they had not have been 'put on the medical pathway'.

She added: 'Of course, that doesnt mean to say that identifying as trans is a bad outcome. But what is a bad outcome is creating a cohort of people who are medically dependent whod never needed to be.

Campaigners during Court of Appeal proceedings over whether under-16s can give informed consent to puberty blockers in June 2021

HOW THE TAVISTOCK SCANDAL UNFOLDED 2005: Sue Evans, a nurse at Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust's Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS), warned that youngsters were being assessed too quickly and their treatment was influenced by transgender rights groups. 2009: GIDS became a national service responsible for treating all children in England with gender and identity issues. Demand skyrocketed, with fewer than 100 patients referred to the clinic in 2010, jumping more than 2,500 by 2018. 2018: A senior member of staff told the trust's board that children were wrongly fast-tracked into changing their gender  with the mental health and social reasons behind their wishes being overlooked February 2019: An internal report by Dr David Bell, who was on Tavistock's board, set out how patients were suffering 'long term damage' because GIDS could not 'stand up to the pressure' from 'highly politicised' campaigners and families. February 2019: Consultant psychotherapist Dr Marcus Evans  who had worked at the trust for decades and whose wife Sue first raised concerns about its practices in 2005  resigned in protest at the Tavistock's response to doctors who raised the alarm. July 2019: Dr Kirsty Entwhisle, a psychologist at GIDS Leeds hub, went public with accusations that staff misled patients and made decisions about young people's 'bodies and lives' without 'robust evidence'. October 2019: Former GIDS nurse Sue Evans and an anonymous mother of a 15-year-old GIDS patient launched the first legal action against Tavistock. They claimed the trust should not prescribe puberty blockers to children who could not give informed consent. January 2020: Keira Bell, who was prescribed the drugs when she was 16-years-old, replaced Mrs Evans as lead claimant. She underwent breast-removal surgery but regretted transitioning, claiming she was given puberty blockers after 'superficial conversations' with social workers' and was receiving testosterone shots a year later'. December 2020: In response to the claim, the High Court decided that under-16s could not give informed consent to the treatment. 2020: NHS England asks paediatrician Dr Hillary Cass to conduct a review into Tavistock. September 2021: Tavistock appealed the decision and it was overturned by the Court of Appeal, which claimed the previous ruling was 'inappropriate' and placed patients, parents and medics in a 'very difficult position'. September 2021: Sonia Appleby, the trust's safeguarding lead, awarded 20,000 by tribunal after claiming trust managers tried to stop her from carrying out her role when staff raised concerns. January 2021: The UK's health watchdog, the Care Quality Commission, gave GIDS the lowest rating it can, 'inadequate', after finding 'significant concerns' about how it operates. It demanded improvement. March 2022: In an interim report, Dr Cass hit out at the lack of 'open discussion' at the trust about its treatment, which was not subject to quality controls. She found other mental health issues were 'overshadowed' in favour of gender identity issues when children were referred to GIDS. She called for a 'fundamentally different service model' and 'rapid' research on the use of the drugs after she found 'insufficient evidence' on their benefits. July 2022: In a letter to the NHS, Dr Cass called for regional centres to be commissioned for gender identity treatment, with 'strong links' to mental health services and academic hubs that conduct ongoing research. July 2022: The NHS confirmed that GIDS will be replaced by regional centres at existing children's hospitals, which will provide more holistic care with 'strong links to mental health services'. Advertisement

'And not only medically dependent, but perhaps - we dont yet know - medically damaged.'

She went onto describe the clinic's service as 'scandalous in its negligence and scale'.

GIDS launched a study, involving 44 patients aged between 12 and 15, to better understand the long-term impact of puberty blockers in 2011.

But the drugs were introduced across the service in April 2014, before the data from he study had yet been made available.

It came after concerns were first raised in 2005, when one of its nurses warned youngsters were being assessed too quickly and their treatment was influenced by transgender rights groups.

There were further concerns that the drugs may affect the growth of children's brains or stunt their growth and bone strength.

Little is known about the long-term effects of puberty blockers and almost all patients who receive them go on to start treatment with cross-sex hormones, which can also cause irreversible changes such as breast development and deepening of the voice.

They can also cause infertility.

But the clinic used a 'stage, not age' approach based on where a child was in terms of their development.

Family therapist Anastassis Spiliadis told of how outside groups and parents often influenced decisions to refer children for the drugs.

He worked at the service for four yeas, during which time he decided against prescribing puberty blockers to particular children.

But he said 'both ended up on the blocker' when their families complained.

Dr Spiliadis also said parents were aware that families were aware it was easier to be prescribed drugs by certain clinicians than others.

He recalled how Susie Green, then chief executive of trans charity Mermaids, would step in and request a change in clinician on occasion.

He said: 'I remember thinking and talking to Paul (Jenkins, Tavistock chief) and saying that this is really inappropriate - how come a person whos the director, or the CEO of a charity, is entitled to request a change of clinicians on behalf of a family?'

Other former staff have accused the clinic of being 'institutionally homophobic' and giving in to pressure applied by parents who would rather their child was transgender than gay.

The book also highlights how the trust was under financial constraints at the time.

GIDS' national contract with the NHS, in which it did not have to compete with another service, was seen as 'gold dust'.

Ms Barnes says: 'Bell argued that knowledge of GIDS economic importance had made it difficult for those with legitimate criticisms to raise them.'

Instead, the clinic could not be questioned 'because it was bringing in so much money'.

It comes after campaigner Keira Bell was prescribed the drugs by the clinic when she was 16 and has since claimed she was given them after 'superficial conversations' with social workers'.

Ms Bell, who said she was suffering from anxiety and depression at the time, has previously said that medics should have considered her comorbidities, 'not just reaffirm my naive hope that everything could be solved with hormones and surgery'.

She said Tavistock 'failed to protect young patients' and had 'conducted what amounted to uncontrolled experiments on us'.

A spokesperson for the Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust said: 'GIDS works on a case-by-case basis with every young person and their family, working thoughtfully and holistically with them to explore their situation, with no expectation of what the right outcome for them might be.

'Only the minority of young people seen in the service are referred for any physical interventions.

'At the Tavistock and Portman we wholeheartedly support our staff to raise concerns, and have recently strengthened our mechanisms for doing so.

'Concerns relating to young peoples wellbeing are taken seriously and investigated.'

Mermaids has been contacted for comment.

The confirmed closure of the service for young people at Tavistock later his year has been hailed as a victory by campaigners.

The NHS has confirmed that the clinic will be replaced by these local hubs at existing children's hospitals, which will provide more holistic care with 'strong links to mental health services'.
Officials predict the number could double this year compared to 2021

Border Force officials escorted 50 people into Dover this morning - as the number of migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats this year approaches 2,000.

More migrants made the treacherous journey across the Channel in the early hours of yesterday, despite below freezing temperatures and foggy conditions at sea.

The first group was intercepted by Border Force vessel Typhoon, which brought them into the port around 9am.

A total of 1,180 people crossed the Channel last month, with the busiest day being January 22 when 442 asylum seekers landed on British soil.

By comparison, some 1,339 made the journey in the first month of 2022.

Border Force officials escorted 50 people into Dover this morning - as the number of migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats this year approaches 2,000

Some 45,756 migrants are reported to have crossed the Channel last year and nearly 2,000 have crossed this year already

A record 45,728 people arrived in the UK in 1,104 boats last year - dwarfing 2021's total of 28,526.

Officials have predicted the number of people crossing the Channel in small boats could double this year - potentially reaching 80,000 in 2023.

A spokesperson for the Home Office said: 'The unacceptable number of people risking their lives by making these dangerous crossings is placing an unprecedented strain on our asylum system.

'Our priority is to stop this illegal trade, and our new Small Boats Operational Command - bolstered by hundreds of extra staff - is working alongside our French partners and other agencies to disrupt the people smugglers.

'We are also going further by introducing legislation which will ensure that those people arriving in the UK illegally are detained and swiftly removed to another country.'

Yesterday, Merseyside Police arrested 15 people including one child after fireworks were thrown and a police car set on fire at an anti-immigration demonstration outside a hotel housing asylum seekers near Liverpool.

Merseyside Police said that '15 people have so far been arrested following violent disorder' in the Knowsley area in northwestern England, after initially reporting three arrests.

A total of 1,180 people crossed the Channel last month, with the busiest day being January 22 when 442 asylum seekers landed on British soil

Police said 'missiles including lit fireworks were thrown at officers and one of our police vans was attacked by offenders, using hammers before setting it on fire' during clashes outside The Suites Hotel.

One officer and two members of the public received slight injuries, police said.

The protest came amid heightened tensions as record numbers of migrants are crossing the Channel in small boats, prompting the Conservative government to come up with a controversial plan to send such asylum seekers to Rwanda.

Interior minister Suella Braverman condemned the 'appalling disorder' in a tweet, adding that the 'alleged behaviour of some asylum seekers is never an excuse for violence and intimidation'.

Police said those arrested ranged in age from 13 to 54 years, and included two women. They said they were examining footage to identify others.

The riot outside a migrant hotel last night was sparked by fury over an online video. A 15-year-old girl, wearing a school uniform, for her number

Asylum seeker advocacy groups said the protesters were affiliated to far-right groups, while it was unclear who was behind the violence.

Police said that a group of troublemakers invaded a planned protest by another group in order to 'carry out violent and despicable behaviour'.

The Home Office has been using the hotel to temporarily house asylum seekers since last year, according to local media.

The violence broke out as anti-immigration protesters crashed a demonstration outside the hotel by activists voicing solidarity with asylum seekers.

The anti-migrant protesters shouted slogans such as 'Get them out,' said the Merseyside Pensioners Association, whose activists were holding placards saying 'Refugees welcome'.

Claire Mosely, founder of refugee charity Care4Calais, who was also at the scene, told Sky News that protesters 'got to the police van and they set it on fire and it actually broke into a really big fire and exploded.'

A police van was destroyed during the riot outside the Suites Hotel in Knowsley, February 10 2023

A police van was set alight in Merseyside after protests outside a hotel housing asylum seekers turned violent, February 10. 2023

Police detained 15 people following the violent scenes outside the hotel

'Then they broke through again and they started fighting with the police,' Mosely said. 'I was really shocked... how quickly it got worse.'

The protest was fuelled by 'rumours and misinformation' in social media following an incident last week, police said.

A man in his 20s was arrested and released with no action after reports 'inappropriate advances' were made to a 15-year-old girl in the Knowsley area, police added.

They said the investigation was ongoing and asked for witnesses to come forward.

'Violence is not the way to resolve this and we know that those involved in the violent activity last night used this as an excuse to commit violence and intimidate members of the public,' police said.

Hope Not Hate, a group which campaigns against racism, said the protest took place 'in a context of swelling anti-migrant hatred'.

White nationalist group Patriotic Alternative denied it was the organiser, after holding a protest outside the hotel last week and leafleting locally.

One of its campaigners posted a video showing he was at the scene on Friday, however.

'Far-right groups like Britain First (BF) and Patriotic Alternative (PA) had made visits to the hotel in recent weeks, although the protest appears to have been largely locally-driven, rather than organised by far-right groups outside the area,' Hope not Hate said.

Chantelle Lunt, chair of the Merseyside Alliance for Racial Equality, tweeted that the protest took place in one of the 'poorest areas in the UK' where far-right activist Tommy Robinson campaigned in 2019.
The ABC's boardroom has been thrown into chaos over what was seen by some as a conflict of interest leading to a director's resignation.

Fiona Balfour, who was appointed to the ABC board by the Coalition government in May 2021, is the second director in two weeks to announce their resignation.

Ms Balfour reportedly clashed with ABC chair Ita Buttrose over a perceived conflict of interest due to her also being a director at Telstra subsidiary Digicel.

Fiona Balfour (pictured) was appointed to the ABC board by the Coalition government in May 2021, but has now resigned

Two weeks ago, businessman Joseph Gersh - who was appointed when Malcolm Turnbull was the prime minister in 2018 - said he will leave the ABC board in May.

Ms Balfour's position came under scrutiny as Telstra has multiple contacts to supply mobile technology and other services to the the public broadcaster.

She was asked to stand aside from at least one board meeting since she joined Digicel's board last August, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Telstra bought the South Pacific telco from Irish billionaire Denis O'Brien last July with Australian government help to stop it being bought by a Chinese company.

While Telstra owns 100 per cent of Digicel, $1.9billion of the $2.1billion sale price was provided by the federal government.

Ms Balfour reportedly clashed with ABC chair Ita Buttrose (pictured) over a perceived conflict of interest due to her also being a director at Telstra subsidiary Digicel.

Ms Balfour, who previously worked as chief information officer at both Qantas and Telstra, was reportedly recommended for her Digicel board position due to her experience on boards such as the ABC and Western Sydney Airport.

She had faced calls for her to resign from the ABC since taking up her position with Digicel.

The ABC board's non-executive directors are required to not have any conflicts of interest through their personal, commercial or political activity.

Daily Mail Australia does not suggest Ms Balfour had any conflict of interest.

A spokesperson for Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said the government played no part in Ms Balfour's resignation.

The challenge of having to replace two directors comes at a time when ABC employees are set to appoint a new staff director and the broadcaster is also facing potential strike action

'The ABC chairperson (Ita Buttrose) wrote to the minister on 30 January, 2023 to advise that Ms Balfour had written to the governor-general to tender her resignation as a non-executive director on the ABC board, effective from 31 January, 2023,' they said.

The process for replacing directors includes written applications, interviews and referee and background checks.

A shortlist of three or more candidates for each position is then given to the Federal Communications Minister.

The challenge of having to replace two directors comes at a time when ABC employees are set to appoint a new staff director and the broadcaster is also facing potential strike action.

Laura Tingle (pictured) is one of five candidates for ABC's staff-elected board position

There are five candidates for the staff-elected board position: the 7.30 show's chief political correspondent Laura Tingle, Radio Sydney's Indira Naidoo, news presenter Dan Bourchier, business reporter Dan Ziffer and Kelly Williams, the head of Indigenous, diversity and inclusion.

The winner of the staff vote is expected to be announced by mid-March.

The ABC board meets six times a year, with non-executive directors getting paid $58,670 a year.

ABC management is also currently involved in fractious negotiations for a new pay and conditions agreement with staff.

Employees have lodged two requests with the Fair Work Commission that will allow them to strike should staff vote to do so.

On Friday, the ABC offered a three-year deal with a 10.5 per cent salary increase, front loaded in the first year.

Staff have also been offered a one-off $1,500 payment in the first year of the proposed agreement, which will be put to a vote.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted the ABC for comment.
Some 19,000 refugees who arrived in Australia by boat will be granted permission to stay forever, in line with Anthony Albanese's pre-election commitment.

Refugees who are have already arrived and are on temporary visas will be able to apply for a new permanent residency visa from Tuesday.

The government will also use $9.4million of taxpayer funds on visa application assistance and legal service providers for the refugees.

Fears have been raised among some Labor members that smugglers will now ramp up their activities in sending people on the perilous sea journey to Australia, which proved a political disaster for the Rudd/Gillard ALP governments.

Permanent residency will be granted to asylum seekers who applied for a three-year Temporary Protection visa (TPV) or five-year Safe Haven Enterprise visa (SHEV) before February 14.

Some 19,000 refugees who arrived in Australia by boat will be granted permission to stay forever as Anthony Albanese delivers on his election promise (pictured, asylum seekers on Manus Island in 2014)

Refugees who arrived before Operation Sovereign Borders - in which all boat arrivals were sent to offshore processing centres - was established in 2013 will also be able to apply for permanent visas.

Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs Minister Andrew Giles welcomed the change in policy.

'(Temporary visa) holders work, pay taxes, start businesses, employ Australians and build lives in our communities - often in rural and regional areas,' he said.

'Without permanent visas however, they've been unable to get a loan to buy a house, build their businesses or pursue further education.

'It makes no sense - economically or socially - to keep them in limbo.'

Mr Albanese had made it part of his election promise in 2022 to give permanent protection to refugees and asylum seekers who are on temporary visas.

The new permanent visas will also put holders on a track toward citizenship and family reunification visas for relatives.

Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil said this was not a green light for people traffickers to resume their trade, as any fresh arrivals will be deported.

'There is zero-chance of settling in Australia under Operation Sovereign Borders,' she said.

'The Australian Defence Force and Australian Border Force are patrolling our waters to intercept and return any boats that try to enter.'

Former prime minister Kevin Rudd scrapped the Howard government's TPVs and offshore processing in 2008.

The decision encouraged people smugglers, with 820 boats carrying 50,000 asylum seekers being sent over, with 1,200 dying at sea.

Refugees currently on select temporary visas will be able to apply for a newly created permanent residency visa from Tuesday (pictured, asylum seekers on a boat in 2012)

The policy was reversed by Tony Abbott's government, which re-instituted mandatory offshore processing.

A senior Labor member said they feared a return to the deaths at sea, which proved a political disaster for Labor last time out, The Australian reported.

'The election commitment was very clear. But some are worried about is that it's going to go back to what it was under Rudd and (Julia) Gillard,' the source said.

An initial round of TPV/SHEV holders, including those whose visas are nearing expiry, will be invited to apply by the Department of Home Affairs, with all other visa holders able to apply from late March 2023.

The government estimates about 19,000 visa holders will be eligible for the RoS visa, which carries the same rights and benefits as other permanent visas.

This include the ability to vote and apply for bank loans, and immediate eligibility to the NDIS and extra social security schemes.

Under existing arrangements, both TPV and SHEV holders are eligible for Medicare, Centrelink payments and can work and study.

RoS visa holders can also apply to become Australian citizens and sponsor their family to live in Australia, under the family migration scheme.

TPV and SHEV holders who are not granted a RoS visa will need to depart Australia voluntarily, however those with new protection claims may request Ministerial Intervention.

Figures from the Department of Home Affairs state there are 5000 TPV and SHEV applications currently undergoing review.

If successful they will be granted a RoS visa.
Property developer Mehmet Yasar Coskun was arrested at airport before he fled

This is the moment Turkish police detained a property developer as he tried to flee the country after his apartment block collapsed during the earthquake.

131 arrest warrants have been issued amid claims that property developers ignored regulations and allowed shoddy construction to encourage a building boom.

Turkey's death toll has passed 28,000 since the earthquake struck on Monday - with thousands crushed by fallen buildings - but there are fears this figure could reach 50,000.

Video footage shows the arrest of Mehmet Yasar Coskun at Istanbul Airport on Friday as he tried to leave the country for Montenegro. Coskun is the contractor of the Ronesans Residence block which collapsed in Antakya.

A second developer was also filmed being arrested as he tried to flee the authorities.

Video footage shows the arrest of Mehmet Yasar Coskun at Istanbul Airport on Friday as he tried to leave the country for Montenegro

Coskun is the contractor of the Ronesans Residence block which collapsed in Antakya

The video also shows the arrest on Saturday of Mehmet Ertan Akay, developer of the Ayse Mehmet Polat apartment complex which collapsed in the city of Gaziante

The video also shows another man, Mehmet Ertan Akay - the property developer of the Ayse Mehmet Polat apartment complex which collapsed in the city of Gaziantep - being detained on Saturday.

Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said overnight that 131 suspects had been identified as responsible for the collapse of buildings in the 10 provinces affected by last Monday's tremors.

'Detention orders have been issued for 113 of them,' he said in a briefing at the disaster management coordination centre in Ankara.

'We will follow this up meticulously until the necessary judicial process is concluded, especially for buildings that suffered heavy damage and buildings that caused deaths and injuries.'

Turkish police have already taken at least 12 people into custody - with the unrest disrupting rescue efforts in some places.

One of the detained contractors, Yavuz Karakus, told reporters: 'My conscience is clear. I built 44 buildings. Four of them were demolished. I did everything according to the rules,' DHA quoted him as saying.

 Slide me  Mehmet Yasar Coskun is the contractor of the Ronesans Residence block which collapsed in Antakya

 Slide me  Before and after photos show the devastation caused after the apartment complex collapsed in the city of Gaziantep. The develop of the block, Mehmet Ertan Akay, was detained on Saturday

Experts warned for years that many new buildings in Turkey were unsafe due to endemic corruption and government policies.

According to the BBC, those policies allowed so-called amnesties for contractors who swerved building regulations, in order to encourage a construction boom - even in earthquake-prone regions.

Thousands of buildings collapsed during the earthquake, raising questions about whether the natural disaster's impact was made worse by human error.

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has admitted shortcomings in the response, but during one visit to a disaster zone he apparently blamed fate.

'Such things have always happened. It's part of destiny's plan,' he said.

Police in Turkey have issued 131 arrest warrants for contractors, after thousands of buildings collapsed amid claims they ignored regulations to encourage a construction boom

For years experts warned many new buildings in Turkey were unsafe due to endemic corruption and government policies

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan admitted shortcomings in the response, but during one visit to a disaster zone he apparently blamed fate

Tens of thousands of rescue workers are today scouring flattened neighbourhoods despite freezing weather that has deepened the misery of millions

Now, six days after the quake hit, the situation is growing more desperate, with tens of thousands of rescue workers scouring flattened neighbourhoods despite freezing weather that has deepened the misery of millions.

Thousands remain trapped yesterday after German rescuers and the Austrian army paused search operations because of clashes between unnamed factions - expected to become more violent as food supplies decrease in the coming days.

'There is increasing aggression between factions in Turkey,' said Austrian Lieutenant Colonel Pierre Kugelweis. 'The chances of saving a life bears no reasonable relation to the safety risk.'

The search for survivors has now resumed under the protection of the Turkish army.

Throughout southern Turkey and northern Syria, millions are homeless and temperatures continue to drop below freezing every night.

The UN warned that more than 800,000 people are without adequate meals, while its aid agency on the ground warned the final death toll from the quake is likely to double.

In Syria, the death toll has now passed 3,500, but new figures have not been published since Friday.

Thousands of buildings collapsed during the earthquake, raising questions about whether the natural disaster's impact was made worse by human mistakes
Logos of the PMC Wagner Center pictured at the building, headquarters of the Wagner Group in St. Petersburg, Russia, Feb. 3. EPA-Yonhap



The owner of the Russian Wagner Group private military contractor actively involved in the fighting in Ukraine has predicted that the war could drag on for years.



Yevgeny Prigozhin said in a video interview released late Friday that it could take 18 months to two years for Russia to fully secure control of Ukraine's eastern industrial heartland of Donbas. He added that the war could go on for three years if Moscow decides to capture broader territories east of the Dnieper River.



The statement from Prigozhin, a millionaire who has close links to Russian President Vladimir Putin and was dubbed ''Putin's chef'' for his lucrative Kremlin catering contracts, marked a recognition of the difficulties that the Kremlin has faced in the campaign, which it initially expected to wrap up within weeks when Russian troops invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24.



Russia suffered a series of humiliating setbacks in the fall when the Ukrainian military launched successful counteroffensives to reclaim broad swaths of territory in the east and the south. The Kremlin has avoided making forecasts on how long the fighting could continue, saying that what it called the ''special military operation'' will continue until its goals are fulfilled.



The Russian forces have focused on Ukraine's Luhansk and Donetsk provinces that make up the Donbas region where Moscow-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian forces since 2014.



Ukrainian and Western officials have warned that Russia could launch a new broad offensive to try to turn the tide of the conflict as the war approaches the one-year mark. But Ukraine's military intelligence spokesman, Andriy Chernyak, told Kyiv Post that ''Russian command does not have enough resources for large-scale offensive actions.''



''The main goal of Russian troops remains to achieve at least some tactical success in eastern Ukraine,'' he said.



Prigozhin said that the Wagner Group mercenaries were continuing fierce battles for control of the Ukrainian stronghold of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region. He acknowledged that the Ukrainian troops were mounting fierce resistance.



As Russian troops have pushed their attacks in the Donbas, Moscow has also sought to demoralize Ukrainians by leaving them without heat and water in the bitter winter.



On Friday, Russia launched the 14th round of massive strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities and other vital infrastructure. High-voltage infrastructure facilities were hit in the eastern, western and southern regions, resulting in power outages in some areas.



Ukraine's energy company, Ukrenergo, said Saturday that the situation was ''difficult but controllable,'' adding that involved backups to keep up power supplies but noting that power rationing will continue in some areas. Head of Ukraine's state nuclear operator Energoatom Petro Kotin said Saturday that more power will come into the country's energy system after two nuclear reactors have been repaired.



Ukraine's military chief, Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi, said that Russian forces launched 71 cruise missiles, 35 S-300 missiles and seven Shahed drones between late Thursday and midday Friday, adding that Ukrainian air defenses downed 61 cruise missiles and five drones.



The Ukrainian authorities reported more attacks by killer drones later on Friday. The Ukrainian air force said the military downed 20 Shahed drones in the evening.





This photograph taken on Feb. 8, shows part of the building burning after shelling in the frontline city of Avdiivka, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. AFP-Yonhap
The series of texts a notorious paedophile sent to his girlfriend before allegedly sneaking her into his secure housing precinct have been revealed.

Douglas Brian Jackway, 46, and another sex offender were sent back to jail after allegedly facilitating the woman's entry on January 29, into Brisbane's Wacol Correctional Centre - home to rapists and child sex predators.

Queensland Corrective Services obtained dozens of messages sent between Jackway and the unidentified woman following his release from the facility in 2020 after spending most of his life behind bars for sex crimes.

Those texts along with a selfie will be major evidence in the QCS case that he breached his 16-year dangerous prisoner supervision order by sneaking the woman into the facility, reports The Courier Mail.

In one of the messages she asks him what he is doing.

'Kicking back baby thinking about you,' he wrote.

'I love you and I can't stop thinking about today baby and you. Baby you are beautiful,' he wrote in another.

'I no (sic) babe,' she responded.

Jackway allegedly broke his supervision order by sneaking the woman into his secure housing facility and brazenly even snapped this picture

A mockup of the messages sent between Jackway and the woman before he allegedly snuck her into the facility

The convicted pedophile was rated a 'below moderate' risk of reoffending when the courts granted supervised release to live within the Wacol precinct in 2020.

'Members of the public are not permitted on the contingency housing precinct at any time, and a range of work is under way to strengthen security, including increased CCTV, a replacement security fence and increased patrols and random checks,' corrective services said in a statement.

The breach has raised further concern after the December security overhaul, with Corrective Services Minister Mark Ryan insisting every effort was being made to protect the community.

'There'll be a full investigation... we are enhancing security at that precinct - initial and immediate action has already been taken to enhance security, additional patrols, additional surveillance, additional CCTV, additional lighting, perimeter security, all of those things have already been enhanced,' the minister said on Wednesday.

The alleged breach is the second in just four months at the facility after a teenage girl was brought inside and sexually assaulted.

Jackway will now remain in custody until March 10 when he will face a contravention hearing relating to the alleged offence.

He is one of the state's worst paedophiles convicted of the rape of a nine-year-old girl and assault of 10-year-old boy when he was a teenager

Jackway is one of Queensland's most notorious sex predators, who has spent almost his entire adult life behind bars.

In 1991, a 14-year-old Jackway raped a nine-year-old girl and then in 1995 performed sexual acts on a 10-year-old boy, when he was only 18 years old.

Under the influence of alcohol and drugs, he took the boy into mangroves and performed sexual acts.

He was caught in the act and was subsequently sentenced to eight years behind bars before being released in 2003.

Jackway then returned to jail in 2004 after being charged with stealing a vehicle and while the matter was before the courts, he was also sentenced over the 1991 rape.
Russian soldiers in Ukraine are dying in greater numbers this month than at any time since the beginning of the invasion, data shows.

Ukrainian data shows that an average of 824 Russian soldiers have died every day in February.

The figures were highlighted by the UK's Ministry of Defence and are 'likely accurate', although they cannot be officially verified.

The increase comes as rumours circulate about a Russian spring offensive in the east of the country.

Last week Ukraine's outgoing defence minister, Oleksiy Reznikov, said the new offensive is expected around February 24, which is the first anniversary of the full-scale invasion.

An average of 824 Russian soldiers have died daily throughout February, figures show, as the war rages on (file image)

The figures were highlighted by the UK's Ministry of Defence and are 'likely accurate', although they cannot be officially verified

The battle for the small coal-mining town of Vuhledar on Ukraine's eastern front line is a key fight in the Russia-Ukraine war (damaged Russian tanks)

In the first week of the invasion an average of 1,140 Russian soldiers were killed every day but over the course of the last year this has fallen.

In June the average was 172 before it rose again to 559 in November.

The death rate in 2023 so far has been consistently higher and is now nearly four times what it was last summer.

The Ministry of Defence emphasised that the Ukrainian forces are also suffering a high death rate.

The leader of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner said Sunday that his troops had taken an eastern Ukrainian village a few kilometres from the key city of Bakhmut which Moscow has been trying to capture for months.

'Today, Wagner's assault units took the town of Krasna Hora,' Wagner's chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said in a statement.

Reporters have been unable to independently verify these claims.

Experts have debated the strategic importance of Bakhmut, but the city has turned into a key political and symbolic prize as the battle has dragged on.

Rivalry between the paramilitary Wagner group and the Russian army have come to the surface during the fight for Bakhmut - though the Kremlin denies any rift.

A Ukrainian serviceman hols a mortar shell near a front line position in Donetsk on Saturday. President Zelensky has called for the West to send more heavy weaponry to the beleaguered country

Oleksiy Reznikov, said the new Russian offensive is expected around February 24, the anniversary of the initial invasion

On January 11 Prigozhin claimed his fighters had taken control of the city of Soledar, a salt-mining town with a pre-war population of around 10,000 near Bakhmut.

The Russian defence ministry only said two days later that Moscow's forces were controlling the town.

'After the capture of Soledar and the mass hype saying that there were other (soldiers) besides Wagner in Soledar, of course, the guys were very frustrated,' Prigozhin said Sunday.

'Within a 50 kilometres (31 miles) radius, more or less, only Wagner fighters remain, and they will take Bakhmut,' he added.

President Zelensky, who appeared in Westminster Hall last week, has been asking Western countries to provide fighter jets to aid Ukraine.

The US has agreed to send long-range missiles but Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has not yet committed to sending planes.
An attorney for the family of the California lawyer found dead on a Mexican vacation said he was likely assaulted by more than one person and was possibly 'hit and dragged' before his death.

Case Barnett, an attorney for Elliot Blair's grieving widow, told the New York Post that the state of Blair's dead body painted an 'obvious' picture to 'experts' that 'foul play' was involved in the young man's death.

'Its either he fell to his knees for some reason or he got hit and dragged. One of our experts told us it's likely that more than one man did this if you look at the damage to Elliots head,' he said.

He added that a dark mark on the victim's left arm may be evidence that he attempted to defend himself during an altercation.

Elliot Blair (right) and Kim Williams (left) were on vacation in Mexico last month celebrating their 1st wedding anniversary, when Blair mysteriously died

The 33-year-old lawyer's cause of death remains a mystery nearly one month after his January 14 death at the Las Rocas Resort and Spa in Rosarito Beach, just south of Tijuana, Mexico, where he was on vacation with his wife to celebrate their first wedding anniversary.

Kim Williams, Blair's widow, previously said that earlier in the evening, she and Elliot had been shaken down by local police at a traffic stop.

She said that after the pair left the Splash Baja restaurant and bar at around 7pm, they were stopped for not coming to a complete halt at an intersection by two policemen in a squad truck.

'The officer asked us where we were staying and what we were doing in Rosarito.

'Elliot told him we were on vacation. He asked us again for cash. At that point, Elliot pulled out his Orange County Public Defenders badge,' she said.

'Elliot looked at him sternly and said, 'Look, were attorneys, and were not going to play these games. We will do this the right way. Take us to the station, and I will pay with a card and you can give me a receipt,'' she added.

The officers continued to demand cash and eventually settled for the $160 that was in the couples' wallets.

'We thought, 'Thank God they didnt pull us out of the car,' and they didnt do anything more. That whole interaction took around 10 minutes.'

The pair headed back to the hotel room at around 11.45pm, where Williams fell asleep only to be woken two hours later by hotel staff who informed her her husband was dead, face-down on the resort's walkway.

Biomechanics and injury expert Dr. Rami Hashish, who was hired by Blair's family to assess the case said he thinks it's 'relatively clear the injury pattern[s] just simply dont add up with one another.'

'Theres bruising marks on the body. Theres indications of potentially being dragged on the front of the body. Theres fractures to the back of the skull. Nothing really points to the fact that it was necessarily an accident,' he said during a Good Morning America appearance.

Forensic pathology Dr. Michael Baden also reviewed the autopsy report of Blair that had been prepared by the Mexican authorities and concluded that Blair's death was a case of 'aggravated homicide.'

'On the basis of the materials, it is my opinion that Elliot Blair died of multiple blunt force injuries and that he was murdered after returning to the hotel,' he told the Post.

Various injuries on Blair's body led US officials to believe he was murdered

The black mark on the deceased's left arm could be evidence, experts say, that he fought back against some sort of attack

The Las Rocas Resort and Spa in Rosarito Beach, where Blair's body was found on the hotel's main walkway below the couple's room

Blair and Williams were seen dancing hours before the former was found dead on the walkway of the resort

The happy couple are pictured on their wedding day in January 2022

Mexican authorities have continued to claim the death was an accidental fall from a second floor balcony.

The family is hopeful that a second, private autopsy will provide more clues about how Blair died and why he may have been killed. They have, however, yet to receive any type of report from Mexican authorities.

Williams, in tears, said: 'We are struggling to understand who would do this. We are trying to see what the police have done because none of this makes sense.'

'I know 1,000 percent know he was murdered because none of this adds up. I know my husband and he would never walk outside our room in his underwear and T-shirt. The only reason he would be outside of our room only in his underwear is if he heard something or someone came to the door,' She continued.

'Our goal in all of this is to get answers for Elliot. I have no idea who would do this to him, nor his family, and that's why we are trying to get these answers. I know in my heart, and based on the autopsy report and injuries found on him, it doesn't make sense to be anything else but murder.'

Family and colleagues wrote on a GoFundMe page for Blair he was 'tragically killed' and died due to a 'brutal crime'.

In a brief statement, Mexican authorities said they are investigating his death and are in contact with American authorities through the US Justice Department and the FBI, which in turn is passing information to Blair's family.
Asylum seekers are begging to be moved to a new hotel and are 'scared to go outside' following an anti-refugee riot near their accommodation - as a teenager is charged with violent disorder.

Protesters set a police van alight and chanted 'get them out' during a riot near the Suites Hotel in Knowsley, Merseyside, on Friday night.

A total of 15 people, including a 13-year-old, were arrested following the violent scenes.

Jared Skeete, 19, was today charged with violent disorder and assault by beating of an emergency worker. He has been remanded in custody to appear at Wirral Adult Remand Court tomorrow, police say.

The remaining 14 people arrested - 12 men and two women who are mainly from the Knowsley area - have been conditionally bailed pending the outcome of ongoing enquiries.

Protesters set a police van alight and chanted 'get them out' during the riot near the Suites Hotel in Knowlsey

Riot police pictured at the scene on Friday night, which resulted in the arrests of 15 individuals

Police were pelted with missiles and forced to wear protective clothing including riot gear shields and helmets.

Clare Moseley, of Channel migrant aid group Care4Calais, told The Mirror she was among 120 people involved in a counter protest before they were cornered into a car park.

She arrived back at the hotel yesterday morning to speak to asylum seekers house at the hotel.

Ms Moseley said: 'They are all pretty intimidated, which, unfortunately, was the whole point of it.

'All of them just kept saying to me: "Can you get us moved? Can we go somewhere else? We dont want to stay here."

'That was the thing, they kept saying "we dont feel safe here". They were saying 'we havent done anything wrong here, we didnt come here to cause any trouble".'

She added: 'They cant leave the hotel, none of them want to walk down the road. I am really not sure they would be safe to walk down the street.

'Theyve got a really big problem now, they cant go to the shop or a library or a church or anything. They cant go anywhere to get any help.

'Theres nothing for them in the hotel so they are in a very bad situation now.'

It comes as it was revealed yesterday that the incident was sparked by fury over an online video of a schoolgirl who said she was sexually harassed by a 25-year-old man allegedly staying at the hostel.

The clip showed the man asking the 15-year-old, wearing a school uniform, for her number. The teenager, who filmed the exchange on her mobile phone, asked the bearded man his age.

A group of men are pictured at one of the windows of the hotel following the riots on Friday night

Protesters pictured outside the hotel on Friday night, where they sang anti-refugee songs amid clashes with police

The riot outside a migrant hotel last night was sparked by fury over an online video. A 15-year-old girl, wearing a school uniform, for her number

When he replied that he was 25, she says: 'You don't do this in this country. You go to jail if you do this.'

The video was said to have been filmed on Tuesday in Kirkby, Merseyside, two miles from the Suites Hotel.

Knowsley MP Sir George Howarth said the demonstration was triggered by 'an alleged incident on social media,' adding: 'Until the police have investigated the matter, it is too soon to jump to conclusions and the effort on the part of some to inflame the situation is emphatically wrong.

'If an offence has been committed, the police should deal with it appropriately through due process.'

Chief Constable Serena Kennedy added: 'We understand that prior to this happening last night there were rumours, and misinformation, being circulated on social media following an incident earlier in the week.

'I am mindful of the risks that rumour and speculation bring and want to reassure the public that we are aware of an incident which happened at the beginning of the week and an investigation is ongoing.

The scene outside the Suites Hotel in Kirkby, Liverpool after a protest against the migrants living in the hotel turned nasty on Friday

'Detectives are investigating reports of an incident which occurred in Kirkby on Monday, 6 February, when a man made inappropriate advances toward a teenage girl.

'This was reported by members of the public to police, but no victim was initially identified. Following enquiries, a man in his 20s, was arrested on Thursday, 9 February, in another part of the country on suspicion of a public order offence.

'A file was submitted to the CPS and on their advice he was released with no further action.'

Shadow levelling up secretary and Wigan MP Lisa Nandy described the protest as 'absolutely horrendous' and criticised the Government for creating a 'toxic mix' of anti-migrant rhetoric and poor service provision.

'In the north of England, places like Knowsley, this is not who we are," she told the BBC.

'The story of the last decade has been the story of people across this country throwing open their homes to refugees from Ukraine, stepping up to support the Syrian appeal, when we had impending disaster.

'Even in the last few weeks, we've had people across the north of England stepping forward to put forward record donations to help with the appalling situation in Turkey and Syria.

'There are a small number of far right activists who whip up hate and hostility in this country, we all need to speak with one voice when we say that we utterly condemn them.'

A police van was destroyed during the riot outside the Suites Hotel in Knowsley, February 10 2023

Shadow levelling up secretary and Wigan MP Lisa Nandy described the protest as 'absolutely horrendous'

Ms Nandy described the Government's decisions to contract out asylum services, forgo consultation with communities and place refugees in unsuitable accommodation as a "recipe for disaster".

Referring to Home Secretary Suella Braverman, she said: "When you lay onto that a Government that talks about things like an 'invasion' in relation to immigration, you have a perfect storm, a really toxic mix that is being created."

It comes after Ms Braverman said the 'alleged behaviour of some asylum seekers' was never an excuse for violence.

'I condemn the appalling disorder in Knowsley last night,' she said.

'The alleged behaviour of some asylum seekers is never an excuse for violence and intimidation.'

Meanwhile, development minister Andrew Mitchell said on Sunday that the violence was "totally unjustifiable".

He told the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg: 'We live in a country where peaceful protest is part of our way of life and I strongly support that. But violence in the way that we saw on Friday night is completely unacceptable, and the Government condemn it absolutely.'

He rejected suggestions that the Government had helped stir up anti-migrant sentiment, adding that it has housed 'thousands and thousands of Ukrainian refugees' along with people from Hong Kong and Afghanistan.

'This is an unprecedented time in terms of Britain helping people who are caught in desperate jeopardy', he said.

'We have a duty to welcome these people - often they are caught in desperate jeopardy, but equally we have a duty to house them appropriately and to work with local people.

'The Home Office is trying very hard now to stop the excessive use of hotels and find different ways of placing them in appropriate places in the community. And that is something that the Home Office will achieve.'
Britain is ready to move on if the EU will not compromise over the Horizon scheme, the science minister warned today.

Michelle Donelan, head of the new Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, made clear the government is losing patience with Brussels dragging its heels on a deal.

Writing in the Telegraph, Ms Donelan said that if an agreement on 'associate' membership of the 100 billion euro (88.6 billion) group cannot be struck the UK will look to create an alliance with the US, Japan and Switzerland.

Michelle Donelan, head of the new Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, made clear the government is losing patience with Brussels dragging its heels on a deal

Science minister George Freeman, previously accused Ursula von der Leyen's EU Commission of refusing to engage in talks over membership, saying Brussels was blocking Britain's requests because of the row over the Northern Ireland Protocol.

European scientists have also criticised delays in admitting Britain to the scheme, raising concerns that it is damaging important work on both sides of the Channel.

Ms Donelan, who was installed in the key post as part of Rishi Sunak's reshuffle last week, said she would 'not sit idly by while our researchers are sidelined'.

'If we cannot associate, we are more than ready to go it alone with our own global-facing alternative, working with science powerhouses such as the US, Switzerland and Japan to deliver international science collaborations,' she wrote.

'The time for waiting is quickly coming to an end and I will not shy away from striking out alone.'

The warning comes amid mounting speculation that a deal is on the cards to reduce the red tape on trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

On Friday, the Government and the EU reiterated their commitment to finding 'joint solutions' to differences around the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Scientists have long demanded a dedicated department to reflect the sector's importance for society and industry.

The president of the Royal Society, Sir Adrian Smith, said Ms Donelan's 'first job' as Science Secretary 'must be to secure association to Horizon Europe and other EU science programmes'.

'These schemes support outstanding international collaboration and without being part of them we are undermining the Prime Minister's stated ambition for the UK to be at the forefront of science and technology globally,' he said.
A man in his 70s has died following a fire at a flat in south London, police have confirmed.

Emergency services rushed to Brook Drive, Elephant and Castle, at around 10am following reports of the blaze.

But the victim, a man aged in his 70s, was pronounced dead at the scene.

An investigation is has been launched into the cause of the fire, according to a police statement.

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said: 'Emergency services were called shortly before 10am on Sunday, 12 February, to a fire at a flat in Brook Drive, SE11.

Emergency services rushed to Brook Drive, Elephant and Castle, at around 10am following reports of the blaze

'Officers attended along with colleagues from London Fire Brigade and London Ambulance Service. A man, aged in his 70s, was pronounced dead at the scene.

'Enquiries are under way to establish the cause of the fire. There has been no arrest.'

London Fire Brigade has been contacted for more information.
The head of the House select committee on China claimed on Sunday that it was not a 'coincidence' that Beijing sent a spy balloon over the US ahead of an official US state visit.

Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) said the device was meant for Xi Jinping to show President Joe Biden what he 'can get away with' during an appearance on WABC's Cats Roundtable.

'It wouldnt surprise me if this whole thing were intended to send a message to us while our Secretary of State was visiting,' he said.

American officials and residents alike have been on high alert ever since the suspected spy balloon traversed several states at a low enough altitude to be seen by the naked eye.

Since then, another unknown device was shot down over Alaska on Friday, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ordered an object downed over his airspace on Saturday.

The suspected Chinese spy balloon drifts to the ocean after being shot down off the coast in Surfside Beach, South Carolina, U.S. February 4, 2023

Rep. Mike Gallagher, head of the House select committee on China, criticized the Pentagon's message over the incident

China's 'spy balloon' that unnerved millions of Americans across the country earlier this month is part of a larger global surveillance plot by Beijing 's authoritarian government, the Pentagon has said

It's not clear yet whether those objects are related to the spy balloon show down over the Atlantic Ocean last Saturday.

Gallagher suggested Sunday morning that he did not believe China's claims that it was just a weather balloon blown off course, claiming it's 'not a coincidence' it was spotted over Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana earlier this month.

He added, 'I dont think its a coincidence that it was timed to coincide with [Secretary of State Antony Blinken's] visit to China.'

Furor over the balloon, which came at a time of historically low relations between Beijing and Washington, forced Blinken to cancel his planned state visit meant for last week where he was expected to meet with President Xi.

'We don't have proof of that yet, but that would be well within the Chinese Communist Party playbook of attempting to humiliate us on the world stage,' Gallagher told host John Catsimatidis of his claim.

'The message is: "Look what we can get away with. And you wont do anything about it. Youll still come crawling back."'

The Pentagon said last week that the balloon had been part of a vast Chinese surveillance program, spanning as many as 40 countries across multiple continents.

The goal, Defense officials said, was to likely gather information on other nations' military capabilities.

Gallagher said President Xi Jinping's regime used the spy device to 'humiliate' President Joe Biden's government on the world stage

What's more, it's apparently the second suspected Chinese spy balloon to cross US airspace during the Biden administration.

Three had been detected from the Trump administration years - something the former president's officials have denied.

'If that's true, that means they weren't told, which is a separate problem - and a very big problem, in my opinion,' Gallagher said on Sunday.

He also complained that the House intelligence committee is yet to get its own briefing on the incident, after classified House and Senate-wide updates were given last week.

'It just seems like we were caught flat footed, you know, a lot of the messaging from the Pentagon hasn't made sense,' Gallagher said.

His fellow Republican lawmaker, Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-MT), announced on Saturday night that he'd been briefed about something potentially interfering with airspace over his district.

The US military later indicated this was a false alarm, chalking it up to a 'radar anomaly.' Normal flight regulations resumed that night.
Two teenage boys have been charged over the alleged murder of a beloved Uber driver who went missing about a week ago.

Scott Cabrie, 47, was found dead near a boat ramp on Power House Rd, Howard, on Queensland's Fraser Coast, 280km north of Brisbane, about 11.30am on Sunday,

Queensland police alleged he was killed during a rideshare trip in his blue Nissan X-Trail.

Two teenage boys have been charged over the alleged murder of beloved Uber driver Scott Cabrie (pictured) who went missing one week ago

Investigations lead detectives to issue a search warrant at a Pacific Haven address, where a 17-year-old male was taken into custody.

He has been additionally charged with one count each of murder, robbery and deprivation of liberty.

He was refused bail and will appear before Hervey Bay Childrens Court on Monday.

About 6:25pm officers also went to a Hervey Bay address, where they arrested an 18-year-old Sunshine Acres man.

He has been charged with one count each of murder, the unlawful use of a motor vehicle, arson, armed robbery and deprivation of liberty.

He was also refused police bail and will appear in Hervey Bay Magistrates Court on Monday.

Mr Cabrie's vehicle had been found burnt out near Wieland Road at Pacific Haven on the morning of Tuesday, February 7

Scott Cabrie, 47 (pictured), was found dead near a boat ramp on Power House Rd (pictured), Howard, on Queensland 's Fraser Coast, 280km north of Brisbane, about 11.30am on Sunday

Mr Cabrie's vehicle had been found burnt out near Wieland Road at Pacific Haven on the morning of Tuesday, February 7.

A search operation using officers, water police, SES volunteers and drone technology was launched in the area and surrounds.

Late Sunday morning, a body believed to be the 47-year-old man, was found near a boat ramp but the cause of death is yet to be revealed.

The police have appealed to anyone who may have relevant information or dashcam footage to come forward.

They are looking into the movements of a blue 2017 Nissan X-Trail with Queensland registration 675YVF on Torbanlea Pialba Road between 11pm and midnight on Monday February 6.
'Dozens' of Alex's family members were also killed in the devastating earthquake

A Florida couple are among the more than 30,000 victims of the horrific earthquakes which devastated Turkey and Syria last week.

Alex and Veronika Ilgin were found dead and holding each other in their bed in the apartment where they lived in the coastal town of Iskenderun.

Residents of the Orlando area, the couple was staying in the Turkish town where Alex was from with their extended family. Friends said the entire family suffered 'dozens' of losses, leaving 'barely anyone left.' A GoFundMe page has been set up for the family.

Alex and Veronika had recently married and had relocated to Turkey in late January to begin in vitro fertilization and start a family. They were found beneath a slab of concrete.

The death toll since the devastating earthquake hit on Monday has has climbed exponentially by the day. Many fear it could reach as high as 50,000.

Alex and Veronika Ilgin at their wedding last July. They died during last week's earthquake

The collapsed apartment building where Alex and Veronika Ilgin were found dead in their bed

Alex and Veronika lived in a five-story building in Iskenderun, which was flattened in the disaster.

'I don't know what this feeling is, so I'm just waiting for the freight train to hit me,' Alex's best friend Vasilious Poulos told WESH 2.

'Alex's brother with the rescue team found him under the rubble and confirmed they were still in bed, confirmed they were holding each other in bed with concrete on top,' Poulos said.

'They didn't even have a chance to get up, just maybe think, shaking, what's going on and lights out. He didn't deserve it.'

'And Alex's brother dug up their mother the day before, so the mother died as well,' Poulos added.

Alex was a mortgage broker, and Veronika was a nurse. They were married last July. On a GoFundMe page set up for the family and for earthquake relief efforts, Poulos described Alex as a very charitable person.

'If Alex were here, I cannot imagine the lengths he would be going to to help his family, friends, neighbors, and community,' he wrote.

Alex and Veronika Ilgin. They were in Alex's home town of Iskenderun, Turkey

Alex and Veronika Ilgin were living in Turkey while undergoing in vitro fertilization treatment

Alex and Veronika Ilgin died holding each other in their bed in Turkey

Alex lgin with his mother. She was also killed in the earthquake, along with other family

The apartment building where Alex and Veronika Ilgin lived before it collapsed

UN relief chief Martin Griffiths said he expected the death toll to at least double after he arrived in southern Turkey yesterday to assess the quake's damage.

Tens of thousands of rescue workers continue to scour flattened neighborhoods despite freezing weather that has deepened the misery of millions.

Families were racing against time to find their missing relatives' bodies in southern Turkey.

'We hear (the authorities) will no longer keep the bodies waiting after a certain period of time, they say they will take them and bury them,' resident Tuba Yolcu said in Kahramanmaras.

Another family clutched each other in grief at a cotton field transformed into a cemetery, with a seemingly endless stream of bodies arriving for swift burial.

Griffiths toured quake-hit areas of Kahramanmaras on Saturday, telling Sky News he expected the death toll to 'double or more'.

'Soon, the search and rescue people will make way for the humanitarian agencies whose job it is to look after the extraordinary numbers of those affected for the next months,' he said in a video posted to Twitter.

UN relief chief Martin Griffiths said he expected the death toll to at least double after he arrived in southern Turkey yesterday to assess the quake's damage

Turkey's disaster agency said more than 32,000 people from Turkish organizations are working on search-and-rescue efforts. There are also 8,294 international rescuers

Officials in Turkey said 113 arrest warrants were issued in connection with the construction of buildings that collapsed in the quake

The United Nations has warned that at least 870,000 people urgently need hot meals across Turkey and Syria. In Syria alone, up to 5.3 million people may have been made homeless.

Almost 26 million people have been affected by the earthquake, the World Health Organization (WHO) said as it launched a flash appeal on Saturday for $42.8 million to cope with immediate, towering health needs.

It warned that dozens of hospitals had been damaged.

Turkey's disaster agency said more than 32,000 people from Turkish organisations are working on search-and-rescue efforts. There are also 8,294 international rescuers.

Restaurants are working hard in Gaziantep city, Turkey's gourmet capital, among tens of thousands of volunteers to help and feed families.

'Our co-workers are in a bad situation. Their families are victims and their houses are destroyed,' said Burhan Cagdas, the owner of a local diner that has served up to 4,000 free meals a day outdoors since the tragedy struck.
Hundreds of thousands of students are 'missing' from the school system after failing to enroll when the COVID pandemic sent students home for remote learning.

An analysis conducted by Stanford University staff and The Associated Press found an estimated 230,000 students in 21 states whose absences could not be accounted for.

'Missing' students received crisis-level attention in 2020 after the pandemic closed schools nationwide. These students didn't move out of state, and they didn't sign up for private school or home-school, according to publicly available data.

Findings revealed families avoided school for a range of reasons, including continued fear of COVID-19, homelessness, and depression.

Some students also left the country, or couldn't study online and found jobs instead.

Ezekiel West, 10, is in fourth grade but reads at a first grade level. Before the pandemic shutdowns, he was shuffled from school to school when educators couldn't address his impulsive behavior. He is seen above with a loaner computer from his Los Angeles school

Public school enrollment saw the greatest decline in 21 of the state's analyzed

Along with AP, the analysis was conducted with Stanford University's Big Local News project and Stanford education professor Thomas Dee. The analysis originally claimed 240,000 students were 'missing' but has since been updated to 230,000.

The states analyzed, include: California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Washington and Wisconsin.

The real tally of young people not receiving an education is likely far greater than the 230,000 figure calculated by the AP and Stanford.

Overall, public school enrollment fell by over 700,000 students between the 2019-20 and 2021-22 school years in the 21 states plus Washington, D.C., that provided the necessary data.

Those states saw private-school enrollment grow by over 100,000 students. Home-schooling grew even more, surging by more than 180,000.

But the data showed 230,000 students who were neither in private school nor registered for home-school. Their absences could not be explained by population loss, either - such as falling birth rates or families who moved out of state.

States where kindergarten is optional were more likely to have larger numbers of unaccounted-for students, suggesting the missing also include many young learners kept home instead of starting school.

California alone showed over 150,000 missing students in the data, and New York had nearly 60,000. Census estimates are imperfect. So AP and Stanford ran a similar analysis for pre-pandemic years in those two states. It found almost no missing students at all, confirming something out of the ordinary occurred during the pandemic.

The true number of missing students is likely much higher. The analysis doesn't include data from 29 states, including Texas and Illinois, or the unknown numbers of ghost students who are technically enrolled but rarely make it to class.

The analysis originally claimed 240,000 students were 'missing' but has since been updated to 230,000. The real tally of young people not receiving an education is likely far greater than the 230,000 figure

Gone is the urgency to find the students who left - those eligible for free public education but who are not receiving any schooling at all.

Early in the pandemic, school staff went door-to-door to reach and reengage kids. Most such efforts have ended.

'Everyone is talking about declining enrollment, but no one is talking about who's leaving the system and why,' Tom Sheppard, a New York City parent and representative on the city's Panel for Educational Policy, said.

'No one,' he said, 'is forthcoming.'

The missing kids identified by AP and Stanford represent far more than a number. The analysis highlights thousands of students who may have dropped out of school or missed out on the basics of reading and school routines in kindergarten and first grade.

'That's the stuff that no one wants to talk about,' said Sonja Santelises, the chief executive officer of Baltimore's public schools, speaking about her fellow superintendents.

'We want to say it's outside stuff' that's keeping kids from returning to school, she said, such as caring for younger siblings or the need to work. But she worries teens sometimes lack caring adults at school who can discuss their concerns about life.

'That's really scary,' Santelises said.

Many of these students, while largely absent from class, are still officially on school rosters. That makes it harder to truly count the number of missing students.

Many of these students, while largely absent from class, are still officially on school rosters. That makes it harder to truly count the number of missing students (AP Picture)

For some students, it was impossible to overcome losing the physical connection with school and teachers during the pandemic's school closures.

Jose Escobar, an immigrant from El Salvador, had only recently enrolled in the 10th grade in Boston Public Schools when the campus shut down in March 2020.

His school-issued laptop didn't work, and because of bureaucratic hurdles, the district didn't issue a new one for several weeks.

Escobar's father stopped paying their phone bills after losing his restaurant job. Without any working technology for months, he never logged into remote classes.

When instruction resumed online that fall, he decided to walk away and find work as a prep cook. 'I can't learn that way,' he said in Spanish. At 21, he's still eligible for school in Boston, but says he's too old for high school and needs to work to help his family.

Another Boston student became severely depressed during online learning and was hospitalized for months.

Back home, he refuses to attend school or leave his room despite visits from at least one teacher. When his mother asked him about speaking to a reporter, he cursed her out.

These are all students who have formally left school and have likely been erased from enrollment databases. Many others who are enrolled are not receiving an education.

For some students, it was impossible to overcome losing the physical connection with school and teachers during the pandemic's school closures

In Los Angeles last year, nearly half of students were chronically absent, meaning they missed more than 10 percent of the school year.

For students with disabilities, the numbers are even higher: According to district data, 55 percent missed at least 18 school days.

It's not clear how many students were absent more than that. The city's Unified School District did not respond to requests for this data.

Los Angeles officials have spoken openly about attempts to find unschooled students and help remove obstacles that are preventing them from coming to school.

Laundry services have been offered, as has help with housing. But for some students and their parents, the problem sits within a school system they say has routinely failed their children.

'Parents are bereft,' said Allison Hertog, who represents around three dozen families whose children missed significant learning when California's physical classrooms closed for more than a year during the early pandemic.

Ezekiel West, 10, is reading a first grade level. When he returned to school in fall 2021 as a third grader, he was frustrated that his classmates had made more progress as the years passed

During online learning, his mother couldn't get home internet and struggled with the WiFi hotspots provided by the school. She worked as a home health aide and couldn't help Ezekiel online

A previous report showed a decrease in testing scores for students around West's age during the pandemic. Testing scores in reading for 9-year-old students in 2022 dropped from 220 (on a scale of 500) to 215 during lockdown

Testing scores in math for 9-year-old students in 2022 dropped from 241 (on a scale of 500) to 234 during lockdown. It's the first major decrease in math scores in the 50 years they've been recorded

The findings also found that during the prolonged online learning, some students fell so far behind developmentally and academically that they no longer knew how to behave or learn at school.

Ezekiel West, 10, is in fourth grade but reads at a first grade level. Before the pandemic shutdowns, he was shuffled from school to school when educators couldn't address his impulsive behavior.

During online learning, his mother couldn't get home internet and struggled with the WiFi hotspots provided by the school. She worked as a home health aide and couldn't monitor Ezekiel online.

When he returned to school in fall 2021 as a third grader, he was frustrated that his classmates had made more progress as the years passed.

'I did not feel prepared,' he said in a recent phone interview. 'I couldn't really learn as fast as the other kids, and that kind of made me upset.'

An administrative judge ruled Los Angeles schools had violated Ezekiel's rights and ordered the district to give him a spot at a new school, with a special plan to ease him back into learning and trusting teachers.

The school didn't follow the plan, so his mother stopped sending him in October.

'I can't trust them,' Miesha Clarke said. Los Angeles school officials did not respond to requests for comment on Ezekiel's case.

Last month, Ezekiel signed up for a public online school for California students. To enroll him, his mother agreed to give up his special education plan.

His attorney, Hertog, worries the program won't work for someone with Ezekiel's needs and is looking for yet another option with more flexibility.

At least three of the students Hertog has represented, including Ezekiel, have disappeared from school for long periods since in-person instruction resumed.

Their situations were avoidable, she said: 'It's pretty disgraceful that the school systems allowed this to go on for so long.'

Last month, Ezekiel signed up for a public online school for California students. To enroll him, his mother agreed to give up his special education plan

Kailani Taylor-Cribb vanished from Cambridge, Massachusetts public school roll in 2021 and has been, from an administrative standpoint, unaccounted for since then.

Taylor-Cribb hasn't taken a single class in what used to be her high school since the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

She is among hundreds of thousands of students around the country who disappeared from public schools during the pandemic and didn't resume their studies elsewhere.

While the report focuses on students disappearing due to the pandemic, in some cases, students were struggling well before the pandemic descended.

Taylor-Cribb, for one, had begun to feel alienated at her school. In ninth grade, a few months before the pandemic hit, she was unhappy at home and had been moved to a different math class because of poor grades.

She has ADHD and says the white teaching assistant assigned to help her focus in her new class targeted her because she was Black, blaming Taylor-Cribb when classmates acted up.

The teaching assistant also didn't allow Taylor-Cribb to use her headphones while working independently in class, something Taylor-Cribb says was permitted in her special education plan to help her focus.

After that, Taylor-Cribb stopped attending math. Instead, she cruised the hallways or read in the library.

Ultimately, the pandemic and at-home education relieved the anxiety Taylor-Cribb felt from being in the school building. Taylor-Cribb preferred online school because she could turn off her camera and engage as she chose. Her grades improved.

When the school reopened, she never returned.

Kailani Taylor-Cribb vanished from Cambridge, Massachusetts public school roll in 2021 and has been, from an administrative standpoint, unaccounted for since then (AP photo)

Taylor-Cribb moved to North Carolina to make a new start. She went back to school to get her GED which she held above outside her home

While she has no regrets about leaving high school, she says she might have changed her mind if someone at school had shown more interest and attention to her needs and support for her as a Black student (AP Photo)

When Taylor-Cribb stopped logging into her virtual classes during the spring of her sophomore year, she received several emails from the school telling her she'd been truant. Between two to four weeks after she disappeared from Zoom school, her homeroom advisor and Spanish teacher each wrote to her, asking where she was.

And the school's dean of students called her great-grandmother, her legal guardian, to inform her about Taylor-Cribb's disappearance from school.

They didn't communicate further, according to Taylor-Cribb. She went to work at Chipotle, ringing up orders in Boston's financial district.

In December, Taylor-Cribb moved to North Carolina to make a new start. She teaches dance to elementary school kids now. Last month, she passed her high school equivalency exams. She wants to take choreography classes.

But she knows, looking back, that things could have been different. While she has no regrets about leaving high school, she says she might have changed her mind if someone at school had shown more interest and attention to her needs and support for her as a Black student.

'All they had to do was take action,' Taylor-Cribb said. 'There were so many times they could have done something. And they did nothing.'

A Cambridge schools spokesperson looked into Taylor-Cribb's complaints. 'Several individuals demonstrated great concern and compassion towards her and the challenges she was facing outside of school,' Sujata Wycoff said.

She said the district has a 'reputation of being deeply dedicated to the education and well-being of our students.'




Long-serving NATO leader Jens Stoltenberg has no plans to extend his mandate for a fourth time and expects to be replaced in October, the military alliance said Sunday.







"The mandate of Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has been extended three times and he has served for a total of almost nine years," spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said.







"The Secretary General's term comes to an end in October of this year and he has no intention to seek another extension of his mandate."







The 63-year-old former Norwegian prime minister took office at NATO's Brussels headquarters on October 1, 2014 and has overseen the Western alliance through several international crises.







Under his term in office the last NATO personnel and US forces left Afghanistan in August 2021, shortly before the capital Kabul fell to victorious Taliban forces, who revived their Islamist regime.







Stoltenberg has also overseen NATO's response to Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing war, the most brutal on European soil since the 1940s.







He has been a respected secretary general and in particular a bridge between the European allies and Washington under former US president Donald Trump, a frequent NATO critic.







Diplomats from several NATO allies had speculated that Stoltenberg's mandate could be extended once again until a summit next year to mark 75 years of the alliance.







But, after a visit to Washington last week, his office announced he would not seek another extension. (AFP)


China is preparing to shoot down an unidentified object spotted flying over a port, according to reports.

The object has been spotted near the port city of Qingdao and an employee of the marine development authority of the city's Jimo district said authorities are getting ready to take it down. The People's Liberation Army of China has a naval base in Qingdao, according to Bloomberg.

The employee had not been told what the object was but did say that fishermen in the area had been warned to be careful.

Reports about the mysterious object have been appeared on the Chinese government mouthpiece The Global Times and in social media posts on Weibo.

It comes amidst heightened tensions between the US and China, after the US and Canada downed several high-altitude Chinese spy balloons discovered over North America this month.

China is preparing to shoot down an unidentified object spotted flying over a port, according to reports

The employee had not been told what the object was but did say that fishermen in the area had been warned to be careful

The US government said one of the balloons, shot down off the coast of South Carolina, had contained spying equipment.

Beijing fired back and said the balloon, which flew over the US for three days, had been weather equipment.

A Montana congressman said on Saturday night that he had been told an unidentified object was spotted over his district, forcing the temporary closure of airspace - and the search for it would resume at daylight.

Federal agents ordered a closure of Montana airways in the hours after the object was shot down in Canada.

Matt Rosendale, a Republican elected in 2020, said he had been briefed by the Department of Defense, while he was at a Lincoln Reagan dinner.

A Chinese spy balloon shot down by the US after it drifted across the continent

The People's Liberation Army of China has a naval base in Qingdao, where they China said an object was flying over and was going to be shot down

The Chinese port city of Qingdao. Chinese officials claim to have found an object flying over the city they plan to shoot down

Fighter jets were scrambled and airspace above Havre, a town of 10,000 people, 30 miles south of the Canadian border, was shut at 7:50pm before being reopened about 50 minutes later.

'I'm at an event, a Lincoln Reagan dinner in Columbus, Montana right now,' Rosendale told Fox News.

'And DOD called me as I have been sitting here and started giving me briefings to tell me what was going on.

'I clarified with them that this is actually the fourth balloon, OK.'

Chinese navy troops parade outside of a warship in the Chinese port city of Qingdao

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he had ordered that the object be shot down when it breached Canadian airspace

Earlier on Saturday, Justin Trudeau, the Canadian prime minister, confirmed an object had been shot down by US F-22s in Yukon, as part of a joint Canadian-US operation.

Rosendale continued: 'The first we shot down over the Atlantic. One was shot down before it entered into Alaska's airspace. A third was shot down, Trudeau ordered over Canada. So now we're talking about a fourth incident.'

He said he was told the Pentagon would follow the object, but were unable to shoot it down because it was dark.

'DOD told me that they are going to be tracking the object - they can't even say exactly what it is - they are going to track the object until it gets light again,' he said.

'They don't have the ability to put any more eyes on it with aircraft until it's light again.

'And then tomorrow morning we'll be dealing with it.'

NORAD said a 'radar anomaly' was seen, but jets 'did not identify any object to correlate to the radar hits.'

'NORAD will continue to monitor the situation,' they added.

A fighter jet shot down an object which posed a 'reasonable threat' to civilian flights, floating at 40,000ft over Alaska on Friday.
The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee voiced 'concerns' on Sunday about a lack of transparency from the Biden administration about two unknown objects shot down over Alaska and Canada in the last two days.

It comes after American fighter jets shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon off the Coast of South Carolina last weekend.

Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT) told NBC News' Meet The Press that he has yet to be briefed on the incidents, though he attended last week's House of Representatives-wide classified update on Beijing's downed spy balloon.

Himes also received an additional classified briefing on the balloon as part of the powerful 'Gang of Eight.'

'You know, since then, of course, there's been the shoot-down over Alaska and the shoot-down over the Yukon. Congress has been out of session and so we have not been directly briefed on that,' the congressman added.

Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut is the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee and a member of the powerful 'Gang of Eight'

WATCH: Congress has yet to be directly briefed on the two unidentified objects shot down over Alaska and Canada, Gang of Eight member Rep. @jahimes (D-Conn.) says.



I have real concerns about why the administration has not been more forthcoming with everything that it knows. pic.twitter.com/GdFxdQi8uY  Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) February 12, 2023

'And by the way, I have real concerns about why the administration is not being more forthcoming with everything that it knows.'

He conceded, however, that the latter two debris had fallen 'in very remote areas' of Alaska and Canada.

'So my guess is that there's just not a lot of information out there yet to share,' Himes said.

It's not clear yet if all three incidents are related.

A lot of unanswered questions still remain about the objects downed over Alaska and Canada, such as who sent them and for what purpose.

Himes warned Sunday that those unanswered questions could lead to dangerous public speculation.

'I sort of see a pattern as I looked at social media this morning, you know, all of a sudden, massive speculation about...Chinese action, or Russian action,' the Democratic congressman said.

'In the absence of information, people's anxiety leads them into potentially destructive areas. So I do hope that very soon the administration has a lot more information for all of us on what's going on.'

The suspected Chinese spy balloon drifts to the ocean after being shot down off the coast in Surfside Beach, South Carolina, U.S. February 4, 2023. Hines received a House-wide classified briefing on the incident as well as a separate Gang of Eight briefing

But he said the Biden administration has yet to brief lawmakers on the most recent objects shot down over Alaska and Canada, to his knowledge

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that he ordered the North American Aerospace Defense Command operation that downed another unknown object in the Yukon wilderness on Saturday

The White House announced an unknown object was shot down over Alaska on Friday.

A day later, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he ordered the NORAD operation that downed another object in the wilderness of the Yukon Territory.

On Sunday morning, a US report appeared to contradict details of Ottawa's initial findings on the object.

A Defense official was quoted by Fox News describing the object as a 'small metallic balloon with a tethered payload.'

Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand said it was observed to be 'cylindrical' on Saturday and 'appears to be smaller in size than the one that the United States shot down' earlier this month off South Carolina.

While Republicans mostly praised President Joe Biden's administration for acting swiftly to take down the object over Alaska, Democrat Himes cautioned against shifting US security posture to uniformly shooting down all unknown aerial phenomena.

'If that's where we're going to go, there will be an accident, you know?' he said.

'At some point, we're going to shoot down something we don't want to shoot down, whether it's civil aviation or what have you.'
Whitehall cards are being used to fund ministers and officials 'living the high life', it has been claimed.

A Labour analysis of government spending found huge bills for five-star hotels and exotic travel.

In July 2021, when Rishi Sunak was Chancellor, the Treasury ran up 3,217 costs at the luxury Hotel Danieli in Venice, and 1,361 at the four-star Hotel Bonvecchiati, him and 11 officials at a G20 meeting.

Tory party chairman Greg Hands stayed in a 318-a-night five-star hotel in Germany while he was energy minister in July 2022.

Alok Sharma's 66 trips as president of the Cop26 climate summit cost taxpayers 220,817 just for his own travel and hotels.

The Conservatives pointed out that the last Labour government introduced the cards, and argued that the numbers had been cut since 2010.

A Labour analysis of government spending found huge bills for five-star hotels and exotic travel

The details were uncovered through analysis of official figures and parliamentary questions tabled on the use of government procurement cards (GPCs).

Labour is set to publish a full dossier on their use tomorrow.

Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner said: 'As Conservative ministers once again reach into the pockets of taxpayers to dine out on five-star luxury lifestyle, families up and down the country are sick with anxiety about whether their pay cheque will cover the weekly shop.

'Britain is facing the worst cost-of-living crisis in decades and Rishi Sunak doesn't seem to have noticed.

'Far from actually governing, Conservative ministers are living the high life and treating taxpayers like a cash machine.'

The findings show Lord Grimstone, a former business and trade minister, and an aide stayed at the Ritz-Carlton in Jeddah in October 2021 while attending the Saudi Investment Initiative, at a cost of 3,041 for four nights' accommodation, or 760 per night.

Labour acknowledged that overseas travel is an essential part of the job for many ministers and officials and they should be able to stay in hotels where they can get a good night's sleep and be safe, but insisted the most cost-effective options should be chosen.

The Opposition's investigation also uncovered evidence of large sums spent on domestic travel.

The Treasury hired a 3,600 chauffeur service for ministers and officials visiting Cop26 around the Finance Day addressed by then chancellor Mr Sunak on November 3 2021, claiming that no government cars were available.

In May 2022 then-home secretary Priti Patel and an aide spent a combined total of 823 on two return train tickets to Stoke, described in the Home Office's accompanying GPC transparency data as necessary expenditure for 'urgent ministerial meetings', even though it was a scheduled Cabinet away day.

In July 2021, when Rishi Sunak was Chancellor, the Treasury ran up 3,217 costs at the luxury Hotel Danieli in Venice

A senior Conservative source said: 'Awkwardly for Labour HQ they've forgotten that they introduced these 'civil servant credit cards' in 1997.

'By 2010 Labour was spending almost 1billion of taxpayers' money on everything from dinners at Mr Chu's Chinese restaurant to luxury five-star hotels.

'The Conservatives swiftly stopped their absurd profligacy, cutting the number of cards, introducing a requirement for spending to be publicly declared and putting in place controls.

'Typically, Labour's 'big idea' is to spend millions of taxpayer cash to establish yet another quango, stuff it with thousands of bureaucrats and give them gold plated pensions.'
The civil war that was already raging in Syria has affected the influx of aid

Desperate survivors in quake-hit northern Syria scrawled a heartbreaking message on rubble as the war-ravaged area waited for help that never came.

The powerful message reads 'We are dead. Thank you for letting us down' after the country's death toll has passed 3,500 since the earthquake hit six days ago.

Although this week's quakes erupted in southwestern Turkey, the number of Syrians impacted by the fallout is immense.

Even before Monday's earthquake political and logistical challenges made it difficult to get aid to all parts of the war-battered country.

Now damage to roads and other infrastructure in southern Turkey has stalled aid from reaching northern Syria - already devastated by 12 years of conflict.

Desperate survivors in quake-hit northern Syria scrawled a heartbreaking message which reads 'We are dead. Thank you for letting us down' on rubble as the war-ravaged area waited for help that never came

Even before Monday's earthquake political and logistical challenges made it difficult to get aid to all parts of the war-battered country

The powerful message was written as the country's death toll passed 3,500 since the earthquake hit six days ago

A man is pictured sitting in the rubble of a destroyed building in Atareb, Syria, earlier today

Meanwhile, the government of Bashar Assad in Damascus has remained a pariah in much of the international community, sanctioned by the U.S. and European countries which are reluctant to route help directly through the government.

American and EU officials have made it clear that the quake will not change that.

Emergency workers have warned delays could cost lives, as local rescue crews struggle to pull families and children out of the rubble and find accommodation for survivors amid freezing weather conditions.

While the majority of Syria is under the control of the government in Damascus, most of the north is controlled by different  and sometimes conflicting  groups.

The northwest is split between land de facto controlled by Turkey and by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a rebel group with ties to al-Qaida. Syria's northeast is mostly held by U.S.-backed Kurdish-led groups.

Aid delivery into northwestern Syria was 'temporarily disrupted' Tuesday, a United Nations spokesperson told The Associated Press, due to infrastructure damage and difficulty with road access.

For example, damage to the Hatay airport and the road to the border crossing used for aid, Bab al-Hawa, was delaying shipments, said Emma Beals, a nonresident fellow at the Washington-based Middle East Institute.

Speaking of Harem in Idlib, Syria, BBC Middle East Correspondent Quentin Somerville wrote on Twitter: 'People here tell me it's too late for help. I've seen kids removing the rubble.

'There are no rescues here. They're trying to salvage food and grain from the rubble.'

Across the border in the northwest of Syria, residents of the town of Jinderis heard the screams of victims trapped under the rubble but, without the right machinery and equipment, were powerless to save them.

'We don't understand. Why are we alone?' asked Mahmoud Hafar, the mayor of Jinderis.
Christine Flack has received an apology from the Met after it pushed for charges

Caroline Flack's mother has received an apology from the Metropolitan Police over how it handled an assault charge it levelled against Caroline Flack before her death.

The force told Christine Flack that it was 'sincerely sorry' for failing to keep full records about why it wanted the Love Island host to be charged with assaulting her boyfriend.

Mrs Flack was told that Scotland Yard had improved record keeping as a result to better record reasons for decisions being made on whether to proceed with prosecutions.

The apology followed an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct into Mrs Flack's concerns.

Caroline Flack, 40, took her took her own life in her London flat on February 15, 2020, amid her fears about her pending court appearance on charges of assaulting her boyfriend, Lewis Burton.

The presenter and Strictly Come Dancing champion was accused of assault following an argument with her partner, Lewis Burton (pictured in 2017)

An investigation following a complaint from Caroline Flack's mother Christine found that officers hadn't gone enough to keep records of why the TV presenter was being charged

The Metropolitan Police had pressed for her to face a charge of assault by beating, despite the Crown Prosecution Service recommending she receive only a caution.

An inquest recorded a conclusion of suicide after hearing how Flack's mental health had deteriorated with the case in the media spotlight.

Mrs Flack launched a formal complaint against the Met, prompting the force to investigate the decision to pursue charges against the celebrity.

Her grievance largely related to her claim that Detective Inspector Lauren Bateman decided to appeal the CPS decision without reviewing key pieces of evidence .

DI Bateman also did not discuss the case with alleged victim Mr Burton.

Scotland Yard initially concluded that it had done no wrong, prompting Mrs Flack to escalate her concerns to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

The IOPC has now written to Mrs Flack with the results of its inquiries.

It ruled that her daughter had not received different treatment due to her celebrity status, but criticised the Met for its handling of her complaint.

The findings prompted Chief Superintendent Andy Carter, the Met Police's borough commander for central north London, to write to Mrs Flack and apologise.

His letter outlined a number of measures that had been brought in to improve how officers went about appealing CPS decisions.

But Mrs Flack of Norwich, Norfolk, told the Eastern Daily Press that the force should instead be apologising to her daughter.

She said: 'They have apologised for how they handled my complaint - but what they really should be apologising for is the way Carrie was treated.

'The fact new guidelines have been brought in means something was wrong. I believe if I had not said anything, nothing would have changed either.

'A lot of the apology letter felt copied and pasted and I feel like they have only done it because the IOPC suggested they ought to.'

Chief Supt Carter's letter reads: 'I am sincerely sorry for our inability to previously capture an adequate contemporaneous record of streamlined, balanced and transparent decision-making regarding the CPS appeal and statistical data.'

Christine Flack, mother of Love Island presenter Caroline Flack, has been campaigning to clear her daughter's name

Pictured together. In the aftermath of Caroline Flack's death, family and friends shared pictures of the presenter

The 40-year-old took her own life two months after being arrested on suspicion of assault in December 2019

The IOPC report stated that the Met's investigation into Mrs Flack's complaint 'was not reasonable and proportionate'.

It added that the force had not supplied her with 'an open explanation of the officer's decision-making'.

A spokesperson for the Met Police said: 'The review did not identify any misconduct but concluded that an officer should receive reflective practice.

'This was about the requirement to review all case material and record a balanced rationale, demonstrating objective decision-making by exploring aggravating and mitigating factors, when appealing a CPS decision.'

The force await recommendations from the IOPC for 'organisational learning', a spokesman confirmed.

The IOPC also asked the Met to apologise to Miss Flack's family about there not being a record of the rationale to appeal the CPS decision.

Lewis Burton did not support the trial or prosecution, which Christine Flack previously called a 'show trial'

Flack had allegedly assaulted her boyfriend Lewis Burton with a lamp in her home in December 2019

'We have done so and acknowledge the impact this has had on them.'

Flack had allegedly assaulted her boyfriend Lewis Burton with a phone in her home in December 2019.

He called emergency services, but later withdrew his complaint and said she 'was not in a good place emotionally'.

Coroner Mary Hassell told the inquest into her death in Poplar coroner's Court, east London, that Flack did 'intend to cause her own death'.

She added: 'I find the reason for her taking her life was she now knew she was being prosecuted for certainty and she knew she would face the media, press, publicity - it would all come down upon her.'
A mother has claimed she contracted pneumonia and was left 'coughing up blood' due to black mould in her council flat.

Leela Grieveson, 45, said she has now been moved to a hotel while repairs are carried out in the property in Norwich - but she is still fearful of returning unless the problem is fixed.

Doctors told the Primark worker that her issues, which included 'coughing up blood', are likely as a result of the mould.

She suffers from Crohn's disease, a compromised immune system and is allergic to the toxic fungus engulfing her home. She was hospitalised on January 25.

The 45-year-old's daughter Imari, six, also suffers with a persistent cough.

Leela Grieveson, 45, is currently in a hotel while repairs are made to her property in Norwich

A look at the black mould on Ms Grieveson's walls in her house

The 45-year-old claims that the mould has given her pneumonia and she has been 'coughing up blood'

Ms Grieveson said that her young daughter now coughs so loudly that their neighbours can hear it on the floor below and she is so distressed that she 'doesn't want to ever go back' to their home.

She also said Imari has missed out on schooling due to the disruption and she has had to take time off work as she has been so sick.

She added that the toll it has taken on the pair is immeasurable.

'I'm trying my best. I wear masks to clean the mould because I shouldn't be touching it,' she said.

'I want someone to take responsibility for it, then hopefully other people don't have to live through this. I'm very upset and angry.

'The council have put me in a position I shouldn't have to be in. We're in limbo.'

Ms Grieveson claims her doctors said mould likely caused her trip to Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.

The council have now temporarily rehoused the family in a hotel while work is done on the property.

The Primark worker said she is hoping they will replace the walls in her house and not just wipe away the mould

Another look at the issues facing the 45-year-old mother and her six-year-old daughter

She says she hopes the council will replace the walls, furniture and fittings and not just wipe the mould away.

She claimed: 'They still haven't apologised. I'm booked in until February 16 when they say it will be safe again but things need to be replaced and I can't see them doing that in just a week.'

Ms Grieveson did, however, say that both herself and her daughter have felt better and are coughing less since leaving the flat.

A city council spokeswoman said: 'We are working to address the issues with mould in Ms Grieveson's home and will keep in touch with her to see if we offer further support or advice.

'Repairs needed at this property are almost complete and we apologise for the delay in getting to this stage.

'We have recently reviewed our processes around damp and are making a range of improvements to the way we manage this issue across all council homes.'
The plans proposed to send migrants to Rwanda will have only a 'marginal' benefit in stopping small boats crossing the Channel, a Conservative government minister has said.

MP for Sutton Coldfield, Andrew Mitchell, said the scheme was worth exploring but it wasn't the 'whole answer'.

The scheme has been mired in legal challenges and so far no flights carrying migrants to the African nation have departed.

He also rejected the idea that the UK could withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) over plans to tackle the problem of small boats carrying migrants across the English Channel.

On Channel 4's Andrew Neil Show, Mr Mitchell  who was critical of the Rwanda scheme as a backbencher  said if it was to have 'any' benefit, it would not be the 'whole of the effort we have to make'.

PICTURED: Minister for Development in the Foreign Office, Andrew Mitchell. He claims the scheme was worth exploring but it wasn't the 'whole answer'. The scheme has been mired in legal challenges and so far no flights carrying migrants to the African nation have departed

In April last year, then-home secretary Priti Patel signed an agreement with Rwanda for it to receive migrants deemed by the UK to have arrived 'illegally', and therefore inadmissible under new immigration rules

What does Foreign Office Minister @AndrewMitchMP think of the governments Rwanda asylum plan?



He tells @AFNeil that cost is a serious issue and that the scheme would only be of marginal benefit when it comes to tackling channel crossings.@AFNeil #AndrewNeilShow pic.twitter.com/fb4CP17sim  Channel 4 (@Channel4) February 12, 2023

'It will be a marginal benefit. What we have to do is to stop these boats and there are a series of other mechanisms which we could use to do that,' he said.

The scheme was 'worth exploring', but 'it is definitely not the whole answer'.

Despite speculation in Westminster, Mr Mitchell said the idea of leaving the ECHR was not being seriously considered.

An intervention by the European Court of Human Rights, which rules on ECHR cases, effectively grounded the first scheduled flight under the Rwanda partnership deal last year.

Some in the Tory Party  including Home Secretary Suella Braverman  have argued in favour of leaving the ECHR to help make it easier to send migrants overseas.

But Mr Mitchell said: 'The proposal that we should leave the ECHR is not one that the Government has considered and is, in my view, unlikely to consider.'

I think it would be an extraordinary thing to leave the ECHR



Foreign Office Minister @AndrewMitchMP says that, despite reports, leaving the ECHR is not on the table and its not being seriously considered by the government.@AFNeil #AndrewNeilShow

C4, 6pm pic.twitter.com/EUjEwubLCz  Channel 4 (@Channel4) February 12, 2023

This comes after chllange the scheme faced a further setback as a group of individual claimants and charity Asylum Aid were granted permission to bring their cases to the Court of Appeal by Lord Justice Lewis and Mr Justice Swift.

They were given persmission to ask the Court of Appeal to consider a range of issues, including whether plan is an unlawful penalty under the Refugee Convention, whether sufficient safeguards are in place for asylum seekers at risk of persecution, and crucially, the December ruling on whether the policy was lawful.

Some in the Tory Party  including Home Secretary Suella Braverman  have argued in favour of leaving the ECHR to help make it easier to send migrants overseas

This challenge was granted after two High Court judges ruled in December that the Rwanda policy was lawful overall- a decision which Home Secretary Suella Braverman proclaimed as a victory.

No date has been set for the hearing, and the Court of Appeal may also be asked to consider other issues which Lord Justice Lewis and Mr Justice Swift refused permission to appeal against.

In April last year, then-home secretary Priti Patel signed an agreement with Rwanda for it to receive migrants deemed by the UK to have arrived 'illegally', and therefore inadmissible under new immigration rules.

'HIGH COURT RULING VINDICATES RWANDA PLAN', SAYS SUELLA BRAVERMAN Addressing the ruling in the Commons on December 19, Suella Braverman urged Labour critics to get behind the scheme - but could not say when flights would start. 'This judgment thoroughly vindicates the Rwanda partnership. I spoke earlier today with my Rwandan counterpart, the Rwandan minister, Vincent Biruta, and we both confirmed our joint and steadfast resolve to deliver this partnership at scale as soon as possible,' she said. 'It's what the overwhelming majority of the British people want to see happen. The sooner it is up and running, the sooner we will break the business model of the evil gangs and bring an end to these illegal, unnecessary and unsafe Channel crossings. 'Now that our courts have affirmed its legality, I invite the opposition to get behind this plan and I commend this statement to the House.' Advertisement

Several challenges were brought against the proposals, which were described at the time as a 'world-first agreement' in a bid to deter migrants from crossing the Channel.

The first deportation flight - due to take off on June 14 - was then grounded amid a series of objections against individual removals and the policy as a whole.

However, at the High Court in London in December, senior judges rejected arguments that the plans were unlawful.

Lord Justice Lewis, sitting with Mr Justice Swift, dismissed the challenges against the policy - which has already seen the UK pay Rwanda 140 million - as a whole.

However, they did rule in favour of eight asylum seekers, finding the Government had acted wrongly in their individual cases.

Following the ruling, Ms Braverman said: 'I am committed to making this partnership work - my focus remains on moving ahead with the policy as soon as possible and we stand ready to defend against any further legal challenge.'

And Dover MP Natalie Elphicke added said: 'Left-wing organisations need to stop using endless appeals to overturn democracy and waste taxpayers' money. It's time they accepted the determination of UK courts.

'Let's all get behind action to stop the small boats crossings, save lives at sea and prevent people falling prey to organised criminality.'

The UK Government has so far refused to put a date on when the first flight to Kigali could take off, recognising the threat of further legal action.

The Home Office previously said ministers 'stand ready' to defend against further legal challenges to the Rwanda deportation policy.

It came as a new poll showed that almost three quarters (72 per cent) of voters disapprove of the Government's handling of immigration.
The number of babies being diagnosed with congenital syphilis in Mississippi has skyrocketed more than 900 percent over a five year span, according to a new study.

Dr. Thomas Dobbs, the medical director of the Mississippi State Department of Health's Crossroads Clinic in Jackson, found that a whopping 102 newborns were treated for the sexually-transmitted infection in 2021, up from just 10 in 2016.

Babies born with the disease can face organ damage, problems with their nervous system and potentially blindness or deafness. At least one baby has died from the disease, according to Mississippi state officials, though the State Department of Health does not formally track congenital syphilis deaths.

Dobbs told NBC News he has spoken with other health care providers, all of whom 'are absolutely horrified' that babies are being born with the disease as they call for further investments in women's health.

'This seems like something that should have happened a hundred years ago, not last year,' he said. 'There's really kind of a shock.'

Dr. Thomas Dobbs shared data showing that the number of syphilis cases among newborns in Mississippi skyrocketed nearly 1000 percent

Syphilis cases have been increasing across Mississippi, the nation's poorest state, over the past two decades as neonatal facilities shutter their doors in some of the poorest communities.

In 2000, there were 14 congenital syphilis cases, with 10 reported the following year, according to previously-released data from the Mississippi State Department of Health.

From there though, the number of cases started to plummet  with zero cases reported in 2005 and 2006.

By 2009, there were eight cases of congenital syphilis, and by 2016, there were 10.

But the numbers started ticking up again in 2019, and seemed to get worse during the global pandemic, breaking a record in 2021 with over 100 reported cases, according to data Dobbs shared with NBC News, based on hospital billing information.

At the same time, preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that syphilis cases across the United States more than doubled from 941 in 2017 to at least 2,677 in 2021.

The Mississippi Department of Health has not yet released its final 2021 numbers, which are based on clinicians reporting cases directly to the state.

But in 2020, the department found that black newborns accounted for 70 percent of the state's congenital syphilis cases, despite making up only about 42 percent of the state's live births that year.

Dr. Paul Byers, the state's epidemiologist, says he expects similar results in the final 2021 report.

DailyMail.com has reached out for comment.

Dobbs, who previously served as the state's health officer, said health care providers 'are absolutely horrified' that babies are being born with the disease

Congenital syphilis occurs when a pregnant mother passes syphilis onto their child

Symptoms of congenital syphilis Symptoms of congenital syphilis may include: Deformed bones

Severe anemia

Enlarged liver or spleen

Jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes)

Brain and nerve damage, like blindness or deafness

Meningitis

Skin rashes

Death Source: Centers for Disease Control Advertisement

Dr. Anita Henderson, a Hattiesburg-based pediatrician, also said she has treated more babies with congenital syphilis in the past three to four years than she has in all of her 25-year career.

'I don't think many people know there is the potential for babies to die from congenital syphilis,' she said.

Congenital syphilis occurs when the sexually-transmitted infection is passed from a mother to their child when she is pregnant.

Women with syphilis can undergo a series of penicillin shots at least one month before giving birth to prevent passing the disease onto their child.

If left untreated, a pregnant woman with syphilis has an 80 percent chance of passing it on to her baby. In around 40 percent of cases, Dobbs said, those pregnancies will end with miscarriages.

When babies are born with syphilis, they must usually remain in the hospital for two weeks after birth as penicillin is delivered intravenously.

Newborns with the disease may not initially show symptoms, experts say, but those who are not treated can face serious health complications or death if they are not treated within three months after birth.

Newborns with syphilis who are not treated within three months of their birth can face serious complications and even death

When babies are born with syphilis, they must usually remain in the hospital for two weeks after birth as penicillin is delivered intravenously

But in Mississippi, some counties lack an obstetrician, forcing pregnant women to travel for care on often unreliable public transportation  sometimes having to forego work for the day to do so.

Many also have to wait weeks before their first prenatal visit, and last year, it took about a month on average to be approved for a public health insurance program though Medicaid that covers pregnancies.

Mississippi is one of the poorest states in America, ranking at 37 out of 50 in terms of its gross domestic product according to the Bureau of Economic Analyses. It ranks 17th for its death rate from drug overdose, figures from the CDC show.

Making matters worse, the Department of Health announced in 2016 that it was closing nine county health departments.

And just last year, the Mississippi Delta  which has some of the nation's highest poverty rates and has long faced diminished access to maternal and infant care  saw its last remaining neonatal ICU close while the Greenwood Leflore Hospital shuttered its labor and delivery ward.

'In a rural state like Mississippi, we're going to have to look at where are the pockets of disease and how can we reach those mothers,' Henderson said, 'but I also think our state really has got to look at investing in pregnant women, investing in their health.'

Dr. Paul Byers, the state's epidemiologist, said officials are now considering a screening mandate for pregnant women

Nina Ragunanthan, an OBGYN, said that in the past year alone she had two patients test positive for syphilis.

One of the women received scarce prenatal care, she said, while the other tested negative throughout her pregnancy only to test positive at the delivery.

'I think it's completely attainable to lower these rates,' she said. 'It's not something where it's esoteric. It's kind of straight forward, but it is just sometimes the logistial challenges.'

She noted that getting patients in early and making sure their partners receive treatment 'takes money.'

At the Delta Health Center, where patients are seen regardless of their insurance or ability to pay, Ragunanthan tests pregnant patients for syphilis during their prenatal visit, then again in their third trimester wand when they show up in labor.

Her husband, Dr. Braveen Ragunanthan, a pediatrician, then follows CDC guidelines when dealing with babies diagnosed with syphilis: conducting X-rays to see if any bones are deformed, performing lumbar puncture tests to screen their cerebrospinal fluid and starting them on IV penicillin.

But Mississippi does not require prenatal screenings, and as of 2016, it was one of only six states without a law requiring syphilis screenings.

Now, Byers said the Department of Health is exploring the possibility of a testing mandate.

The above map shows cases of chlamydia per 100,000 people across the 50 states of the U.S. and territories. It reveals that Mississippi has the highest case count for the sexually transmitted disease out of all states

Mississippi has previously been named the United States' gonorrhea and chlamydia capital.

It earned the title in 2020, with the biggest gonorrhea outbreak in the country for five years running. It also detected about one case of chlamydia for every 124 people, and one case of syphilis per every 1,390 residents.

Speaking to DailyMail.com last year, Byers said STD rates were high in the state due to a myriad of factors.

High rates in Mississippi are impact by a number of factors including social determinants of health and inadequate access to care, negative impacts on health in communities with high social vulnerability, lack of health care coverage, which may contribute to a delay in seeking care, increases in drug use, and social stigmatization of being diagnosed with an STD, he said.

Some increases may certainly have been due to the interruption in routine healthcare access over the last two years.

Byers said more healthcare specialists trained in STDs were being recruited by the state to help limit infections, and that education programs was being expanded.

STDs are not a benign disease, we are seeing impacts with increased cases of congenital syphilis, unrecognized and untreated chlamydia can lead to infertility, certain STIs, including syphilis, can increase the risk of HIV,' he added.

Our message is: Be protected, get tested, get treated and let your contacts know if you have been diagnosed with an STD.
A California teacher is under fire after attacking the idea of 'childhood innocence' by claiming toddlers are not too young for the 'sexuality' discussion.

William 'Willy' Villalpando, who went by @mrwilly_prek before it appears he deleted all social media profiles, referred to innocence as a 'mythology.'

Villalpando worked as a pre-kindergarten teacher in Rialto from 2016 through 2021, according to Fox News. It's unclear if he still works for the school district, but he is employed at Santa Ana College.

'There is a common mythology that children live in this world of pure innocence, and that by introducing or exposing them to the real-world adults are somehow shattering this illusion for them,' Villalpando previously wrote in a 2020 Instagram post.

'Therefore, there is a banning of topics and issues that children should not be exposed to, as if they are not experiencing them already.'

Teacher William Villalpando claimed 'childhood innocence' is a 'mythology'. He blames Christianity and white cis-gendered people for shielding children

He claimed that adults pushing to protect children from lessons on sexuality and gender should 'deconstruct' their viewpoints

Villalpando has spoken out repeatedly about the idea of 'childhood innocence' and has blamed Christianity and white cis-gendered people for shielding children, the news outlet reported.

He claimed that adults pushing to protect children from lessons on sexuality and gender should 'deconstruct' their viewpoints. Villalpando added that these discussions don't always refer to 'sex' talks.

'Not talking about Queerness in the Classroom, is NOT Letting Children be Children. It's Telling Those people They Do Not Deserve to Exist,' he said in 2021. 'Kids are never too young.'

Villalpando further insisted that children can 'have a sense of their gender identity' at three to four months.

'Around 3 to 4 months old, infants show a sex and gender preference in who they look at.'

He added: 'At 3 years old, a child can label their perceived gender identity. By 4 years old, children have a stable sense of their gender identity and have assumptions and beliefs of what they can and cannot do based on their gender (i.e. dolls are for girls, cars are for boys).'

Villalpando argued that shielding children from the discussion can lead to them becoming confused about their own sexuality

He previously said: 'At 3 years old, a child can label their perceived gender identity. By 4 years old, children have a stable sense of their gender identity and have assumptions and beliefs of what they can and cannot do based on their gender

Villalpando argued that shielding children from the discussion can lead to them becoming confused about their own sexuality.

'Parents haven't already had conversations about these things with their kids, that kids don't know, that they might be intersex, that they might be a gender... non-binary.

'And really, children have a right to see themselves in our classrooms. It's not okay to just forget about them or push them out just because it might make us uncomfortable or may make others uncomfortable.'

The pre-k teacher added the teachings help students learn at a young age to ask others for their pronouns.

Villalpando has also appeared on an number of Podcasts, including The Play Based Learning Podcast to talk about gender and sexuality.

Aside from working as as a pre-kindergarten teacher in Rialto, he is employed at Santa Ana College

The contentious topic about gender identity in K-12 schools has been ongoing in the US.

Last month, A high school history teacher in California has admitted to helping students change their gender identity without their parents' knowledge.

Olivia Garrison, who is nonbinary, told the New York Times that they felt it was their job as a teacher to 'protect kids' - 'sometimes from their own parents.'

'My job, which is a public service, is to protect kids,' Garrison said. 'Sometimes, they need protection from their own parents.'

Garrison teaches at Del Oro High School in the Kern High School District (KHSD), which has a form that allows students to change their preferred name and gender marker without a parent's signature.

The history teacher, who has previously posted on TikTok about their 'queer safe space classroom,' was one of the dozens of educators, public officials, and parents the New York Times spoke to about gender transitioning in schools.

Olivia Garrison, who has previously posted on TikTok about their 'queer safe space classroom,' has admitted to helping students change their gender identity without parents' knowledge
Police are today hunting a Romanian man after a woman died in a house fire and have warned the public 'if you see him do not approach him'.

Detectives are looking for Georgian Constantin, from Stoke-on-trent, who is wanted on suspicion of murder.

Valentina Cozmai, 40, also from the area died in the house fire on Thursday, February 9 despite the efforts of the emergency services.

Officers and paramedics were called to Campbell Road in Stoke shortly after 3.10pm on following reports of a fire.

Staffordshire Police want to speak to the 42-year-old in connection with her death and are urging anyone who can locate him to get in touch with the police as soon as possible.

Detectives are hunting Georgian Constantin, pictured, who is wanted on suspicion of murder after Valentina Cozmai, 40, died in a house fire

Staffordshire Police want to speak to the 42-year-old in connection with her death and are urging anyone who can locate him to get in touch with the police as soon as possible

Detective Superintendent, Nicki Addison said: 'Officers from across the force are working hard to trace Georgian.

'We are urging anyone who can help us to locate him to get in touch as soon as possible.

'We believe Georgian has travelled to London and also has links to Southampton.

'Members of the public should not approach this man, but if you see him, please contact us immediately on 999.'

Specially trained officers are supporting Ms Cozma's family following the incident.

Police also wish to hear from anyone who was in the Campbell Road area between 2pm and 3.30pm on Thursday.

Local officers are making house-to-house enquiries as we are also looking into whether there were any additional sightings or evidence in alleyways or surrounding streets such as Fletcher Road, Flax Street, Gable Street and Keary Street.

They also appealed for dashcam footage from Campbell Road or nearby streets within the same timeframe.

A spokesperson added: 'Please get in contact if you have any information on Georgians whereabouts, or any information or video footage you might have to support the murder investigation.

'You can contact us via our Major Incident Portal or by calling 101 quoting incident 440 of 9 February. Alternatively, if you want to report anonymously, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.'
An unidentified object was spotted in the skies above Montana, a Republican congressman from the state said on Sunday.

Just before that, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) levied a temporary flight restriction to commercial aircraft above another part of the country, in northern Michigan, before lifting it less than an hour later.

The chaos comes as American officials and residents alike have been unnerved after a Chinese spy balloon was downed off the coast of South Carolina last weekend - but not before traversing several US states at an altitude low enough to be seen by the naked eye.

GOP Rep. Matt Rosendale revealed on Saturday that he was informed of such a developing incident, though officials at the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) later indicated that was a false alarm.

But according to the Montana conservative's latest update - the situation may be more serious than it seemed.

Montana Rep. Matt Rosendale said he was in communication with officials on Sunday about an unidentified object in his state's airspace

It comes after earlier updates he posted about a sighting of an unknown object on Saturday night

'I am in constant communication with NORCOM and they have just advised me that they have confidence there IS an object and it WAS NOT an anomaly,' Rosendale wrote on Twitter.

'I am waiting now to receive visual confirmation. Our nations security is my priority.'

DailyMail.com reached out to NORAD for comment but was directed to the agency's previous public statements. A subsequent inquiry sent on Rosendale's latest post was not immediately returned.

The Pentagon said it had nothing further to add other than NORAD's Saturday night statement.

Montana's Democratic Sen. Jon Tester said on Sunday that he was in touch with Defense officials regarding the developments from Saturday night, but offered no new updates himself.

'Im continuing to receive regular updates from the Pentagon and our intelligence community as we closely monitor American airspace in light of last nights development. I will keep holding them accountable so the public gets the answers they deserve,' Tester said.

The moderate senator indicated earlier on CBS News' Face The Nation that he was still aware of something developing in Montana's airspace.

'I think the investigation is still going on as we speak,' Tester said.

The suspected Chinese spy balloon drifts to the ocean after being shot down off the coast in Surfside Beach, South Carolina, U.S. February 4, 2023

'The truth is, is that there was an anomaly, and they've investigated. I think it got dark last night, so they couldn't fully check it out. I'm sure, as we speak, it's being checked out right now.'

He summarized the uncertainty, 'There may still be something out there. It may be a false alarm.'

If there is indeed an unknown or malign object in Montana's airspace, Tester guessed 'it'll get shot down' by the military.

It's not immediately clear what the object is, or where it's from, but Americans have been on high alert ever since the Chinese spy balloon shot down last weekend led to a host of revelations about Beijing's vast global surveillance program.

Defense officials said they were able to gain valuable insight into China's spy balloon program by studying the device as it drifted across the country, while avoiding shooting it down over the continental US and risking injuries for Americans on the ground.

The US believes China has been carrying this program out across 40 countries in order to learn more about other nations' surveillance capabilities.

It's not clear whether this latest Montana incident is related to the balloon.

On the object spotted over Montana Saturday night, @SenatorTester says his guess is that it will get shot down after the military makes an assessment as to potential collateral damage just like they did on the Chinese spy balloon. pic.twitter.com/DCUbU6ZfWU  Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) February 12, 2023

The potential sighting in Montana on Saturday night led to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) levying a temporary restriction on airspace in the area, though it was lifted later that night.

Rosendale first wrote on Twitter that evening that airspace over Havre, Indiana and the surrounding area was 'closed due to an object that could interfere with commercial air traffic.'

'DOD will resume efforts to observe and ground the object in the morning,' the lawmaker added.

He later posted an update that air traffic had resumed.

NORAD later confirmed in a statement that it temporarily shut down air traffic in central Montana in coordination with the FAA but downplayed the incident as a misidentification.

'NORAD detected a radar anomaly and sent fighter aircraft to investigate,' the statement read.

'Those aircraft did not identify any object to correlate to the radar hits. NORAD will continue to monitor the situation.'
Park, whose new book 'While Time Remains' comes out next week, said students at Columbia University claimed victim status and looked for oppression points

Yeonmi Park, 29, says she 'escaped hell' in Asia only to find a different kind of hell waiting for her in the United States

A North Korean defector who was sold in China as a sex slave for $200 is slamming cancel culture and woke ideologies she compares to North Korea

A woman who defected from North Korea and was at one point sold as a sex slave in China for $200 is slamming cancel culture and woke ideologies in the United States.

Yeonmi Park, 29, who left North Korea as a child and was human trafficked as a teen says she 'escaped hell' in Asia only to arrive in the U.S. and find a different kind of hell awaiting her.

Park, whose new book 'While Time Remains' comes out on February 14, said she was shocked to see how students at her alma mater, Columbia University, claimed victim status.

'They were in Manhattan, living in the freest country you can imagine, and they're saying they're oppressed? It doesn't even compute,' Park told The New York Post, stating she believes a cultural revolution may be imminent.

'I was sold for $200 as a sex slave in the 21st century under the same sky. And they say they're oppressed because people can't follow their pronouns they invent every day?' the woman said.

Yeonmi Park, 29, who left North Korea as a child and was human trafficked as a teen says she 'escaped hell' in Asia only to arrive in the U.S. and find a different kind of hell awaiting her

Park, whose new book 'While Time Remains' comes out next week, said she was shocked to see how students at her alma mater, Columbia University, claimed victim status

Three years after she graduated from Columbia University with a degree in human rights, Park is sharing concerns over red flags she found at her alma mater

Park is one of just 200 North Koreans currently living in the United States.

In 2022, the woman officially became a U.S. citizen, eight years after her family moved to the States.

Since escaping North Korea in 2007 the woman has become a target for Pyongyang.

Park has been censured in her homeland and labeled as a 'poisonous mushroom' and a 'human rights propaganda puppet.'

She has responded to those statements, saying she's glad to have Kim's regime 'feel threatened' by her voice.

This time, however, it's not North Korea the woman is raising red flags over.

Three years after she graduated from Columbia University with a degree in human rights, the woman is sharing that she found similar concerning signals in the U.S.

'I escaped hell on earth and walked across the desert in search of freedom, and found it,' Park writes in her book. 'I don't want anything bad ever to happen to my new home  I want us  need us  to keep the darkness at bay,' she says.

This is a photo of Yeonmi Park as a little girl in North Korea

Three years after she graduated from Columbia University with a degree in human rights, the woman is raising red flags about cancel culture in the U.S.

Park believes the situation is more dire than it would appear.

'I need your help to save our country, while time remains,' she writes in the book.

This isn't the first time she has shared her beliefs regarding the woke policies.

In 2015, in her debut novel, Park compared the environment at Columbia University to that of North Korea.

Park described the school as 'pure indoctrination camp' and said she she thought she was going to learn how to think critically but was instead 'forced to think' a certain way.

The woman also said she believes most students at the elite university are 'brainwashed like North Korean students are.'

'I never understood that not having a problem can be a problem,' Park said.

'They need to make injustice out of thin air or a problem out of nowhere, because they haven't experienced anything like what other people are facing in the world,' she continued.

Park is also the author of 'In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom'

She started attending Columbia University, pictured, in 2016 and said she thought she was going to learn how to think critically but was instead 'forced to think' a certain way

Park said she is concerned about the country and the road ahead for people like her five-year-old son who she shared with her American ex-husband.

The North Korea defector says things like race essentialism and identity politics in the United States worry her greatly.

In North Korea, citizens are divvied up by their bloodlines into 51 classes.

The classes are determined by whether or not their blood is 'tainted' by whether or not their ancestors were 'oppressive,' according to Park.

While the U.S. doesn't do that exactly, she does see similarities.

'That's how the regime divided people. What an individual does doesn't matter. It's all about your ancestors and the collective,' she said.

'They say white people are privileged and guilty and oppressors,' Park said.

'This is the tactic the North Korean regime used to divide people. In America it's the same idea of collective guilt. This is the ideology that drove North Korea to be what it is today  and we're putting it into young American minds.'

Park is one of just 200 North Koreans currently living in the United States

The North Korea defector, seen here with actor Olivia Munn, says things like race essentialism and identity politics in the United States worry her greatly

In her new book, she says she hopes Americans are able to respond quickly before things are too late.

'I really don't think that we have that much time left,' Park warned.

She also warned of what she believes may be an impending cultural revolution due to cancel culture.

'Of course, we're not putting people in front of a firing squad in America now, but their livelihoods, their dignity, their reputations, and their humanity are under attack. When we tell people not to talk, we're censoring their thinking as well. And when you can't think, you're a slave  a brainwashed puppet.'

'Already all our mainstream institutions have the same ideology that North Korea has: socialism, collectivism and equity. We are literally going through a cultural revolution in America. When we realize it, it might be too late.'

Doing everything she can to help the country has become a top goal for the woman who was born in Hyesan, North Korea and grew up under Supreme Leader Kim Jong-il.

'I thought Kim Jong Il was a god who could read my mind,' she said in an interview in 2018. 'I thought his spirit never dies, and I never thought he was a normal human being.'

An estimated 3.5 million North Koreans died of starvation in the first five years of her life and she says the Kim regime even banned words like 'famine' and 'hunger.'

Park said she remembers searching for cockroaches to eat on the way to school, calling conditions incredibly bleak.

'I really don't think that we have that much time left,' Park warned, saying she believes the situation is more dire than people realize

'Darkness in Hyesan is total,' Park writes in her second book. 'It's not just the absence of light, power, and food. It is the absence of dignity, sanctuary, and hope.'

She continues, writing, 'darkness in Hyesan is  watching your parents and neighbors hauled away by police for the crime of collecting insects and plants for their children to eat.'

The girl's family eventually planned a way out after her father was arrested and sentenced to hard labor for trading fish, sugar, and metals to make ends meet.

'I didn't escape in search of freedom, or liberty, or safety. I escaped in search of a bowl of rice,' she writes.

Park and her mother finally escaped North Korea at 13 after her sister had fled.

The women were forced to cross the Yalu River into China and eventually ended up in the hands of human traffickers where they were sold into sex slavery.

Park finally broke free and traveled through the Gobi Desert to Mongolia. She then made her way to South Korea and was granted citizenship.

The woman was also reunited with her sister seven years after they were separated.

Their father died shortly after he managed to escape to China, however.

His death prompted the woman to 'step into a different life: one dedicated to human rights, and improving the lives of people suffering under tyranny. A life of meaning. A life that would make my father proud.'
A survivor of the University of Idaho killings allegedly believed the sounds of four of her housemates being brutally murdered were sounds from college partyers in her house.

Dylan Mortensen, 21, allegedly called out to her friends and roommates during the early morning hours of November 13 to quiet down.

'Calm down, you're being loud!' she reportedly yelled around 4am, in addition to 'I'm trying to sleep!'

The college student then closed and locked her door, according to one report in the New York Post.

After hearing some more loud noises that night, Mortensen opened her door again and saw accused murdered Brian Kohberger, 28, but believed him to be a partygoer.

(L-R) Dylan Mortensen, Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen (on Kaylee's shoulders), Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Bethany Funke

Mortensen told law enforcement authorities she had seen a strange figure dressed in black walking past her toward the back exit of the house just after 4am on the night of the murders.

Authorities determined the four students were killed sometime between 4 and 4.25am.

Police would not be called to the off-campus residence for another eight hours.

In December, Kohberger was arrested in Pennsylvania at his parents' house and charged with the murders of Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20.

Both Mortensen and 21-year-old Bethany Funke were home at the time of the killings, but were left unharmed by the murderer.

Speculators of the shocking case wondered why the surviving roommates went eight hours between the time of the murders and when they called police.

Initial details from an affidavit released in January said that one of the surviving roommates opened her door to find a man 'clad in black clothing and a mask' with bushy eyebrows.

The witness is described as standing in a 'frozen shock phase' as the man walked toward the house's back door before she locked herself in her room.

New details pertaining to the grisly killings were recently revealed that confirmed Kaycee Goncalves and Madison Mogen were killed first, and after Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle were killed on the second floor of the house.

Chapin was murdered in the doorway of Kernodle's room and Kernodle apparently attempted to fight the killer by repeatedly grabbing the knife from suspect Kohberger.

She had deep cuts on her fingers. Chapin apparently was slashed in the neck.

Kohberger allegedly committed the heinous crimes sometime between 4am and 4.25am on November the 13

Bryan Kohberger, 28, was let go from his teaching assistant job due to 'behavioral problems' and for having a 'sexist attitude toward women' days prior to the alleged murders

Investigators removing one of the mattresses from the crime scene

It was recently revealed that there is a distinct possibility the judge in Kohberger's forthcoming trial may lift the gag order currently in place on the families of the victims, who could be asked to testify as witnesses.

The case garnered widespread publicity, and in January Latah County Magistrate Judge Megan Marshall issued the sweeping gag order, barring attorneys, law enforcement agencies and others associated with the case from talking or writing about it.

In the gag order, Marshall said the speech restriction was needed to protect Kohberger's right to a fair trial.

Goncalves' family's attorney Shanon Gray filed an appeal to the gag order earlier this week, calling it "facially overbroad and vague" and unconstitutional, claiming it violated their right to free speech.

'As attorney for one of the Victim's families, I am allowed to relay to the media any of the opinions, views, or statements of those family members regarding any part of the case,' Gray said.

Kohberger's lawyer, public defender Anne Taylor, filed an objection to the appeal, saying it doesn't violate First Amendment rights and is not 'facially vague.'

'If Mr. Gray truly intends only to voice his clients' thoughts and opinions, then the Court's previous exemption has already cured the supposed First Amendment infirmity  Mr. Gray's clients may voice these thoughts and opinions themselves  as they have clearly been doing,' wrote Jay Weston Logsdon, an attorney with Taylor's office.

Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson noted that the victims' families, particularly the Goncalveses, could take the stand.

'The members of the Goncalves family, who are represented by Gray, are potential witnesses in this case, including at trial and/or sentencing,' he wrote in an affidavit Wednesday.

Thirty news organizations have also asked the Idaho Supreme Court to overturn the gag order.

The coalition of news organizations contends that it violates the right to free speech by prohibiting it from happening in the first place.
The Australian baby who has been fighting for her life in a Balinese hospital is due to arrive back in her home country on Monday afternoon with the help of a highly-specialised air medical team.

Seven-week-old Lucky will be on an emergency flight run by Medical Rescue from Bali to Brisbane.

Lucky was rushed to hospital where she was diagnosed with a severe bacterial infection last Wednesday after her mother, Honey Ahimsa, saw the baby was struggling to breathe.

She has spent the past week in a Bali hospital; too frail to be flown back home on a standard flight.

The Australian baby who has been fighting for her life in a Balinese hospital is due to arrive back in her home country this afternoon

Lucky was rushed to hospital and diagnosed with a severe bacterial infection on Wednesday after her mother, Honey Ahimsa, realised she was struggling to breathe

Medical Rescue crew were sent over to Bali on Sunday, first stablising Lucky's condition and then preparing her for the trip home.

The specialist medical group uses rescue helicopters, fixed wing air ambulance and telemedicine support.

Clinical operations manager Josh Campbell told 7News they offered Lucky's family 'essentially a mobile intensive care unit' including a retrieval physician and a specialist intensive care paediatric nurse.

'Its a very delicate operation as you could imagine,' Mr Campbell said.

'We must get her improving and more stable before she can be transported,' Ms Ahimsa wrote in an Instagram post.

'She's fighting strong, yesterday there was a small improvement which is a miracle.'

She added late Friday night: 'The hospital has more specialised staff and better equipment/medicine.'

'Goal is she will make enough improvements and then we can fly to Australia.'

Ms Ahimsa revealed on Friday her child was so sick that her condition was considered too fragile to be flown back home

Lucky has been on a ventilator since she arrived at the Siloam Hospital in Denpasar on Wednesday, unable to breathe on her own.

She was transferred to another hospital on Friday night where she received more comprehensive treatment.

Doctors told Ms Ahimsa and her fiance Pan their baby girl may not make it and has a 50 per cent chance of survival at best.

Lucky's ordeal has sparked an online fundraiser reaching over $190,000 in just a few days.

Hospital care is currently costing the family $5,000 to $8,000 a day, with the flight to Brisbane currently quoted at $106,000.

'She is the most beautiful, gentle little girl and the world needs to know her,' Ms Ahimsa said.

Money raised will also go towards recovery care along with accommodation for Lucky and her family.

'If there are any remaining funds they will be donated to a charity or used to create a non profit establishment that will help children,' the updated page states.
Horrific body cam footage showed the arrest of a North Carolina man tased after resisting arrest an hour before he died.

Darryl Tyree Williams, 32, died after he attempted to fight off officers who with the Raleigh Police Department that approached his parked car on January 17. Williams was with a passenger who ran off.

Officers saw marijuana and an open bottle of alcohol in Williams' car before asking him and the passenger to step outside. Williams repeatedly questioned and disobeyed their orders for questioning before he was tased at least three times and attempted to flee.

The 9-minute video revealed the struggle as Williams warned officers he had a heart conditions before collapsing.

Six officers from the police department have been placed on administrative leave as authorities investigate Williams' death.

Darryl Tyree Williams, 32, died after he attempted to fight off officers with the Raleigh Police Department. Officers approached Williams' car last month that sat outside of a business around 2am. An open bottle of alcohol and marijuana were seen in his car. A controlled substance was also found in his pocket

The 9-minute video revealed the struggle as Williams warned officers he had a heart conditions before collapsing. Several officers had to tackle Williams to keep his down

Officers approached Williams' car last month that sat outside of a business around 2am.

The officers were on patrol in the area which is known to have a 'history of repeat calls for service for drugs, weapons, and other criminal violations.'

An officer can be heard in the bodycam audio approaching Williams' car and instructing him and the passenger to get out and sit on the curb.

'Im not doing anything,' a man can be heard saying to the officer several times.

After disobeying, Williams was then told to lean up against the car to be searched. An officer recovered a folded dollar pill with white powder in his pants pocket.

The footage then showed the officer attempting to arrest Williams for possession of a controlled substance. Williams then became 'resistant' and attempted to fight off officers as one warned he would be tased.

'Stay on the ground,' one officer said.

To which another added: 'Stop, or you'll get tased.'

Three officers jumped to restrain Williams as the taser was deployed and he collapsed to the floor.

Williams managed to break free from the officers and run away before losing his balance and falling onto the street. Another laser was then deployed but missed Williams.

He was tased a second time after refusing to put his hands behind his back.

One officer's third warning to tase him, Williams warned he had a heart condition.

'Ive got heart problems,' Williams shouted. 'Please! Please!'

Police found what they believed was cocaine in Williams' pocket. it was wrapped in a one dollar bill

Williams refused to listen to police as he managed to break free from them. He ran away before losing his balance and falling onto the street

The third taser strike went off as Williams screamed out before losing consciousness.

Officers then placed him in recovery position but didn't realize he wasn't responsive until he ignored their orders to place his knees to his chest.

'He tensed up,' one person said. 'He's breathing.'

Emergency services were immediately called to the scene while one officer performed CPR on Williams.

Williams was transported to the hospital and died about an hour later. His cause of death wasn't immediately available.

Raleigh Police Department identified the officers involved as Officers Thomas, Robinson, D.L. Aquino, J.R. Scott, D.L. Grande and B.L. Ramge.

The third taser strike went off as Williams screamed out before losing consciousness. Officers immediately called emergency services to the scene as one prepared to give him CPR

Williams was transported to the hospital and died about an hour later. His cause of death wasn't immediately available

Williams' death came only a few weeks after the death of 29-year-old Tyre Nichols in Memphis.

Nichols was seen in bodycam footage being brutally beat, kicked and punched by officers.

The terrifying encounter began with a traffic stop, when multiple unmarked cop cars surrounded Nichols' vehicle and officers dragged him from the driver's seat as one could be heard yelling, 'Get the f*** out of the f****** car.'

After hauling the 29-year-old from his car, several cops then begin relentlessly kicking and punching him as he lies on the street. The brawl continued after Nichols attempted to run away but was shortly captured.

Nichols is heard repeatedly screaming, 'Mom! Mom!' during the struggle, but goes silent after blows to his face.

After Nichols is handcuffed, he appeared to be unresponsive and unable to sit upright.

Eventually, he was transported to a local hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries three days later.

Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills, Emmitt Martin, Justin Smith and Tadarrius Bean, are all facing murder charges for their involvement in Nichols' death.

Bodycam footage of Tyre Nichols being beaten to death sparked riots after it was released by the Memphis Police Department

Five Memphis police officers, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills, Emmitt Martin, Justin Smith and Tadarrius Bean, are all facing murder charges for their involvement in Nichols' death
Donald Trump has rolled out some new insults for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis as tensions continue to boil between the two potential 2024 rivals, a new report claimed on Sunday.

The former president has taken to calling the young conservative leader 'Meatball Ron' in reference to his appearance during private conversations, people familiar told the New York Times.

He also reportedly now calls him 'Shutdown Ron' over his state's brief economic and social lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In fact, the report suggests Trump and his campaign are making the pandemic a central issue in their attacks against DeSantis.

Trump's allies and staff are busying themselves with looking into any details that would depict DeSantis as a 'phony' over his COVID-19 response, the Times reported.

Donald Trump is so far the only high-profile Republican candidate in the 2024 presidential race

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is being held up as an alternative for people who liked Trump's policies but not his explosive style - though he has not formally gotten into the race

DeSantis had seen his star rise during the pandemic as a vocal opponent to the Biden administration's public health policies, from vaccinations to remote learning.

He's fast becoming a viable alternative for Republican voters who appreciated Trump's policies but found the man himself to be too bombastic and divisive.

But like most governors, DeSantis did oversee early pandemic restrictions when COVID-19 became a serious issue in the US in March 2020. He made restrictions even stiffer in Broward and Palm Beach counties, shutting down their beaches - which Trump has been quick to bring up in recent weeks.

Trump told CNN on his plane last month that DeSantis was trying to 'rewrite history' on his governing during the pandemic.

DeSantis has not formally declared his intention to run for president, but his refusal to rule out a potential primary challenge to Trump has infuriated the former president.

And in addition to his reportedly snide nicknames thrown out behind closed doors, Trump has ramped up his trademark colorful attacks against the governors in public as well.

He's knocked him as 'Ron DeSanctimonious' on multiple occasions in recent weeks, a nickname Trump debuted just before the midterm election races which earned him criticism from fellow Republicans for shooting inside the tent.

Just last week, Trump used his Truth Social platform to promote rumors that DeSantis partied with underaged girls while working as a teacher at a Georgia high school.

He re-shared a follower's post of an image purported to be a young DeSantis, with three girls around him whose faces are blurred out.

'Ron DeSantis was having a "drink" party with his students when he was a high school teacher. Having drinks with underage girls and cuddling with them certainly look pretty gross and ephebophiliaesque,' the post said.

Trump commented: 'No way?'

'Thats not Ron, is it? He would never do such a thing!' he added in a separate post.

But polls comparing the two potential opponents have shown that the contest is still very much up in the air - and that Trump still holds significant sway over the Republican party base.

And when it comes to surveys of a wider net of potential GOP candidates, Trump still appears to hold the lion's share of support.

One poll released last week by Morning Consult shows the former president still dominating the field with 49 percent support. DeSantis, the runner-up, has 31 percent.

Meanwhile a Monmouth University poll released on Thursday indicates if the 2024 election were held today and just between the two, DeSantis would come out on top.

DeSantis captured 53 percent of the vote from Republican respondents in a hypothetical head-to-head primary race, while Trump netted just 40 percent. The poll was taken January 26 through February 2.
An elderly woman who allegedly bit the arm of a flight attendant during an argument on a plane is among dozens of Australians who were hit with criminal charges at major airports over the summer period.

A total of 49 travellers were hit with 69 offences including alleged assault, drug possession and weapon offences over the school holidays.

Among the most dramatic alleged offences was a 78-year-old woman who is accused of striking another passenger in the face during an argument on board the aircraft.

She then allegedly bit the arm of a flight attendant who had intervened in the dispute.

The incident allegedly unfolded on board a flight from New Zealand to the Gold Coast on January 29.

Police at Sydney Airport charged the woman over allegedly slapping a passenger and biting the flight attendant

The woman is scheduled to appear in court on April 3.

Another incident involved a 41-year-old Australian man who allegedly consumed 700mls of duty-free scotch on an international flight from New Zealand to Sydney on January 9.

The man lost consciousness and allegedly became verbally abusive towards airline staff upon landing.

AFP officers organised for the man to be taken to hospital for medical care.

The operation - codenamed Operation Sleigh - aimed to crack down on offensive, disruptive and illegal behaviour in the air and on the ground.

Another 24 people were handed infringement notices for intoxication, offensive and disorderly behaviour, creating a disturbance and failing to comply with directions from airline staff over the same period.

The AFP warned travellers police were cracking down on behaviour at airports and on planes

AFP Commander Geoff Turner said an increase in bad passenger behaviour had been identified compared to the same holiday period last year.

The AFP charged 28 people with 49 offences during the same period of the 2021-22 summer school holidays.

Another 16 people were issued with infringement notices for a range of incidents including intoxication, smoking in aircraft and traffic offences around the airport.

'In recent months we have seen thousands more passengers travelling through airports across Australia, as state and international borders reopened after the easing of COVID-19 travel restrictions,' Commander Turner said.

'The AFP was more than prepared to manage the expected spike in passenger numbers, with increased patrols resulting in teams responding to a range of incidents to assist the travelling public across the country.'

Offenders who cause chaos on flights can face up to 20 years' imprisonment, according to the AFP.
An Afghan man staying at the targeted asylum seeker hotel spoke of his fear in the aftermath of Friday's violent anti-refugee riots.

Asylum seekers are pleading to be moved from the Suites Hotel in Knowsley, Merseyside following the angered protests that broke out on February 10.

Refugee charity Care 4 Calais said that 'the saddest thing' it heard after the attack was an Afghan man saying, 'I wasnt safe in my country and Im not safe here.'

His thoughts come just over two years after the Taliban regained power in Afghanistan, which saw Afghans clinging onto an evacuation plane in desperate attempts to escape.

Care 4 Calais returned to the hotel today, aiming to cheer up those impacted by Friday's events with chocolates, cakes and other sweet treats.

Riot police pictured at the scene on Friday night, which resulted in the arrests of 15 individuals

'The mood was muted. People were naturally disturbed. The most common things we heard were "We just want to be safe", "we havent done anything wrong" and "Please, can you help us move to another town?",' the charity said.

Protesters set a police van alight and chanted 'get them out' during the riot on February 10.

A total of 15 people, including a 13-year-old, were arrested following the violent scenes.

Jared Skeete, 19, was today charged with violent disorder and assault by beating of an emergency worker. He has been remanded in custody to appear at Wirral Adult Remand Court tomorrow, police say.

The remaining 14 people arrested - 12 men and two women who are mainly from the Knowsley area - have been conditionally bailed pending the outcome of ongoing enquiries.

Police were pelted with missiles and forced to wear protective clothing including riot gear shields and helmets.

Care 4 Calais added: 'The situation is overwhelmingly sad. Every person in that hotel has had to leave their homes and their loved ones behind because of situations that they cannot control and did not ask for. No one does that by choice.

'We met people from Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, Sudan, Iraq  these are some of the most dangerous places in the world. Their homes have been bombed, villages ransacked. Their children have been persecuted. Some have been horribly tortured.

'They came here to ask for our help, believing the UK to be a place of sanctuary. And they have been met with hostility and fear.'

Protesters set a police van alight and chanted 'get them out' during the riot near the Suites Hotel in Knowlsey

A group of men are pictured at one of the windows of the hotel following the riots on Friday night

Protesters pictured outside the hotel on Friday night, where they sang anti-refugee songs amid clashes with police

The riot outside a migrant hotel last night was sparked by fury over an online video

The riots were said to be sparked by an online video of a schoolgirl who said she was sexually harassed by a 25-year-old man allegedly staying at the hostel.

The clip showed the man asking the 15-year-old, wearing a school uniform, for her number.

The teenager, who filmed the exchange on her mobile phone, asked the bearded man his age.

When replying that he was 25, she said: 'You don't do this in this country. You go to jail if you do this.'

The video was said to have been filmed on Tuesday in Kirkby, Merseyside, two miles from the Suites Hotel.

Knowsley MP Sir George Howarth said the demonstration was triggered by 'an alleged incident on social media', adding: 'Until the police have investigated the matter, it is too soon to jump to conclusions and the effort on the part of some to inflame the situation is emphatically wrong.

'If an offence has been committed, the police should deal with it appropriately through due process.'

Chief Constable Serena Kennedy added: 'We understand that prior to this happening last night there were rumours, and misinformation, being circulated on social media following an incident earlier in the week.

'I am mindful of the risks that rumour and speculation bring and want to reassure the public that we are aware of an incident which happened at the beginning of the week and an investigation is ongoing.

The scene outside the Suites Hotel in Kirkby, Liverpool after a protest against the migrants living in the hotel turned nasty on Friday

'Detectives are investigating reports of an incident which occurred in Kirkby on Monday, 6 February, when a man made inappropriate advances toward a teenage girl.

'This was reported by members of the public to police, but no victim was initially identified. Following enquiries, a man in his 20s, was arrested on Thursday, 9 February, in another part of the country on suspicion of a public order offence.

'A file was submitted to the CPS and on their advice he was released with no further action.'

Shadow levelling up secretary and Wigan MP Lisa Nandy described the protest as 'absolutely horrendous' and criticised the Government for creating a 'toxic mix' of anti-migrant rhetoric and poor service provision.

'In the north of England, places like Knowsley, this is not who we are,' she told the BBC.

'The story of the last decade has been the story of people across this country throwing open their homes to refugees from Ukraine, stepping up to support the Syrian appeal, when we had impending disaster.

'Even in the last few weeks, we've had people across the north of England stepping forward to put forward record donations to help with the appalling situation in Turkey and Syria.

'There are a small number of far right activists who whip up hate and hostility in this country, we all need to speak with one voice when we say that we utterly condemn them.'

A police van was destroyed during the riot outside the Suites Hotel in Knowsley, February 10 2023

Shadow levelling up secretary and Wigan MP Lisa Nandy described the protest as 'absolutely horrendous'

Ms Nandy described the Government's decisions to contract out asylum services, forgo consultation with communities and place refugees in unsuitable accommodation as a 'recipe for disaster'.

Referring to Home Secretary Suella Braverman, she said: 'When you lay onto that a Government that talks about things like an "invasion" in relation to immigration, you have a perfect storm, a really toxic mix that is being created.'

It comes after Ms Braverman said the 'alleged behaviour of some asylum seekers' was never an excuse for violence.

'I condemn the appalling disorder in Knowsley last night,' she said.

'The alleged behaviour of some asylum seekers is never an excuse for violence and intimidation.'

Meanwhile, development minister Andrew Mitchell said on Sunday that the violence was 'totally unjustifiable'.

He told the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg: 'We live in a country where peaceful protest is part of our way of life and I strongly support that. But violence in the way that we saw on Friday night is completely unacceptable, and the Government condemn it absolutely.'

He rejected suggestions that the Government had helped stir up anti-migrant sentiment, adding that it has housed 'thousands and thousands of Ukrainian refugees' along with people from Hong Kong and Afghanistan.

'This is an unprecedented time in terms of Britain helping people who are caught in desperate jeopardy,' he said.

'We have a duty to welcome these people - often they are caught in desperate jeopardy, but equally we have a duty to house them appropriately and to work with local people.

'The Home Office is trying very hard now to stop the excessive use of hotels and find different ways of placing them in appropriate places in the community. And that is something that the Home Office will achieve.'
Footage has emerged from the moment a catastrophic 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Turkey showing nurses rushing to try and save newborn babies amid the violent tremor.

Turkish politician Fatma Sahin shared the video online and praised the 'amazing' neonatal staff that rushed into an intensive care room and tried to hold the infants' incubators steady.

The footage was taken from the ward's CCTV cameras, which remained working during Monday's 7.8 and 7.7 magnitude earthquakes.

The clip has garnered huge praise online as it shows a moment of selflessness from frontline workers desperate to save lives, as the death toll from the quakes which impacted Turkey and Syria climbed past 33,000 on Sunday.

Miraculously, some survivors have been pulled from piles of rubble in Turkey today, including a ten-year-old girl, but tensions are rising in the region due to a lack of food, water and shelter.

But it comes as UN chiefs warn the world has 'failed' Syria, which has seen almost no aid compared to the millions of pounds that have poured into Turkey in the last week.

At the start of the clip the intensive care ward appears empty of staff as the incubators begin to shake

The footage shows the moment the first earthquake hit, when the ward appeared empty except for incubators.

There are least five babies in the room, and their incubators begin violently shaking, with some moving on the floor.

Two nurses dressed in black scrubs rush into the ward seconds later, and hold those most affected as still as possible.

The clip shows how they continued to hold the incubators steady until after the shaking stopped.

The incident was recorded in a hospital in Gaziantep, south Turkey.

It comes as a 10-year-old girl was pulled alive from the rubble after six days in quake-hit Turkey.

Video footage shows the young girl, Cudi, being pulled from a deep, narrow hole in the ground by rescuers after being trapped for almost a week.

The debris-covered child is then placed on a bed, covered in a foil blanket and carried to safety.

It comes amid fears that the death toll could reach 50,000, currently passing 33,000 since the earthquake struck on Monday.

Multiple aid organisations were forced to suspend operations due to security fears after gunfire was reported in the disaster zone.

Two staff members enter the ward seconds after the quake began to try and keep the infants stable

The two women, believed to be nurses, held several of the incubators in place to try and limit their movements

While the nurse on the left held one incubator steady, the nurse on the right tried to keep two from moving around

Meanwhile, German rescuers and the Austrian army reported clashes between unnamed factions, which are expected to become more violent as food supplies decrease in coming days.

In a central district of one of the worst hit cities, Antakya in southern Turkey, business owners emptied their shops on Sunday to prevent merchandise from being stolen by looters.

Residents and aid workers who came from other cities cited worsening security conditions, with widespread accounts of businesses and collapsed homes being robbed.

Facing questions over his response to the earthquake as he prepares for a national election that is expected to be the toughest of his two decades in power, President Tayyip Erdogan has said the government will deal firmly with looters.

Officials in Turkey said 113 arrest warrants were issued in connection with the construction of buildings that collapsed in the quake.

Rescuers also pulled a seven-month-old baby and a teenage girl from the rubble earlier today.

UN emergency relief coordinator Martin Griffiths told Sky: 'I think it is difficult to estimate precisely [how many have died] as we need to get under the rubble but I'm sure it will double or more.

'That's terrifying. This is nature striking back in a really harsh way.'

He added: 'We haven't really begun to count the number of dead.'

He added he expects the death toll to at least double after he arrived in southern Turkey yesterday to assess the quake's damage.

A 10-year-old girl, Cudi, was pulled from the rubble almost a week after the quake in Turkey

She is placed on a bed, covered in a foil blanket and carried to safety by rescuers

The rescue team entered a deep hole before pulling out Cudi whose hair and body was covered in dust and debris

Dozens of rescuers came to her aid after she was trapped underground for almost a week

Families were racing against time to find their missing relatives' bodies in southern Turkey

UN relief chief Martin Griffiths said he expected the death toll to at least double after he arrived in southern Turkey yesterday to assess the quake's damage

Officials in Turkey said 113 arrest warrants were issued in connection with the construction of buildings that collapsed in the quake

Tens of thousands of rescue workers continue to scour flattened neighbourhoods despite freezing weather that has deepened the misery of millions.

A seven-month-old baby named Hamza was rescued in southern Hatay more than 140 hours after the quake, while Esma Sultan, 13, was saved in Gaziantep.

Families were racing against time to find their missing relatives' bodies in southern Turkey.

'We hear (the authorities) will no longer keep the bodies waiting after a certain period of time, they say they will take them and bury them,' Tuba Yolcu said in Kahramanmaras.

Another family clutched each other in grief at a cotton field transformed into a cemetery, with a seemingly endless stream of bodies arriving for swift burial.

Griffiths toured quake-hit areas of Kahramanmaras on Saturday, telling Sky News he expected the death toll to 'double or more'.

'Soon, the search and rescue people will make way for the humanitarian agencies whose job it is to look after the extraordinary numbers of those affected for the next months,' he said in a video posted to Twitter.

Today 28-year-old Elif Kirmizi was rescued from under the rubble after quakes hit

Many people came to her rescue as she was placed on a bed and carried to safety

The United Nations has warned that at least 870,000 people urgently need hot meals across Turkey and Syria. In Syria alone, up to 5.3 million people may have been made homeless.

Almost 26 million people have been affected by the earthquake, the World Health Organization (WHO) said as it launched a flash appeal on Saturday for $42.8 million to cope with immediate health needs.

It warned that dozens of hospitals had been damaged.

Turkey's disaster agency said more than 32,000 people from Turkish organisations are working on search-and-rescue efforts. There are also at least 8,294 international rescuers.

Restaurants are working hard in Gaziantep city, Turkey's gourmet capital, among tens of thousands of volunteers to help and feed families.

'Our co-workers are in a bad situation. Their families are victims and their houses are destroyed,' said Burhan Cagdas, the owner of a local diner that has served up to 4,000 free meals a day outdoors since the tragedy struck.

Tens of thousands of rescue workers continue to scour flattened neighbourhoods despite freezing weather that has deepened the misery of millions

Turkey's disaster agency said more than 32,000 people from Turkish organisations are working on search-and-rescue efforts. There are also 8,294 international rescuers

His own family has been sleeping in cars since Monday in the city where at least 2,000 have died and tens of thousands have been forced out of unsafe homes.

Clashes have also been reported in Syria and the UN rights office on Friday urged all sides in the affected area - where Kurdish militants and Syrian rebels operate - to allow humanitarian access.

Austrian soldiers and German rescue workers called off their searches for several hours on Saturday in Hatay, citing difficult security amid firing between local groups.

The outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, considered a terrorist group by Ankara and its Western allies, has announced a temporary halt in fighting to ease recovery work.

A border crossing between Armenia and Turkey also opened for the first time in 35 years on Saturday to allow five trucks carrying food and water into the quake-hit region.

Almost 26 million people have been affected by the earthquake, the World Health Organization (WHO) said

In Hatay, 2-year-old Aliye Dagli, was rescued from the remains of his collapsed home-117 hours after Turkey was hit

A cat rescued from collapsed buildings appears miraculously calm and untouched by the catastrophic quakes

Officials say 12,141 buildings were either destroyed or seriously damaged in the earthquake

Aid has been slow to arrive in Syria, where years of conflict have ravaged the healthcare system and parts of the country remain under the control of rebels.

'We have so far failed the people in north-west Syria,' United Nations aid chief Martin Griffiths tweeted from the Turkey-Syria border on Sunday, where only a single crossing is open for UN aid supplies.

He added: 'Looking for international help that hasn't arrived. My duty and our obligation is to correct this failure as fast as we can. That's my focus now.'

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus took a flight full of emergency medical equipment into the quake-stricken city of Aleppo on Saturday.

Tedros toured damaged areas of the city and met two children who lost their parents in the earthquake.

'There are no words to express the pain they are going through,' he tweeted.

Damascus said it had approved the delivery of humanitarian assistance to quake-hit areas outside its control in Idlib province and a convoy was expected to leave on Sunday. The delivery was later postponed without explanation.

The transport ministry said 57 aid planes had landed in Syria this week.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged the Security Council to authorise the opening of new cross-border aid points between Turkey and Syria.

Turkey said it was working on opening two new routes into rebel-held parts of Syria.

Five days of grief and anguish have been slowly building into rage at the poor quality of buildings as well as the government's response to Turkey's worst disaster in nearly a century.

Officials say 12,141 buildings were either destroyed or seriously damaged in the earthquake.

Turkish police reportedly detained 12 people on Saturday, including contractors, over collapsed buildings in the southeastern provinces of Gaziantep and Sanliurfa.

Several were detained at airports while attempting to flee the country.

Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said 131 people were under investigation for their alleged responsibility in the construction of buildings that failed to withstand the quakes. While the quakes were powerful, many in Turkey blame faulty construction for multiplying the devastation.

Rescue teams from all around the world, including more than 70 specialist search and rescue workers from the UK, have rushed to the region to try and reach as many survivors as possible before time runs out.

It is estimated that survivors can live for up to a week under the rubble, and teams have turned to thermal imaging and sniffer dogs to help find them.

Teams from Austria, Germany and India are among those who remain in the area, alongside British rescuers.

The British team includes firefighters, a structural engineer to assess the danger of sites, and four sniffer dogs.
They are not calling them balloons - because they are still not sure what they are

Authorities are not ruling out that the three most recent objects could be aliens

The Pentagon has refused to rule out the possibility that a slew of unidentified objects shot out of the sky in recent days could be linked to extraterrestrials.

A US fighter jet shot down an 'unidentified object' over Lake Huron on Sunday on orders from President Joe Biden. It was the third such downing in three days, and the latest military strike in an extraordinary chain of events over U.S. airspace that Pentagon officials believe has no peacetime precedent.

US Air Force General Glen VanHerck said intelligence services were exploring all avenues - including the notion the three most recent objects could be linked to extraterrestrials.

'I'll let the intel community and the counterintelligence community figure that out. I haven't ruled out anything,' VanHerck said. 'At this point we continue to assess every threat or potential threat, unknown, that approaches North America with an attempt to identify it.'

The object detected Sunday was described by defense officials as an unmanned 'octagonal structure' with 'potential surveillance capabilities' and strings attached to it.

An F-16 fighter jet shot it down from around 20,000ft over the Great Lakes at 2:42pm - after two other crafts were destroyed over Alaska and Canada on Friday and Saturday.

A Chinese balloon was shot down on February 4 over South Carolina, meaning the US air force has now downed four objects in just eight days.

This is the image of the 148th Fighter Wing F-16C that shot down the unidentified object over Lake Heron on Sunday. The missile is circled. The fighter jet is pictured landing back at Madison missing an AIM-9X

VanHerck said that, unlike the Chinese spy balloon, all three UFOs gunned down over the weekend were of a similar size and speed.

Timeline of recent UFO sightings over US airspace Wednesday, February 1: Chinese balloon is spotted above Montana (this is not being referred to as a UFO as it was identified as a balloon) Saturday, February 4: Chinese balloon is shot down off the coast of South Carolina after having drifted across the country Thursday, February 9: First UFO is detected off coast of northern Alaska Friday, February 10: UFO is shot down over Deadhorse, Alaska Saturday, February 11: Second UFO is shot down over Mayo, Yukon, Canada. FAA shuts down airspace over Montana citing another possible UFO, but NORAD claims it was a 'radar anomaly' Sunday, February 12: Third UFO is detected over the Great Lakes and shot down Advertisement

He added that the since the Chinese balloon was found in late January, the US adjusted its radar so it could track slower objects. He explained that this radar adjustment, plus the heightened state of alert following the Chinese balloon, explains the frequency of UFO sightings.

'With some adjustments, we've been able to get a better categorization of radar tracks now,' he said, 'and that's why I think you're seeing these, plus there's a heightened alert to look for this information.'

But this gave way to concerns the US air force may have missed untold numbers of UFOs in the past.

US Senator Marco Rubio tweeted: 'The last 72 hours revealed to the public what was happening for years, unidentified aircraft routinely operating over restricted US airspace.

'This is why I pushed to take this seriously and created a permanent UAP task force two years ago.'

Christopher Mellon, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Intelligence in the Clinton and George W. Bush administrations, said: 'The USAF *really* has some explaining to do when it comes to UAP. People who are surprised at the presence of these objects haven't been paying attention.

'One of the reasons why I've been calling for changes to our sensor and reporting procedures for years.'

VanMerck said the air force is still unsure how the three objects were staying aloft, as they currently have unknown propulsion systems. He added: 'We're calling them objects, not balloons, for a reason.'

He added: 'I believe this is the first time within United States or American airspace that NORAD or United States Northern Command has taken kinetic action against an airborne object.'

As the Pentagon more closely scrutinizes US airspace, authorities are not ruling out that there may be more sightings and shoot-downs in the coming days.

Speaking about the most recent object shot down on Sunday, a Department of Defense spokesperson said: 'Based on its flight path and data we can reasonably connect this object to the radar signal picked up over Montana, which flew in proximity to sensitive DOD sites.

'We did not assess it to be a kinetic military threat to anything on the ground, but assess it was a safety flight hazard and a threat due to its potential surveillance capabilities. Our team will now work to recover the object in an effort to learn more.'

US Senator Marco Rubio and former defense and intelligence official Christopher Mellon criticized the US air force and radar procedures, claiming untold numbers of UFOs may have been operating in US airspace unbeknownst to authorities

US Air Force General Glen VanHerck said they are still unsure how the three objects were staying aloft, as they currently have unknown propulsion systems

The object on Sunday was shot down because of the increased 'abundance of caution.' It has not yet been identified.

A spokesperson said on Sunday night: 'We will remain vigilant. The operations in the last week have been successful in taking down the potential threats.'

The Pentagon added: 'Its path and altitude raised concerns, including that it could be a hazard to civil aviation. The location chosen for this shoot down afforded us the opportunity to avoid impact to people on the ground while improving chances for debris recovery.

'There are no indications of any civilians hurt or otherwise affected.'

The revelation that the air force is not ruling out that this could be extraterrestrial comes after a report in December revealed The Department of Defense has analyzed 'hundreds' of UFO sightings from its service members since last year.

Some of objects flying in ways they don't yet understand, and some in space and underwater, officials revealed.

The head of the government's UFO office Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick revealed that they had received reports from intelligence and military officers and other agencies of unidentified objects not only in the air, but also underwater and even in space  and emphasized the DoD's cooperation with NASA in trying to identify UFOs.

Rep. Jack Bergman, of Michigan, tweeted Sunday afternoon that he had been in contact with his colleagues at the Department of Defense following reports of an unidentified aircraft making its way across the Great Lakes.

Around 3.30pm, he revealed: 'The US military has decommissioned another 'object' over Lake Huron.'

The announcement marks the object shot down by the American military over the weekend, after one was shot down over Alaska on Friday and another was shot down in Canada on Saturday.

Democrat Debbie Dingell - from Michigan where Sunday's UFO was downed - said: 'We need the facts about where they are originating from, what their purpose is, and why their frequency is increasing.'

Meanwhile, GOP Rep. Matt Rosendale has insisted that there is another mysterious flying object in the skies above Montana, where air space was closed Sunday afternoon.

HOW WERE RADAR SYSTEMS USED TO SPOT THE UFO? The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) has spotted a Chinese balloon and three UFOs in the last month using its radar systems. Officials said that the increased number of hits could be the result of recent changes made to the way analysts are interpreting radar information. Certain filters have been removed which would normally limit the amount of raw data collected, and simplify the process. This is making the radar systems more sensitive so they can pick up harder-to-detect objects. But it also makes it harder to distinguish between actual UFOs and background noise. However, this does not mean that NORAD has ruled out deliberate action from an adversary. Radar is an acronym for RAdio Detection And Ranging, and was first developed in World War Two to aid fighter pilots Radar is an acronym for RAdio Detection And Ranging, and was first developed in World War Two to aid fighter pilots. It works by a machine sending out a high-frequency radio wave and then a separate sensor detecting it when it bounces back. This is much the same way that sight works; light is bounced off an object and into the eye, where it is detected and processed. Instead of using visible light, which has a small wavelength, radar uses radio waves which have a far larger wavelength. By detecting the range of waves that have bounced back, a computer can create an image of what is ahead that is invisible to the human eye. This can be used to see through different materials, in darkness, fog and a variety of different weather conditions. Scientists often use this method to detect terrain and also see to study archaeological and valuable finds. US Northern Command Commander General Glen VanHerck said that the recent UFOs objects produce a 'very, very low radar cross-section'. A radar cross-section is a measure of how much radar energy an object reflects back to the sensors, and therefore how detectable it is. It is dependent on the object's size, shape, material and orientation. A low radar cross-section could be produced by a small, smooth object with lots of curves that is positioned edge-on towards the emitted signal. Advertisement

It remains unknown whether these flying objects are more Chinese spy balloons, as the White House refuses to characterize them until the debris is collected.

United States Rep. Elise Slotkin also confirmed that the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena was struck down over Lake Huron.

'The object has been downed by pilots from the US [Air Force] and National Guard,' she tweeted. 'Great work by all who carried out this mission both in the air and back at headquarters.

'We're all interested in exactly what this object was and its purpose. she continued. 'As long as these things keep traversing the US and Canada, I'll continue to ask for Congress to get a full briefing based on our exploration from the wreckage.

The Democrat had earlier tweeted that 'our military has an extremely close eye on the object above Lake Huron.

'We'll know more about what this was in the coming days, but for now, be assured that all parties have been laser-focused on it from the moment it traversed our waters.'

Only a few hours earlier, the Federal Aviation Administration abruptly closed 'national defense airspace' over part of Lake Michigan.

The agency announced that it closed down the area to examine a 'potential contact'. It was lifted less than an hour later.

GOP Rep. Matt Rosendale revealed on Saturday that he was informed of such a developing incident, though officials at the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) later indicated that was a false alarm.

But according to the Montana conservative's latest update - the situation may have been more serious than it seemed.

'I am in constant communication with NORCOM and they have just advised me that they have confidence there IS an object and it WAS NOT an anomaly,' Rosendale wrote on Twitter.

'I am waiting now to receive visual confirmation. Our nation's security is my priority.'

Montana Rep. Matt Rosendale said he was in communication with officials on Sunday about an unidentified object in his state's airspace

It comes after earlier updates he posted about a sighting of an unknown object on Saturday night

DailyMail.com reached out to NORAD for comment but was directed to the agency's previous public statements. A subsequent inquiry sent on Rosendale's latest post was not immediately returned.

The Pentagon said it had nothing further to add other than NORAD's Saturday night statement.

Montana's Democratic Sen. Jon Tester said on Sunday that he was in touch with Defense officials regarding the developments from Saturday night, but offered no new updates himself.

'I'm continuing to receive regular updates from the Pentagon and our intelligence community as we closely monitor American airspace in light of last night's development. I will keep holding them accountable so the public gets the answers they deserve,' Tester said.

The moderate senator indicated earlier on CBS News' Face The Nation that he was still aware of something developing in Montana's airspace.

'I think the investigation is still going on as we speak,' Tester said.

'The truth is, is that there was an anomaly, and they've investigated. I think it got dark last night, so they couldn't fully check it out. I'm sure, as we speak, it's being checked out right now.'

He summarized the uncertainty, 'There may still be something out there. It may be a false alarm.'

If there is indeed an unknown or malign object in Montana's airspace, Tester guessed 'it'll get shot down' by the military.

It's not immediately clear what the object is, or where it's from, but Americans have been on high alert ever since the Chinese spy balloon shot down last weekend led to a host of revelations about Beijing's vast global surveillance program.

Defense officials said they were able to gain valuable insight into China's spy balloon program by studying the device as it drifted across the country, while avoiding shooting it down over the continental US and risking injuries for Americans on the ground.

A flight radar shows military aircraft scrambled off the northeast coast of Alaska to search for the debris from the unidentified object. This comes after the US reportedly developed a system in 2022 to detect spy balloons on a radar

The fighter jets were scrambled from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson near Anchorage on Friday morning to intercept the object near Deadhorse Bay (above) on the northeast coast

The sighting on Sunday marks the third unidentified aerial object found flying over American soil in just one weekend.

On Thursday, officials said, a UAP  or unidentified aerial phenomena  was picked up on United States radar when it was crossing over Alaska.

Crews then conducted a fly-by that night, with a second on Friday morning.

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby revealed on Friday it had been shot down within an hour of an order issued by President Joe Biden.

The object was taken down by an F-22 using an A9X missile out of Joint Base ElmendorfRichardson in Anchorage.

Several officials also said the object shattered into pieces after being struck by the missile, adding to the mystery of what the object truly is.

A US official revealed the pilots who intercepted the object said it had a cylindrical shape and no observable surveillance equipment attached.

Authorities have only said it was traveling at an altitude that was potentially harmful for civilian aircrafts, The New York Times reported.

The Pentagon has now launched a recovery operation to collect the debris from the surface of the frozen waters off Alaska.

Justin Trudeau, Canada's prime minister, is seen on Tuesday. On Saturday he announced an 'unidentified object' had been shot down over the Yukon

The next day, another UAP was spotted flying over Canada.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Saturday that he had requested US and Canadian forces scramble to intercept 'an unidentified object that violated Canadian airspace', and a U.S. F-22 shot it down at 3:41pm Eastern Standard Time.

A senior government source explained to CBC News that the object crossed into Canadian territory on Saturday morning. It was described as being smaller than the Chinese spy balloon that made its way across the US earlier this month.

Two F-22s were dispatched from the U.S. from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska; and two F-18s from Cold Lake Air Base in Alberta, Canada to shoot down the object over Canada.

It was shot down with an AIM-9X missile at 3:41pm Eastern Standard Time, and was flying at about 40,000 feet. The missile is described by the manufacturer as 'the most advanced infrared-tracking, short-range, air-to-air and surface-to-air missile in the world.'

In the aftermath, Trudeau said Canadian teams were now working to recover the debris.

'I ordered the take down of an unidentified object that violated Canadian airspace,' he tweeted on Saturday.

'@NORADCommand shot down the object over the Yukon. Canadian and U.S. aircraft were scrambled, and a U.S. F-22 successfully fired at the object.'

Trudeau said that he had been in contact with Biden about the intrusion.

He thanked NORAD - the North American Aerospace Defense Command, based in Colorado Springs, Colorado - for their work with his forces.

'I spoke with President Biden this afternoon. Canadian Forces will now recover and analyze the wreckage of the object,' Trudeau said.

'Thank you to NORAD for keeping the watch over North America.'

Canada's defense minister, Anita Anand, also praised the joint operation.

She said that she had discussed the incident with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin 'and reaffirmed that we'll always defend our sovereignty together.'

The origins of these aircraft remain unclear, with the Biden administration contradicting Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's assertation that they balloons.

Officials have said they would not definitively characterize these aircrafts as 'balloons' until the debris is recovered.

A spokesperson for the National Security Council has also said that the latest objects did not closely resemble a Chinese spy balloon that was shot down off the coast of South Carolina last weekend.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer received a briefing on the two recently downed objects on Saturday night

Schumer said the objects were 'much smaller' than the balloon downed earlier this month, which was confirmed by US Defense officials to be a spying device from Beijing.

He did not say where those objects originated or whether he learned of their purpose, nor did he give any indication they were related to China's surveillance program.

Republicans had heaped criticism on the Biden administration for only shooting it down after it traversed several US states at a low enough altitude to be seen by the naked eye - unnerving millions of Americans. .

By contrast, the objects shot down over Alaska on Friday and Canada on Saturday were taken down in remote wilderness shortly after detection.

But on Sunday, Schumer defended the Pentagon's response to the initial balloon and praised how the latest two incidents were handled.

'Both of those, one over Canada, one over Alaska were at 40,000 feet. Immediately it was determined that that's a danger to commercial aircraft which also fly at 40,000 feet,' Schumer said.

'The first balloon, there was a much different rationale which I think was the appropriate rationale. We got enormous intelligence information from surveilling the balloon as it went over the United States.'

The New York Democrat did not say whether the latter two also came from China or if they were used for surveillance.

Since then the Pentagon has revealed it detected one other balloon in US airspace under the Biden administration, as well as three across Donald Trump's White House term - something the Republican administration's officials have denied.

Defense officials believe they are part of a massive surveillance effort spanning 40 different countries - but one that the US did not detect until President Biden took office.

'It is wild that we didn't know,' Schumer conceded during his television interview.

CNN's Natasha Bertrand revealed over the weekend that F-35 pilots charged with taking down an unidentified flying object over Alaska did not know what it was

Fighter pilots who shot down the object over Alaska have revealed that it 'interfered with their sensors' and had 'no identifiable propulsion system.'

In an interview with host Jim Acosta on Saturday, CNN's Natasha Bertrand reported on the findings of the F-35 pilots called in to take down an unidentified flying object over Alaska on Friday.

She brought up the fact that another unidentified flying object was shot down over Alaska on Friday by Air Force pilots who 'were not able to identify what they saw.

'So when the US first detected this object over Alaska on Thursday, they sent up F-35 jets to kind of look at it and see what was going on. And these pilots reported back very conflicting accounts,' she revealed.

'Some of them said that this object was actually interfering with the sensors of their aircraft and they couldn't figure out why, because there was no identifiable kind of surveillance equipment on the object.

'There was nothing that appeared readily able to interfere with that communication system,' Bertrand said.

'And then other pilots were saying that they did not see anything on the object that appeared able to propel it, that it seemed like there was no way that this was actually able to stay in the air.'

She pointed out that the pilots were flying really fast so it is 'possible that these pilots just didn't get a good look at it.'

'But that is part of why the Pentagon has been so reluctant to come out and say more about what this object actually is.'
Bridges bring benefits to China's mountainous province

Xinhua) 09:18, February 12, 2023

* Bridges are an unmistakable feature of the transportation infrastructure in Guizhou. The province has built nearly 30,000 bridges since the late 1970s and is now home to nearly half of the 100 tallest bridges in the world.

* Due to the large number of bridges, their types, and the complex technologies used in the construction of the bridges, Guizhou is known as "the museum of world bridges."

* Bridges witness the leapfrog development of transport in the mountainous province. They are also a unique cultural symbol of Guizhou that represent its deepening communication with the outside world.

GUIYANG, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- During the past Spring Festival holiday, a large number of tourists visited the Beipanjiang Bridge, a world record holder, in southwest China's Guizhou Province.

Sitting over 565 meters above a valley, equivalent to the height of a 200-story building, the bridge has been certified as the world's highest bridge by the Guinness World Records.

Bridges are an unmistakable feature of the transportation infrastructure in Guizhou. With 92.5 percent of its area covered by mountains and hills, the province has built nearly 30,000 bridges since the late 1970s and is now home to nearly half of the 100 tallest bridges in the world.

Thanks to the construction of bridges, the mountainous province is becoming deeply integrated with the nation's transportation network, bringing an improved quality of life for local residents.

This aerial photo taken on Feb. 10, 2023 shows the Beipanjiang Bridge on the Hangzhou-Ruili Expressway, southwest China's Guizhou Province. (Xinhua/Tao Liang)

"THE MUSEUM OF WORLD BRIDGES"

Due to the large number of bridges, their types, and the complex technologies used in the construction of the bridges, Guizhou is known as "the museum of world bridges," according to the provincial department of transport.

Above the grand canyon of Huajiang River, which features towering cliffs and fast-flowing currents, the mega project of a steel-truss girder suspension bridge is under construction.

With a vertical height of 625 meters from the bridge deck down to the water's surface, the bridge is expected to become the highest in the world after completion in 2025. It will cut the travel time across the canyon from about an hour to a mere minute.

Deep gorges, steep terrains, and the highly developed karst landscape left the project team with few choices but to design such a high bridge, said Wu Chaoming, the project manager of the bridge, adding that builders had to dig 68 meters beneath the ground to establish the pile foundation on one side to ensure its safety and stability.

This aerial photo taken on Jan. 31, 2023 shows the construction site of a bridge on the Liuzhi-Anlong Expressway over the grand canyon of Huajiang River, southwest China's Guizhou Province. (Xinhua/Tao Liang)

For bridge expert, Han Hongju, who is the chief engineer of Guizhou Communications Construction Group Co., Ltd, the height of a bridge is not the only indication of sophistication in bridge building.

"It is far more challenging to build a bridge with a long span above deep gorges in mountainous areas," said Han.

When designing the Beipanjiang Grand Bridge, another bridge over the Beipan River, in 2013, Han came up with the innovative idea of using a beam bridge to support a major span of 290 meters.

The new approach defied the norm at that time when cable-stayed and suspension bridges were the first choices to deal with spans exceeding 200 meters, even though that meant a significant rise in construction costs.

"Bigger doesn't mean better in bridge building. Being economical is also a priority. The best bridge is the one that suits its conditions," said Han.

Under his guidance, Liuzhi Bridge on Nayong-Qinglong Expressway is under construction. With a span of 320 meters, the bridge is expected to set a new record for the span of prestressed concrete beam bridges.

PATH TO PROSPERITY

In December last year, Dafa Canal Bridge was put into operation in the Zunyi City of Guizhou after four years of construction. It has made Tuanjie Village, located in the deep mountains, more accessible.

"Building the bridge in a remote area is no easy task. It's a bridge that will bring happiness and prosperity to our local residents," said Huang Dafa, former Party chief of Tuanjian Village.

Huang Dafa, former Party chief of Tuanjian Village, sits under the Dafa Canal Bridge near the village in southwest China's Guizhou Province, June 16, 2021. (Xinhua/Liu Xu)

"More people are coming to the village, and business is booming," said Wang Chaohai, the incumbent village Party chief, adding that villagers aim to take full advantage of the convenient transport to sell high-quality rice and other agricultural products.

In recent years, many bridges in Guizhou have turned out to be popular tourist attractions owning to the stunning scenery around them.

Ma Xuanjun, a farmer living near the Beipanjiang Bridge, turned his newly-built brick house into a rural inn in 2019 and started to receive tourists from afar.

"Before the bridge was built, it would take us four hours to climb over the mountain to the town seat," said Ma, as he pointed to the gliding ropes that were used to cross the river.

Now, his inn is decorated with photos he took with tourists from home and abroad.

"Many tourists visited our village for the bridge. I will do my best to make them feel happy and remember my hometown," Ma said.

This aerial photo taken on Feb. 10, 2023 shows the rural inn (R) run by Ma Xuanjun near the Beipanjiang Bridge on the Hangzhou-Ruili Expressway, southwest China's Guizhou Province. (Xinhua/Tao Liang)

Xu Xianghua, the chief engineer of the Guizhou provincial department of transport, said that bridges witness the leapfrog development of transport in the mountainous province.

Bridges are also a unique cultural symbol of Guizhou that represent its deepening communication with the outside world, Xu added.

HARMONY BETWEEN HUMANS AND NATURE

For a long time, bridge builders in Guizhou had been troubled by a lack of high-quality materials for building bridges. As the rivers in the province mainly flow from alpine gorge areas, they produce little river sand, a key material for making concrete.

Shi Dawei, the chief engineer of Guizhou Expressway Group Co., Ltd, recalled that builders had to buy high-standard river sand from Chongqing Municipality and Hunan Province, or even from foreign countries like Malaysia.

To reduce the cost of materials, builders resorted to natural mountain rocks in the province, as bridge building often involved excavating mountains. After 20 years of effort, they succeeded in developing sand-making techniques by machines.

Since 2011, a total of more than 20 million cubic meters of machine-made sand have been used in Guizhou, saving over 7 billion yuan (about 1.03 billion U.S. dollars) in construction costs. The large-scale application of machine-made sand has also reduced river sand mining, thus contributing to environmental protection.

Guizhou is an important ecological barrier in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and the Pearl River. However, it is one of the largest areas in China that suffers from stony desertification.

Due to the fragile ecological environment, how to minimize the impact on nature has always been a top priority for bridge builders in Guizhou. The new Huayudong Bridge, built in June 2021 to replace a decades-old one, is an exemplary case in this regard.

This stitched aerial photo taken on Feb. 1, 2023 shows the Huayudong Bridge in southwest China's Guizhou Province. (Xinhua/Ou Dongqu)

As the bridge is located at a scenic spot and also a protected area for a drinking water source, the designers and builders made extra efforts to reduce the environmental impact of the project.

Instead of building the new bridge after demolishing the old one, they used the old bridge as a construction platform and transport pathway and dismantled it step by step as the project proceeded.

The new approach ensured a smoother structural transition from the old bridge to the new one, thus greater construction safety, said Yang Jian, chief designer of the project.

Last April, the Huayudong Bridge won the Gustav Lindenthal Medal, one of the most prestigious bridge construction awards in the world.

The award is a recognition of the building techniques, environmental protection efforts, and aesthetic values of the Huayudong Bridge project, said Yang.

(Web editor: Xian Jiangnan, Sheng Chuyi)
A mum in need of a lifesaving heart transplant has lashed out at Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews after being told she must take a Covid vaccine if she wanted the surgery.

Melbourne-mother-of-two Vicki Derderian said on Monday she had been turned away by doctors because of vaccine mandates, which are enforced by the Victorian government

She said she was informed of her ineligibility for the operation because she had not taken a Covid jab.

A mother has lashed out at Daniel Andrews after she was refused a heart transplant because she is not vaccinated against Covid

Melbourne mother-of-two Vicki Derderian took aim at the Victorian premier saying she had been unable to access the life saving surgery

'The hospital stance at the moment is no jab, no heart,' Ms Derderian told Channel Nine's Today Show.

'Because of these mandates, it has interfered with patient doctor relationships, patients like myself.

'We're being pushed in the corner and coerced to take something that goes against what we believe in, or not receive life saving treatment.'

Dr Nick Coatsworth shared his sympathies with the 'strong woman' but said there was a good reason surgery patients needed the vaccine.

His support for the mandate in this instance was at odds with his previous outspoken opposition to compulsory vaccines in other workplaces.

'From a transplant physician's point of view, the biggest risk to you is when we hit your immune system like that, if you get Covid-19 without having the vaccine, then there is a significant risk that organ will die with you,' he said.

'And we don't want that to happen to you, and we don't want it to happen to the family who has made that sacred donation.'

Ms Derderian suffered from heart failure in 2020 before doctors inserted a ventricular assist device, a mechanical pump that circulates blood.

The mother-of-two spent one-and-a-half months in the intensive care unit following her surgery, and a further three months in hospital and rehabilitation.

Dr Nick Coatsworth shared his sympathies with the mother on the Today Show but threw his support behind the surgeons saying there was a good reason patients needed the vaccine

Ms Derderian is unvaccinated with patients required to receive a minimum of two doses in order to be eligible for a transplant (stock image)

She said she was up to date with vaccinations for all the other diseases but had refused to get the Covid jab after reading anecdotal evidence of increased heart failure risk among vaccine recipients.

Ms Derderian insisted she is not an anti-vaxxer and decided against the vaccine after 'reading up on all the information'.

'I wanted to minimise risk as much as possible because as you know, heart transplant is not a walk in the park operation. It's very complicated. It has a lot of risks,' she said.

'And to face those risks on top of an unknown risk from a vaccination that has had partial approval, I had to think twice and it was a very hard decision.'

Dr Coatsworth acknowledged there was a risk from the Covid vaccine but described it as 'very, very small'.

Ms Derderian remained steadfast in her opposition to the Covid vaccine, and was less concerned about getting the virus than the risks she perceived from the jab.

'In terms of treatments, there are therapeutic treatments that are available to treat Covid, should I have Covid,' she said.

In July, Dr Nick Coatsworth said there was no 'public health rationale' behind Covid vaccine mandates in the workforce as he called for them to be ditched.

'Corporations should really rethink any vaccine mandate that they have at the moment,' he said.
'1619 Project' author Nikole Hannah-Jones spoke out on Twitter last week over the 'demeaning' experience of anti-theft measures inside stores.

Hannah-Jones, a reporter for the New York Times, said she believes if stores are going to lock up the items, they need to at least be better prepared to handle the customer volume.

'If you're going to lock up everything in the drug store, an already demeaning shopping experience, at least have enough workers to open up the cases for all the customers who just need a razor,' Hannah-Jones tweeted.

Stores like Walmart and Walgreens began locking up merchandise over the past several years as part of anti-theft measures set among a rise in shoplifting rates.

'It can't be a financial winner. I spend a lot less because I'm not waiting every time I need to grab something from a different aisle or even a different shelf in the same aisle. You can't read labels, etc. I've literally walked away. It's just a terrible shopping experience,' she continued.

'1619 Project' author Nikole Hannah-Jones spoke out on Twitter last week over the 'demeaning' experience of anti-theft measures inside stores

This is the tweet sent by Nikole Hannah-Jones that sparked backlash online

Stores like Walmart and Walgreens began locking up merchandise over the past several years as part of anti-theft measures set among a rise in shoplifting rates

This is the '1619 Project' the book written by Nikole Hannah-Jones

Many on the social media app agreed with the author, some even stating that they have had to call store employees for things like toothpaste.

Others, however, pointed to a rise in retail thefts that has left some stores concerned.

Just last week, reports indicated that New York City saw record levels for retail theft for the year in a row in 2022.

There were more than 63,000 shoplifting complaints in 2022. That marks a 45 percent jump from 2021's 45,000 and a shocking 275 percent jump from the mid-2000s.

Hardest hit retailers in the Big Apple are stores like Target and Duane Reed.

Hannah-Jones acknowledged those worries, however.

The author and reporter cited a January article from CNBC addressing the shoplifting concerns.

'Over the last two years, Walgreens has been raising the alarm about increased theft. As a result, it hired private security guards and locked up merchandise so it can't be accessed without a store associate,' Gabrielle Fonrouge reported.

'[Chief financial officer James] Kehoe said the company has spent a 'fair amount' to crack down on the thefts but acknowledged the private security companies they've hired have been "largely ineffective." These guards can do very little but call law enforcement or hold a suspect until police arrive,' the article reads.

Hannah-Jones said she believes the decision to lock up merchandise 'can't be a financial winner' because it prompts her so spend less overall

'If you're going to lock up everything in the drug store, an already demeaning shopping experience, at least have enough workers to open up the cases for all the customers who just need a razor,' Hannah-Jones tweeted

Products are displayed in locked security cabinets at a Walgreens store

'It can't be a financial winner. I spend a lot less because I'm not waiting every time I need to grab something from a different aisle or even a different shelf in the same aisle. You can't read labels, etc. I've literally walked away. It's just a terrible shopping experience,' she continued

Hannah-Jones also responded to another person by sharing a similar article, this one from the New York Times, citing that Kehoe said he may have 'cried too much' over 'organized shoplifting.'

Many in the comments agreed with Hannah-Jones over the measures while others slammed her for the tweets. Others offered their own suggestions for how they can solve both the shoplifting and the locked cases.

'Or armed security guards who shoot looters,' replied one Twitter user.

The '1619 Project' creator has been critiqued in the past for her takes on crimes, both big and small.

In 2020, the New York Times reporter sparked outrage for saying she saw the destruction caused by some protesters during the George Floyd marches as 'not violence.'

'I think we need to be very careful with our language,' Hannah-Jones said at the time. 'Yes, it is disturbing to see property being destroyed, it's disturbing to see people taking property from stores, but these are things,' she said.

'And violence is when an agent of the state kneels on a man's neck until all of the life is leached out of his body. Destroying property, which can be replaced, is not violence. And to put those things- to use the same language to describe those two things I think really- it's not moral to do that,' she said at the time.

In 2020, the New York Times reporter sparked outrage for saying she saw the destruction caused by some protesters during the George Floyd marches as 'not violence'

Just last week, Hannah-Jones, speaking at an MSNBC event called a 'National Day of Racial Healing,' spoke about the backlash she received for what some have called 'revisionist history' in her '1619 Project.'

Hannah-Jones founded the project with the New York Times in 2019, using essays, photos, podcasts and eventually a book and guide for educators arguing that America was founded the year a group of slaves arrived in the country and not when independence was granted in 1776.

The writer has said she believes to her project and the subsequent book of the same name was caused because Americans are 'all taught this history so poorly,' referencing education on the plight of African and Asian Americans.

'1619 Project' will continue to spread in media circles with the debut of a six-part documentary that will stream on Hulu later this year, produced by Oprah Winfrey.

'It aims to reframe the countrys history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the very center of our national narrative,' the NYT Magazine wrote on its website.

The project won a Pulitzer Prize that year.

Published in August 2019, to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first enslaved Africans in the English colony of Virginia, the work has been criticized by some academics for its claims - and angered many others who saw it as unpatriotic.

In December, Hannah-Jones told the Associated Press that the ongoing debate was unsurprising.

'We've been taught the history of a country that does not exist,' she said.

'We've been taught the history of a country that renders us incapable of understanding how we get an insurrection in the greatest democracy on January 6.'

She said that America was 'willfully' avoiding its complicated and painful past, and that was why her work was so polemical.

'Steps forward, steps towards racial progress, are always met with an intensive backlash,' she said.

'We are a society that willfully does not want to deal with the anti-blackness that is at the core of so many of our institutions and really our society itself.'

Her work has sparked intense discussion about teaching of history in schools.
A teenager has died after falling from a waterfall in the ACT - two weeks after visitors were warned about how dangerous the area can be.

The 19-year-old was believed to have been swimming in the rockpools at the top of the Gibraltar Falls, about 47kilometers south-west of Canberra, on Sunday morning when he suddenly fell.

Police were called to the scene at about 11.15am on Sunday after receiving reports the teenager had fallen from the cliff.

ACT Parks and Conservation rangers and passersby gave the teen first aid before emergency services arrived but tragically he was unable to be saved.

The 19-year-old was believed to have been swimming in the rockpools at the top of the Gibraltar Falls (pictured), about 47kilometers south-west of Canberra, on Sunday morning when he suddenly fell.

The Gibraltar Falls is a 50metre cascade waterfall and is popular among hikers, bushwalkers and Instagrammers, who use the stunning waterfall as a backdrop for their photos.

Just two weeks before the incident, ACT Parks and Conservation Service posted a warning to its Facebook page, urging visitors not to swim in the rockpools or waterfall.

'Just a reminder that it is not advisable to swim or walk on Gibraltar Falls (despite what you might've heard from friends or online),' the post read.

'Gibraltar Falls is an excellent picnic spot with amazing views from the lookout. However, the cliff edges are extremely dangerous. Serious accidents have occurred here when people have ignored the formal tracks and signs.

Just two weeks before the incident, ACT Parks and Conservation Service posted a warning to its Facebook page, urging visitors not to swim in the rockpools or waterfall

'If you'd like to see the falls while also enjoying a swim, just head to Woods Reserve.'

Signs at the area urge visitors to keep to the tracks, while warning of a 'dangerous cliff edge'.

A report will be prepared for the Coroner, and anyone who witnessed the incident is urged to contact ACT Police on 131 444.
A heart failure patient has become the first in the UK to be fitted with a sensor that gives an alert if the condition worsens.

The device, about the size of a pen lid, is designed to monitor the amount of fluid in the body  elevated levels can indicate heart failure.

Trials to fit the FIRE1 System are taking place at University Hospital Southampton.

The device is implanted into the largest vein, the inferior vena cava, using a catheter at the top of the leg. It is collapsed on entry so it can be pushed up into the abdomen, where it expands to its full size.

Patients then wear an external belt for one to two minutes a day which powers the sensor using radiofrequency energy.

The device, about the size of a pen lid, is designed to monitor the amount of fluid in the body  elevated levels can indicate heart failure. Trials to fit the FIRE1 System are taking place at University Hospital Southampton

The hospital admitted 700 patients with the condition every year with 900,000 people estimated to be living with heart failure in the UK, costing the NHS 2 billion per year

Cardiologist Dr Andrew Flett, who oversaw the trial, said: 'Heart failure is a significant burden on the NHS and so pioneering advances such as this could help to reduce that pressure.'

'This innovative new device has the potential to improve patient safety and outcomes in the management of patients with chronic heart failure and we are delighted to be the first site in the UK to implant as part of this ground-breaking study.

'We have now successfully implanted a second patient with the device and data is already being transmitted which we look forward to receiving so that we can intervene earlier in a bid to reduce hospital visits and keep patients well for longer.'

He added: 'It is estimated that one in five people will develop heart failure and earlier intervention when patients start to deteriorate can make a huge difference and the hope is that this new FIRE1 device will do just that.

'It is an exciting new development for patients with this condition.'

The university spokeswoman added: 'FIRE1 has successfully completed its early phase of clinical trials and is now expanding its study to evaluate the feasibility and safety of implanting the FIRE1 System in heart failure patients.'

She explained that heart failure occurs when the heart cannot pump blood around the body efficiently, causing fluid to build up.

She said that UHS admitted 700 patients with the condition every year with 900,000 people estimated to be living with heart failure in the UK, costing the NHS 2 billion per year.

Some 900,000 are estimated to have the condition in the UK.
Hell surrounds me. Plumes of thick smoke curl into the sky. Buildings are shattered and smashed; the wreckage of destroyed vehicles litters the streets, which are deserted save for soldiers scurrying to and fro. Amid it all, the thunder of shelling is relentless.

Bakhmut is the bloodiest front of the war in Ukraine, which makes it about the most dangerous place on Earth right now. The fight has been raging here since November: the longest battle of the war.

In the centre of the city, I am embedded with a Ukrainian Special Forces unit, just a few hundred metres from the Russian soldiers who are determined to kill anyone who stands in their way.

But many of these Russians are no ordinary soldiers. Here, at the centre of the Russian offensive, are mercenaries from the notorious private military company the Wagner Group.

These contracted killers are supplied by a Russian oligarch called Yevgeny Prigozhin, a shaven-headed thug who served nine years in prison for robbery and fraud before making a fortune in catering.

People in military uniform, claimed to be soldiers of Russian mercenary group Wagner and its head Yevgeny Prigozhin, pose for a picture believed to be in a salt mine in Soledar in the Donetsk region, Ukraine

David Patrikarakos (pictured) tells of the war in the centre of Bakhmut  the bloodiest front of the war in Ukraine

Wagner is probably the worlds most dangerous army  a hidden gem in the Kremlins bloody sceptre. Prigozhin is proud of employing the most savage fighters. They are known for torturing, burning and beheading their victims  expanding Russias influence by brute force.

Just down the road to my left, hundreds, possibly thousands, of these fighters lie in wait. One of my companions, a bear of a man, who goes by the call-sign Grizzly, is unmoved.

We are standing in a childrens playground just by a smouldering building in the centre of the city. Grizzly is in full body armour, his face filled with contempt. Wagner, pah. Animals, he says. We are Special Forces; our job here in Bakhmut is to attack the Russian positions. We will kill them all. They are trash.

His disgust is understandable. Putins all-out invasion of Ukraine began almost a year ago on February 24 and has not relented.

As Russias casualties mount in the face of fierce Ukrainian resistance, Moscow has turned to finding recruits where it can  including Russian prisons.

In September 2022, Prigozhin visited several penal colonies where he offered prisoners  murderers and rapists included  a choice. Sign up to fight in Ukraine for 100,000 rubles (1,400) a month, and if you survive for six months youll receive a presidential pardon  or you can stay and rot in jail. But, he warned potential recruits, most of you wont survive.

Many signed up  and they were the worst Russia has to offer. A story has been spreading on the internet that a man called Oleg Sokolov, who was convicted for the murder and dismemberment of his graduate student and lover has joined the Wagner Group as a fighter.

When asked about this Prigozhin laughed it off, insisting the story was false. Sokolov was unsuitable for the Wagner Group, Prigozhin chortled, because women should be f***ed, not dismembered. Such recruits even pose dangers to their own side.

Smog is seen during a shelling, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the front line city of Bakhmut

Video emerged last week of four Wagner mercenaries in Bakhmut beating and badly wounding their own commander with shovels. On Thursday, Prigozhin claimed to have stopped recruiting from Russias jails. But his many thousands of hardened criminals have allowed the Russians to outnumber the Ukrainian defenders by as much as ten to one in some areas.

Another shell explodes. Closer this time. We need to move. We drive off, weaving in and out of roads strafed by rockets and shells, and head back to base where I speak to their commanding officer, whose call-sign Coyote is also apt. Hes another dangerous-looking man, with tattoos up both bulging arms and one snaking around his thick neck. He lights a cigarette.

We face two types of enemy here, he tells me. The Russian army and Wagner. The regular army will attack us, and then when we beat them back, retreat and fire at us with artillery.

The Wagner fighters are different. They are a mix of general soldiers, a small elite, and then the ex-prisoner contingent. These last have uniforms with the letter K on their name tags; we call them Kashnike. They are used like meat in a grinder, their job is to just advance and die, advance and die.

This is why Wagner is here. The Ukrainians are well dug-in and have their own elite troops in Bakhmut. The Russian plan is as brutal as it is simple  sending in endless waves to slaughter. Something that soldiers in the regular army would refuse to do.

Im curious why the Wagner fighters seem willing to run into almost certain death. Coyote grins. They have motivation from both sides, he says. What he means is that the groups brutality does not extend only to its enemies or innocent civilians, but to its own men. Those who try to retreat  or refuse to advance  are often shot by their own commanders.

But the soldiers also have other ways of getting through the nightmare of Bakhmut. I go into the base control room where, among a jumble of computers, flak jackets and phones, two large screens are showing live streams from the groups various drones that fly daily over the Russian positions.

An officer then shows me something extraordinary. On one of the screens he brings up a live view from a drone. I see a patch of woodland, just north-east of Bakhmut. It doesnt matter how experienced a soldier you are, he says. If a shell lands near you, you will react. But look at these two.

Ukrainian artillery teams fire Pions toward Russian positions in Bakhmut

PMC Wagner mercenaries pose at Popasna, the Sievierodonetsk district of the Luhansk Oblast, eastern Ukraine

A pair of Wagner fighters are standing by a tent pitched among trees when an explosion just metres from them fills the screen. But they barely even notice, and continue to pace around their tent.

They are totally high on drugs, the officer says. And its not an isolated incident. We saw guys in a trench with machine guns when a mine went off a metre behind them. They just stood up, shook the earth off their heads and carried on fiddling with their guns.

The soldiers here dont know what type of drugs the Wagner men have been given, but they seem to turn them into zombies  able to march unflinchingly toward Ukrainian lines, even as their comrades around them drop like flies.

Coyote tells me that when theyre not high, Russian soldiers often try to escape any way they can. The only way for them to retreat without being shot by their own officers is if they have been wounded. Sometimes we can see them in the trenches stick their leg out so it can be shot or hit by shrapnel. Its either that or they get the hammer!

The hammer is the punishment Wagner metes out to its victims, and it has a gruesome origin: a video that emerged some years ago. As horror films go, its up there with the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The scene is Syria.

The victim cowers on the floor in terror as four Wagner fighters in military-style clothing take it in turns to go at him with a sledgehammer. Once he has been beaten to a pulp, they cut off his head before chopping off his hands with a sapper trowel.

Then comes the brutal finale: they string up the mutilated corpse by its legs, spray it with a flammable liquid and set it alight. This horrifying episode dates back to the summer of 2017 and the victim was a Syrian called Muhammad Taha Ismail Al-Abdullah. Geolocation data pinpoints the crime scene as the Shaer gas field in Palmyra.

Far from being ashamed or trying to deny this heinous act, Wagner has embraced it. Last November, after a symbolic European Union resolution designating Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism, Prigozhin sent a sledgehammer covered in fake blood to the EU Parliament.

Sadism runs to the very core of the group. In the heat of the underground bunker, surrounded by a fog of cigarette smoke, Coyote tells me that in Bakhmut at the end of last year Wagner would force prisoners to march at the front of their attacks unarmed, knowing that the Ukrainian snipers would not fire on their own men. They are very cunning, he says.

In truth, the battle for Bakhmut is so hard in part because Wagner  with its insatiable appetite for cruelty  is little more than a Russian Isis.

What makes this worse is that last year, the Dossier Center  an investigative project set up by former oligarch and Russian dissident Mikhail Khodorkovsky  proved that Wagner reports only to Prigozhin, who in turn reports only to one man: Vladimir Putin.

Its the presidents own private terror group. The soldiers on the front are tense. They huddle amid the ruins, their only protection the flak jackets many have had to crowdfund to buy. They drink scalding coffee, their breath gusts of condensation in the biting cold.

The Russians are slowly trying to encircle the city. The talk here is of an imminent big offensive. The fight is hard  and it will get harder still. In Bakhmut, the Ukrainians are losing hundreds of men a day, to add to the many thousands that have died defending their homeland. For months, Kyiv tried to downplay their losses. Now they need the world to know the truth.

But the Russians are losing more. Ukrainian morale remains high. As long as the delivery of weapons from the West, especially the U.S. and Britain, continues, they believe they will win.

Ukraines president Volodymyr Zelensky has been tireless in pressing the West for everything the Ukrainians need to defend their freedom. The soldiers here love Britain. In particular, they adore Boris Johnson, who they correctly see as being behind much of Londons support.

As we drive out of the base, one of the other soldiers, call-sign Strangeman, is in full Anglophile mode. David, thank you Great Britain for helping Ukraine, he says to me in English. Thank you for fighting for all of us in the West against Russian imperialism, I reply. God Save the King! he concludes in Russian.

On the front, as I look around at Bakhmut, a city razed to the ground to satisfy the delusions of a violent dictator. I look up at a large building with all its windows blown out and reflect that nowhere is there a clearer battle in the world between right and wrong, between those who want to enslave and those who fight to stay free.

I think back to the words of Strangeman earlier that morning. The Russians can send as many killers and zombies as they want, he told me. We will kill them all. And then one day, we will free Europe from Putin for ever.

David Patrikarakos is a contributing editor at UnHerd and the author of War In 140 Characters, How Social Media Is Reshaping Conflict In The 21st Century.
Lord Frost last night warned of a plot to undermine Brexit after leading Remainers held a secret summit on EU relations.

The Tory peer said the gathering of prominent politicians, business chiefs and ex-civil servants showed a will to unravel the deal he helped negotiate with Brussels. And in a clear attack on the Government, he said ministers did not need to fix Brexit but rather implement it in full  instead of raising taxes.

Among those at last weeks country house meeting were Labours Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy, ex-Tory European minister David Lidington and Theresa Mays Brexit negotiator Olly Robbins.

Former EU commissioner Lord Mandelson opened one of the sessions at the event which was also attended by key Leave supporters, including Michael Gove.

They met at Ditchley Park, a historic estate near Chipping Norton in Oxfordshire, to discuss how can we make Brexit work better with our neighbours in Europe? There are suspicions that the conversations from Thursday and Friday will be used to lobby Rishi Sunak or any future Labour administration for closer ties with Brussels.

Lord Frost last night warned of a plot to undermine Brexit after leading Remainers held a secret summit on EU relations

Among those at last weeks country house meeting were Labours Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy

Unionists and Brexiteers are already concerned that the Prime Minister is about to offer major concessions in a deal on the vexed Northern Ireland Protocol, which could give the European Court of Justice a continuing role in ruling on trade in the province.

There was also alarm last year when Remain-backing Chancellor Jeremy Hunt was said to have been behind briefings that the Government wanted a closer, Swiss-style relationship with the EU.

Senior Labour figures such as London Mayor Sadiq Khan have called for the UK to rejoin the EUs single market.

Lord Frost, who was chief negotiator for the withdrawal agreement that took effect three years ago, said: This secret conference is a further piece of evidence that many in our political and business establishment want to unravel the deals we did to exit the EU in 2020 and to stay shadowing the EU instead.

Thats why so many of those responsible for Theresa Mays failed backstop deal were there, while I and those who actually delivered the Brexit agreements were not. Brexit doesnt need fixing. It needs this Conservative Government, elected with a huge mandate on a Brexit programme, to fully and enthusiastically embrace its advantages instead of leaving the field to those who never wanted it in the first place. I and millions of others want the Government to get on with that instead of raising taxes, deterring investment and pushing public spending to its highest level for 70 years.

David Jones, deputy chairman of the European Research Group of Tory MPs, added: The fact that such a meeting was held in conditions of such secrecy must give rise to suspicions as to its purpose.

Its hard to believe that closer constitutional links were not on the agenda.

And in another warning sign for Downing Street, Nigel Farage  whose Reform UK party is trying to lure Tory MPs defectors and has already won over a number of Conservative councillors  wrote online: The full sell-out of Brexit is under way. This Tory party never believed in it.

No reference was made of the two-day event on Ditchley Parks website even though many of its other conferences are described in detail, and none of the attendees mentioned it on social media.

Former EU commissioner Lord Mandelson opened one of the sessions at the event which was also attended by key Leave supporters, including Michael Gove

The Tory peer said the gathering of prominent politicians, business chiefs and ex-civil servants at Ditchley Park showed a will to unravel the deal he helped negotiate with Brussels. And in a clear attack on the Government, he said ministers did not need to fix Brexit but rather implement it in full  instead of raising taxes

According to The Observer, which revealed the summits existence yesterday, an introductory statement claimed there was a view among some at least, that so far the UK has not yet found its way forward outside the EU with Brexit acting as a drag on our growth and inhibiting the UKs potential.

One source told the newspaper, which backed Remain in the referendum: The main thrust of it was that Britain is losing out, that Brexit it not delivering, our economy is in a weak position.

Although admitting that the UK rejoining the EU will not be on the agenda, papers for the meeting stressed there were shared interests such as containing Russian aggression. Sources insisted that the business people present were not calling for the UK to rejoin the single market and that there was no overall conclusion from the conversations that will be sent to Government.

It is understood that no serving Whitehall officials were present and Levelling-Up Secretary Mr Gove attended in his role as governor of the Ditchley Foundation, the charity that hosts conferences.

Other Brexiteers at the event included Tory peers Lord Howard and Lord Lamont as well as Labours Baroness Stuart of Edgbaston. Also in attendance were Tom Scholar, who was sacked as Treasury permanent secretary when Liz Truss entered No 10, and John Symonds, chairman of the pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline.

Mr Gove is believed to have said that the UK should take advantage of its Brexit freedoms in areas such as food standards. A source close to the minister said: This seems like a sad attempt by embittered Remainers to try and undermine Brexit.

Downing Street declined to comment last night.

Look who's back! Mandy, Lord of the Remoaners: ANDREW PIERCE the principal players at the secret 'make Brexit work better' summit

It was surely the most remarkable cross-party summit in recent political history.

At Ditchley Park last week, shadow minister David Lammy  who previously likened some Brexiteers to Nazis  and other Remainers mingled with a smattering of Tories to address Brexits failings.

Details of the secret two-day gathering were leaked to the Europhile Observer newspaper yesterday. So who were the principal players at the Oxfordshire pow-wow? Andrew Pierce has the details...

Lord Mandelson, 69

Ditchley is hardly the first time the silky architect of New Labour has been spotted speaking to figures on both sides of the Brexit schism. In 2019, he organised a caviar and oysters dinner for Michael Gove (then Tory environment secretary) to meet investors and corporates to discuss whether Brexit was an opportunity for green investment.

PICTURED: Lord Mandelson, 69

The dinner at Wiltons in Londons St Jamess was organised by Mandelsons Global Counsel outfit, which helps big businesses navigate politics, business and policymaking. Mandelson  who readers will remember resigned in disgrace from two Labour cabinets  was also a key figure in the campaign for a second referendum.

Indeed, he has opined that if MPs had only backed Theresa Mays failed Chequers plan for Brexit, Parliament could have attached a second referendum to that deal. Mandelson, a former EU commissioner who speaks regularly to Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, even trousers a 31,000 annual pension from the EU.

Theres no question he would relish Britain returning to the bloc.

David Lammy, 50

Following the 2016 referendum, the Shadow Foreign Secretary became increasingly hysterical in his refusal to accept the Brexit vote. Indeed, he was one of the first Labour MPs to call for the publics decision to be overturned by Parliament  bizarrely insisting the referendum was not binding.

In 2019, he claimed most MPs privately regard Brexit as a con, a trick, a swindle and a fraud.

PICTURED: David Lammy, 50

Inevitably, Lammy ardently backed a second referendum and has claimed that Russian interference in the Brexit vote was beyond reasonable doubt, without providing any evidence for this suggestion. Disgracefully, he also branded the pro-Brexit European Research Group of MPs as akin to the Nazis and supporters of South Africas apartheid system.

Now that Lammy serves in Starmers cabinet, he is toeing the partys agreed line on making Brexit work.

And his political judgment seems little better: he nominated Jeremy Corbyn for the Labour leadership in 2015  something he now says he regrets.

Sir Olly Robbins, 47

To ardent Brexiteers, Robbins is the great betrayer. They blame him squarely for a raft of concessions to Brussels when he was Theresa Mays chief Brexit negotiator from 2017 to 2019.

Issues from the Northern Ireland border to the 39billion divorce payout were settled more or less on the EUs terms.

PICTURED: Sir Olly Robbins, 47

When Boris Johnson quit Mrs Mays Cabinet over her Chequers plan, his resignation letter talked of raising the white flags of surrender to the EU. He wasnt accusing only the PM  his real target was Robbins, dubbed Mays Rasputin after the influential Russian mystic who befriended the tsars before the 1917 revolution.

Robbins has been an ardent Europhile since his days at Oxford, where he was secretary of the then-fledgling Oxford Reform Club, which was established to oppose the Eurosceptic movement. Its logo was a crowned portcullis  Parliaments emblem shrouded by the yellow stars of the EU.

Robbins previously remarked: There is no part of my personal views that will ever play a role in how I serve the Government of the day.

Few Brexiteers believed him.

Sir Tom Scholar, 54

Even more than the staunchly pro-Remain mandarins of the Foreign Office, the Sir Humphreys of the Treasury are renowned for their devotion to the EU cause.

Sir Thomas Whinfield Scholar, until recently the most senior civil servant at the Treasury, embodies this tendency.

PICTURED:Sir Tom Scholar, 54

An avowed Remainer, he has a dismal track record when it comes to negotiating with Brussels. Notoriously in his previous post  as principal adviser on the EU to former prime minister David Cameron  he was seen as a push-over.

Previously a private secretary to Gordon Brown when he was chancellor, he then moved to Washington to become Britains representative on the board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

As soon as Liz Truss became PM last year, Scholar was summarily dismissed from the Treasury.

Sure enough, voices at the IMF were soon scorning Trussonomics as a large and untargeted fiscal package. It was an extraordinary statement from a body normally charged with rescuing Third World basket-case economies  and, to this day, ministers believe Scholars allies were to blame for this intervention.

Sir Jonathan Symonds, 61

The most prominent businessman at the secret summit, Symonds is chairman of GlaxoSmithKline  the drugs giant and life sciences group.

PICTURED: Sir Jonathan Symonds, 61

He has been wooed by a number of Labour frontbenchers during the past six months, including Wes Streeting, the ambitious shadow health secretary. After the nightmare of Jeremy Corbyn, Labour is now showing a friendly face to big business in what has been nicknamed the prawn cocktail offensive 2.0 after Tony Blairs push to win favour in the City before the partys 1997 landslide victory. Symonds was previously chairman of HSBC Bank plc and also worked at Goldman Sachs.

Ditchley Park, where power and plotting runs in the blood

As a location for a grand but discreet gathering of the Establishment, Ditchley Park in Oxfordshire is hard to beat.

Its website boasts that the country house has had a rich history as an idyllic retreat for royalty and power for centuries.

As a location for a grand but discreet gathering of the Establishment, Ditchley Park in Oxfordshire is hard to beat

Elizabeth I stayed at the estate in 1592 and a portrait of the queen standing on a map of England, with her feet on Oxfordshire, was painted to commemorate her visit.

The estate was bought in 1953 by tobacco magnate Sir David Wills, who established the Ditchley Foundation to promote international relations.

But those currently involved with it seem to be Remainers. Its current chairman is Lord Hill, who warned before the vote that Brexit would not lead to a better deal on trade, and its council of management includes Lord Mandelson.

Ex-PM Sir John Major  who recently branded Brexit a colossal mistake  is a former chairman.
It was surely the most remarkable cross-party summit in recent political history.

At Ditchley Park last week, shadow minister David Lammy  who previously likened some Brexiteers to Nazis  and other Remainers mingled with a smattering of Tories to address Brexits failings.

Details of the secret two-day gathering were leaked to the Europhile Observer newspaper yesterday. So who were the principal players at the Oxfordshire pow-wow? Andrew Pierce has the details...

Lord Mandelson, 69

Ditchley is hardly the first time the silky architect of New Labour has been spotted speaking to figures on both sides of the Brexit schism. In 2019, he organised a caviar and oysters dinner for Michael Gove (then Tory environment secretary) to meet investors and corporates to discuss whether Brexit was an opportunity for green investment.

PICTURED: Lord Mandelson, 69

The dinner at Wiltons in Londons St Jamess was organised by Mandelsons Global Counsel outfit, which helps big businesses navigate politics, business and policymaking. Mandelson  who readers will remember resigned in disgrace from two Labour cabinets  was also a key figure in the campaign for a second referendum.

Indeed, he has opined that if MPs had only backed Theresa Mays failed Chequers plan for Brexit, Parliament could have attached a second referendum to that deal. Mandelson, a former EU commissioner who speaks regularly to Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, even trousers a 31,000 annual pension from the EU.

Theres no question he would relish Britain returning to the bloc.

David Lammy, 50

Following the 2016 referendum, the Shadow Foreign Secretary became increasingly hysterical in his refusal to accept the Brexit vote. Indeed, he was one of the first Labour MPs to call for the publics decision to be overturned by Parliament  bizarrely insisting the referendum was not binding.

In 2019, he claimed most MPs privately regard Brexit as a con, a trick, a swindle and a fraud.

PICTURED: David Lammy, 50

Inevitably, Lammy ardently backed a second referendum and has claimed that Russian interference in the Brexit vote was beyond reasonable doubt, without providing any evidence for this suggestion. Disgracefully, he also branded the pro-Brexit European Research Group of MPs as akin to the Nazis and supporters of South Africas apartheid system.

Now that Lammy serves in Starmers cabinet, he is toeing the partys agreed line on making Brexit work.

And his political judgment seems little better: he nominated Jeremy Corbyn for the Labour leadership in 2015  something he now says he regrets.

Sir Olly Robbins, 47

To ardent Brexiteers, Robbins is the great betrayer. They blame him squarely for a raft of concessions to Brussels when he was Theresa Mays chief Brexit negotiator from 2017 to 2019.

Issues from the Northern Ireland border to the 39billion divorce payout were settled more or less on the EUs terms.

PICTURED: Sir Olly Robbins, 47

When Boris Johnson quit Mrs Mays Cabinet over her Chequers plan, his resignation letter talked of raising the white flags of surrender to the EU. He wasnt accusing only the PM  his real target was Robbins, dubbed Mays Rasputin after the influential Russian mystic who befriended the tsars before the 1917 revolution.

Robbins has been an ardent Europhile since his days at Oxford, where he was secretary of the then-fledgling Oxford Reform Club, which was established to oppose the Eurosceptic movement. Its logo was a crowned portcullis  Parliaments emblem shrouded by the yellow stars of the EU.

Robbins previously remarked: There is no part of my personal views that will ever play a role in how I serve the Government of the day.

Few Brexiteers believed him.

Sir Tom Scholar, 54

Even more than the staunchly pro-Remain mandarins of the Foreign Office, the Sir Humphreys of the Treasury are renowned for their devotion to the EU cause.

Sir Thomas Whinfield Scholar, until recently the most senior civil servant at the Treasury, embodies this tendency.

PICTURED:Sir Tom Scholar, 54

An avowed Remainer, he has a dismal track record when it comes to negotiating with Brussels. Notoriously in his previous post  as principal adviser on the EU to former prime minister David Cameron  he was seen as a push-over.

Previously a private secretary to Gordon Brown when he was chancellor, he then moved to Washington to become Britains representative on the board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

As soon as Liz Truss became PM last year, Scholar was summarily dismissed from the Treasury.

Sure enough, voices at the IMF were soon scorning Trussonomics as a large and untargeted fiscal package. It was an extraordinary statement from a body normally charged with rescuing Third World basket-case economies  and, to this day, ministers believe Scholars allies were to blame for this intervention.

Sir Jonathan Symonds, 61

The most prominent businessman at the secret summit, Symonds is chairman of GlaxoSmithKline  the drugs giant and life sciences group.

PICTURED: Sir Jonathan Symonds, 61

He has been wooed by a number of Labour frontbenchers during the past six months, including Wes Streeting, the ambitious shadow health secretary. After the nightmare of Jeremy Corbyn, Labour is now showing a friendly face to big business in what has been nicknamed the prawn cocktail offensive 2.0 after Tony Blairs push to win favour in the City before the partys 1997 landslide victory. Symonds was previously chairman of HSBC Bank plc and also worked at Goldman Sachs.

Ditchley Park, where power and plotting runs in the blood

As a location for a grand but discreet gathering of the Establishment, Ditchley Park in Oxfordshire is hard to beat.

Its website boasts that the country house has had a rich history as an idyllic retreat for royalty and power for centuries.

As a location for a grand but discreet gathering of the Establishment, Ditchley Park in Oxfordshire is hard to beat

Elizabeth I stayed at the estate in 1592 and a portrait of the queen standing on a map of England, with her feet on Oxfordshire, was painted to commemorate her visit.

The estate was bought in 1953 by tobacco magnate Sir David Wills, who established the Ditchley Foundation to promote international relations.

But those currently involved with it seem to be Remainers. Its current chairman is Lord Hill, who warned before the vote that Brexit would not lead to a better deal on trade, and its council of management includes Lord Mandelson.

Ex-PM Sir John Major  who recently branded Brexit a colossal mistake  is a former chairman.
Some people will say there is nothing very sinister about the cross-party pow-wow about Brexit which took place in the beautiful surroundings of Ditchley Park in Oxfordshire last Thursday and Friday.

The subject of the meeting  How can we make Brexit work better with our neighbours in Europe?  sounds inoffensive. Even the most fervent Leaver is unlikely to claim that Brexit has so far been a roaring success.

Moreover, the presence at the meeting of stalwart Leavers such as former Labour MP Gisela Stuart and ex-Tory leader Michael Howard may reassure some people that this was an innocuous gathering, whose only purpose was to apply a little oil to the nuts and bolts of our relations with our European neighbours.

If there were no more to it than that, there could be no reasonable grounds for objection. Why not have an informed discussion about how to make Brexit work better?

But if one looks a little closer, and considers both the secrecy of the event and the background of some of the participants, things appear less straightforward.

The meeting was chaired by the Labour svengali and former minister, Peter Mandelson (pictured), who almost outdoes Tory grandee Michael Heseltine in his longing not only to rejoin the single market but also the European Union as soon as possible

Without a leak to the Observer newspaper, nobody would know about the meeting. The Brexit vote was in part an expression by millions of people of their reservations about our entitled ruling class. The cosy get-together at Ditchley will have only confirmed their suspicions.

The meeting was chaired by the Labour svengali and former minister, Peter Mandelson, who almost outdoes Tory grandee Michael Heseltine in his longing not only to rejoin the single market but also the European Union as soon as possible.

Also present was Olly Robbins, a former European federalist who cut his teeth in the Foreign Office. He was Theresa Mays flaccid lead negotiator during negotiations with the EU when Britain fatally yielded to several of Brusselss demands, not least over the Northern Ireland backstop.

Sir Olly was recently linked to a top job with Labour. If he takes this up, he will be able to work cheek by jowl with the partys foreign affairs spokesman, David Lammy, another passionate Remainer who was at the Ditchley shindig.

Nor am I greatly reassured by the presence of the sinuous Michael Gove, one of the leaders of the Leave campaign in 2016. Much as I like Mr Gove and admire his brainpower, I wouldnt embark on a long and arduous expedition in his company with a single water bottle.

Was the Ditchley gathering a stitch-up by the British Establishment in one of its periodic fits of funk? Despite the inclusion of apparently unapologetic Leavers, was its true objective to devise ways of easing us back into the EU? Were Brexiteers present playing the role of Stalins useful idiots?

Whatever the answers to these questions, I find it very hard to buy the line that this was an innocent meeting whose only purpose was apply a little tender loving care to the Brexit process.

In the first place, the contention that Brexit isnt working should be examined with more rigour than it has been. We left the EU on January 31, 2020, but it wasnt until January 1, 2021, that Britain withdrew from the blocs trading arrangements.

I make that just over two years ago. That doesnt seem a very long time to judge whether or not a revolutionary departure for this country is going to turn out to be a success.

Those two years happen to have been blighted by a couple of unforeseen scourges. One was the pandemic, at which the Government chose to throw more money than now seems wise. It also led to half a million people leaving the workforce, with adverse consequences for the economy.

Much as I like Michael Gove (pictured) and admire his brainpower, I wouldnt embark on a long and arduous expedition in his company with a single water bottle

Then came the second calamity of the energy crisis, caused by the war in Ukraine. It has blown a further hole in the Governments finances, besides occupying ministers who might in other circumstances have had more time to think of how Britain can best capitalise on Brexit.

The truth is that its impossible to disentangle the ill-effects of the pandemic and of the energy crisis from any bad consequences that may have come from leaving the EU. Remainers are of course anxious to blame all our difficulties on Brexit.

It is perfectly true that last year our trade deficit widened alarmingly. Though at one stage our exports to the EU reached record levels because we have been sending gas to the Continent, imports from the whole world rose even faster.

There have been countless complaints by British exporting companies about red tape on the part of Brussels. This problem must obviously be addressed by the Government. If there is an agreement with the EU over the Northern Ireland protocol, some of the barriers should be removed.

UK exporters have also so far failed to take advantage of markets outside the EU by increasing exports, notably to countries with which we have signed trade agreements.

After we joined the Common Market in 1973, British companies found it challenging to adapt to new European standards. In a similar way, many exporters are now having difficulty in coming to terms with a post-EU world.

It is, as I say, still very early days  certainly far too early, after we have been buffeted by rough winds that have nothing to do with Brexit, to draw overarching conclusions.

That said, an open conference  not a secret get-together in an Oxfordshire country house  about how best to exploit the potential of Brexit would be an excellent idea.

For if Brexit isnt working as well as it should, one major culprit is undoubtedly a timid and unimaginative British Government, which regards being outside the EU as more of a burden than an opportunity. When did you last hear Rishi Sunak  who voted Leave  wax lyrical about Brexit?

If Britain is going to prosper outside the EU, it must offer lower taxes and fewer regulations than the bloc from which it has separated. In other words, we must use our regained sovereignty to do things differently.

Unfortunately, theres absolutely no evidence that this is happening. Without a last-minute change of mind, corporation tax will increase from 19 to 25 per cent in April. No major EU country is planning similar rises. Britain will have its highest ever peacetime tax burden.

Why should British and foreign companies make large investments in Britain if taxation here is more onerous than in many other EU counties? The answer is that they probably wont.

Last week came the appalling news that the pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca has decided to build a 320 million new plant in Ireland, where corporation tax is 15 per cent, rather than in the UK.

The companys chief executive, Pascal Soriot, blamed the high cost of doing business here, saying that Britains discouraging taxes were behind the decision to have a new plant in Ireland.

What unbelievable foolishness. One could literally weep. The Government might as well put up a sign saying: Come to Brexit Britain, and pay much higher taxes.

Can I suggest that, instead of breaking bread with people who want us back in the EU, Michael Gove seeks a meeting with Rishi Sunak and the Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt?

His message to them should be that Brexit will work  but only if this Government stops putting roadblocks in its way.
Melbourne mum Michelle Darragh pulled her estranged partner Ben Coman from his car as it filled with toxic gas.

It was an act of kindness that would ultimately lead to her death.

A little over three weeks after dragging Coman from the car, he stabbed her in the back within the home they had raised their two children.

She was 12 weeks pregnant at the time with his third child.

Michelle Darragh and Ben Coman in happier times. The cowardly killer stabbed her in the back before attempting to end his own life

Michelle Darragh and her son, who is now being raised by his grandparents

On Monday, Coman sat in the prison dock of the Supreme Court of Victoria with his eyes shut as Michelle's family confronted him one-by-one.

'Stop being the coward you are for once, stand up, be a man,' Michelle's brother James barked at him.

'Don't be so pathetic to close your eyes and hide like you always do.'

Coman had been best mate's with Michelle's younger brother Aaron growing up in Bayswater, about 27km east of Melbourne's Central Business District.

When Coman turned 18 he spent almost every weekend with Aaron, who picked him up in his car as Coman didn't have a driver's licence.

Michelle, who was only a couple of years older than him, kept her relationship with Coman secret from her family until New Year's Eve 2015.

Her family had thought the couple to be an odd match.

Coman had been someone who was everything Michelle had never wanted.

He was a rebellious chippy with a passion for smoking weed.

Michelle, who began her working life in the drug rehabilitation field, had been working to help children involved with child protection authorities and removed from their family homes.

She had never approved of her partner's drug use.

By 2021, the couple had two children together, but their relationship had hit the rocks on the back of Coman's reliance on illicit drugs.

Michelle Darragh had saved Ben Coman's (right) life after a suicide attempt. The heartless brute would kill her just weeks later

While Coman had become increasingly paranoid towards the end of 2019, the court heard he began using ice in April 2020 after learning Michelle was pregnant with their second child.

Victoria had just been thrown into the first of what would become six hard lockdowns on the back of Premier Daniel Andrews' Covid-19 directions.

Michelle would die on October 9, 2021, aged 32, just 12 days short of the sixth lockdown being lifted.

The court heard Coman had convinced himself Michelle had an affair with his best mate after he passed out during her 30th birthday party in September 2019.

Despite his mate's denials, Coman remained fixated on the unfounded belief.

Coman had claimed he wasn't the father of their son and refused to believe otherwise.

Despite the claims, Michelle worked hard to stand by her troubled man until things became unbearable.

The couple separated shortly after their second child was born due to the ongoing problems they were having.

The split was short lived and they were back living under the same roof again after a few weeks.

It was during this period Michelle became pregnant again with what would have been the couple's third child.

Through a series of erratic decisions by Coman, Michelle quickly felt she was left with little choice but to cut him loose again and moved back in with her parents.

On the evening of September 9, 2021, an extremely upset Michelle broke down as she told her friend of her predicament.

Michelle Darragh and her parents, who now have to raise her children after she was murdered by Ben Coman

Michelle had learned Coman had blown $82,500 from their joint account on a Holden ClubSport sedan.

The money had been taken without her knowledge from their $100,000 savings, which had taken them four years to accumulate for the purpose of a house deposit.

'My life is completely f**ked,' Michelle told her friend.

Coman had told Michelle he didn't want her to have the baby, giving her an ultimatum: either it was him or the baby.

Just days after that conversation, Michelle returned to her family home to find Coman slumped inside the car with a pipe connected from the exhaust into the window, which was taped up.

She dragged him out of the car and when he came to accused her again of infidelity.

Coman spent the rest of the week in the Maroondah Hospital Mental Health ward where he was treated with antidepressant and antipsychotic medication.

He was diagnosed with adjustment disorder, with depressed mood and polysubstance abuse of cannabis, ice and cocaine.

Upon his release on September 16, Coman returned home on his own with medication to help with his condition.

Coman later told Michelle's brother Aaron he planned to sell his business and move to Country Victoria to 'start a new life with a change of scenery'.

In the early hours of the day she would die, Michelle filled in an online contact form to MST Lawyers.

Ben Coman and Michelle Darragh. Coman had been a trusted family friend of the Darragh family before he murdered Michelle

Ben Coman murdered Michelle Darragh while she was pregnant with his own child

BEN COMAN'S CLAIMS OF INSANITY Ben Coman told Forensicare consultant psychiatrist Andrew Carroll he believed that somehow the shops were poisoning him and that food he was buying was poisoned. 'He began to think his life was in danger, that his family were under threat. 'That he was under surveillance in various ways from his partner and it someway involved his mobile phone,' Dr Carroll told the court. 'Ultimately, he came to believe that his partner could read his mind through some kind of device that had been inserted into his head in an operation a few years prior,' he said. 'He believed his telephone had been hacked. He believed that Ms Darragh's mother was involved in the surveillance against him in some way and, in addition, there were hallucinations in various modalities.' Dr Carroll said Coman claimed he was hearing voices and seeing things. 'In particular, he was seeing a man called Callum, who died some years previously driving trucks and he'd seen a man called, Michael, whom he'd encountered on the inpatient unit,' he said. 'He was also beginning to hear voices, which, although he was experiencing them inside his head, he was feeling that they were separate from his own thought processes. So, these clearly had a psychotic quality to them.' Advertisement

Her message read, 'Needing advice regarding asset split after separation, de facto, with children'.

Moments later she sent a text to Coman stating: 'I want you to transfer me $10,000 back and you owe $36,000. You can't take all of the money and leave me with nothing, that's unfair.'

Coman did not respond.

Later that morning, Michelle grabbed some boxes and told her parents she was going to stop in at the house to grab some more of her belongings.

She left home with the two boys about 9.30am with a plan to take them to the park to allow Coman to see them.

She met him at a nearby park without incident before taking the boys to the 7-Eleven on the corner of Mountain Highway and Dorset Road, Bayswater.

Haunting images were captured on CCTV of Michelle purchasing a large Slurpee and a bag of lollies before she returned to her car.

Michelle's mum Dianne noted her daughter looked tired that afternoon as she asked her to watch the boys while she returned to collect her things from her old home.

The court heard Coman had thought long and hard about what he would do to Michelle when she arrived.

At first he thought about killing himself in front of her, but those thoughts turned to murder when she began sobbing about 'what had become of them'.

Coman told police he lunged at Michelle with a large kitchen knife, stabbing her in the thigh as she made a run for her life.

He described it as 'a minute of madness'.

'Once I lunged at her, I thought I've got to go through with this, she needs to die now,' he told Homicide Squad detectives.

Forensic experts found Coman had likely bashed Michelle before delivering the fatal blow.

Michelle Darragh had been a kind and caring woman who made the mistake of believing in a self-centred coward

Her injuries included contusions, abrasions and lacerations to her face.

She was killed with a stab wound to the right upper back, which extended into her neck and severed her spine.

Death was almost instantaneous.

When done, Coman repeatedly stabbed himself in the stomach.

He was found by Michelle's father, Ashley Darragh, who had gone to check on his daughter after she failed to return home that night.

Mr Darragh furiously shook Coman, swearing at him in rage, but he showed no signs of life.

'Hun, it's our worst nightmare,' Mr Darragh told his wife over the phone.

'Our girl was gone. He was lying next to her and I thought he was dead too. Probably the best thing. If I knew he was still alive, I could not have controlled myself,' he told the court on Monday.

Michelle's mum 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.

The shattered mother and grandmother, who now shares full custody with her husband of their 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.'

Aaron Darragh - who a lifetime earlier had introduced Coman to his sister - expressed what his entire family thought of his sister's killer.

'Ben, you're a pathetic excuse of a human. I wish we'd never met. I can only hope you get what you deserve, you scumbag. F**king coward,' he said.

Coman will be sentenced at a date to be fixed.

HOW BEN COMAN HOPES TO ESCAPE A LIFE BEHIND BARS Forensicare consultant psychiatrist Andrew Carroll - who has deemed numerous killers mentally unfit for trial - claims Coman was suffering 'psychotic depression' unrelated to his rampant drug use. Crown prosecutors believe Coman acted out of anger, selfishness and jealousy. While Dr Carroll accepted Coman had been abusing cocaine, methamphetamines and cannabis, he claimed Coman's psychotic behaviour on the day he committed the murder had nothing to do with it. 'My conclusion was that notwithstanding the fact that his very significant substance use problem was undoubtedly a risk factor for the onset of his difficulties, nonetheless, it wouldn't be appropriate to label this is a substance induced psychosis,' he told the court. Coman had hoped to plead not guilty to the crime by way of mental impairment, but had failed to convince forensic doctors of the high barrier required to get away with murder. Instead, Coman's barrister hopes to convince Justice Andrew Tinney her client's moral culpability is substantially reduced and therefore entitled to a discount on his sentence. Dr Carroll told the court Coman was expressing paranoid thoughts relating to matters broader than his partner's unfounded infidelity, such as believing that his phone was bugged and people were watching him. 'You formed the conclusion that as at 9 October 2021, he was suffering from both a delusional disorder and psychotic depression?' Crown prosecutor Nanette Rogers, SC asked him. 'Yes,' Dr Carroll responded. Advertisement

For confidential support please call LIFELINE: 13 11 14 www.lifeline.org.au, Suicide Call Back Service: 1300 659 467 or 1800RESPECT
So far, there doesn't seem to be an awful lot that ChatGPT  the chatbot powered by artificial intelligence (AI)  can't do.

It has been used to pass exams, deliver a sermon, write software and give relationship advice  to name just a handful of its functions.

The bot is currently free for anyone to use, meaning that lots of users have been asking it questions to get the information they need in their daily lives.

Since the turn of the millennium, this job has been primarily reserved for Google  the world's most popular search engine and its $149 billion (120 billion) business.

But could AI tools actually revolutionise the likes of Google, Bing and Baidu? And, if so, which of the warring tech giants will get there first? MailOnline takes a look at the race, and whether ChatGPT really can be the 'Google killer' that some believe.

Microsoft unveiled its new Bing search engine which incorporates ChatGPT - the chatbot powered by artificial intelligence - on Tuesday

Since the turn of the millennium, the job of finding internet users information has been primarily reserved for Google, the world's most popular search engine

When ChatGPT was released by start-up OpenAI in December, it opened the eyes of the public to just how powerful AI technology has become in recent years.

WHAT IS CHATGPT? ChatGPT is a large language model that has been trained on a massive amount of text data, allowing it to generate eerily human-like text in response to a given prompt OpenAI says its ChatGPT model has been trained using a machine learning technique called Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF). This can simulate dialogue, answer follow-up questions, admit mistakes, challenge incorrect premises and reject inappropriate requests. It responds to text prompts from users and can be asked to write essays, lyrics for songs, stories, marketing pitches, scripts, complaint letters and even poetry. Advertisement

The tool was trained on a gigantic sample of text from the internet in order to be able to understand human language.

Its human-like responses to any prompt have given people new ways to think about how to query information online.

Ever since, experts have been weighing in on what this means for different industries, including within Silicon Valley itself.

In December, Gmail developer Paul Buchheit predicted that 'AI will eliminate the search engine result page' and cause 'total disruption' for Google.

A New York Times report also said that Google executives sounded a code red within the company amid mounting pressure from ChatGPT.

Evidence does point to this being the case, as this week the internet search giant announced its own rival AI algorithm, Bard.

Google billed the software as an 'experimental conversational AI service' which answers users' queries and participates in conversations.

CEO Sundar Pichai said the soft launch would be made available to 'trusted testers' to get feedback on the chatbot before a public release in the coming weeks.

However, the roll out turned sour when Bard got a question wrong in a promotional video later posted to Twitter  a mistake which wiped 100 billion off the value of Google's parent company Alphabet.

Experts were quick to suggest that the embarrassing gaffe was in part caused by the firm's decision to 'rush' out Bard ahead of schedule amid growing competition from ChatGPT and Microsoft.

The latter announced a new version of its Bing software  which features ChatGPT powers  just 24 hours after Bard was unveiled.

When the new Bing-ChatGPT collaboration is rolled out, the search engine will be able to give clear answers in plain language that have been drawn from web results and its own data vaults

This week, Google released its own AI technology, Bard. This advert for it showed the tool giving a wrong answer to a prompt about the James Webb Space Telescope

When ChatGPT was released by start-up OpenAI in December, it opened the eyes of the public to just how powerful the technology has become in recent years

WHAT PROBLEMS DO AI DEVELOPERS FACE? The first is knowing how best to incorporate an internet search with an AI tool. This may manifest as multiple results from different viewpoints, which is what Google says its search engine will do. Another is bias, as it is picked up from the data they are trained from. The use of these algorithms has been controversial in the past because they can perpetuate societal biases like those around race, gender and culture. The final major roadblock when it comes to the AI-powered search engines is with user trust, as it has been known to give factually inaccurate responses. OpenAI has acknowledged ChatGPT's tendency to respond with 'plausible-sounding but incorrect or nonsensical answers', an issue it considers challenging to fix. Advertisement

When Bing is fully rolled out, the search engine will be able to give clear answers in plain language that have been drawn from web results and its own data vaults.

Users will be able to make their queries more concise by chatting with the bot, if they don't initially get the results they are looking for.

It is informed by real-time web data so it will be able to brief users on current events, unlike ChatGPT which is currently limited to data from 2021 for its answers.

A preview of the new Bing is currently available on desktop computers and will be made available for mobile devices in coming weeks.

But it's not all over for Google yet, as, alongside Bard, the company is planning to release its own 'generative' AI with search results.

Generative AI tools create completely new text, images, video or audio by drawing on the data it was trained on as well as new prompts.

'They might help a local baker collaborate on a cake design with a client, or a toymaker dream up a new creation,' said Google executive Prabhakar Raghavan at a launch event in Paris on Wednesday.

'As we continue to bring generative AI technologies into our products, the only limit to search will be your imagination.'

These multi-sentence responses will appear in a separate box at the top of the search, similar to where definitions, calculations and trading charts appear currently.

Alongside Bard, Google is planning to release its own 'generative' AI in search results. Generative AI tools create completely new text, images, video or audio by drawing on the data it was trained on as well as new prompts

While developments towards the ultimate AI-powered search engine is under way, Dr Mark Lee, a Professor of Artificial Intelligence at the University of Birmingham, says there are still problems to overcome.

The first is knowing how best to incorporate the humble internet search with a personal assistant tool.

'The obvious approach is to provide both as answers to any query, but I'm not convinced this is the best way,' he told MailOnline.

'A better integration might be to use the AI curate and comment on the search results.'

This may manifest as multiple results from different viewpoints, which is what Google says its search engine will do.

A company blog post reads: 'Soon, 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.

'Whether that's seeking out additional perspectives, like blogs from people who play both piano and guitar, or going deeper on a related topic, like steps to get started as a beginner.'

Dr Lee also says that bias is another issue developers are facing with their AI search engines, as this is picked up from the data they are trained from.

The use of these algorithms has been controversial in the past because they can perpetuate societal biases like those around race, gender and culture.

In 2016, Microsoft was forced to apologise after an experimental AI Twitter bot called 'Tay' said offensive things on the platform.

It was aimed at 18 to-24-year-olds and designed to improve the firm's understanding of conversational language among young people online.

But within hours of it going live, Twitter users took advantage of flaws in Tay's algorithm that meant the AI chatbot responded to certain questions with racist answers.

These included the bot using racial slurs, defending white supremacist propaganda, and supporting genocide.

Ever since ChatGPT's launch, experts have been weighing in on what this means for different industries. In December, Gmail developer Paul Buchheit predicted that 'AI will eliminate the search engine result page' and cause 'total disruption' for Google

Another roadblock when it comes to the AI-powered search engines is with building user trust in its responses.

'ChatGPT, at least the open research version, is quite happy to make up facts or invent references to support its arguments,' said Dr Lee.

OpenAI has acknowledged ChatGPT's tendency to respond with 'plausible-sounding but incorrect or nonsensical answers', an issue it considers challenging to fix.

Indeed, Microsoft hopes user feedback will improve the AI-assisted Bing, which officials said may still produce factually inaccurate information.

Their camp is not the only one having a problem with inaccuracies, as an advert for Google's Bard that was released this week showed the tool giving a wrong answer to a prompt about the James Webb Space Telescope.

It said that 'JWST took the very first pictures of a planet outside of our own solar system', but actually the Very Large Telescope array in Chile did this in 2004.

The error caused shares in Alphabet, Google's parent company, to fall by as much as nine per cent.

ChatGPT is a large language model that has been trained on a massive amount of text data, allowing it to generate eerily human-like text in response to a given prompt

A ChatGPT response after it was asked to write an essay about how important it is for the UK and Switzerland to be part of the EU's research program Horizon Europe

ChatGPT accused of being 'woke' after refusing to praise Donald Trump Popular chatbot ChatGPT has been accused of being 'woke' after a string of responses displaying a heavy left-wing bias, according to a computer science professor at the University of Washington. Among them, it said praising former Donald Trump was 'not appropriate' despite complimenting President Joe Biden's 'knowledge, experience and vision'. It also said advocating fossil fuels is against its programming while going on to recommend renewable energy sources including solar and wind. ChatGPT also wouldn't tell a joke about women as doing so would be 'offensive or inappropriate', but happily told a joke about men. Read more here Advertisement

Some industry experts have claimed that this was gaffe made because Bard has been 'rushed' out before it's ready, thanks to pressure from Microsoft and ChatGPT.

Edward Coram James, CEO and co-founder of search engine marketing agency Go Up, said that Google's 'hand has clearly been forced'.

He told MailOnline: 'Google already has a form of AI (LaMDA) that, in the industry, is considered to be more sophisticated than ChatGPT.

'They have withheld releasing it due to monetisation and accuracy concerns, but, with ChatGPT, their hand has clearly been forced, and they are rolling out Bard, presumably ahead of schedule.'

LaMDA is the tech giant's most advanced AI chatbot, that can understand and create text that mimics a conversation.

The initial release of Bard uses a lightweight model version of LaMDA which requires significantly less computing power, allowing for more users.

Dr Lee, however, does not think that Google has been swayed too much by recent releases from Microsoft and OpenAI.

He told MailOnline: 'I'm not sure it's correct that Google is rushing its version out.

'Microsoft owning the commercial licence for ChatGPT was always going to disrupt the internet search engine space.

'All of these chatbots rely on Large Language Models which are used to train deep neural networks.'

Neural networks try to simulate the way the brain works in order to learn, and are also used in smart assistants like Siri and Cortana.

They can be trained to recognise patterns in information  including speech, text data, or visual images  and are the basis for a large number of the developments in AI over recent years.

In 2016, Microsoft launched its latest artificial intelligence bot aimed at 18 to 24-year-olds to improve their understanding of conversational language among young people online. Within hours of it going live, Twitter users took advantage of flaws that meant the bot responded to questions with offensive answers (picutred)

The use of these algorithms has been controversial in the past because they can perpetuate societal biases like those around race, gender and culture. Pictured: An AI machine showing bias towards white people over people of colour during tests by scientists (shown)

Google's new AI made a gaffe because it was 'rushed' out, experts say Google's new AI chatbot made an embarrassing gaffe because it was 'rushed' out ahead of schedule amid growing competition from ChatGPT and Microsoft, tech industry experts claimed today. The mistake  which saw Google's Bard get a question wrong in a video posted to Twitter  wiped off 100 billion from the firm's value. Gil Luria, a senior software analyst at DA Davidson, said Google had been 'scrambling' to catch up in the arms race to make search engines more human-like with the help of artificial intelligence. Read more here Advertisement

Dr Lee added: 'Bing has trailed behind Google for a number of years despite its integration in Microsoft Windows, and the integration of AI-powered chatbots is a very smart move.

'Most internet searches are looking for quick information or, nowadays more likely, videos and blogs rather than documents.

'Google was always going to follow this with its own AI. The other competitor is Baidu in China that is launching Ernie, which is similar.'

Mr Coram Jones agrees that the beta version of Bing shouldn't rattle Google too much, largely because of ChatGPT's continual inaccuracies.

He told MailOnline: 'With Google's search results pages, searchers can cross check different results to get a multitude of answers to the same question, thus coming to a consensus about what is correct and what is not.

'ChatGPT offers one answer, but puts this forward with the confidence of accuracy, however it has been shown to be inaccurate much of the time.

'Until this accuracy issue is sorted - no mean feat - Googles presentation of diversity in answers will always be preferred.'

The search engine expert also thinks that providing a single answer to those searching online actually goes against what they are looking for.

A list of results to skim through 'keeps scattered minds busy' and fulfils 'our need to be actively "doing" something', he said.

Providing multiple sources also goes some way to build user confidence in the results, and therefore also the search engine.

Mr Coram Jones told MailOnline: 'It allows the searcher to believe that they have come to a conclusion on their own, after doing their own research.

'By providing only one source and one answer, ChatGPT, as an isolated engine, is unlikely to build that confidence.'

Tech industry experts say that Google was 'rushed' into announcing Bard, its chatbot powered by artificial intelligence (AI), to rival the revolutionary ChatGPT

Shares in Alphabet fell as much as nine per cent after its new artificial intelligence bot, Bard, showed inaccurate information on the advertisement

While Silicon Valley is currently locked in an AI civil war, it is not just the tech giants looking to incorporate the technology into their businesses.

Greetings card retailer Moonpig has revealed it is looking into integrating ChatGPT into its online platform.

This means that customers will be able to use the large language model to write a personalised message for inside their card.

Chinese e-commerce companies Alibaba and JD.com have both announced they are developing ChatGPT-style technologies of their own too.

With OpenAI's original software freely available to the public, and businesses tacking it onto their online products wherever possible, it may not be long until we are completely surrounded by AI-generated text.

'It's common now for AIs to write blogs for social influencers and celebs,' said Dr Lee.

'I wonder if this is going to leave the fans seeking more human generated content  if they can tell that is.

'I suspect the next leading search engine will be one with the best AI and far more like a personal assistant than a search engine.'
Artificial intelligence could be misused to design highly toxic chemical and biological weapons, warn scientists.

The computer algorithms are a force for good, identifying new forms of antibiotics and medicine to combat Covid infection.

But four researchers involved in AI-based drug discovery have now found that the technology could easily be manipulated to search for toxic nerve agents.

The four were asked by the Swiss Federal Institute for Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection to look at whether AI could be used by those with ulterior motives  and their AI came up with 40,000 potentially toxic drugs in six hours.

They have highlighted their concerns in the journal Nature Machine Intelligence.

Four researchers involved in AI-based drug discovery have now found that the technology could easily be manipulated to search for toxic nerve agents

Fabio Urbina, lead author of the paper, told online technology magazine The Verge the exercise made them realise all we have to do is flip the switch round and say, instead of going away from toxicity, what if we go towards toxicity? 

Their AI started producing all of these [toxic] molecules, a lot of which look like chemical warfare agents.

Some of the molecules were more toxic than VX, a nerve agent developed by the UKs Defence Science and Technology Lab in the 1950s, which kills by muscle paralysis.

Mr Urbina, of Collaboration Pharmaceuticals in North Carolina, USA, said: The concern was how easy it was. A lot of the things we used are out there for free. You can download a toxicity dataset from anywhere.
Some of the beauty spots that appear in his work include East Sussex's Friston Forest and Newhaven harbour

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For me, the Sussex landscape offers some of the most beautiful and interesting landscapes in the UK, yet somehow it remains relatively unknown.

So says Brighton-based photographer Lloyd Lane, whose work is a masterful celebration of the multi-faceted scenery of his home county. At times, Lane, 47, focuses on the ferocity of the Sussex coast, capturing waves crashing and breaking under stormy skies, but on other occasions, he dwells on Sussexs softer side, looking at its misty valleys and forests.

He observes: People are sometimes surprised that some of my photographs of mist surrounding the undulating hills of the South Downs are from this country and have instead mistaken them for Tuscany! Mostly, I think people are reminded of how beautiful the UK actually is.

After a spell spent living in London, Lane moved back to his native Sussex seven years ago. 'Im still finding new things to photograph,' he reveals.

The photographer - who works as a software developer when he's not shooting landscapes - says that Sussex is a part of the world that never stops giving and that witnessing its transformation through the changing seasons is truly breathtaking.

Below are 15 pictures by Lane that paint Sussex in a truly spectacular light

In this powerful shot, a wave pounds against Newhaven harbour, which sits at the mouth of the River Ouse in East Sussex. Touching on how he approaches photographing the dramatic Sussex coast, Lane says: 'On the whole, its about waiting for the right weather conditions. I normally look for strong winds of more than 40mph (64kph), at the same time as a high tide, so that the waves are as close to the coast as possible. The sea can be ferocious and creep up on you when you least expect it, so I use a telephoto lens to zoom in and get closer to the action, whilst allowing me to stand far away from the waves.' He adds: 'It is then a case of waiting for Mother Nature to do her best'

This atmospheric photograph shows leaves coating the floor of Friston Forest in the South Downs National Park

This beautiful picture shows the point 'where the heath meets the forest' in Lavington Common, a stretch of heath amongst woodland in West Sussex

A 'sea monster' of a wave unfurls off the coast of Newhaven in this striking picture by Lane

This mesmerising shot shows mist creeping through the Devil's Dyke, a V-shaped valley in the South Downs National Park

This magical picture was taken from a vantage point on the Firle Beacon, a hill in the South Downs. This is one of Lane's favourite spots from which to 'watch a sunrise over the undulating South Downs, preferably with a healthy dose of mist'. He says: 'With early starts, its very easy to stay in bed as long as possible, but the best light can start 45 minutes before sunrise'

A seagull soars past the Victorian Brighton Palace Pier in this cleverly composed shot by Lane

This enchanting picture shows a misty morning over the Sussex Weald - an ancient expanse of woodland near the East Sussex village of Selmeston

Misty morning light filters through the trees in West Sussex's Fittleworth woods in this dreamy picture

A windswept tree sits in the foreground of this shot, which looks out towards the East Sussex coast. In the background is the decommissioned Belle Tout Lighthouse, set on Beachy Head

The Cuckmere Valley in East Sussex, one of Lane's favourite locations, is 'semi-swathed in mist' in this awe-inspiring image

Swanborough Hill in East Sussex is the setting for this evocative picture by Lane

This richly-coloured picture shows the light of early evening settling over the huts of Hove beach in East Sussex

Mermaid Street, a picturesque cobbled lane in the East Sussex town of Rye, is the subject of this picture. Lane points out: 'On the right-hand side is The Mermaid Inn, rumoured to be one of the most haunted hotels in the country'

This vibrant photograph shows the 'last throes of autumn' in East Sussex's Friston Forest

Commenting on how he finds new landscapes to capture, Lane, pictured, says: 'Im grateful to have a patient partner, who occasionally gets dragged around by me to help scout new locations, sometimes in exchange for a nice pub lunch'
The world of soap has never been short of serial killers, with its sleepy picturesque settings racking up a body count that would put Midsomer Murders to shame.

From Meena Jutla's rampage in the Emmerdale village, to Pat Phelan's brutal killings, viewers have been captivated by these love-to-hate characters who leave chaos in their wake.

Currently, Corrie fans are gripped by the crimes of Stephen Reid, who has already claimed three victims in a vid to hide his financial troubles.

This year also marks 20 years since the iconic Richard Hillman met his maker as he drove his family into the canal after his crimes were exposed.

So, MailOnline takes a trip through the soap archives to look back at some of the most iconic serial killers...

Blast from the past: From Meena's seductive rampage, Richard Hillman's legendary exit and THAT Gloved Hand mystery - MailOnline takes a look at some of soaps' most iconic serial killers

Meena Jutla - Emmerdale

One of soap's most recent villains came in the form of Meena, a sexy seductive nurse who wouldn't let anyone stop her from getting what she wants.

The brunette beauty took great pleasure in playing with her victims and claiming they were responsible for their own demise, and claimed three victims during her reign of terror.

After it was revealed that she had killed her best friend Nadina, Meena (played by Paige Sandhu) murdered Leanna Cavanagh to keep her crimes a secret in 2020, and went onto kill Aaron Dingle's boyfriend Ben Tucker.

In gripping scenes, Meena was then involved in a terrifying pursuit of Victoria Sugden after learning her boyfriend David Metcalfe had cheated on her, attempting to drown her during an outdoor pursuits trip.

The heart-stopping episodes culminated with Andrea Tate's tragic death in a maze fire, after she saw Meena attempting to end Victoria's life.

While Meena originally managed to escape the authorities, even kidnapping her sister Manpreet, she returned on Billy Fletcher's wedding day.

Despite falling from a bridge, Meena survived and was put on trial, continuing to torment Manpreet from behind bars in a bid to earn her freedom.

But, in a surprise twist, she is actually found guilty and thrown behind bars, proving that despite fluttering her eyelashes and playing the victim, she couldn't escape from her crimes.

Drama! One of soap's most recent villains came in the form of Meena, a sexy seductive nurse who wouldn't let anyone stop her from getting what she wants

Tense: While Meena originally managed to escape the authorities, even kidnapping her sister Manpreet, she returned on Billy Fletcher's wedding day and was later thrown behind bars

The point of no (Rovers) Return! Four years after his last stand, Pat Phelan remains Corrie's most prolific killer, claiming four lives during his lengthy tenure on the cobbles

Pat Phelan - Coronation Street

Four years after his last stand, Pat Phelan (Conor McIntyre) remains Corrie's most prolific killer, claiming four lives during his lengthy tenure on the cobbles.

He quickly made enemies of much of the locals after raping Anna Windass, and claimed his first victim, Michael Rodwell, by watching him die of a heart attack with sadistic pleasure.

Phelan then kidnapped Andy Carver, and held him captive in a basement for a months, before forcing him to shoot his associate Vinny Ashford to earn his freedom.

However, in a surprise double-cross, Phelan went back on his promise and killed Andy too so his crimes could be kept a secret.

Tension! Phelan eventually went on the run after tumbling from a cliffside when Eileen discovered his crimes, and returned on Michelle Connor's wedding day

For months Phelan kept his killings a secret from his wife Eileen, and he continued to upset much of the cobbles with his dodgy business dealings.

When Andy's friend Luke Britton discovered evidence that implicated him in his disappearance, Phelan disposed of the issue by burning the mechanic alive in his car.

Phelan eventually went on the run after tumbling from a cliffside when Eileen discovered his crimes, and returned on Michelle Connor's wedding day in a bombshell week of episodes.

Anna finally got her revenge on Phelan by stabbing him to death, bringing his murderous rampage to a permenant end.

Dark: Anna finally got her revenge on Phelan by stabbing him to death, bringing his murderous rampage to a permenant end

Lindsey Roscoe - Hollyoaks

With a total of seven victims, Lindsay (Sophie Austin) remains one of Hollyoaks' most prolific murderers, and for months viewers were completely clueless to her identity.

Bosses first introduced the mysterious Gloved Hand Killer in 2015, with the elusive villain ending its victims lives by injecting them with potassium chloride.

After 10 long months viewers finally learned that Lindsey was the killer, after she'd ended the lives of Rick Spencer, Will Savage, Mariam Andrews, Phoebe McQueen, Dylan Jenkins, Ashley Davidson and Charles S'Avage.

Brutal: With a total of seven victims, Lindsay Roscoe remains one of Hollyoaks' most prolific murderers, previously known under the alias of The Gloved Hand Killer

It originally appeared that Lindsay was going to escape the authorities, as she framed former gangster Trevor Royle for her crimes.

But in 2016, she decides to team up with fellow serial killer Silas Bassett, and decides to help him kill Mercedes McQueen.

However, when Silas learns that Lindsey had an affair with Freddie Roscoe, he turns the tables and strangles her to death.

Charming but deadly! For many Corrie fans, businessman Richard remains the soap's most iconic serial killer, setting the stage for some of the cobbles most dramatic moments

Richard Hillman - Coronation Street

For many Corrie fans, businessman Richard (Brian Capron) remains the soap's most iconic serial killer, setting the stage for some of the cobbles most dramatic, and over the top, moments.

Branded Norman Bates with a briefcase, Richard claimed a total of three victims, first letting his business partner Duggi Ferguson plunge to his death.

Richard also caused chaos on the cobbles by conning several of the Street's older residents to invest their savings into his flat development.

When Richard's ex-wife Patricia arrived on the scene, he silenced her permenantly by hitting her on the head witha shovel and sending her tumbling into an open grave.

Off they go! Richard remained on the run for weeks before returning with the plot to end his life, and his family's, by kidnapping the entire Platt clan in 2003

And while plotting to murder Emily Bishop, Richard was caught by Maxine Peacock, and proceeded to bludgeon her to death.

When Gail discovered Richard's killing spree, the pair appeared in a legendary two-hander episode, before she let him flee the Street.

Richard remained on the run for weeks before returning with the plot to end his life, and his family's, by kidnapping the entire Platt clan in 2003.

In a now-legendary scene, Richard declared: 'I love you!' as he drove the family's car in to the canal.

While Gail and her children were rescued, Richard drowned bringing an end to his reign of terror.

RIP: In a now-legendary scene, Richard declared: 'I love you!' as he drove the family's car in to the canal

Gray Atkins - EastEnders

Given his abusive treatment of his wife Chantelle, Gray (Toby-Alexander Smith) proved to be one of EastEnders' darker villains, remaining unfazed during his attempts to cover up his crimes.

Arriving on the scene as the suave lawyer in 2019, Gray's dark side was soon revealed when viewers witness the way he treated Chantelle.

When she attempted to leave him, Gray violently pushed her into a knife in the dishwasher, and rather than calling an ambulance right away, let her bleed to death.

He met his (East)End! Given his abusive treatment of his wife Chantelle, Gray proved to be one of EastEnders' darker villains, remaining unfazed during his attempts to cover up his crimes

Murdered: When she attempted to leave him, Gray violently pushed Chantelle into a knife in the dishwasher, and rather than calling an ambulance right away, let her bleed to death

Realising how easy it was for him to get away with murder, it wasn't long before Gray struck again, throttling Tina Carter to death when she spotted his violent traits, and dumping her body in a mystery location.

Gray then sought revenge from market stall owner Kush Kazemi for dating his ex Whitney Dean, and pushed him in front of a moving tube train.

After getting Chelsea Fox pregnant, she discovered his sinister nature mere hours after they tied the knot, but kept quiet for fear he would take away their child.

Eventually Chelsea exposed Gray's crimes by recording his confession, and despite his attempts to kill her, she escaped while he went on the run.

Gray tried to avoid being brought to justice by jumping from a bridge, but Whitney kept him from falling, and he was later arrested by police.

Dead! Gray then sought revenge from market stall owner Kush Kazemi for dating his ex Whitney Dean, and pushed him in front of a moving tube train

Terrifying: During his tenure in the village, Lachlan (Tom Atkinson) underwent a surprising evolution, beginning as a bratty teenager who eventually morphed into a terrifying predator

Lachlan White - Emmerdale

During his tenure in the village, Lachlan (Tom Atkinson) underwent a surprising evolution, beginning as a bratty teenager who eventually morphed into a terrifying predator.

Along with stalking a young Belle Dingle, Lachlan committed sexual assault on Alicia Gallagher, and despite his claims that she was complicit, he was sentenced to two years on the sex offenders register.

Lachlan's mother Chrissie grew increasingly concerned for his wellbeing, and plotted to take him away to Australia, with Lachlan becoming increasingly unhinged as the family drove along the road in a bid to catch Robert Sugden.

Lachlan swerved the family's car directly into the path of an oncoming lorry, killing Chrissie and his grandfather Lawrence.

Lachlan succeeded in keeping his involvement in the crash a secret, and smashed his former cellmate Gerry Roberts' head with a rock to preserve his silence when he discovered that he was involved.

While he came dangerous close to claiming yet more victims, including his girlfriend Belle Dingle, and his aunt Rebecca, eventually the police caught up with Lachlan, and he is now behind bars for his crimes.

Dark: Along with stalking a young Belle Dingle, Lachlan committed sexual assault on Alicia Gallagher

Lucas Johnson - EastEnders

Lucas originally arrived in Albert Square as a religious preacher, but quickly revealed a sinister side by killing his estranged wife Trina.

The death proved to be one of the more gruesome in soaps, as he pushed her into a rake that immediately impaled her on the neck.

While Lucas (Don Gilet) thought he'd got away with his crimes, and looked forward to marrying Denise, her ex Owen Turner threatened to expose his scary secrets.

Violence! Lucas originally arrived in Albert Square as a religious preacher, but quickly revealed a sinister side by killing his estranged wife Trina

Quickly disposing of Owen, Lucas stranged him and buried his body under the tree that had been planted in Trina's memory.

It wasn't long before Denise discovered Lucas dark side, and he proceeded to hold her hostage, murdering prostitute Gemma Charleston and using her body to lead others to believe that his wife was dead.

Denise survived, and Lucas was eventually thrown behind the bars, though he returned to the Square for a brief stint in late 2020 to reconnect with his daughter Chelsea, before sent back to prison for drug dealing.

Violent: The death proved to be one of the more gruesome in soaps, as he pushed her into a rake that immediately impaled her on the neck

Cameron Murray - Emmerdale

Cameron (Dominic Power) committed his first killing during Emmerdale's 40th Anniversary celebrations in 2012, attacking Carl King to keep his affair with Debbie Dingle a secret.

From then on, Cameron didn't hold back in killing again to hide his crimes, including his friend Alex Moss, after realising that the only way to keep his antics a secret was to kill him.

Cameron then confessed to Debbie that he killed Carl, but was overheard by Gennie Sharma, who sped off in a car.

Dramatic scenes! Cameron committed his first killing during Emmerdale's 40th Anniversary celebrations in 2012, attacking Carl King to keep his affair with Debbie Dingle a secret

During a frantic car chase, Gennie was run off the road, and Cameron proceeded to end her life while she was trapped in her car.

Cameron's sinister final act came when he staged a tense shotgun-wielding siege in the Woolpack in a week of blockbuster episodes.

As well as shooting Alicia, Cameron trapped Debbie and Chas in the pub cellar as it flooded with water, but in a final twist, the murdered sealed his own fate by electrocuting himself on a wet light bulb.

Last stand: Cameron's sinister final act came when he staged a tense shotgun-wielding siege in the Woolpack in a week of blockbuster episodes

Silas Blissett - Hollyoaks

Over a 12-year span, killer Silas embarked on a terrifying rampage, murdering multiple women that he viewed were committing promiscuous behaviour.

Arriving in the village in 2010, he proceeded to catfish India Longofrd on a dating site before strangling her to death.

Silas (Jeff Rawle) had also murdered his own wife in the early 1990s, and later accidentally killed his daughter Heidi in a case of mistaken identity in pursuit of Lynsey Nolan.

DEAD! Over a 12-year span, killer Silas embarked on a terrifying rampage, murdering multiple women that he viewed were committing promiscuous behaviour

Lynsey then exposed Silas to her family and he was arrested and placed in a psychiatric facility, but in 2016 he escaped and teamed up with Gloved Hand Killer Lindsey.

However, he then proceeded to strangle her when he learned that she had cheated on her husband with Freddie Roscoe.

Silas then made yet another return to the village in 2022 to steal his grandson Bobby away from the McQueens, with the help of a deadly game of chess.

But the tables were turned when Bobby pushed Silas onto the electrified chess board, bringing his killer rampage to an end.
She was booted out of the Love Island villa last week after a tumultuous journey.

And during her time in the villa Zara Deniz revealed her claim to fame as she told her fellow islanders that she had once smooched Olympian Usain Bolt.

Now back in the UK, the dumped islander, 25, has revealed more details of the kiss as she recalled spending time with the sportsman in the VIP section of a nightclub.

Speaking with BBC Radio 1Xtras Fee Mak on Sunday, Zara recalled 'having a little kiss' with Usain, 36, after he had spotted her on the dancefloor.

Adding that the record-holding runner was even keen for her to join him to an after-party, the reality star admitted that she turned down the offer.

'We were having fun': Love Island's Zara Deniz dishes the dirt on locking lips with Usain Bolt - as she recalls being invited to an after-party by the Olympian

Smooch: Speaking with BBC Radio 1Xtras Fee Mak on Sunday, Zara recalled 'having a little kiss' with Usain, 36, after he had seen her on the dancefloor

Zara dropped Usain's name in a game of Never Have I Ever during her time in the villa, when the Islanders were asked to drink if theyd ever got with or dated any celebrities.

And this weekend, she revealed that the run-in took place at nightclub DSTRKT, which shut down around 5 years ago, when being probed on the kiss by radio host Fee.

'We were heading out the door and I got stopped by a security guard and he was like "youve been requested in VIP". And I was like "VIP by who?". Then they literally announced as he said it: "Usain Bolt is in the building!" I was like "what?!", I thought it was so random,' she explained.

Zara, who is a Property Manager, continued: 'So he was like: "Yeah Usain Bolt wants you, he saw you in the crowd and would like you in VIP". So me and my friend took our way up there.

'He was just in the DJ booth, we were literally just having fun, there was drinks, it was quite chilled, friendly vibes. And then he pulled me up onto the sofa.'

The blonde haired beauty added that she then shared a kiss with Usain after he told her she was 'gorgeous'.

Zara also told Fee that Usain asked her if she wanted to have an after party but she said 'absolutely not'.

She left fans confused as they watched the game on-screen, as they were scratching their head over how it took place.

Claim to fame: Zara dropped Usain's name in a game of Never Have I Ever during her time in the villa, when the Islanders were asked to drink if theyd ever got with or dated any celebrities

Usain has been in a long-term relationship with his partner and mother of his three children, Kasi Bennett, for eight years.

Taking to Twitter to address the confusing timeline, one fan pointed out: 'I swear Usain Bolt has a long term babes? So when did him and zara lips'.

Another echoed: 'Usain Bolt has been with his fiance for 8 years and Zara is only 25 so either she was a teenager when she kissed him or she's a homewrecker'.

A third agreed, writing: 'Pause zara said she kissed usain bolt so he cheated on his long time partner with zara? Or what bc.. no timeline makes sense #loveisland'.

While a fourth added: 'zaras 25 and usain bolts been in a relationship for 7 years, hows that one working out'.

Baffling: As Zara retold the story, some fans were left confused at the timeline, as Usain (pictured) has been in a relationship for eight years

Loved-up:Usain has been in a long-term relationship with his partner and mother of his three children, Kasi Bennett, for eight years (pictured together)

And a fifth said: 'Usain Bolt has been with his partner since 2014...Zara is 25. So we're saying she was 16 and he was 27?'

Zara may be fresh out of the villa, but she hasn't ruled out a return by any means.

Speaking on Capital Radio, she said: 'I dont mind going back in for Casa Amor. I'd be up for it. I think it would be great, but thats up...I wouldnt say no.

'Not at all. I mean, I need to find a man, dont I? I want to find a man, but I dont need a man.'

Zara joined the villa as a bombshell and initially took Ron Hall out on a date, before her head turned for Tom Clare.

But ultimately, she was left single after the romance fizzled out, making her vulnerable and ultimately leaving the villa.
Ive heard of people shopping in their jimjams but has partying in nightwear finally become acceptable too?

Seems so, as British fashion icon Alexa Chung and American actress Molly Ringwald both attended a New York Fashion show this weekend in what appeared to be silky nighties.

Believe it or not, they are actually dresses, created by US fashion label Rodarte. Alexas green number, left, will set you back 1,300 while the pink one worn by Breakfast Club star Molly, 54, below, is on sale for 800.

Alexa, 39, once launched a range of sleepwear, telling Vogue at the time about the joys of wearing nightclothes out of the house: Something about having the balls to wear sleepwear beyond the bedroom is in itself an act of protest. Its a f*** you, so its inherently cool.

Alexa Chung was wearing a 1,300 dress by the US fashion label Rodarte

Molly Ringwald's Rodarte creation she wore to New York Fashion week costs 800

Still, nightwear is surely better than wearing nothing at all.

Earlier this month Alexa wore a naked dress to Buckingham Palace for an event hosted by King Charles and the Queen Consort.

On a shot of herself in the translucent nude dress, she wrote: Naked dressing for Bucky P.

Gillians's Sex-Files come with a catch

Gillian Anderson has appealed for female authors to reveal their sexual fantasies for a new book  but are those who respond being sold short?

Gillian, 54, star of The X-Files and Sex Education  is asking for letters of about 1,000 words, with the instruction: Simply open your letter with Dear Gillian and let your imagination run wild. I will, of course, also share my own.

But writer Amina Akhtar points out that under the T&Cs contributors will receive no payment.

Could be a turn-off
Penelope Cruz oozed elegance in a black Dolce and Gabbana corset gown as she attended the Goya Awards in Spain on Saturday.

The Vanilla Sky star, 48, stunned in a strapless top and ball-gown skirt for the prestigious event held at FIBES Conference and Exhibition Centre in Seville.

Penelope - who never fails to impress with her red carpet looks - proudly beamed for the shutterbugs at the ceremony commonly referred to as the Academy Awards of Spain.

She was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role in On the Fringe.

Penelope's outfit featured a long train that trailed behind her. She also draped a lace shawl over her arms for a glammed-up touch.

Glam girl: Penelope Cruz, 48, showed off her fit figure in a black Dolce and Gabbana corset gown at the Goya Awards in Spain on Saturday

Accessorizing: Amping up the glitz, the actress added gold and black statement earrings and a large diamond studded bracelet

The Oscar winner amped up the glitz with circular gold and black statement earrings to match her outfit.

The beauty wore her lustrous brunette tresses in a half-up, half-down style with full bangs in front.

Penelope pinned her long chocolate locks in a high ponytail with a large gold clip before it cascaded straight down her back.

The stunner highlighted her glowing complexion with a glamorous makeup palette of smokey eyes and matte pink lips.

The highly decorated star, who has more Oscar nominations than any other Spanish actor or actress, has been widely recognized.

Cruz has been nominated for thirteen Goya award throughout her career, of which she has won three.

Penelope's latest thriller-drama, On The Fringe, is a film on family, love, and solidarity - linking the stories of three characters who all go on 24-hour-long life-shaping journeys in a race against the clock.

The actress stars in the film, also called En los Margenes, alongside Spanish actor Luis Tosar.

Stunner: The Vanilla Sky star rocked a strapless top and ball-gown skirt for the prestigious event commonly referred to as the Academy Awards of Spain

Radiant: She added a glamorous makeup palette to highlight her glowing complexion

Classic: Penelope's impressive strapless dress featured a long train that trailed behind her

Beauty: The beauty wore her lustrous brunette tresses in a half-up, half-down style with full bangs in front

Guests: The star posed alongside (L-R) Juan Diego Botto, Penelope, and her brother, Eduardo Cruz

And Penelope was in good company as she attended the bash with her brother Eduardo Cruz, who cut a stylish figure in a black hat and suit.

Penelope's impressive 30 year film career began with her first feature film being 1992's Jamon Jamon.

She later received recognition for her roles in films including Vanilla Sky, Captain Corelli's Mandolin, and Blow.

In 2008, she won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Maria Elena in Vicky Christina Barcelona.

Penelope is married to fellow film star Javier Bardem, with the two sharing two children, Leo and Luna.
Chloe Sevigny owned the runway at New York Fashion Week on Saturday.

The Russian Doll actress, 48, looked fantastic in a sophisticated black ensemble at the Proenza Schouler Fall 2023 Ready To Wear Fashion Show.

Actresses Natasha Lyonne and Sienna Miller also made appearances at the event.

For her runway outfit, Chloe donned a black jacket over a crisp white button-up shirt.

The jacket was tied tightly around the beauty's waist with a black leather string, which helped show off her fantastic figure.

Runway ready: Chloe Sevigny walked the runway at the Proenza Schouler Fall 2023 Ready To Wear Fashion Show in NYC

Muted tones: Natasha Lyonne (L) wore an eye-catching polka-dotted ensemble. Sienna Miller (R) donned a black miniskirt and a thin white top

The top buttons of the shirt were left undone, and the collar was turned down over the front of the jacket.

She paired that with a black leather skirt that went down below her knees and a pair of black boots.

The boots and skirt pairing was so seamless that it made it look like she was wearing leather pants instead of two different pieces.

Chloe's blonde hair was left down and loose behind her. She also sported a simple makeup look, making her visage natural.

While she walked the runway, the American Psycho actress kept her face expressionless and was the picture of sophistication.

Before the event, Chloe was spotted out on a walk with her two-year-old daughter Vanja in the West Village.

The blonde beauty wore a buttoned-up oversized black leather jacket as she pushed her daughter around in a stroller.

Vanja, the actress's only child, was bundled up in a blue and red puffer jacket, jeans, and green velcro sneakers.

Star of the show: The 48-year-old looked fantastic in a black and white ensemble

Model: The Russian Doll actress's jacket was tied tightly around the beauty's waist with a black leather string, which helped show off her fantastic figure

Strutting: The top buttons of her shirt were left undone, and the collar was turned down over the front of the jacket

Pose: The beauty paired her top with a black leather skirt that went down below her knees and a pair of black leather boo

In her lap, she held onto a bag of Utz pretzels and snacked on them as her mom chatted with a friend.

Chloe shares Vanja with her husband, Sinisa Mackovic, 42. They have been married since March 2020.

The pair didn't announce their marriage to the public until their one-year anniversary when Chloe posted a photo on her Instagram.

Sinisa is the director of the Karma Art Gallery in New York City.

Out and about: Chloe was spotted out on a walk with her two-year-old daughter Vanja in the West Village before the fashion show

Adorable: The Bones and All actress wore a buttoned-up oversized black leather jacket as she pushed her daughter around in a stroller

Also making a splash at the Proenza Schouler event was Chloe's Russian Doll co-star, Natasha Lyonne, 43.

The star was spotted on her way into the event in a dark blue matching set with yellow polka-dots covering both the blouse and the trousers.

She had on a long-sleeved top with cutouts in the middle to expose some of her stomach.

The fabric in the middle of the top was tied in a knot, and the top buttons were left open.

Her trousers were wide-legged and sported smaller yellow polka-dots than her blouse.

Fashionista: Natasha's polka-dot look featured cutouts at her stomach to show off some of her midriff

The look: Her signature red hair was down and cut in layers around her face, with her bangs hanging straight across her forehead

Beauty: Sienna put her long legs on display and paired her skirt with black platform sandals

Up close: She accessorized with a pair of orange-tinted sunglasses, black platform sandals, and a blue purse

The Poker Face actress accessorized with white sunglasses and a metallic yellow bag.

She wore her signature red hair down and cut in layers around her face, with her bangs hanging straight across her forehead.

Anatomy of a Scandal star Sienna Miller, 41, attended the event as well and was accompanied by her daughter, Marlowe, 10.

Sienna flaunted her fantastic legs in a black miniskirt, with black biker shorts underneath slightly sticking out.

Her top was a thin cream-colored sweater with elbow-length sleeves and a tucked-down collar.

She accessorized with a pair of orange-tinted sunglasses, black platform sandals, and a blue purse.

Dance Moms alum Maddie Zegler, 20, showed off her curves in a white button-up set.

Saturday Night Live cast member Chloe Fineman, 34, wore a long black dress with thin straps.

Jewels: Chloe Fineman dressed up in a black gown decorated with yellow jewels

Angelic: Maddie Ziegler stunned in an all-white buttoned up set

Stephanie Shepherd (L) and Charlotte Lawrence (R) went for a pop of black in their outfits

Couple goals: Char Defrancesco and Marc Jacobs wore color contrasting outfits to the fashion show

Karen Elson (L) and Meghann Fahy (R) went for the all-white looks

Jessica Wang (L) and Christina 'Tinx' Najjar (R) rocked their simple color palettes

Statement piece: Girls star Jemima Kirke left little to the imagination in an all-lace blue mini-dress

It was embellished with yellow jewels and she paired the dress with a purple purse.

Legendary designer Marc Jacobs, 59, and his husband Char Defrancesco, 41 looked stylish in their contrasting outfits.

Marc wore a brightly colored peacoat, leather gloves, and black trousers.

Char sported an oversized black polyester hoodie, white pants, and black boots.

Big smile: Alexa Chung went for a vintage-inspired look at the event

All-black: Liya Kebede (L) and Ella Emhoff (R) donned unique darker looks
It is said that beauty comes with pain.

And Love Island Australia bombshell Margarita Smith learned this the hard way after suffering a painful burn to her elbow after a mishap with her hair curling iron.

Posting to Instagram Stories on Saturday, the OnlyFans model said her painful ordeal became worse after part of her scab accidentally ripped off.

Love Island Australia bombshell Margarita Smith (pictured) has suffered a painful burn to her elbow after a mishap with her hair curling iron

'Oh my gosh, do you know what hurts more than burning yourself with a curling iron? When it rips off,' the Instagram model lamented, showing the camera her burn.

'Oh my gosh, that little part there has been ripped off on the back of my elbow,' she continued, before groaning dramatically.

'The pain! I keep on leaning on [it]. I want to cry. It hurts so much!' she said, appearing to be on the verge of tears.

Posting to Instagram Stories on Saturday, the OnlyFans model said her painful ordeal became worse after part of her scab accidentally ripped off

'Oh my gosh, do you know what hurts more than burning yourself with a curling iron? When it rips off,' the Instagram model lamented, showing the camera her burn

In a subsequent post, Margarita filmed herself grimacing in the bathroom with her curling iron in hand.

'Love hate kinda relationship ATM... [annoyed emoji]', she wrote.

Margarita shot to fame after appearing on Channel Nine's Love Island Australia in 2019.

'The pain! I keep on leaning on [it]. I want to cry. It hurts so much!' she said, appearing to be on the verge of tears

She has since parlayed her reality TV fame into a career as an online glamour model, regularly sharing racy photos of herself in skimpy attire.

Margarita, who has had a breast enlargement, nose job and fillers among various other procedure, regularly gives her online followers updates on her cosmetic procedures.

In an interview with Daily Mail Australia, she spoke candidly about being happy with her appearance both pre-and post-surgery.

In a subsequent post, Margarita filmed herself grimacing in the bathroom with her curling iron in hand

'I've always been a really confident person, my whole life. I've never actually sat there and thought, "Oh, I don't like this,"' she explained.

'I liked my boobs before. I thought they were fantastic! But to be honest, I've always liked that dolled-up, fake look.'

'Initially I thought, "Do I want it? Do I not?" and then I thought, "S**t, yeah, I want it!" I love it. It's just how I want to portray myself, but I'm confident in who I am, 100 per cent.'
Jessie Wallace has reportedly got engaged to her partner Justin Gallwey.

The actress, 51, and the carpenter, 50, have been together for at least a year and it is claimed they are now taking their relationship to the next level.

In a picture obtained by The Sun, EastEnders star Jessie was seen wearing a gold band on her ring finger as she bought a bottle of wine at a petrol station near her London home recently.

MailOnline has contacted a representative for Jessie for comment.

It was previously reported Justin had been helping Jessie to battle her booze demons after she was arrested for allegedly assaulting a police officer.

Happy couple: Jessie Wallace, 51, has reportedly got engaged to her partner Justin Gallwey, 50, after at least a year of dating

He told The Sun on Sunday: 'I just want to protect her. Everything is happy and things are good.'

Justin, who is said to keep a Jessie doll from Toy Story in his van, told The Sun last year: 'Our relationship is fine. We are very close.'

Speaking of the police incident, he added: 'I have made my apologies and so has Jessie.'

Jessie expressed her deep regret' after she allegedly told a police officer to 'f*** off you fat c***' during 'five minutes of carnage' outside a nightclub.

The star, who plays barmaid Kat Slater in BBC soap EastEnders, allegedly kneed the officer in the groin before she was arrested and placed into a police van, but she was later released without charge.

She was warned by BBC chiefs that her behaviour was 'unacceptable' after the incident, with Jessie expressing her 'deep regret'.

A BBC spokesman told MailOnline at the time: 'Senior bosses have spoken to Jessie Wallace about the incident and issued a clear warning that this kind of behaviour is unacceptable. Jessie has expressed her deep regret.'

Bling: In a picture obtained by The Sun, EastEnders star Jessie was seen wearing a gold band on her ring finger as she bought a bottle of wine at a petrol station

Jessie downplayed rumours she was married to Justin last summer after referring to him as her 'husband'.

She prompted inevitable speculation across social media courtesy of an Instagram post, in which she hinted at something more than a committed relationship.

Sharing a photo of herself wrapped in Justin's arms as they relaxed in a London pub, Jessie added the simple caption: 'My hubby.'

However the wedding ring one might expect to see was notably absent as the actress ventured out for shopping close to her home in the English capital at the time.

Jessie and Justin are said to have known each other since they were teenagers.

Justin hinted at his plans to propose last July, commenting on a photo of Jessie and her friend Jaime Winstone modelling matching costume jewellery on the set of a special flashback episode of EastEnders.

Taking to Instagram, he wrote: 'See I told you you would have a ring on that finger by the end of the year'
Le gouvernement a donne son accord le 10 fevrier 2023 pour que le pays singe un protocole daccord avec cette corporation qui est basee au Etats Unis pour la conservation des especes endemiques en danger a Maurice.

Cabinet agreed to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with Fresh Inc., a US based multinational company, for the conservation management of critically endangered endemic species. Fresh Inc. would assist in the propagation of some critically endangered species of high genetic fitness so as to enable their introduction in the wild and ultimately their removal from the International Union for Conservation of Nature red list.

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Whoever thought Crossroads' Noele Gordon might ever become a style inspiration?

Well she has now, thanks to the one flaw in ITV's new drama Nolly, starring Helena Bonham Carter in the lead role. Helena is simply too beautiful to play the imperious matriarch of the Crossroads motel.

However, her limpid-eyed, cut-glass beauty has made her version of Noele bewitching to behold.

I'm sure I'm not the only person who, watching Bonham Carter sashay on and off set in a mink cocoon, has been reminded of their own fondness for the voluminous fur coat of old.

Then there are the marvellous peignoirs and housecoats she drifts around her satin-lampshaded apartment in as she lights her endless cigarettes. But most of all, that hair! Bonham Carter's Noele is rarely seen without her russet tresses set in a blousy confection of rollers and Elnett hairspray .

Helena Bonham Carter (pictured) is bewitching to behold in the role of Noele Gordon in ITV's new drama Nolly

I'm sure I'm not the only person who, watching Bonham Carter (pictured here with Augustus Prew) sashay on and off set in a mink cocoon, has been reminded of their own fondness for the voluminous fur coat of old

Our contemporary blow-dries and addiction to straighteners and tongs have meant we've forgotten about the very real attributes of a shampoo and set. Not for us sitting under a heated helmet with a head full of rollers. The notion is as dated as the doily.

But I think we've got that wrong. I remember as a small child watching my mother having her weekly set at the hairdresser. Her hair has never looked better. Now we've forgotten, if any of us ever knew, how a good set is simply the greatest escape from thin, lank locks.

If only the look was not so deeply unfashionable. Still, fashion and hair styles do change, as sure as night follows day. And, surely we're all a little bit over the tonged bob now? I'm not sure teenagers are ever going to embrace the shampoo and set, but perhaps the upcoming middle-aged Love Island series is the time where it can make a comeback

Nolly-style high-heeled mules, capacious kaftans and a pile-up of curls? I for one am absolutely up for it.

Positivity is good... for the bank balance

Last week, I was in Dubai as speaker at the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature. My sessions may not have been quite as popular as those of David Walliams, whose book-signing queues had under-tens spiralling around the festival site, but my audience in one session was no doubt boosted by having Kaushal Modha, the South Asian wellness and beauty influencer, on my panel.

She has some two million social-media followers and, along with her wellness guru husband Vex King, featured on the cover of You magazine a few weeks back. Kaushal was there to promote her first book, a gratitude journal.

Now, I know I am behind many curves, but I had never heard of a gratitude journal, although it seems they are becoming as popular as cookery books.

My idea of a journal is where I record what I did on various days or even describe how I felt about the events that took place. It's a record of life, both the bad news and good.

But gratitude journals are quite different. They only have space for positivity  no doubt, heartache or anxieties. If you break up with your boyfriend, that is not a difficulty  it's an opportunity to make a note to yourself to embrace the new. Or at least the pain.

It made me reflect on what a generational difference there is between myself, a Baby Boomer and the Millennials and Gen Z. (Younger people, in other words.)

My lot generally say it as we see it, which might well be critical and unvarnished.

This is a different approach to a generation who flood Instagram with empowering and supportive messages to all and sundry. They are helped by these journals which encourage listing reasons to be cheerful at the start of every day and reasons to be grateful at the end of every day.

To be honest, I don't know if one is better than the other, but I just wish I had it in me to publish a gratitude journal, since clearly that is where the money lies.

Ageing rock stars face up to the past

Much fuss has been made about the amount of work Madonna (pictured here at the Grammys) has had done

Much fuss has been made about the amount of work Madonna has had done on her appearance and her betrayal of the sisterhood.

But it would be wrong to think that women musicians alone embrace cosmetic intervention. A friend of mine who specialises in advising people on where to find this kind of help told me recently that among her regular clients are elderly rock stars before they go on world tours. Hair colour, Botox, fillers, facial treatments  the whole shebang is employed to minimise the effects of many years of carousing before they get on the private jet.

ISIS Bride should be tried in Britain

Having watched the documentary and listened to the current BBC podcast series on Shamima Begum, I am firmly convinced she should be given back her British citizenship and tried in a British court.

Yes, she left the country to join Islamic State at 15 and still shows neither love nor enthusiasm either for the UK or her poor family, but leaving her mouldering in a refugee camp, albeit one that clearly facilitates blow-dries and manicures, can only increase the sense of alienation that led to her leaving.

It's hard to warm to the young woman who has a sneering smile, an apparent lack of horror of the terrorist caliphate's atrocities and no convincing remorse.

How much of her reaction is due to the trauma she has undergone over the years there, and how much is the person she is, has yet to be discovered. But she was born here, brought up here and we should take responsibility for the chilling person she appears to have become.

A name now as rare as a Siberian tiger

When I'm in the queue for coffee and they ask for my name, I always answer Jane. Why? Because the name is easy to pronounce but also now as rare as the Siberian tiger, so there's never any confusion over whose black Americano they are delivering.

Dubai is enough to drive you FROM drink

There's nothing like settling the alcohol bill in Dubai to make you rethink your drinking habits. Booze is incredibly expensive there.

The first thing I did on coming back was order several boxes of alcohol-free beer in an attempt to retrain my consumption.
A former Married At First Sight bride is reeling after allegedly discovering flirty texts her fiance sent to one of her female friends.

Cheryl Maitland, who was famously matched with two grooms on season four of MAFS, has been dating disgraced former Victoria Police officer-turned-plumber Dean Gibbs since early 2017.

But the Gold Coast-based couple could now be at breaking point as Maitland claims to have found texts Gibbs sent to hairdresser Maria Pepi in which they made plans to meet up at the beach for a coffee and swim.

Maitland posted the texts on Instagram upon discovering them on Sunday, then called Gibbs and Pepi 'dogs' and said she 'hopes the sharks get these two' next time they go to the beach together.

Former Married At First Sight bride Cheryl Maitland (left) is reeling after allegedly discovering flirty texts her fiance Dean Gibbs (right) sent to one of her female friends

Maitland's angry reaction suggests Gibbs may not have told her he was catching up with one of her mates. Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting any infidelity took place.

He also appears to have tried to conceal the texts on his phone by saving Pepi under a man's name, 'Andrew Galata - Burleigh.' However, Maitland was allegedly able to prove he was texting her friend by cross-refencing the number for Pepi on Gibbs' phone with Pepi's number in her own contacts.

The leaked texts, which had a flirtatious tone, centred on Pepi and Gibbs planning meet-ups as recently as last month, including one time when they arranged to go for a 'crazy' sunrise swim and coffee together.

Maitland claims to have found texts Gibbs sent to one of their friends, hairdresser Maria Pepi (pictured), in which they made plans to meet up at the beach for a coffee and swim

'The forecast is cloudy Monday and Tuesday. How about we do Wednesday??' Gibbs wrote to Pepi in texts allegedly exchanged last month.

'Yea Wednesday is good. What time and location,' Pepi replied.

'Wanna be crazy and do a sunrise swim???' Gibbs then wrote. 'Or do you wanna do it in comfort with a warm coffee?'

Maitland's angry reaction suggests Gibbs may not have told her he was catching up with one of her mates. Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting any infidelity took place

Maitland posted the texts on Instagram upon discovering them on Sunday, then called Gibbs and Pepi 'dogs' and said she 'hopes the sharks get these two' next time they go to the beach

Gibbs appears to have tried to conceal the texts on his phone by saving Pepi under a man's name, 'Andrew Galata'. But Maitland was allegedly able to prove he was texting her friend by cross-refencing the number for Pepi on Gibbs' phone with Pepi's number in her own contacts

Pepi responded: 'Let's do both. Coffee on the beach then a swim.'

'Boom,' Dean said with a fist-pump emoji. He then wrote, 'Love it,' with a devil emoji.

Maitland then shared another text message exchange in which Gibbs joked about having to 'save' Pepi from a rip in the ocean.

Pepi (right, with Maitland) has been pictured with the couple in multiple Instagram posts, which suggests the trio have been good friends for a while

'Broadbeach near you? Maybe out front of the Kurrawa surf club?' Gibbs suggested.

'Yes!!! Locked and loaded, added it in my calendar,' Pepi replied.

'That means it's official. Hopefully you get caught in a rip so I can rescue you,' Gibbs joked to the glamorous blonde.

In one alleged text, Gibbs suggests he and Pepi go 'crazy' by hitting the beach at sunrise

'Hahaha omg I'd be so scared, shark bait,' Pepi wrote, adding a string of laughing emojis. 'You better rescue me lol,' she added.

Maitland wrote over the text messages: 'DOGS! @_gibbsy @misspepix...'

The former MAFS bride added: Sooooo much more! I'm just getting started... Hope the sharks get these two next swim.'

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Maitland, Gibbs and Pepi for comment.

Maitland (near), Gibbs (left), Pepi (right) and an unidentified man (back) are pictured kayaking on Hayman Island in October 2020

Pepi has been pictured with the couple in multiple Instagram posts, which suggests the trio have been good friends for a while.

Maitland and Gibbs became engaged in March last year; he announced the news on Instagram with the caption: 'Pop the champagne, she's changing her last name!'

The couple began dating in 2017, shortly after she failed to find love on MAFS' fourth season with her two husbands, Jonathan Troughton and Andrew Jones.

Maitland and Gibbs became engaged in March last year; he announced the news on Instagram with the caption: 'Pop the champagne, she's changing her last name!'

Almost a decade ago, ex-cop Gibbs was handed a one-year suspended jail sentence after pleading guilty to trafficking and using cocaine, as well as possessing steroids and ecstasy.

Gibbs, who retrained as a plumber after leaving the police force, pleaded guilty to five drug-related charges in the Melbourne Magistrates Court in 2014.

His mother Karen told Daily Mail Australia in March 2017 her son had worked hard to build a new life for himself ever since he narrowly avoided jail.

'That is all in the past he's moved on from all of that,' she said of his criminal conviction.

Almost a decade ago, ex-cop Gibbs was handed a one-year suspended jail sentence after pleading guilty to trafficking and using cocaine, as well as possessing steroids and ecstasy . Gibbs, who retrained as a plumber after leaving the police force, pleaded guilty to five drug-related charges in the Melbourne Magistrates Court in 2014 (pictured here outside court)

'He has worked very hard to build a new life; he's got a successful plumbing business and he's very proud of that,' she added.

According to previous reports, the former constable had started dealing drugs after his salary was unable to cover the cost of his cocaine habit.

Gibbs faced more than 15 years in jail but pleaded guilty to trafficking and possession charges, and also failing to store ammunition appropriately.

He resigned from the police force in disgrace and took up a position as a plumbing apprentice.
Australian porn star Angela White nearly died while filming a sex scene, her co-star Keiran Lee has alleged.

Lee, a popular British adult performer, claims Angela, 37, was rushed to hospital with a burst appendix after filming the hour-long sex scene in 2013.

'I put her into hospital and this was actually not on purpose,' Lee, 39, told the Pillow Talk podcast this week.

Australian porn star Angela White, 37, (pictured) nearly died while filming a sex scene, her co-star Keiran Lee has alleged

'We were shooting content and we were going at it for over an hour. After that, I'm like 'See you sweetheart, lovely day'', he recalled.

Lee, whose nine-and-a-half-inch penis is reportedly insured for $1 million, said he was shocked to learn that his first scene with White had left her complaining of abdominal pain.

'I found out two days later she'd gone back home to Australia. She said her stomach was hurting, and she had to go see a doctorapparently her appendix burst in the scene, which could have killed her.'

Keiran Lee, whose nine-and-a-half-inch penis is reportedly insured for $1 million, said he was shocked to learn that his first scene with White had left her complaining of abdominal pain. Pictured: Lee

When quizzed by the podcast host on whether the size of his manhood was to blame, Lee replied: 'I don't know. But listen, I could have killed Angela White on our first scene'

When quizzed by the podcast host on whether the size of his manhood was to blame, Lee replied: 'I don't know. But listen, I could have killed Angela White on our first scene.'

White has briefly spoken about the potentially fatal incident before.

In 2016, she tweeted that surgeons had removed her appendix via her bellybutton.

In 2016, she tweeted that surgeons had removed her appendix via her bellybutton

'They had to make an incision above my pubic bone and at my hip. The scarring was minimal and the recovery was pretty fast (I did a porn expo 4 days after surgery),' she wrote.

Lee and White have subsequently worked together.

White is an award-winning porn superstar who became AVN's first three-time Female Performer of the Year winner in 2020.

She was 18 years old and still in high school when she flew overseas and shot her first pornographic film in Miami, Florida.

Lee works with leading porn production companies such as Canadian firm Brazzers, and is one of the world's highest-paid porn actors.
He's the Hollywood man of the hour after receiving an Oscar nomination for Best Actor last month and reportedly landing a role in the upcoming Gladiator flick.

And so it's no wonder that Paul Mescal appeared in high spirits on Saturday while he attended the 2023 Film Independent Spirit Awards Nominees brunch in Santa Monica, California.

The actor, 27, was also joined by his close pal and Breaking Bad star Dale Dickey for the day, and they got a few sweet snaps before the awards ceremony together.

Paul, who was nominated for Best Lead Performance for his work on the hit film Aftersun cut a smart casual look for the event.

The Normal People actor donned a smart casual 90s-style white oversized shirt.

Man of the hour: He's the Hollywood man of the hour after receiving an Oscar nomination for Best Actor last month and reportedly landing a role in the upcoming Gladiator flick

He also teamed the oversized shirt with a pair of smart black flared trousers and a shiny leather belt.

He also opted for a pair of smart leather shoes for the event and appeared to be in high spirits as he took up the chance to snap a few photos on the carpet before the ceremony.

The Film Independent Spirit Awards Nominee brunch, comes after Paul starred in the hit 2020 show Normal People, which catapulted him to fame.

Paul took on the role of leading man Connell in the series as he acted as Daisy Edgar Jones' character Marianne's love interest.

He's the talk of the town at the moment after rising to fame in recent years and is reportedly set to star in the highly-anticipated Gladiator sequel.

The actor is said to have 'always been' returning director Ridley Scott's choice for the part.

However, he will reportedly not be playing the role of Maximus, the Roman general-turned-gladiator which won Russell Crowe an Oscar in the original.

Russell's titular gladiator, who was killed at the end of the film, has not yet signed onto the movie; however, fans are hoping he returns for a flashback scene.

Happy: So it's no wonder that Paul Mescal appeared in high spirits on Saturday while he attended the 2023 Film Independent Spirit Awards Nominees brunch in Santa Monica, California

Paul's character is thought to be Lucius verus, who Spencer Treat Clark played in the original and was also the nephew of evil Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix).

While the new role comes as he has also had a coveted nod from The Academy Awards, bagging a Best Actor nomination for his role in the film Aftersun.

He received heaps of praise for his role in the Charlotte Wells-directed film released last year, where he plays 30-year-old single father Calum.

Pals: The actor, 27, was also joined by his close pal and Breaking Bad star Dale Dickey for the day, and they got a few sweet snaps before the awards ceremony together

Awards event: Paul, who was nominated for Best Lead Performance for his work on the hit film Aftersun cut a smart casual look for the event

Aftersun tells the story of a girl called Sophie, played by Frankie Corio, who reflects on the shared joy and private melancholy of a holiday she took with her father twenty years earlier.

In a statement after the announcement, he said: 'This is truly a special moment for everyone involved in Aftersun. To be recognised by the Academy is such an insane honour, and I'm so utterly grateful.

'I want to dedicate this nomination to my two friends, Charlotte and Frankie, who I love dearly! This is bananas, thank you!'

Smart casual: The Normal People actor donned a smart casual 90s-style white oversized shirt and teamed the shirt with a pair of smart black flared trousers and a shiny leather belt

Awards: The Film Independent Spirit Awards Nominee brunch, comes after Paul starred in the hit 2020 show Normal People, which catapulted him to fame

Paul's latest bout of good news comes after he was also nominated for a BAFTA for the same role.

He picked up a British Academy Television Award for Best Actor in 2021 for his role as Connell in Normal People.

Paul joins fellow British and Irish nominees Colin Farrell, Bill Nighy, and Andrea Riseborough, who have garnered nods in the Best Actor and Actress categories.

The star-studded Oscars ceremony, due to be hosted by US talk show host and comedian Jimmy Kimmel, will take place on March 12 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
It was a wild night in Melbourne as two of the biggest names in comedy, Dave Chappelle and Jeff Ross, hit the town for a night of partying.

The hilarious duo were spotted at the city's hottest nightclub, Ms Collins, on Saturday night as Chappelle, 49, took a break from his sold-out shows in Australia.

The two comedians were in high spirits as they hit the dance floor, sending the crowd into a frenzy with their wild moves and outrageous jokes.

It was a wild night in Melbourne as two of the biggest names in comedy, Dave Chappelle and Jeff Ross, hit the town for a night of partying

Chappelle and Ross were reportedly joined by a group of friends and fans, and the atmosphere was electric as they sipped on drinks and laughed the night away.

Chappelle has been in Australia playing sold out shows in Sydney, Melbourne and Queensland.

His show in Perth last Thursday saw a wild brawl break out in the audience.

The hilarious duo were spotted at the city's hottest nightclub, Ms Collins, on Saturday night

Fans recalled how the controversial Emmy-winning stand-up comedian was performing at a packed RAC Arena when a commotion that involved yelling and swearing broke out in a top tier at the back of the venue.

No footage of the wild scenes has emerged as Chappelle has maintained a strict no-phones policy at his performances for at least six years.

It's understood Chappelle was discussing how he was famously tackled on stage in LA's Hollywood Bowl by an audience member almost a year ago when all hell broke loose.

The two comedians were in high spirits as they hit the dance floor, sending the crowd into a frenzy with their wild moves and outrageous jokes

Fans at his show praised Chappelle on his professionalism.

Others in the confused crowd were unsure whether the fight was real or part of Chappelle's show.

Ross, meanwhile, is popularly known as the 'Roastmaster General'.
Megan Fox hinted she's split from her fiance Machine Gun Kelly and shared a cryptic Instagram post on Saturday night before completely deleting her account on the platform on Sunday.

The actress, 36, who has been in a relationship with the rapper, 32, since June 2020, posted a video in which she appeared to burn a letter in a bonfire, along with a bag.

She also uploaded a very raunchy string of mirror selfies while joined by a male pal, in which she put on a busty display in a plunging black top and cut-out trousers.

Megan wrote in her caption, 'You can taste the dishonesty/ its all over your breath,' which are lyrics from Beyonce's 2016 track, Pray You Catch Me, about her husband Jay Z's own affair.

She then removed all traces of Machine Gun Kelly from her Instagram grid, having unfollowed him. before deleting her account altogether.

Uh-oh: Megan Fox hinted she's split from her fiance Machine Gun Kelly as she deleted all trace of him from her Instagram grid and shared a cryptic caption on Saturday night

The pair were last pictured together just hours before her shock post at Drake's Super Bowl party in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Her followers flocked to the comments section to air their speculation, while noticing that she started following Eminem, one of only three people.

The Transformers star worked with The Real Slim Shady hitmaker back in 2010 when she starred in the music video for his single, Love The Way You Lie.

One devotee wrote: 'If SHE got cheated on the rest of us really have no hope,' while another added, 'Deleted all photos of mgk and started following Eminem.'

More chimed in with, 'OH MY GOD SHE TOOK DOWN ALL HER POSTS W MGK,' and, 'Are her and mgk still together im so confused?'

A fifth wrote: 'LYRICS OFF THE LEMONADE ALBUM AFTER SHE FOUND OUT ABOUT JAYZ CHEATING I AM SCREAMING OMFG.'

Two more concluded, 'Anyone else see shes now following Eminem?!' and, 'She's following only 3 ppl now and eminem is one!!'

MailOnline has contacted Megan and MGK's representatives for comment.

Over? The actress, 36, has been in a relationship with the rapper, 32, since June 2020 (pictured earlier this month)

Just four days ago, Megan shared a gushing tribute to her beau the day after the Grammys, where he had been nominated for Best Rock Album award for his record Mainstream Sellout.

MGK ultimately lost out to Ozzy Osbourne, but Megan praised her partner's 'humility and maturity' in her lengthy tribute post.

She enthused that watching her MGK 'become a better man is an immeasurably more satisfying experience than watching you accept an award.'

She also praised his 'beautiful face,' and promised to remind him of the night forever.

'Congratulations on being in the very small percentage of artists who have received a Grammy nomination,' Megan gushed.

Hot stuff: She also uploaded a very raunchy string of mirror selfies while joined by a male pal

Out of this world: She put on a busty display in a plunging black top and cutout trousers

What's in it? Megan posted a video in which she appeared to burn a letter in a bonfire, along with a bag

Eek! Megan wrote in her caption, 'You can taste the dishonesty/ its all over your breath,' which are lyrics from Beyonce's 2016 track, Pray You Catch Me, about her husband Jay Z's own affair

Gone forever? Megan completely deleted her Instagram page on Sunday after her cryptic post on Saturday

'You have handled this process with a grace and maturity that I havent seen from you before and Im so proud of you.'

'Watching you walk in humility and gratitude, watching you grow into yourself and become a better man is an immeasurably more satisfying experience than watching you accept an award.'

'Although those will come and this is irrelevant I guess but I will just never ever get over how beautiful your face is'

'I hope one day youll see yourself the way I see you. I love you and Ill keep this memory of you forever.'

Surprise: Her followers flocked to the comments section to air their speculation, while noticing that she started following Eminem, one of only three people

In November when the nominees were announced, the rapper reacted to his own nomination, and penned on Instagram, 'Call me what you want as long as it starts with 'grammy nominated.'

The day before the Grammys, the Good Mourning actor reflected on his career and the upcoming ceremony on his Instagram story.

'Just wanna say no matter what happens tomorrow, i am grateful to even have a tomorrow. see you at the Grammy's..'

Megan meanwhile braved the star-studded event after revealing to her fans on Instagram earlier Saturday that she had both a 'broken wrist' on her right arm and also a 'concussion.'

On the red carpet, the star opted to not wear a brace, despite the painful injury.

Megan hasn't revealed any further details about the incident that caused the injuries, but was spotted sporting a hot pink brace on her right wrist as she posed inside the venue.

The couple went public with their relationship in June 2020, and announced their engagement last year in January 2022.

Megan shares three children with her ex-husband, Brian Austin Green. The two tied the knot in 2010, but their divorce was later finalized in October 2021.
He has shot to stardom thanks to his role in BBC hit Happy Valley.

Yet as Rhys Connah mingled with the A-list on Saturday night at the BRIT Awards, he humbly admitted he 'had no idea who most of them were'.

The actor, 16, who plays Ryan Cawood in the drama series, even shunned the fancy dinner laid out for celebrities in favour of a modest cone of chips and a cup of tea.

After leaving his dessert untouched, Rhys told MailOnline: 'I don't really like all this fancy food. I'm just happy with my chips and a cup of tea.'

When asked if he was nervous about presenting, the down to earth star, said: 'Not really. The problem is I don't really know who most people are!'

Bless! As Rhys Connah mingled with the A-list on Saturday night at the BRIT Awards, he humbly admitted he 'had no idea who most of them were' and shunned the fancy food (pictured)

The food Rhys opted to avoid included a truffle mouse starter, a venison main and a rhubarb cheesecake with ginger sorbet.

THE BRITS MENU Starter: Woodland forage - Truffle mousse, chestnut puree, mushroom hay, pickled oyster mushrooms, artichoke bark, Douglas fir oil, leaf tuilles Main Course: Aged Braemar venison loin, haunch and Somerset spelt Savoy parcel, carrot puree, fig ketchup, spiced red cabbage, crispy leeks Vegan Main: Suya spiced Lincolnshire celeriac, root vegetable tagine, piri piri polenta chip, chimichurri, carrot puree, crispy kale Desserts: Rhubarb cheesecake, ginger sorbet, honeycomb crunch, poached Worcester rhubarb, Slawn-designed shards Advertisement

During the ceremony held at London's O2 Arena, Rhys presented the award for Best International Artist alongside model Georgia May Jagger.

The award was won by Beyonce, who was not in attendance on the night but she did send a message of thanks to the BRIT Awards and her fans.

Following his presenting duties, Rhys kicked back and watched the rest of the show with his chips and tea.

Rhys has been at the centre of a heart-stopping storyline involving his on-screen dad Tommy Lee Royce for the past six weeks, which concluded last Sunday.

However it seems that his newfound attention hasn't changed his roots as he spoke of his disgust over the fancy offerings at the ceremony.

Earlier this week, Rhys reflected on his time on the hit show, after growing up on screen.

He 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.

Presenting duties: During the ceremony held at London's O2 Arena, Rhys presented the award for Best International Artist alongside model Georgia May Jagger

Down to earth: Following his presenting duties, Rhys kicked back and watched the rest of the show with his chips and tea

'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.

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

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'

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.
Eminem's former stunt double has died after being hit by a pickup truck.

Ryan Shepherd passed away, aged 40, on January 31 following a collision with the vehicle while attempting to cross Olympia Street in Kennewick, Washington state.

The rapper's doppelganger was pronounced dead soon after being rushed to a local hospital, his brother Kyle told TMZ.

The driver was not injured and remained at the scene to speak with police after the incident took place, shortly after 2:45am.

Ryan, who resided in Kennewick, is survived by his two daughters, aged seven and 11.

Tragic: Eminem's former stunt double Ryan Shepard (left) has died aged 40 after being hit by a pickup truck (pictured with Eminem, right, in the early 2000s)

A memorial service was held for Ryan on February 4.

He is best known for playing the Lose Yourself hitmaker's superhero character, Rap Boy, at the MTV Movie Awards in 2002.

Ryan travelled Europe and Japan with Eminem during his Anger Management Tour that year before being featured in D12's Purple Hills music video as the star's 'clone'.

In more recent times, Ryan worked as a test automation engineer at Elon Musk's SpaceX, after some years of being a ride mechanical engineer at Disney.

The tragic news comes just days after Eminem's daughter Hailie Jade Mathers became engaged to Evan McClintock.

The 27-year-old actress posted the happy news to Instagram on Monday morning.

The beauty was seen flashing her new diamond engagement ring on her wedding finger as she helped her future husband open a bottle of champagne.

'Casual weekend recap 2.4.23 i love you @evanmcclintock11,' wrote the brunette in her caption.

Family: Ryan, who resided in Kennewick, is survived by his two daughters, aged seven and 11

She wore a black jacket with jeans and boots as Evan had on a black coat over khaki slacks and boots.

Evan is also seen getting down on one knee for his proposal which seems to have taken place on a boat.

Hailie works as an influencer. She grew up in Detroit with dad Eminem - real name Marshall Bruce Mathers III - and mom Kim Scott.

She studied at Chippewa Valley High School (2014) and Michigan State University

Her siblings include Alaina Marie Mathers, Stevie Laine Mathers, and Parker Scott.
Bearded Pierce Brosnan showed off his rugged good looks after an evening of fine dining at Nobu restaurant in Malibu with his beloved wife Keely Shaye Smith and sons on Sunday.

The actor, 69, and the journalist, 59, looked in high spirits as they exited the restaurant alongside their son's Dylan Brosnan, 25, and Paris Brosnan, 21.

Pierce looked handsome in a suave all-black outfit consisting of a black blazer coat, a black tee, trousers, and a black scarf.

The former James Bond actor also opted for further accessorising his outfit with a black fedora hat.

Dining: Bearded Pierce Brosnan, 69, showed off his rugged good looks after an evening of fine dining at Nobu restaurant in Malibu with his beloved wife Keely Shaye Smith, 59, and sons on Sunday

Keely looked glamorous in a long leopard print coat that cinched her at the waist.

She also opted for a pair of simple black leggings and black and white trainers.

Meanwhile, Pierce's son, Dylan, opted for smart casual by donning a simple white palm tree jumper.

And Pierce's other son, Paris, cut a casual look too, as he sported a pair of light blue jeans, a simple grey tee, and a suede brown bomber jacket.

Pierce exchanged vows with Keely in his native Ireland in August 2001.

The couple met at a party in 1994 after the death of Pierce's first wife, Cassandra Harris, in 1991 and hit it off before eventually deciding to tie the knot seven years later.

The couple shares two sons, Dylan and Paris, who are the youngest of Pierce's five children.

The Mamma Mia! hunk also has a son Sean, 38, and an adopted son Chris, 49, as well as his late adopted daughter Charlotte with Cassandra.

Family: The actor, 69, and the journalist, 59, looked in high spirits as they exited the restaurant alongside their son's Dylan Brosnan, 25, and Paris Brosnan, 21

Pierce adopted Cassandra's children, Chris and Charlotte, after their father, Dermot Harris, died in 1986.

It has been a happy time for the Brosnan household as Pierce recently celebrated the birth of his fourth grandchild.

Sharing a snap on Instagram, the four-time Bond actor revealed Jaxxon Elijah to the world.

In a short caption, Pierce said: 'Jaxxon Elijah Brosnan, born 3:06 pm 11/12/22 all good blessings to you, my dearest grandson, welcome.'

Son: Keely looked glamorous in a long leopard print coat that cinched her at the waist. Meanwhile, Pierce's son, Dylan, opted for smart casual by donning a simple white palm tree jumper

The baby's parents are Pierce's son Sean Brosnan and daughter-in-law Sanja Banic, who also have a seven-year-old daughter called Marley.

'Congratulations, my darling Sean, Sanja, and Marley,' the James Bond icon wrote in his Instagram birth announcement. 'Peace be with you.'

Along with Marley and Jaxxon, Pierce has two older grandchildren, Isabella, 24, and Lucas, 17, via his late daughter, Charlotte.

Charlotte died tragically in 2013 of ovarian cancer, the same illness that claimed the life of her and Sean's mother, Cassandra Harris, who was Pierce's first wife.

Cassandra had her two older children, Christopher and Charlotte, with her first husband, Dermot Harris, the brother of Harry Potter star Richard Harris.

When Pierce married Cassandra, he legally adopted Christopher and Charlotte, raising them and giving them his last name.
SOUTH African-based Zimbabwean businessman Frank Buyangas appeal against denial of bail on charges of violating South African immigration rules has been dismissed.

Buyanga, who has been in jail since his arrest on November 10 for child trafficking, was further remanded in prison to 7 March.

On the child kidnapping charges, Buyanga was remanded to 27 March.

Buyanga was given R150 000 bail at the Randburg Magistrates Court in Johannesburg on allegations of kidnapping his son in Harare in 2020 and on charges of contempt of court.

But Buyanga did not test freedom after he was immediately rearrested on charges of breaching South African immigration laws.

After his arrest in November, Buyanga appeared before the Randburg Magistrates Court where he was remanded in custody to allow South African authorities to also verify his identity documents.

This was after it was found that Buyanga's South African identity documents showed he was born in Zimbabwe, yet his Zimbabwean passport indicated he was born in the United Kingdom.

Part of the reason he was denied bail is that he has two convictions in the United Kingdom and that he was using three different Zimbabwean passports.

Buyanga has applied for a UK passport which he has not collected yet. Newsday
She hosted a lavish boat party after the BRIT Awards on Saturday evening.

And Maya Jama was certainly in the party spirit as she headed out for the boozy river Thames bash, showing off her dance moves as things got rowdy.

The Love Island host, 28, let loose as she twerked in front of pals, sharing a clip of the moment with her 2.7M Instagram followers.

Sporting a glimmering silver dress with a thigh grazing split and off the shoulder detail, she looked ultra-glamorous for the party.

As Maya welcomed a slew of famous faces to the boat, it appeared to be a fun-filled night as the celebrities let their hair down after the music awards show.

Work it: Maya Jama showed off her sultry moves on Saturday as she twerked in a glimmering silver maxi dress during her raucous BRITS Awards boat after-party

Maya was on the job earlier in the day as she presented the ITV Red Carpet Show before the BRITS, before presenting an award during the televised ceremony.

So using her after-party as a chance to let loose, Maya shared an insight into the bash as she danced on deck and partied at the DJ booth.

The Love Island presenter hosted the bash on the River Thames with Coca-Cola, launching their newest Creations product, a limited-edition drink called Movement

Turning up the heat, the beauty added inches to her frame in a pair of towering strappy coordinated heels and accessorised with small hoop earrings.

Maya pulled her long dark tresses back in a chic updo and applied a flawless palette of makeup including to accentuate her beauty.

Taking to the water, the night to remember was attended by guests including Jesse Lingard, AJ Odudu, Snoochie Shy, Chunks, Poet, Tiffany Calver, Craig Mitch and Mira May.

Maya's outfit was her second of the evening, after hitting the 02 Arena red carpet earlier in the evening.

The TV host looked sensational and slipped into a figure-hugging strapless black dress for her red carpet arrival.

Moves: The Love Island host, 28, let loose as she twerked in front of pals, sharing a clip of the moment with her 2.7M Instagram followers

Sleek: Her hair was gorgeously slicked back into an up do as it remained pristine throughout the night

Her quirky frock boasted a bejewelled gold skeleton design that highlighted her ample cleavage and gorgeous curves.

But during the event, the former Love Island host Laura Whitmore and the show's new presenter Maya appeared to ignore each other while at the same table at the BRIT Awards.

The awkward moment happened as stars from the music world gathered for the annual event.

Pictures and video show the two women stood directly next to each other at the ITV table - but they only seem to be interested in speaking to other people on either side to them, at one point even turning their backs on each other.

A source told MailOnline that the pair were sat on the ITV table together but 'didn't speak to each other once during the whole ceremony'.

Glowing: Sporting a glimmering silver dress with a thigh grazing split and off the shoulder detail, she looked ultra-glamorous for the party

A insider said: 'Maya and Laura were sat on the ITV table together but didn't speak to each other once during the whole ceremony.

'At one point they were stood with their backs to each other.

'Maya was happily speaking to Laura's husband Iain Stirling but didn't chat to Laura once. There is definitely some tension between them.'

Maya, 28, took over from Laura, 37, this year to host the winter series in South Africa and has been a huge hit with fans since taking the helm.
Eva Green looked chic in a purple velvet suit at the premiere of Liaison in Paris, France on Sunday - amid her High Court battle over a doomed sci-fi movie.

The actress, 42, is embroiled in a bitter legal battle with the makers of the 4.6million movie, with each side blaming the other for the production's demise in October 2019.

She is suing White Lantern Films for her fee of $1million (810,000) - even though the movie was never made.

But Eva was putting her legal woes to the back of her mind as she posed at the premiere for the English and French-language thriller series - also starring Vincent Cassel who was in attendance too.

Green stars as Alison Rowdy in the series, a London-based agent who works for the British government.

Style: Eva Green looked chic in a purple velvet suit by Alberta Ferretti at the premiere of Liaison in Paris, France on Sunday amid her High Court battle over a doomed sci-fi movie

She looked great in the oversized suit which had a double-breasted design on the slouchy jacket and matching wide leg trousers.

Underneath the James Bond star wore a high-neck embellished silk top with silver detailing and boosted her height with plain black heels.

The brunette beauty wore her short dark tresses in a curly choppy bob and opted for radiant makeup.

It comes amid her High Court battle over the doomed sci-fi film.

In the dystopian film A Patriot, Ms Green had been due to play the lead role of a soldier, and told the High Court in London that she 'fell deeply in love' with 'one of the best scripts I have ever read'.

But things turned sour, the court has heard, with White Lantern Films claiming the star breached her 810,000 contract by making unreasonable demands which undermined its efforts to produce the movie.

It has revealed messages sent by the Hollywood star about the film's producers and backers, calling them 'super weak and stupid'.

While she apologised for 'inappropriate language' and 'some horrible things' sent by email and text, giving evidence last week Ms Green said that this was 'my Frenchness coming out this was my emotions speaking'.

Happy: But Eva was putting her legal woes to the back of her mind as she posed at the premiere for the English and French-language thriller series

Cosy: The series also stars French actor Vincent Cassel who was in attendance too wearing a smart cream suit

The Paris-born actress and model, who began her career in French theatre after spending time in London and Ireland, added: 'Sometimes you say things you don't actually mean, of course they are not weak and stupid.'

Another text message, sent by one of the film's producers, said that he thought Ms Green would 'rather eat tumours' than make the film with another of the producers whom she disliked.

Ms Green, who was an executive producer for the project, dismissed claims from White Lantern that she sought to undermine the film's production, telling the High Court: 'My heart and soul was in making A Patriot.'

She said: 'It is one of the best scripts I have ever read. As an actor it was very exciting, it is the role of a soldier which I have not played before. It was about climate change, which is very dear to my heart.'

Stars: Vincent, Eriq Ebouaney, Eva, Laetitia Eido, director Stephen Hopkins and author Virginie Brac posed together at the premiere

However, the Casino Royale star revealed how she feared A Patriot may become a low-budget 'B-movie' after disagreements behind the scenes with the film's financiers and producers.

'When an actor is in a B-movie, you will be labelled as B-actor,' she told the court, adding: 'It could kill my career... I don't care about the money, I live to make good films, it is my religion.'

Mr Mallin has previously claimed that Ms Green had an 'animosity' towards a vision for the project held by Mr Seal.

In WhatsApp exchanges with her agent and the film's director, Ms Green claimed Mr Seal was planning to make a 'cheap B-movie', describing him as 'the devil' and 'evil', he said.

Glowing: The brunette beauty wore her short dark tresses in a curly choppy bob and opted for radiant makeup

Max Mallin, KC, for White Lantern, asked Ms Green if she remembered sending a different text message suggesting that the film under executive producer Jake Seal would be a 'B-s****y-movie'.

The actress said she remembered the message. Ms Green added: 'I never wanted this to be a B-movie, but I realised more towards the end that it was going to happen.'

The actress, who played Vesper Lynd in Casino Royale and also starred in the BBC1 series The Luminaries, is suing White Lantern for her fee of $1million (810,000), which she claims she is entitled to under a 'pay or play' clause in her contract.

The term 'pay or play' is used in the film industry to refer to when an artist is paid whether or not they are called upon to perform.

Animated! Eva looked like she was having a great time at the premiere as she pulled a series of facial expressions

White Lantern is defending the claim and bringing a countersuit.

Lawyers for Ms Green say she is being portrayed unfairly as a diva by White Lantern. Edmund Cullen KC, for Ms Green, told the court last week 'this case is designed to paint my client as a diva to win headlines and damage her reputation'.

Instead, Mr Cullen insists that Ms Green bent over backwards to try to complete the project.

Detailing accommodations the actress made in order to assist the film, he listed how 'she repeatedly agreed to move back the start date, she agreed to move production from Ireland to the UK, she made repeated offers to use part of her fee to finance the project'.

The film was also due to feature The Jewel In The Crown and Game Of Thrones actor Charles Dance and As Good As It Gets star Helen Hunt. Misery star Kathy Bates was also attached to the movie at one point.

Director Dan Pringle said the proposed budget had been reduced from the 8million originally discussed with Ms Green to a lower estimate of 4.6million.

The trial continues.

Liaison will premiere globally on Apple TV+ on Friday, 24th February 2023.
Leonardo DiCaprio kept a very low key profile as he exited the private Bird Street Club in West Hollywood Saturday night, where he had been attending a friend's birthday party.

The Oscar winner, 48, was nearly unrecognizable in a black jacket and jeans and white sneakers.

The Revenant star wore a black medical mask over his face and a black billed cap low on his head.

The Titanic star kept the mask and hat on as he drove away, alone, from the festivities.

Leo has been on the receiving end of a lot of online criticism over what appeared to be his preference for dating women aged 25 and younger after being spotted sitting next to 19-year-old model Eden Polani at a Grammy party.

Low key: Leonardo DiCaprio kept a very low key profile as he exited the private Bird Street Club in West Hollywood Saturday night, where he had been attending a friend's birthday party

The uproar has reportedly resulted in the Israeli beauty deleting her Instagram account and returning home to her parents.

An insider told Page Six the two were not romantically linked.

'There is zero truth to this. He was seated next to [Eden] at a music party, along with many other people.'

'Its just silly. Leo clearly cant be dating every single person that [hes] in a room with.'

In Touch Weekly reported another friend who revealed the Inception star was hesitant to go out in public.

'He was so upset, He cant go out at all without people [thinking] he is dating someone.'

Inside the party, Leo was able to mix and mingle with the other guests, including his pal, Oscar winner Al Pacino, 82.

The Irishman actor was decked out in a black peacoat, slacks and sneakers.

Masked man: The Revenant star wore a black medical mask over his face and a black billed cap low on his head

Alone: The Titanic star kept the mask and hat on as he drove away, alone, from the festivities

Criticism: Leo has been on the receiving end of a lot of online criticism over what appeared to be his preference for dating women aged 25 and younger after being spotted sitting next to 19-year-old model Eden Polani at a Grammy party

Uproar: An insider told Page Six the two were not romantically linked, but the uproar has reportedly resulted in the Israeli beauty deleting her Instagram account and returning home to her parents

The two became pals when Leo was dating ex-girlfriend Camila Morrone and The Godfather actor was dating Camila's mother, Lucia Sola.

Leo and Camila broke up in August after nearly four years together. Al and Lucia, 46, ended their relationship in 2018 after nine years together.

The House of Gucci actor is now dating film producer Noor Alfallah, 29, whom he reportedly began seeing during the pandemic.

Old friends: Inside the party, Leo was able to mix and mingle with the other guests, including his pal, Oscar winner Al Pacino, 82

Friendship: Leo and Al became friends when Leo was dating Camila Morrone, 25, and Al was dating her mother, Lucia Sola,46. Al and Lucia broke up in 2018. Leo and Camila went their separate ways in August
Stephen 'tWitch' Boss was honored with a celebration of life service on Saturday in Los Angeles.

Two months after the dancer-turned-producer took his life at the age of 40, his widow Allison Holker Boss, 34, and their children honored him alongside loved ones.

The gathering  which was attended by AJ McLean, Derek Hough, and Wade Robson  was 'full of dance, prayer and fond memories,' People reported.

Ellen DeGeneres was also in attendance and addressed attendees as she spoke about her love for tWitch.

Loni Love, Wayne Brady, Robin Antin, several So You Think You Can Dance cast and crew and the entire Ellen DeGeneres Show cast and crew showed up as well.

Memoriam: Stephen 'tWitch' Boss was honored with a celebration of life service on Saturday in Los Angeles

Debbie Allen, a legend in the dance community, was there to introduce a video tribute.

And Stephen and Allison's 2013 wedding officiant Jeff Thacker also presented a clip to the group of mourners.

Musicians Mickey Guyton and Andy Grammer also performed during the two-hour-long afternoon event.

Allison, while standing with 14-year-old daughter Weslie, said to friends and family, 'He was the light. He chose love, grace and kindness. And he deserves to be celebrated.'

The mother-of-three, who shared Maddox, six, and Zaia, three, with the late star, distributed Move With Kindness wristbands to spread word about the initiative.

Holker, who's also a dancer, created the organization to 'carry on the legacy of Stephen tWitch Boss by spreading love and mental health awareness.'

Derek, who danced with Boss on the NBC show World of Dance, paid tribute to his friend on Instagram early Sunday morning.

'Today we honored and celebrated our dear friend. The love felt in the room was palpable, the speeches were pure and the celebration of his life was a rollercoaster of emotions,' he said.

Gathering: Two months after the dancer-turned-producer took his life at the age of 40, his widow Allison Holker Boss, 34, and their children honored him alongside loved ones

The post continued, 'I have so much admiration for @allisonholker demonstrating grace, strength and courage during this incredibly difficult time.

'Thank you for allowing us to share this vulnerable moment all together. We love you tWitch.'

Former So You Think You Can Dance contestant Mollee Gray also made mention of the service on TikTok.

'So, we just got back from tWitchs Celebration of Life. It was heartbreaking, it was funny, it was inspirational, literally everything that you can imagine in celebrating this man that has affected all of us,' she said as she stood with husband Jeka Jane.

'We wanted to pour a nice glass of wine and cheers to the things that we were inspired by today,' she continued.

They made a toast to 'kindness, big hugs, checking in on friends and family every day, making everybody feel validated and seen.'

Mollee said at the end of the clip: 'Alli, we love you and kids, we love you. To the king, tWitch.'

Finding strength: Allison, while standing with 14-year-old daughter Weslie, said to friends and family, 'He was the light. He chose love, grace and kindness. And he deserves to be celebrated'

His family: The mother-of-three shared Weslie, 14, Maddox, six, and Zaia, three, with the late star

For her part, Ellen took to Instagram on Saturday to honor her friend and colleague with a video montage.

The snippet featured the short-haired personality during the homestretch of her eponymous talk show.

She welcomed tWitch out to dance with her 'one last time' after describing her time on the program as 'the greatest experience I have ever had.'

The outtakes showed her and Boss, clad in his signature wide-brimmed hat, busting a move throughout the studio.

The close friends shared heartfelt laughter and tears as they prepared to transition to a new phase of life.

Following the devastating news that Stephen had shot himself in a hotel bathroom on Dec. 13, Ellen shared a clip with fans that highlighted the dancer's work on her talk show.

Ellen wrote on social media along with the recording, 'Right now all I want to do is remember all the love and laughter I had with tWitch.

'He brought so much joy to my life. I know he brought joy to yours too. I'm going to be sharing some of my favorite moments with him. If you want you can also share yours. #ILovetWitch.'

The tragedy came only three days after the dancer celebrated his ninth wedding anniversary with his wife.

Close bond: Ellen DeGeneres was also in attendance and addressed attendees as she spoke about her love for tWitch

Just a month prior to his death, the beloved DJ had said on the Jennifer Hudson Show that he and his wife were considering adding to their family  noting: 'I love the little babies, I love them. It's a constant conversation.'

The last video tWitch posted on social media shows him smiling and laughing with his family as he hoists his daughter into the air and merrily swings her around.

Jennifer Lopez, Questlove and Michelle Obama were among the famous names remembering Boss, a beloved dancer and DJ.

Sharing a post on her Instagram page, Lopez wrote: 'Twitch was such a light and a beautiful soul. Shocked and deeply saddened.

'My heart breaks for @sir_twitch_alot, his wife and children. Sending you love and strength.'
There were wild scenes and reports of injuries at Channel Nine's North Sydney headquarters on Monday morning as the arrival of YouTube superstars Logan Paul and KSI drew a 1,000-strong crowd of rowdy young fans.

Paul and KSI, who are in Australia to promote their buzz-worthy energy drink Prime, were booked for an interview on the Today show - their only breakfast TV appearance in the country.

More than a thousand fans - mostly teenage boys - gathered outside the building before dawn in the hope of catching a glimpse of their idols arriving at the studio, with many determined to get on camera for their own viral moment.

Police and extra security had been called to help control the crowd, after recent meet-and-greets involving Paul and KSI descended into mayhem.

But things got out of control outside the Denison Street premises when a security guard monitoring the crowd was thrown to the ground after getting caught behind a stone barricade and was seen wincing in pain, reports The Daily Telegraph.

'Multiple' fans who had been promised free bottles of Prime energy drink were also injured in the push towards the barricade.

Later in the broadcast, the Today anchors interviewed Paul and KSI, whose real name is Olajide Olayinka Williams Olatunji, on a balcony overlooking the crowd carnage below - but things turned nasty when someone threw an egg at Stefanovic.

There were wild scenes and reports of injuries at Channel Nine's North Sydney headquarters on Monday morning as the arrival of YouTube superstars Logan Paul and KSI drew a 1,000-strong crowd of rowdy young fans. (Pictured: Karl Stefanovic with a group of fans at 5:30am)

The tumultuous broadcast kicked off at 5:30am when Stefanovic ventured outside to meet Paul and KSI's fans, some of whom had queued up overnight.

The crowd cheered as he and the crew made their way along the building, where they were lined up around the corner and down the street.

At one stage, he joked the 'smell of Lynx Africa' was overwhelming.

As he spoke to the camera, a teenage boy approached Stefanovic from behind and threw an arm over his shoulder, prompting a security guard to usher him away.

But Stefanovic told his bodyguard to back off and invited the young man, named Ali, back on camera - prompting others to swarm the larrikin TV host.

One self-promoter put a green bucket hat on Stefanovic's head then repeatedly yelled out his own Instagram handle.

Stefanovic ventured outside at the start of the broadcast at 5:30am to meet some of Paul and KSI's fans. At one stage, a teenage boy approached him from behind and threw an arm over his shoulder, prompting security to usher him away

Stefanovic told his bodyguard to back off and invited the young man back on camera, prompting others to swarm the larrikin TV host. One fan (left) dropped the F-bomb on live TV

One youngster in high-vis workwear filmed the crew as a hyperactive man in a hotdog suit ran up to the camera and yelled something unintelligible

Another youngster in high-vis workwear filmed the crew as a hyperactive man in a hotdog suit ran up to the camera and yelled something unintelligible.

Unfortunately, these family-friendly antics were spoiled by one rowdy reveller who dropped the F-bomb on live TV - which may result in a fine for the network.

This profanity was Stefanovic's cue to leave as he told his co-hosts back in the studio: 'Get into life! I'll see you soon... I'll try to get out.'

More than a thousand fans - mostly teenage boys - gathered outside the building before dawn in the hope of catching a glimpse of their idols arriving at the studio, with many determined to get on camera for their own viral moment

Police and extra security were called at about 6am to help control the crowd and protect the Today show team, according to Nine News reporter Gabrielle Boyle (pictured)

Back in the studio, Stefanovic proved he was down with the kids by throwing up some fresh hand signs. His co-host Sarah Abo (right), who admitted she had to 'google who Logan Paul was', then baulked at his suggestion Paul's popularity was comparable to Beatlemania

A stunned Sarah Abo remarked: 'Good luck, mate. If you weren't awake yet, then that was certainly going to wake you up.'

'I think the Lynx Africa wasn't just coming from the fans, by the way,' added Abo, who admitted she had to 'google who Logan Paul was' and baulked at Stefanovic's suggestion their popularity was comparable to Beatlemania.

The Today show later did another live cross from the crowd, with Gabrielle Boyle interviewing several fans who spoke of how 'inspirational' they find Paul and KSI.

Later in the broadcast, the Today anchors interviewed Paul and KSI on a balcony overlooking the crowd chaos below - but things turned nasty when someone threw an egg at Stefanovic

One young man said breathlessly: 'I just love... the inspirational guy, inspirational man, just love the guy from the top. I've been saying since I was a kid, and I'm going to keep going throughout my life!'

Boyle explained the crowd had started to assemble at about 10pm the night before, adding: 'Look at this crowd. They reckon about a thousand people here already this morning.

'We've got the police turning up just to make sure that it's all safe. We've hired extra security. We promise you it'll be under control, but I tell you what, the enthusiasm is not under control.'

After 8am, Paul and KSI joined Stefanovic and Abo in the Today studio for a sit-down interview, where they discussed the pair's extraordinary rise to fame from teenage YouTubers to successful athletes and businessmen.

They ventured outside to a balcony overlooking the street below, where a crowd of hundreds cheered uproariously. Things got out of control outside the Denison Street premises when a security guard monitoring the crowd was thrown to the ground after getting caught behind a stone barricade and was seen wincing in pain. 'Multiple' fans who had been promised free bottles of Prime energy drink were also injured in the push towards the barricade

They then ventured outside to a balcony overlooking the street below, where a crowd of hundreds cheered uproariously, and on occasion seemed to boo the hosts.

At one stage, an object could be seen flying through the air and hitting Stefanovic's jacket. It's unclear what it was, but it could have been an egg as it left a visible stain.

The presenter took it in his stride, yelling at the fans: 'Hey! That's an expensive suit!'

After the object was thrown, his co-host Abo appeared to retreat from the chaos, prompting Stefanovic to usher her back in.

Steven Burling, Nine's Director of Morning Television, said in a statement: 'We want to thank NSW Police for making sure everyone arrived and left the scene safely, and to the Nine security team for ensuring the crowd knew what was happening throughout the morning.

'Many fans camped out overnight - they were passionate, excited and we experienced no issues with crowd behaviour.'

It comes after Paul, who jetted into Australia with his girlfriend Nina Agdal last week, held an impromptu fan meet-and-greet at Perth's RAC Arena on Saturday. His earlier scheduled event at Midvale Shopping Centre had been cancelled due to concerns over crowd safety

It comes after Paul, who jetted into Australia with his model girlfriend Nina Agdal last week, held an impromptu fan meet-and-greet at Perth's RAC Arena on Saturday.

His earlier scheduled event at Midvale Shopping Centre had been cancelled due to concerns over crowd safety.

The energy drink created by influencers-turned-boxers Paul and KSI has become incredibly popular among pre-teens and teenagers across the globe.

It is such a popular beverage that many are finding it hard to get their hands on, and in the UK a bottle can cost as much as 20 online.

Carnage broke out when Aldi got the drink in store for 2 shortly before Christmas.

At the time, scenes of pandemonium exploded in some stores, with children captured on video climbing over the aisles to try to get a bottle.

In some Aldi stores, the drink sold out within three minutes.
Sharon Stone appeared in good spirits on Saturday as she enjoyed a dinner with friends in Beverly Hills.

The Basic Instinct actress, 64, cut a casual figure in an all-black ensemble as she dropped by the popular Italian spot E.Baldi.

Sharon looked chic in a black v-neck blouse and tailored trousers, throwing on a black Louis Vuitton scarf over the top.

The stunner toted her belongings in a small black hand bag and added inches to her age-defying figure in a pair of silver and black boots.

Evidently having enjoyed her meal, Sharon carried a brown paper doggy bag home with leftovers.

Good spirits: Sharon Stone appeared in good spirits on Saturday as she enjoyed a dinner with friends in Beverly Hills

The casual beauty let her blonde tresses hang loose across her face and threw on a pair of glasses for the journey home.

She accessorised with silver rings and gold earrings.

Only a week earlier, the actress swapped the black for the colourful as she turned heads as she arrived at Clive Davis' annual pre-GRAMMY gala in Los Angeles.

Sharon commanded attention in a plunging pink suit as graced the star studded red carpet.

She looked chic in a tailored jacket and trousers - adorned with eye catching tulle ruffles.

The stunner accentuated her age-defying features with a radiant palette of make-up and slicked back her blonde tresses.

She completed the look with a quirky silver necklace and oozed confidence as she posed up a storm for the cameras.

It comes after actress Sharon revealed she has worked with 'a lot of misogynists' in Hollywood who 'told her what do' in a candid new chat.

Chic: The Basic Instinct actress, 64, cut a casual figure in an all-black ensemble as she dropped by the popular Italian spot E.Baldi

Quality time: The stunner toted her belongings in a small black hand bag and added inches to her age-defying figure in a pair of silver and black boots

She also spoke about the megastars she had worked with who had treated her with respect in the interview with Variety, which took place following her surprise cameo on Saturday Night Live January 21, joining Sam Smith on stage.

The Emmy winner who put in a silent, emotive performance said Sam 'trusted' her to come through for them, unlike some people she's worked with over her 40-plus year career.

She said: 'Ive worked with some of the biggest stars in the business, who will literally talk through my close-up, telling me what they think I should do. Theyre so misogynistic.'

Hot pink: Sharon turned heads as she arrived at Clive Davis ' annual pre-GRAMMY gala in Los Angeles last week

The Oscar nominee was quick to point out that her Casino co-stars Robert DeNiro and Joe Pesci were not in that category.

'That is not Robert De Niro. that is not Joe Pesci, that is not those guys,' she explained.

The veteran actress also described an interaction she had with late George C Scott, with whom she worked on 1999's Gloria.

'He said to me, I want to give you the greatest compliment I could possibly give to someone, honey, and he put his hand on my face and said, Youre the best listener Ive ever worked with except for my wife.'

The astonished star said she was so touched by the compliment, she cried.

Sharon was candid about how her outspokenness may have affected her reputation in Hollywood.

'I am not the most popular actor in town, because people dont want to hear my, as they say, f***ing opinions maybe because of my devotion, maybe because Im just kind of a weirdo. But Im just in it to be present.'

The versatile actress will be seen next in the romantic drama, What About Love with Andy Garcia.
Scott Disick and his on-off flame Bella Banos were spotted hanging out again on Saturday night.

The duo, who have been seen together over the years, were spotted after grabbing dinner together at Nobu in Malibu.

Bella, 26, showed off her toned legs and firm curves in a brown sleeveless micro-mini dress.

The model paired the body hugging frock with a pair of high heel taupe boots and a dark beige long sleeve sweater, which hung loosely around her back.

The YouTube star's long dark hair was styled in long layers and she wore natural looking makeup.

Date night: Scott Disick and Bella Banos seem to be dating, again. The couple were spotted leaving Nobu in Malibu where they shared a romantic dinner Saturday night

Scott, 39, looked casual in a pair of loose fitting khaki pants, high top sneakers and a beige puffy jacket.

The reality star wore a black T-shirt beneath his jacket and topped off the look with a black billed cap.

It's unclear how long the two have been dating.

Many observers have commented on the resemblance the influencer bears to Kendall Jenner, 27, the younger sister of his former partner, Kourtney Kardashian, 43, with whom he shares three children; Mason, 13, Penelope, 10 and Reign, eight.

The pair have had an on-again/off-again relationship for the past six years. They were first linked together in 2017, after both were spotted in Costa Rica where Scott was taking part in a Keeping Up With The Kardashians episode.

After going their separate ways, the two were seen again, vacationing in St. Barts, in December 2021 after Scott's 2020 breakup with Nicole Richie. Since then the Talentless founder has also dated model Amelia Hamlin, 21, and model Rebecca Donaldson, 27.

The entrepreneur sought help for substance abuse in 2017 and again in 2020. In an interview with Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live in June 2021, Kourtney admitted the fatal blow to their relationship, which ended in 2015, was due to his substance abuse.

Kourtney said the two were now 'great friends and co-parents,' with Scott adding, 'We're family. I think we always will be.'

Toned: Bella, 26, showed off her toned legs and firm curves in a brown sleeveless micro-mini dress and taupe boots. Scott, 39, looked casual in a pair of loose fitting khaki pants, high top sneakers and a beige puffy jacket

Resemblance: Many observers have commented on the resemblance the influencer bears to Kendall Jenner, 27, the younger sister of his former partner, Kourtney Kardashian, 43
Jodie Comer was the epitome of chic as she lead the winners as female talent triumphed at Sunday's WhatsOnStage's first ever gender neutral Awards.

The actress, 29, looked sensational in a black mini-dress with marabou trim as she accepted her award for Best Performer at the Prince Of Wales Theatre in London.

Jodie won for her role in one-person play Prima Facie, beating the likes of David Tennant and Jonathan Bailey to be crowned winner.

She teamed the sleeveless frock with dark tights and slipped her feet into a pair of pointed heels.

Accentuating her gorgeous features with a light dusting of make-up Jodie wore her blonde tresses loose.

Stunner: Jodie Comer, 29, was the epitome of chic as she nabbed the Best Performer award at Sunday's WhatsOnStage Awards

The Killing Eve actress oozed confidence as she took posed up a storm with her award.

The production saw Jodie portraying a brilliant barrister who has progressed from her working class origins to the top of the profession, when an unexpected event forces her to 'confront the lines where the patriarchal power of the law, burden of proof and morals diverge'.

The Daily Mail's Patrick Marmion awarded her 'ferocious yet forensic performance' a strong four stars out of five.

He wrote: 'Comer blows us away in a ferocious yet forensic performance thats related in a blizzard of quickly shifting perspectives. She gets us onside as the high-flying barrister with her native Liverpool accent and anti-Establishment attitude  at one point tossing rubbish into the audience.

'But her abrupt disintegration into fevered, ashen-faced confusion is seriously distressing. Although her performance runs a stunning gamut from cocky joy to despair and humiliation, its the subject matter that dominates the evening.'

Also at the event was former Love Island star Amber Davis who is now treading the boards in Back To The Future The Musical.

The 26-year old sizzled in a brown silk gown which boasted a thigh-high split and plunging neckline.

She completed the look with knee-high black boots and accented her gorgeous features with a radiant palette of make-up.

Sensational: The actress looked sensational in a black mini-dress with marabou trim while taking to the stage at the Prince Of Wales Theatre in London

Sensational: Jodie won for her role in one-person play Prima Facie , beating the likes of David Tennant and Jonathan Bailey to be crowned winner

Style: She teamed the sleeveless frock with dark tights and slipped her feet into a pair of pointed heels

Posing: Jodie oozed confidence on the red carpet

Dressed to impress: The thespian looked effortlessly chic as she made a glamorous departure from the theatrical event

Jodie led a host of female stars who have scooped top gongs at the WhatsOnStage Awards in its first year with gender-neutral acting categories.

After receiving critical acclaim for her West End debut at the Harold Pinter Theatre, Comer will now be taking the play to Broadway this spring.

The award ceremony, held on Sunday at the Prince of Wales Theatre in London's West End, also saw Gwyneth Keyworth take home the best supporting performer in a play award for her portrayal of Scout Finch in To Kill A Mockingbird at the Gielgud Theatre.

Continuing the night of female triumph, Courtney Bowman picked up the best performer in a musical award for her role as Elle Woods in Legally Blonde at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, while Lauren Drew won the best supporting performer in a musical prize for her role as Brooke in the show.

On stage: The production saw Jodie portraying a brilliant barrister who has progressed from her working class origins to the top of the profession

Leggy: She put on a very leggy display in the stylish ensemble

Stunning: Accentuating her gorgeous features with a light dusting of make-up Jodie wore her blonde tresses loose

Toned pins: Also at the event was former Love Island star Amber Davis who is now treading the boards in Back To The Future The Musical

Lovebirds: She was joined at the glitzy event by beau Ben Joyce who looked dapper in a grey suit

Thigh high! The 26-year old sizzled in a brown silk gown which boasted a thigh-high split and plunging neckline

Cheeky: She completed the look with knee-high black boots and accented her gorgeous features with a radiant palette of make-up

Heartstopper's Joe Locke also scored the best professional debut gong for his performance in The Trials and Lucie Jones won best takeover for her turn as Elphaba in Wicked.

The big winner of the night was the enchanting My Neighbour Totoro, with five wins from nine nominations - including best direction for Phelim McDermott.

The best new musical award went to Bonnie & Clyde the Musical while Rodgers & Hammerstein's Oklahoma! won best musical revival for its sell-out run at the Young Vic, while also winning best video design for Joshua Thorson.

In the play categories, Prima Facie won the coveted best new play award, and the best play revival went to the West End premiere of Cock at the Ambassadors Theatre.

Beauty: Amber tied back her luscious brown locks

Beaming: The stunner appeared in great spirits as she arrived at the theatre

Winner: Former Strictly star Arlene Phillips won the Best Choreography Award

Sophistication: She was the image of sophistication in a black midi-dress

Homegrown hit musical SIX triumphed yet again in the best West End show category, picking up the prize for the third time.

Curve Leicester's production of Billy Elliot the Musical earned best regional production while best off-West End production went to But I'm A Cheerleader: The Musical at The Turbine Theatre.

Producer and theatre owner Nica Burns was also honoured with the services to theatre award in recognition of her "extraordinary career and her unfailing commitment to the health of the theatre industry".

Alongside Max Weitzenhoffer she co-founded the Nimax Theatres which comprises of six West End theatres - the Palace, Lyric, Apollo, Garrick, Vaudeville and Duchess.

Winner winner chicken dinner: Lucie was awarded Best Takeover Performance for her tole in Wicked

Saucy: Leather-clad Lucy playfully posed with her award

Suited and booted: Tracy-Ann Oberman commanded attention in a bright pink trouser suit

Gorgeous: Opting for a radiant make-up palette she styled her blond tresses into bouncy curls

The 23rd Annual WhatsOnStage Awards, which are decided entirely by theatregoers, was hosted by Bowman, Laurie Kynaston and Billy Luke Nevers.

WhatsOnStage's Sarah Coleman and Alex Wood said: "Today's awards demonstrate that our theatre industry is going from strength to strength, and with the continued support of our wonderful audiences, there has been another vibrant year of productions across the UK.

"We are proud to be the first theatre awards to introduce gender-neutral performance categories to honour our world-leading on-stage talent, and it is heartening to see the ongoing prevalence of new work in our theatres.

Gorgeous: Steps' Lisa Scott-Lee looked sensational in a figure-hugging black gown with embellished collar

Keeping warm: She completed the look with black faux fur stole

Pals: She was joined at the event by pal Sammy Fonfe (left)

Happy as Larry: Aimee Lou Wood (left) playfully posed alongside RuPaul's Drag Race star Divina de Campo (right) before heading into the ceremony

"Our thanks as ever go to the audiences who have remained with us, who have bought tickets, who have seen shows and who have decided our award winners from such a wellspring of creativity.

"All of us at WhatsOnStage look ahead with anticipation to another year of stories brought to life in our theatres."

It comes after it was revealed Jodie would be swapping the theatre boards of the West End for the bright lights of Broadway as she heads to the US with her highly successful show.

She has received critical acclaim for her West End debut in the role as Tessa in Prima Facie, a one-person play by Suzie Miller, and cried on social media as she shared the news with fans last year.

Chic: Actress Sharon Small looked chic in all black as she graced the red carpet

Sultry: The actress teased a hint of cleave and opted for a glamorous make-up look for the evening

Floral: Joanna Woodward looked radiant in a green floral dress

Sharing the news on Instagram, alongside a picture of her with tears in her yes, Comer wrote: 'I am so honoured to play a part in the telling of this story and beyond thrilled that next week isn't the end.

'It means so much to see and hear so many of your positive responses.

'Thank you to all of you who have supported the show and a special shout out to those who have travelled thousands of miles, now it's our turn. I love you Tess, we're going to BROADWAY!'.

Pop star: Singer Jake Shears cut a stylish figure in leather trousers and a colour co-ordinated jacket

Graphic: He completed the look with a graphic t-shirt

Hot stuff: Actress Lauren Drew sent temperatures soaring in a black stain cocktail dress

Style: The frock featured a boned bustier as well as a thigh-high split which flashed a glimpse of the stunner's toned legs

Angelic: Marisha Wallace looked radiant in a white gown with marabou trim

It comes after she reportedly found herself at the centre of a security scare last month, after an overzealous fan allegedly tried to get under a shutter to the stage door at the theatre of her play.

Her popularity has no doubt soared after picking up the Leading Actress gong for her role in Channel 4 's Help at this year's BAFTA Television Awards held at London 's Royal Festival Hall earlier this month.

The star who won the category in 2019 for Killing Eve, admitted she was 'very nervous' as she took to the stage to receive her award for her outstanding performance in the pandemic drama.

The Liverpool-born actress has been lauded for her role in BBC spy thriller Killing Eve in which she stars as Russian assassin Villanelle alongside Sandra Oh as Eve Polastri.

Dapper: Star Trek star George Takei looked dapper in a smart blue suit

Over the pond: The American star is currently performing on the West End stage

Guests: Jordan Luke Gage (left) also attended the event with a female companion

She has also starred alongside some of Hollywood's biggest names appearing in Sir Ridley Scott's historical epic The Last Duel alongside Matt Damon and Ben Affleck and sci-fi comedy Free Guy with Ryan Reynolds.

At this year's Bafta ceremony, Comer claimed the leading actress award for her role in Channel 4's Help - a fictional drama set in a Liverpool care home during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

Prima Facie will arrive on Broadway in 2023, Comer confirmed.
Brody Jenner and pregnant girlfriend Tia Blanco took to social media this weekend to share the sex of their unborn child.

The TV personality, 39, and his pro-surfer counterpart, 25, hosted a gender reveal party, which was attended by Brody's parents Caitlyn Jenner, 73, and Linda Thompson, 72.

The twosome posted the news in a joint post that appeared on each of their respective Instagram accounts.

A video from the gathering showed two people wrestling in boy and girl jumbo baby costumes, with the girl emerging as the winner to indicate the couple will have a daughter.

Brody also shared a more low-key clip of the girl 'infant' jumping around near a pool and wrote, 'Thank you to all my friends and family for making today so special. Here we go!!'

Baby update: Brody Jenner and pregnant girlfriend Tia Blanco took to social media this weekend to share the sex of their unborn child

Tia  full name Tiarah Lue Blanco  wrote to her followers on Saturday, 'ITS A GIRL.'

She added three pink heart emojis and continued, 'so thrilled. cant wait for @brodyjenner to become the best girl dad in the world! Love you!.'

The two lovebirds were surrounded by friends and family as they celebrated on a rooftop.

Brody wore a button-up pink shirt for the occasion, adding a pair of black slacks and classic aviator sunglasses.

The recording showed the duo overcome with joy as they embraced in a tight and affectionate hug.

Linda wrote in the comments to support the Tia and Brody as she wrote, 'What an incredible day, and such a spectacular gender reveal party!

'I am so excited to look forward to a little baby girl! Tea parties, tiaras, tutus, sweet Angel baby girl on the way!!! Congratulations!!'

And Tia's mom Sina Blanco also joined in to say, 'Yay!!! I'm so excited to go shopping for my baby girl #anngelbaby Congratulations @tiablanco & @brodyjenner.'

In sync: The couple posted the news in a joint post that appeared on each of their respective Instagram accounts

Special moment: Brody and his girlfriend were over the moon as they embraced after learning their baby's gender

Grandma-to-be: Brody's mother Linda beamed with pride as she posed with the happy couple

Jenner and Blanco initially revealed they are expecting a child together last month on January 1.

They said in a joint statement: 'To start off this new year, wed like to take this opportunity to wish all of our friends, family and followers health, happiness & an abundance of love.'

They continued: 'We truly appreciate & love you all. We are excited to share with you the blessing of a new life in the new yearOur little angel is on their way. Happy new year!'

Jenner showed Blanco, a native of Puerto Rico who was seen on ABC's The Ultimate Surfer, getting a sonogram, as The Hills: New Beginnings personality said, 'Honey, look at that little heart - what?!?'

The two were first linked last April, and confirmed their romance via social media in May.

The professional athlete told E! News last year, 'We kept our relationship pretty private at the beginning. But we're both just so in love, and it just happened naturally to share the fun things that we do and this exciting time in our life together.'

Jenner was previously wed to Kaitlynn Carter, 34, from 2018-2019, and she has since welcomed son Rowan, one, with boyfriend Kristopher Brock; the two revealed they were expecting their second child last fall.

The TV personality, 39, and his pro-surfer counterpart, 25, hosted a gender reveal party, which was attended by Brody's parents Caitlyn Jenner, 73, and Linda Thompson, 72; pictured with brother Brandon

Her look: Tia flashed her burgeoning baby bump in a plunging, snug-fitting dress
The Gold - BBC1 last night and iPlayer

Rating:

Not Jack-the-lads. Not wide boys, not cheeky chappies, not villains with a heart of gold. And certainly not twinkly working-class champions.

Money launderers Kenneth Noye and John Palmer were vicious, thuggish bullies who used violence and intimidation to feed their limitless greed, and destroyed countless lives in the process.

You wouldnt know it, though, from The Gold (BBC1), a crime caper fantasy about the aftermath of the biggest armed heist in British history  the Brinks-Mat gold bullion robbery in November 1983.

Jack Lowden plays Noye, the ambitious crook who arranged for most of the 26million in gold bars to be melted down and sold, as a class warrior.

When we first meet him, hes poaching with a shotgun in woods owned by the local toff, bagging a brace of rabbits for the pot. Confident and cocky, he believes some people were born with silver spoons in their mouths... and others have the brains to nick gold ones.

You wouldnt know it, though, from The Gold (BBC1), a crime caper fantasy about the aftermath of the biggest armed heist in British history. Pictured: Nicki Jennings (Charlotte Sspencer) and Tony Brightwell (Emun Elliott)

Its a romantic image, as dishonest as the man himself. Over the weekend, the Daily Mail and The Mail on Sunday published extracts from a superb chronicle by Donal MacIntyre and Karl Howman, detailing Noyes life on the run. Anyone who read it will be under no illusions: this was a dangerous, brutal criminal without decency or conscience.

Lowdens depiction, all roguish smile and charm, is also at odds with Sky News crime reporter Martin Brunts description in a recent podcast about Brinks-Mat. When Noye was arrested, Brunt was in court. He said the cold, vacant hatred in Noyes eyes as he stared at journalists was chilling.

The Gold prefers a jauntier version, one in a long tradition of making heroes out of felons  such as Phil Collins playing a Great Train Robber in Buster.

By the same token, the drama pretends that the Metropolitan Police were well on the way to being woke, 40 years ago. Charlotte Spencer plays DC Nikki Jennings, a new recruit to the Sweeney or Flying Squad.

When she takes a call at her desk from a uniformed copper demanding to speak to a detective, she replies calmly, Youre talking to one.

Sorry, love, says the mortified man, probably making a mental note to sign up for a training course to address his unconscious bias.

DC Jennings is a young woman from the Sarf Lahnden streets. Her old dad was a villain himself, and shes joined the police to end the prejudice that ensures posh types get away with murder. I dont fink we should only nick people that talk like me, she says.

Her police partner, DS Tony Brightwell (Emun Elliott), is trying to keep up in more ways than one. In his leather bomber jacket, with a Magnum moustache, he chain-smokes so diligently that he can get out of breath just sitting in his car on stakeouts. Chasing one of the robbers down a couple of backstreets leaves him half-dead.

Jack Lowden (pictured) plays Noye, the ambitious crook who arranged for most of the 26million in gold bars to be melted down and sold, as a class warrior

Towering over them all, in his best role for years, is Hugh Bonneville. Were so used to Hugh as upper-crust, playing Lord Grantham in Downton, or hopelessly middle-class in W1A and Paddington, that its almost unthinkable for him to be anything else.

But with iron-grey hair and a battered overcoat, Hugh is utterly convincing as DCI Brian Boyle, the no-nonsense guvnor running the investigation.

He has three rules: No overtime, no drinking at lunchtime and no Freemasonry.

No pint and a corned beef sandwich for midday sustenance? The original Sweeney coppers, Regan and Carter (played by John Thaw and Dennis Waterman), wouldnt last long under DCI Boyle. Never mind wokery  thats a bleedin liberty, that is.

Pictured: Kenneth Noye, who was found guilty of the murder of Stephen Cameron during a road rage fight on May 19, 1996

As a portrait of the times, The Gold is a little fanciful. As a piece of drama, with some brilliant performances and a sizzling script by Neil Forsyth, its 24 carat.

But theres another side to the story  one that will come as a revelation to most viewers  the impact of a 26million cash injection into Britains economy as it emerged from the recessions of the 1970s.

Dominic Cooper plays a bent solicitor, intent on investing the proceeds in developing Canary Wharf in Londons Docklands... seen by many as the trigger for the capitals financial boom.

And a caption at the start of the six-part series, now available to stream on iPlayer, informed us that anyone who has bought gold jewellery such as wedding rings in the UK during the past four decades might well be wearing a little bit of Brinks-Mat.

One question The Gold doesnt attempt to answer has been puzzling me for years: how do you load three tons of bullion and six armed robbers into a builders van, let alone drive it down the M4? Thats easily double the maximum payload. Why didnt the axles snap?

Not that Im planning anything myself, you understand. Id just like to know.
Knives are out for Zimdancehall musician Winky D following the release of his latest politically charged album, Eureka Eureka.

Zanu PF's social media trolls and supporters have been baying for Winky D's blood since the release of the album, whose launch on New Year's eve drew a full house.

Government on the other hand has reportedly ordered state-run radio stations to mute Winky D's music.

Eureka Eureka carries songs such as Ibotso, Vafarasi, Chauruka and many others that tackle social injustice, Zimbabwe's economic meltdown and corruption within government.

Ibotso speaks of how the rich and powerful are taking all that the poor should be getting while Chauruka warns those in higher offices not to abuse the authority they have as one day that is bound to be lost.

Also known as the Gaffa, Winky D introduced his huge following to a string of young artistes in an album whose two top tracks have breached the million views mark.

A source privy to developments said state-owned radio stations were briefed not to play Winky D's music alleging it causes alarm and despondency.

Everyone, the management at these radio stations were briefed that Winky D's music shall not be played at all,said the source.

It's a deliberate move to suffocate his music due to his politically charged lyrics that are said to be anti government.

It's an unofficial rule but it applies, If one plays his (Winky D) music they would find themselves in big trouble.

A radio DJ at one radio station confirmed that they have since been instructed to strike off Winky D's music off their playing lists.

A survey done by the Standard Style showed that Winky D's music hasn't been played on state-owned radio stations over the past two weeks.

The current album is not Winky D's first to be muted, KaSong keJecha which was released days to the 2018 elections has not been played on national radio after it was associated with then MDC Alliance president Nelson Chamisa's kudira jecha mantra.

A week after the release of the album, a Zanu PF affiliated group-Economic Empowerment Group (EEG) led by Mike Chimombe held a press conference denouncing Winky D's music and calling for his work to be banned on radio stations as well as having him barred from live performances.

After EEG's calls to ban Winky D, the public broadcaster ZBC denied banning the artiste.

The Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation has noted with concern unfounded messages circulating on various social media platforms alleging that there has been a ban on Winky Ds songs on the ZBC platforms, ZBC said in a statement.

ZBC is a public broadcaster and is guided by the philosophy of leaving no one and no place behind. It should be categorically stated that we do not discriminate against any music artists.

Meanwhile, Holy Ten, who featured on Ibotso has labelled Winky D as a manipulative 'snake' who used him on the song's production.

Holy Ten's accusations are not new after revealing that he regretted working with Winky D a day after the song was released.

Music critic and academic Fred Zindi said the government and Zanu PF had no power to silence Winky D as the internet will make sure that his music will reach people.

It is an excellent album featuring the likes of Holy Ten, who has since chickened out on Ibotso and UK-based Shingai Shoniwa who features on Dzimba Dzemabwe, Zindi said.

The album is telling the truth about the experiences of the poor and suffering masses of Zimbabwe.

The Zanu PF officials like Mike Chimombe who think that it should be banned from ZBC are scared of the masses knowing the truth which might cause a revolution or anti-Zanu PF sentiments.

However, banning of records in this country is now a thing of the past as ZBC does not control platforms like Spotify, Tik-Tok, I-Tunes, You Tube, Sound Cloud, Pandora, Amazon and other digital spaces.

Our constitution allows for freedom of speech and it is albums like this which give up-coming artistes to be bold enough to speak the truth. If this kind of trend goes on, the future of Zimbabwean music is brighter than it is today. Standard
Logan Paul and KSI were greeted by a large group of fans at Sydney Airport's private terminal on Sunday night, just hours before chaos ensued when they arrived at Channel Nine studios.

Paul, 27, a WWE superstar and YouTuber, flew in from Perth with his friend and business partner KSI, 29, to continue their promotional tour of Australia.

Hundreds of unsupervised teenage boys waited until late in the night hoping to catch a glimpse of their idols, who are in the country to launch their energy drink Prime.

Logan Paul and KSI were greeted by a large group of fans at Sydney Airport's private terminal on Sunday night, just hours before chaos ensued when they arrived at Channel Nine studios

They all shoved their phones up to a wired fence in unison when the two men emerged from their private jet.

The following morning, there were wild scenes and reports of injuries at Nine's North Sydney headquarters as Paul and KSI were interviewed on the Today show.

The influencers were taking part in their only breakfast TV appearance in the country, and drew a 1,000-strong crowd of rowdy young fans.

Paul, 27, a WWE superstar and YouTuber, flew in from Perth with his friend and business partner KSI, 29, to continue their promotional tour of Australia

More than a thousand fans - mostly teenage boys - gathered outside the building before dawn, with many determined to get on camera for their own viral moment.

Police and extra security had been called to help control the crowd, after recent meet-and-greets involving Paul and KSI descended into chaos.

But things got out of control outside the Denison Street premises when a security guard monitoring the crowd was thrown to the ground after getting caught behind a stone barricade and was seen wincing in pain, The Daily Telegraph reported.

They shoved their phones up to a wired fence in unison when Paul emerged from his private jet

'Multiple' fans who had been promised free bottles of Prime energy drink were also injured in the push towards the barricade.

Later in the broadcast, the Today anchors interviewed Paul and KSI, whose real name is Olajide Olayinka Williams Olatunji, on a balcony overlooking the crowd carnage below - but things turned nasty when someone threw an object at Karl Stefanovic.

The tumultuous broadcast kicked off at 5:30am when Stefanovic ventured outside to meet Paul and KSI's fans, some of whom had queued up overnight.

Hundreds of unsupervised teenage boys waited until late in the night hoping to catch a glimpse of their idols, who are in the country to launch their energy drink Prime

The crowd cheered as he and the crew made their way along the building, where they were lined up around the corner and down the street.

At one stage, he joked the 'smell of Lynx Africa' was overwhelming.

As he spoke to the camera, a teenage boy approached Stefanovic from behind and threw an arm over his shoulder, prompting a security guard to usher him away.

The following morning, there were wild scenes and reports of injuries at Nine's North Sydney headquarters as Paul and KSI were interviewed on the Today show

But Stefanovic told his bodyguard to back off and invited the young man, named Ali, back on camera - prompting others to swarm the larrikin TV host.

One self-promoter put a green bucket hat on Stefanovic's head then repeatedly yelled out his own Instagram handle.

Another youngster in high-vis workwear filmed the crew as a hyperactive man in a hotdog suit ran up to the camera and yelled something unintelligible.

The influencers were taking part in their only breakfast TV appearance in the country and they drew a 1,000-strong crowd of rowdy young fans

Unfortunately, these family-friendly antics were spoiled by one rowdy reveller who dropped the F-bomb on live TV - which may result in a fine for the network.

This profanity was Stefanovic's cue to leave as he told his co-hosts back in the studio: 'Get into life! I'll see you soon... I'll try to get out.'

A stunned Sarah Abo remarked: 'Good luck, mate. If you weren't awake yet, then that was certainly going to wake you up.'

The tumultuous broadcast kicked off at 5:30am when Stefanovic ventured outside to meet Paul and KSI's fans, some of whom had queued up overnight

'I think the Lynx Africa wasn't just coming from the fans, by the way,' added Abo, who admitted she had to 'google who Logan Paul was' and baulked at Stefanovic's suggestion their popularity was comparable to Beatlemania.

The Today Show later did another live cross from the crowd, with Gabrielle Boyle interviewing several fans who spoke of how 'inspirational' they find Paul and KSI.

One young man said breathlessly: 'I just love... the inspirational guy, inspirational man, just love the guy from the top. I've been saying since I was a kid, and I'm going to keep going throughout my life!'

As he spoke to the camera, a teenage boy approached Stefanovic from behind and threw an arm over his shoulder

Boyle explained the crowd had started to assemble at about 10pm the night before, adding: 'Look at this crowd. They reckon about a thousand people here already this morning.

'We've got the police turning up just to make sure that it's all safe. We've hired extra security. We promise you it'll be under control, but I tell you what, the enthusiasm is not under control.'

After 8am, Paul and KSI joined Stefanovic and Abo in the Today studio for a sit-down interview, where they discussed the pair's extraordinary rise to fame from teenage YouTubers to successful athletes and businessmen.

The Today Show later did another live cross from the crowd, with Gabrielle Boyle interviewing several fans who spoke of how 'inspirational' they find Paul and KSI

They then ventured outside to a balcony overlooking the street below, where a crowd of hundreds cheered uproariously, and on occasion seemed to boo the hosts.

At one stage, an object could be seen flying through the air and hitting Stefanovic's jacket. It's unclear what it was, but it could have been food as it left a visible stain.

The presenter took it in his stride, yelling at the fans: 'Hey! That's an expensive suit!'

After the object was thrown, his co-host Abo appeared to retreat from the chaos, prompting Stefanovic to usher her back in.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Channel Nine for comment.
Love Island winners Ekin-Su Culculoglu and Davide Sanclimenti have addressed claims that their relationship is a 'showmance'.

The couple have been in the public eye since winning the ITV2 dating show and have since went on to star in their own travel show.

But the Turkish actress and her Italian boyfriend, both 28, have been dogged with rumours that their relationship is fake.

During an interview with The Sun's Fabulous Magazine, Davide said: 'Those who have seen us in real life cannot believe anyone would think we are fake.'

He went on to reveal he and Ekin-Su have support from fellow islanders Luca Bish and Dami Hope who believe their relationship is real.

'We don't need to prove to anyone that we are real': Love Island winners Ekin-Su Culculoglu and Davide Sanclimenti have addressed claims that their relationship is a 'showmance'

Ekin-Su nodded in agreement and added: 'Our relationship is between two people, not the world.

'We don't need to prove to anyone that we are real. I believe the less you show on social media, the healthier the relationship is.

She went on to add that other couples in the public eye such as Michelle Keegan and Mark Wright or Molly-Mae and Tommy Fury dont get the same comments they do, despite not posting 24/7 about what theyre doing.

Ekin-Su and Davide were in agreement that not everything needs to be shared on social media as 'things get messy'.

She recently hit out at TikTok star Max Balegde after he claimed a 'prominent UK couple' are faking their relationship.

Fans were convinced Max, who has 3 million followers on the app, was speaking about Love Island winner Ekin-Su and her boyfriend Davide Sanclimenti on the latest episode of his podcast - despite not mentioning any names.

According to The Tab , Ekin-Su slammed Max in a now deleted tweet, claiming she doesn't know who he is.

She said: 'Oh f**k off Max. Trying to stay relevant by associating with us. Don't even know who you are mate. P**s off with your sad TikTok life.'

During an interview with The Sun's Fabulous Magazine, Davide said: 'Those who have seen us in real life cannot believe anyone would think we are fake.'

Fame: The couple have been in the public eye since winning the ITV2 dating show and have since went on to star in their own travel show

On his The Useless Hotline Podcast, Max said: 'There's one relationship specifically that's very prominent in the UK media right now that I happen to know is definitely not real.

'I met the person who's in it and they were quite nice to me, but they definitely said something that would indicate they are 100 per cent not in a relationship with said person.

'When you meet someone and within the first hour they say to you 'find me a small brunette with a tight p***y I can throw around' and you know they're supposedly in a very public relationship?'

Rumours: Fans were convinced Max, who has 3 million followers on the app, was speaking about Love Island winner Ekin-Su and her boyfriend Davide Sanclimenti on the latest episode of his podcast - despite not mentioning any names

He added: 'I then met the other person who's part of that allegedly fake relationship, and said 'I was just with such a body and they were so complimentary of you' and they go, 'really?' As if to be like, we're not actually together, that shocks me a little bit.

'And then I met this person with the long hair and the boobs. They were really lovely and I felt for whatever reason pressure to tell them that their counterpart had just been saying really nice things about them when they didn't actually mention them at all. But ever since then, I'd really clocked onto it, because if you go for a run and paparazzi are there that's staged.'

Comments on the TikTok showed a lot of people took this as Max discussing Ekin-Su and Davide.

The couple have been in the public eye since winning the ITV2 dating show and have since went on to star in their own travel show.

Pals? Max previously posted a video on Instagram with the Turkish actress. He said: 'You are a liar, actress, Ekin-Su' while she quipped 'Ekin-who?' before the pair started laughing

Trip: Max spent time with Davide on October 15 when they flew to Ibiza to attend a Spotify party

Max spent time with Davide on October 15 when they flew to Ibiza to attend a Spotify party.

One day later he posted a video on Instagram with the Turkish actress. He said: 'You are a liar, actress, Ekin-Su' while she quipped 'Ekin-who?' before the pair started laughing.

On Tuesday morning, Max reacted to the tweet reportedly put out on Ekin-Su's twitter account and claimed he has received death threats from her fans.

He penned: 'Nothing like waking up to hundreds of Ekin Su fans telling you you have 24 hours to live, and finding out she has tweeted about me, and has personally been messaging them saying bad things about me? Hope everyone else is having a lovely and MATURE day though'

MailOnline have contacted representatives for Ekin-Su and Max.
Lady Amelia Windsor is full of praise for electric vehicles in her review of a trip to a Cornish eco hotel in a Polestar 2 car for Country & Town House magazine.

But I cant help wondering if the 27-year-old was really the best person for the job  given that she cant drive.

Describing how she headed off on a road trip to review the hotel, the granddaughter of the Duke of Kent said the Polestar was a marque Im positive will become more common on our roads as we accelerate the transition to EVs.

She reports that the car was exquisitely smooth to drive along the winding Cornish roads and praises its leg room before conceding: My friend took the wheel (Im still an aspiring driver).

Well, at least shes honest.

Lady Amelia Windsor is full of praise for electric vehicles in her review of a trip to a Cornish eco hotel in a Polestar 2 car for Country & Town House magazine

Lady Amelia praised the Polestar 2's on-road manners and smooth drive during the test drive... despite not being able to drive herself

The Duchess of Rutland knows Americans love the British aristocracy... and is ready to exploit it.

Shes throwing a ball in Palm Beach, Florida, next year to raise funds for her family pile, Belvoir Castle  saying shes found Americans are happy to reach into their wallets to preserve our heritage.

Canny!

Comic and former model Camilla Cleese is tired of being referred to as the daughter of John Cleese.

After working for years in stand-up in the US, Camilla, 39, said: Yes I am proud of him, I love him but it just feels really unfair at this point.

She told the Reza Rifts podcast: I work too hard to just have that be my title.

Its notable, though, that she said this before the announcement that shell be starring alongside her father, star of Fawlty Towers, in a revival of the madcap sitcom  a gig were sure she landed with no help at all from papa!

Comic and former model Camilla Cleese is tired of being referred to as the daughter of John Cleese

Dog owners will do anything for their pooches, but can they be tempted to have their paws read? I only ask because palmistry sessions, massage and sound-bathing for hounds will be on offer at the Duke of Richmonds Goodwoof  event later this month when he throws open his Goodwood estate in West Sussex for influencer dogs. Barking!
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GOVERNMENT remains committed to delivering on the hopes and aspirations of all Zimbabweans as evidenced by its programmes that are geared towards ushering in prosperity for all, President Mnangagwa has said.

Transformative development programmes and the demonstrable success in stabilising and growing the economy, he said, have become a rallying point for Zimbabweans, who are increasingly lending their support to the ruling party, ZANU PF, to further accelerate national development.

Addressing delegates in Harare yesterday during the launch of the ruling partys programme dubbed Kumusha/Home/Ekhaya, which is meant to welcome back returnees from other political parties, the President said ZANU PF was deeply rooted in advancing the will and aspirations of the people.

Yesterdays event saw the ruling party embrace members who had defected over the years.

The ZANU PF Government under President Mnangagwa has embarked on an intensive nation-building programme underpinned by initiatives designed to achieve national food security, infrastructure development, job creation and economic growth.

Our arms remain outstretched to welcome those who want to be members of our party.

In this regard, those who are still in the opposition are welcome and ZANU PF will continue to facilitate their return home, said President Mnangagwa.

This is the unity and love that all structures of the party must preach and demonstrate.

Not only in the context of our quest to realise five million votes during the upcoming 2023 harmonised elections, but beyond that for entrenching the democracy, national unity and cohesion that has become synonymous with the Second Republic.

Let us, therefore, celebrate this milestone and recommit ourselves to the realisation of the partys aims and objectives, as well as the national Vision 2030.

Current programmes, policies and projects, he said, were premised on addressing the needs, hopes and aspirations of the people.

The successes our party continues to record in agriculture, mining, manufacturing, tourism, SMEs (small and medium enterprises) and other social service sectors provide ample testimony, he said.

He described yesterdays event as historic.

We remain a national political party, a peoples party deeply rooted in advancing the will and aspirations of the people.

Hence, this landmark event affords us all an important opportunity to rekindle and connect with the founding principles and enduring history of our country and that of our revolutionary party, ZANU PF, he added.

On behalf of our party, I warmly welcome you, my fellow comrades, dear brothers and sisters from across the 10 provinces of our country to your home, ZANU PF, the home of the peoples revolution.

The returnees were urged to add value to existing party programmes and projects by deploying their skills and knowledge.

Let us ride on our national character trait as hardworking people and think outside the box to invent and innovate as creative entrepreneurs for increased production and productivity across all sectors of the economy.

I further call upon you, the new party members, to avail your knowledge, skills and experience while adding value to our people-centred governance mix and ongoing development initiatives.

Together, let us build a prosperous and empowered Zimbabwe, brick by brick and stone upon stone.

The President also called for peaceful political campaigns ahead of this years elections.

The forthcoming 2023 harmonised general elections present to the nation an opportunity to exercise that democratic right to vote for competent ZANU PF cadres.

It is through our revolutionary mass party that the concerns of all our people can be addressed.

The ruling party, he said, must wrest all local authority and parliamentary seats from the opposition to guarantee a landslide victory.

President Mnangagwa said ZANU PF supporters should continue to adhere to the partys culture of peace and harmony, adding that this was important for the countrys development. Sunday Mail
Himayatsagar, a smaller man-made lake that runs parallel to the larger and historic Nizam-era Osmansagar, has not been recognised as a notified water body, it has received less attention and has not undergone significant development comparable to Gandipet. (DC file photo)

Hyderabad: Believe it or not! The more than 100-year-old Himayatsagar, which was constructed as the city's main source of drinking water during the rule of the last Nizam of Hyderabad, is not a notified water body.

Since Himayatsagar, a smaller man-made lake that runs parallel to the larger and historic Nizam-era Osmansagar, has not been recognised as a notified water body, it has received less attention and has not undergone significant development comparable to Gandipet.

The report fixing the full tank level of Himayatsagar was submitted by the revenue and irrigation authorities two years ago, but the HMDA is yet to even give a preliminary report notifying it as a water body.

In an effort to develop eco-friendly tourism attractions, the state government had allocated Rs 35.60 crore for a the landscape park encompassing 18 acres on the banks of Osmansagar.

The Gandipet Park, which was inaugurated in October of last year, is one of the major attractions in the area and has been drawing visitors from all over the city, especially on weekends. It features an entrance pavilion, walkways, flower terrace, picnic areas, open-air theatres, food courts, restrooms, among others. It also has a central pavilion with a ticketing counter and guard rooms on either side of four-way columns.

Himayatsagar, on the other hand, was unable to experience development. Authorities contend that the government has suggested an eco park on 125 acres near Himayatsagar at an estimated cost of Rs 75 crore.

The eco park, unlike at Osmansagar, is reportedly 18 kilometres from the water body, hence it wont be included in the lakes development and beautifying programme. According to them, the development activity could be taken up only after the water body gets recognition as a notified water body.

Sources said the preliminary notifications simply mention maps, extent, survey numbers, and coordinates, and the final notification will include the entire area of the lake with revenue and irrigation department surveys, maps, area of the lake in each survey number, and corresponding details.

After a survey of 2,688 lakes was complete, 1,838 lakes received preliminary notifications, and 224 lakes received final notifications. The survey of each lake, according to officials, would be conducted after consultations with the irrigation and revenue officials.

Sources said it is only after the certification of lake FTL maps by the irrigation department and superimposition of revenue survey numbers that the preliminary notification would be issued by HMDA duly placing FTL maps with boundaries and buffer zones in public domain.

It should be noted that although the exercise began 10 years back in 2013, HMDA could release final notification of just 224 lakes. It should be noted that even though the exercise began in 2013, the HMDA could only announce the final notification of 224 lakes.

Water Facts

Not being notified as a water body by the HMDA, Himayatsagar lacks funds for development

Government proposes to build eco park for the lake, but it 18 km away

Himayatsagar is the smaller of the two reservoirs with a capacity of 2.9 tmc ft and a surface area of about 20 sq km.

Osmansagar holds 3.9 tmc ft water, and spreads over 24 sq km
Retired Supreme Court Judge, Justice Syed Abdul Nazeer, was on Sunday named as the Governor of Andhra Pradesh. (DC File Image)

Vijayawada: In a significant appointment, retired Supreme Court Judge, Justice Syed Abdul Nazeer, was on Sunday named as the Governor of Andhra Pradesh. Justice Nazeer, who was part of the Ayodhya case verdict in 2019, had retired from the apex court only last month.

Rashtrapathi Droupadi Murmu appointed chief justices for four high courts through a presidential notification. Accordingly, present AP governor Biswa Bhusan Harichandan was made the governor of Chhattisgarh.

Harichandan had taken charge as the second governor of the residuary AP state on July 24, 2019. Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy and the governor maintained cordial relations that helped in the smooth functioning of the state government.

Justice Abdul Nazeer hails from a family in the Kanara region of coastal Karnataka. He is the son of Fakir Saheb and has five siblings. He grew up in Beluvai/Moodbidri and completed his B.Com degree at Mahaveera College, Moodbidri. He obtained a law degree from SDM Law College, Kodialbail, Mangaluru.

Nazeer enrolled as an advocate in 1983 and practised at the Karnataka high court in Bengaluru. In May 2003, he became an additional judge of the high court and was later made a permanent judge there. In February 2017, he was elevated to the Supreme Court. He was the third judge ever to be elevated this way, without first becoming the chief justice of a high court.

At the Supreme Court, Justice Nazeer was the lone Muslim judge in a multi-faith bench which heard the controversial Triple Talaq case in 2017. Nazeer and another judge upheld the validity of the practice of Triple Talaq (Talaq-e-Biddat) by citing the ground that this was permissible under Muslim Sharia Law. However, the practice was barred by the bench by a 3:2 line-up and asked the central government to bring legislation in six months to govern acts of marriage and divorce in the Muslim community.

The court said till the government formulated law regarding triple talaq, there would be an injunction on husbands pronouncing triple talaq on their wives.

Justice Nazeer was also a part of the 5- judge bench that passed the historic Supreme Court verdict on Ayodhya dispute in 2019. In this, he had upheld the report of ASI, which confirmed the existence of a Hindu structure in the disputed place. He gave the verdict in favour of Ram Mandir, finally ending the years-long dispute with a unanimous 5-0 verdict.

In the months leading up to his retirement, Justice Nazeer led a constitution bench that heard cases pertaining to the 2016 high value currency demonetisation. He retired on Jan 4, 2023.

While the shifting of Harichandan from AP to Chhattisgarh was guided by the interests of the Centre, a fact was also that the main Opposition, Telugu Desam, had accused him of a failure to respond to incidents of "human rights violations" etc. TD chief Chandrababu Naidu had met Harichandan several times and submitted complaints of YSRC-inspired attacks on his party leaders and cadres.

Harichandan took charge in AP after Jagan Reddy assumed charge as chief minister. He is likely to be relieved from post in a day or two.

Harichandan joined the Bharatiya Jana Sangh in 1971 and became its national executive member and state general secretary until the formation of the Janata Party in 1977.

During the Emergency, he was detained under the MISA. He was made the president of the state BJP until 1988 and there was a period when he joined hands with the Janata Dal. He returned to the BJP in 1996.
AICC programme implementation committee chairman A. Maheshwar Reddy said that if the government was serious about implementing the loan waiver to farmers, it should come up with a plan of action and the required funds should be released immediately. (Photo: DC)

Hyderabad: Congress demanded on Saturday that the state government come up with a White Paper on its borrowings. Stating that the capita debt now stood at Rs 1.21 lakh, because the state borrowings had reached Rs 5 lakh crore, A. Maheshwar Reddy, AICC programme implementation committee chairman, said the people had the right to know how much was being repaid to creditors and the time limit.

Releasing the fourth chargesheet in the Haath se Haath Jodo series, this time on the Budget, Maheshwar Reddy demanded that Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao apologise for his failure to spend the Budget allocations. "He is making afool out of the people each year by quoting high figures in the Budget when compared to actual spending," the Congress leader said.

"The BRS government is boastful of its big Budget figures, but there remains a variation between Budget proposals and spending. On the other hand, the government is borrowing more as it has failed to find ways to increase state revenues. This flaw was pointed out by the Comptroller and Auditor General," he said.

The Congress leader said that if the government was serious about implementing the loan waiver to farmers, it should come up with a plan of action and the required funds should be released immediately. Further he demanded a transparent programme for implementing Dalit Bandhu scheme and selection of beneficiaries.

"KCR should provide an explanation for the failure of the government to carry forward the unspent funds earmarked for SCs and STs. The CM also owes an explanation to unemployed youth who have failed to receive the unemployed allowance for the past three years. If the government has decided to do away with the scheme, it should formally come up with an announcement," he demanded.
Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao claimed that nearly 20 lakh Indians had given up their Indian citizenship and migrated to other countries in search of livelihood under Modi's rule in the last nine years. (File Photo)

Hyderabad: BRS president and Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao ratcheted up his campaign against the Narendra Modi government over the Adani controversy by stating that LIC, the public sector insurance company, had a large exposure in the troubled Group, putting the money that common people and small investors had invested at serious risk.

Replying to the debate on Appropriation Bill 2023 in the Assembly on Sunday, Rao criticised the PM for failing to inform the country about the Adani issue while calling Modi's speech in Parliament the "most disgusting" at a time when the nation was eager to know what action the Centre would initiate against the embattled company, but the PM said nothing.

Interestingly, using statistics, the CM lauded the Congress-led UPA government, asserting that Dr Manmohan Singh had done a better job as Prime Minister than Narendra Modi and that it had outperformed the current BJP-led NDA government in various sectors.

"Manmohan Singh performed better than Modi. But he never boasted about his achievements and discharged his duties quietly. This helped BJP to undertake propaganda against Manmohan Singh to mislead the people that no development happened during the UPA regime. I am not a Congressman.

Ironically, I have to give these statistics on Singh's achievements since the Congress leaders failed to do so. I am ready to quit if anyone proves these statistics wrong," Rao remarked.

Regarding the Adani issue, Rao maintained that the LIC had made substantial investments in the struggling company and that ever since the scam broke out, "billions of wealth of investors and shareholders had evaporated".

"The country wanted to know what the Centre will do regarding the Adani situation because crores of common people have invested in LIC and are worried about their future. However, the PM remained silent in Parliament, and did not utter a single word on the issue. There was no assurance or no mention of constituting a probe committee by the PM. He was just beating about the bush," Rao remarked.

The CM claimed that nearly 20 lakh Indians had given up their Indian citizenship and migrated to other countries in search of livelihood under Modi's rule in the last nine years.

Rao gave the BJP-led NDA abbreviation a new spin by terming it "No Data Available" government, while referring to the replies provided by the Centre that no data was available on the questions posed by the MPs on crucial matters.

The CM prophesied that the Modi government would be voted out of power in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and expressed confidence that the BRS would triumph. If this were to occur, the BRS government would implement new irrigation, power, agricultural, drinking water, industrial, and infrastructure policies in the country.

Stating that in 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Modi won and Indian people lost, Rao said, "I started BRS with an aim that people should win elections, and not parties. By electing the BRS government in Telangana, crores of poor and needy in the state have won by availing Aasara pensions, free power to agriculture, uninterrupted power supply to all sectors, Rythu Bandhu, Rythu Bima, Dalit Bandhu, fee reimbursement, scholarships, Shaadi Mubarak, Kalyana Lakshmi, and KCR Kits."

After the Bangladesh War, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was hailed as invincible, but one decision by the Allahabad High Court against her altered the trajectory of Indian politics and toppled the government.

"Today, Modi might look invincible. But one should realise that power is temporary and people will react as and when a situation arises and will teach a fitting lesson with their votes," he added.

Rao termed Modi's goal of India achieving a $5 trillion economy as a "joke" and "silly" adding that the target should have been bigger. "The US economy reached 25 trillion dollars, while that of China is 18.3 trillion dollars, Japan 4.3 trillion dollars, Germany 4 trillion dollars. The Indian economy could reach just 3.5 trillion dollars. At least our aim should be big. We should dare to dream," the CM said.
TPCC president Revanth Reddy challenged BJP state president Bandi Sanjay Kumar and Union minister G. Kishan Reddy to demonstrate their sincerity to democracy by writing to the Centre to seek an investigation into the defection of 12 MLAs to the BRS. (Photo: DC)

Hyderabad: TPCC president A. Revanth Reddy on Sunday asserted that if the investigation into the defection of 12 party MLAs to the TRS (now BRS) was not clubbed with probe into the alleged attempt to poach four BRS MLAs, he would raise the issue with Prime Minister Narendra Modi or home minister Amit Shah rather than pursue a legal battle in the Telangana High Court.

Interacting with the media in Aswapuram in the Pinapaka constituency of Bhadradri Kothagudem district during the Haath se Haath Jodo padayatra, Revanth Reddy challenged BJP state president Bandi Sanjay Kumar and Union minister G. Kishan Reddy to demonstrate their sincerity to democracy by writing to the Centre to seek an investigation into the defection of 12 MLAs to the BRS.

"We have ample proof that each and every one of these MLAs benefited from their defection. BJP leaders who often complain about the corruption of KCR and his family should demonstrate their sincerity by submitting letters to the Centre; else, they would be seen as being involved in the ongoing poachgate issue."

The TPCC president claimed that Pinapaka MLA R. Kantha Rao was not only one of the 12 MLAs had who defected to the BRS, but was also a part of the four BRS MLAs in poachgate. Revanth Reddy had recently written to DGP Anjani Kumar demanding that both cases be clubbed when the files are handed over to the CBI.

"People have voted in favour of the Congress, but the MLA sold himself. Even the party office, which was built with the hard-earned money of the party workers, was encroached upon. It's time for him to demonstrate his integrity by handing over the Congress office," Revanth Reddy said of Kantha Rao. "If he fails to do so, once Congress comes to power, he will have to pay for it."

In addition, he declared that if the Congress came to power in Telangana, it would conduct an investigation into the favours that the 12 MLAs received for defecting.

Revanth Reddy will begin the seventh day of his yatra on Monday from Aswapuram and travel walk to Manuguru before giving a speech at the Ambedkar centre. On February 14, Revanth Reddy will visit the Bhadrachalam Assembly constituency with CLP leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka. The next day the padayatra will enter Warangal Parliamentary constituency. On February 16, he will cover Wardhannapet, and on February 17 Station Ghanpur. He will be covering the Assembly districts of Parakal and Bhupalpally following a break for Shivaratri.
BJP national president J P Nadda addressing a public meeting in West Bengal on Sunday. (Photo: Facebook: J P Nadda)

Purbasthali/ Ramnagar (WB): Launching a frontal attack on the Mamata Banerjee-led regime in Bengal, BJP national president J P Nadda on Sunday said that the time has come to bid farewell to the jungle raj of the TMC, which stands for 'Terror, Mafia, Corruption'.

Claiming that the state has been brought to a "standstill" under the TMC rule, with no development in sight, Nadda, who was in Bengal on a two-day visit, said that the BJP would do what it takes to oust the TMC from power.

Referring to recent allegations of massive irregularities in implementing the PM Awas Yojana (PMAY) in West Bengal, Nadda said houses meant for the poor were looted by TMC leaders.

"During audit, it was found that people who have two-three storey buildings received houses under the scheme. This is the situation in West Bengal," he said.

Bengal's political cauldron has been on the boil for a while over allegations and counter allegations of corruption in the implementation of the central housing scheme after it was reported that applications by several people, owning multi-storey homes, have received approval in some districts.

Nadda also said that West Bengal, despite having a woman chief minister, "tops the chart when it came to crime against women.

"The TMC stands for 'Terror and Tolabaji', 'Mafia and Money laundering' and 'Corruption'. Be it school recruitment or any other hiring, jobs are up for sale," the BJP chief stated.

Nadda, during the day, addressed back-to-back rallies in Purbasthali area of Purba Bardhaman and Ramnagar area in Purba Medinipur, as part of the BJP's mass outreach drive ahead of the crucial panchayat polls scheduled in May.

Lauding party cadres for "putting up a brave fight against the terror tactics" of the TMC, Nadda said the mass gatherings at his rallies reflect that people are "yearning for a change".

"It is time to bid adieu to the jungle raj of Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal. Mamata Banerjee has to be sent on a long leave. We have to remove this party from power democratically," he said.

Mocking the feisty TMC boss, he said "despite her name being Mamata (compassion), she lacks empathy".

Nadda also slammed the TMC government for being "neck-deep in corruption".

Rebuffing the allegations of non-disbursal of funds against the Centre, and said, "Modi ji sends money, and as soon as it reaches here, it is siphoned off, and it turns into a scam. Modi's government is honest, while the state government is corrupt."

Speaking about the party's defeat in the 2021 assembly polls, notwithstanding a high-octane campaign launched by the BJP top brass, he said a single failure is not the end of the road.

"Yes, we couldn't win the assembly polls, but that doesn't mean everything is finished. We will fight again to end the misrule of the TMC in West Bengal," he said.

The TMC steamrolled its opponents to grab power for the third consecutive term in Bengal in 2021, winning 213 assembly seats, while the BJP had bagged 77 seats.

Lauding the Narendra Modi government for maintaining the momentum of India's economic growth, Nadda said, "Regardless of the pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, India has overtaken a nation (the UK) that ruled us for about two centuries. India now has become the fifth largest economy in the world."

Reacting to Nadda's comment, the TMC dubbed him a "migratory" leader with no connection with the people of West Bengal.

"BJP leaders are like migratory birds, which come to Bengal ahead of polls and leave once defeated. We had seen how the BJP's central leaders had camped in the state before the 2021 assembly polls and the result that followed.

"Nadda Ji has failed to install BJP government even in his own state Himachal Pradesh last year," TMC leader Kunal Ghosh said.
The YSRC will paste Jagananne Maa Bhavishyatthu' stickers on the houses of the beneficiaries of the Jagan government's welfare schemes. (Photo: Twitter)

Vijayawada: Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy is speeding up the ruling YSRCs pre-election build-up under the Why Not 175 strategy. He has come up with a new roadmap titled Jagananne Maa Bhavishyatthu outreach programme, covering all the175 assembly constituencies.

Party leaders would visit every house to take YSR Congress partys message to the public. Alongside, the CM would review the performances of the MLAs during a crucial meeting on Feb 13, at which ministers, MLAs, regional coordinators and party incharges would take part.

The chief minister is likely to give new and additional responsibilities to the best performers vis-a-vis mass contact and is likely to replace poor performers with new faces. The YSRC would paste Jagananne Maa Bhavishyatthu stickers on the houses of the beneficiaries of the Jagan governments welfare schemes. This would be done with their consents during the mass campaign.

The party chief has, for the past few months, been giving shape to the YSRCs pre-election mass build-up. All legislators have been instructed to visit every house in their respective constituencies to resolve their problems as also local civic problems with the special funds allotted by the government.

The chief minister has been reviewing the performance of the party legislators periodically. Some 38 legislators were seen to have had poor performances as per the latest review that was based on various surveys.

Jagan Reddy warned them they would not get the ticket if they continued with the dull performances and that, if so, new faces would be brought in for the party tickets.

The chief minister has asked the legislators to complete the Gruha Saradhulu programme before attending the review meeting on Feb 13, Monday, when he would discuss about the performances of each legislator and give a roadmap and a detailed presentation about the Jagananne Maa Bhavishyatthu (Jagan is Our Future) campaign programme.

According to party sources, training for the mega campaign would be held from Feb 14 to 19 for the Gruha Saradhulus, village and ward volunteers and conveners.

A week hence, on Feb 20, the mega campaign, 'Jagananne Maa Bhavishyathu' would be launched simultaneously in all the 175 assembly constituencies across 26 districts. All the MLAs and constituency coordinators would hold the press conferences in their respective constituencies and reach out to at least 25 to 30 houses.

A door-to-door campaign of 'Jagananna Maa Bhavishyathu' by Sachivalayam conveners, household heads (Gruha Saradhulu), village and ward volunteers would start on the same day across all the 15,000 secretariats.

The YSRC high-command plans to complete the 'Jagananne Maa Bhavishyathu' campaign by Feb 27.

Former minister and Machilipatnam MLA Perni Venkatramaiah alias Nani said they would visit every house and tour localities without any mass resistance due to the implementation of the welfare schemes on saturation basis and without bias by CM Jagan.

The benefits of these schemes have gone to all the deserving people, including those from the TD and other opposition parties, they stressed.
Pakistan Former President Pervez Musharraf. (PTI File photo)

In my service with the Indian Army and subsequent to that, I have had occasion to meet many flag-ranked officers from all three services of the Pakistan armed forces, served with many of them in missions abroad and attended courses of instruction in other countries. In addition to that, I met many in unsuccessful bids for peace once we were all out of uniform. However, the man I wished to meet the most was Gen. Pervez Musharraf, former CEO and then President of Pakistan. The reasons for my desire were twofold. First, it was all about his strategy and the role he played as Pakistans Army Chief in initiating the Kargil War in 1999, and then leaving it to others to finish it for him. "Surprise and Deception" is a basic principle of war and Musharraf was an ardent student of warfare. His deception in the Kargil War was indeed of the highest order; the only problem being the fact that he deceived his own side (the political establishment and the other two services of the Pakistan armed forces) even more than he deceived the adversary (Indian Army). I never could meet him but if I had such an opportunity, I would have requested him to rationalise the assumptions he made in 1999 in his plan to force the Indian Army to vacate the Siachen Glacier. Why was he so obsessed with the Siachen Glacier? Not many have examined his career to arrive at fair deductions.

The second reason why I wished to meet Musharraf was simply because he and I happened to be alumni of the oldest and perhaps the finest institution in the world for imparting instruction on strategic studies and international affairs: the Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) of the UK Defence Academy, London. Of course, our attendance of the year- long programme was many years apart. With his recent passing, the chance of discussing many other issues with him has also passed. It is therefore only right that I put down some of my observations about the life and times of Pervez Musharraf, who ruled Pakistan at some of the most troubled times in the subcontinent.

Musharraf is roundly cursed in India for the unnecessary loss of 527 lives of Indian soldiers in a war that he initiated and believed he could win. Some 450 or more Pakistani soldiers were also killed; being in defensive mode, their casualties were obviously less. Musharrafs military intellect could be questioned in any debate and the method of execution, including conflict initiation, would draw the ire of any tactician. But there were two reasons behind Musharrafs obsessive desire to battle India during his tenure as Pakistans Army Chief. First was the fact that he, for all his daredevilry as an SSG officer and commander, was first a Mohajir in a Punjabi-dominated Pakistan Army. The ethnic and sectarian divisions in the Pakistan Army are fascinatingly unbelievable. Yet they exist, even though the same is strictly denied. There have been many Mohajir Pakistan Army chiefs, but Musharraf wished to project his "Pakistaniat" as being a tad higher than the others. His refusal to salute Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee during the famous "Bus Yatra" goodwill visit by the Indian Prime Minister in February 1999 smacked of immaturity. They needed symbols of hatred to survive their positions of arrogant power and Musharraf was willing to go the extra mile to achieve that. Interestingly, in the first flag meeting in many years, at Uris Kaman Post (now called Kaman Aman Setu) in February 2005, the commanding officer (CO) of the Pakistan Mujahid unit saluted me smartly and with full vigour when I walked across the old dilapidated bridge to the PoK side. I was then the commander of the Uri Brigade. Surely Musharraf could have been as mature as the CO.

It was the over-smartness of the SSG mind which bettered his sense of balance when he decided to draw out the plan to occupy the winter vacated defences of the Indian Army in the Kargil sector, with his Northern Light Infantry troops. This would give the Pakistan artillery observation posts the chance to observe the moving convoys from Srinagar to Leh, the lifeline also to Thoise, the logistics base for Siachen, and cause their disruption. This, he had hoped, would upset the Indian capability to stock Leh and Thoise for winter as the other route  Manali-Upshi-Leh -- had a limited time during which it was open. It was a plan that was never really war-gamed. Such strategic decisions are never taken on the whims and past experiences of a senior commander; they are national decisions involving the commitment of national resources. Musharraf wished to spring a surprise on the Pakistani people by presenting to them the occupation of the Siachen Glacier by the Pakistan Army by the end of 1999 or at the turn of the new millennium; under his leadership and his planning. A subset of the plan was to force the redeployment of Indian Army formations and units from the Kashmir Valley to Kargil, and thus open up space for large-scale infiltration into the Valley.

Musharraf could also have attempted this elsewhere, but his Siachen obsession got the better of him. The Indian Army had beaten the Pakistanis in the race to occupy Siachen and its guardian frontier, the Saltoro Range, by just six days in April 1984. Musharraf, as an SSG brigadier at that time, made numerous attempts to capture a toehold on the Saltoro Range, but to no avail, as the Indian Army was too strongly embedded. This failure played on his psyche. He applied this failure to his assumption that the Indian Army too would similarly fail to evict his troops from the Kargil heights. History had other tidings for the fate of the Kargil war, making Musharraf the villain rather than the Pakistani hero that he wished to be known as.

The Siachen phenomenon is hardly known to the public in Indian; the basic fact that the Pakistan Army has never officially acknowledged to its people or to the political leadership its inability to get even a foothold on the foreboding landmark. The truth, which drove Musharraf to various decisions, is that the Pakistan Army cant even view the Siachen Glacier due to the protection offered by the Saltoro Range. It was better to have admitted that than seek to fight a pointless war in Kargil. If that had actually happened, Musharrafs position in history may have been better respected.
Derry has always been a town that attracts the finest musical talent from across the globe.

In years past, weve played host to Fleetwood Mac (the Peter Green version), Jim Reeves and (almost) the Beatles. In more recent years, weve had concerts from Chic, Elvis Costello and the Imposters and Pearl Jam.

This Saturday (18th February) continues our trend of drawing in the finest talent from around the world, with the Derry debut of Cozmic Cat, the Toronto-based electronic music DJ and producer, known for dynamic, fun and high-energy performances as well as unique and diverse artist partnerships.

Recently signed to DaCosta Records (founded by Derrys own Louise DaCosta, a familiar name to long time readers of this column), Cozmic Cat has released a number of EPs and albums and seen her music signed, played and licensed worldwide; from Ballantines Whiskey, Indie films and podcasts to iPhone Mobile Apps.

Her single The Fixer (from her 2021 EP Make Love, released on He.She.They records) has got over 350K streams, appeared on Spotify playlists by Groove Theory and Ministry of Sound and made the top 20 on the Deep House Top 100 chart on Amazon Music.

As well as this, her music has garnered attention from such international DJs as Jamie Jones, Carlo Lio, Tommy Sunshine, Horse Meat Disco, Amy Elle, Just Her and more.

Internationally renowned, Cozmic Cat has lit up dance floors across the world, from Canada to South Africa and, in a few days, Derry, where she hopes to continue her mission to spread Love , Unity and Diversity in Dancefloor culture worldwide.

Tell me a bit about how you first got involved with the dance music scene?

I grew up travelling the world as a child and ended up as an adult in Philly for some time, which had a huge impact on my musical upbringing.

I never understood dance music until one day I was in a club in NYC and just "HEARD" it and felt it in a spiritual way, different than I ever had before.

I became immersed in the world of dance music from the New York, but also from the UK and the scenes that sprung up around the world, around the culture and the music.

How do you find the Canadian DJ scene compares to other places?

From what I gather in comparison we as Canadians have a more global vibe, as we are extremely multicultural at least here in Toronto. Our music and nightlife is influenced by many different sounds, countries and genres.

Afro beat is massive right now, as well as anything Latin. For proper House we are influenced by Europe/UK alot as well.

What would you say have been some of the highlights of your career to date?

As a DJ one of my fav gigs was in Reykjavik Iceland as the crowd was so into it. I love playing at our own Toronto Pride Festival and also the iconic Electric Island festival in Toronto.

As a Producer, my biggest achievement has been releasing music overseas on labels like DaCosta Records (Ireland) and He.She.They (UK).

These releases have brought my music to a whole different audience and formed great relationships with like minded talented folks as well.

Is this your first time in Derry? Are you looking forward to it?

First time! Cant Wait!!

Have you got anything else coming up you want to talk about?

I am part of a Docuseries called OUTRAVE talking about Queer folks in the dance music scene in Toronto coming out Feb 5th on USA based network RevryTV (@revrytv). I also composed some of the dance music used in the series.

I am working on a new EP, and also excited to attend the Brighton Music Conference this May, and attend Dream Valley Festival, Defected Malta, and the Orbit DJ retreat in Ibiza this year.

Is there anyone else you think we should be keeping an eye on?

Keep your eye on all things Cozmic on IG @cozmiccatofficial or my website www.djcozmic.com.

Anything else you want to add?

I am super thrilled to be playing with the legendary producer , DJ and record label boss Louise DaCosta at the Tap House!

Cozmic Cat plays the Tap House this Saturday, the 18th of February for whats sure to be a great night out.

Also coming up is the release of Louise DaCostas new single Fall (released on her own DaCosta Records). Its out on the 24th February and will be available wherever music is sold.

Finally, before we part ways for another week, here come the socials. Cozmic Cat can be found on Instagram @cozmiccatofficial. Her music can also be found on Bandcamp.

Louise DaCosta can be found @thelouisesacosta
Social Democratic and Labour Party Leader Colum Eastwood MP has called for an end to shootings in the Derry area.

Mr Eastwood was speaking after a man was shot in the leg in the Skeoge Road area of the city on Saturday night.

It follows a number of recent similar incidents in the area.

Foyle MP Mr Eastwood said: News of another shooting in the Derry area is deeply concerning and upsetting for the local community who want to be able to live in peace without their lives being disrupted by this kind of incident.

These shootings are life changing for the victims and instill fear in the areas where they take place. We need to see a renewed effort to take these weapons out of circulation and to apprehend those behind these attacks.

This is the latest in a number of shooting incidents in our city and I would appeal to those behind them to stop terrorising local people. This wider area had the highest number of shootings in the North last year and that has to change.

"The SDLP will keep working to build a city that represents the best of what we have to offer and where people can live safely without worrying about this kind of violence on their streets.

Derry City and Strabane District councillor Shanu Harkin also condemned the overnight shooting.

The People Before Profit Councillor Shaun Harkin said: "The shooting of a man last night in the Skeoge area of the city is an unjustifiable act of barbarity that does nothing to empower working class communities.

"We had fifty years and more of these types of attacks and they have achieved nothing.

"There is no less crime, drug use or anti-social behaviour as a result of these actions."

Cllr Harkin continued: "At a time when people are struggling as never before, we are seeing an unprecedented coming together of communities to challenge the brutal austerity imposed on us.

"Working class unity in this town can bring real change.

"When it comes to addressing the real issues of poverty, despair and working class exclusion these types of actions are of no help.

"We need to build better futures and give people economic justice in order to tackle the scourge of addiction and anti-social behaviour.

"All our energy needs to be directed at those propping-up a rotten status quo that's intent on wrecking public services, further driving down living standards, denying people a home and who have caused so much hardship for so many households."

PSNI enquiries are continuing at this time and anyone with information is asked to call 101, quoting reference 1924 of 11/02/23.
Police are urging people to be aware of despicable and heartbreaking romance scams ahead of Valentines Day.

Advice to cross-check the profiles of online love interests with their social media accounts, and to carry out reverse image searches of profile photos, has been issued to ensure people are genuine.

People have also been strongly advised against sending money to someone they have not met in person.

Chief Superintendent Gerard Pollock, chairman of the ScamwiseNI Partnership, believes this type of scam is under-reported because people feel embarrassed, but said help is available.

Mr Pollock said that about 96 million is lost in romance scams each year in the UK.

Romance scammers do not care about gender, sexuality, age or race. They target everyone, please don't let it be you. #KeepingPeopleSafe Read more here: https://t.co/OPfdsclDVo pic.twitter.com/ec3LqmmhNt  Police Service NI (@PoliceServiceNI) February 12, 2023

Locally, weve seen losses ranging from hundreds of pounds to more than 100,000, he said.

One of the most significant in Northern Ireland last year involved the loss of 112,000, where a woman had met the scammer via a dating app and went on to develop what she thought was a genuine relationship.

She was persuaded to put her money in cryptocurrency, with the promise of a quick profit. This never materialised and, unfortunately, she was left out of pocket and devastated financially and emotionally.

Scammers seek to build a relationship quickly before requesting money. Initially, they are charming and appear very interested in you, but will have lots of excuses for not being able to meet face to face.

Then theyll ask for money to help them sort out their problems, or to help them pay for travel, or some investment opportunity.

Theyll promise to repay the money, but the harsh reality is they have no intention of that and, sadly, for some people looking for romance online, they find a scammer trying to swindle them out of their money.

Its despicable and its heartbreaking.

Mr Pollock said it was important for people to be are aware of how to keep money safe from scammers.

Scammers dont care about gender, sexuality, age or race. But we do see some trends in those who lose money  more frequently theyre aged between 30-60 years old and women are slightly more likely to lose money than men, but its very finely balanced.

They target everyone, please dont let it be you, he said.

The police said only chat to people on the dating app or website they use; carry out your own research on the person, using details such as their location and family members to help identify inconsistencies; and to check the persons profile photo is valid.

Further advice is available on the ScamwiseNI website and Facebook page, or by calling Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or the police on the non-emergency number 101.
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A group of leading Irish humanitarian organisations have launched a joint-appeal calling on the Irish public, including people in Louth, to help support the thousands impacted by the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria.

Irish Emergency Alliance members Action Aid, Christian Aid, Plan International, Tearfund, Troca ire and World Vision Ireland, are responding to the crisis by fundraising to provide food, water, blankets, hygiene kits and shelter.

Irish Emergency Alliance Executive Director, Brian Casey, said: This is a time for concerted, united action. The impacts of these earthquakes has been devastating.

"In the midst of an already harsh winter, vulnerable children, families and others have been shaken to the core by the devastating earthquakes which have killed thousands in Northern Syria and Southern Turkey.

People have been left without shelter in freezing winter conditions, with humanitarian needs expected to grow in the coming days.

"Access to clean water will likely be a challenge, bringing the risk of cholera and other diseases. By joining forces we can work in a really effective way to get aid where its needed most.

World Vision Ireland CEO, Gillian Barnett, said she and her team were deeply committed to working together with the other agencies.

These earthquakes have killed thousands of people.

"Countless homes have been destroyed, leaving children, families and others devastated.

"Add to that the harsh winter conditions and the fact that people in Syria have already been suffering the effects of 12 years of civil war.

"I speak for my colleagues in every agency working together here, when I say we are humbled and honoured to be doing what we can to offer some relief in this catastrophic situation.

People need help now and theres no time to waste. World Vision has teams working directly on the ground in Syria and Turkey. Working with the other agencies puts us in a position to get vital funding to all our teams and partner organisations who are working around the clock at this harrowing time.

Trocaire CEO Caoimhe de Barra spoke of impacts on the ground and the difference that donations can make on the ground.

Peoples lives have been decimated, with the current death toll standing at over 16,000 people. The level of injury and loss on top of the loss of life is hard to process.

"Thousands of buildings, including hospitals and schools, have collapsed and infrastructure has been badly damaged.

The Irish Emergency Alliance member-NGOs and their local partners have been amongst the first responders, working with locally-led relief efforts. Its vital that we keep receiving donations so that we can provide support and goods where our teams on the ground advise the needs are most acute.

Immediate priorities are medical treatment for the injured, shelter for those who have lost their homes, heaters for safe spaces and winter kits with blankets, and warm clothes, and ensuring people have food and clean water.

"Our teams are also providing vital hygiene kits to help desperate families to stay healthy.

Bennett, Christian Aid Irelands Chief Executive, said: The vast majority of people in northwest Syria are already in desperate need of aid after years of conflict. Again and again the public dig deep to help people in their time of need but every penny makes a huge difference to support people rebuild their lives.

To donate visit irishemergencyalliance.org or call 1800 939 979.
A miracle will be required for a 58-year-old man with a lifetime of burglary and theft convictions to change his ways, a sentencing judge said.

Judge Colm Roberts imposed a nine-month sentence on David Cronin for his latest crimes.

The judge said at Cork District Court: His record is appalling and his age is very worrying.

There are not many trespassers/burglars around at his age  it is a young mans game. Is there any potential redemption in this situation?

Defence solicitor, Frank Buttimer, said:There is always hope.

The judge said that those chances were getting more limited given the offenders age.

The chances of him changing at this stage are unlikely. Something of a Divine nature is required at this stage, which is unlikely, Judge Roberts said.

Sergeant John Kelleher said the accused had 98 previous convictions and 39 of them were for burglary.

On September 25 2021 David Cronin of Deerpark House, Friars Walk, Cork, climbed the scaffold outside a property that was being renovated at Grand Parade in Cork and broke in though an upper window.

He made his way to the offices of Brittany Ferries and stole approximately 20 from a coin box. Plasterboard and glass were damaged in the break-in - 800 worth of damage in total.

He admitted that burglary and also pleaded guilty to trespassing at Cantys Garage on Copley Street, Cork, on February 14 last year.

The sentence of nine months will run concurrently with a longer sentence the accused is serving for other burglaries.
Michael Bolton

An independent Councillor in Galway has claimed locals in Gort are reaching breaking point with Irish Water after further disruption to the community this week.

Independent councillor Geraldine Donohue was speaking after sewage ran down a busy street in the town on Monday night.

A long-running foul smell that has persisted over the community over the past 12 months, one of the many issues Gort has faced when it comes to its water supply, she says.

Cllr Donohue says the community are increasingly frustrated with boiled water notices and water disruptions.

"We had the boil water notice going on for too long, and now we have the sour smell. The proper measures or resources, isn't being done," she says.

"You have businesses such as hairdressers at Christmas on the busiest week of the year that can't take in clients. You had creches that were totally frustrated, there is a limit and breaking point to what you can take."

It was confirmed last week that Irish Water has been fined 7,000 by the Environmental Protection Agency for failing to carry out upgrades to overloaded treatment plants across the county.

In a statement, Irish Water confirmed efforts are ongoing the source of the sewage issues in Gort.

It stated that on the night of February 7th, following reports of a manhole surcharging, Galway County Council immediately mobilised crews and a contractor to clear the blockage. The contractor carried out a CCTV assessment of the sewer network in the vicinity due to a suspected collapsed pipe.

Irish Water said other sources for potential odours in the town "include inadequately managed private pumping stations with septic conditions, pumping directly to the public combined sewer. Uisce Eireann, working closely with Galway County Council is committed to resolving any odour issues."
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 boat dock is seen on dry land near receding Lake Powell on September 6, 2022 at Halls Crossing, Utah. David McNew / Getty Images

By Daniel Craig McCool

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.

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.

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. 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

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.

Daniel Craig McCool: Professor Emeritus of Political Science, University of Utah.

Disclosure statement:

I know many of the people involved in the controversy regarding the future of Lake Powell and Glen Canyon.

Reposted with permission from The Conversation.
Long Beach, CAVonda Pelto, Ph.D., who has lived in Long Beach for over 60 years, has just released her second book about serial killers. Without Redemption: Creation & Deeds of Freeway Killer Bill Bonin, His Five Accomplices & How One Who Escaped Justice, ten years in making, involves the city of Long Beach in a variety of ways. A resident of nearby Downey, Bill Bonin often cruised through Long Beach in search of hitchhikers and one of his victims was left at PCH and the 710 Freeway. Pelto's first book, Without Remorse: The Story of the Woman Who Kept Los Angeles' Serial Killers Alive, came out n 2007 and covered her entire time having sessions, as a Clinical Psychologist, with serial killers and vicious criminals at LA Men's Central Jail from 1980-83

In the course of their research, Pelto and co-Author Michael B. Butler were able reconstruct Bonin's whole life and carefully analyze his 32-year psychological descent from innocent child to depraved murderer. So many places along the way may have diverted him, but that was not to be as family, friends, public institutions, mental hospitals, the court system and prisons failed to halt the inevitable fate.

During her sessions with Bonin, chronicled throughout Without Redemption, Pelto continually tries to get to the bottom of Bonin's troubled personality, but she found no evident overriding psychotic disorder aside from him being an aggressive sociopathic predator. He expressed his feelings of powerlessness as an abused child, and this is cited as the reason Bonin enjoyed having the power of life and death over his innocent victims, which were all young teenage boys.

Using official investigative documents, and Bonin's jailhouse diaries and written confessions, the authors were also able solve two 40-year-old murder mysteries and identity how one day, during the murder spree, changed everything to follow. Unlocking why March 24, 1980 is so important in the Bill Bonin story was a tedious aspect of the complicated task to create an amazingly detailed serial killer historical biography. The events chronicled in a flow chart can be seen at http://bit.ly/3ZDDKPG, it constitutes a road map of a story with an infinite number of twists and turns, what ifs and "can you believe that really happened?"

One startling and tragic fact they uncovered: During the ten-month murder spree Bonin was arrested and in custody THREE TIMES, then let go on legal technicalities and bureaucratic missteps which cost many lives.

Without Redemption Kindle on Sale for 99 Cents Till March 31, 2023

Radio Show Video of Vonda Pelto





What is Without Redemption:

The book was written on a number of parallel tracks that constantly intersect:

First, it is the most detailed historical biography ever written about Bill Bonin, the notorious Freeway Killer responsible for murdering 22 teenage boys over ten-months in 1979-80.



Second, it is a psychological roadmap which charts the evolution of Bonin's personality from abused child to sexual predator to serial killer. This is accomplished using documents from his childhood, war service, multiple California government mental health and penal institutions, witness testimony and the expertise of Clinical Psychologist Vonda Pelto, Ph.D., who had many sessions with Bonin and two of his accomplices while working in Los Angeles Men's Central Jail.



Third, it is a narrative which, using long hidden documents, reveals the inner workings of Bonin's mind, showing how he thought, felt, planned and viewed the world. The narrative displays Bonin, an abused high school dropout, cleverly manipulating lawyers, judges, doctors, social workers, friends, family, probation officers, government bureaucrats, detectives, journalists and, most tragically, the innocent victims of his rage.



Fourth, Without Redemption reveals the complex story of what happened after Bonin's final arrest, when so much was in flux and so many moving parts were swirling about. Archived investigative documents, collected from a variety of sources, brings to light a number of surprising, shocking, sad and even funny events from those ten tumultuous months from June 1980 to March 1981.



Finally, it is a book which solves two 40-year-old murder mysteries and unlocks how one day of crossroads and coincidences, in the midst of the murder spree, profoundly impacted many lives and future events.

Without Redemption Book Trailer





The most detailed bio of serial killer Bill Bonin ever written using previously hidden documents.

How childhood abuse & Vietnam War service helped create what followed.

How Bonin manipulated California judicial, mental health & prison systems for nine years before the killings.

Interviews of Bonin, Miley & Munro with Vonda Pelto, Ph.D. before, during & after his Los Angeles trial.

Bonin's jailhouse writings offer new perspective on his brutality, methods, thoughts and personality.

How & Why Bonin covered for accomplice Eric Wijnaendts, who helped him with two murders.

How & Why March 24, 1980 is a key date in the Bill Bonin story.

Without Redemption: Creation & Deeds of Freeway Killer Bill Bonin, His Five Accomplices & How One Escaped Justice, Paperback ISBN: 979-8841931249, Hard Cover ISBN: 979-8844477775. For more info go to www.WithoutRedemption.com and purchase copies at Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

Media Contact: For interviews or to request review copies contact Flotsam PR at 213-534-7292 or flotsampr@pm.me.
GREAT FALLS, Mont. - All week long, we've been sharing bits and pieces of Connor Crawn's military journey.

Connor is a Native American airmen stationed at Malmstrom Air Force Base who had to cut his hair in order to comply with Air Force regulations.

The days leading up to basic training can be filled with excitement and anticipation for many... but the day before basic training was one of the worst days for Connor Crawn.

"So, my father and I cut our hair together. I cut his braid and he cut my braid. And, you know, I was just it was awful experience, you know, I felt like a part of me died, honestly, when I lost my braid, just because it had, you know, meant so much to me and so much to my culture," Connor said

Connor is part of the Mohawk nation in the kanien'keha:ka faith, long hair represents spiritual strength and a bond to the creator.

"Certain hairstyles, for example, you know, accentuate that strength. You know, if I were to braid my hair, I have those three strands connecting me, you know, make me even stronger as an individual," Connor said.

Originally, he spoke with a recruiter about keeping his long hair and started the process for a religious accommodation.

"His recruiter worked hard for him, Michael Crawn, Connor's father, said.

But it kept pushing back his start date.

"I decided I would cut my hair and, you know, take an earlier date to leave," Connor said.

When the day came to cut his hair - his father was right by his side.

"If he had to lose his, then I was going to lose mine. And I just wanted to go and support him with everything he wanted to do. So, I wanted to go through it with him. Because as much as mine means to me, it means more," Michael said.

"I tried to get him not to. To continue it for us, but he's just... too devoted I suppose. He said I'm supporting you, we did this together and we're going to cut it together," Connor said.

Now officially an airmen, Connor completed basic training and technical training, just two obstacles he would overcome to start the religious accommodation process over.

"As soon as I got to Malmstrom Air Force Base early July, before I was even assigned to a flight anything, I went to my chaplain and I restarted the process. So, I went and I spoke to Chaplain Captain Wilson, and he was an incredible ally," Connor said

Four months of working with Chaplain Wilson and what was once a hope, is now a reality.

"After nearly two years of fighting to get a religious accommodation waiver, effective immediately as of today - my waiver request has been approved," Connor said.

That video went viral on TikTok with over 82,000 views and thousands of shares, comments and stitches.

"This is such a huge win... the more diverse representation we have in the military the stronger we can be as a force," Connor said in the video. "First I want to say congratulations to you on getting your religious accommodation pushed through... I'm active duty army and I'm going on a year and a half of my approval religious accommodation.

But before posting on tiktok - he made a phone call.

"When I called him, he answered like normal, you know, like, hey, what's up? You know, what do you need? That's like, you know, Dad, you're not gonna believe I got my waiver approved," Connor said.

"I was at work and I was just beaming. Couldn't stop smiling, just literally could not stop smiling. Went around to everybody because everybody's familiar with him at my work. They're proud. They're proud of him, what he was doing and what he has been doing in their air force... He's accomplished so much, you know, at 20 years old already," Michael said.

And those two years of never giving up is opening the doors for others who thought they would have to choose between their culture and their country.

"Keep your hair, you know, be proud of who you are, be proud of where you come from, proud of your people. You know, you know, your hair is your strength. You know, don't sever that. And, you know, if you're looking in the military, you want to join the military as a you know, as a native man, you know, it's possible, you know, put in the request, put in that accommodation request. You know, it's possible. You know, you can serve and keep your braid, Connor said.

Connor says it's incredible being able to express his heritage in uniform and is excited for what the next chapters in his life will look like if you are interested in learning how to apply for a religious accommodation, click here.

GREAT FALLS, Mont. - Initially when Connor enlisted, he talked with his recruiter to get a religious accommodation waiver to keep his hair long.

That just kept pushing my date to go to basic back and back, said A1C Crawn.

It got to the point where he made the decision to cut his hair, but he wasnt alone in this process, he also had his dad by his side.

So my father and I cut our hair together. So I cut his braid and he cut my braid, said A1C Crawn.

Honestly, one of the hardest days of my life was to cut his braid because I knew what it meant to him. And like I said, he cut mine. I cut him. And yeah, it was really hard, Michael Crawn, Connor's father, said.

In talking with his father, he said the decision to do it alongside his son was all about support.

So I wanted to go through it with him as much as mine means to me. It meant more to him. But I wanted to go through it with him, said Michael.

Where Connors journey has taken him since he cut his braid is a story youd never imagine. Join us Super Bowl Sunday as i tell you how he never gave up his pursuit to protect his country and his culture.

GREAT FALLS, Mont. - When Connor Crawn was first debating on joining the military, he started speaking with a recruiter to see if he could keep his long hair; it was a braid that went straight down the length of his spine and it meant everything to him.

"It's been called a sixth sense as well to my people. You know, it's it really is a continuation of who we are as a people, as well as our spirit," said A1C Crawn.

While he was eager to enlist...

"So my tribe is the Mohawk nation. We call ourselves the Kanien'keha:ka, and we are part of the Iroquois Confederacy. And we come from a warrior tradition. So, it is very honorable for our people to join the military and, you know, continue that military legacy," said A1C Crawn.

He still had a few reservations and was wondering if there was any way he could keep his long hair in accordance with his Kanien'keha:ka faith.

"My tribe is the Mohawk nation. We call ourselves the Kanien'keha:ka, and we are part of the Iroquois Confederacy. And we come from a warrior tradition. So, it is very honorable for our people to join the military and, you know, continue that military legacy," said A1C Crawn.

When people are first getting shipped off to basic training, it's a time filled with excitement and anticipation for what lays ahead... but for Connor, the day before basic training was one of the worst days of his life.

"I was just it was awful experience, you know, I felt like a part of me died, honestly, when I lost my braid, just because it had, you know, meant so much to me and so much to my culture... Just I really feel like I lost a piece of myself and I lost my braid," said A1C Crawn.

"One of the hardest days of my life to cut his braid because I knew what it meant to him," said Michael Crawn, Connor's dad.

But he's not letting that get to him.

Connor was stationed at Malmstrom Air Force Base in July and is a part of the security forces group and is serving as a convoy team leader.

Make sure you continue to check this article for updates throughout the week and on February 12, 2023.

GREAT FALLS, Mont. - Whether you come from a tiny town or a major city, we're all raised with a culture that helps shape who we are.

In tribal cultures, the purpose behind every ritual and practice is considered sacred.

One of their most recognizable and meaningful practices is growing out their hair and leaving it long, regardless of gender.

Many tribes believe that a person's long hair is a representation of a strong cultural identity and it is a constant reminder of their connection to the creator.

"The longer your hair is, you know, the lower it is to the ground, the more connected you are to the earth. The longer my hair is, the more spiritually strengthened I am," said Airman 1st Class, Connor Crawn

And it's not just about how long their hair is.

"Certain hairstyles, for example, accentuate that strength. If I were to braid my hair, I have those three strands connecting me, making me even stronger as an individual," said A1C Crawn.

Connor Crawn and his dad grew up in New York, close to the Canadian border and are a part of the Kanien'keha:ka, otherwise known as the mohawk nation and for them their hair means everything.

"My father and I grew a hair together and we would braid our hair every day," said A1C Crawn.

"The hair means, everything. I know it's not everything, but to some people like to me and Connor, it means everything. It's definitely a sign of strength. It's just something that unless you're native, unless you have the hair, it's just something different," said Michael Crawn, Connor's father.

This week I'll take you through Connor's journey and how his mission to serve his country all while honoring his culture came to fruition.

On February 12, you can learn more about how this Malmstrom Airman never gave up in his pursuit to represent his country all while maintaining something that is so valued by him his family and his culture.

Make sure you continue to check this article for updates throughout the week and on February 12, 2023.
Improving the quality of cotton seed and incorporating cotton development programmes into Kenyas integrated development plans can revitalise the countrys struggling textile industry, according to the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA), which recently discussed how the high potential of this sector has been hit by the undersupply of cotton.

The popularity of more durable and less expensive polyester is also to blame.

Improving the quality of cotton seed and incorporating cotton development programmes into Kenya's integrated development plans can revitalise the struggling textile industry, according to the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis, which recently discussed how the high potential of this sector has been hit by the undersupply of cotton.

In a publication discussing the status of the second-hand economy in the country, KIPPRA noted that the country has become dependent on imports of second-hand clothes, with 183,830 tonnes of such apparel being shipped in 2021.

The estimated annual consumption of cotton by the textile mills is estimated at 8,000MT (41,200 bales), and the ideal demand to meet national requirements is 26,000MT (140,000 bales), says KIPPRA. These statistics show that the high potential of the textile industry is curtailed by undersupply of cotton raw materials, it noted.

Major reasons for the undersupply, the institute added, are the constraints faced by cotton farmers, including the decline in seed cotton production, low quality of cotton seeds leading to declining yields, and relatively high costs of production due to low productivity.

Cotton growing in the country is done by small-scale farmers on land averaging one hectare (per farmer) and is mostly intercropped with other food crops, KIPPRA said. There are about 40,000 small-scale cotton farmers compared to 200,000 in the mid-1980s.

KIPPRA said the Kenya Agricultural Livestock and Research Organisation (KALRO) should be adequately funded to improve cotton seed research and development, according to a Kenyan newspaper report.

The textile industry is also facing increased business costs like high electricity expenses, and these have affected their competitiveness, KIPPRA added.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
Vietnams garment and textile enterprises are busy recruiting more workers, especially skilled ones, to fulfil orders for high-quality products, according to the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS), which forecasts that the countrys garment and textile exports will reach $45-47 billion this year despite difficulties in major global markets.

Many businesses expect the market will recover in the second or third quarter this year with orders rising again, VITAS chairman Vu Duc Giang said.

Vietnam's garment and textile enterprises are busy recruiting more workers, especially skilled ones, to fulfil orders for high-quality products, according to the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS), which forecasts that the country's garment and textile exports will reach $45-47 billion this year despite difficulties in major global markets.

Several enterprises have promptly resumed production following the long Lunar New Year (Tet) Festival last month.

Giang said global brands are preferring Vietnam due to its programmes on sustainable development, green initiatives, digital management and circular economy.

Twelve thousand workers have returned to work at the Garment 10 Corporation, which aims to earn a revenue of 4.5 trillion VND ($190.88 million) this year. It is now recruiting 800 additional workers.

Domestic garment and textile companies are also working to reduce imports and raise use of domestic raw material, according to a news agency report.

Data from the VITAS showed that the localisation of garment and textile has reached about 49 per cent, and is expected to rise to 51-55 per cent in the 2023-2025 period.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 10, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Blender Bites Ltd. (the "Company", "Blender Bites" or "Blender"), (CSE: BITE, FWB: JL4, WKN: A3DMEJ), an award winning Canadian company involved in the development and marketing of a line of premium, organic and plant-based pre-portioned frozen functional foods, announces that in 2022 the Company reached milestone annual sales, resulting in multi-million dollar revenues and is preparing for a major US launch in the year ahead.



To kick off the US launch Blender Bites has entered into a partnership agreement with KeHE Distributors, LLC ("KeHE" the "Distributor"), for distribution of its core SKU's Liquid Sunshine, Power Berry, and Green D-Tox along with its latest innovations Daily Defen-C and Tropical Glow 1-step smoothie innovations across the entire United States (the "US" or the "Nation"). KeHE is the largest, pure-play distributor of natural and organic, specialty, and fresh products in the US, and the partnership will increase the Company's exposure to an additional 20,000 point of sale outlets across the nation. It is the Company's strong opinion that such a significant increase in 'shelf presence' and point of sale outlets, compounded with KeHE's vast geographical footprint, will lead to organic growth in brand awareness, and result in exponentially higher sales revenue for the Company in the coming year.

As the Company embarks on this aggressive US expansion, Blender Bites will also actively attend tradeshows across the nation during 2023; showcasing its award-winning smoothie innovations to US consumers, a population that comprises one of the most dominating markets for smoothies and functional foods. This week, the Company kicked-off its tradeshow tour, attending the KeHE Summer Show in Nashville, Tennessee, where a number of promising conversations took place with key buyers of large retail chains across the US. The success of KeHE Summer Show has management eager, and positive about the same success and reception at upcoming tradeshows. Next on the campaign tour is attendance at the Natural Products Expo West (Expo West) to be held early March in Anaheim, California. Expo West is one of the largest natural food exhibitions in the world. The Company expects the intensity of its tradeshow presence, with an enormous audience of US buyers, distributors, suppliers and manufactures, will endure in increased and reputable partners across the country.

In addition to its tradeshow campaign, the Company has been working diligently behind the scenes with Active Marketing Group Inc. ("AMG"), its US retail broker to prepare Blender Bites for major US listings. AMG has significant reach in the US, providing the Company with exposure to upwards of 50,000 US-based retail grocery stores, including a multitude of big box stores. AMG specializing in sales and marketing, driving growth for consumer goods and manufacturers in retail markets throughout North America and has a reputation for introducing new products to the market, securing strategic shelf space, and optimizing in-store promotional activities for brand management clients, such as Blender Bites.

Another primary focus for Blender Bites in 2023 is its continued development and perfecting of its latest line of upcoming products and is set to launch other first to market, disruptive new innovations in the functional beverage space soon. The Company's pending launch of exciting new innovations will further propel Blender Bites as an industry leader in the frozen functional foods market.

"As founder and CEO, I couldn't be more proud of the successes we've had this past year. We continue to prove that our first to market innovations are in high demand with the enormous amount of interest we are seeing in both the Canadian and US markets. I truly believe that Blender Bites has found a significant gap in the market that is being filled by our clean ingredient, functional and convenient product offerings. 2023 will see our biggest growth yet along with more disruptive and first to market innovations; making us a true leader in the frozen functional food space. I am incredibly proud and excited for what lays ahead for this company," stated Chelsie Hodge, the Company's CEO and Founder.

Tropical Glow - a delicious pina colada flavored smoothie blend made of pineapple, mango and coconut with skin supporting ingredients such as Amla Berry which has been shown to naturally enhance skin tone and texture with powerful antioxidants that fight free radicals. It also contains a good source of Biotin which is a natural B vitamin; supporting skin elasticity, hair growth and nail health.



Liquid Sunshine - Give your mood a boost with the satisfying bright flavours of peach, raspberry and banana in a simple 1-step smoothie. An excellent source of D vitamins to keep you smiling, with a powerful punch from Vitamins A, C & E to support immune health. Packed with over 12 essential plant-based vitamins & minerals, this smoothie will have you walking on sunshine!

Power Berry - An energizing blend from a trio of berries gives this simple, one-step smoothie a host of powerful antioxidants and B-vitamins. Strawberry, blueberry, and blackberry are blended with over 7 superfood greens, rich in vitamins A, C & E, and over 12 plant-based vitamins & minerals. Power up your morning smoothie in one simple step!

Green D-Tox - Feel good from the inside out with this delicious and nourishing 1-step smoothie. A winning and detoxifying combination of mango, coconut and banana are blended with 7 superfood greens, 12 vitamins & minerals, and fiber-full chia seeds rich in omega 3's to support healthy digestion. Give your taste buds and health a boost!

Daily Defen-C - A bright blend of organic fruits and functional ingredients including probiotics, camu camu, and turmeric. Our daily defen-c smoothie is created to help naturally support immune system function with ingredients that are high in Vitamin A. Each serving also contains 2 billion CFU of probiotics that help to maintain digestive health.

ABOUT BLENDER BITES

Blender Bites is an award winning Canadian company involved in the development and marketing of a line of premium frozen food products with a focus on functionality. Blender Bites was founded in 2016 and was first to market in Western Canada with a pre-portioned "easy smoothie" product that is free of any unnecessary inner plastic packaging. Blender Bites products are certified organic, vegan, non-GMO, gluten free, dairy free and soy free. They contain no added sugars and are made in Canada. Blender Bites products are distributed internationally across Canada and the US, and are currently sold in over 900 stores, including Sobeys, Loblaws, Safeway, Save on Foods, Real Canadian Superstore, Whole Foods Market, Buy-Low/Nesters, IGA, Thrifty and Fresh Street.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

Blender Bites Limited

Chelsie Hodge, Chief Executive Officer

For further information, contact Blender IR Team at:

Email - investors@blenderbites.com

Telephone - 1-888-997-2055

CAUTIONARY DISCLAIMER STATEMENT

This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon several estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to general business, economic, competitive, political, and social uncertainties, and uncertain capital markets. Readers are cautioned that 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.
Quote: RacinJasonWV Originally Posted by Maam, it is the man who is letting you down, not God. God is always good even when things are tough.

For the man: maybe he had good intentions, maybe hes not good at all, maybe something drastic happened in his life suddenly Dont let this mans poor witness ruin your trust in the Lord.

Quote: aawlberninf350 Originally Posted by



If it is indeed cut that could explain the oil on the top of the engine instead of in the crankcase. Maybe.



Also looks like this boot might be cut. Worth inspecting. A closer pic of that will help.If it is indeed cut that could explain the oil on the top of the engine instead of in the crankcase. Maybe.

Quote: Wes444 Originally Posted by Excellent catch, if the boot is indeed torn it would also help partially explain the sudden loss of mileage

THANK YOU!Upon reflection, I tend to believe the man was just trying to impress those within earshot while we spoke on the phone. Still has caused me much stress as I let his witness be known as an obvious miracle to God's Glory... Having said that, who am I to doubt His Plans with reason and suspicion? Perhaps this thread is exactly where I am supposed to be!Daylight now so I will climb up to see if I can supply a picture of that area. Back when I had money, I added a grill to the front end more to use as a ladder to reach in for fluid check than to avoid collision damage. Fun story tho, once upon a time, I pushed a tree out of the road to get past it while running from a tornado!Let's review, the truck is sitting on my family's property, not stranded on the side of a road. I was only about 2 football fields away when she crapped out. about 10 minutes later she started up for me and I made the bee line back to where I have her now. (yes my truck identifies as female LOL). I am 66 years old and have been widowed for 15 years. Currently, I am in Van Zandt County Tx to assist my 87 year old mother with care for Daddy as he improves on hospice. Precious few days with him still be many! I arrived here about a month ago with intention of a 2 week stay... Funds to carry me through that time are long gone BUT there is my $200 emergency Visa gift card which I have never needed to activate. Each transaction on it will cost almost $6 and a gallon of 15/40 oil will cost $19.99 at O'Riellys.Fortunately this winter has been rather mild. When I come here, I tent camp in the yard because that is how we get along best while my assistance is available to Mother... She needs her independence without a house guest under foot and I am a cozy camper. Last spring I camped here for 6 months to help my parents with their health issues. My truck makes all that possible! So today I will find grubby clothes to wear and crawl into the engine compartment and underneath to gather new pictures that might help you guys help me. I will also try to get a ride into town for oil and will go ahead to buy the filter just in case there is a possibility to swap it out. IMAGES SOON... Waiting for the dew to dry up some... Hard frost last night.On that note, my daughter's husband is capable and here but he is a jerk and not available to even give me a smile. So there is that... Still, I am learning from these replies!I just want to say to each of you who have taken an interest in this situation, THANK YOU! GOD BLESS! Much love and respect!
Senior Chinese diplomat meets with Nicaraguan guest

Xinhua) 09:23, February 12, 2023

BEIJING, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- Wang Yi, director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, on Saturday met with Laureano Ortega, advisor on investment, trade and international cooperation at the Nicaraguan president's office.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, commended the progress China and Nicaragua have made since the resumption of diplomatic relations more than one year ago. He said that under the strategic guidance of the leaders of the two countries, cooperation between China and Nicaragua has advanced rapidly, bringing the two countries to the forefront of China-Latin America relations.

The resumption of bilateral ties conforms to the trend of history, serves the interests of the two peoples and will open up broader prospects for the all-round development of bilateral relations, said Wang.

Laureano Ortega said that Nicaragua firmly supports China's efforts to safeguard national security and territorial integrity, and opposes external interference.

Nicaragua supports the Belt and Road Initiative, the Global Development Initiative and the Global Security Initiative proposed by China, Laureano Ortega added.

(Web editor: Xian Jiangnan, Sheng Chuyi)
Welcome to my genealogy blog. Genea-Musings features genealogy research tips and techniques, genealogy news items and commentary, genealogy humor, San Diego genealogy society news, family history research and some family history stories from the keyboard of Randy Seaver (of Chula Vista CA), who thinks that Genealogy Research Is really FUN! Copyright (c) Randall J. Seaver, 2006-2021.
NEW YORK, NY, Feb. 12, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FBS, a licensed world Forex broker, is excited to invite its traders to join in the celebration of its 14th birthday with the FBS Ultimate Trading Birthday promo. The event offers the chance to win big prizes, including the grand prize of a luxury car.





Open to all traders

FBS, a world-trusted fintech company, turns 14 this year. To celebrate another great year, the broker is running the FBS Ultimate Trading Birthday promotion, turning the event into a true traders' party. Whether users are a new trader or an FBS Partner, a scalper or a swing trader, everyone is welcome to join the celebration.

The promo is available in the FBS Personal Area app and desktop version, or the FBS Trader app.

FBS Ultimate Trading Birthday will run from February 9 to March 9 to ensure that every trader of the FBS diverse and large trading community has enough time to get their reward.

Earning guaranteed rewards

FBS is making sure that no one leaves the celebration empty-handed. To get the guaranteed prize, a trader needs to collect five trading tickets, one per traded lot. Once five trading tickets are gathered, traders can choose from a variety of prizes, including cash rewards, VIP analytics, or one-on-one consultation with FBS financial analysts.

FBS Ultimate Trading Birthday can offer even more. Each of the collected tickets is a chance to win bigger rewards.

Raffle prizes for everyone

In addition to the guaranteed rewards, participants will also have the chance to win amazing prizes in the raffle. The grand prize is a LA-Class car, but there are also other valuable prizes up for grabs, including a MacBook Air 13, iPad Pro 11, and various smartphones and laptops.

The raffle winners will be randomly selected and announced on March 17, 2023, at 13:00 GMT+2. The results will be posted on the FBS website.

Don't miss out on the chance to celebrate FBS 14th birthday and win big with FBS Ultimate Trading Birthday.

About FBS

FBS is an international brand present in over 150 countries. Independent companies united by the FBS brand are devoted to their clients and offer them opportunities to trade Margin FX and s.

FBS Markets Inc.  license IFSC/000102/310

Tradestone Ltd.  CySEC license number 331/17, FCA temporary permit 808276

Intelligent Financial Markets Pty Ltd  ASIC Licence number 426359

Social Links

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/financefreedomsuccess

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/FBSforex

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Telegram: https://t.me/fbsanalytics

Media Contact

Brand: FBS

Email: support@fbs.com

Website: https://fbs.com/

SOURCE: FBS
My daughter is not a bad girl Yaa Jacksons father

Jayne Buckman-Owoo Showbiz News Feb - 12 - 2023 , 07:25

OFTEN times the way and manner young Kumawood actress, model and musician, Yaa Jackson, carries herself makes people have a very bad impression of her.

Yaa Jackson usually shows a lot of flesh in pictures she posts on social media and even though she recently became a mother, not much has changed in that area.

Graphic Showbiz caught up with her movie producer father Jackson K. Bentum who was quick to come to his daughters defense.

My daughter is not a bad girl like people think. You see, it is only when you are very popular that people talk about you so that is what is happening with my daughter.

I dont feel bad as her father when people talk about her because I know that is how showbiz is, people will definitely talk about you once you are in the limelight so I dont have any issues with that at all.

Yaa Jackson is not a bad girl and everyone who knows her up close and personal knows that, take it from me. She is only playing her role as somebody in show business, that is all there is to it. When you see her in all those skimpy outfits, she is only modeling for clothing brands because she is a model, he said.

According to Jackson Bentum, Yaa Jackson doesnt wear those kind of revealing clothes when she was out and about, You wont see my daughter in those clothes on everyday basis, it is only when she is doing photo shoots and as I stated earlier, she models for a lot of clothing lines.

Yaa Jackson is a well-brought-up child and she is very far away from the bad girl tag which has been given her by Ghanaians, she is a very well-behaved person and everyone who knows her personally can attest to that, I am not saying this because I am her father but it is the Gospel truth, he added.

Away from his daughter to the movie industry, Jackson Bentum said they(Kumawood producers) were now shooting a lot of TV series.

What we now do is TV series which we give to the television stations and that is going very well so I guess we will continue with that.

We still shoot few movies for YouTube and that is also not doing badly but the main focus for now is on the TV series for the Akan-speaking TV stations, the reception is very good so we are excited about it and motivated to do more, he stated.
Academic City Commissions 2 labs for Climate Sustainability

Yaa Kuffour Senyah Feb - 11 - 2023 , 15:56

The Academic City University College in Accra has commissioned two ultramodern laboratories to help promote green growth and create opportunities for climate entrepreneurs in the country.

The two laboratories; the Acity Sustainability laboratory, is the first-of-its-kind sustainability laboratory to be constructed in the world under the Connecting Climate Entrepreneurs (CCE) initiative and the Acity Ecosystem lab constructed by an international technology company, Arm Limited, which would build assistive robots that would improve human life.

The laboratories will work simultaneously to empower upcoming entrepreneurs in the climate space to accelerate sustainable start-ups across the globe in sectors such as agriculture and technology.

It will also help create opportunities for climate entrepreneurs through industry convenings, training programmes, investment opportunities, among others.

The initiatives of the sustainability and electronic laboratories were constructed in collaboration with the United States State Department and the Arm Limited.

At a ceremony to commission the laboratories last Thursday, the President of Academic City University College, Prof. Fred Mcbagonluri, stated that, with the effects of climate change becoming increasingly apparent with changing weather patterns resulting in rising temperatures and sea levels leading to devastating natural disasters, it was critical to find creative and sustainable solutions to these problems that were faced globally.

He said the provision of the Sustainability Lab and the Arm Lab was a testament of the universitys commitment to address these pressing issues of climate change by providing a platform for entrepreneurs, researchers and innovators to leverage and collaborate.

Prof. Mcbagonluri explained that the centre would also serve as a hub for knowledge exchange and capacity building, providing resources and support to help entrepreneurs turn their ideas into viable products and services.

Sustainability

The Special Representative for Global Partnerships at the United States State Department, Dorothy McAuliffe, who commissioned the sustainability laboratory, said the facility was created under the CCE and was launched at COP 26 in Glasgow, Scotland, in conjunction with the office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate.

In view of that, Mrs McAuliffe said the laboratory would be a place where students, developers and startups could work with industry experts to create the sustainable technology and climate businesses that would power the future of the continent and the world as a whole.

The Senior Director, Emerging Economies for Arm Limited, Stephen Ozoigbo, said the technology company was actively working to extend its laboratory to their institution in the country and the continent as they had previously done at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.
Boakye Agyarko starts presidential campaign tour from mother's home

Samuel Duodu Politics Feb - 12 - 2023 , 15:53

Boakye Agyarko, a presidential hopeful on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has started his nationwide campaign tour, starting from his mothers home at Krobo in the Eastern Region.

From there, he will move to his fathers home at Sekyere in the Ashanti Region before extending his campaign to all other areas in the country.

Agyarko is campaigning for delegates of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), to select him to lead the party as flagbearer for Election 2024.

The theme for his campaign is "Restoring Hope" and he started the tour on Friday, February 10, 2023.

The former Minister of Energy and a founding member of the NPP says starting the campaign from the Krobo land was an act of paying homage to his matrilineal home, and seek their blessings.

Mr Agyarko is known in the Krobo bloc as a true son with immense contributions towards the development of his matrilineal land.



He has been having brief meetings with the NPP Eastern regional executives and interacting with them to inform them of the details of his tour of the region.



The flagbearer hopeful will also meet the Executives and Electoral Area Coordinators of the Asuogyaman, Lower Manya Krobo, Upper Manya Krobo and Yilo Krobo constituencies.





The next stop of the campaign tour would be at his father's home to also seek their blessing.

Mr. Kwasi Agyarko, the father of Boakye Agyarko hails from Agona Jamasi in the Sekyere area of Ashanti Region.

Boakye Agyarko, when he extends the campaign to Ashanti will go to Ejisu, Juaben, Effiduase, Asokore, Mampong, Sekyere Afram Plains, Kumawu, Nsuta Kwamang Beposo and Afigya Sekyere East.



It is after these important visits to the two homes of Boakye Agyarko that he would visit the other constituencies in the country to engage delegates and share with them his vision and the need to position the NPP for victory in 2024.

This forms part of his vision which touches on the need for the party and its members to revisit the old tradition and principles in order to bring back the hope on which the party was founded, which would be a cardinal factor for victory for the NPP in the 2024 general elections.
NDC Youth endorses former President Mahama to run unopposed

Dickson Worlanyo Dotse Politics Feb - 11 - 2023 , 09:46

The Volta Youth Forum of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has called on the rank and file of the party to declare Former President John Dramani Mahama as the partys flag bearer for the 2024 Presidential election.

A statement issued and signed by the Regional Youth Organiser, Mathias Alagbo, said while all qualified party faithful had the constitutional right to contest, consensus building and compromises to rally around a winnable candidate better served the larger interest of the party.

It is our considered view that there is absolutely no need for flag bearer election but instead, the NDC should endorse John Dramani Mahama(JDM) through the necessary consultative process as the flag bearer of the NDC for the 2024 Presidential election, it said.

The statement explained that Mr Mahama needed to run unopposed because citizens were looking for a tried and tested candidate with the requisite experience and capacity to lead and reverse the socioeconomic hardships that the current administration had plunged the country into.

Spare scarce resources

President John Mahama without a doubt is the most experienced hand in Ghana today who has once led our country through difficult times and build solid economic foundations that everyone can attests to, so the other aspirants can be brought on board to play other major roles, it explained.

The forum believed that meagre resources to be expended on Presidential primary should be reserved to support the rebuilding efforts of the partys internal structures so as to give it a better fighting chance in the upcoming general election.

The statement explained that the party had to even rely largely on the former President to raise funds for the recently held National Youth and Women conference and the 10th NDC National Delegates Congress which brought a lot of financial stress on the party.

It further explained that instead of raising additional resources in these difficult economic times to transport about 347,598 branch executives from 38,622 polling stations or branches to our various constituency capitals to elect a flag bearer, as well as the huge accumulated cost of engaging the National Electoral Commission, such resources instead could be channeled to strengthen branches and prepare the party machinery for its victory 2024 project.

Endorsing President Mahama through a popular acclamation process will ,therefore, free up millions of Ghana Cedis for the party to utilise, the statement said.

Victory

The statement said anything short of absolute victory for the NDC in the 2024 Presidential and Parliamentary elections would have a debilitating effect on the party and place the future of the country in jeopardy.

In light of all that, the forum called on the partys leadership, the National Council of Elders and all interested parties in the upcoming presidential primaries to use negotiations to arrive at a consensus and unanimously endorse Mr Mahama as the flag bearer.

In the likely event that our pleas are not heeded to and His Excellency John Dramani Mahama is made to go through a primaries contest, we shall take the responsibility to mobilise the rank and file of our NDC delegates within and outside Volta to ensure JDM receives a resounding victory when the elections are called, the statement added.
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Samsung unveiled the Galaxy A14 5G earlier last month, but the company is also planning to launch a 4G version that has popped up on Thailand's NBTC.

The Samsung Galaxy A14 4G is listed on the Thai certifying authority's website with model designation SM-A145F/DSN, where "DS" denotes dual-SIM support. However, the NBTC listing doesn't reveal any specs of the Galaxy A14 4G.



Samsung Galaxy A14 4G on NBTC

Another smartphone Samsung is expected to unveil is the Galaxy M54 5G. We've been hearing about it for the past few months, and while there's no word from Samsung about it, the Galaxy M54 5G has moved a step closer to launch as it bagged Bluetooth certification. It's listed on Bluetooth SIG's website with model code SM-M546B_DS and Bluetooth 5.3.



Samsung Galaxy M54 5G gets Bluetooth certified

The Samsung Galaxy M54 5G with model code SM-M546B was spotted on Geekbench last November with Android 13, 8GB RAM, and what's likely the Exynos 1380 chip. Its leaked renders also revealed the smartphone will pack a punch-hole display and sport triple rear cameras.



Samsung Galaxy M54 5G's leaked renders

You can expect to hear more about the Samsung Galaxy A14 4G and Galaxy M54 5G in the coming weeks.

Source 1 (in Thai), Source 2
This week saw a few interesting announcements. Our hottest story of the week was Xiaomi's confirmation that the Xiaomi 13 series is launching globally on February 26 at the Mobile World Congress. That means the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2-powered Xiaomi 13 Pro and Xiaomi 13 are coming to a store, possibly, near you.

Xiaomi unveiled the Poco X5 Pro alongside the Poco X5. The Pro brings a Snapdragon 778G SoC, a 6.67-inch 1080p AMOLED with 120Hz refresh rate, a 108MP main camera, and a 5,000mAh battery with 67W charging. The Poco X5 has a Snapdragon 695, a 6.67-inch 1080p 120Hz AMOLED, a 48MP main camera, and a 5,000mAh battery with 33W charging.

The base 6/128GB Poco X5 starts from $250/250, while the base X5 Pro starts from $300/300.

OnePlus unveiled a couple of phones, its first-ever tablet, earbuds, a new TV, and a keyboard. The OnePlus Pad seemed the most interesting - it has an 11.61-inch 7:5 aspect screen and a Dimensity 9000 chip. The tablet will arrive in Europe, India, and North America in April but the price is still anyone's guess.

The OnePlus 11 began its international rollout. We already knew the specs, so we won't rehash them here. The OnePlus 11 will be available in North America, Europe, as well as in the Middle East for the first time in the company's history.

Meanwhile, the OnePlus 11R launched in India with a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip, 100W charging, and a 40,000 starting price for the 8/128GB model.

Realme unveiled the GT Neo 5 with insane charging speeds. There are two models - one with 240W charging, and another with 'only' 150W. Charging aside, it's the same underlying blueprint - a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, a 6.74-inch 144Hz AMOLED, and a 50MP main camera. The 240W model has a 4,600mAh battery that will recharge all the way to 100% in under 10 minutes, per Realme. The 150W model has a 5,000mAh unit.

Those are the key stories of the week but the entire list of hot topics is below. See you around!



Xiaomi 13 series global launch set for February 26 The Xiaomi 13 and 13 Pro were unveiled last December in China.





Xiaomi unveils Poco X5 Pro with Snapdragon 778G, Poco X5 joins The new Pro also upgrades the display (10-bit) and camera performance compared to last year's Poco X4 Pro. The vanilla X5 sticks to the Snapdragon 695 chip.





Samsung and SKT unveil Galaxy S23 Ultra BMW M Edition in South Korea The exclusive edition is limited to 1,000 units and comes with a treasure trove of BWM paraphernalia.





Huawei Watch D review Huaweis first wearable with blood pressure measurement.





Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra undergoes durability test and teardown The S23 Ultra is more durable and easier to repair than its predecessor.





Apple considers iPhone Ultra for 2024 release It will sit above the Pro models and be even more expensive.





OnePlus 11R launches in India with Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, 100W fast charging Yes, it's the local version of the Ace 2. Also, it's similar to the 10T, though it has a sharper display than it. The battery/charger combo is different too.





Android 14 developer preview 1 released You can test it out on Pixel 4a 5G - Pixel 7 series devices.





Vivo X90 Pro in for review Vivo's Pro phone with a 1-inch main sensor is at the office.





Watch the global OnePlus 11 and 11R launch We also expect a keyboard, OnePlus Pad tablet, new TVs, and the Buds Pro 2.





OnePlus Buds Pro 2 review A well-designed, comfortable pair of earbuds with decent battery life and good latency performance with OnePlus phones.





Latest OnePlus Pad teaser shows stylus and keyboard accessories Take a look at the OnePlus Pad in action with its optional accessories.


Galaxy S23 pre-orders end next week as Samsung transitions into regular sales on Friday. Judging by last weeks poll, many of you wont wait until the 17th to get one  the S23 series is off to a strong start.

Two things happened in Europe this generation  local units finally ship with Snapdragon instead of Exynos but Samsung raised the prices. India got Snapdragon last year too but prices prices are higher for the S23 and S23 Ultra (the plus model is actually a tad cheaper).



Samsung Galaxy S23 series infographics

Was the pricing an issue? Voters were sensitive about the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra price. Few people doubt the quality of the phone, but some just cant afford it. For the small fraction of voters who wanted to see the reviews first before deciding, our S23 Ultra review went live on Saturday.

The new Ultra is not perfect, its design was something that it was criticized for  it looks like the old Ultra. Also, some think that the camera improvements arent big enough for S22 Ultra owners to upgrade. Still, last years model gets good trade-in value if you do decide to upgrade. Plus, there are plenty of people with older S Ultras or different phones altogether.

The prices of the Samsung Galaxy S23+ and its smaller siblings werent as much of a concern with the too pricey option falling to third place. Interestingly, even fewer people felt the need to wait for reviews (but if you do, check out ours).

Going by the poll results, the price of the Samsung Galaxy S23 was even less of a concern than even the S23+. There arent many options in this size category and while we did see mentions of the Zenfone 9, the iPhone 14/14 Pro seems to be the more popular alternatives. Read our review for more on the phone itself and its competition.

Speaking of alternatives, it didnt escape peoples notice that the Google Pixel 7 duo costs less than the Galaxys. Besides price savings, those give people a first-party experience with the beloved Gcam. Theres also the One UI vs. Pixel UI debate too.

The pricier iPhone models are an option as well, though here the choice of platform weighs heavily on the decision  your Android workflow and habits may be hard to switch over to iOS and vice versa.

But among those sticking to Android or looking to return to the platform, Samsungs Galaxy S23 series will be a popular choice. If you want one, you have one more week to score the pre-order goodies.
Guam's faithful have the rest of the week to pay homage to the International Pilgrim Virgin statue of Our Lady of Fatima, which is on Guam for the fifth pilgrimage to the island in the last 17 years.

The statue, which was last on Guam in 2017, will travel next to the Philippines, according to a press release from the Archdiocese of Agana. It is the statue's first overseas trip since the pandemic.

The statue represents the Blessed Virgin Mary and her miraculous appearance to three children in Fatima, Portugal in 1917. The Pilgrim Virgin statue of Our Blessed Mother has traveled the world since 1947 as part of a worldwide mission of peace.

The statue arrived on Guam on Friday and was taken to St. Anthony Catholic Church in Tamuning, where an overnight vigil took place.

Pilgrimage schedule

Sunday, Feb. 12 Prayer Intention: From the loss of awareness of good and evil, deliver us.

Malojloj, San Isidro : 7 a.m. arrival of statue, rosary, Holy Mass; noon departure.

: 7 a.m. arrival of statue, rosary, Holy Mass; noon departure. Talo'fo'fo', San Miguel : 1 p.m. arrival of statue, rosary, Holy Mass; 6 p.m. departure.

: 1 p.m. arrival of statue, rosary, Holy Mass; 6 p.m. departure. Chalan Pago, Our Lady of Safe Journey: 6:30 p.m. arrival of statue, rosary, Holy Mass; midnight departure.

Monday, Feb. 13 Prayer Intention: From sins against the Holy Spirit, deliver us, deliver us.

Agana Heights, Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament: 8 a.m. arrival of statue, rosary, Holy Mass; 4:30 p.m. departure.

8 a.m. arrival of statue, rosary, Holy Mass; 4:30 p.m. departure. Sinajanam St. Jude: 5 p.m. arrival of statue, rosary, Holy Mass; midnight departure.

Tuesday, Feb. 14 Prayer Intention: Accept, O Mother of Christ, this cry laden with the sufferings of all individual human beings, laden with the sufferings of whole societies.

Mongmong, Our Lady of the Waters: 7 a.m. arrival of statue, rosary; 11 a.m. Holy Mass; noon departure.

Wednesday, Feb. 15 Prayer Intention: The sacrifice of the men and women of the armed forces to defend and protect life.

Yona, Saint Francis: 8 a.m. arrival of statue, rosary, Holy Mass; 2 p.m. departure.

8 a.m. arrival of statue, rosary, Holy Mass; 2 p.m. departure. Ordot, San Juan Bautista: 3 p.m. arrival of statue, rosary, Holy Mass; 8 p.m. departure.

Thursday, Feb. 16 Prayer Intention: The youth and young adults of our communities Prayer Intention: The unborn and victims of abortion and stem-cell researched experiments

Maina, Purification of Our Lady : noon arrival of statue, rosary, Holy Mass; 4 p.m. departure.

: noon arrival of statue, rosary, Holy Mass; 4 p.m. departure. Mangilao, Santa Teresita: 5 p.m. arrival of statue and rosary, 7 p.m. Holy Mass; midnight departure.

Friday, Feb. 17 Prayer Intention: Those imprisoned by drugs, alcohol and other addictions

Guam Memorial Hospital: 9 a.m. arrival; noon departure.

Saturday, Feb. 18 Prayer Intention: For increase of vocations to the priesthood, religious life and diaconate.

Tamuning, Saint Anthony: all day.

Sunday, Feb. 19: Departure to Philippines. Prayer Intention: For the respect of life from the moment of conception to its natural death.
The crew of the USCGC Myrtle Hazard transfers two mariners rescued from the water about halfway between Guam and Rota midday on Feb. 9, 2023, to a Station Apra Harbor 45-foot Response Boat-Medium for further transport to shore.
Ana Guadalupe, 13, the 2022 Scripps Regional Spelling Bee champion, receives a certificate and trophy from pronouncer Bob Kelley after the competition at the Tiyan High School Gym on March 12, 2022.
Sheila Stumpf, a 77-year-old living on $600 a month from Social Security, struggles daily to afford rent, bills, gas and most importantly food.

Federal food assistance would be a much-needed lifeline, but a law on Guam means her felony drug possession conviction from 16 years ago bans her from assistance.

Back then she was sentenced to 30 days behind bars, probation and  because of the law  a lifetime ban from federal food assistance.

She has been clean and sober since her conviction.

Im struggling right now with the price of food going up, and I cant get food stamps, she said.

After paying rent and utilities for her low-income senior housing unit in Summer Town Estates in Dededo, she has only $250 left a month for food.

To help residents with a drug felony in their past afford food, Sen. William Parkinson has introduced a bill seeking to reverse this ban for life, which drug treatment specialists say will help people work toward getting clean and reduce recidivism.

Turning her life around

In 2007, Stumpf served 30 days in the Department of Corrections and was given five years probation.

After she received her sentence, she took the first steps toward turning her life around by deciding to enter the Oasis Empowerment Center treatment program to stop her drug use.

Her probation ended after two years when she proved she was clean. She has maintained her sobriety to this day.

Despite becoming sober and working at the center for seven years, Stumpf cannot enroll in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program because of the federal Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996.

The act puts a lifetime ban on public assistance for those convicted of drug felonies. People convicted of murder, rape and other violent felonies are not similarly banned.

I think it has a lot to do with people relapsing, because they are unable to get help with food and when you are living day to day it can be easy to give up, said Stumpf.

The law allows states and territories to opt out of this ban, and 49 states have either removed the act entirely or changed it to allow someone to receive SNAP if they have completed a substance use recovery program or other conditions.

It doesnt help anybody

South Carolina and Guam are the only two jurisdictions in the United States which have kept the lifetime ban.

Really it doesnt help anybody, because if we deny them pathways to become productive members of society, it just pushes them toward recidivism and committing the same crime again, said Parkinson.

This inspired him to introduce Bill 20-37 in January to try and reverse the lifetime ban.

Im hopeful, and would be overcome with joy if it could happen, because I desperately need help, said Stumpf.

Parkinson said the ban not only hurts offenders, but their family and children as well.

Lifting the law is a way to help the community that doesnt use any local funds.

For every person that we get on SNAP, frankly thats more federal dollars coming to Guam, he said.

Athena Duenas, substance abuse program supervisor for New Beginnings program at the Guam Behavioral Health and Wellness Center, said people can be devastated to learn that even after completing treatment and maintaining sobriety, they are banned from SNAP for life.

Former felons already have trouble getting jobs and stable affordable housing. Being banned from SNAP can be one more pressure point that leads them to slip back into drugs and crime.

A lot of people coming out of recovery and treatment have a different mindset, so they need to be given every opportunity to succeed, and this is one of the ways they can at least sustain themselves as they reenter the community, said Robert Dames, a Guam Behavioral Health and Wellness Center chemical dependency treatment specialist II for the Residential Substance Abuse Treatment program at the Department of Corrections.

Valerie Reyes, director of the Salvation Army Lighthouse Recovery Center said she supports the bill and, if passed, would like to see the requirement that a drug treatment program is completed to again be eligible for SNAP.
An unidentified man was killed Sunday when he was crossing the street at the ITC intersection, according to Guam Police Department spokeswoman Officer Berlyn Savella.

A motorist in the middle eastbound lane struck the pedestrian, who was crossing from north to south in the crosswalk, Savella said.

The vehicle came to a controlled stop on the outer eastbound lane just after the pedestrian crosswalk on the east side of the intersection, she said.

Guam Fire Department units were called to the scene near the TakeCare building at 2:52 p.m., according to GFD spokesman Firefighter Nick Garrido.

CPR was conducted on the elderly man as he was taken to Guam Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

This is the second traffic fatality of year, Savella said.

On Tuesday, the driver of a Nissan Pathfinder was killed when his vehicle collided with a trash truck on Route 15 in Mangilao.
Dave Lotz is a vocal advocate for protecting Guams unique heritage; a knowledgeable and long-time hiking enthusiast and environmental advocate; and critic of inept governments. He has been a resident of Guam since 1970 and retired from the Guam Department of Parks and Recreation, Andersen AFB Environmental Flight and the National Park Service.
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Conserving Carolina announces five spring hikes

A March 17 hike on Foothills Trail along Laurel Fork Creek will give hikers a look at Oconee Bells in bloom. [CONSERVING CAROLINA PHOTO]

Conserving Carolina invites the community to enjoy the work that conservation organizations have done over the years to preserve our areas natural resources.

These special places not only provide important habitat for native flora and fauna but also provide the public with the benefit of recreational opportunities such as walking, hiking, mountain biking, birding, botanizing, solitude and more. The series will offer an opportunity to enjoy the spring season through five guided hikes taking place every other Friday.

Here are upcoming hikes:

March 3, Mountain Bridge Wilderness Area in Upstate South Carolina, a 5.6-mile, moderate, out and back hike along the Pinnacle Pass and Naturaland Trust trails to view Moonshine Falls. Hikers will have to cross Matthews Creek using a cable crossing (one cable for your feet and one cable for your hands). This is the easiest way to cross the creek, but rock hopping and wading may be possible.

March 17, Jocassee Gorges Management Area, a 7.1-mile hike on Foothills Trail along Laurel Fork Creek to the 80-foot Laurel Fork Falls. This out-and-back hike is of moderate difficulty, with some wet crossings, and will offer the opportunity to see Oconee Bells (Shortia galacifolia) in bloom. The discovery of this rare plant was made by French botanist, Andre Michaux, and became his most important find.

March 31, Pinnacle Mountain (Long Ridge) in Table Rock State Park in South Carolina. The 5.5-mile, moderate hike will traverse areas affected by fires in the fall of 2016 and lead hikers to a granitic bald where, in the late 1990s, more than 600 prehistoric petroglyphs were discovered. The petroglyphs are believed to be created by the Hopewell culture and pre-date the Cherokee. They are thought to be between 1,500 and 3,500 years old. On March 22 at the Etowah Library, Conserving Carolina will host a free lecture about the site by Dennis Chastain, a noted naturalist, historian and outdoor writer. The talk is called Native American Rock Carvings of the Carolina Mountains. Then, on May 23, Chastain will join the Landrum Library's Speaker Series to present Cherokee of the Carolinas.

April 14, Nature Conservancys Blue Wall Preserve, a 6.8-mile, moderately strenuous  a 1,000-foot climb over one mile  out-and-back hike along the Blue Wall Escarpment. This hike offers beautiful mountain views, ponds, streams, forests and a waterfall. An April 18 Landrum Library Speaker Series talk by Kristen Austin, Upstate Conservation Director for the Nature Conservancy, will focus on the Blue Wall Preserve.

April 28, Hickory Nut Gorge, an N.C. Year of the Trail hike celebrates trails and outdoor recreation in North Carolina. A 5.6-mile, moderate, out-and-back hike shows off Conserving Carolinas newest trail, Strawberry Gap. The hike will take participants past Ferguson Peak and up to Blue Ridge Pastures, offering spectacular views of Hickory Nut Gorge.

* * * * *

Space is limited and registration is required. To register and for more information, click here. Conserving Carolina, the Hendersonville-based land trust, works to protect, restore and inspire appreciation of nature. Learn more and become a member at conservingcarolina.org.
Veteran Spotlight: Navy Veteran Rick O'Neill

PITTSFIELD, Mass.  Rick O'Neill served his country in the Navy as an aviation mechanic, third class from 19671971. The Pittsfield native enlisted at the age of 19.

"I worked on stock cars, helping a guy named Walter Pollart. Turns out he was a

Navy recruiter," he said with a laugh.

He did his basic training at Great Lakes, Ill., and offered this: "It was pretty good ... they break you down to build you up. Lots of hurry up and wait ... pretty good experience."

After basic, O'Neill was assigned to Squadron VAW 121 in Norfolk, Va., as an aircraft mechanic/plane captain.

"Made sure planes were ready to fly for the pilots 24/7," he said.

He left for Vietnam in March 1968 on the USS Intrepid and would return in February 1969.

"There was some anticipation, some excitement, working on the flight deck of a carrier is highly

dangerous," he remembered. "I got blown down the flight deck a few times. First instinct is to get up but you really need to lay flat until the jet or prop blast is turned in a different

direction."

I asked what the holidays were like. He said it depended on the flying schedule of flying.

"We flew 18 hours a day and every third day you had a watch or duty responsibility. We worked two 12-hour shifts," he said. "I preferred night flying as there weren't many officers around, but it was still extremely dangerous. I spent my 21st birthday (Christmas) on watch in Vietnam."

I asked O'Neill if he was ever afraid and he responded with this. "At some point, yes, fighter jets would come in and hit with such force that machine guns would go off. One time a plane landed hard and his bomb fell off. A Marine rolled it off the side of a carrier," he said. "Being launched off the flight deck on a prop plane was quite scary. It doesn't go fast down the flight deck then

drops 15-20 feet off the carrier.

"We had a very, very good relationships with our pilots  they had to trust us  even the officers would come in and hang with us in our compartments."

He shared a somewhat humorous story.

"I was in charge of X Division, in charge of the hangar, barracks and plane maintenance. Lots of guys that worked for me were higher ranks. I was working and a senior officer comes by and gets upset that I didn't salute him. I apologized profusely because we had different guys come and go every week," he remembered. "Now my CO comes by and says he needs me to fly with him to Ohio to see his sick father, asks me what's the problem with the senior officer and I said

he's upset because I forgot to salute him. He turns to the officer and says, 'don't worry about it.O'Neill's got more time in the shitter than you!'"

His greatest accomplishment?

"Doing my job to the best of my ability and making the friendships I did. About five of us still keep in touch on a regular basis, still really feel for those guy's that fought in-country," O'Neill said. "Even though it was dangerous with bombs and fuel, we never had people shooting at us. We got to sleep in a warm rack and got three squares a day. I admire those guys that were boots on the ground."

He and his wife of 27 years, Jackie, have five children.

Aviation Mechanic 3rd Class Rick O'Neill, thank you for your service to our great country and welcome home.
A Covid hero, praised by the Queen for his work helping vulnerable families, is to be deported from the UK in a matter of weeks after his appeal to stay was rejected. 42-year-old Vimal Pandya lost a hearing at the immigration tribunal recently and is now said to be in talks with his lawyers for a way forward.

vimal pandya

What is happening with Vimal?

Vimal travelled to the UK from his native India in 2011 on a study visa but his college's right to sponsor foreign students was revoked by the Home Office three years later - putting his future in jeopardy.

UK Border Force officials informed him that the college at which he was enrolled had lost its right to sponsorship, but neither the college nor the Home Office had reportedly informed him of this. Then without access to his original passport and other documents he faced an uphill struggle to address the issue.



Since then, Vimal, who lives in Rotherhithe, south London, has spent the last nine years and thousands of pounds fighting to remain in the UK.

vimal

Was hailed as a Covid hero

During the pandemic, Pandya was employed as a local shopkeeper and is said to have worked tirelessly by dedicating every waking hour to ensure those in self-isolation during the national lockdown received regular food and essential supplies.



Despite being faced with deportation, the selfless shopkeeper became a pillar of the community during the first Coronvirus lockdown, helping more than 50 families with free food deliveries and emotional support. His efforts were recognised by the Queen's personal representative in Greater London, who wrote to Vimal on Her Majesty's behalf to thank him.

But now he has just a matter of weeks left before he is forced to fly back to India, after a tribunal hearing ruled the 'public interest in immigration control' outweighs his position as a pillar of the community, with a judge saying Vimal had been working in the UK 'illegally for many years'.

vimal pandya

Locals supporting him

The Home Office's decision to deport Vimal sparked outrage in his local community and nationwide, with hundreds of people attending demonstrations to support him and an online petition to reinstate his visa gaining more than 175,000 signatures.

We are devastated. He is devastated. But we will not give up the fight, if any path forward can be found, the residents said in a Change.Org petition update last week.

Vimal has always shown how much he cares about the Rotherhithe community where he's lived for 11 years. So many of us have benefited from his help and support over the years, which is why we are fighting to stop him being unjustly deported, they say.

For more on news and current affairs from around the world please visit Indiatimes News.


In a shocking incident, a mob in eastern Pakistan stormed a police station on Saturday and killed a man under custody, who was accused of blasphemy, police said, in the latest incident of religion-linked violence in the Islamic republic.

The country has seen numerous cases of vigilante action by mobs against people accused of blasphemy, one of the highest profiled ones being the murder of a Sri Lankan national, a garment factory manager, in 2021.

Geo News

Stripped him naked, dragged him onto streets, beat him to death

The violent mob on Saturday dragged a man from the police station at Warburton, Nankana Sahib, about 80 km from Lahore, and took custody of Waris Issa, who was arrested for alleged desecration of the holy book, stripped him naked, and dragged him into the streets before beating him to death and then attempted to set his body on fire.

Videos shared on social media showed hundreds of youngsters besieging the police compound, with one man scaling a tall gate using a ladder and opening its lock. The video showed the man being dragged through streets by his legs, stripped of his clothes and battered by sticks and metal rods.

A mob lynched a person, who was arrested by police on #blasphemy charges, after attacking a police station in Nankana Sahab, Punjab, #Pakistan pic.twitter.com/qPR2g72Pqs  Mubashir Zaidi (@Xadeejournalist) February 11, 2023





Cops escaped to scene to save their lives

As the mob was lynching the man  who was put behind bars for alleged blasphemy  Station House Officer (SHO) Warburton Feroze Bhatti and other police personnel escaped the scene to save their lives, reported Geo News.

Residents of the area claimed that the man  who had returned after spending two years in jail  used to practice witchcraft by pasting his ex-wifes picture on holy papers. They said news of the alleged crime outraged residents and hundreds of them later surrounded the police station, demanding the accused be handed over to them, reported Voice of America.

Total madness!!! An angry mob attacked the police station in Nankana Sahib. Reportedly an accused of blasphemy was killed and body burnt by the mob. Apparently police was unable to control the situation. pic.twitter.com/1kdNGFmqro  Shiraz Hassan (@ShirazHassan) February 11, 2023

Pak PM ordered action

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has ordered action against those involved. He also questioned why the police failed to stop the violent mob and directed the Inspector General of police in Punjab to ensure law and order in the district.

"The rule of law should be ensured. No one should be allowed to influence the law," Sharif emphasised. Punjab IGP Usman Anwar suspended DSP Nankana Circle Nawaz Virk and SHO Warburton Feroze Bhatti from service.



For more on news and current affairs from around the world please visit Indiatimes News.
The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has just released A Stronger NSW, its policy recommendations for the upcoming NSW state election. In this episode of IB Talk, Andrew Hall, the ICAs CEO, explains why hes calling for the next state government to drop the Emergency Services Levy (ESL). Hall also says the ICA wants a faster transition to electric cars but more done to stop dangerous battery fires at homes and in charging stations.
The abolition of the emergency services levy is key to this: The next NSW Government must find a fairer way to fund emergency services without having the burden fall directly on insurance policyholders, he said. At a time when adequate insurance cover is more important than ever, home insurance customers in NSW are paying the most tax in Australia, and this is leading to lower levels of insurance when compared to other states.
Answers

Effect of Concrete Components on the Performance of High-efficient Water Reducing Agent

From April the French government will reduce fuel taxes slightly to ease the burden on consumers.

Warned of possible energy shortages in France by the end of the year and called on the French to conserve electricity and gas from now on, saying that if nothing was done, The energy situation will be tough this winter. Some experts say that there are two main reasons for France's energy crisis: first, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine affected the gas market and caused supply tension; The second is a safety review of France's newest nuclear power plant, which may lead to a reduction in output this year. In order to alleviate the energy crisis, the whole French society needs to be mobilized, whether it is the industrial sector, the tertiary sector or every French citizen. Now it is urgent. Rising fuel prices may also have an impact on shipments of the concrete water reducer.

Concrete is a mixture of a graded aggregate, sand, water, and cement. It is necessary to study the influence of concrete components on the effect of the high-efficient superplasticizer in order to give full play to their due effect.

Graded aggregate and sand in concrete can be collectively referred to as sand and stone, which has almost no effect on the efficient water reducing agent. From the action mechanism of the efficient water reducing agent, it can be known that the efficient water reducing agent mainly acts on cement, and then affects the properties of concrete. Therefore, it is an important direction to study the influence of cement on the performance of high-efficient superplasticizers.

The research shows that the properties of cement, such as composition, fineness, and particle shape, have a certain influence on the performance of superplasticizers.

Effect of concrete composition on the performance of high-efficient water reducing agent

It is found in the experiment that the plasticizing effect of slag cement is better than that of ordinary cement when the content of the superplasticizer is constant. Slag cement slag existing in the small particles, in the process of mixing, contributes to high-efficient water reducing agents and a good contact with water, cement, compared with the ordinary cement, slag cement in favor of the circulation of the high-efficient water reducing agent and uniform distribution, more conducive to play a role of the corresponding high-efficient water reducing agent, intuitive performance the plasticizing effect of slag cement is better than that of ordinary cement.

Effect of cement particle size on the action capacity of superplasticizer

It is found that the particle size of cement has a great influence on the performance of superplasticizer. Under the condition of keeping the other technological conditions and components unchanged, the smaller the particle size of cement, the more efficient water reducing agent can play its performance; On the contrary, the bigger the particle size of cement, the worse the plasticizing effect of the efficient water-reducing agent on cement. From the microscopic point of view, the smaller the cement particle size, the more cement particles per unit volume, the larger the specific surface area, and the more full contact with the efficient water reducing agent, the more conducive to the performance of the efficient water reducing agent.

Experimental data show that when the content of superplasticizer is 1%, the fineness of cement is larger, the efficiency of superplasticizer is more fully played, and the fluidity of cement slurry is better. But when the content of superplasticizer is less than 0.3%, the promotion effect of cement fineness on superplasticizer is almost nonexistent.

Effect of cement particle shape on the action ability of superplasticizer

Cement particle shape on the performance of high-efficient water reducing agent role ability is, after mixing cement, cement particles of different shapes, the flocculant produced condensed structure size and difficulty level of each are not identical, cement slurry liquidity difference is bigger, the effect of the high-efficient water reducing agent to join the environment is different, the beneficial effects are different, will affect the ability to function.

The results show that the effect of the superplasticizer is stronger when the cement particle shape is gravel than when the cement particle shape is pebble. It can be understood that when cement particles are mixed at any time, it is easier to form a flocculation structure. The formation of flocculation structure is more stable and the structure is more continuous, which is conducive to the efficient water reducing agent playing its own effect. And the flocculation structure composed of cement particles in the shape of pebbles is easy to collapse, and the continuity of Xuning structure is not high. Even if the efficient water reducer is not added, part of the free water will be divergent and added to the cement slurry mixing, so that the ability of the efficient water reducer cannot be fully played out.

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We accept payment via Credit Card, T/T, West Union, and Paypal. Trunnano will ship the goods to customers overseas through FedEx, DHL, by air, or by sea.





According to Reuters, U.S. Treasury officials said they would discuss with G7 leaders pricing caps and tariffs on Russian oil as an alternative to the embargo, which would keep the market supplied, limit price spikes, and reduce Russian revenues.

The EU foreign ministers' meeting was held in Brussels. The meeting failed to agree on the sixth round of sanctions, including an oil embargo on Russia, because of objections from Hungary.

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy said at a press conference after the meeting, that the meeting failed to reach an agreement on the final adoption of the sixth round of sanctions, the permanent representatives of member states to the EU will continue to discuss. The foreign ministers faced similar difficulties trying to reach an agreement on an oil ban. He said Hungary's position was based on economic rather than political concerns.

Hungary is highly dependent on Russia for energy, getting more than 60 percent of its oil and 85 percent of its natural gas from Russia.

A few days ago, the European Commission submitted the sixth round of proposed sanctions against Russia, including a total ban on Russian oil imports by the end of this year. Hungary immediately objected and said it wanted substantial compensation from the EU to offset its loss from giving up Russian oil.

The concrete water reducer price is predicted to increase in the next few days, due to geopolitical factors.

Inquiry us
The sound of silence. For some its bliss. For others hell. But in the workplace, quiet can mean troubles brewing. Quiet firing on the part of bosses who demoralise workers into resigning. Quiet quitting on the part of staff intending to flee.

Nobody envies the quiet quitters or the constructively dismissed. But we all know them, and they tend to have one thing in common:Theyre unlikely to be engaged in the workplace.

According to Gallup's State of the Global Workplace: 2022 Report, employees who are not engaged or actively disengaged, cost the world $7.8 trillion in lost productivity  a figure equivalent to 11% of global GDP. Figures representing the negative impact on corporate margins are easily measured. As for the mental toll on the workers concerned, we can only guess.

How far progressive organisations will go to engage staff is an ever-shifting phenomenon. At Lumon Industries, office employees are sometimes rewarded with a Waffle Party. This isnt what you might think.

The workplace reward involves a prize-winning employee donning a mask of the Lumon founders face, while engaging in a carnal encounter of sorts with a quartet of others. This is weird, of course. But thats the point. It reflects the company culture and the imagination of the writers behind Apple TV+s Severance show.

Chances are, bosses you and I know don't go that far to engage staff. But most organisations use events as an employee engagement tool, according to Paul Davis, CEO of The Davis Agency.

This is something with which he is professionally familiar. He creates events for some of the biggest brands across the globe. His glittering client list reflects the flair, prowess and business acumen of him and his team, as does the recent opening of their newest branch in Austin, USA.

Announcing the opening of the first US base for Davis Events in Austin, Texas, are: Julie Sebode, project director, Paul Davis, CEO of Davis Events, and Caitriona Bairead, account director. Photo: Jason Clarke

Engagement, he says, is about allowing staff to have a sense of independence, while connecting to the companys culture.

Asked how production line workers and others whose jobs are largely task-based can feel a sense of independence, he replies: That does require different skill sets and ways of managing the set up. But nonetheless, its still about a community of people that work for the company. They can bring their own sense of identity, ethics and culture into that workplace.

As for what we learn from Americans and what they learn from us in relation to employee engagement, Davis says: US organisations developed the concepts of company values and company culture. With the growth of multinationals here, this spread to Ireland and across Europe.

This all taps into employee events. So when we are running those, often  even if its for an American multinational  they will be about supporting local causes that feel connected to, while also supporting the community theyre in.

It could be the guys from a multinational out cleaning the streets, or teaching maths in a school in their locality, on team-building days.

Recalling the wisdom of an American boss who heads up a multinational tech company, he says: He has a test to see if people bring the culture back to the kitchen. Where he works, everyone is expected to clean up after themselves. Even the really highly paid. For him, its critical that everyone is treated equally.

Davis says company culture helps to build a community and bring people into that community. It tends to be about authenticity, honesty and transparency. Its also about getting involved in Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG), so people can support causes they care about.

Asked why Irish companies tend to do so well in the US, Davis replies: Its because theyre known to be good with the human touch; good at humanising what might otherwise be a bit awkward.

Human is a word Davis uses often as we talk, and always in a positive way. This is not surprising. He seems kind by nature, so it makes sense that hes the events expert of choice for so many enterprises, particularly in diversity and inclusion campaigns.

Asked what engages employees, Davis replies: Really good face-to-face events and activities that bring people together. Also, ESG, diversity and inclusion. So people can have their individual identity brought into and supported in the workplace. This is really important for employees, because it wasn't always that way.

Hes right. Its commonplace now for corporates to ensure the G in ESG includes a diverse workforce and an inclusive work culture, while striving to reflect, support and engage their communities, clients and workers.

Davis and his team regularly work on campaigns and other supportive events for a wide range of different groups within client organisations: That could be within the LGBTQ+ or any diverse or ethnic community, he says.

Or it might be about seasonal celebrations for minorities within a large company. Often, theres a budget set aside for this, and somebody like ourselves is brought in to help deliver and develop activities around those to support a minority, fringe or other culture.

This is something that has been important in the US and other countries for a long time. But it is really important now in Ireland. Its understood that its good to allow workers to support their own personal causes, so long as that isnt offending anybody else.

Explaining then how workers also engage with a companys causes, he says: ESG staff can get involved in delivering on the environmental sustainability promises that a company might make. Also on the social, which are likely to include a culture of diversity and inclusion culture. In that way, ESG is an important and interesting space for employees to get involved, here, in the same way that American companies do.

Multinational tech and pharma companies based around Ireland don't feel like foreign companies, because they are connected to the local community.

Davis believes this is because engagement with communities both in the workplace and in the localities in which companies are based, is something that comes more naturally to Irish people and Irish businesses. We have taken this on with gusto and we do it really well, he says.

We do for sure and its to our credit. But the question remains: why is it that according to Gallups State of the Global Workplace: 2022 Report, the employment engagement figure for the US and Canada is 33%, compared with 11% for Ireland?

Susan Elliot, employee engagement expert and founder of susanelliott.ie.

In answering that question, employee engagement expert, Susan Elliott, says its because the Americans and Canadians are doing something right.

But then, they were always doing something right, Susan says. Perhaps because they were already quite geographically spread, they were always a bit better at this.

We have a lot of SMEs in Ireland, where everyone knows the CEO and feels very connected, she says. But when an organisation gets bigger, people are sometimes slow to put in proper mechanisms to keep people connected. If that happens too late and the organisation has become too big, employees may feel a bit lost and disconnected from it. They used to know everything that was going on and now they dont as theyre not invited to all the meetings anymore.

The beauty of a lot of Irish companies is that for employees, work is about who you work for. The person or people you work for. How you feel you are involved. How you feel you make a difference. Small companies are brilliant at engaging people in this way, but this changes when they grow.

Elliott believes that this doesnt have to be the case: They can learn from watching the structures and frameworks that bigger organisations  be they American or whatever  use for keeping people connected as they grow, she says.

She also believes that along with how change is managed, whether employees are more expectant of change might play a role: Comparisons have been made between how Elon Musk and the Limerick boys (the Collison brothers) that manage Stripe went about cutting staff numbers. How people were treated. The communication styles used. Hard things can be done to employees. But how its done is important.

In American culture and particularly in the technology space, change happens often. Maybe the Americans are better at it. Maybe they manage it differently.

It might also be about employee expectation, she says. Because employees working for big American technology companies are more accepting that change will come, than are those working for long-established Irish companies. So that change  when it happens here  comes as more of a shock, and workers are possibly more resistant.

Elliott also believes that American employees having a more positive outlook about now being a good time to look for a new job, may also play a role in their being more engaged than Irish workers.

According to the 2022 Gallup report, 50% of Irish polled believed now is a good time to find a job. The corresponding figure for the US and Canada was 71%.

This sort of positivity gives hope about the economy and the world of work, says Elliott.

If you feel you are stuck in a job, that has a massive impact on your mindset. Employers want people to work with them because they choose to, not because they have to.

Employee engagement plays a core role in this. Paul Davis explains it this way: It pertains to staff at every level in an organisation. It helps to flatten the workplace and helps to make people feel more equal.

It isn't just about engaging top talent and senior management. Because they have more of an impact on things, they might do things that get recognised straight away. So, it is everybody else that really needs to be engaged. Those who might not be pulled up to be applauded and lauded.

Its about including everyone and trying to motivate and incentivise everyone. No matter what the situation or whether its a good or a bad day in that workplace.

Where the American multinationals have led, we have followed and thrived. That we complement one another in the workplace and that theres a natural synergy between us is evident in the recent American Chamber of Commerce in Ireland survey, which shows that almost two thirds of US multinationals in the State expect to hire employees over the next 12 months.

It really pays to keep people engaged

Employee Engagement as glimpsed through the Gallup State of the Global Workplace, 2022 Report:
China willing to work with Japan to deepen low-carbon cooperation: official

Xinhua) 09:24, February 12, 2023

BEIJING, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- China is willing to work with Japan to continue promoting cooperation in green development, a senior Chinese official said Saturday.

He Lifeng, head of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), made the remarks in a keynote speech to the 16th China-Japan Comprehensive Forum on Energy Saving and Environmental Protection.

Collaborations in low-carbon industries and technologies will be furthered, while relevant policy dialogues and people-to-people exchanges will be strengthened, He said.

He said China would speed up the green transformation of its development, advance the prevention and treatment of pollution and ramp up energy conservation as it advances carbon peaking and carbon neutrality.

The forum, held online and offline in Beijing, is co-organized by the NDRC, the Ministry of Commerce, Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and the Japan-China Economic Association.

(Web editor: Xian Jiangnan, Sheng Chuyi)
Denis Curran, head of property regions and enterprise development, IDA Ireland, reflects on the significant investor appeal of Irelands approach to regional development.

2022 proved to be another strong year for foreign direct investment in regional locations.

Despite the backdrop of challenging international economic headwinds and geopolitical events, the level of employment in IDA client companies in regional locations reached a record high of 163,653 an increase of 7% on 2021. US-headquartered companies make a critical contribution to the level of regional FDI. There are 469 US companies employing 116,952 people located across Irelands regions accounting for 71% of total FDI employment outside of Dublin.

This positive employment growth was experienced in all regions across the country with each region showing job gains for a second consecutive year.

Underpinning this employment growth is the continued flow of investments into the regions. In 2022, 127 investments were secured for regional locations representing 52% of total of investments secured nationally. Of these investments, 89 were secured from companies based in the US underlying the significant contribution US companies make to regional investment in Ireland.

There was a diverse mix of investment across our manufacturing, technology and services base with significant investments of scale and value won across IDAs key target business sectors including Pharmaceuticals, Medical Technology, International Financial Services, Business Services, Technology and Engineering. Increasingly we are seeing a growing number of sustainability investments as client companies focus on climate change mitigation and the transition to a low carbon economy.

Many of these regional investments in 2022 were made by US-based companies. Abbott announced it is investing 440m in developing a new greenfield manufacturing facility in Kilkenny and expanding its existing site in Donegal which will result in the creation of 1000 new jobs; NetApp opened its new International Headquarters in Cork creating 200 jobs; Technimark is creating 80 new jobs in a 26m investment in its manufacturing facility in Longford; Lilly is investing 400m in a new state-of-the-art biotech manufacturing campus in Limerick which will employ 350 people; Merck announced the largest site investment in the history of its Life Science business with a 440m expansion of its facility in Cork which will help create 370 new jobs; MSD officially opened Irelands largest self-generation solar project at its Ballydine site in Co Tipperary while also announcing plans to build a new oncology biologics facility at its site in Carlow creating 100 new jobs.

Liam Dunne, MSD Biotech Dublin site head, with former Taoiseach, Micheal Martin TD, Robert M. Davis, CEO and president, MSD, and Mairead McCaul, MD of MSD Ireland Human Health and head of MSD Ireland country leadership team, opening the new MSD Biotech in Swords. MSD has invested more than $1 billion in the Dublin Biotech site since construction began in 2018.

The benefits of these new investments combined with the existing regional investor base extend beyond their direct and indirect levels of employment. They also generate significant positive spill over effects for regional economies, indigenous businesses, and local communities. The most recent Irish economy preliminary expenditure figures from 2021, show expenditure by FDI companies located in regional locations totalled 15.1bn, comprising of payroll of 10.1B, Irish materials of 2.5bn and Irish Services 2.5bn.

These investments are hard won. The level of global competition for FDI is increasing. Regions must be competitive in the national and international marketplace. Regional and national stakeholders must continue to work together to create the conditions that enable Ireland and its regions to be competitive and attractive for companies to invest in and scale. We must continue to work together to enhance the carrying capacity, capability and competitiveness of our regions. This is enabled by continued investment in the infrastructure required by enterprise to be successful, in water, power, transport, placemaking and sustainable sources of energy.

The availability of competitive, sustainable property solutions aligned to investors needs is a key enabler for regions to compete for mobile FDI. In 2022 IDA completed construction on advanced building solutions in Monaghan, Sligo and Dundalk and the Advance Manufacturing Centre in Limerick.

In support of the IDAs continued focus on balanced regional development, we will continue to invest in our regional property programme in 2023. An additional four advanced building solutions in Carlow, Limerick, Waterford and Athlone are targeted for completion in 2023.

Technimark is creating 80 new jobs in a 26m investment in its manufacturing facility in Longford .

Building projects for Sligo, Cavan, Galway, Letterkenny, Mullingar, Drogheda, Longford, Tralee, Oranmore and Castlebar, are at various stages of site identification, design, procurement and planning phases. We will also partner with the private sector and local authorities to add to the supply of property solutions in key locations where appropriate.

2022 was a year of robust growth in FDI investment. However, it is clear that the challenging global environment will add to increased volatility and uncertainty in 2023.

While there has been some contraction recently in the Technology sector, the FDI base is well diversified. FDI employment nationally is at a record high on the back of a decade of continuous growth. Client companies continue to be positive about Irelands business environment as highlighted by the level, scale and sophistication of investments won in 2022.
What makes love last? As the years roll by, how do you keep the love alive? And after decades of lifes ups and downs, how do you hold on to the fireworks you first felt for one another?

Together for over 50 years, these couples know a thing or two about love and the secret behind a long-lasting relationship.

Even after almost five decades of marriage, four children and two grandchildren, Waterford couple Nora, 69, and Billy Walsh, 73, still laugh together like giddy teenagers.

It was at a dance in Dungarvan that 17-year-old Nora and 21-year-old Billy first got together but Nora, who is originally from Abbeyside, admits she had taken notice of him before.

There was a bridge between Dungarvan and Abbeyside and there used to be railway tracks, she explains. He used to be sitting up at the gate down at the end of the tracks with a couple of his friends and I used to be passing up and down. He used to always say hello.

Nora says Billy caught her eye. I got a good catch, she adds.

When asked if it was love at first sight, they both giggle before Nora insists that he was mad about her.

Nora and Billy Walsh married in March, 1973.

She was 18 when they got engaged and while they had planned to hold off a few years before getting married, they just couldnt wait. A year later, on a cold March day in 1973, they tied the knot at Abbeyside Church before their wedding breakfast at Lawlors Hotel in Dungarvan.

In 1976, they had their first child and moved into their first house, before eventually settling in Billys family home in Dungarvan. The rest, as they say, is history.

On March 2, Nora and Billy will celebrate their golden wedding anniversary and plan to mark the special occasion with an intimate vow renewal.

While Billy claims to have no big plans yet for the occasion, Nora says he often surprises her, particularly by booking trips away.

I wouldnt put it past him because he does surprise me at times, and Id be looking at him saying, How did you think of that? she says.

From speaking with Nora and Billy, one thing is for sure  they still make one another laugh. Is that the secret to a happy marriage, I wonder?

Nora starts: The basis for it is just  to be happy, adds Billy. To be happy, agrees Nora. Thats the main thing, she continues. We could have words too wed start roaring laughing afterwards though.

On the cusp of 50 years of marriage and over five decades of doing as they say, everything together, how do Nora and Billy feel about one another?

The very same as when we met, says Nora.

Nora and Billy Walsh who celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary this year pictured at their home in Dungarvan. Picture: Dan Linehan

They love to cook together and Coronation Street aside, they mostly enjoy watching the same TV programmes. The pair agree that what they have is special. Its very special, says Billy. If youre here on your own [in the house] for more than a day, its not the same.

According to Nora, the secret to a long-lasting marriage is simple: To love one another, be there for each other, help one another, [and] confide in one another.

We just always spoke about things and did things together. No secrets, says Billy. If she deserves flowers, I get her flowers, he adds.

Eileen OConnor almost didnt go to the dance on the night she met her now-husband, Pat. Thankfully, after plenty of persuasion from her friends, she went  and it ended up being the best night of her life.

Eileen, 74, is originally from the northside of Cork City and met her husband Pat, 75, a southsider, at a dance at the Imperial Hotel in 1965.

I had been to the dentist a week or two beforehand, she explains. There was no root canal at that stage so to cut a long story short, I went in, and he (the dentist) took out my front two teeth.

She tried every excuse to get out of going to the dance that night, telling her friends there was no way she was going with no two front teeth, but they convinced her.

They dragged me along and you know what? It was the best night of my life.

Eileen and Pat O'Connor who met at the Imperial Hotel, Cork and are fifty two years married. Picture: Dan Linehan

She was 17 and Pat, who was 18 asked her to dance, and then walked her home.

He fell in love with me and Id no front teeth, she laughs.

The pair now live in Pats family home in Ballyphehane, and Eileen says he was alien to the northside of Cork the night they met.

When he brought me home, he said: How do I get back? I had to direct him home. He got home safe and sound and that was that. And here we are 52 years later married with four children.

They returned to where it all began for their wedding on September 5, 1970 at the Imperial Hotel in Cork City.

When I ask what she feels when she looks back at the past 58 or so years, Eileen answers: Content.

Youve your ups and your downs of course. Life isnt always rosy but once you sit down, chat about it, discuss it. I think communication is great.

Eileen and Pat O'Connor. Picture: Dan Linehan

As for her secret to a long and happy marriage, communication is a lot of it, she says.

I hate unhappiness and Pat is the same. We just sort it out and get on with it. End of story. Its done, its behind you now and you look forward and when you get older, every day is a good day to be alive.

I lost my own mother when she was only 48, so Id say life is too short for arguments.

Valentines Day is a significant occasion for Amelia and Dennis ODriscoll, marking the night they had their first date at the Pavilion Cinema in Cork City. Now in their 70s and almost 53 years married, the pair are as in love as the first day they met.

Amelia, now 77, was working in Sunbeam Wolsey while Dennis, now 73, was working at Murphy Brewery when a friend organised for them to meet for a date.

Amelia knew Dennis from passing him on her way to and from work, but he was none the wiser and thought the date was a joke.

I didnt know who I was getting, he laughs.

I went over and smiled at him, and he smiled back, says Amelia of their first encounter.

It was love at first sight.

We clicked straight away, says Dennis. You get that feeling that you got the right one.

It was love at first sight for Amelia and Dennis. Pictures: David Creedon

Hed a lovely manner and a lovely smile and I just took to him straight away, says Amelia.

After waiting until Dennis turned 21, in 1969 they got engaged, and on St Stephens Day, 1970 they married at St Patricks Church in Cork City. The wedding breakfast was at the Metropole Hotel before the newlyweds headed to a snowy Dublin for their honeymoon.

I remember I didnt eat my dinner because I was so excited. Long ago, you didnt stay in the hotel  it was different. We were on the train then to Dublin at 5pm, says Amelia.

Amelia and Dennis O' Driscoll with their dog Lady from the Glen who this year will celebrate their 53rd wedding anniversary. Picture: David Creedon

Throughout their marriage, the pair have faced ups and downs, including Amelias first cancer diagnosis at 34  and a second diagnosis at 69  but she says Dennis has remained by her side throughout it all.

He was always there for me and still is, she says of her beloved husband.

She describes him as a kind and caring man and a great father to their daughter Rachel and their two grandchildren, Ryan and Dylan.

He does everything for me. I cant tie up zips or anything now and hed do all of that and he does all of the hoovering.

The key to everlasting love, she says, is to continue to show that you care for one another.

Be kind and caring to one another. Never forget to show it. Always be kind and caring and show a bit of love and affection, she says.

As for Dennis? Humour, he says. We always got on. We care for one another.
The man on the CCTV footage shuffles around his landing at the Midlands Prison, helped on occasions by younger inmates. The footage taken exactly a decade ago appeared to portray just another day for the inmates on the new G wing.

For the apparently elderly man on the CCTV footage, the highlight of February 12, 2013, was to be a televised Uefa Cup game later in the evening  a far cry from his days of playing a central role in life in his native Clare, where he was once conductor of the famous Tulla Pipe Band.

But 61-year-old Sean Leamy would never again see Tulla, the village in east Clare where his home was on the main street and where he is still remembered today. Serving his first prison sentence, his life was just about to come to a premature end.

Mystery

Today, the mystery of what happened to Sean Leamy in his final hours remains unsolved and he is one of two prison inmates who died in 2013 whose deaths still have not gone to inquest hearings.

The other man was a 50-year-old foreign national with an address in the UK who died in hospital in Mayo after becoming unwell in Castlerea Prison in December 2013. He was a remand prisoner at the time and died after being diagnosed in hospital with a terminal illness.

The Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) says it is concerned about the delay in inquests investigating the deaths of people in prison, especially relating to the two from 2013, as their families have been waiting so long for the inquest findings.

IPRT is clear that investigations into deaths in prison must be prompt and thorough to ensure that any systemic issues are identified and addressed as quickly as possible, said a spokeswoman.

The IPRT adds that delays investigating the deaths of prisoners impact on the ability for lessons to be learned and also makes it hard for external organisations such as ourselves to track what is happening on the ground in prisons.

While the death of the Castlerea prisoner followed a terminal diagnosis, Leamy was found dead on the floor of his cell, with injuries including a laceration over his eyebrow and on the back of his head. He also had blood coming from his mouth.

No prosecution

A Garda investigation resulted in a direction from the Director of Public Prosecutions that there would be no prosecution in the case.

Leamy was due for release in October 2016, having been sentenced in May 2012 to six years for sexually abusing five boys over a 27-year period. Leamy had pleaded guilty to 21 counts of indecent assault and sexual assault from 1978 to 2005.

At his sentencing hearing, at Ennis district court, Judge Carroll Moran said Leamys victims had their childhood stolen by him. The judge also said it was really scandalous the abuse continued for so long.

The judge added: All of the victims are traumatised and suffered acutely as a consequence of what happened.

In a victim impact statement, one of his victims said: My innocence was stolen... I carried around this secret. I was completely traumatised. My voice was silenced with all of this anguish and pain. My spirit and character were broken.

'Graves for sale'

The sentencing for the sex offences came as he awaited sentencing in relation to a high profile so-called graves for sale case which had attracted media attention.

In January 2012, he pleaded guilty to 50 charges relating to theft and larceny from Clare County Council, arising out of the sale of graves in Clonlea cemetery in Kilkishen.

As the caretaker and registrar of the cemetery, he had not passed on the fees for the plots to the county council over a period of 10 years. In November 2012, when he was already behind bars for the sex offences, he was sentenced to two years in relation to the graves for sale case, backdated to his guilty plea the previous January.

Now, in February 2013, he was settled into his new circumstances as an inmate of the Midlands Prison in Portlaoise.

The then inspector of prisons, Michael Reilly, described Leamy in his June 2015 report on the death: He was frail and seemed to shuffle around the prison. He did not engage in any physical exercise or in any social or therapeutic activities. He did not attend the workshops or the school. He was a loner who relied on others  fellow prisoners and officers to help him and these people were kind to him.

He could be described as an inoffensive country man whose main interest was in sport. His dress sense was poor. His appearance as seen on CCTV was dishevelled and his clothes were loose fitting. He was a non smoker who suffered from asthma and breathing difficulties.

"He had a history of diabetes. He also had other complex medical issues which are not relevant to this investigation save that they contributed to his general state of debility in the prison. His speech was difficult to understand at times.

However, despite his ill-health, a post-mortem examination found that the cause of his death was cardiac arrest precipitated by blunt force trauma to the head and trunk, according to Mr Reillys report.

So why then did this man end up dead on the floor of his prison cell?

His death occurred almost three weeks after he was transferred onto the G wing in the prison. Prior to his move, he had raised concerns about sharing a cell, and according to the inspector of prisons report, a doctor had recommended, he should be in a single cell considering his condition and vulnerability.

At the time of his transfer to the new wing, Leamy was on the enhanced prisoner incentivised regime within the Midlands, was not known to have drunk alcohol while in the prison, and was a non-smoker. By contrast, his new cellmate was known as a volatile prisoner, who was a smoker and who brewed hooch in their cell.

Following his examination of the death, Mr Reilly stated: It was totally inappropriate that the deceased, a non smoker who suffered from multiple medical problems including asthma and breathing problems, was accommodated with a prisoner who smoked. It was inappropriate that the deceased, a non drinker in prison, was accommodated with a prisoner who was a known hooch distiller.

Leamy had been regularly visited by members of his family during his imprisonment, and was in regular contact by phone with them. Mr Reilly established in his investigation that Leamy had also raised concerns during his communications with his relatives about sharing a cell. He initially mentioned concerns about his new cellmate being a chain smoker and there was also mention of poitin being made in his new cell by the cellmate, who was 30 years younger than Leamy.

However, in later calls, he spoke of getting on well with his cellmate. In his last call with a relative on the day of his death, Leamy spoke about planning to watch a Uefa Cup game on television later that day.

CCTV footage

The CCTV footage from the day of his death showed Leamy entering and leaving his cell several times. The last sighting on CCTV of Leamy was at 2.19pm, when he returned to his cell. Mr Reilly noted that at 4pm on the date of his death: Deceased is in the cell on his own. I have ascertained this by closely scrutinising the CCTV footage. The cell door can be seen closing slightly. As I have already stated prison doors cannot move of their own accord. Therefore, the movement of the door was a conscious action by some person inside the cell and that could only have been the deceased.

He also highlighted: During all periods of unlock on 12 February 2013 and especially after midday unlock at 14.15.49, numerous prisoners including Prisoner 2 can clearly be seen entering and leaving cell 30 on multiple occasions. At times one or a number are in the cell for seconds or minutes. These prisoners appeared to be younger and fitter than many of the older and/or infirm prisoners accommodated on G1 Landing.

"It would appear that the reason for this activity was that Prisoner 2 (Leamys cellmate) was distilling hooch in the cell and that other prisoners were calling to the cell either to drink hooch or collect same for consumption elsewhere.

On a number of occasions during the evening, prison staff can be observed on the CCTV footage checking the cell on four different occasions without incident. However, at 7.19pm, one officer pushed open the cell door, and a second officer can be seen going to the door 41 seconds later. 50 seconds later, a third prison officer went to the cell. Mr Reilly recorded: Nurse Officer A can be seen on CCTV running through the landings and entering the cell at the same time as Chief Officer A at 19.23.36.

Ambulance staff arrived on the landing within 15 minutes, with gardai arriving at the prison less than an hour later. Leamy was pronounced dead in the cell which had been his home for just under three weeks.

Sean Leamy was pronounced dead in the cell which had been his home for just under three weeks. There is no plan in place for an inquest.

In his interviews with prison staff, Mr Reilly established that an officer went to the cell after two prisoners raised concerns between 7pm and 7.10pm that evening that they had not seen Leamy for some time.

When officers went into his cell, they found him lying on the floor of the cell, covered by a blanket. One of the officers told Mr Reilly: I went into the cell and pulled the blanket down. (The deceased) was on his right hand side facing in towards the wall. I noticed that his pants were down below his waist. (The deceased) would think nothing of hopping into bed with his clothes on. I pulled him away from the wall and he was warm.

"At this stage I thought that he may have been given hooch or had a seizure of some description. I noticed that there was blood on the blanket where he had been facing towards and I noticed blood coming from his mouth. He appeared to have some kind of a mark on the left hand side of his face.

One nurse who attended the scene told Mr Reilly that Leamy had a deep, one-inch-long laceration over his eyebrow and on the back of his head, and had further injuries on his chest and arms.

The fact that Leamys pants was below his waist initially raised concern for Mr Reilly that he could have been sexually assaulted. But the inspector said this theory did not appear to be the case from the pathologists report, although he said, this is a matter that may be explored at the Coroners Inquest.

However, there is no plan in place for the inquest.

When contacted by the Irish Examiner, the Laois Coroners Office said that a date for the inquest has not yet been set.

A spokesman for the Department of Justice said that all Death in Custody reports from the Inspector of Prisons have been received, and said that inquests are an issue for relevant coroners.
Austria has come under heavy criticism for granting visas that will allow sanctioned Russian politicians to attend a meeting in Vienna of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation (OSCE) in Europe.

The issue highlights the delicate balancing act the European country has engaged in while trying to maintain its longstanding position of military neutrality during the war in Ukraine.

The Austrian government has condemned Russias invasion but also stressed the need to maintain diplomatic relations with Moscow.

Austria hosts several UN agencies and international organisations such as the OSCE, which was established during the Cold War as a forum for dialogue between East and West.

Russia is one of the 57 nations in North America, Europe and Asia that participate in the Vienna-based organisation.

Moscow plans to send delegates to the meeting of the OSCEs Parliamentary Assembly on February 23 and 24, including 15 Russian politicians who are under European Union sanctions. Among them are deputy Duma chairman Pyotr Tolstoy and fellow member of parliament Leonid Slutsky.

Russian parliamentarians are an integral part of the power system and complicit in the crimes Russia commits every day in Ukraine

In a letter to Austrias chancellor, foreign minister and other officials, 81 OSCE delegates from 20 countries, including France, Canada, Britain, Poland and Ukraine, called on the Austrian government to prohibit the participation of the sanctioned Russians.

It is important to remember that Russian parliamentarians are an integral part of the power system and complicit in the crimes Russia commits every day in Ukraine, read the letter, which was seen by The Associated Press.

They have no place in an institution tasked with promoting sincere dialogue and opposition to the war.

The US delegates to the Parliamentary Assembly were not among the letters signatories.

US Ambassador to the OSCE Michael Carpenter told reporters on Friday that the Russian delegates are not people who deserve to be able to travel to Western countries.

However, he added that it is up to the Austrian government to determine whether they are going to grant visas or not.

Austrian officials have not commented on the letter.

On February 5, Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg defended the countrys decision to allow the sanctioned Russians entry, arguing that it is important to keep channels of communication with Moscow open despite the brutal Russian attack against Ukraine.

The Austrian Foreign Ministry also insisted that, as host to the OSCE headquarters in Vienna, it is legally obliged to grant visas to representatives of nations who want to take part in meetings there.

Austria, which became a European Union member in 1995, has criticised Moscow and joined the sanctions the EU imposed against Russia over the invasion of Ukraine.

But, unlike Finland and Sweden, which decided to abandon their non-aligned stances in May by applying to join Nato, Austria remains committed to the military neutrality it adopted in 1955.

The Austrian government has sent humanitarian aid to Ukraine but no weapons.

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer became the first and so far only EU leader to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin face to face after the war in Ukraine started (Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP)

Chancellor Karl Nehammer became the first and so far only EU leader to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin face to face after the war started.

He travelled to Moscow in April 2022 in a fruitless attempt to persuade the Russian leader to end the invasion.

Support remains strong for Austrian neutrality among the public and political establishment.

I believe that Austrian neutrality can still play a positive role today, said Ralph Janik, an expert in international law and a researcher at the Sigmund Freud private university in Vienna.

The alternative would be to join Nato, but every single Austrian politician is very well aware that this is not supported by the majority of the Austrian public.

Austria, which was annexed by Nazi Germany in the run-up to the Second World War, declared neutrality after the war under pressure from Western allies and the Soviet Union. It sought a role as a mediator between East and West and developed ties with Moscow during and after the Cold War.

In 1968, Austria became the first Western European country to import gas from the Soviet Union, and its dependence on Russian energy increased in the following decades.

Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, 80% of Austrias natural gas came from Russia. It has since reduced the share to just over 20% by turning to Norwegian gas, according to Austrias regulator for electricity and gas.

The Austrian banking system is also closely connected to Russia.

Austrias second-largest bank, the Raiffeisenbank International, earned more than half of its profits in 2022 from Russia.

The bank has come under intense pressure for continuing its business in Russia despite Moscows war against Ukraine, and is currently evaluating strategic options, including an exit from Russia.

Vienna is also known to be a playground for spies, including from Russia, due to its lenient espionage laws.

Despite its initial reluctance, Austria has expelled eight Russian diplomats who are believed to have been engaged in spying since the start of the Russian war against Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin in Vienna during a visit to Austria in June 2018 (Ronald Zak/AP)

While there are no signs of a shift away from Austrian neutrality, some have called for the policy to be reassessed following the Ukraine war.

Werner Fasslabend, a former Austrian defence minister from the conservative Peoples Party, is among the few prominent voices arguing in favour of the country renouncing neutrality and joining Nato.

With the end of the Cold War and Austrias accession to the EU, Austrian neutrality has lost its function, said Mr Fasslabend, who is director of the Austrian Institute for European and Security Policy.

As a Nato member, Austria would be in a better position to shape European security policy and will gain greater security, he added, admitting however that it is unlikely to happen given it would require changing the constitution by a two-thirds majority in the Austrian parliament.

This majority is not within sight, he said.
Super Bowl Sunday. With so much focus on the food choices like chicken wings, pizzas and burgers, make sure there are sweet options for the post game show!

Our participating #tasteofkeybiscayne are serving up some of the most delicious dessert options this Sunday, February 11.

Randazzo by Yesenia

Open for Indoor & Outdoor dining, Takeout or delivery. Reservations recommended

After a delicious Sunday Italian meal, leave room for dessert but why only one? Just tell us One of Each Please!

Please call (305) 456-0480 to place an order or make a reservation

Open Monday, Wednesday to Sunday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., open until 11 p.m. Friday.

Closed Tuesdays

328 Crandon Blvd Ste 112, Galleria Shopping Center

Delivery service with Postmates or UberEats

Gran Inka

Open for Outdoor Dining, Takeout or Delivery.

El Gran Inka brings to every dish authentic Peruvian gastronomy featuring a unique creation and a touch of gourmet.

Go traditional Peruvian this Sunday After a delicious meal, enjoy the lustful & sweet suspiro limeno

Offering Delivery or Take out directly from El Gran Inka. Order directly from us by calling (305) 365-7883

Open 7-days Noon to 10 p.m.

606 Crandon Blvd. Suite 4 / Key Biscayne (across from Winn Dixie)

UberEats Available

The Golden Hog

Your local independent grocer can deliver freshly prepared meals or all the groceries you need. Email us your order here.

Get Game ready with our Super Bowl Alfajor Cake and dont forget to order your chicken wings tray online or at the store!!

Call (305) 361-1300 for Sunday Chef's Choice special menu.

The Golden-Hog has a complete line of specialty groceries for delivery.

Golden Hog puts safety first, shop with confidence. To place an order online, click here

D'Lite Bistro & Bakery

Who says eating healthy means sacrificing taste and flavor? Not at DLite!

Come enjoy our terrazita for all the pregame festivities this Sunday, you will not regret making your Sunday a bit more special with our famous cappuccinos, golden milk and matcha latte. What a delicious threesome combination!

We are a unique and healthy restaurant that serves salads, wraps, sandwiches, bowls, protein smoothies and cold press juices made fresh every morning  including gluten-free, vegetarian and keto options.

We open at 8 a.m. daily and close at 8 p.m. everyday except Sat and Sun when we close at 6 p.m.

DLite is located in the Arcade Mall, 180 Crandon Blvd. To place an order, call (305) 882-9284 or visit us online by clicking here.

Miss Mui Chinese Bistro

Newest #tasteofkeybiscayne dining experience, serving authentic Chinese and Cantonese food.

Miss Mui is a family owned and operated restaurant, serving Cantonese cuisine staples like special fried rice, BBQ Spare Ribs, but also lumpias, a Venezuelan-style spring roll and more.

After an authentic Cantonese meal, get lucky with our delicious Fortune Cookies

Miss Mui is located in the Square Shopping Center at 260 Crandon Blvd. Suite 14, on Key Biscayne. To place an order, please call 305)-381-0694. Follow them on Instagram. Click here.

Sake Room

Complete your Sake meal with any of our delicious desserts, we guarantee the plate will be empty!

And enjoy a Free Crunchy Crab Salad FREE on us with any $50 purchase

Special only good for orders called in to (305) 456-0488

We are open for Indoor & Outdoor Dining, Takeout or delivery daily from Noon to 10 p.m. Close at 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday

Call (305) 456-0488 to place a takeout or delivery order directly

Following all CDC safety protocols

328 Crandon Blvd Ste 108, Galleria Shopping Center

Grub hub  UberEats also available. Please if you can call us first

Boaters Grill & Lighthouse Cafe / Bill Baggs

The restaurants inside Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park  the popular Boaters Grill, located at No Name Harbor and accessible by boat, and the beachside Lighthouse Cafe.

Safe and friendly. Great service and great food.

Our lemon meringue pie takes a back seat to no one!

Boaters Grill is open Sunday through Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Thursday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Lighthouse Cafe is open 7-days a week, from 9 a.m. to Sunset

The restaurants are located inside Bill Baggs State Park, at 1200 Crandon Blvd., Key Biscayne.

You can reach them at (305) 361-0080

Costa Med Bistro

Enjoy Costa Med this evening either with it or at home this evening..

If our desserts look homemade, it is because they are! This Sunday, indulge in something Costa sweet

Order online for take out, click here!

Costa Med, a TripAdvisor Traverlers Choice nominated restaurant, is located in the Square Shopping Center. 260 Crandon Blvd. Reservations suggested. Call (305) 361-7575 to make a reservation

Hours.

Lunch Mon to Sat: Noon a.m. to 4 p.m.

Dinner Mon to Sat: 6 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. / Sun 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Brasas KB

This Sunday, share our 100% natural Peruvian Chicken Rotisserie with family and friends

Weekend vibes! Pollo a la brasa con papas fritas, camote frito y salsas de aji caseras

Not in the mood for chicken? Try our delicious half pound hamburger, with one side and a soda, only $10.99 - loaded it up with a fried egg, bacon, cheese and pickles to make it a "completa" for only $4 more! Can't beat the quality! Unmatched value!

We are open for Indoor & Outdoor Dining, Takeout or free delivery.

Call (786) 615-2399 to place a takeout order.

Open Noon to 8 p.m. for Dine-In, Takeout or delivery.

328 Crandon Blvd, Galleria Shopping Center

La Scala

Closed on Sundays

The popular Italian Bistro now offers their delicious meals to enjoy at home and thanks your support during the last year

To place a Monday takeout order call (786) 773-3633 or visit us online by clicking here.

Open 5 to 9 p.m.

180 Crandon Blvd  Arcade Shopping Center.

Kazumi

Closed Sunday.

Our modern Japanese fusion restaurant offers creative treatments & creativity in our dishes

To see our menu, click here Call us tomorrow at (305) 361-2675.

Check back tomorrow for more specials as we add more restaurants to #tasteofkeybiscayne-To-Go

And please remember to order from the restaurant directly before using one of the apps  this way we support the local restaurants by saving them the commission they are charged, which at times is as much as 30%
The Key Biscayne Beach Club will host the Brazilian Night fundraiser on Feb. 24 to benefit Flying High for Haiti, a Key Biscayne-based nonprofit that supports school children and the village Ile a Vache in southeastern Haiti.

This marks the seventh year for the fundraiser, a white attire featuring a Brazilian rodizio buffet, live art, a jazz performance by Rose Max & Ramatis Moraes and a Samba show, plus raffles, prizes and an open bar.

This year, proceeds from the fundraiser will be used to help Haitian children suffering from cancer, ensuring they receive radiotherapy treatment. The children must travel to the Dominican Republic for the treatment because it doesnt exist in Haiti.

Flying High for Haiti has been working at the Ile a Vache school for years, always under challenging conditions.

There are already many years of work. Never giving up. Little by little. Eight classrooms have been built at the school.... It has changed a lot. Now it has an infirmary, a library and an art center. In 2016 we had the hurricane and last year the earthquake. Despite everything, the school always kept up well, said Ines Lozano, founder and president of Flying High for Haiti.

Haiti has been in a state of social and political chaos for some time. Armed groups of criminal gangs in Haiti threaten the population and the government. They have blocked roads, making it almost impossible for aid organizations to assist the population.

I went a year ago, when there was a truce between the armed groups, Ines said. But after a week the truce ended and we could not return because the roads were closed. I had to return with a plane from World War II, from some missionaries.

With the instability in Haiti, this year the funds raised at Brazilian Night will be used to address the need to secure free radiotherapy, in addition to travel to the Dominican Republic, lodging and food throughout the treatment.

If you go

What: VII Brazilian Night, Feb., 24, 2023

Where: Key Biscayne Beach Club

Featuring: Brazilian Barbecue y Caipirinhas, Jazz with Rose Max and Ramatis Moraes, Bossa Nova live, DJ Blat, Live art, Photo Booth, Open Bar.

Dress: Casual chic, white dress or outfit.

Tickets: Early Bird, $90; after February 17, $120. Visit Eventbrite.com and search for Brazilian Night or click here.
Telecommunications provider Telstra will provide its customers free calls to Turkey and Syria to connect with their family and loved ones.

Telstra will provide free callsboth pre-paid and post-maid mobilesto Turkey or Syria until 28 February.

Telstra says if calls dont get through, the company reminds that potential infrastructure damage in the region may be the cause.

Telstra reminds customers the following:

1. Customers on Telstra Pre-Paid need to have an active recharge on their account within its expiry period.

2. Depending on your account, some people may not see the free calls logged in their call records.

This first appeared in the subscription newsletter CommsWire on 10 February 2023.
Naxxramas returns to the Warcraft-themed collectible card game Hearthstone on 15 February 2023. Patch 25.4 goes live, bringing a 38-card March of the Lich King mini-set, which you can buy all in one go with real money or in-game currency.

The new March of the Lich King mini-set, "Return to Naxxramas", includes four powerful Legendary minions including Singragosa, seven new dual-type minions, and a Location card for the Death Knight class.

The patch also brings the final update for the Mercenaries game mode, ratcheting the boss fights up to mythic status.

In World of Warcraft lore, Naxxramas is an introductory level-80 raid dungeon floating above Dragonblight in Northrend. It is a Scourge necropolis and the seat of the Arch Lich Kel'Thuzad. It was also the location of Hearthstone's first adventure, Curse of Naxxramas, released back on 22 July 2014. In that battle you fought through five wings, reflecting the World of Warcraft raid instance.

Well, now it's time to return to Naxxramas as the battle for Silvermoon gains even more momentum. The dread necropolis joins the fray with this new mini-set. It's sure to excite and thrill with Frost Queen Singragosa headlining as the first Death Knight minion to hold mixed runes. There are a lot of other great synergies for Death Knights, but no shortage of cards to help the Blood Elves fight back too. And, there's no labouring involved - you can buy the complete mini-set as a one-off purchase using either real money or in-game gold.

Meanwhile, the patch brings the final update to Hearthstone Mercenaries. Six all-new mercenaries are added, plus a mythic boss rush end-game system. Add six new mercenaries to your parties and challenge them with an onslaught of bosses to earn renown. The Mythic boss rush will refresh weekly, unlocking a new boss each day, giving plenty of opportunity to earn and spend renown beyond max level.

Dual types also come to Mercenaries, providing faction identities and allowing players to now fully synergise their parties in many new creative ways. You can announce your allegiance with the Explorers, Legion, Empire, Scourge, or Pirates, as well as with the Horde or Alliance.

And last but not least, the new patch includes cute corgi cosmetics. Yes, you can show off your love for your adorable corgi companions with brand-new cosmetics including a Death Knight bundle and Warlock bundle, both available in the shop.
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.
Song Hye Kyo once again creates buzz online ahead of her much anticipated drama comeback. Last December 2022, the actress wowed the public with her transformation as Moon Dong Eun in Netflix's "The Glory."

Song Hye Kyo Stirs Buzz For Successful Career

From "Descendants of the Sun" to "Now, We Are Breaking Up" and most recently "The Glory," Song Hye Kyo continues to push forward in terms of her acting career.

This 2023, the actress stirs buzz for her impenetrable name. Many critics believe that Song Hye Kyo is the most successful divorced star in the industry.

Following his ex-husband Song Joong Ki's success in finding love once more, eyes are darted to the actress. Though she's not seeing anyone, Song Hye Kyo proves why she's South Korea's No. 1 star.

Due to the stigma that comes with being a divorced individual, many fans worried about Song Hye Kyo's career during her divorce issue with her ex-husband.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Song Hye Kyo Responds To Criticisms In 'The Glory' Appearance

Thankfully, she proved that she's a successful woman on her own. At the moment, Song Hye Kyo is starting a glorious fever as the release of the second part of her A-graded revenge drama "The Glory" is approaching.

In the series, she plays the role of Moon Dong Eun, a teacher seeking revenge from one of her students' parents who tortured and abused her in the past.

During the drama's initial release, "The Glory" was well-received by the public, thanks to its riveting narrative. Lee Do Hyun, Jung Sung Il, Lim Ji Yeon and more are also part of the work.

"The Glory Part 2" airs on March 10 on Netflix. ICYMI, watch the teaser here:

Song Hye Kyo To Work With Han So Hee In New Drama

Apart from the long awaited drama "The Glory," Song Hye Kyo might also return to terrestrial television with a new project!

Earlier this February, Song Hye Kyo was offered to headline the upcoming drama "The Price of Confession" opposite Han So Hee.

It's a mystery drama that follows the life of Ahn Yoon Soo, a teacher who gets involved in a cold murder case of one of her students. If she accepts the project, she will transform into the said character, fulfilling her dream as an actress.

In a recent interview, Song Hye Kyo wants to try out a challenging acting role before retiring. According to the actress, she would love to try doing a sitcom or a thriller drama.

"The Price of Confession" might just accomplish her dream if she happens to accept it. As for the details of the work, the production unit hasn't released anything yet so keep your tabs open for more updates!

KDramaStars owns this article.

Written by Elijah Mully.
Shin Min Ah becomes a donation fairy as she extends her sympathy to the victims of the large scale earthquake in Turkey and Syria.

The actress was last seen in the 2022 family drama "Our Blues" where she played the role of a struggling mother, earning praises from fans all over the world.

Shin Min Ah Makes Heartfelt Donation To Earthquake Victims

"Our Blues" actress Shin Min Ah displays her sympathy and compassion through a meaningful donation this 2023!

On February 10, Hope Bridge Korea Disaster Relief Association shared that Shin Min Ah donated 50 million KRW (approximately 40,000 USD) to aid the victims of the earthquake that devastated Turkey and Syria.

The large-scale earthquake with a 7.8 magnitude hit Turkey and Syria on February 6, causing serious casualties.

Through her donation, Shin Min Ah wishes to ease the worries of the victims through her meaningful donation, which would support their rehabilitation, hygiene and food supplies.

Thanks to Shin Min Ah's pure heart, the victims of the calamity will be able to rebuild their homes bit by bit and ensure the safety of their families.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: BLACKPINK Jisoo Should Just Focus on Idol Career? 'Snowdrop' Star Criticized For Acting Skills

For more than a decade, she has made meaningful donations and supported several organizations during the COVID-19 outbreak and the wildfire and flood in South Korea last year, and more.

Meanwhile, Girl's Day Hyeri, Girls' Generation Yoona, Im Si Wan, Jang Geun Suk and more also showed their support through their contributions.

What's New With Shin Min Ah This 2023

In 2022, Shin Min Ah took her first ever mother role since her acting debut in the Netflix blockbuster hit series "Our Blues."

She played the role of a struggling woman who suffers from depression while battling her ex-husband for custody of her son against her estranged husband.

Shin Min Ah received high praises not only in South Korea but also in other Asia Pacific countries for her impeccable performance.

The actress is currently gearing up for her forthcoming fantasy drama film "Our Season" opposite Kim Hae Sook, Hwang Bo Ra and Kang Ki Young.

YOU MIGHT ALSO BE INTERESTED IN THIS: Son Seok Koo & Jeon Jong Seo's Hilarious Interaction Creates Buzz - Here's What Happened

The details of the film including its final lineup, release date and more haven't been released yet. It is currently in its production process with the goal to greet the viewers in the first half of the year.

Have you seen Shin Min Ah's impeccable performance in "Our Blues"? Tell us what you think in the comments below!

KDramaStars owns this article.

Written by Elijah Mully.
Amid the investigation into Yoo Ah In's drug issue, brands are keeping a close eye on the ongoing probe after he was accused of using an illegal substance.

The industry was shocked the prolific actor went under investigation for the illegal use of propofol, a kind of sedative used in hospital settings by trained anesthetists. The substance will help the patient feel relaxed or asleep before and during surgery.

Yoo Ah In's Drug Case: From Propofol Probe to Marijuana Use

Previously, on February 8 and 9, the police performed a search and seizure of various doctor's offices and clinics in Seoul's Gangnam and Yongsan districts that are suspected of having illegally administered propofol to Yoo Ah In since early 2021.

Recently, Yoo Ah In's agency, United Artists Agency (UAA), confirmed that the actor is being investigated for habitual propofol use and "is actively cooperating in all investigations."

According to the media outlet, TV Chosun's "News9" reported that a top male actor is currently ongoing probe for the alleged use of narcotics after it was traced that he has been habitually using them since 2021.

As the investigation continues, Yoo Ah In is banned from leaving the country.

Following the probe for propofol use, the "Chicago Typewriter" star tested positive for marijuana.

It comes after the actor underwent a urine test as a part of the investigation. Meanwhile, authorities are still waiting for the hair test to confirm whether or not Yoo Ah In used propofol illegally.

Will Yoo Ah In's Endorsement Get Affected by the Drug Controversy?

As parties wait for the result of Yoo Ah In's drug test, brands seemed to drop the actor as their advertisement model.

According to an outlet, Seoul Finance reported that the pharmaceutical company, Chong Kun Dang Health, has deleted all photos of their endorsements featuring the "Seoul Vibe" star including the Kakao Talk gift-giving channel where its product Imvita

It comes after the news regarding the actor's alleged propofol was publicized and the next day, an advertisement with Yoo Ah In's face was reportedly taken down.

Meanwhile, a representative from Chong Kun Dang Health explained "The contract period is not disclosed to each other for contractual reasons."

Adding to the list is the ramen brand Ottogi. After the news broke, all of Yoo Ah In's commercial on YouTube was changed to private.

The same goes for the clothing brand Musinsa, a fashion company that tapped the actor as their brand ambassador.

Yoo Ah In's CF for the brand was also changed to private at the height of the controversy.

Besides his ongoing endorsements, Yoo Ah In's upcoming dramas are also predicted to be affected by the issue.

That is because there will be changes regarding the schedule as the investigation continues.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Is 'Seoul Vibe' Sequel Possible? Here's What We Know So Far

KDramastars owns this article

Written by Geca Wills
This photo made Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2013, shows a Canadian F-18 over western Alaska as it tracks a hijacked airplane in a simulation. The North American Aerospace Defence Command says it has positively identified an object that is currently flying at high altitude over Northern Canada. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Mark Thiessen
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Social media has really exposed the trauma caused by gaslighting, dismissal, and misogyny by medical professionals. Chronic illness groups are rife with posts recounting the poor treatment they suffered at the hands of doctors. Imagine presenting with extreme fatigue, intermittent balance problems, and tingling in your hands and, after a cursory exam, being told your symptoms are due to stress and to lose weight. Two years later, you are diagnosed with multiple sclerosis after multiple doctor visits. This is a scenario that frequently occurs across specialties.

After my second son was born, I experienced dry mouth and eyes, joint pain, and significant fatigue. It was interfering with my ability to swallow, work, care for my kids, and function. When I saw my PCP, he said I was suffering from postpartum bone hunger and that everyone in Colorado had a dry mouth and eyes. That encounter stung. I doubted the validity of my symptoms and thought that maybe it was postpartum depression.

I began losing weight rapidly due to increasing abdominal pain and fear of eating as food routinely got stuck in my esophagus. Along with joint pain in my hands, I started experiencing episodes of swelling and redness. I made a follow-up appointment, and my doctor agreed to order some lab tests. All my tests were normal except for a positive ANA with a titer of 1:40, which I was told was insignificant. I reminded him that I had an extensive family history of autoimmune diseases, which he again shrugged off.

My symptoms continued to worsen, so I had a colleague order an ANA panel which showed a positive SS-A. I saw a rheumatologist who said that a positive SS-A alone is not indicative of Sjogrens. It took me two more years and multiple doctor visits and procedures before I was diagnosed with celiac sprue, rheumatoid arthritis, and Sjogrens syndrome.

And two additional years to start to feel better. During all those years, I lost my job, my marriage began to unravel, and I suffered from depression and anxiety from the trauma I endured in the health care system.

My story is not an anomaly. Womens symptoms are frequently attributed to mental illness, hypochondria, or female hysteria. I was not aware of how pervasive this problem was in medicine until I developed long COVID and had social media groups to turn to when doctors dismissed me.

After I had recovered from COVID, I thought I was experiencing unrelenting panic attacks. I had almost constant palpitations, chest tightness, lightheadedness, a feeling of buzzing in my body, and horrible fatigue. This went on for about a month when I experienced presyncope at work. My medical assistant took my vital signs, my heart rate was in the 40s, and my blood pressure was 80/40. I went to the ER and was asked what I was worried about. My blood pressure had come up to 100/70, but my heart rate was still in the 40s. I was told this was due to my Lisinopril, and I was discharged home with a referral to a cardiologist. I still felt extremely dizzy but felt too defeated to argue.

The cardiologist was kind and listened to me. I completed a 2-week heart monitor, which showed runs of ventricular tachycardia up to 240. The cardiologist called, reviewed my results, and put me on Metoprolol with no follow-up appointment.

Her note stated that my condition was likely due to stress as I had lost my mother a few months prior and had recently started a small business. I accepted this and sought therapy. As the weeks passed, my fatigue became overwhelming, like my body and brain were in quicksand. I could do very little before I had to lie down. Some mornings I was too dizzy to sit up and spent the day supine by necessity.

I began researching long COVID conditions and felt my symptoms were consistent with dysautonomia and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome. Small fiber neuropathy due to Sjogrens can cause dysautonomia.

I devoured podcasts and poured over posts on long COVID, ME/CFS, and dysautonomia groups on social media. I armed myself with information and treatment options that could benefit these conditions. Again, doctor after doctor dismissed me. The majority were kind. They just gaslighted me by diminishing my concerns or questioning the validity of long COVID.

I did not have the bandwidth to continue my pursuit of care. I could no longer sit on an exam table waiting to have my condition invalidated. I looked for support and treatment recommendations in Facebook and Reddit groups. I found that many posters had the same experience as I did or worse in their interactions with medical professionals. Sentiments varied from rage to grief.

If you do not know the etiology of a patients symptoms, have enough humility to admit this, validate their concerns, and refer them to a physician who may be able to help. Medical narcissism is dangerous. This routine dismissal of patients concerns is driving them, in desperation, to seek care from predatory practitioners. Or, worse, delaying a diagnosis and causing irreparable harm. We must do better.

Lisa Baron is a family physician.
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In this episode, were discussing the opioid epidemic and its impact on our society. Our guest is Gary Call, a family physician, who shares the emotional and financial cost on individuals and families caused by opioid addiction and overdoses is immense and impacts everyone. Well also be discussing the latest research on the opioid epidemic, including a study by Stanford researchers led by Dr. Tina Hernandez-Boussard, which aimed to develop a predictive model to identify risk factors for non-opioid users becoming chronic users. The study leveraged a unique research database of millions of de-identified Medicaid paid claims, and the results are both instructive and actionable. Dr. Call will also talk about the importance of translating research from leading academic institutions into real-world use cases that solve important health care problems and how it can help create a more equitable and effective system for all. Tune in to learn more about the opioid epidemic and what we can do to address it.

Gary Call is a family physician and health care executive.

He shares his story and discusses his KevinMD article, Think twice before prescribing opioids as a first-line treatment for pain.

The Podcast by KevinMD is brought to you by the Nuance Dragon Ambient eXperience.

With so many demands on their time, physicians today report record levels of burnout. Burnout is caused by many factors, one of which is clinical documentation. Studies indicate physicians spend two hours documenting care for every hour spent with patients.

At Nuance, we are committed to helping physicians do what you love  care for patients  and spend less time on clinical documentation. The Nuance Dragon Ambient eXperience, or DAX for short, is an AI-powered, ambient clinical intelligence solution that automatically captures patient encounters securely and accurately at the point of care. Physicians who use DAX have reported a 50 percent decrease in documentation time and a 70 percent reduction in feelings of burnout, and 83 percent of patients say their physician is more personable and conversational.

Rediscover the joy of medicine with clinical documentation that writes itself, all within the EHR.

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Around 50 people took to the streets of Kilkenny in protest this afternoon following the recent announcement that 131 asylum seekers are to housed in a Kilkenny city hotel.

Similar numbers attended a counter-protest at County Hall, with the message that Kilkenny welcomes everyone.

Minister for Integration Roderic O'Gorman confirmed this week that the International Protection applicants will be accommodated at the Kilkenny Inn Hotel.

Following this, the protest and counter protest were announced via a social medium platform.

Shortly after 2pm a crowd gathered at the entrance to County Hall on John Street carrying colourful banners and delivering a strong message of welcome for all refugees in Kilkenny.

Minister for Heritage Malcolm Noonan and Deputy Kathleen Funchion were both present at this protest before it moved from John Street to the Parade.

A short time later a similar-sized group carrying a banner saying 'Kilkenny says No' walked from John Street to the Kilkenny Inn Hotel.

This protest group gathered to voice their opposition to the planned accommodation of asylum seekers at the hotel.
It was standing room only at the first Kilkenny Chamber Chat of the year, which was held in the Set Theatre recently.

Chamber members and guests gathered to hear from the co-founder of The Core Story, Padraig Hyland, who shared insights on how to help drive a business forward in 2023. The crowded room was the perfect setting as attendees shared experiences at the networking event.



John Hurley, CEO, Brian Keyes, President, and Padraig Hyland, The Core Story

Winners and finalists from last years Kilkenny Business Awards participated, and found his message very useful.

It was also an opportunity to present the local President of St Vincent de Paul Lourda Everard with a cheque for 5,500 which had been donated by attendees at the recent Kilkenny Business Awards event in November.

The Chamber Chats take place on the last Thursday of every month. More details can be found on the Chambers social media channels.

February's Chamber Chat discusses the importance of wellbeing in the workplace. Brian Kelly from Mindaclient will introduce their new software programme aimed at helping employers to monitor and manage their employees' wellbeing.

As always, there will be an opportunity to network and meet new business people who could help your own business to grow.
Shenandoah, IA (51601)

Today

Rain showers early with a steady, soaking rain later in the day. Increasing winds. High 51F. Winds NNW at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

Rain showers, with winds diminishing late. Low around 35F. Winds NW at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 50%. Higher wind gusts possible.




Korea's disaster relief team operating in quake-struck Turkey has rescued two more survivors, bringing the total number of people it saved to eight, Seoul's foreign ministry said Sunday.







The team pulled to safety a 17-year-old man and a 51-year-old woman from the same building in Antakya at 7:18 p.m. and 8:18 p.m. on Saturday (local time), respectively.







The man was unconscious while the woman was in good condition, according to the ministry.







"The Korean team will continue a high-intensity search and rescue task in areas where chances are high that survivors are located," the ministry said in a statement.







Since the Korean team started its mission last Thursday, it has rescued a total of eight people, including a 2-year-old girl.







At least 25,000 people have died and tens of thousands of people remained unaccounted for after two major earthquakes struck Turkey and Syria last week, according to foreign media reports. (Yonhap)






BIGBANG Seungri has been officially released from prison. Regarding his discharge, the release was scheduled two days earlier.

Read more for further details.

Seungri Discharged From Jail Earlier Than Expected, Ministry of Justice Confirms News

On February 9, Seungri's release from prison was announced. The former BIGBANG member was discharged after serving 18 months in jail time.

The "Burning Sun" issue was the largest scandal to impact the K-pop industry, due to its bleak nature. Its scandal didn't only affect Seungri, but many idols as well, and caused a domino effect.

The scandal heavily involved Seungri, which led to his prison time. Initially, Seungri was given a three-year sentence, but he was able to lower it down to 18 months.

He was also charged with nine different offenses with his involvement. Previously, Seungri was indicted in January 2020, where he faced charges of gambling, foreign exchange law violation, embezzlement, and prostitution mediation.

It was also reported that Seungri had already served his 1.5-year sentence before enlisting for mandatory military service. Seungri was supposed to be released on February 11, 2023. However, on February 9, the Ministry of Justice revealed that Seungri will be released from prison.

"It's confirmed, former BIGBANG member Seungri was released from Yeoju Prison this morning."

From there, Seungri's future will be determined after settling down. Fans are expectedly curious on what's going to happen with Seungri, after being released.

Seungri's Last Music Release Before The 'Burning Sun' Scandal, Retirement From K-pop

In other news, BIGBANG released their song "Flower Road" which involved Seungri. This marked Seungri's last endeavor with BIGBANG, as well as his final music-affiliated activity with the group.

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Before his resignation from BIGBANG, Seungri was included in "Flower Road," which was released in March 2018. Through the song, the song aims to bid farewell to VIPs, since the members will undergo military service.

In just three days and 14 hours, "Flower Road" sold more than one million copies in China. Regarding his last solo music, Seungri released his first and last album "The Great Seungri" in July 2018. The album's tracks highly involved him since he wrote most of the lyrics, and co-composed its songs.

Fans expressed their thoughts about "Flower Road" online:

"This song never fails to make me cry. I will never leave BIGBANG. I will walk with all of you in this flower road even though it's rocky and we fall many times will keep walking and rise once again." "Honestly no group in K-pop has voice as distinct as BB. Just one word and I already know who that is." "When I miss BIGBANG, I listen this song, hope they comeback for VIP. We miss you a lot."

Listen to "Flower Road" here!

What do you think will happen to Seungri after being dismissed? Tell us in the comments below!

Read KpopStarz for more K-pop news

KpopStarz owns this article

Written by Israel Monte
BTS J-Hope cleared out fans' frustrations with his unique airport fashion when he headed for 2022 MAMA Awards in Japan.

Here's what the idol said!

Confusing Fashion? BTS J-Hope Shares the Full Story of His Unique Getup

On February 9, BTS J-Hope appeared on YouTube variety show MMTG with host JaeJae.

J-Hope was interviewed about his daily routine and his career. During the talk show, the two discussed the hilarious gimmicks J-Hope has done so far.

JaeJae brought out his iconic airport fashion which bared his boxers out in the open. Embarrassed of the story, J-Hope couldn't contain his laughter upon seeing his fashion photos that day!

On November 27, 2022, the "ARSON" hitmaker caught everyone's attention during his appearance in the airport. Since J-hope's famous for updating his fashion style, he's not one to back down when it comes to exploring outside the trend.

J-Hope even shared his style on Instagram, where he was shown posing confidently!

However, his pants dropped lower when he arrived at the airport! Knowing this, host JaeJae conveyed that ARMYs contemplated if the idol had forgotten to adjust his clothes before stepping out.

J-Hope responded that he wasn't aware on how much his boxers were exposed and expressed his shock when it went down. The idol furthered that he should've double-checked the tack before getting off the car.

He also mentioned the pants might've gotten lower if he raised his hands. With all the photographers and fans there, J-Hope also made sure to wave at them.

JaeJae asked J-Hope if he had any regrets about the fashion, to which he admitted there were indeed, since it was met with mixed reactions.

"When I stepped out the car, it really got even lower. To be honest, I wished I re-checked the adjustment before walking outside. I also thought that it does go lower when I raise my hands." "The styling came off as odd. It gained both positive and negative remarks, so yes, I also felt embarrassed with it."

Nevertheless, J-Hope has a special place in ARMYs' hearts when it comes to style! On several occasions, J-Hope has proven his versatility from sporting vibrant colors to dark and gloomy ones.

Watch the full video here!

BTS J-Hope's Low-Rise Fashion Gains Attention, Receives Mixed Reactions

Most fans were stunned by his fashion. When the photos were released online, netizens were quick to notice, leading them to express their thoughts. J-Hope was applauded for experimenting styles.

See their comments below:

"He suits that style, but fashion is hard." "Looks good and pretty." "I'm not a fan of this trend, but I love that Hoseok likes to play around with fashion."

However, some didn't appreciate the outfit, pointing out the oddness concerning his pants and exposed boxers. Others also stated that low-rise is a hard style to wear.

"I honestly can't comprehend low-rise." "Looks like fashion is experiencing adverse change even in Korea now." "what shocks me the most is that he tucked his t-shirt into his underwear."

Did J-Hope's story make you laugh?

Read KpopStarz for more K-pop news.

KpopStarz owns this article

Written by Israel Monte
In K-pop, there are numerous idols who excels in singing. While there are many talented ones out there, some idols leave a mark because of their unique vocal color.

Here are 7 fourth-gen K-pop female idols with recognizable vocal color!

1. (G)I-DLE Miyeon

Miyeon's vocal color is often recognized in (G)I-DLE's songs, collabs, and even solo releases. Her voice captivates everyone's ears with her soothing vocals, which bears an identity to every performance she does!

2. aespa Winter

Winter isn't just known for her vocal range, but also for her high-vocal tone which implements a great asset to aespa's releases. Her voice was so impressive to the point of Winter earning a place for SM's sub-unit, GOT The Beat. This only proves her vocal prowess! In her talent alone, Winter is a perfect addition to aespa and GOT The Beat.

3. NewJeans Hanni

NewJeans Hanni's sweet and gentle vocals adds charms to the group's releases. Aside from their songs, Hanni has also proved her singing when she covered IU's "Through the Night," which received praises across fanbases. Her voice also fit their releases, especially in "OMG" where she reinforced her status as bias-wrecker!

4. (G)I-DLE Soyeon

While it's a widespread notion that Soyeon is one of the most charismatic rappers in 4th gen, fans can also easily distinguish her rapping due to her distinct tone. Aside from her fast and smooth rap skills, her signature sound is what makes her stand out.

5. (G)I-DLE Yuqi

Another ace from (G)I-DLE, Yuqi never fails to catch listeners' attention with her deep, husky voice. There were even instances that Yuqi shocked viewers with their music videos since her face didn't match her vocals, and fans love her for it!

6. ITZY Ryujin

Ryujin's cool and laid-back vocal tone matches her awesome personality and ITZY's teen-crush concept. Whenever she raps, MIDZYs are quick to recognize her parts in every song!

7. NMIXX Lily

Perhaps one of the most recognizable vocalists in 4th gen K-pop, NMIXX LILY boasts with her powerful vocals. Lily's voice was so remarkable, some fans even dubbed her as the 4th gen 'Wendy,' which refers to Red Velvet's main vocalist!

Do you know any other female idols with unique vocal color? Let us know in the comments below!

Read KpopStarz for more K-pop news.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: These 20 Female Idols Have Underrated Visuals According to Netizens: Do You Agree?

KpopStarz owns this article

Written by Israel Monte
Dausa (Rajasthan) [India], February 12 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Rajasthan's Dausa district to inaugurate the Delhi-Dausa-Lalsot section of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, on Sunday.

PM Modi will also lay the foundation stone of development projects worth over Rs 18,100 crore.

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Rajasthan BJP State President PL Poonia and BJP Leader reached the event site and inspected the preparations on Saturday.

Regarding this, the BJP has made full efforts for the preparation, and around two lakh people are expected to reach Dausa, said Bharatiya Janata Party State President Satish Poonia in a press conference on Saturday.

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The BJP leaders have invited people from every village and district to attend the Prime Minister's programme.

BJP state president Satish Poonia and BJP leader Arun Singh held a press conference on Saturday at the inauguration site by the Prime Minister.

BJP state president Poonia said that this is the biggest express highway in the world which has been built with special technology. He claimed that people from all over the world are coming to see it.

"Even Japan has inspected the express highway to know about this technology. This express highway is very important for Rajasthan and the Prime Minister has given a big gift to the people of Rajasthan," he added.

BJP leader Arun Singh said that the infrastructure will increase with the Delhi-Mumbai express highway, and the dimensions of employment will increase.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken this express highway on a priority basis. The country is continuously progressing under the leadership of the Prime Minister, BJP leader Arun Singh said.

"Along with the express highway, 111 waterways are also being constructed. 50 new airports are being built. Huge investments are coming to the state which will improve employment opportunities and farmers and other sections will get employment," he added.

Regarding the allegation made by Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot that a government program has been made a BJP program, BJP leader Arun Singh said that people from far and wide are coming to listen to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He is everyone's leader. He said that the budget is being continuously increased by the Prime Minister for the construction of the express highway and now 10 lakh crore rupees have been invested so that people get employment, and transportation facilities and people's time is saved.

"The Prime Minister belongs to the whole country, so the Congress should also come forward and congratulate the Prime Minister," he added.

BJP leader Arun Singh said that when there is world-class infrastructure, foreign countries will also invest. Employment opportunities will be available and the country will emerge as a big power on the world map.

The member of Parliament from Alwar, Balaknath was also present on this occasion.

The 246 km Delhi - Dausa - Lalsot section of the Delhi Mumbai Expressway has been developed at a cost of more than Rs 12,150 crore. This operationalization of this section will reduce the travel time from Delhi to Jaipur from 5 hours to around 3.5 hours and provide a major boost to the economic development of the entire region.

Delhi Mumbai Expressway will be India's longest expressway with a length of 1,386 km. It will reduce the travel distance between Delhi and Mumbai by 12 per cent from 1,424 km to 1,242 Km and travel time will be reduced by 50 per cent from 24 hours to 12 hours.

It will pass through six states, Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra and connect major cities like Kota, Indore, Jaipur, Bhopal, Vadodara and Surat.

The Expressway will also serve 93 PM Gati Shakti Economic Nodes, 13 ports, 8 major airports and 8 multi-modal logistics parks (MMLPs) along with spurs to new upcoming greenfield airports such as Jewar Airport, Navi Mumbai Airport and JNPT port.

The Expressway will have a catalytic impact on the developmental trajectory of all adjoining regions, thus contributing in a major way to the economic transformation of the country.

During the programme, Prime Minister will also lay the foundation stone of 247 kilometres of National Highway projects to be developed at the cost of more than Rs 5940 crore.

This includes a 67 km long four-lane spur road from Bandikui to Jaipur to be developed at the cost of more than Rs 2000 crore, a six-lane spur road from Kotputli to Baraodaneo, to be developed at the cost of about Rs 3775 crore and a two-lane paved shoulder of Lalsot - Karoli section, being developed at the cost of about Rs 150 crore. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Jammu and Kashmir [India], February 12 (ANI): Mukesh Singh, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Jammu Zone on Sunday concluded his two-day visit to Rajouri and Poonch districts.

During his visit, ADGP Jammu Zone accompanied by the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Rajouri-Poonch range Mohd. Haseeb Mughal, IPS and SSP Rajouri Mohd. Aslam, JKPS visited Kalakote, Budhal, Rajouri and Surankot.

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ADGP Jammu Zone also chaired joint security review meetings which were attended by senior officers of the Army and CRPF besides district police, a statement from the police read.

ADGP Jammu Zone stressed strengthening both Border and Hinterland security grid and focusing on counter-terrorist operations and targeting the OGW network of terrorists. He stressed on all the officers put in their best to target terrorists present in the Rajouri district.

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He also laid thrust on effective and actionable intelligence collection.

He was briefed regarding measures taken by District Police Rajouri and was also briefed regarding a few terror cases which had been solved in a record time.

DIG R-P Range, SSP Rajouri and SSP Poonch assured that efforts shall continue with full dedication so that the overall security situation improves and the general public feels secure and safe. (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 12 (ANI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah will hold two rallies and a roadshow in poll-bound Tripura on Sunday.

Shah will begin his day by visiting Mata Tripura Sundari Temple at around 11 am in Udaipur town of Tripura.

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He will then address two rallies as part of the Vijay Sankalp Rally in the state.

First, he will hold the rally in Chandipur in the Unakoti district at 12 pm and later in Bishramganj town in Sepahijala district at 2 pm.

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Later in the day at around 4 pm, the Home Minister will hold a road show in the Pratapgarh Assembly constituency.

On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed two rallies in poll-bound Tripura, giving a boost to the BJP's campaign, as he attacked the Left-Congress alliance in the state saying they have ignored the interests of the poor.

Addressing public meetings at Ambassa and Radhakishorepur, PM Modi said that the BJP is committed to honouring the pride of tribals and to their overall development.

He said the BJP government had worked to empower women in the state and they now feel a sense of security.

In the rally in Ambassa, PM Modi talked about the work done in Tripura during five years of BJP-led government.

"I had promised "HIRA" (Highways, Internet ways, Railways and Airways) in Tripura and people could see the delivery of projects. The work of doubling the length of National Highways in Tripura is at a high pace," he said.

Prime Minister said the 'tri-shakti' of housing, health and income is empowering the people of the state.

He said PM Awas Yojana has changed the lives of the poor people and three lakh pucca houses for the poor have been constructed.

He said the BJP government is focussing on increasing the income of people in Tripura.

Money has been transferred into the bank accounts of farmers under PM-Kisan. "Under our rule, farmers are reaping the benefits of MSP (minimum support price)," he said.

He alleged that CPI-M cadres had influence in police stations earlier but now there is the rule of law in the state.

PM Modi said that BJP has worked for making Tripura free of fear and violence.

The Prime Minister is scheduled to visit the state again on Monday.

In the previous polls, the BJP-led alliance ousted the Left Front government creating a record.

Elections will be held on 60 seats in Tripura on February 16. The counting of votes will be held on March 2.

The Bharatiya Janata Party is contesting 55 seats while its partner Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) is contesting five. (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 12 (PTI) Union Home Minister Amit Shah's visit to Srinagar on June 26 in 2019 was to give the final touch to the government's resolve for carrying out the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, Lt General (retired) K J S Dhillon has claimed in his yet-to-be-released book.

'Kitne Ghazi Aaye Kitne Ghazi Gaye', authored by Dhillon, will be released on February 14 as a mark of respect to the 40 Central Reserve Police Force personnel who were killed in a suicide car bomb attack in 2019 near Lethpora in South Kashmir.

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Amit Shah's visit on June 26, 2019, was already touted to be a precursor for a dramatic announcement and "I got a call at 2 am in the morning, informing me of a meeting with the home minister at 7 am", Dhillon said in his book.

Without divulging much about his meeting with the home minister, the retired Lt General, who was the head of the army's strategic Srinagar-based XV Corps, wrote that "a lot of sensitive issues and key points were on the table for discussion apart from delectable food that include 'aloo paratha and famous Gujarati dish 'dhokla' during our tete-e-tete".

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The discussions included understanding the reaction of Pakistan to the "path breaking declaration" that was now certain to be followed, he said.

"I must point out, and with absolute objectivity and great professional input, that the home minister was in absolute control and fully conversant with the agenda and... he had obviously done extensive research and homework," the retired Lt General said.

At the conclusion of the meeting, "I was asked about my frank and personal view, (and) my immediate response was 'agar itihaas likhna hai, toh kisi ko itihas banana padega' (we can write history only if we make history)", Dhillon said in the book.

This was the last meeting in Srinagar before the government on August 5, 2019, announced the abrogation of Article 370, which granted special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, and its bifurcation into union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

The retired Lt General said authorities had to shut internet because of lies being propagated from across the border, besides ensuring that there was no loss of life and property.

"At the end of this, I would say this with all my pride that the objective was achieved," Dhillon, who was heading the local army command in Kashmir when the decision was taken, wrote in the book.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
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Mumbai, Feb 12 (PTI) Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday targeted the BJP, saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi wouldn't have come this far had Bal Thackeray not "saved" him when the then PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee had asked him to follow "rajdharma".

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He said Shiv Sena protected a political leadership for 25-30 years but they (BJP) didn't want Sena and also the Akali Dal- the erstwhile members of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

"I fell out with BJP but I never abandoned Hindutva. The BJP is not Hindutva. Uttar Bharatiyas want answers on what Hindutva is. Hating each other is not Hindutva," he told a gathering of north Indians in Mumbai.

Thackeray accused the BJP of creating a rift among Hindus.

"For 25-30 years, Shiv Sena protected a political friendship. Hindutva meant warmth amongst us. They (BJP) didn't want anyone. They didn't want Akali Dal... Shiv Sena," he said.

"It was Balasaheb Thackeray who saved the current prime minister when Atalji (then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee) wanted him to honour 'Rajdharma'. But Balasaheb intervened saying it was the need of the hour. Had that not happened he (Modi) wouldn't have reached here," Thackeray said in an apparent reference to Vajpayee's remarks asking then Gujarat chief minister Modi to follow "rajdharma" after the 2002 communal riots.

He said the Shiv Sena founder never nurtured hatred.

"Being Hindu never meant being Marathi and hating north Indians. Balasaheb was against those who were anti-India irrespective of their religion," he added.

Thackeray said he walked out of the alliance with BJP to protect his dignity and joined hands with the NCP and Congress to form the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) after the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly polls.

".....Otherwise I would have been a slave with a belt around my neck just like some of my people have now become," he said in an apparent reference to the rebel Shiv Sena MLAs who belong to the Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena faction led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

Thackeray said he becomes a victim of the smear campaign whenever he meets north Indians or Muslims and questioned are raised on his Hindutva.

"My meeting with you has been criticised. If I meet Muslims, it is said I have given up Hindutva. When PM Narendra Modi came to Mumbai two days back, whose kitchen did he go to? If I had done that I would have been called anti-Hindu.

"But if the prime minister does that then it is said he has a big heart. I want to make it clear we have nothing against the Bohra community. They are with us," he said.

During his latest visit to Mumbai, the prime minister inaugurated the new Marol campus of the Aljamea-tus-Saifiyah Arabic Academy, a prominent educational institution of the Bohra community, and said he had come there as a family member of the community.

(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 12 (ANI): The protest by locals against the Demolition Drive by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) is underway for the third consecutive day in the Mehrauli for the third consecutive day on Sunday.

The agitated protestors could be heard sloganeering against the government and the DDA with slogans of "DDA haaye haaye", "Taanashahi nahi chalegi, nahi chalegi".

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It has also been claimed from the site that the raging protestors threw red chilli powder on the security personnel deployed at the protest site.

Meanwhile, the Delhi Police said that suitable legal action will be taken against some women who allegedly threw red chilli powder on the police personnel. They also clarified that police did not conduct lathi charge on any individual there and no one was injured.

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"There was no lathi charge from the police. No one has been injured. They (locals) were obstructing the DDA personnel and police and some women also threw red chilli powder on police personnel. A suitable legal action is being taken against them," the Delhi Police said.

An official statement from the DDA on Saturday said that the drive is intended to clear the unauthorised encroachments on the government's land that houses protected monuments of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) among others was started by the DDA on Friday in co-ordination with Delhi Police at Lado Sarai Village falling in Mehrauli Archaeological Park.

The statement further read that a demarcation exercise, to identify the extent of unauthorized and illegal encroachment or construction, for the purpose of removing them, had been carried out as per the direction of the High Court by the Revenue Department, representatives, in the presence of DDA and Waqf Board representatives in December 2021.

"This park, adjacent to the iconic Qutub Minar is home to about 55 monuments under the protection of ASI, State Archaeological Department of GNCTD and DDA," it added mentioning that the Delhi High Court has, on many occasions, directed the government authorities to secure, protect and preserve the area falling under Mehrauli Archaeological Park by removing illegal encroachment.

On February 11, the Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government asked the DDA to stop demolition in south Delhi's Mehrauli and the officials said that the residents cannot be displaced until fresh demarcation is conducted.

"Many residents of Village Ladha Sarai have represented against DDA's demolition drive on the basis of faulty demarcation. I have advised Divisional Commissioner & DM south to carry out fresh demarcation in the presence of affected persons," Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot tweeted.

Meanwhile, on Friday, the Delhi High Court pulled up the DDA over demolition in Mehrauli despite a stay order till the next date of hearing, i.e., February 16.

This matter pertains to DDA's demolition drive in different colonies falling under ward number 8 of Mehrauli.

Advocate Ankit Jain appearing on behalf of one petitioner Ruchi and 16 others moved a plea against the Delhi government, DDA and the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) stating that the properties of the petitioners are in the urbanised village Mehrauli, which falls within 'Lal Dora' land and has been duly registered with the Sub Divisional Magistrate's Office, Mehrauli since the year 2001.

The sum and substance of the said demolition order are that some Khasra numbers, falling in the village 'Ladha Sarai', have been encroached upon by unauthorised occupants, the petition stated.

It is also said that the said notice to the properties falling in the village Ladha Sarai and the Mehrauli Archeological Park.

The notice granted the said occupants to evict the area within 10 days.

It was argued that the properties of the petitioners are falling in neither of the above. The petitioners' properties are self-owned and have been in existence for more than 25 years. (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, Feb 12 (PTI) As part of India's G20 presidency, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) will organise the first Digital Economy Working Group meeting here from February 13-15, officials said on Sunday.

Workshops, discussions, and experiences, including side events on themes that complement the overall DEWG agenda, will be held as part of the three-day event, it said.

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There will be four workshops focussing on digital public infrastructure -- sharing implementation experiences of digital identity in various countries, sharing of cyber security solutions for MSMEs, digital public infrastructure to boost attainment of sustainable development goals and use of geo-spatial technologies for infrastructure and product development in digital economy.

Alongside these workshops, the digital initiatives of Uttar Pradesh will also be showcased.

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In addition, an exhibition with Digital India experience centre has been set up to showcase how Digital India has transformed the lives of a billion plus population in India using cutting-edge technologies.

Visitors can engage with more than 40 digital transformational initiatives in the experience centre.

The DEWG meetings in India will continue to work towards the vision of digital transformation and the global digital economy as a means of fostering innovation and delivering public services in a secure cyber environment through a digitally skilled workforce.

The next two days will feature focused deliberations on the priority areas of DEWG -- digital public infrastructure, cybersecurity in the digital economy, and digital skilling.

The DEWG was originally formed in 2017 as part of the German G20 presidency with the aim of promoting the implementation of a secure, interconnected, and inclusive digital economy.

With the global digital economy estimated to be worth USD 11 trillion and expected to reach USD 23 trillion by 2025, the DEWG plays a critical role in shaping the global policy discourse in the digital space.

In addition to the G20 member countries, India has also invited guest countries and International organisations like the World Bank, UNESCO, OECD, International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and UNDP to participate in the DEWG meetings.

The DEWG will also meet in Hyderabad, Pune, and Bengaluru in April, June and August. The ministerial meeting of DEWG will take place in Bengaluru.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Rajasthan [India], February 12 (ANI): Leader of Opposition in Rajasthan and senior leader of Bharatiya Janata Party Gulab Chand Kataria has been given the responsibility of the Governor of Assam on which he said he would "fulfil the responsibility honestly."

Talking to ANI, Gulab Chand Kataria said, "My party has always shown its trust in me." Whenever the party has given me whatever, responsibility, I have tried to fulfil it to the best of my ability."

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Responding to reporters' questions on what will be his priority in Assam, Kataria said, "PM Narendra Modi and senior people of my party consider me worthy of doing that work. With god and party leaders' blessings, I will definitely try to live up to their expectations."

Talking about Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Kataria said, "Two days back I received a call from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and he asked about my health."

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Even Gulabchand Kataria was not known that he is going to be the next Governor of Assam state.

"I get the information about becoming the Governor from the media this morning. After that many big leaders associated with the party called him," Kataria said.

Leader of the Opposition Gulab Chand Kataria will now assume the role of Governor, but he says that the BJP will win the assembly elections in Rajasthan later this year, even though Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot claims to repeat the Congress government but the kind of budget that the public is being enticed by, no work is done on the ground.

The Rashtrapati Bhavan on Sunday announced the names for appointment on the post of 12 Governors for states and one Lieutenant Governor in the Union Territory of Ladakh.

Let Gen Kaiwalya Trivikram Parnaik, PVSM, UYSM, YSM (Retired) has been appointed as the Governor of Arunachal Pradesh, Lakshman Prasad Acharya as Governor of Sikkim, CP Radhakrishnan as Governor of Jharkhand, Shiv Pratap Shukla as Governor of Himachal Pradesh, Gulab Chand Kataria as Governor of Assam, the statement read.

"The above appointments will take effect from the dates they assume charge of their respective offices," the statement added. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
New Delhi, February 12: A "mentally ill" man allegedly committed suicide by jumping in front of a moving train at Mayur Vihar-1 metro station in east Delhi on Sunday, police said. Ajay Laxman Pakhale, a former senior manager at Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL), jumped from the station's platform no. 1, they said.

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) did not comment on the incident. A call was received from the station controller of Mayur Vihar-1 metro station saying that a man had jumped in front of a moving train from platform no. 1, the police said. Delhi Shocker: Mentally Ill Man Dies by Suicide After Jumping in Front of Metro at Mayur Vihar-1 Station.

The victim was shifted to Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital where he was declared brought dead. Later, his father and sister were informed, a senior police officer said. It was found during the inquiry that the man was "mentally ill" and was undergoing treatment at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, he said.

"During an analysis of CCTV footage, it was found that the man jumped on his own from platform no. 1 at Mayur Vihar-1 metro station at 1:51 pm. Further inquiry is underway and inquest proceedings have been initiated," he added. Delhi: Man Commits Suicide by Jumping in Front of Metro Train at Mandi House Metro Station.

Pakhale did his M.Tech from IIT Kanpur and worked with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for four years. After that, he joined GAIL as a senior manager but resigned in November 2022, the police 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 12 (PTI) The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Sunday said two terror suspects who were planning to leave for Afghanistan were arrested in a case related to activities of the Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) aimed at radicalising and provoking the youth to indulge in acts of terrorism in the country.

Mohd Arif, a resident of Bengaluru, and Hamraz Worshid Shaikh of Maharashtra were in online contact with foreign-based handlers affiliated to proscribed terrorist organisations, a spokesperson of the federal agency said.

Also Read | Uttarakhand: Tigress Found Dead in Buffer Zone of Corbett Tiger Reserve Near Almora.

The duo were picked up for questioning on Saturday during searches carried out at Thanisandra in Bengaluru and Palghar-Thane in Maharashtra.

"NIA arrested the two accused (on Sunday) in a case relating to conspiracy by terrorist organisations based in India and abroad to radicalise the youth and provoke them to indulge in acts of violence and terrorism, the spokesperson said.

Also Read | UP Global Investors Summit 2023: Uttar Pradesh Capable and Ready To Become Indias Growth Engine, Says President Droupadi Murmu.

The NIA said preliminary investigations have revealed that the two accused were in contact online with foreign-based handlers affiliated to proscribed terrorist organisations.

"They had also made elaborate plans to leave for Afghanistan to progress their terrorist activities," the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said the case was initially registered at Tilaknagar Police Station in Bengaluru on July 24 last year and re-registered by the NIA on November 30.

(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 12 (PTI) Norway's Trade and Investment Minister Jan Christian Vestre has stated that his country fully supports India's efforts in promoting multilateralism and a rules-based trade system.

The minister praised the Indian government's leadership at the G-20 and highlighted the importance of continuing the process of globalization.

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That's an initiative our government supports 100 per cent and we also appreciate your leadership at G-20 and that you are so focussed on multilateralism and that we need rules-based trade system, Vestre said in an interview with PTI.

The Norwegian minister, who was here on a two-day visit to India last week, said that some countries are turning away from the path of globalization.

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We see now that some countries are turning in different directions but it is very important now that we continue this process of globalizationfree trade, sharing is caring and that will be beneficial for all of us so all the initiatives from the Indian side that can promote this approach to how should we organize our world will have full support from Norwegian side, the minister emphasised.

He spoke highly of the 2nd India-Nordic summit which held last year, calling it a great success. He expressed pride in the joint statement made by India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the five Nordic prime ministers, which he sees as a testament to the strong ties between the two regions.

We really hope we can gather the prime ministers again, hopefully, next time in Norway, because another thing we will follow up on right now, he added.

The minister stated that he feels that the ties have "never been stronger than now" and there is a huge momentum driving them forward with more close cooperation in various areas, including the maritime industry, hydrogen, renewable energy, batteries, rare earth minerals, technologies, and innovations.

Trade between India and Norway has doubled in the last three years, and the minister stated that there is huge potential for even more cooperation in the years to come.

It is very important to connect companies from India with firms from Norway so that they can work more closely together, exploring new technologies, do common projects and there is a need to increase common investment. And there are a lot of things we can share such as competence, knowledge, and experience, he underlined.

India and Norway have decided to follow up on their initiatives in the areas of fuel cell technologies, green ammonia, hydrogen, and charging infrastructure with specific action plans, with the aim of translating their discussions into tangible actions.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Madurai (Tamil Nadu) [India], February 12 (ANI): More than 180 students from government schools will be taken by a private school in Madurai on an educational tour to the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.

Queen Mira International School (QMIS) school have taken the initiative of taking 187 government school students on tour to the ISRO spaceport.

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A student of Madurai government corporation school, Divayasri said, "I always wanted to go to ISRO atleast one day in my life but never had a chance to visit because of the economic condition of my family. I can't go there but now I am very happy that I got a chance to go to ISRO."

187 students from corporation and government schools and around 30 teachers from the respective schools will go on a tour.

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"I had a dream to go to ISRO. It is about to be fulfilled now. I want to become a scientist. This ISRO trip gives me the courage to become a scientist one day," said Deepika, another government corporation school student. (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 12 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the year-long celebrations commemorating the 200th birth anniversary of Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati, at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in the national capital on Sunday at 11 am.

Prime Minister will also address the gathering on the occasion.

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Union Minister GK Reddy and MoS Culture Arjun Ram Meghwal and Meenakshi Lekhi will grace the occasion

According to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati, born on February 12, 1824, was a social reformer who founded Arya Samaj in 1875 to counter the prevalent social inequities.

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Arya Samaj has played a key role in the cultural and social awakening of the country through its emphasis on social reforms and education.

The government has been committed to celebrating the social reformers and important personalities, especially those whose contributions were not given their due yet on a pan-India scale.

From declaring the birth anniversary of Bhagwan Birsa Muda as Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas to participating in a programme commemorating Sri Aurobindo's 150th birth anniversary, Prime Minister Modi has been leading such initiatives from the front.

.(ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Prayagraj (UP), Feb 12 (PTI) Prayagraj will witness a unique mass marriage event on February 18 in which several people with disability will tie knots and embark on a new life with the help of the city residents.

The event, in its 15th year, is unique in that instead of the groom, the wedding procession will be brought by the bride's side.

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Srinarayan Yadav, convenor of the event, told PTI that the event is being organised by Swaraj Divyangjan Seva Parivar this year, and will be held in the premises of Rajshri Tandon Seva Kendra, Bank Road.

Twelve divyang (people with disability) couples will tie the knot during the event.

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In all, about 350 Divyangs have got married in the last 15 years under the programme which is held with the support of the general public, Yadav said.

There is a tradition of gifting household articles to the newlyweds by the people from the city and outside.

People who run businesses come forward and donate their articles to help the couples start a new life, Yadav said.

For example, every year a sewing machine is presented to every such pair by Salim Sherwani, a cupboard by Kuldeep Bhaiya of Chowk, and a bed by Inner Wheel Club.

The guest house for the function is arranged by Rajkumar Chopra of Lok Sevak Mandal.

The ceremony is held in a traditional manner in line with the couples' faiths.

A day before marriage, a haldi ceremony will be organised in which Justice Vijayalakshmi will be the chief guest, Yadav said.

Marriage of Hindu couples will be done by Shri Prakash ji (Chhote Maharaj ji) Pandit, while nikah of Muslim couples will be done by Idreesh Raza Misbahi.

Yadav said that Justice Neeraj Tiwari of Allahabad High Court will be the chief guest in the marriage programme. Rajya Sabha MP Imran Pratapgarhi too will attend as a guest.

Several personalities working for the cause of divyangs at the national level such as Virendra Langu from Jammu and Kashmir, Manoj Shashikant Patwari from Maharashtra, Tanveer Alam from Uttarakhand, Vishnukant Mishra from Lucknow, Dr Deshraj from Delhi, and Kavita Yadav Tripathi from Prayagraj will be felicitated on the occasion.

Yadav said that the event was started with the support of advocate Subhash Rathi of the Allahabad High Court.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
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New Delhi, Feb 12 (PTI) The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday two pleas on the issue of alleged delay by the Centre in clearing names recommended by the Collegium for appointment of judges to the apex court and the high courts.

While hearing the matter on February 3, a bench headed by Justice S K Kaul had expressed displeasure over the delay in clearing recommendations for the transfer of high court judges, calling it a "very serious issue".

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Attorney General R Venkataramani had on February 3 assured the top court that the Collegium's recommendation of December last year for the elevation of five judges to the apex court will be cleared soon.

On February 6, five judges - Justices Pankaj Mithal, Sanjay Karol, P V Sanjay Kumar, Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Manoj Misra - were administered the oath of office as apex court judges.

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Two new top court judges - Justices Rajesh Bindal and Aravind Kumar - will be administered the oath of office by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud on February 13.

Once these two judges will take oath, the top court will achieve its full strength of 34 judges, including the CJI, after a gap of nine months.

Meanwhile, four judges, including two who will retire later this month, were on Sunday appointed as chief justices of high courts.

The appointment of judges through the Collegium system has become a major flashpoint between the Supreme Court and the Centre with the mechanism drawing criticism from different quarters.

During the February 3 hearing in the apex court, advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for one of the petitioners, had flagged the issue of names reiterated by the Collegium not being cleared by the government.

During the earlier hearing in the matter on January 6, the attorney general told the apex court that all efforts were being made to "conform" to the timelines laid down by it for processing the names recommended by the Collegium for appointment of judges to constitutional courts.

One of the pleas in the apex court has alleged "wilful disobedience" of the time frame laid down in its April 20, 2021 to facilitate the timely appointment of judges.

In the order, the court had said the Centre should appoint judges within three-four weeks if the Collegium reiterates its recommendations unanimously.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Agra (Uttar Pradesh) [India], February 12 (ANI): Amid the ongoing Uttar Pradesh Global Investors Summit 2023 in Lucknow, a light and sound show was organized for the G20 delegation at Agra Fort on Saturday. The event was marked by the presence of the Union Minister for Women and Child Development, Smriti Irani.

Speaking at the event, Smriti Irani said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of preserving the heritage of the country is being carried forward through these types of shows in the country.

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"PM Modi always talks about preserving our heritage. We have taken forward this message of PM. All the delegates were stunned after seeing the show and realising that this is not only the capability of India but it is the history of India," Smriti Irani said.

Earlier while attending the UP G20 Investors Summit Smriti Irani said under the Narendra Modi government, women's empowerment could be seen across the sectors.

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During the first session of the G20 summit held in Agra on Saturday, the minister said, "through the summit, we will ensure the overall development of women in their respective countries". The minister said women have to be at the centre of any discourse and decision for a future-ready society.

Taking to her social media, she wrote, "G20 Empower Inception Meeting was held in Agra today. Historically, women have been accorded immense honour & respect in India. In line with our civilisational ethos & Women-led Development, as envisioned by PM @narendramodi Ji, @g20org will further bolster @g20empower. #G20India"

"G20 Empower under India's G20 Presidency will focus on Entrepreneurship, Leadership and Education among women. Today's Inception Meeting in Agra was themed on the importance of Digital Skilling and Future Skills to empower women towards leading across sectors. #G20India," the minister added.

Uttar Pradesh Global Investors Summit 2023 was inaugurated by PM Modi on Friday in Lucknow.

Highlighting the country's development strides and investment-friendly environment and pointing out that Uttar Pradesh is leading the country's growth, the PM said that India is reforming not out of compulsion, but out of conviction.

The PM said a big change is being witnessed in the thinking and aspirations of Indian society and youth today. The aspirations of the country are pushing the governments, and these aspirations are pushing the development work.

UP Global Investors Summit 2023 is the flagship investment summit of the Government of Uttar Pradesh. The mega event is aimed to bring together policymakers, industry leaders, academia, think tanks and leaders from across the world to explore business opportunities and forge partnerships collectively.

Investor UP 2.0 is a comprehensive, investor-centric and service-oriented investment ecosystem in Uttar Pradesh that endeavours to deliver relevant, well-defined, standardized services to investors, said an official statement. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], February 12 (ANI): Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday said that the government aims to create a vibrant and world-class domestic defence industry to achieve the goal of 'Atmanirbhar'.

"Our aim is to create a vibrant and world-class domestic defence industry so that we can achieve the goal of Atmanirbhar in the defence as well as the overall development of the nation. This event will also help us to move forward on this path," said Singh.

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Rajnath Singh was addressing a curtain raiser event of the 14th edition of Aero India in Bengaluru on Sunday.

The event is to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Yelahanka tomorrow.

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Speaking on the eve of the five-day-long event, the Defence Minister said that the government is committed to making India Atmanirbhar in the defence sector.

"The government is committed to making India Atmanirbhar in the defence sector and the target is to achieve defence exports worth Rs 25,000 crores by the year 2024," said Singh.

Taking note of Aero India 2023, he said, "we envisioned it to be a big event, but it has taken shape of an even more grand event."

"With participants from around 100 friendly countries and 800 exhibitors, this Aero show is the biggest so far," he added.

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai who was also present on the occassion, said, "With this event, we can showcase the capabilities of our Indian aerospace technologies, and also can showcase the actual manufacturing units both in commercial and defence aircraft building."

He said that he wants to see a fully Bengaluru-manufactured aircraft. "Bengaluru manufactures all the parts, used in the building of an aircraft. So my ambitious dream is that the day should not be far away when we build our own aircraft here in Bengaluru," said Bommai.

According to officials, the theme of Aero India 2023 is "The Runway to a Billion Opportunities'.

The event will witness participation from more than 80 countries. Ministers of about 30 countries and 65 CEOs of global and Indian OEMs are likely to participate in Aero India 2023.

It will also witness the participation of more than 800 Defence companies including around 100 foreign and 700 Indian companies.

The Indian companies participating in the exhibition include MSMEs and start-ups, which will showcase the advancement of niche technologies, and growth in aerospace and defence capabilities in the country.

Major exhibitors in Aero India 2023 include Airbus, Boeing, Dassault Aviation, Lockheed Martin, Israel Aerospace Industry, BrahMos Aerospace, Army Aviation, HC Robotics, SAAB, Safran, Rolls Royce, Larsen and Toubro, Bharat Forge Limited, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) and BEML Limited. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Jaipur, Feb 12 (PTI) From quoting iconic Bollywood songs and dialogues to sharing memes, the Rajasthan Police is using popular culture as a tool to raise awareness among youngsters about online luring and fake social media profiles during the ongoing Valentine's week.

The creative messages, with a twist of humour, are being shared by the state police force on its official Facebook account and Twitter handle to grab the attention of youngsters who might easily fall prey to scamsters.

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The social media posts are also being used to desist the youth from following gangsters on social media.

A tweet shared on 'Chocolate Day' (February 9) was the iconic poster from the blockbuster film '3 Idiots'.

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Captioned "jahapanah tussi great ho, chocolate kubool karo," a famed dialogue from the film, it alerted people to stay away from "digital chocolate" and adopt cyber safety to ensure "all is well" -- a catchphrase of one of the lead protagonists as well as a hit song from the 2009 movie.

Warning people against sharing their OTPs with anyone, a post on 'Rose Day' (February 7) had the image of a WhatsApp inbox with two people chatting about how one of them lost all savings due to an online scam.

A caption at the bottom of the image read, "roz roz tum jo sanam aisa karoge, paise lut jayenge to aahen bharoge (If you keep on doing this, you will lose all your money)" -- a parody of a song from the 1996 Bollywood blockbuster "Saajan Chale Sasural".

And for girls, police came up with a creative message to caution them about how fake profiles on social media can harm them.

"Kal aaj aur kal, kabhi bhi aa sakta hai fake proposal," the post read.

Additional Director General (Technical Services) Sunil Dutt said the plans of cyber criminals can be thwarted if there is awareness among the masses.

And linking Valentine's week with cyber crime is an effort in that direction, he said.

Though it is a long-term campaign of Rajasthan Police to make people aware about cyber crimes, we picked Valentine's week to reach out to youngsters, Dutt said.

Talking about the force's latest post shared on 'Promise Day' on Saturday, the officer said a poster from the cult film "Gangs Of Wasseypur" has been used to desist people from getting influenced by gangsters through social media posts.

"Hazrat, hazrat, hazrat, aaj ka pakka promise, na gansgters ko karenge follow na kisi ko karne denge (let's promise not to follow gangsters and discourage others from doing so)," read the caption accompanying the poster depicting actor Manoj Bajpayee.

According to officials, the social media team of the Rajasthan Police has been quite active for some time now and similar creative campaigns have been launched from time to time over the last one-and-a-half years.

Film songs, poetry, punchlines, and dialogues from popular Hindi movies are being used in the campaigns, they said.

Interesting messages are easily understood by the common man. Earlier, on occasions like Holi, and New Year's Eve, such campaigns were launched and proved to be very popular, the officer said.

Meanwhile, people too are appreciating the innovative initiative albeit with some suggestions.

"It is a humble request to put a ban on all kinds of songs and events that promote gun culture. Also, instructions should be given to You Tube and Instagram to not encourage them," tweeted Dharm Bainada.

Another social media user, Vishwadeep said, "Rajasthan Police is doing a great job to reform youngsters who have deviated from the path of goodness. I would like to thank the officers running this campaign and also the entire police department."

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Thiruvananthapuram, February 12: Senior Congress leader and former Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy was on Sunday airlifted to a private hospital in Bengaluru, party sources said. Chandy had been admitted to a private hospital in nearby Neyyattinkara for treatment after he was infected with pneumonia.

The Congress veteran, who was taken out of the hospital in a wheelchair, thanked the doctors and staff of the hospital and said there was no basis for the concerns regarding the treatment given to him.

"There is no basis for the controversy related to my treatment," Chandy said in a feeble voice to the media. His wife, two daughters and son, Chandy Oommen, accompanied the senior leader to Bengaluru.

On Saturday, AICC general secretary in-charge of organisation K C Venugopal had said the Congress has decided to shift Chandy to a hospital in Bengaluru. Earlier, concerns were raised from various quarters over his deteriorating health. His relatives had alleged that the veteran Congress leader was being denied proper medical care by his close family members.

As the social media was abuzz with reports of his health condition, Chandy had posted a video on his son's Facebook page, claiming that he was given proper care by his family and the party.

The development came after Chandy's 42 close relatives, including his younger brother, sent a letter to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan seeking his urgent intervention to provide better treatment for his predecessor.

Chandy has not been keeping well since 2019. He was taken to Germany a few months ago after his throat-related ailment aggravated. Chandy, who represents Puthuppally constituency in the state Assembly since 1970, was chief minister of Kerala twice.
Washington [US], February 12 (ANI): Web browsing application Opera is now adding a ChatGPT-powered tool to its sidebar that generates brief summaries of webpages and articles.

According to The Verge, an American technology news website, the feature, called "shorten," is part of the company's broader plans to integrate AI tools into its browser, similar to what Microsoft's doing with Edge.

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Users can enable the functionality by clicking the "shorten" button to the right of the address bar, as seen in a demo included in Opera's blog article.

From there, a ChatGPT sidebar will appear on the left, generating a clean, bulleted summary of the article or webpage you're viewing. Opera's announcement comes just days after Microsoft revealed the AI-powered Bing and Edge.

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While the company's search engine will have an AI chatbot that delivers annotated replies to searches, Edge will include an AI "copilot" that can summarise webpages or articles, as well as generate content for social media posts and other purposes, reported The Verge.

Google also demonstrated its AI search bot Bard earlier this week, though it is not currently available for anyone to test.

The "shorten" feature isn't available to everyone just yet, though. Jan Standel, the vice president of marketing and communications at Opera, told The Verge that it's going to "launch in browsers very soon." (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Los Angeles (US), Feb 12 (AP) California's US Senate race is unfolding at a furious pace, with candidates reporting seven-figure fundraising and holding competing rallies and campaign events more than a year before the 2024 primary election.

The fight for the safely Democratic seat held by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who at 89 is the oldest member of Congress, is shaping up as a marquee match-up between nationally known rivals and is likely to become one of the most expensive Senate races in the country next year.

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On Saturday, Democratic U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, who rose to prominence as the lead prosecutor in former President Donald Trump's first impeachment trial, gathered hundreds of supporters in a union hall parking lot for a rally in his hometown of Burbank, California, where he implored the cheering crowd, Let's go win this thing.

Schiff, who announced his candidacy last month, said he was running for Senate after two decades in Congress to build an economy that works for everyone, a democracy that will last for all time and a planet that doesn't melt beneath our feet.

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A day earlier, Democratic US Rep. Katie Porter brought her Senate campaign to Los Angeles, where she met with local leaders to discuss pollution in lower-income neighbourhoods.

She said such areas are often overlooked in Washington and Sacramento, where residents' complaints about unhealthy conditions go unheard.

Porter, a leader in Congress' progressive wing, built a reputation for her tough questioning of CEOs and other witnesses at congressional hearings  often using a whiteboard to break down information.

Other potential contenders for the seat include Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee, a former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. If she runs and is elected, Lee would be the only Black woman in the Senate.

Feinstein has yet to say if she will seek a seventh term. In recent years, questions have arisen about her cognitive health and memory, though she has defended her effectiveness. However, her reticence about her future has created a publicly awkward dynamic  the race to replace her is rapidly taking shape, even as the senator remains unclear about her intentions.

Schiff's rally, held on a nippy, mostly overcast morning, marked the start of a two-week statewide tour, with stops to include San Diego, Sacramento, Fresno and San Francisco.

He was joined by his wife Eve, one of his two children, Alexa, and David McMillan, whom the congressman mentored as a youth and considers part of his family.

After recounting his career as a federal prosecutor, state legislator and member of Congress, Schiff made clear he would anchor his campaign to his role as impeachment manager and Trump's chief antagonist in Congress. He has been a frequent target of conservatives  Trump in particular  since the then-GOP-led House Intelligence Committee he served on started investigating Trump's ties to Russia in the 2016 election.

He mentioned democracy more than a half-dozen times in the speech. He's selling T-shirts and coffee mugs on his campaign website, with the slogan Democracy Matters.

He called Trump, who has announced his 2024 campaign for the presidency, a demagogue bent on destroying our democracy.

We investigated Trump. We impeached him. We held him accountable and then we defeated him at the ballot box, Schiff said to cheers. And we will defeat him again, if the GOP is foolish enough to nominate him. He will never see the inside of the Oval Office, never again.

Trump was impeached in December 2019 on charges he abused the power of the presidency to investigate rival Joe Biden and obstructed Congress' investigation. The Republican-led Senate acquitted Trump of both charges.

In 2021, he became the first president in US history to be impeached twice, this time for inciting the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol after he lost the 2020 election. He was again acquitted by the Senate.

Schiff's other foundational issues include fighting climate change and improving the economy.

Too many people are working multiple jobs but cannot pay the rent, afford groceries or pay for lifesaving medication, he said. Too many children are growing up in poverty and hungry.

Schiff and Porter, both prolific small-dollar fundraisers, already are duelling over campaign dollars and endorsements. Former Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco is backing Schiff, providing Feinstein retires, and Porter is supported by Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

Democrats are expected to dominate the contest in the famously liberal state  a Republican hasn't won a statewide race in California since 2006, and the past two Senate elections had only Democrats on the November ballot. (AP)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Washington, February 12: China is giving the US silent treatment ever since the US sent an F-22 Raptor to shoot down the Chinese spy balloon that navigated into North American airspace last week. This can be seen in US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's call to Beijing going unanswered, New York Post reported.

According to New York Post, the snub by China was the latest sign of frayed US communications with its great adversary, leading to fears that a relatively minor incident could spiral into something bigger. UFO in China: Chinese Army Prepares to Shoot Unidentified Flying Object Down.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had planned to reopen lines of communication with China during his trip to Beijing. The trip, however, got postponed after China's spy balloon intrusion became public. Therefore, when the Pentagon asked to hold a secure call between Austin and his Chinese counterpart, Wei Fenghe, the answer was a "no".

The Chinese Ministry of Defence still refuses to admit that the balloon was conducting surveillance. The ministry said that Austin's call was declined because the US "seriously violated international practices and set a very bad precedent" by downing the device they claim was a "civilian unmanned airship" meant for scientific research that drifted off-course due to "force majeure".

"In view of the US side's irresponsible and seriously wrong practice, which had failed to create a proper atmosphere for dialogue and exchange between the two militaries, China didn't accept the US proposal for a phone call between the two defence chiefs," ministry spokesman Senior Col. Tan Kefei said on Thursday, according to New York Post.

The US intelligence community has linked the Chinese spy balloon to a vast surveillance program run by the People's Liberation Army, and US officials have begun to brief allies and partners who have been similarly targeted, The Washington Post reported. UFO Spotted in China? Authorities Were Preparing To Shoot Down Flying Object Over Rizhao.

According to The Washington Post, the surveillance balloon effort, which has operated for several years partly out of Hainan province off China's south coast, has collected information on military assets in countries and areas of emerging strategic interest to China including Japan, India, Vietnam, Taiwan and the Philippines, according to several US officials.

According to officials, the surveillance airships, operated partly by the PLA air force, have been spotted over five continents. An official said: "What the Chinese have done is taken an unbelievably old technology, and basically married it with modern communications and observation capabilities to try to glean intelligence on other nations' militaries. It's a massive effort." China: Unidentified Flying Object Has Been Detected Near Rizhao, Says Chinese State Media.

The New York Times recently reported that, as part of its response to a Chinese spy balloon that traversed US airspace last week, the Joe Biden administration on Friday (local time) clamped down on sales of some of its technology to several Chinese aviation and technology companies.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Wellington, February 12: Cyclone Gabrielle is bringing strong winds and heavy rains to parts of New Zealand's North Island, Radio New Zealand (RNZ) reported on Sunday. Most of the North Island is covered by some kind of Severe Weather Watch or Warning either for wind, rain or both, according to RNZ.

Heavy rain warnings have been issued for Northland, Auckland, the Coromandel and the northern parts of Gisborne Tairawhiti. Red strong wind warnings have been issued for Northland, Auckland and the Coromandel.

Thousands of people in the region are without power while some people in Coromandel and Gisborne are already starting to evacuate. Auckland Council is closing all non-essential services for Monday and Tuesday. According to power company Vector, there were widespread power outages, especially in exposed areas across north Auckland. It said about 15,000 customers were without power at 7 pm.

"This number will change constantly as we restore homes and businesses but, with the weather due to worsen, we expect further outages overnight and tomorrow," the company said in a statement.

Due to the cyclone, schools across Auckland will remain closed from Monday. According to CNN, over 36 schools and universities will shut their doors despite no formal order from the Ministry of Education. The InterCity bus network will also reduce its services.

New Zealand's Prime Minister Chris Hipkins in a press conference with local media on Sunday called on residents across Auckland to minimize non-essential travel, urging those who could work from home to do so.

"We do expect severe weather is on the way so please make sure you're prepared, make sure you have your preparations in place, if you have to stay put for a period of time or if you have to evacuate," Hipkins told reporters, according to CNN.

Cyclone Gabrielle Hits New Zealand

Incredible video has emerged showing the destructive power of Cyclone Gabrielle. What remains of a shed has been blown into powerlines between Tauraroa and Whangarei which could explain some of the power outages the city is experiencing. pic.twitter.com/gRlRZvYlHU  nzherald (@nzherald) February 12, 2023

Recently, Hipkins visited Auckland following the catastrophic floods that affected much of the region, RNZ reported. Aucklanders have been warned more rain is forecast in the coming days and the clean-up will be a lengthy process, RNZ added.

In relation to the matter, Hipkins said "The Meteorological Service has confirmed that yesterday was Auckland's wettest day on record. Having just surveyed some of the extensive damage both on the ground and in the air, it's clear that it's going to be a big cleanup job. There are three confirmed fatalities and at least one person is missing as a result of the weather", according to RNZ, New Zealand's independent public service multimedia organisation's report. Hipkins during his visit to the flood-affected area offered his deepest condolences to the families of the deceased.

(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 12 (ANI): The death toll from the devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria earlier this week surpassed 25,000 on Saturday (local time), reported CNN.

In Turkey, the number of people killed has risen to 21,848, according to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Also Read | Turkey Earthquake: Missing Indian National Found Dead Under Debris of Hotel in Malatya.

Speaking in the southeastern city of Sanliurfa on Saturday, Erdogan added that 80,104 people had been injured.

In Syria, the total number of deaths stands at 3,553, including 2,166 in rebel-held areas in the northwest, according to the White Helmets civil defense group.

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There have been 1,387 deaths in government-controlled parts of Syria, according to Syrian state media.

The total number of injured people in Syria across all affected territories stands at 5,273, with 2,326 in government-controlled areas and 2,950 in the rebel-held areas, reported CNN.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the Turkish Embassy in Ukraine on Saturday and honored the memory of those who died as a result of the devastating earthquake that took the lives of more than 25,000 people.

"Please accept my sincere condolences from me personally and on behalf of the people of Ukraine. The awful tragedy that took so many lives in one moment caused deep pain in our hearts. We share the pain of the Turkish people and help in this difficult time. Eternal memory to the deceased. We wish those who suffered, a quick recovery," Zelenskyy said.

He also spoke with Turkish Ambassador to Ukraine Yagmur Ahmet Guldere during his visit.

Zelenskyy said in his address Saturday that the State Emergency Service of Ukraine is helping with debris removal in Turkey, reported CNN.

He added that the Ukrainian Embassy is looking into information about Ukrainian nationals in Turkey who may have been impacted by the earthquake.

Rescue operations are over in rebel-held areas of northwest Syria, the White Helmets volunteer organization said. Relief efforts there have been complicated by a long-running civil war.

The Syrian government approved sending aid to the rebel-held territories Friday but did not provide specifics.

Workers in Turkey are still trying to pull survivors from the rubble - and there have been some harrowing stories of success. But some organizations paused rescue work due to security concerns Saturday.

Recovery in Turkey after the devastating earthquake has now entered the "humanitarian phase," according to Jamie LeSueur, the head of emergency operations at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

As his team moves on from search-and-rescue operations, the greatest needs for those affected in Turkey continue to be food, health and water, LeSueur told CNN from Gaziantep.

"We've now entered into the humanitarian phase. That is going to last for a couple of months, where we'll still try to meet people's basic needs," LeSueur said.

The United Nations aid chief described this week's devastating earthquake in southern Turkey and northwestern Syria as the "worst event in 100 years" to hit the region.

The official, Martin Griffiths, made the remark to reporters during a visit to Kahramanmaras, Turkey, on Saturday.

"The response as you have seen here, and as your viewers have seen, is also unique," Griffiths added. "There has never been an international response, a Turkish response to a natural disaster as we see here in these terrible days."

Meanwhile, Germany has also suspended rescue and relief work at the site of a deadly earthquake in Turkey due to security concerns, following a similar move by Austria earlier Saturday, reported CNN.

The German Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) stopped its rescue operations due to a change in the security situation in the Hatay region, the organization said in a statement Saturday.

It had been operating with International Search and Rescue (ISAR) Germany, in coordination with Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (AFAD).

"In the last few hours, the security situation in the Hatay region has apparently changed. There are increasing reports of clashes between different groups. The search and rescue teams of ISAR Germany and THW will therefore remain in the joint base camp for the time being. ISAR and THW will resume their work as soon as AFAD deems the situation to be safe," read the statement.

The Austrian Army also cited security risks in suspending its operations, reported CNN.

The Austrian Army has suspended rescue operations in Turkey due to an "increasingly difficult security situation," according to the Austrian Forces Disaster Relief Unit (AFDRU).

"The expected success of saving a life bears no reasonable relation to the security risk. There is increasing aggression between groups in Turkey," Lieutenant Colonel Pierre Kugelweis of the AFDRU said in a statement Saturday.

"There was no attack on us Austrians. We're all fine ... The mood among the helpers is good, given the circumstances ... We would like to help, but the circumstances are what they are," Kugelweis continued.

"We keep our rescue and recovery forces ready. We are ready for further operations," Kugelweis added, stating that a scheduled return to Austria for Thursday remains in place. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Managua (Nicaragua), Feb 12 (AP) Nicaragua's ruling Sandinista political machine mobilised a few thousand of its faithful on Saturday to celebrate the government's decision to expel 222 opposition leaders, activists, priests, students and journalists.

Waving the red and black flags of the Sandinista National Liberation Front, marchers carried out the sort of peaceful public demonstration that the government has denied to the opposition in recent years.

Also Read | ICYMI: If I Can Do It Anyone Can Do It: Fashion Designer Stella McCartney Spoke About   Latest Tweet by Reuters.

Carrying a portrait of Vice President and first lady Rosario Murillo, Lizbeth Chavez said we are marching, celebrating our sovereignty, defending our sovereignty and telling the Yankee empire that here we are, here we will continue to be, here we're staying.

President Daniel Ortega had said that the sudden decision to put 222 imprisoned opposition members on a plane to Washington on Thursday was Murillo's idea. The ruling couple called the prisoners terrorists who were sponsored by the US government and sought to destabilize their government.

Also Read | Earthquake in Turkey and Syria: Death Toll From Devastating Quakes Exceeds 28,000, Missing Indian Found Dead Under Debris in Malatya.

While the plane was still in the air, Sandinista lawmakers approved a constitutional reform that would strip the prisoners of their Nicaraguan citizenship.

The United States gave them all humanitarian parole, allowing them to work in the US for two years and apply for asylum. Spain's government offered them all citizenship.

US officials called the massive release a positive sign after years of intransigence from Ortega, who insisted he asked for nothing in return. The US and European countries have increased sanctions against Ortega's family, inner circle and members of his government.

The show of defiance on Saturday came one day after a Nicaraguan judge sentenced outspoken government critic Catholic Bishop Rolando Alvarez to 26 years in prison on a variety of charges, including spreading false information and undermining the government.

Alvarez had been in line to board the plane on Thursday morning when he refused to leave Nicaragua. He was imprisoned and sentenced the next day. Nicaragua's Catholic leadership remained silent on Saturday.

At Saturday's march, Donal Manuel Mendoza walked among the throng. We are marching because we have defeated the imperial mercenary force, he said. We've kicked them out of the country. (AP)

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Tokyo [Japan], February 12 (ANI): As Artificial Intelligence is replacing humans in the workplace, a Japanese startup is seeking to challenge the dominance of the world's biggest chip maker, NVIDIA, according to NHK World.

In the workplace, machines are replacing humans in firms. Startup companies are turning things as they use AI instead of humans to do their job. The firm was seen using AI for harvesting.

Also Read | Earthquake in Turkey and Syria: Death Toll From Devastating Quakes Exceeds 28,000, Missing Indian Found Dead Under Debris in Malatya.

Preferred Networks is a new startup company that is making cars, robots, and other devices more intelligent by fusing software and hardware in a sophisticated manner. By making devices intelligent enough to adapt to continuously changing environments and conditions, the world becomes computable through real-time sensing of the physical world.

Preferred Networks is giving tough competition to NVIDIA, which is the world leader in Artificial Intelligence computing. NVIDIA's work is in AI and the metaverse is transforming the world's largest industries and profoundly impacting society.

Also Read | US Fighter Jets Shoot Down High-Altitude Airborne Object in Canada After Phone Call Between President Joe Biden and PM Justin Trudeau: White House.

Preferred Networks became a three-time World Champion on the Green 500 Supercomputer ranking of computing power per watt and beat NVIDIA.

Nishikawa Toru, CEO of Preferred Networks said, "We got a really big boost from becoming the world no. 1. We are small but I believe that we can develop a strategy to enable us to create outstanding processes. this flexibility is the strength of startups. The company is now working on an even faster chip as it continues to challenge the tech giants both at home and abroad," as per NHK World. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Kabul [Afghanistan], February 12 (ANI): Afghanistan's Directorate of Prisons Affairs has said that out of 14,000 people imprisoned across the country, more than 1000 are women, Afghanistan-based news channel Tolo News reported.

According to department officials, all of these prisoners have criminal cases in their name.

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Mohammad Yusuf Mistari, the director of prison affairs, said: "Currently, there are 14,000 prisoners and more than 1000 of them are women".

Till now, no political prisoners have been incarcerated and 15,000 people have been released after their cases were investigated, according to the head of the department.

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"We check thousands of cases and 15,000 people have been released, nearly 3,000 prisoners will be released soon, and our prisons have the capacity for 20,000 prisoners," said Mohammad Yusuf Mistari, the director of prison affairs.

Some women prisoners in Pul-e-Charkhi prison called on the Taliban to investigate their cases promptly and rule on them transparently. Meanwhile, some analysts said that prisoners' cases must be investigated transparently.

"Every prisoner from the arrest has some rights and their investigations and trial must be according to law and done transparently," said Subhan Ullah Misbah, an analyst, as quoted by Tolo News.

Officials of the Directorate of Prisons Affairs said that currently most of the prisoners are arrested for murder, drug trafficking, theft, and other crimes.

As Afghanistan continues to face a humanitarian crisis and grapples with the worst political turmoil, the European Union (EU) special envoy for Afghanistan Tomas Niklasson said that they are not in favour of isolating Afghanistan but recognising the Taliban regime is also not an option, pointing at the discrimination against women and atrocities being undertaken by the organization, Khaama Press reported.

Taliban prohibited co-education in universities, separating morning classes for girls and afternoon classes for boys. Recently, the group also banned secondary education for female students. Although this decision has been withdrawn, the schools are yet to be reopened. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Chennai [Tamil Nadu], February 12 (ANI): Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting L Murugan and BJP Tamil Nadu unit chief K Annamalai on Sunday arrived at Chennai airport from Sri Lanka after the inauguration of Jaffna Cultural Centre in Jaffna.

Jaffna Cultural Centre built with an Indian government grant was dedicated to the people of Sri Lanka yesterday.

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"Yesterday we participated in the 'Yalpanam Cultural Center' inauguration event. Center was totally constructed on Union Government funds for the benefit of Yalpanam people," said Murugan.

During the year 2015 March month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Yalpanam. It was a historical trip where PM Modi laid the foundation stone for Yalpanam Cultural Center. Now it has been finished and yesterday it was inaugurated.

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"Tamil Arts were also honoured in this Center. This is a historical time when Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe also participated," said Murugan.

He also talked about the release of the Tamil fisherman boats.

"We have already met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar regarding releasing the Tamil Fisherman boats. Very soon there would be a discussion between two countries' ministers and very soon we would get a solution to that," added Murugan.

The iconic Jaffna Cultural Center (JCC), which was built with grant assistance of the Government of India (GOI), was dedicated to the people on February 11, 2023, at a colourful event in the gracious presence of President of Sri Lanka Wickremesinghe, Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying and Information & Broadcasting, Murugan, High Commissioner of India Gopal Baglay, Douglas Devananda, Minister for Fisheries, Vidura Wickramanayake, Minister for Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs, Kadar Masthan, Minister of State for Rural Economy, several Parliamentarians and dignitaries from various walks of life.

Describing JCC as a gift from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Wickremesinghe thanked him and GOI for the Center.

He thanked India for the support extended to Sri Lanka during the economic challenges. Highlighting cultural similarities between the two countries, he noted that India and Sri Lanka were the two sides of the same coin.

Speaking on the occasion, Minister of State Murugan underlined that India's partnership with Sri Lanka was guided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Neighbourhood First' policy.

He also announced a special financial assistance scheme for 100 students from economically weaker families at the University of Jaffna.

He also highlighted that GOI has implemented numerous people-centric projects cutting across sectors in Northern Province.

Wickremesinghe and Vidura Wickramanayake handed over a special token of gratitude to Murugan for JCC.

The state-of-the-art facility consists of multiple facilities such as a museum of two floors; a state-of-the-art theatre-style auditorium for more than 600 people; an 11-storeyed learning tower; a public square which could also act as an amphitheatre; exhibition galleries (Air conditioned), Open exhibition and a 100-seat Conference facility, among others.

JCC is an outstanding example of GOI's ongoing commitment to the people of Sri Lanka including in the Northern Province.

GOI's development partnership with Sri Lanka which touches upon all aspects of daily life such as infrastructure development, education, health, housing, livelihood development etc currently stands at USD 5 billion. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Washington, Feb 12 (PTI) The head of an India-centric US business advocacy and strategic group on Sunday lauded the Uttar Pradesh government for taking steps to attract investments across various sectors and improving the business ecosystem in the state.

The Uttar Pradesh government hosted a three-day global investors summit in Lucknow between February 10-12, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

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Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said the roadshows ahead of the summit attracted investment proposals worth about Rs 33 lakh crore.

Over 18,000 MoUs were signed with various companies during the run-up to the event, the state government said, pointing at the possibility of 92 lakh new jobs over the next few years.

Also Read | China Giving US Silent Treatment Since It Shot Down Chinese Spy Balloon: Report.

The (UP) government has made a concerted efforts to attract investors across tech, manufacturing, green energy, education, pharma, and the healthcare space, Mukesh Aghi, president of the US India Strategic and Partnership Forum (USISPF), said after the conclusion of the investors summit.

A number of companies from the US have attended the summit and applauded the state government for taking steps to attract investments and improving the business ecosystem in Uttar Pradesh.

I commend the government on PLI reforms at the state level, given the focus on making India a manufacturing hub. The Prime Minister's economic vision at a global level and the Chief Minister's vision at the state level make for a compelling picture for the overseas investor, Aghi said.

In December last year, a high-profile delegation of the UP government visited the US to woo American investors.

We saw a tremendous response across the US when the visiting delegation from UP arrived in December last year, he added.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Washington, February 12: US fighter jets on Saturday shot down an unidentified, unmanned high-altitude airborne object over northern Canada that had entered its airspace from Alaska, President Joe Biden said.

The decision in this regard was taken following a phone call between US President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the White House said. A day earlier, the US had shot down an object flying at the height of about 40,000 feet off the northern coast of Alaska on orders of Biden. US Fighter Jet Shot Down Unidentified Object Flying Over Northern Canada: PM Justin Trudeau.

According to Pentagon Press Secretary Brig Gen Pat Ryder, North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) detected the object over Alaska late Friday evening. The White House said the object was closely tracked and monitored by NORAD over the last 24 hours and the President has been continually briefed by his national security team since it was first spotted.

"Out of an abundance of caution and at the recommendation of their militaries, President Biden and Prime Minister Trudeau authorized it to be taken down," the White House said, adding that Biden authorised US fighter aircraft assigned to NORAD to conduct the operation and a US F-22 shot down the object in Canadian territory in close coordination with Canadian authorities.

"The leaders discussed the importance of recovering the object in order to determine more details on its purpose or origin. President Biden and Prime Minister Trudeau commended NORAD's and US Northern Command's strong and effective partnership and agreed to continue their close coordination to detect, track, and defend our airspace," the White House said.

Following the Biden-Trudeau phone call, two F-22 aircraft from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska monitored the object over US airspace with the assistance of Alaska Air National Guard refuelling aircraft, tracking it closely and taking time to characterize the nature of the object, Ryder said. US Military Fighter Jet Shoots Down Second Car-Sized 'High-Altitude Unidentified Object' Over Alaska After Chinese 'Spy' Balloon.

Monitoring continued Saturday as the object crossed into Canadian airspace, with Canadian CF-18 and CP-140 aircraft joining the formation to further assess the object. "A US F-22 shot down the object in Canadian territory using an AIM 9X missile following close coordination between US and Canadian authorities, to include a call today between Secretary of Defense Lloyd J Austin III and Minister of Defence Anita Anand, Ryder said.

"As Canadian authorities conduct recovery operations to help our countries learn more about the object, the Federal Bureau of Investigation will be working closely with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police," he said.

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New Delhi, February 12: Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat will deliver the keynote address on the inaugural day of the annual meeting of the river cities alliance (RCA), which would be held in Pune between February 13 and 14.

Being organised by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), the annual meeting of RCA, which is known as 'Driving holistic action for urban rivers' (DHARA), it will provide a platform for senior officials including Commissioners, Additional Commissioners, Chief Engineers and senior planners of the 95-member river cities in India to co-learn and discuss solutions for managing local water bodies.

The event has strong synergies with the Urban20 (U20) initiative under the ambit of India's G20 presidency. One of the thrust areas of U20 is to promulgate urban water security, and healthy rivers have a vital role to play in enhancing the overall water security of the city.

DHARA 2023 will witness multiple sessions over the two-day event that include sessions on 'National Case Studies on Innovative River-related Practices' to introduce the participants to several unique and innovative solutions for different aspects of urban river management involving lake and pond rejuvenation, de-centralised used-water management, enhancing river-related economy, groundwater management, and flood management and 'International Case Studies' to focus on innovative river-related practices in countries like Denmark, reuse of used water in Israel, floodplain management in the Netherlands, river health monitoring in the US, pollution control in Japan, and water sensitive city design in Australia.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 12, 2023 08:56 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
Chennai, February 12: Three people died and seven people were injured in an explosion at a firecracker godown in Vaniyambadi, Tirupatthur district of Tamil Nadu. Manipur Blast: Three People Injured in Explosion in Ukhrul (See Pics).

Police said that the explosion took place in the firecracker godown and investigation is on regarding the cause of the explosion. The police added that seven people were rescued from the burning godown, the situation of those who survived is not clear. Jharkhand: Three CRPF Jawans Injured in Landmine Blast in Chaibasa District, Airlifted to Ranchi.

Police said that the identity of the three, who died in the accident, has yet to be ascertained.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 12, 2023 04:40 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
The lightning strikes at Christ the Redeemer Statue on February 10th has become a viral sensation on social media, with people expressing awe and wonder at the breathtaking pictures. The statue, situated in Brazils Rio De Janeiro, is visited by nearly two million people every year. Lightning Strikes Christ the Redeemer Statue in Brazil's Rio de Janeiro, Photo of Flash Hitting One of Seven Wonders of the World Goes Viral.

Lightning Strikes Christ the Redeemer Statue:

Lightning strikes Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. pic.twitter.com/7F8CWuGCrt  Pop Base (@PopBase) February 11, 2023

(SocialLY brings you all the latest breaking news, viral trends and information from social media world, including Twitter, Instagram and Youtube. The above post is embeded directly from the user's social media account and LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body. The views and facts appearing in the social media post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY, also LatestLY does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.)
When it came to Chinese and Japanese typewriters, the design challenge was creating a typing device without keys. These engineering marvels pulled it off.

For more than a century, Chinese typewriters have been objects of curiosity, confusion and even a fair bit of ridicule  after all, how do you type a language that has no alphabet?

On The Simpsons, smarty-pants Lisa was confounded by an imaginary one that featured countless buttons covered in complicated-looking characters. One of hip-hop artist MC Hammers frenetic, high-stepping dance routines was nicknamed the Chinese Typewriter because its furious moves supposedly mimicked the flailing that would be required of a Chinese typist trying to quickly hop about a massive keyboard.

But now, an associate professor at Stanford University is trying to give these esoteric contraptions a bit more of their due, arguing that the misunderstood machines  long dismissed as less practical and less efficient than alphabetic typewriters  actually pioneered familiar smartphone-era technologies, including predictive text and autocomplete.

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The Western typewriter has become a cult object; there are hundreds upon hundreds of collectors and museums. People collect and fetishize them, professor Tom Mullaney said. But Chinese typewriters are exquisite machines. They are very different. They are typewriters without a keyboard, and that often confounds peoples imaginations.

The Chinese-manufactured Double Pigeon typewriter from 1971 became the standard for Chinese typewriters. It featured a moveable tray holding nearly 2,500 interchangeable characters. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times )

Chinese typewriters look something like a cross between a deli-meat slicer and a small printing press. There are no keys, just thousands of little metal characters arranged in a grid system. Because Chinese has no alphabet and no alphabetical order, the operator must essentially memorize the location of each character  about 2,500 on a typical machine.

Theyre heavy  roughly 30 to 40 pounds.

The Chinese-manufactured Double Pigeon typewriter from 1971. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times )

Sort of by accident, Mullaney has become an expert on, collector of and evangelist for Chinese (and Japanese) typewriters after obtaining his first specimen from a man who was getting rid of one once used by a Chinese American church in San Francisco.

Since he caught the typewriter bug in 2008, Mullaney has collected 12 machines  which might not sound that impressive, but thats four times as many as Chinas only typewriter museum, in Shanghai. Hes lectured about them at Google and around Silicon Valley.

Tom Mullaney, associate professor of Chinese history at Stanford University. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times )

Mullaney has delved so deep down the rabbit hole he has not one but two related books in the works: The Chinese Typewriter: A Global History of the Information Age, Part I, will be published next year, followed by The Chinese Computer: A Global History of the Information Age, Part II.

Three of his machines are on display at Stanfords East Asia Library until Sept. 10, and he recently raised almost $13,500 on Kickstarter to help take the collection on tour across the world. Eventually, he hopes to be able to transfer the devices to an institution for research and safekeeping.

Tom Mullaney says Chinese typewriters were an engineering marvel as designers had to build a typewriter without keys. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times )

The tinkerers and inventors who struggled for decades to develop a Chinese typewriter were taking on a fascinating engineering puzzle, Mullaney said. The various solutions they came up with  even those that never won commercial popularity  may hold valuable lessons for todays IT engineers.

With the Chinese typewriter, there was a constant process of optimization, and some of the most brilliant and penetrating analysis of human-machine interaction, data structuring, he said. This is a machine whose history is a repository of design inspiration.

::

Zhang Haiyan still remembers the frenzy that ensued at her state-owned company in the 1980s when one of its subsidiary factories asked to borrow a typewriter from the Beijing headquarters to draft some business letters in Chinese.

The factory director had to collect lots of approval stamps from different departments and even the [government] ministry, the 59-year-old retired clerk said. The rare and expensive contraption, she recalls, was normally kept in a locked office, and only two big bosses had the key. She had never really laid eyes on one. Everything in that room was mysterious to us  so I was always very curious and tried to take a peep when the door was unlocked.

A Matsuda Japanese kanji typewriter from 1950, with characters on a spool that the user would spin. Tom Mullaney, associate professor of Chinese history at Stanford University, says Japanese manufacturers dominated the Chinese typewriter market during the 1930s and 40s. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times )

When the loan was finally approved and workers came to collect the machine, Zhang figured shed finally get to see it. Unfortunately, it was put in a big box, and covered with a piece of cloth, so even today I still didnt know what exactly it looked like, she said. It was gently put in a car just like a VIP guest.

It wasnt for people like us, clearly.

As Zhangs story illustrates, few Chinese ever saw a Chinese typewriter, let alone learned to type on one. But today, hundreds of millions of Chinese speakers type  on desktops, laptops, tablets and smartphones.

The most common way is by spelling the word using a typical Qwerty keyboard. So if you want to type hello, or ni hao, you enter n-i-h-a-o. A menu then appears with a list of characters that are pronounced ni and hao, and you must select the right ones.

Another way is to draw the character you want on the devices touchscreen; again, a menu will pop up with a selection of characters that most closely resemble what you sketched. Once you recognize the one you want, click it, and move on to drawing the next character.

Both these systems, though, require a two-step process of inputting and selecting thats impossible without software. So how did Chinese typewriters work?

NEWSLETTER: Get the days top headlines from Times Editor Davan Maharaj 

Starting in the late 1800s, various systems were pioneered  and a lot of the work was done by students and academics from American institutions, including MIT and New York University. Companies such as IBM and agencies including the CIA also worked on developing Chinese typewriters.

The models that were commercialized most widely, under brands with names such as Double Pigeon and Seagull, had a tray of about 2,500 commonly used Chinese characters arranged in a grid; typists would move a selector-lever over the tray to hunt for the character they needed, then press a bar, which would trigger a lever to pick up the character, ink it, type it and return it to its place.

Yet in a language with no alphabet, and thus no alphabetic order, how to arrange the characters in the tray became a question. Traditional organizational methods, such as by number of strokes in the character, or general frequency of use, were inefficient  even the fastest typists could manage just 20 or 30 words a minute.

Typists started reorganizing their trays to suit their needs. One who worked in an office dealing with agriculture might put characters used to make words such as farm, crops and harvest near the top of the tray because those words were used frequently; a typist in a police station would have a totally different arrangement, with characters used in words such as officer, and crime close at hand.

Given that communist leaders names were typed often, the character for Mao was put near those for his given name, Ze and Dong. The characters for chairman were situated near Mao as well. In this sense, these trays anticipated what characters the typist was most likely to need along with Mao.

Cutting the distance between characters that were often used together allowed typists to increase their speed to as many as 80 words per minute. Todays smartphones do much the same thing  suggesting Washington as the next word to follow if you type George, for example.

::

Like Mullaney, Jackson Lu is a typewriter geek. He started collecting in Europe and opened the Lu Hanbin Typewriter Museum in Shanghai in 2010. Though he personally has over 500 typewriters from across the world, he has just three from China.

Fewer were produced and theres not the same amount of variety, Lu said. Many of them were destroyed in the Cultural Revolution.

In China, typewriters were never common objects. While American authors such as Mark Twain, Jack Kerouac and even Hunter S. Thompson had their Remingtons, Underwoods and IBM Selectrics, their Chinese counterparts were still writing by hand. One issue was price  a Chinese typewriter would cost 20 times what an average worker would make in a month. And once the Communist era began, even if an individual wanted to buy a typewriter, it wasnt allowed.

Only institutions could have them, and they had to be registered with police, Lu said. In addition, he said, typists (along with locksmiths and rubber-stamp makers) had to have a license and be politically reliable.

The government controlled typewriters like they controlled guns, Lu said.

Such rules aimed to keep the state firmly in control of information. But in 1959, Maos wife, Jiang Qing, received an anonymous, typed letter from someone scolding her over humiliating details of her romantic history. The missive was so distressing to Jiang, it reportedly caused her to faint.

More than 20 investigators from the Ministry of Public Security were tasked with tracking down the author.

Experts concluded that the letters were typed on a Baoshi-brand typewriter that was at least 10 years old, and the typist was not a professional. Other details such as the paper and glue quickly led them to the East China Sea Fleet, which had such a typewriter registered to it.

A disgruntled navy lieutenant, Jin Bolin, was fingered as the perpetrator, and sent to prison for several years for leaking state secrets.

These days, no restrictions are placed on who can have a typewriter in China; Chinese authorities have moved along with the times and now put their efforts into censoring the Internet.

Although the Chinese typewriter may be functionally obsolete, Mullaney argues the technology needs to be saved and analyzed, and may even hold some seeds of inspiration for communication devices of the future.

Studying history is not just looking at old stuff, he said. Its about innovation, disruption. For people out there who are trying to think far, far ahead  or getting out of certain mindsets, one of the best places they can go looking for inspiration is back in time  before a certain kind of standard or convention took shape.

Yingzhi Yang and Nicole Liu in The Times Beijing bureau contributed to this report.

julie.makinen@latimes.com

Twitter: @JulieMakLAT

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China, Greece sign strategic cooperation agreement on shipping finance

Xinhua) 09:35, February 12, 2023

This aerial photo taken on Feb. 15, 2019 shows a container ship of the COSCO Shipping approaching Piraeus port, Greece. (Xinhua/Wu Lu)

The two parties will establish a collaborative network to stimulate communication among shipping companies and financial institutions from both international shipping centers.

ATHENS, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- The Lujiazui Financial City Council in Shanghai, China, and the Association of Banking and Financial Executives of Hellenic Shipping signed a strategic cooperation agreement on shipping finance during an online event held on Friday.

Under the agreement, the two parties will establish a collaborative network to stimulate communication among shipping companies and financial institutions from both international shipping centers, speakers from both sides said.

Greece's Deputy Minister of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy Kostas Katsafados told the event that the agreement "will further strengthen the relations of the countries in the financing sector."

The signing of the agreement symbolizes the lasting collaboration and strong bonds between the two maritime centers, he said.

Over the last decades, Greece and China have built a strong complementary relationship based on the sea. Greeks control 25 percent of the world's ocean-going merchant fleet and the synergies with China, the world's largest exporter, are obvious, he explained.

Aerial photo taken on Sept. 6, 2019 shows the Piraeus port in Greece. (Photo by Lefteris Partsalis/Xinhua)

Greek shipowners have built more than a thousand ships in China's shipyards over the past 15 years, worth over 50 billion U.S. dollars, while Chinese banks' exposure in Greek shipping is 3 billion U.S. dollars, Katsafados said.

Huang Hongyuan, representative of the chairman unit of the Lujiazui Financial City Council and vice president of the Bank of Communications, signed the agreement in China and George Xiradakis, president of the Association of Banking and Financial Executives of Hellenic Shipping, in Greece.

Huang said he was confident that through the agreement the two sides will be able to leverage complementary advantages and those provided by the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to promote the two countries' collaboration in finance, trade and other areas.

This photo taken on Nov. 4, 2022 shows an evening view of the Lujiazui area in east China's Shanghai. (Xinhua/Wang Xiang)

He also mentioned the untapped potential in financial cooperation, saying that a China-Greece financial "Silk Road" will underpin the development of the shipping industry on both sides, as Shanghai offers a variety of financial products and services as an international financial hub.

Xiradakis said he hoped that "a new era in international shipping financial system has begun."

(Web editor: Xian Jiangnan, Sheng Chuyi)
A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
Due to its payment calendar, a group of beneficiaries will receive a double payment in March from the Social Security Administration (SSA).

As of January 2023, the SSA has already sent out payments to more than 71 million Americans. According to Diario AS, the SSA said one group of beneficiaries will receive a double payment next month, while another group will receive a triple.

The SSA reportedly sends out so many payments that the agency spreads out depending on the type of benefit, date of birth, and when a beneficiary first signed up for Social Security.

That means it creates a scenario where sometimes certain beneficiaries receive more than one payment in a calendar month, and March will be one of those months as well as June, September, and December.

READ NEXT: SNAP Benefits Update: Final Extra Payments in Texas Revealed

Will You Qualify for the Social Security Double Benefit in March?

Those who receive both Social Security and Supplemental Support Income receive two payments each month. The SSA sends out the Supplemental Support Income payment on the first day of the month and then the payment for Social Security on the third day of the month.

However, should the first of the month fall on a Saturday, Sunday, or a federal holiday, the supplemental support payment would be moved up to the earliest business day. That would be the case in April as the first day of the month is a Saturday, which means the payment would be moved up to March 31, a Friday.

So people who receive Supplemental Support Income will get double payments for March, and those who also get Social Security payments will receive three payments that month.

Those receiving the Supplemental Support Income payments get an average of $677 as of January 2023. The maximum amount was increased in 2023 to $914 for individuals and $1,371 for couples.

Meanwhile, the average monthly Social Security benefit in January 2023 was $1,961. The amount each person receives depends on several factors, including when the worker started claiming Social Security and their Primary Insurance Amount.

Joe Biden Promises That There Would be No Cuts to Social Security in Florida

Republicans have been floating ideas that they would be cutting Social Security and Medicare, especially in Florida. Florida Republicans like Senator Rick Scott had been planning to cut these popular social security programs with his "11-point plan."

However, according to El Pais, President Joe Biden promised to keep these popular programs during a speech in Florida on Thursday. It comes as a possible re-election campaign for Biden may be announced later this year.

He is also wooing Florida's older voters, who are most affected by the GOP's proposed social security cuts. Biden showed off a pamphlet from Scott that showed that he wants these programs to be sunsetting every five years.

"I know that a lot of Republicans - their dream is to cut Social Security and Medicare... If that's your dream, I'm your nightmare," the president noted.

READ MORE: SNAP Benefits: Will Texas, California Still Give Extra Payments?

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Social Security Comments Haunt GOP - From MSNBC
A Judge asked for a mediator to work with neighbours to resolve a dispute in Laois.

Marie Murphy, 45, of 43 Bianconi Way, Ridge Road, Portlaoise and Trisha Gorman, 45, Sophie Gorman, 26, and Noel Kiernan, 42, all with an address at 44 Bianconi Way, Ridge Road, Portlaoise are each accused of assault and affray at Bianconi Way in Portlaoise on October 25, 2021.

Appearing on behalf of the first defendant, Solicitor Josphine Fitzpatrick said her client would engage with mediators.

There is an allegation of affray and then there are allegations of various assaults, she explained.

She said the matter concerned her client and three other people before the court.

David Nugent BL said his client is willing to engage in mediation.

Ms Fitzpatrick said she believed all parties were willing to engage in mediation.

The only way I see it happening is through the Gardai organising it, she added.

Judge Andrew Cody said there needed to be mediation in the case and he didnt want to hear any excuses.

Judge Cody adjourned the matter to April 13 in order that mediation can take place.
All the farming sectors voiced their issues and concerns to Minister Charlie McConalogue in a question and answer session at the Laois IFA AGM.

Peter Luttrell, Chairman of the Sheep committee in Laois said that sheep farmers are not rewarded for what they do.

Nothing has been done for sheep this year. On 7 a ewe we need some assistance. Funding is needed for store finishers also.

He also raised the issue of dog control.

Minister McConalogue acknowledged that margins had been negligible in the sheep sector. Its the biggest pinch point at the moment. The market situation needs to be looked at. A meeting of the Food Vision sheep committee will examine it.

On dog control the Minister said a lot of work was needed and particularly in enforcement.

Rory Doyle, Grain chairman Laois drew attention to the pressure on land and land prices. He said that young tillage farmers were very worried. Last year was very good but this year is not as promising. We cannot get ground. Dairy farmers are giving huge prices for land owing to the nitrates derogation.

Minister McConalogue said that the grain sector needs to grow. Over time it has decreased, though there was an increase last year. He acknowledged the strong competition there is for land. We do not want to see the area under tillage shrink.

Declan Hanrahan, Livestock Chairman said that the new sucker scheme has to be more farmer friendly. He said that farmers need income sustainability. We are not able to carry out any measures if the money is not there. He said that farmers are the only people who can change biodiversity.

He said that exchequer returns were never as high. On the ACRES scheme he noted the 14,000 applicants that had been accepted and asked the Minister to ensure that all who applied got in and that the money was there for them.

The Minister noted that farm profits and margins are critical. On ACRES he said he wanted to bring the 46,000 applicants in, but had to ensure the capacity was there to run it.

Environmental Chairman Liam Delaney noted the projected 56 per cent on food production that is being flagged for 2050. He queried how output could be increased given the cutting of herds, banding and reductionin fertilister.

Minister McConalogue said a balance had to be navigated between producing more food and reducting emissions.

Pat Hennessy, Farm Business said that farmers should be exempt from the residential zoned land tax.

The Minister said that farmers had the potential to have land dezoned but work was needed with the local authorities.
John Lydon said he was disturbed to leave his wife, who has Alzheimers disease, so he could compete to be Irelands entry in the Eurovision Song Contest.

His band Public Image Ltd, also known as PiL, formed following the break-up of the Sex Pistols in 1978, and lost out to We Are One by the Irish band Wild Youth after a public vote earlier this month.

Born in London to Irish parents, Lydon entered with the song Hawaii, which was described as a love letter to his wife of nearly 50 years, Nora.

In an interview before the competition in Dublin and published on Sunday, Lydon told the Sunday Times: Unbeknownst to me (my manager has) thrown me in the deep end and I dont know if I can survive.

Will my ego come back? Its hard to go from 24/7 care to this. Im unprepared.

I have to bring this illness up to the public but leaving Nora disturbs me. Its a rock and a hard place. But what do I do?

After Lydon lost, he said he did not regret competing and was glad that he had raised awareness of caring for someone with Alzheimers.

He said: We had responses from victims who said they were close to suicide but for this song.

Lydon added that since caring for Nora, all the things he had thought would be the ultimate agony seem preposterous now.

He also said their later years should be adventurous but it was not going to plan.

Lydon added: I break into tears thinking about it.

Formerly known as Johnny Rotten, he also said he would sit with his wife, hold her hands and show her his post-punk group on RTEs The Late Late Show Eurosong Special when he returned home.

He also spoke about his relationship with Dame Vivienne Westwood, who died at the age of 81 in December.

Lydon said: She never liked me. But I was sad to hear shed died, because I know what that is like for the family.

Dame Vivienne rose to fame after the Sex Pistols wore the designs of her and former partner Malcolm McLaren, who managed the punk rock band.
Tributes have been paid to well-known retired Kildare solicitor Tony Hanahoe.

Mr Hanahoe passed away peacefully at home in Naas on Friday surrounded by his loving family.

He is the beloved husband of Berna and dear father of Carl, Luke and Amy.

Son Luke said in a post on social media: "As a mark of respect for the passing of Tony Hanahoe, the offices of Hanahoe and Hanahoe Solicitors in Naas will be closed on Monday the 13th of February.

"Tony set up Hanahoe and Hanahoe with his beloved wife Berna, 43 years ago.

"A man of the upmost integrity, who took his responsibilities to clients, colleagues, the profession and the Court incredibly seriously.

"He is deeply missed by his family, friends and colleagues. Rest in Peace."

At a surprise retirement function attended by many colleagues in Naas Courthouse in September, Mr Hanahoe was described as the very fabric of Naas District Court".

In a personal tribute, Judge Desmond Zaidan said: There are lawyers, and then there are lawyers" adding that Mr Hanahoe was exceptional both as a person and as a lawyer.

He added: You are part of the fixtures and fittings of the district court. You are the district court, and the district court is you."

When a young solicitor asked Judge Zaidan how he would succeed in his career, the judge advised him to come into court and watch Tony Hanahoe on his feet.

In response to the tributes, Mr Hanahoe said: "All I can say, if it is 44 years ago since I started, the time has flown."

He thanked all the judges he appeared before, including Judge Zaidan for the past 12 years.

I am going to miss this court.

 I have appeared here for 44 to 45 years, and it was always my favourite place.

"I am going to miss all of you."

Mr Hanahoe was pre-deceased by his sister Catherine. Mr Hanahoe will also be sadly missed by his brothers Michael and Joe, son-in-law Gavin, daughters-in-law Beth and Kate, grandchildren Lana, Rachel, Charlie, Elliott and Georgia, nephews, nieces, relatives and a wide circle of friends and colleagues.

Funeral Arrangements

Mr Hanahoe's remains will repose at his home on Sunday from 3pm to 7pm.

Removal takes place on Monday to the Church of Our Lady and St. David, Naas arriving for 12 noon Mass followed by burial in St. Corbans Cemetery.

Donations, if desired, to St. Brigids Hospice The Curragh.

The Funeral Mass can be viewed by clicking on the following link: https://www.naasparish.ie/our-parish/naas-webcam/
Due to European directives under the IORP II regulations in recent years we have seen plenty of changes in the pensions industry.



The main aim of these regulations has been to simplify pensions and make them more broadly available across the workforce.



The ultimate goal is to achieve a greater take up in private pensions to help supplement our state pension. Some of the latest innovations in the pension space have seen the introduction of Auto-enrolment, the Master Trust system and the curtailment of single person schemes.



Because of the language used and some of the rules, pensions seem complicated but in essence a pension is a long-term tax efficient savings plan.



Business owners are one group of workers have long been aware of pension planning as a means to take money from their business in a tax efficient manner.



However, they have not always been in a position to contribute on a regular basis. This is usually down to the time it takes to get their business on a sound financial footing, making sure staff wages were paid first, achieving positive cashflow and then finally being able to pay themselves a proper wage.



Having a pension plan to suit this scenario has proved difficult. Under the new PRSA rules however, a greater degree of flexibility has been introduced.



We would normally have used Executive Pension Plans to cater for company directors and key employees. This type of pension allowed both personal and company contributions to be made based on their age, years of salaried service, salary amount and retirement age.



If you had paid yourself a salary as a company owner and had plenty of years service this system could be quite flexible but it could be very restrictive if you didnt meet these criteria.



With the recent changes announced in the finance act which came into force on January 1st 2023 these rules have been eased.

Under the old rules, if you started a PRSA pension you were limited in what could be paid into it by the level of your salary and your age. For example, if you were aged 40 and on a salary of 50,000 you could contribute a total 25% to your pension from either your personal or company contributions.



If your company was making the contributions and exceeded the 25% of salary you would be charged BIK on the excess amount.



This has now changed and I have detailed a number of the key points from the Finance Act 2022 below.



Employers will from 1st January 2023 be able to pay unlimited BIK free contributions to a PRSA for an employee or director.

The contributions will not be limited by salary/service, existing scheme funding or retained benefits, as scheme funding is. They will however be limited to the overall pension Standard Fund Threshold (SFT) of 2M and perhaps most importantly, affordability.



The current BIK charge on employer PRSA contributions will be lifted so that from 1st January 2023 such contributions will not attract a tax charge for an employee.

Revenue practice restriction on level and incidence of employer funding? No and only subject to Standard Fund Threshold of 2M



Access to retirement benefits on ill health? Yes, on becoming permanently incapable through infirmity of mind or body of carrying on his or her own occupation or any occupation of a similar nature for which he or she is trained or fitted



Access to retirement benefits from 50 and before 60? Yes, on termination of the PRSA holders current employment



Access to retirement benefits from 60? Yes, from 60; no requirement to terminate that employment.



Latest date retirement benefits can be accessed? 75



Death in service? Full PRSA value payable as lump sum to estate. No requirement to transfer any part of the funds to an ARF.



Tax relief on employer contributions? All contributions allowed in accounting period in which they are paid. No distinction between ordinary annual and special contributions.



Larger contributions can be made to a PRSA for an employee/director with low salary and/or short service, than could be made under an Executive Pension Plan.



No spreading of tax relief will apply for once-off employer PRSA contributions, regardless of size, as there is no distinction for tax relief purposes between ordinary annual contributions and special contributions paid to a PRSA.



Relief will be allowed in the companys accounting period in which the contributions are paid.



This gives greater certainty therefore on employer tax relief, than under EPPs, as no max funding calculations have to be done.

There is a good bit to take in around this and as with all pension related activity it is important to speak with your financial advisor.



There is an opportunity however for businesses with cash balances to make contributions to the owners and key employees in a tax efficient manner. Reach out to us for further details and to review your personal situation.

Conor Harte BFS QFA CFP of Wealthwise Financial Planning with offices in Carrick on Shannon, Co Leitrim & Oranmore Co Galway, www.wealthwise.ie All details and views contained within this article are for informational purposes only and does not constitute advice. Wealthwise Financial Planning makes no representations as to the accuracy, completeness or suitability of any information and will not be liable for any errors, omissions or any losses arising from its use. Wealthwise Financial Ltd T/A Wealthwise Financial Planning is Regulated by the central Bank of Ireland.#CI66141
Israeli protesters lift national flags as they rally in central Tel Aviv, on February 11, 2023, against controversial legal reforms being touted by the country's hard-right government. JACK GUEZ / AFP

Tens of thousands of Israelis rallied in central Tel Aviv Saturday, February 11, for a sixth straight week against controversial legal reforms being pushed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing government.

"Democracy!" protesters chanted to the beat of drums in the coastal city, with many in the vast crowd waving blue and white Israeli flags, and others carrying rainbow LGBTQ or Palestinian banners. "We're not going to give up," some shouted.

Netanyahu returned to power following elections in November, at the head of a coalition with extreme-right and ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties.

Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes Israelis engage in further demonstrations to defend democracy and status quo

The proposed judicial reforms would allow Israel's parliament to overrule any Supreme Court decision with a simple majority of 61 lawmakers in the 120-seat body, as well as boost political control over the system through which judges are appointed. A first reading of the bill is slated for Monday. Leaders of the protest movement opposing the reforms have called for a strike on the same day.

The protests have become a weekly fixture on Saturday evenings since Netanyahu's new government  dubbed the most right-wing in Israeli history  took office in late December.

Defying predictions that Monday's planned strike would result in fewer protesters taking to the streets, this week's crowds appeared to be larger than in previous weeks. While there were no official figures on turnout, Israeli media reported around 50,000 demonstrators, with the liberal daily Haaretz reporting up to 75,000. Rallies were also held in other large cities, including outside the prime minister's residence in Jerusalem and in the northern port city of Haifa, Israeli media reported.

Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes Netanyahu, diplomat and master of domestic disorder

'Weaken the judiciary'

In 2019, Netanyahu refused to step down when he became the first sitting Israeli prime minister to be indicted while in office. Protesters called for Netanyahu, who is fighting corruption charges in court, to resign. He denies the charges against him of bribery, fraud and breach of trust.

"Netanyahu's trial is the reason for everything," said medical worker Neta Keren-Tal. "He is trying in every way to weaken the judiciary to escape his trial."

For the first time since the start of the protests in early January, several dozen demonstrators also gathered in Efrat, an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank.

Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes New attack in East Jerusalem raises fresh escalation fears

In Tel Aviv, a minute's silence was held for the three victims including eight and six-year-old brothers  killed in a car ramming attack on Friday in Ramot, a Jewish settlement neighborhood of Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem. On Saturday, a Palestinian was shot dead during a clash with Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank, south of the northern city of Nablus. The deaths add to spiraling violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict this year that has triggered mounting international concern.

Le Monde with AFP
Israeli emergency responders gather at the site of a reported ramming attack in Jerusalem on February 10. AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP

Security personnel sealed up the family home of a Palestinian man who careened his car into a Jerusalem bus stop, killing three Israelis and injuring several others, Israeli police said Sunday, February 12.

Police released a video showing police and soldiers welding the doors and windows of the apartment in East Jerusalem shut. The action came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the dwelling sealed immediately after the Friday attack. It was the first step ahead of the possible demolition of the apartment.

Three Israelis, including brothers aged 8 and 6, were killed Friday when Palestinian driver Hussein Qaraqa careened into a bus stop in the east Jerusalem settlement of Ramot. Asher and Yaakov Paley's father was one of five people injured in the incident. Qaraqa, 32, was killed by police at the scene.

Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes New attack in East Jerusalem raises fresh escalation fears

'Even broader operation'

Addressing the Cabinet on Sunday, Netanyahu said that the "appropriate response to terror is strike it with force and further deepen our roots in our land." He said the government would discuss an "even broader operation against the perpetrators of terrorism" in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem.

Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes Netanyahu, diplomat and master of domestic disorder

Police had arrested and interrogated Qaraqa's family almost immediately after he carried out Friday's deadly attack. It said that a court had extended the detention of his two brothers and that the investigation was ongoing.

Qaraqa's family said he had been diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder and had been released from a hospital just two days before the incident.

Israel says demolishing Palestinian attackers' homes serves as a deterrent meant to prevent future attacks. But human rights groups say the practice amounts to collective punishment and leaves relatives who had nothing to do with the attack homeless.

Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes Israel is stuck in a repressive impasse as Palestinian resistance grows

Le Monde with AP
ROCCO

Suddenly, they stop whatever they are doing and fidget with their smartphone before declaring "It's time for BeReal!" How many parents have observed this strange behavior in their children lately, stricken by a sudden and arbitrary need to take a picture and selfie on the fly? The "BeReal" phenomenon has been around in the daily routine of many families for a good year.

Invented by two young French developers Alexis Barreyat and Kevin Perreau in 2020, the BeReal application imposes its rhythm on 20 million users worldwide, every day. Those who have downloaded it (for free) receive a notification once a day, at a random time. The user is asked to take a picture of their face and their immediate environment within two minutes, with the phone's front and rear cameras taking shots almost simultaneously. The two juxtaposed pictures then become visible to a network of selected acquaintances.

"Keep smiling and don't change a thing," the phone says as you take the selfie. Unsurprisingly, the photo-sharing application promotes authenticity  and participation, since you have to have posted on your BeReal account to discover the feeds of other users. The application does not have likes, follower counters, filters, retouching, or ads. It scolds anyone who takes multiple shots before posting: the number of attempts is indicated under the final photo, and any delay (over the standard two-minute window) is also indicated. It also sends an infamous message to the less punctual users: "Do you know what BeReal is? Only 13% of your BeReals were on time."

'Showing who you really are'

Scary? The cause is commendable, the mobile app's website entices users to: "Find out what your friends really do in their daily lives." "Show them who you really are." BeReal "won't make you famous." Besides, "if you want to be an influencer, stay on TikTok or Instagram." In short, BeReal exposes the ordinariness of lives without any fuss, influence meters, or risk of addiction (only one post allowed per day), in a succession of unappetizing meals, messy rooms, sinister open spaces, keyboards, screens, and cats and dogs under dim lighting.

Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes Beauty is a 'privilege' that is becoming increasingly hard to live without, despite the evolution of the species

And it is popular. Without any advertising, the use of the application has exploded in the last year. It has been downloaded 75 million times, according to the US firm Sensor Tower  a little more than 77 million times since its launch, in 2020. The United States is the fondest of this return to reality (with 33% of downloads), ahead of the UK (9%) and then France (6%). At the end of November 2022, BeReal won the iPhone application of the year award. It has been imitated by TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat, who urgently created new features. "What's your BeReal?" is replacing "What's your Snap?" In a group setting, the question "Do you want to be on my BeReal?" flies around at the fateful notification time.

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ALMOST 60 per cent of young people in the country would consider emigration to lower their cost of living, according to a recent report. And for a Limerick native, it is simply not realistic to live here.

According to the Our Lives, Our Money report published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) at the beginning of December, nearly 60 per cent of 18 to 29 years olds in the country would consider moving abroad to lower their cost of living.

Corbally native, Emily Burke, 22, is one of many who wants to move abroad.

Im in my last semester of fourth year, so Im starting to think about what Im going to do after college, she says. While Emily would like to do a masters, the thought is quite simply unrealistic.

Having to pay the amount of money that it costs in Ireland, as well as having to have a job and pay to live somewhere, is just unrealistic. I have a few friends who live in The Netherlands, and it seems to be a better quality of life for younger people, she explains.

With that kind of price difference, how would you not want to move? she questions, as her boyfriend pays a monthly rent of 1,800 for a small two-bed apartment in Galway, while the couple found a similar apartment for half the price in Amsterdam.

Even though she loves to travel, Emily would love to stay in Limerick. I hate wanting to move, but its just not realistic to live here at the moment, she regrets.

When she eventually has children, she would love to raise them here.

The Corbally native points out: I love my family home, but I know Ill probably never be able to afford something like this. Its just not realistic for the wages that well be getting.

For Jack McGrath, 30, from Ennis Road in Limerick, Australia seems to be the place to be.

It's just getting harder and harder to save for a house with the house prices. I have a lot of friends now in the last year that moved to Australia, he says.

The Limerick man continues: After speaking with them, the money seems better. The cost of living is a bit more, but theyre still able to save loads of money a week, go out and have fun.

Although he always thought he would stay in Ireland, Jack doesnt want to give up his life in order to buy a house.

It kind of seems like theres a bit of a trade, that you sort of have to give up your life for two or three years, to be able to buy housing, he says.

If things were different, Jack would consider moving back to Ireland in the future.

Well see with the housing crisis, but I dont really have that much faith in the government, he says.

According to him, the government doesnt seem to be catering for someone in his category.

As a young, single person looking to buy a house, you sort of earn too much to be considered for social housing, but you dont earn enough to be able to get a mortgage for a house. Its definitely not something thats going to be fixed in the near future, he concludes.
THE PICTURESQUE village of Adare is teeing itself up to maximise the opportunity of and create a legacy from one of the worlds greatest sporting events with the launch of its own brand, four years out from the 2027 Ryder Cup.

The stunning 13th century village that has long since been a favourite on the national tourism map had its new market-facing identity, developed by Limerick City and County Council, officially unveiled by Mayor Francis Foley at an event this Sunday attended by business, sporting and community representatives.

It is inspired by the meaning of Adare, The Ford of the Oak, with the design centring on the oak leaf and acorn, through the branching veins of the leaf. The typography, as well as the colours, tie Adare to and celebrate the Limerick brand identity.

Adare from Limerick.ie on Vimeo.

Mayor Foley said Adare is an incredibly special place that is loved by visitors from near and far.

"In the past it may have been best known as a very pleasurable stop for tourists on the way to Kerry but in latter years it has emerged as a superb destination in its own right. With the Ryder Cup coming here in 2027, its essential that the village and, indeed, Limerick and the wider region, readies itself so that there is a positive and lasting legacy from this incredible opportunity and the launch of this brand is a key moment in that.

"Adare is a superb tourism product and has a great story to tell. This brand, the website and other materials is the telling of that. The people of Adare and Limerick City and County Council deserve huge congratulations on this initiative and no doubt, like the great Oak that the name comes from, this will stand the test of time very positively," said Mayor Foley.

Eileen Coleman, senior executive officer for Tourism, Culture & Arts at Limerick City and County Council, said: If you think Limerick, its not long before you think Adare. Its one of the great tourism assets of our county, a village that has its own very special appeal so its only right that we would capture this in a brand befitting what is a unique offering.

"Weve had a really enjoyable journey to today as it enabled us revisit the very special DNA of this village and all it has to offer. That reaffirmed to us just how special the product is and that its something we should be shouting from the rooftops about. Adare embraces the best of what Ireland is. It is historical, welcoming, is a superb location for adventure and activities, a place to be spoiled. Thats something we should celebrate.

The brand leverages off the award-winning Limerick brand, Atlantic Edge European Embrace, unveiled in early 2019 by leading international marketing experts M&C Saatchi, who also delivered the new localised Adare brand.

The objective of the new brand for the village, which in addition to its aesthetic and heritage renown is also consistently one of the leading performers in the national Tidy Towns Awards, is to capture Adares special charm and create a platform to tell its story.

It will help widen the meaning and recognition of Adare to drive positive engagement from potential visitors, encouraging them to explore, indulge, play and stay in the celebrated village.

This will be done through promotional activity, not least across the refreshed website adare.ie and #discoveradare.

Set on the River Maigue in unspoiled countryside, the village is renowned for its rich heritage, from the Desmond Castle set on the banks of the river, to the Trinitarian Monastery, Augustinian Abbey and thatched cottages. It has a much celebrated culinary culture, with award winning hotels, restaurants and cafes.

It is also home to three hotels, the Dunraven Arms, the Woodlands House Hotel and Adare Manor, which will host the Ryder Cup in 2027 and which was last year voted the best resort in the world by the readers of Conde Nast Traveller.
CAPPAMORE has lost one its most famous sons and Fathers with the passing of Fr Seamus Ryan.

He joins his brother and fellow Limerick hurler Fr Liam Ryan in the kingdom of heaven. Fr Seamus, who was aged in his 80s, died on Saturday.

The brothers emulated their father Willie Ryan, who won an All-Ireland medal in 1918, in pulling on the green of Limerick. Fr Seamus and Fr Liam played together in Limericks famous Munster final win of 1955. Fr Liam played wing forward like his father, while Fr Seamus was centre back.

The next year when Limerick took on Cork, Fr Seamus was marking one Christy Ring. In an interview with the Limerick Leader ahead of the 2018 All-Ireland final, Fr Seamus said after Cork won Christy Ring told him, "You had a great game. It was a pity you had to lose.

"I was a nobody, I was a young fellow, I always remembered it. I appreciated it very much," said Fr Seamus.

Both the Ryan brothers hurling careers were cut short due to their higher calling as in those days there was a ban on ordained priests or Christian Brothers playing GAA, while men who had returned to the seminary were not released.

Fr Seamus went to St Patrick's College to study for the priesthood. He also completed a doctorate in theology in Maynooth. Fr Seamus with the benefit of a German Government scholarship to the University of Munster in Westphalia, Germany, studied under a young professor, Joseph Ratzinger who later became Pope Benedict. They were to meet again in later life (see link below).

Limerick priest taught by Pope is not surprised at decision to resign LIMERICKs 1955 All-Ireland winning centre-back, Fr Seamus Ryan, knows the Pope both as a young and an elderly man.

Returning to Ireland in 1964, Fr Seamus lectured in theology in St Patrick's College, Thurles up until 1990 when he was appointed parish priest to St Matthew's Parish, Ballyfermot Upper in Dublin. He retired as parish priest of St Matthew's in 2016, returning to his native Cappamore where he assisted Fr Dick Browne, parish priest.

Local councillor, Martin Ryan said this Sunday that it was very sad news for the parish of Cappamore.

"We've lost one of our most famous sons. Fr Seamus was a brilliant sportsman and brilliant clerygman. My father would have grown up with Fr Seamus and Fr Liam and he held them in the highest regard. The whole family is highly, highly-respected," said Cllr Ryan, who expressed his sympathies to Fr Seamus' sisters Mary and Enda and extended family.

"He was so knowledgeable - his knowledge knew no bounds. He was a lovely, lovely man and a lovely man to talk to. Weve lost a saint," said Cllr Ryan.

A counterpart of Cllr Ryan's in Ballyfermot has also paid tribute to Fr Seamus on rip.ie Cllr Vincent Jackson passed on his deepest condolences from all the people of Ballyfermot, Cherry Orchard and Palmerstown.

"He welcomed one and all and I am so sad to hear of his passing. His legacy here in St Matthew's is our beautifully refurbished church and the building of the parish centre. He was a very learned man who always had his feet firmly on the ground. I will always be proud and happy I honoured you with the Lord Mayor's Award in the Mansion House in 2007," wrote Cllr Jackson.

Fr Seamus will repose at Lynch-Kellys Funeral Home, Cappamore, on Monday evening, February 13 from 5pm with removal at 7.30pm to St Michaels Church, Cappamore. Requiem Mass on Tuesday, February 14 at 12 noon with burial afterwards in the church grounds.

When the Leader asked Fr Seamus about Pope Benedict stepping down in 2013, he quoted from Shakespeare's Macbeth, "Nothing in his life became him like the leaving it".

Fr Seamus went to his eternal reward peacefully, quietly and with the utmost dignity - just the like man himself.

May he rest in peace.
AN Irish French indie folk duo has released a new single ahead of their album launch tour, which will begin in Limerick.

Les SalAmandas have shared their latest single, Marys Got Issues.

Composed of Colyne Laverriere and Julie OSullivan, the West Cork based duo has been performing around the country for the last two years.

Mixing reflective lyrics and beautiful harmonies, their new song was written during multiple lockdowns.

At the time, I was struggling a bit with life and had to deal with my mental health for the first time. By the time we finished writing the song, we realised that it wasn't just about me and that everyone is more complex than we think. Everyone is a Mary, commented Colyne.

We had great craic writing it as its not often that we write upbeat songs, it was also just nice to work out frustrations, added Julie.

Produced by award-winning producer Daniel Ledwell, their debut album, Theres A Sea Between Us, will be released on February 14.

The album will feature a collection of songs they have been working on over the last three years.

As part of their album launch tour, the duo will perform in The Commercial on February 17.

Tickets via eventbrite.ie
BEIJING :

Top executives from multinational companies are trickling back into China with the countrys reopening, as Beijing seeks to restore confidence from global businesses in its struggling economy and attract investments.
NEW DELHI : A three-day meeting of the G20 Agriculture Deputies is set to kick off in Indore on Monday where nearly a hundred delegates are expected to participate, said an official statement from the ministry of agriculture and farmers welfare.

Indore will host the first Agriculture Deputies Meeting (ADM) of the agriculture working group under Indias G20 Presidency. The delegates would be from G20 member countries, guest countries and International organizations.

Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan will inaugurate an exhibition on the first day of the three-day meeting. Millets and its value-added food products along with stalls from Animal Husbandry and Fisheries will be a major attraction of this exhibition.

During the meeting, two side events have been scheduled on the first day to deliberate on agriculture related matters. On the he second day, civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia will attend the event.

The agriculture working group will discuss its deliverables on the third day, the ministry said.
NEW DELHI : Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated the 246 km Delhi  Dausa  Lalsot section of the Delhi Mumbai Expressway to the nation on Sunday.

He also laid the foundation stone for 247 kilometres of National Highway projects to be developed at a cost of more than 5940 crore.

Addressing the occasion, the Prime Minister said that building excellent road infrastructure is an engine of growth, development and connectivity in New India. It is being realised by the construction of a number of ongoing world-class Expressways across the country."

He added that this is one of the most advanced expressways in the world which presents a grand picture of developing India. When such modern roads, railway stations, railway tracks, Metro and airports are constructed, the countrys development gets momentum."

PM Modi said that for the last 9 years, the Central Government is continuously making huge investments in infrastructure. Investments worth more than Rs. 50,000 crores were made for the construction of highways in Rajasthan. In this years budget, the Prime Minister informed that there has been an allocation of 10 lakh crores for infrastructure which is 5 times more than the allocation in 2014."

The Prime Minister added that the poor and middle class from Rajasthan will greatly benefit from these investments. The benefit of investment in infrastructure on the economy is that it creates employment and connectivity. When investments are made in highways, railways, ports, airports, optical fibers, digital connectivity, construction of pucca houses and colleges, every section of the society gets empowered."

He said that another benefit of infrastructure is that economic activities are getting a boost. With the construction of the Delhi  Dausa  Lalsot highway, the travel time between Delhi and Jaipur will be reduced. Along the expressway, Grameen Haats are being established that will help the local farmers and artisans. Tourism spots like Sariska, Keoladeo National Park, Ranthambore and Jaipur will draw huge benefits from the highway."

PM Modi added that one of the other three projects will give Jaipur direct connectivity with the expressway. The second project will connect the expressway with Ambala- Kotputli corridor near Alwar. This will help vehicles coming from Haryana, Punjab, Himachal and Jammu Kashmir to travel to Punjab, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. Lalsot Karoli road will also connect the region with the expressway."

The Prime Minister said that the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway and the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor are going to become two strong pillars of progress for Rajasthan and the country and will transform this entire region including Rajasthan in the times to come.

These two projects will strengthen the Mumbai-Delhi Economic Corridor and the road and freight corridor will connect many regions of Rajasthan, Haryana and Western India with ports. It will create new opportunities for logistics, storage, transport and other industries as well," he added.

PM Modi said that the Delhi Mumbai Expressway is powered by the PM Gati Shakti Masterplan. Arrangements have been made to lay optical fiber, electricity lines and gas pipelines, and the leftover land will be used for producing solar energy as well as warehousing purposes. These efforts will save the nation a lot of money in the future."
Uttar Pradesh will soon have the maximum number of domestic flight services in India, said Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia while addressing a session on Civil Aviation in Uttar Pradesh: The Emerging Opportunities, which took place on the second day of UP Global Investors Summit 2023 here.

He also appreciated the double-engine government in Uttar Pradesh, saying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and CM Yogi Adityanath have rejuvenated the country and the state. Earlier, UP only had two airports, but now it has 9 operational airports.

Scindia said the land of Ayodhya, Kashi (Varanasi), and Mathura has always shown a new path to the country, according to the news agency ANI.

The minister further described Uttar Pradesh as a favorable destination for investment and said that the state has made great strides in every field.

Ten new airports are being built in the state and the land survey work has started for two more. Uttar Pradesh is going to have 21 airports in the coming days," Scindia added.

Earlier on Friday, PM Modi also announced that UP will be soon known for five international airports. He said that now the state is known for, law and order, and stability.

He said that along with infrastructure, Uttar Pradesh has changed it approach and it is driving growth for New India.

Along with infrastructure, UP has changed its 'Soch and Approach' for ease of doing business. It is driving the growth of New India. From electricity to connectivity, there has been improvement in every field. The state is witnessing holistic development," said PM Modi at the UP Global Investment Summit 2023.

He said that health, educations, and other sectors are opportunities for investors and the country is carrying out reforms out of conviction.

"Health, education, green growth, and social infrastructure are great opportunities for investors in India. Today, India is carrying out reforms not out of compulsion, but out of conviction," said PM Modi at Summit in Lucknow.

Soon, UP will be known for 5 international airports," he added.

In this summit, Reliance Industries Ltd chairman Mukesh Ambani on Friday announced 75,000 crore investment over the next four years in Uttar Pradesh.

(With ANI inputs)
With a promise of a better quality of life and a clean, sustainable environment, 22 cities including Agra, Varanasi, Chennai, Pune, and Ahmedabad will complete all projects under the government's flagship Smart City Mission by next month.

While providing more details, a senior official from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs said that projects in the remaining 78 cities selected under the mission will be completed in the next three to four months.

The 22 cities which will be completed by March include Bhopal, Indore, Agra, Varanasi, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Coimbatore, Erode, Ranchi, Salem, Surat, Udaipur, Visakhapatnam, Ahmedabad, Kakinada, Pune, Vellore, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Madurai, Amaravati, Tiruchirappalli, and Thanjavur.

"We will complete 22 smart cities by March as projects in these cities are in the final stages. In the next three-four months, we will be completing the project works of the remaining cities," the official told the news agency PTI.

Smart City Mission which is a flagship project of the Narendra Modi government was launched on 25 June 2015. The government zeroed upon 100 cities that were selected for redevelopment through four rounds of competition from January 2016 to June 2018. The mission aims to promote cities that provide core infrastructure and decent quality of life to their residents. The residents will also get a clean and sustainable environment with "smart solutions" for various issues under the scheme.

The implementation of the Smart City Mission is conducted by Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) which plan, implement, operate, monitor, and evaluate the projects under the scheme.

Union Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Kaushal Kishore told Rajya Sabha on 6 February that as of 27 January 2023, out of 7,804 projects worth 1,81,322 crore for which work orders have been issued in the 100 smart cities, 5,246 projects worth 98,796 crore have been completed.

The officials from the ministry added that currently, there is no proposal to add more cities to the project.

The government has utilized 32,095 crore out of the allocated funding of 36,447 crore under the mission, which constitutes around 88%. The mission guidelines provide that the Union Government will financially support the scheme with 48,000 crore for five years and the State Governments will also contribute the matching amount.

(With inputs from PTI)
NEW DELHI : DHARA, the annual meeting of the member of the River Cities Alliance (RCA) will be held on 13-14 February, 2023 by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) in association with the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA).

The Union Minister for Jal Shakti, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat will address the inaugural session of the event. The meeting will provide a platform for senior officials including commissioners, addl. commissioners, chief engineers and senior planners of the 95-member river cities in India to co-learn and discuss solutions for managing local water bodies," the Ministry of Jal Shakti said.

The event has synergies with the Urban 20 (U20) initiative under Indias G20 presidency. A primary thrust area under the U20 initiative is to promulgate urban water security.

Healthy rivers have a vital role to play in enhancing the overall water security of the city. DHARA 2023 will host multiple sessions over the two-days, including a session on National Case Studies on Innovative River-related Practices to introduce the participants to several unique and innovative solutions for different aspects of urban river management involving lake and pond rejuvenation, de-centralized used-water management, enhancing river-related economy, groundwater management, and flood management," the ministry added.

Another session on International Case Studies will be conducted to focus on innovative river-related practices in countries like Denmark, reuse of used water in Israel, floodplain management in Netherlands, river health monitoring in USA, pollution control in Japan, and water sensitive city design in Australia.

The meeting also aims to initiate in-depth discussions with the Municipal Commissioners of the member cities to come up with possible learning solutions for urban river management.

The expected outcome of DHARA 2023 is to inspire members of the RCA to engage in progressive actions for urban river management in their cities. It is also expected that the event will shine light on the unaddressed issues and challenges for river management in cities, which will help NIUA and its partners in formulating an effective work plan," the ministry said.
BharatPe co-founder Ashneer Grover has claimed that Bhavik Koladiya, the company's original founder, pulled off the largest data theft in India to date by collecting the personal information of over 150 million users of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) app.

Grover made the allegations in an email to the National Payments Council of India (NPCI) while saying that it was a grave mistake of giving him a chance at redemption at Bharate Pe". The former managing director of the company referred to Bhavik having previously been convicted in the US for credit card fraud. As per Grover, Koladiya pulled off the biggest data theft" in India till date.

Koladiya was put under house arrest for 18 months in the US and subsequently deported to India, Grover said in the email while referring to the credit card fraud. Koladiya has an FIR registered against him at Delhi airport as he attempted to travel to Gujarat on a forged ticket, the renowned entrepreneur while attaching documents pertaining to his conviction and copy of the FIR".

Also Read: When Ashneer Grover was called a refugee and almost missed a chance to marry Madhuri Jain

Meanwhile, Koladiya has strongly" denied the baseless and false allegations" made against him. The allegations are nothing but an act of retaliation and frustration on his part, resulting from his removal from BharatPe and my ongoing legal suit against him in Delhi High Court," he informed Moneycontrol.

In 2021, while he was still employed by BharatPe, Koladiya established a second business under the name of his wife Dharti called "Otpless Solutions Private Limited", according to Grover. Koladiya allegedly subsequently transferred all the private and secret information of BharatPe to this new business.

Also Read: Bhavik Koladiya vs Ashneer Grover: Delhi HC issues summons to Grover

Grover stated that the whistleblowers were being silenced by BharatPe's present management, led by Chairman and former State Bank of India (SBI) head Rajnish Kumar.

In connection with a petition Koladiya filed in an effort to retrieve shares transferred to Grover, the Delhi high court earlier issued summons to Grover and BharatPe. Justice Prateek Jalan ordered Grover to refrain from granting third parties rights to the 16,110 shares in dispute until further instructions.
For mayor polls, the next session of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) House will take place on February 16, said official sources on Sunday. Delhi LG VK Saxena has accepted the proposal sent by the government to hold the session on Thursday, according to the news agency PTI.

In the last month, three successive meetings of the House were adjourned amid ruckus and commotion over the decision to give voting rights to aldermen without electing the mayor, deputy mayor, and members of the standing committee of the civic body.

The House was first convened on January 6 after the civic polls last December. However, the session was adjourned following acrimonious exchanges between members of the BJP and AAP.

On January 24, the second municipal House was adjourned after the oath-taking ceremony and was again adjourned till the next date by the pro-team presiding officer. After that, the House has adjourned last Monday again for the third time, a month after the first municipal House.

Meanwhile, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has alleged that the mayoral election could not be held as the BJP was strangulating democracy and the Constitution of India. On the other hand, the saffron party accused the AAP of making excuses to stall the mayoral poll, PTI reported.

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.

The civic body in Delhi had 272 wards across its three corporations  NDMC, SDMC, and EDMC  which existed from 2012-2022, before being reunified into a sole MCD, which formally came into existence on May 22 last year.

The Municipal House in Delhi on February 6 failed to elect a mayor following a ruckus over the decision to allow aldermen to vote in the mayoral poll, even as AAP alleged a planned conspiracy by the BJP to stall the process.

(With PTI inputs)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Sohna-Dausa stretch of the Delhi Mumbai Expressway today i.e. on 12 February at around 3 pm.

The 246 km Delhi  Dausa  Lalsot section of the Delhi Mumbai Expressway has been developed at a cost of more than 12,150 crore.

With the operation of the Sohna-Dausa stretch, the travel time from Delhi to Jaipur will reduce from 5 hours to 3 hours. This will also provide a major boost to economic development of the entire region.

Also Read: How Delhi - Mumbai Expressway may boost Delhi NCRs real estate demand

According to a release from the PMO, Delhi-Mumbai Expressway will be Indias longest expressway with a length of 1,386 km. This expressway will reduce the travel distance between Delhi and Mumbai by 12 percent from 1,424 km to 1,242 km and the travel time will be reduced by 50 percent from 24 hours to 12 hours.

The Key features of the Delhi Mumbai expressway:

Reduce travel time between Delhi Jaipur from 5 hours to 3 hours.

Travel time between Delhi Mumbai will be reduced from 24 hours to 12 hours.

The expressway will pass through six states of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra and connect major cities like Kota, Indore, Jaipur, Bhopal, Vadodara and Surat.

The Delhi -Mumbai Expressway is the first expressway that is developed with a 21-meter median on principles of forgiving highways allowing inward expansion.

The expressway facilitates Rain Water Harvesting in 500m the interval at over 2,000 plus water recharge points, and also having an automated traffic management system.

It is a 8-lane access-controlled Greenfield Expressway with scope for future expansion upto 12-lane Expressway.

There would be 40 plus major interchanges to provide connectivity to Kota, Indore, Jaipur, Bhopal, Vadodara, Surat.

A 3-meter wide dedicated corridor for laying Utility lines including Optical Fiber Cables, Pipelines and solar power generation.

The Expressway will also serve 93 PM Gati Shakti Economic Nodes, 13 Ports, 8 Major Airports and 8 multi-modal logistics parks (MMLPs) along with spurs to new upcoming greenfield airports such as Jewar Airport, Navi Mumbai Airport and JNPT port.

The Expressway will have a catalytic impact in the developmental trajectory of all adjoining regions, thus contributing in a major way in the economic transformation of the country.

Apart from this, the prime minister will also lay the foundation stone of 247 kilometres of National Highway projects to be developed at a cost of more than 5,940 crore. This includes a 67-km long four-lane spur road from Bandikui to Jaipur to be developed at a cost of more than 2000 crore, a six-lane spur road from Kotputli to Baraodaneo to be developed at a cost of about 3,775 crore, and a two-lane paved shoulder of Lalsot - Karoli section being developed at a cost of about 150 crore.
Haj 2023: Haj Committee of India has invited online applications for Haj 2023 from 10 February. The last date for submission of applications along with documents is 10th March 2023. Interested pilgrims who wish to attend Haj 2023 can apply online from the official website i.e. hajcommittee.gov.in .

The Haj is an Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the most sacred place for Muslims.

After the Saudi Arabia took its Haj quota to pre-covid levels, India's Haj quota has also been restored at 1,75,02 for this year as per the bilateral agreement between the two countries. The decision was made on the basis of requests of quota restoration received during interactive sessions between the centre and other stake holders on Haj management, including Haj Committees of the states and UTs, Minority Affairs Minister Smriti Irani had informed in a written reply to a question on 2 February.

Here's how to register for Haj 2023:

Visit the official website hajcommittee.gov.in

Click on HAJ 2023 on the tab and select Online Application Form.

Click on New Registration

Enter all the required details and then click on Register

On successful submission of OTP, a confirmation message will appear on the screen

Enter the User Id (Mobile number) and password

Fill the Haj Application Form and fill the details. Click on Submit

After the application form, upload the required documents like passport size photograph, passport first page, passport last page, address proof, vaccine certificate.

Click on Final Submission" and you will get the alert message.

Download Haj Application Form by clicking on the Download HAF2023" button.

Notably, the Ministry of Minority Affairs on February 6, announced a new Haj policy under which the application forms have been made available for free and the package cost per pilgrim has been reduced by 50,000. While sharing the new Haj Policy, the Ministry said, "Wide choice of embarkation points & special arrangements are made for ladies, infants, divyangjan and elderly."

Eligibility for Haj

Ban on Repeaters: A person who has performed Haj earlier in his life through HCoI except for permitted categories of Mehrams and those accompanying a 70+ pilgrim on the basis of an appropriate solemn declaration and undertaking.

Any person found to have furnished false information shall not be allowed to proceed for Haj. In such cases, he/ she will be disqualified at any stage and de-boarded even at the embarkation point. The entire amount deposited by him/her shall also be forfeited. Besides, he / she may be prosecuted for making an incorrect/ false declaration. These restrictions will also apply for concealing the fact of having performed Haj earlier as well as for Haj-e-Badal pilgrims.

Ladies above 45 years of age, who wish to go for Haj but do not have a male Mehram and their school of thought (Maslak) permits are allowed to travel in groups of 4 or more ladies.

The applications received in 70+ age category are given top priority allocation of seats for that State/UT.

While allotting seats of each state, the order of priority will be: 70+ Category (Age 70+ applicant along with companion), Ladies travelling without their Mehrams; General Category.

The entire Government discretionary quota stands cancelled from Haj 2023 onwards and will be merged into the general pool for the benefit of the common citizens.

All provisionally selected pilgrims will be allotted a unique bank reference number, which must be quoted compulsorily for depositing advance and balance Haj amounts in the State Bank of India through the core banking system.
The overhead bin above her opened and began flapping as the plane took off. Right after take-off, the flight became turbulent. She's never been good on aeroplanes. In 2022, she developed a health condition that made her more nervous. The moment she kept her hand on the divider in the middle of the two seats, her co-passenger held her hand and said Hey its ok. Tell me your name. Lets talk."

Shikha Mittal spoke about her experience with a co-passenger who comforted her during a turbulent flight and ended up having a conversation for the next couple of hours. The co-passenger was none other than Anil Kapoor, Bollywoods original Mr India.

Kapoor will be next seen as the antagonist in the Disney+ Hotstar Indian adaptation of The Night Manager, based on the 1993 espionage novel by British writer John le Carre.

As they started the conversation, Kapoor asked about her profession. Shikha Mittal is the founder of Be.artsy and Be Your Own Shakti and Beartsy Foundation. She is an expert on financial literacy.

Also Read: Disney+ Hotstar to stream The Night Manager on 17 February

She said, during the journey, they discussed financial planning, retirement plans, money management and writing a will while discussing movies, property prices and fitness. They also spoke about Sridevi and Madhuri Dixit, Anil Kapoors most celebrated on-screen partners.

When asked about his favourite movie, Kapoor told her that he was fond of Jugjugg Jeeyo, Anil Kapoors last movie which also stars Varun Dhawan and Kiara Advani. Mittal told him that he had recency bias" Anil told her, Tu haad se jyada intelligent hai (your intelligence in over the top)."

Shikha talked about how disturbed she had been after COVID-19 and vaccines. Kapoor advised her not to worry much. Look at me. Im a highly-average man, who focuses on hard work. I work out for 1-2 hours, early to bed, early to risethats why I stay jhakaas" and look like your age." Shikha reminded him that he was of her fathers age.

She said she would have remained silent in order to protect Kapoors privacy if he had not spoken at that moment. But, throughout those two hours, she laughed nonstop, and it seemed as though the plane had just touched down after taking off, Mittal wrote.

Kapoor later told her, A lot of people will tell you anxiety is bad, but today due to your anxiety we both got a chance to talk, and laugh and now maybe you also treat me to a coffee in Delhi". As she smiled, he hugged her on their way out and said Shikha The Mittal BYE!".

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
While aiming to secure an influential position across various sectors, Hitachi India, part of the Japanese conglomerate Hitachi has set an objective to contribute $20 billion in overall consolidated revenue of the parent company by 2030.

The company's Managing Director Bharat Kaushal affirmed that they will achieve the target with 'higher double-digit profit'. The MD added that Hitachi India is eyeing an influential position" across the rail, energy, and digital, automotive businesses of the group.

In the fiscal year 2021, the consolidated financial revenue of Hitachi India stood at 17,204 crore.

"Some of the horizontal enablers that support integrating technologies using digital as the catalyst including Artificial Intelligence (AI), hydrogen, and energy storage, will become an important growth driver. We aim to have a higher double-digit profit to the overall Hitachi's consolidated revenues," Kaushal told the news agency PTI.

While appreciating government steps on technology and IPR, Kaushal said that the country is emerging as a base to do business outside India, especially in capital goods.

"We expect to contribute to Hitachi's economy by USD 20 billion," he said while talking about the revenue.

"Hitachi's innovative and globally acclaimed technology has been fuelling the transformation of India. Hitachi's new Mid-term Management Plan 2024 aims to support people's quality of life with data and technology that fosters a sustainable society," the top executive of the company added.

Kaushal affirmed that the company is playing a significant role in India's journey toward becoming a carbon-neutral country.

"Increasingly, the focus on India's importance in Hitachi is gathering momentum very significantly," he said adding, "it is coinciding with Japan and India trying to make more winners out of their economic engagement story."

The company executive said that it is expanding the canvas of business proficiency in the country and solutions for India are not just about scale but also affordability.

"Our core areas as part of our forward-looking Mid-Term Management Plan 2024 will have a direct correlation to the future investments we carry out focusing on offering solutions including Green Technology, Digital Technology, and Innovation," Kaushal added.

(With inputs from PTI)
New Delhi : India has reported 124 new covid cases in the last 24 hours, the Union health ministry data on Sunday. The total number of covid cases have reached 44.7 million, with 530,750 covid related deaths since the onset of covid pandemic.

Covid cases are constantly declining across the country with Karnataka reporting 123 active cases while Kerala with 1,248 active cases. Maharashtra has 82 active cases, Odisha 80 cases, Rajasthan with 11 cases, Tamil Nadu has 48 active cases; Uttar Pradesh 16 and West Bengal has 39 active cases so far.

While India has a total of 1,843 active cases at a rate of 0.01%, around 44,151,525 people have recovered from the infection with current recovery rate touching to 98.81%. In addition to this, the daily positivity rate is 0.10% and weekly positivity is 0.09%.

With rapid decline in the trajectory of covid cases, scientists believe that Omicron and its sub lineages will not affect India as large number of populations is already exposed to the virus and vaccinated. Scientists say that people in India have developed hybrid immunity (due to vaccination and natural infection). However, they suggest people to wear masks in crowded places and complete their vaccination doses if not done yet.

At present, large number of cases is being reported in China and other countries as a result the Central government has tightened covid preparedness measures. The government has directed the Insacog under the supervision of Department of Biotechnology (DBT) to keep a close watch on covid situation in the country and continue to do constant genome sequencing to track any new variant.

The government is conducting RT-PCR testing for people returning from China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, and South Korea. In view of decline trajectory of covid cases in India and other countries, the Indian government has withdrawn the the filling up of Air Suvidha forms for travellers from six countries under which 72-hour prior RT-PCR testing was compulsory.

The country has conducted over 128,492 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours taking the total trajectory of covid testing to 91.70 crore so far.

Under the covid vaccination drive, more than 220.62 crore vaccine doses have been administered to the people across the country so far. In the last 24 hours, around 7,591 vaccine doses were administered.

Besides, hospitals have been asked to maintain surveillance and 5% of lnfluenza-like illness (lLl) and all SARI cases for covid infection.
The day should not be far away where we can build own aircraft in our country that too in Bengaluru", Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said on Sunday ahead of the 14th edition of India's largest aerospace and defence exhibition, Aero India.

The Aero India event is scheduled to commence in Bengaluru on Monday, 13 January.

CM Bommai said that Karnataka's capital city Bengaluru already manufactures all parts required to make an aircraft and that soon India, especially Bengaluru will be able to manufacture its own aircraft.

He also mentioned that he is in talks with the people involved in the business across the globe to make it happen.

"Bengaluru manufactures all parts required for an aircraft. My ambitious dream is that the day should not be far away where we can build own aircraft in our country that too in Bengaluru," Bommai said during the curtain raiser event here for the Aero India show.

"I am trying very hard and talking to the people concerned internationally. That day is not far away where India can build its own aircraft," the Chief Minister said.

Hailing Bengaluru, Bommai said the city is a hub and future for aerospace industry and thus it is the best place to host Aero India show.

"We can showcase the capabilities of our Indian aero space technologies, manufacturing units both in commercial and defence aircraft building in the show," the Chief Minister added.

Bommai gave credit for those who had invested their intelligence in Bengaluru to build an Aero Space ecosystem.

He lauded the Centre, which successfully conducted the Aero India show during the COVID time when the Paris Aero Show was cancelled due to the pandemic.

"Hosting Aero Show during COVID speaks the capabilities of our defence and aerospace industry. It has increased our confidence," the Chief Minister said.

The Aero India show this time has become the biggest event in terms of exhibits, presence of large contingent of the foreign defence industry, number of CEOs attending and large number of displays which had never happened in the past, he said.

According to Bommai, the curtain raiser is an important and significant because it shows that right things are being done at the right place for the future of the country.
Mumbai: John Distilleries Pvt. Ltd, an Indian alcobev company that makes the Paul John brand of single malts, is looking to expand its vodka, gin, rum, and wine portfolio across price segments, besides doubling whisky production, chairman Paul P. John said.

The firm produces one of the largest-selling, mass-market whiskies, Original Choice, globally, as well as wines under the Big Banyan brand. It also makes premium brandy Mont Castle and Roulette, and Paul John XO.

My intention is to have a range of products across categoriespremium, high-end as well as middle and lower end because then I can also tie up with hotels and bars like the big players of the industry," John said in an interview. I would like to complete the whole portfolio  vodka, rum, ginWe will add vodka over time," he added.

The company is producing around 4,000 litres of whisky daily, and wants to increase to 8,000 litres. However, even then we will not be able to meet demand, John said.

John Distilleries is growing 30% year-on-year. Last year, we sold 19 million cases . We have products from 500 to 55,000, like the limited edition Mars Orbiter whisky."

India is one of the fastest-growing alcoholic beverages markets globally. It was worth an estimated $52.5 billion in 2020, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.8% between 2020 and 2023, according to a report by the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations. The number of people consuming alcohol rose from 219 million in 2005 to 293 million in 2018; and is projected to rise to 386 million by 2030, industry estimates showed.

The share of the upper-middle income group in alcohol consumption rose from 7% to 21%. It is expected to increase to 44% in seven years.

Companies such as Diageo, Bacardi, Allied Blenders, and Tilaknagar Industries, as well as large beer firms, are trying to expand their portfolios, and are launching newer products and premiumising their portfolios to appeal to the youth.

The company is looking to enter the gin market first, and has infused massive funds into this venture, he said. We are just entering the gin market, and Ive been focusing more on quality. Ive imported gin stills from Germany. Our gin is priced at 3,000-4,500 per bottle, depending on taxes."

USs family-owned spirits company Sazerac owns 43% of John Distilleries. With our strategic partner, we are adequately funded for expansion, but government regulations are hurting business80% of what a customer pays goes to government in taxes, and 20% comes to us and I have to manage everything with it," John said adding that 60% of the business comes from India.
Uttarakhand government has waived the electricity and water bills of the local residents affected by Joshimath's land subsidence for six months. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami instructed the officials in the cabinet meeting to issue the order in this regard on Sunday.

Residents of Joshimath are facing an uncertain future as they continue to deal with the aftermath of the severe land subsidence that hit the city over a month ago. The situation has forced many residents who were temporarily housed in a primary school to move to abandoned army barracks.

However, with the arrival of Char Dham pilgrims in April and May, the residents are worried that they may lose even this shelter. The lack of a permanent rehabilitation solution has left the residents in a state of uncertainty and fear.

Meanwhile, Chamoli District Magistrate (DM) Himanshu Khurana on Friday informed that various cracks had been noticed in 868 buildings of Joshimath. Out of these, 181 buildings are in unsafe areas and the dismantling work of Hotel Mount View and Malari Inn is in its final stage.

He also said that 878 members of 243 disaster-affected families are in relief camps and basic facilities are being provided to them, according to the news agency ANI.

"Relief amount of 515.80 lakhs has been distributed to the families hit by subsidence in Joshimath. The amount distributed is advanced relief for damaged buildings, special rehabilitation package, a one-time special grant for transportation of goods, and for the purpose of immediate needs and purchase of household items," he tweeted.

"878 members of 243 disaster-affected families are in relief camps. Basic facilities like food, drinking water, and medicine are being made available to the affected people in the relief camps," he added.

The district magistrate has proposed three solutions to a state-level committee for the permanent resettlement of Joshimath residents. However, the plan can only be put into action once the state cabinet gives its approval and the impacted residents agree with the chosen option.

(With ANI inputs)
Kangana Ranaut, controversial Bollywood actress, recently took to Twitter to criticize comedian Tanmay Bhat and a banking and financial services company for choosing Bhat as the face of a digital campaign. Bhat faced serious accusations during the #MeToo movement, and Ranaut accused him of promoting child pornography in his old tweets.

Taking the note of it, the actress tweeted, Problem with most right wing ideologists is that they perceive leftists choices as their mistakes, please understand Tanmay has been chosen as a brand match for precisely what you are objecting to, child porn is a huge industry, what democrats doing in USA leftists all across.

She added further, Entire worlds leftists will reflect that, most brands have made it evident what they stand for, latest Balenciaga child porn campaign and shocking rise in child mastectomy in the USA is every right wingers hell, question is not what they doing, the question is what are we doing?

Problem with most right wing ideologists is that they perceive leftists choices as their mistakes,please understand Tanmay has been chosen as a brand match for precisely what you are objecting to,child porn is a huge industry,what democrats doing in USA leftists all across (cont) https://t.co/ocZGhX8BIG  Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) February 12, 2023

Ranaut praises Elon Musk

Moreover, Ranaut mentioned that child pornography was one of the primary reasons why Elon Musk took over Twitter. She added that more right-wingers need to make things happen even at the cost of their own personal and financial good or profit.

She said, Child porn was one of the primary reasons why Elon Musk took over twitter, this is how right wingers need to make things happen even at the cost of their own personal/financial good/profit, we need strategies/actions, if system dont support we need to make it happen individually.

Child porn was one of the primary reasons why @elonmusk took over twitter, this is how right wingers need to make things happen even at the cost of their own personal/financial good/profit,we need strategies /actions,if system dont support we need to make it happen individually.  Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) February 12, 2023

This is not the first time Ranaut has made headlines for her controversial tweets. In the past, she has targeted A-lister Bollywood stars such as Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, and Shah Rukh Khan. She has also been involved in a heated war of words with style icon Uorfi Javed.

Ranaut's tweets have sparked a debate on social media, with many criticizing her for spreading hate and creating controversy. Others have defended her, saying that she has a right to express her opinions and that people should not be quick to judge her. However, it is important to note that promoting child pornography is illegal and has severe consequences. It is crucial for everyone to be aware of the harmful effects of child pornography and to take action to prevent it.
Cement manufacturers saw a strong rebound in earnings in the December quarter after a forgettable September quarter, when the industry was reeling under the impact of a steep rise in raw material costs.

According to data compiled by Mint for 31 companies, net profit in Q3 rose 3.7 times from the September quarter. However, raw material and energy prices in the December quarter remained volatile, but overall cost pressure eased compared to the previous quarter. The revenues of cement companies were significantly boosted by double-digit volume growth, but cement prices grew in single digits. Ambuja Cements, UltraTech Cement, Dalmia Bharat and Shree Cements posted volume growth of 8-22% from a year ago.

View Full Image Graphic: Mint

The all-India average cement price for a 50-kg bag at about 359 was up 3% sequentially in 3QFY23, and rose 6% from a year ago led by a 4-8% price rise in western, southern and eastern India, according to analysts.

Revenue grew at 14.63% from a year ago and 9.92% sequentially while profit before interest tax depreciation and amortization rose 48.77% sequentially, but was 7.02% lower year-on-year. Analysts said the strong pickup in volumes helped drive performance and operating leverage.

HDFC Securities analyst Rajesh Ravi said a 10% sequential volume growth drove the operating leverage for cement manufacturers during the quarter. Per-tonne profitability improved by about 200 a tonne sequentially to 800 a tonne with operating leverage contributing about 100 per tonne. Dalmia Bharat, UltraTech and Shree Cements reported per tonne Ebitda of 812-1,022 a tonne. ACC also reported improvement in per tonne profits from the lows of 23 a tonne in the September quarter to 490 in the December quarter, while Ambujas Ebitda per tonne doubled from 433 in Q2 to 812 in Q3, according to analysts estimates.

Performance of cement companies is likely to continue improving, said analysts. While cost pressures eased significantly, it was still not visible for companies in Q3 as fuel prices remained quite volatile, they added.

In the March quarter, cement manufacturers could see per-tonne profit rise further by about 200-300 a tonne and the average crossing 1,000 per tonne, said analysts. If companies raise cement prices, it will add to their profitability.

Emkay Global analysts said demand from the retail segment was range-bound in January, and healthy traction in government-backed projects continued. In the retail segment, festivities as well as extreme winter conditions led to slower construction in the North. Prices, however, were flat in January compared to the previous month. The governments push for infrastructure is expected to keep cement demand strong in 2023, ahead of the 2024 election year.

Capacity addition in the cement sector will continue to meet demand, said Rajesh Ravi. The Adani groups aggressive expansion plans for its acquired cement assets may take a back seat for the near term due to the recent developments, said analysts.

Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd analysts said Ambuja Cements should have be better clarity on capex (both for capacity enhancement and operational efficiencies). The firms organic expansion will need more time, it lacks a clear roadmap, and has not considered significant expansions in its estimate, barring the 7 mtpa of Ambuja Cements, which was disclosed in January 2022 by its erstwhile management, they said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday inaugurated the 246-km Delhi-Dausa-Lalsot section of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway in Rajasthan's Dausa. The Prime Minister pressed the button of a remote to mark the opening of the Delhi-Dausa-Lalsot section.

PM Modi said the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is magnificent picture of developing India.

For the last nine years, the central govt is continuously making huge investments in infrastructure. The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway and the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor are going to become two strong pillars of progress for Rajasthan and the country," the PM said.

PM Modi also laid the foundation stone and dedicated to the nation road development projects worth over 18,100 crore.

Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, Union MoS V K Singh, Union minister Gajendra Singh were present on the stage at the function among other leaders.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his Haryana counterpart Manohar Lal khattar addressed the programme through a video link.

While Gehlot joined the programme from the chief minister's residence in Jaipur, Khattar addressed the programme from a function held in Nuh district.

The 246 km Delhi - Dausa - Lalsot section of the Delhi Mumbai Expressway has been developed at a cost of more than 12,150 crore.

This operationalization of this section will reduce the travel time from Delhi to Jaipur from 5 hours to around 3.5 hours and provide a major boost to the economic development of the entire region.

Delhi Mumbai Expressway will be India's longest expressway with a length of 1,386 km. It will reduce travel distance between Delhi and Mumbai by 12 per cent from 1,424 km to 1,242 Km and travel time will be reduced by 50 per cent from 24 hours to 12 hours.

It will pass through six states of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra and connect major cities like Kota, Indore, Jaipur, Bhopal, Vadodara and Surat.

The Expressway will also serve 93 PM Gati Shakti Economic Nodes, 13 ports, 8 major airports and 8 multi-modal logistics parks (MMLPs) along with spurs to new upcoming greenfield airports such as Jewar Airport, Navi Mumbai Airport and JNPT port.

The Expressway will have a catalytic impact in the developmental trajectory of all adjoining regions, thus contributing in a major way in the economic transformation of the country.

During the programme, Prime Minister will also lay the foundation stone of 247 kilometres of National Highway projects to be developed at the cost of more than 5940 crore.

This includes a 67 km long four-lane spur road from Bandikui to Jaipur to be developed at a cost of more than 2000 crore, a six-lane spur road from Kotputli to Baraodaneo, to be developed at a cost of about 3775 crore and a two-lane paved shoulder of Lalsot - Karoli section, being developed at a cost of about 150 crore.

With agency inputs
China is getting ready to take down an unidentified object spotted flying over waters near the port city of Qingdao, The Paper reported.

An employee at the marine development authority of Qingdaos Jimo district said relevant authorities" are preparing to bring down the object, the report said. The employee was not informed what the object was.

The person said fishermen in the area have been told to be careful about safety, the report added.

The US and Canada brought down three high-altitude airborne objects this month, including one Washington said was sent deliberately by China for surveillance. Beijing countered that it was a harmless weather-monitoring device that blew off course.
New Delhi: India could find itself with a new partner in its quest to boost its trade and economic footprint in Central Asia.

Armenia, pursuing better economic ties with India and Central Asia, is set to push for increased Indian infrastructure investment, according to people aware of the matter. Mint has learnt that Armenia, which has enjoyed closer strategic ties with India over the last few years, is looking to push talks with New Delhi to breathe new life into the ambitious India-backed International North South Corridor (INSTC).

Armenia is also looking to expand tourism and business ties by re-establishing direct flights between New Delhi and Yerevan by spring this year.

The people cited above said Armenia is hoping for talks on the INSTC, the flagship project launched by India, Iran and Russia to create a 7,200 km long multi-modal transport network linking India to Iran, Armenia and Central Asia. The driving idea behind INSTC is to reduce transit time and trade frictions between the 13 countries that are part of the project.

If successful, Indian goods will have easier access to Central Asian and Eastern European markets. Indias economic footprint in these regions has been minuscule. Central Asian states like Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan and Eastern European nations like Ukraine are part of the project.

Armenia, the people cited above said, is interested in attracting Indian infrastructure firms to help improve connectivity with Iran, with which the Central Asian nation shares a border. The countrys southern provinces lack the infrastructure needed to ferry goods from Iran and into Central Asia and Europe.

In order to realize the INSTC agenda, Armenia has expressed an interest in offering contracts to Indian infrastructure companies for the construction of roads, tunnels and other physical infrastructure needed to connect the country to Iran.

However, these sources also stated that while Iranian companies have shown significant interest in these projects, Indian firms have largely been missing in action.

The government, however has shown interest in boosting connectivity between Iran and Armenia in an effort to bolster the INSTC and increase Indias economic reach. During external affairs minister S. Jaishankars visit to Armenia in 2021, the first ever by an Indian foreign minister, boosting connectivity under INSTC was a topline agenda item.

As part of this push, Jaishankar and his counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan proposed that Irans Chabahar, which will receive Indian goods by sea, be included in the INSTC. Increased connectivity with Armenia by road would then allow Indian products to move into Central Asian and European markets.

Armenia, which suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of regional rivals Azerbaijan in 2021, is a buyer of Indian-made 155 mm artillery systems, rocket launchers and anti-tank munitions.
Canadian investigators are hunting for the wreckage of an unidentified flying object that was shot down by a U.S. jet over Yukon territory, the third such interception by American fighters.

"Recovery teams are on the ground, looking to find and analyze the object," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters on Sunday.

"The security of citizens is our top priority and that's why I made the decision to have that unidentified object shot down," he said, adding that it had posed a danger to civilian aircraft.

North America has been on high alert for aerial intrusions following the appearance of a white, eye-catching Chinese airship over American skies earlier this month.

The 200-foot-tall (60-meter-high) balloon - which Americans have accused Beijing of using to spy on the United States - caused an international incident, leading Secretary of State Antony Blinken to call off a planned trip to China only hours before he was set to depart.

Surveillance fears appear to have U.S. officials on high alert.

Twice in 24 hours, U.S. officials closed airspace - only to reopen it swiftly. On Sunday, the Federal Aviation Administration briefly closed space above Lake Michigan. On Saturday, the U.S. military scrambled fighter jets in Montana to investigate a radar anomaly there.

China denies the first balloon was being used for surveillance and says it was a civilian research craft. It condemned the United States for shooting it down off the coast of South Carolina last Saturday.

With military and intelligence officials newly focused on airborne threats, at least two other flying objects have since been destroyed over North America.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told U.S. broadcaster ABC that U.S. officials think the two latest objects were also balloons. The original balloon was brought down off the coast of South Carolina on Feb. 4. A second was shot down over sea ice near Deadhorse, Alaska, on Friday. The third was destroyed over the Yukon on Saturday.

"They believe they were (balloons), yes, but much smaller than the first one," Schumer said.

The White House said only that the recently downed objects "did not closely resemble" the Chinese balloon, echoing Schumer's description of them as "much smaller."

"We will not definitively characterize them until we can recover the debris, which we are working on," a spokesperson said.

Schumer said he was confident U.S. investigators scouring the ocean off South Carolina to recover debris and electronic gadgetry from the original balloon would get to the bottom of what it was being used for.

DEBRIS IN REMOTE LOCALE

Canadian counterparts trying to piece together what was shot down over the Yukon may have their own challenges. The territory is a sparsely populated region in Canada's far northwest, which borders Alaska. It can be brutally cold in the winter, but temperatures are unusually mild for this time of year which could ease the recovery effort.

Speaking to Fox News, House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul said the balloon shot down over the South Carolina coast had been on a mission to get imagery of sensitive American nuclear sites.

"They want to get imagery, get intelligence on our military capability, particularly nuclear," McCaul said. "And they're building quite a nuclear stockpile themselves."

Republican lawmaker Mike Turner, who serves on the U.S. House Armed Services Committee, suggested the White House might be overcompensating for what he described as its previously lax monitoring of American airspace.

"They do appear somewhat trigger-happy," Turner told CNN on Sunday. "I would prefer them to be trigger-happy than to be permissive."

Republicans have criticized the Biden administration over its handling of the incursion by the suspected Chinese spy balloon, saying it should have been shot down much earlier.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.
As the ChatGPT craze continues, several other tech giants have joined the AI war. A pledge to focus on AI" is par for the course in Big Tech right now, with top leaders waxing poetic about the many benefits it would bring to their own apps and softwares. Perhaps the most significant addition to the list is Google which made the announcement earlier this week after struggling for quite some time with innovators dilemma.

Alphabet chief Sundar Pichai said on Thursday that Google would make its AI-based large language model known as LaMDA available in the coming weeks and months" and that people could use it as a companion to search."

Meanwhile, ChatGPT has partnered up with Microsoft to re-energise the Bing search browser, with the Satya Nadella-led company investing billions of dollars in OpenAI.

If I were sitting on a lethargic search monopoly and had to think about a world where there was going to be a real challenge to the way that monetization of this works and new ad units, and maybe even a temporary downward pressure, I would not feel great about that," Altman had jibed recently - a not-so-subtle dig at Google.

Nadella for his part has dubbed Google a '800 pound gorilla' while insisting that healthy competition was a positive thing.

While some reports have suggested that LaMDA could be even better than ChatGPT the company has so far been loath to make it publicly accessible. The large-language model trained on billions of words on the public internet benefits from a broader array of research talent at Google and huge amounts of computing power. It also enjoys feedback from millions of users for constant fine-tuning.

One may recall that one of Google's own engineers had been convinced that LaMDA was sentient.

But Google's search monopoly and massive reach of 3.5 billion searches per day has driven fears that the company could cannibalize its own search results or make offensive remarks and wild mistakes.

As the AI race intensifies, the boss of Google's search engine also warned against the pitfalls of artificial intelligence in chatbots. In a newspaper interview published on Saturday, Prabhakar Raghavan spoke about AI hallucinations - a phenomenon that has already been noted with ChatGPT conversations.

"This kind of artificial intelligence we're talking about right now can sometimes lead to something we call hallucination. This then expresses itself in such a way that a machine provides a convincing but completely made-up answer," he said.

(With inputs from agencies)
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg will end his term as planned in October, a spokesperson for the alliance said, after a newspaper reported a further extension was in the works.

"The mandate of Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has been extended three times, and he has served for a total of almost nine years," NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu said late on Saturday.

"The Secretary-General's term comes to an end in October of this year and he has no intention to seek another extension of his mandate."

Earlier, Welt am Sonntag reported Stoltenberg's term was to be extended again as the alliance sought to maintain stability during the war in Ukraine.

Stoltenberg, an economist by training and a former leader of Norway's Labour Party, had his NATO term extended last year.

He was prime minister of Norway from 2000-01 and 2005-13 before becoming NATO chief the following year. He has also been finance minister and energy minister.

Welt said alliance members wanted to give Stoltenberg the opportunity to chair the organisation's 75th anniversary summit in Washington in April 2024. He would also be in a position to become president of the World Bank when David Malpass steps down around the same time, it said.

No decision has been made about who will succeed Stoltenberg, but Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Britain's Defence Secretary Ben Wallace are among the leading candidates for the post, Welt said.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.
The death toll has continued to climb up in Turkey and Syria, following two earthquakes that hit the region on 6 February. According to the latest updates, more than 28,000 people have died from the deadliest quake in the region. Thousands survivors are left homeless on the street suffering for basic necessities like food and water in the freezing cold.

Tens of thousands of local and international rescue workers are still scouring through flattened neighbourhoods despite freezing weather that has compounded the misery of millions now in desperate need of aid.

Many people are still being pulled alive from the debris since the disaster took place. Experts had earlier predicted that the possibility of survival for up to a week or more, depending on their injuries and the weather conditions. Disaster medicine experts had told the Associated press that most rescues occur in the first 24 hours after the earthquake.

After day one, survival chances drop as each day passed. Access to water, air, and weather conditions are crucial factors for survival.

Though the death toll is rising, the miraculous tales of survival continue to emerge.

Also Read: Turkey quake: Missing Indian national found dead in debris of hotel in Malatya

One such is example is Ibrahim Zakaria who lost track of time drifting into and out of consciousness while trapped for nearly five days in the rubble of his home following the massive earthquake.

The 23-year-old is a cellphone shop worker from the Syrian town of Jableh survived on dirty drips of water and eventually lost hope that he'd be saved.

"I said I am dead and it will be impossible for me to live again," Zakaria, who was rescued Friday night, told The Associated Press on Saturday from his bed at a hospital.

Although each rescue elicited hugs and shouts of "Allahu akbar!"  "God is great!"  from the weary men and women working tirelessly in the freezing temperatures to save lives, they were the exception in a region blanketed by grief, desperation and mounting frustration.

More than a dozen survivors were rescued on Saturday, one such is a 7-month-old boy in Antakya and a family in Kahramanmaras. Crews there helped 12-year-old Nehir Naz Narli to safety before going back for her parents.

In Gaziantep province, which borders Syria, a family of five was rescued from a demolished building in the city of Nurdagi and a man and his 3-year-old daughter were pulled from debris in the town of Islahiye, as reported by television network HaberTurk. A 7-year-old girl was also rescued in Hatay province.

In Elbistan, a district in Kahramanmaras province, 20-year-old Melisa Ulku and another person were saved from the rubble 132 hours after the quake struck. Before she was brought to safety, police asked onlookers not to cheer or clap so as not to interfere with nearby rescue efforts.

Turkish TV station NTV reported that a 44-year-old man in Iskenderun, in Hatay province, was rescued 138 hours into his ordeal. Crying rescuers called it a miracle, with one saying that they weren't expecting to find anyone alive but as they were digging, they saw his eyes and he said his name.

Another miracle incident was a baby boy Hamza who was found alive in Antakya 140 hours after the quake. A 2 months old was rescued alive 120 hrs under the rubble.

2 months old, 120 hrs under the rubble just in case you dont believe in miracles. #Turkey#earthquake pic.twitter.com/c0MGtnrnE9  Abier (@abierkhatib) February 11, 2023

Yazi al-Ali, a Syrian refugee who had come to Antakya from Reyhanli, has been living in a tent as she waits for crews to find her mother, two sisters, including one who was pregnant, and their families. At one point, she stood over the rubble of the home in Antakya's old city centre where she believes her pregnant sister was buried and, in a cracking voice, shouted her sister's name, "Rajha!" "No one is answering to us, and no one comes to look," she said. "They have stopped us from looking ourselves. I don't know why," she said.

A family of eight was rescued after being trapped under the rubble for over 136 hours, as reported by Upward News.

 BREAKING: Eight people, including an entire family, have been rescued alive after being trapped under earthquake rubble in Turkey for over 136 hours.



Death toll has reached 25,000, may still exceed 50,000. pic.twitter.com/qJLjEiJsHZ  Upward News (@UpwardNewsHQ) February 11, 2023

Rescuers were shifting to thermal cameras to help identify life amid the rubble, a sign that any remaining survivors could be too weak to call for help.

Another heartening survivor is a two-month-old baby and an elderly woman who were pulled from the rubble on Saturday.

"Is the world there?" asked 70-year-old Menekse Tabak as she was pulled out from the rubble in the southern city of Kahramanmaras to applause and cries praising God, according to a video shared on state broadcaster TRT Haber.

In the city of Antakya, a two-month-old baby was found alive 128 hours after the quake, state news agency Anadolu reported. A two-year-old girl, a six-month pregnant woman, plus a four-year-old and her father, were among those rescued five days after the quake, Turkish media reported.

Turkey's disaster agency on Saturday had said that said nearly 32,000 people from Turkish bodies are working on search and rescue efforts. In addition, there are 8,294 international rescuers. As per WHO, almost 26 million people have been affected by the deadly earthquake that ravaged Turkey and Syria this week. The UN health agency launched a flash appeal Saturday asking for $42.8 million to help it address the immediate, towering health needs.

(With inputs from Associated Press)
On February 11, a US fighter jet acting under Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's orders shot down an unidentified flying object (UFO) over Canada. This was the second such take-down in North American skies following the dramatic shoot-down of a suspected Chinese spy balloon a week earlier. Canadian forces in the Yukon will now recover and examine the UFOs debris, according to Trudeau.

Regarding the latest incursion, Trudeau has spoken with US President Joe Biden, the Canadian prime minister said. Meanwhile, Canada's minister of national defence claimed to have spoken with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin as well.

North American air sovereignty is a key priority," Canada's defence minister Anita Anand later said at a press conference, which is why we continue to work in partnership with the United States, NORAD and the broader security community to protect Canadian and US interests."

I spoke with President Biden this afternoon. Canadian Forces will now recover and analyze the wreckage of the object. Thank you to NORAD for keeping the watch over North America.  Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) February 11, 2023

A diplomatic split with Beijing widened in late January when a purported Chinese spy balloon" crossed the US and Canadian continents. Fighter planes shot down the item on February 11 over the Yukon, which borders Alaska, where they also shot down another such object on February 10 off the northern coast of the US state near the community of Deadhorse.

Search and retrieval efforts on February 11 for the object's remains went on but were hampered by the Arctic wind chill, snow, and little sunshine. The object's capabilities, purpose, or origin are unknown, and recovery operations are taking place on sea ice, according to the Pentagon's Northern Command.

Also Read: Chinese spy balloon shot down by US peeks curiosity for the apparatus. How this works

China confirmed ownership of the enormous balloon in January after it had soared above Canada and the United States carrying electronics, which the Pentagon described as a spy vessel. China claimed the balloon was a harmless weather balloon that had been blown off course.

Before being shot down over the Atlantic Ocean off South Carolina on February 4, that balloon entered US airspace in Alaska on January 28 and travelled across Canada and much of the US. Several US military facilities, including those with missile silos with nuclear-tipped weapons, were passed over by the balloon during its flight.

Also Read: Chinese spy balloon capable of collecting communications signals: US

On February 9, a non-binding resolution was voted by US senators criticising China over the balloon. The US thinks the balloon is a part of a larger fleet of surveillance balloons that has travelled across five continents, despite China's assertion that it was not used for spying.

According to US officials, images of the balloon reveal it had various sensors and surveillance devices that could intercept communications. It also featured a solar array for power.

(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
Synlait Milk Limited (Synlait) will announce its half year results for the six months ending 31 January 2023 on Monday 27 March 2023.

Following this, Synlait CEO Grant Watson and CFO Rob Stowell will host a webcast briefing on the result at 11.00am (New Zealand time).

Participants can register for the webcast here: https://s1.c-conf.com/diamondpass/10028017-gdte43.html

A transcript and recording of the webcast will be available on Synlaits website shortly afterwards.

Investor Day and Synlait Pokeno Site Tour

A reminder also that Synlait will hold an institutional Investor Day on Monday 8 May 2023 at its Pokeno site. A formal invitation and agenda will follow in due course.

Announcement: Synlait HY23 results date and conference call details

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US officials restricted the airspace over Lake Michigan on Sunday citing a potential new threat to national security, as the United States and Canada respond to a series of recent air intrusions.

The Federal Aviation Administration announced "temporary flight restrictions" over one of the Great Lakes along the US-Canada border, designating it as "national defense airspace," one day after a similar closure over Montana led to the scrambling of US fighter jets.

The Montana closure was ordered over a "radar anomaly," but no object was discovered.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Saturday said that on his orders US fighter jet had shot down an unidentified object" that was flying high over the Yukon. The claim comes days after US government said they had shot down a Chinese Spying balloon.

North American Aerospace Defense Command, the combined US-Canada organization that provides shared defense of airspace over the two nations, detected the object flying at a high altitude Friday evening over Alaska, US officials said. It crossed into Canadian airspace on Saturday.

Trudeau spoke with President Joe Biden, who also ordered the object to be shot down. Canadian and US jets operating as part of NORAD were scrambled and it was a US jet that shot down the object

"President Biden authorized US fighter aircraft assigned to North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) to work with Canada to take down a high-altitude airborne object over northern Canada today," Pentagon Spokesman Pat Ryder said in a statement.

One of two F-22 fighter jets monitoring the object fired an AIM 9X missile that brought it down, it said.

On 4 February, US officials shot down a large white balloon off the coast of South Carolina.

The balloon was part of a large surveillance program that China has been conducting for several years," the Pentagon has said.

The US has said Chinese balloons have flown over dozens of countries across five continents in recent years, and it learned more about the balloon program after closely monitoring the one shot down near South Carolina.

(This is a developing story. More details will be added)

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Saturday said that on his orders US fighter jet had shot down an unidentified object" that was flying high over the Yukon. The claim comes days after US government said they had shot down a Chinese Spying balloon.

The news also comes only a day after a similar incident was reported by Whitehouse spokesperson John Kirby on Friday. Kirby had mentioned that the US shot down an unidentified object that was as big as a car over Alaska.

Kirby said it was shot down because it was flying at about 40,000 feet (13,000 meters) and posed a reasonable threat" to the safety of civilian flights, not because of any knowledge that it was engaged in surveillance.

Trudeau had posted about the joint operation on Twitter. "I ordered the take down of an unidentified object that violated Canadian airspace. @NORADCommand shot down the object over the Yukon. Canadian and U.S. aircraft were scrambled, and a US F-22 successfully fired at the object." he wrote.

I ordered the take down of an unidentified object that violated Canadian airspace. @NORADCommand shot down the object over the Yukon. Canadian and U.S. aircraft were scrambled, and a U.S. F-22 successfully fired at the object.  Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) February 11, 2023

Here are the top points to this story

-North American Aerospace Defense Command, the combined US-Canada organization that provides shared defense of airspace over the two nations, detected the object flying at a high altitude Friday evening over Alaska, US officials said. It crossed into Canadian airspace on Saturday.

-Trudeau spoke with President Joe Biden, who also ordered the object to be shot down. Canadian and US jets operating as part of NORAD were scrambled and it was a US jet that shot down the object

-"President Biden authorized US fighter aircraft assigned to North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) to work with Canada to take down a high-altitude airborne object over northern Canada today," Pentagon Spokesman Pat Ryder said in a statement.

One of two F-22 fighter jets monitoring the object fired an AIM 9X missile that brought it down, it said.

-This is the third unidentified flying object the F-22 fighter jets have now taken out in a span of seven days. This also questions the rising threat to American airpsace

-Trudeau said Canadian forces would recover the wreckage for study. The Yukon is westernmost Canadian territory and the among the least populated part of Canada.

-US Northern Command, recovery operations continued Saturday on sea ice near Deadhorse, Alaska.

-The Northern Command said there were no new details on what the object was. It said the Alaska Command and the Alaska National Guard, along with the FBI and local law enforcement, were conducting search and recovery.

-On 4 February, US officials shot down a large white balloon off the coast of South Carolina.

-The balloon was part of a large surveillance program that China has been conducting for several years," the Pentagon has said.

-The US has said Chinese balloons have flown over dozens of countries across five continents in recent years, and it learned more about the balloon program after closely monitoring the one shot down near South Carolina.

(With agency inputs)
In just over a week, US fighter jets have shot down three suspicious objects in North American airspace, including a Chinese spy balloon and two unidentified objects.

Here is all you need to know:

The first incident involved a Chinese spy balloon that was taken down by F-22s off the coast of South Carolina on February 4th.

The balloon was part of a large Chinese surveillance program and was carrying high-tech equipment capable of collecting sensitive information.

The US military has reported that the Chinese have been conducting such surveillance for several years and have flown similar balloons over dozens of countries across five continents.

Following the Chinese spy balloon incident, an unidentified object was shot down by an F-22 in Alaska airspace on February 11th.

The object was flying at around 40,000 feet and posed a risk to civilian flights, which is why the decision was made to shoot it down.

The White House stated that the object was of a different nature than the Chinese balloon, but no further details about the object have been released, leaving its purpose and origin unknown.

In another incident, an unidentified cylindrical object was shot down by US fighter jets over Canadian airspace on February 12th, which was ordered by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and US President Joe Biden.

The purpose and origin of this object are also unknown, and both leaders have stressed the importance of recovering the object to learn more.

In addition to these incidents, the US military scrambled fighter jets in Montana to investigate a radar anomaly, which led to a brief federal closure of airspace. It is unclear whether this event is related to the other incidents.

Overall, these incidents highlight the need for increased vigilance and security measures to protect against potential threats to national security. The US government and its allies must continue to monitor and investigate these incidents to ensure the safety of their citizens and the integrity of their national security.
A video of miners from the Turkish Coal Corporation rescuing a 5-month-old baby trapped under debris in Hatay's Antakya area has been released. The infant was reportedly under the rubble for 131 hours.

The video was originally shared by Turkeys state-run news agency Anadolu Agency. A photo of the baby taken by photojournalist Ercin Erturk was earlier shared on its website as well.

In the wake of two earthquakes that struck the region on February 6, the death toll in Turkey and Syria has risen steadily since then. The deadliest earthquake in the area has claimed more than 28,000 lives, according to the most recent reports. Thousands of survivors have been left homeless, begging on the streets for food and water in the bitter weather.

Also Read: Turkey-Syria quake death toll tops 25,000; most found dead under rubble

Even with the bitter cold adding to the suffering of the millions who are now in urgent need of assistance, tens of thousands of local and foreign rescue personnel are still scouring through the destroyed neighbourhoods.

Hatay'n Antakya ilcesinde enkaz altnda kalan 5 aylk bebek, Turkiye Taskomuru Kurumuna bagl madenciler tarafndan 131 saat sonra kurtarld pic.twitter.com/AntlTAUMyG  ANADOLU AJANSI (@anadoluajansi) February 11, 2023

Some Twitter users expressed surprise and disbelief after seeing the condition of the baby, seen without any dirt or dust. But very strange she comes out from under the rubble after more then 5 days so clean not one grain of dust in her hair or face or clothes (sic)," wrote one user while another wrote, The baby cant be that clean. Bogus." Some other people wonder if the baby is really 5-month-old or not. That 5 month baby is 4 feet tall or more lol" wrote one user.

Also Read: Rebuilding cost in Turkey may exceed $3 billion. Key updates

Others have shown gratitude for the rescue team. Bless those who help others by risking their own lives!" wrote a Twitter user.

Since the earthquake, numerous people are still being rescued alive from the rubble. Earlier, experts had anticipated that, depending on their injuries and the weather, they would survive for up to a week or more. The majority of rescues take place during the first 24 hours of an earthquake, according to disaster medicine experts who spoke to the Associated Press. The number of fatalities is increasing, but miracle stories of survival keep popping up.
On 25 January, at around 8.15 am India time, US-based Hindenburg Research put out a tweet, talking about a negative report on the Adani Group that it had published. The report concluded by saying: After extensive research, we have taken a short position in Adani Group companies through US-traded bonds and non-Indian-traded derivative instruments."

The report made many allegations" against the group, which triggered a fall in the price of their listed stocks. The Adani Group said that the claims are baseless and published a 413-page rebuttal.

The Hindenburg report was published just two days before 27 January, the day the follow-on public offer (FPO) of 20,000 crore of Adani Enterprises was ready to hit the market. The situation, which is still evolving and is yet to settle down, has left many investors confused about whether they should invest in these stocks or not. Many influencers have linked buying Adani Group stocks to patriotism and said that it is our duty as Indians to buy these stocks.

So, how should retail investors go about this? In this piece, we explore this question in detail. Here are some investment lessons that emerge from the fall in prices of the Adani Group stocks.

Beware of storytelling

In a recent piece on the Adani Group, the valuation guru, Aswath Damodaran, said that the Indian stock market has a bias towards bullish momentum over its bearish counterpart".

Over the years, nobody has understood this better than the stock market gurus, mutual fund managers and other experts. Basically, anyone whose income is dependent on more and more people buying listed stocks, directly as well as indirectly. Of course, in a way, such individuals are feeding into the internal mental need of current and prospective investors, who need to be told over and over again that they have made the right decision of investing in stocks. Stock market gurus provide that internal validation by being bullish all the time.

Now, this understanding has also seeped into the financial influencers trying to sell courseware in an era of cheap smartphone and very cheap internet. One of the narratives that the influencers put out was that given the low free float in the Adani Group stocks, the likelihood of anyone selling was low, and hence, the price of these stocks would only go up. QED.

A low free float indicates that the company has a very concentrated ownership and hence, these stocks are not available for buying or selling in the stock market, implying low liquidity.

Take the case of Adani Enterprises. As of 31 December, the promoter and the promoter group owned 72.6% of the company. The argument offered by influencers was that the promoters definitely wont sell.

The Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India owned 4.2% of the company. Other insurance companies owned 4.3%. LIC and the other insurance companies invest for the long-term, and hence, they were unlikely to sell.

While these figures presented here are as of 31 December, the story was similar in December 2021 as wellthe promoters owned 74.9% of the firm; LIC owned 3.1% and other insurance companies 3.2%.

So, given the low free-float and the unlikelihood of existing large investors selling, anyone wanting to buy the stock, would have to offer a higher price than the prevailing market price in order to cajole existing investors to sell. This dynamic would keep pushing up the market price of the stock.

What the storytellers didnt say was that the dynamic that worked when prices were going up, would also work on the way down. And thats what happened. After Hindenburg Research put out its report and the sentiment turned, investors who were desperate to sell out, were ready to accept significantly lower prices. Given the low free-float and low liquidity, there werent enough buyers of the stock (like there werent enough sellers when the price was on its way up). So, what went up fast, came down even faster.

Simplest reason

The human mind seeks order. And to achieve that, stories are told. In this case, many conspiracy theories have been offered. One question that has repeatedly been asked: why did Hindenburg Research publish the report just when Adani Enterprises FPO was about to hit the market?

Many investors and influencers have projected this as an economic attack on India. In a world seeking explanations, this theory has been bought as well. But it is worth keeping the Occams Razor in mind here, which states that the simplest possible explanation is usually the right one.

In this case, it is worth remembering that Hindenburg Research is a short-seller and, like any other short-seller, it is also looking for the maximum bang for its buck. And what better opportunity to do that than put out the report just before the FPO of the company is about to start. For a short-seller, it was brilliant timing.

A short-seller is a kind of an investor who first borrows stocks or bonds and then sells it, in the hope that the price of the financial security will fall. When the price falls, the short-seller buys back what they had sold at a lower price and, in the process, makes a profit.

Of course, the short-sellers run the risk of the price of the financial security going up instead of going down and thus ending up with losses. Thus, the risk that any short-seller takes on the trade is extremely high, given that at least theoretically there is no upper limit to how high the price of a stock or a bond that has been short-sold can go. On the flip side, if the price falls, it cannot fall below zero. Hence, while the possible profits that can be made are limited, the possible losses can be infinite. So, the short-seller has a huge skin-in-the-game here and is unlikely to be frivolous.

High P-E ratio

It is worth remembering that the stock price of Adani Enterprises was falling even before the Hindenburg report was published. On 20 December, the stock closed at 4,165. By 24 January, the stock price had fallen by more than 17% to 3,442, in a period when the Nifty 50 stock market index fell 1.5%.

So, clearly, the existing investors were already having doubts about the high price of the stock. A simple reason was its very high valuation. As Damodaran puts it: The price to earnings (P-E) ratio for the stock has gone from a modest 15 times earnings in the 2016-21 time period to 214 times earnings in the most recent two years." This meant that the stock price was worth 214 times the earnings per share of the company, which is extremely high.

Typically, when prices are so high, investors are banking on bumper future profits. Nonetheless, as Damodran says, Adani Enterprises is an infrastructure company, and the irrational exuberance that animates pricing in tech or software usually has little play in this sector." In fact, as on 10 February, as per the BSE, the P-E ratio of the company was 191.

Dont link patriotism

Many influencers have nudged their followers to show their patriotism by buying Adani Group stocks. Now, heres the thing. If, as an investor, you feel that the investing case for any of the Adani stocks is strong, then please go ahead and buy them.

Nonetheless, its worth remembering that there are 50 stocks in the Nifty 50 index, including Adani Enterprises and Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone. And as an investor you wont be any less patriotic if you bought any of the 48 other stocks than you would be if you bought the Adani stocks.

Dont short-sell

Short-selling the Adani Group stocks is currently a very risky strategy because of the huge volatility in the price of its stocks. There have been days when the price of the stock, after having fallen dramatically, has gone up dramatically. This can blow out a short-seller, unless the timing is perfect. This is primarily because of the low free float of the stock. Even a small change in demand or supply of the stock, can drive up its price quickly in one direction.

Hence, it is worth remembering something that Charlie Munger, the vice-chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, had said about the electric carmaker Tesla, when the price of the stock had a very volatile week. Munger was asked what he thought about the ups and downs of Teslas stock price. My thoughts are two," Munger said: I would never buy (Tesla), and I would never sell it short."

Impact on fundamentals

Typically, the fundamentals of a company impact its market price. So, if the earnings of a company are expected to go up, the investors do not wait for the earnings to go upthey buy the stock in the expectation of the earnings going up and, in the process, drive up its price. The stock market discounts for possibilities. But this is something that we already know. The vice-versa can also turn out to be true. Sometimes, the market price of a stock impacts its fundamentals and thats something which is currently happening to the Adani Group stocks.

Take the case of Frances TotalEnergies, which had a partnership going with the Adani Group to produce green hydrogen. The company has put this participation on hold. Its CEO, Patrick Pouyanne, told reporters in Paris last Wednesday: It was announced, nothing was signed. It doesnt exist." He added: Mr Adani has other things to deal with now; its just good sense to pause things". At the same time, Pouyanne insisted that there would be no impact on Totals venture with Adani to sell natural gas.

Then there is the case of the Adani Group deciding to prepay $1.1 billion it had borrowed against shares. On this, the Financial Times reported that the lenders, which included Barclays, Citigroup and Deutsche Bank, had requested the Adani Group to top up the amount of stock pledged against the loan after shares of(their) listed companies fell sharply". The Adani Group decided to repay the loan completely instead of topping it up. When money is borrowed against shares of a company as a collateral, and the value of those shares falls, the lenders tend to ask for extra collateral, as they did in this case.

A day after $1.1 billion was prepaid, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone said it was considering repaying about 5,000 crore of loans. The firm also said that it would roughly halve its capital expenditure in 2023-24 in comparison to the current financial year.

Further, a Bloomberg news report points out that the Adani Groups traders are offering to sell several coal shipments from Australia and Indonesia at discounts of about 4% relative to Asias price benchmarks."

Closer to home, MR Kumar, the chairman of LIC, has said: Our investor team has already sought clarifications from the Adanis We are soon going to call them to meet us and explain."

Further, a Reuters report points out that the stock market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India, is investigating Adani Groups links to some of the investors in the conglomerates aborted $2.5 billion ( 20,000 crore) share sale."

To conclude, there have been quite a few of these fundamental changes happening because of the fall in the value of the Adani Group stocks, post the report put out by Hindenburg Research, things that were unlikely to have happened otherwise.

For individual investors it is next to impossible to figure out how many more of such changes will happen and what their exact impact will be on the price of the Adani Group stocks. These are the unknown unknowns. Hence, it might just make sense to sit this one out and wait for greater clarity to evolve. At the end of the day, it is a question of properly investing your hard-earned money, and there is nothing that can be possibly more important than that.

Vivek Kaul is the author of Bad Money.
The world of technology is taken by the storm after the arrival of OpenAIs ChatGPT. The AI based chatbot is part of sophisticated systems that produces content from text to images - that is set to be one of the most disruptive forces in a decade to big tech, industries and the future of work. The AI bot is capable enough to help students to crack their exams and is often reported to write assignments for students. In a similar context, the host of YouTube channel EduKitchen questioned Noam Chomsky, a renowned thinker and intellectual researcher, about his thoughts on ChatGPT.

According to Noam Chomsky, the use of ChatGPT is basically a high-tech plagiarism and a way of avoiding learning. The college essay died years ago. Its a mugs game in which a student sends me an electronic file that, when open, spills out a jumble of words that the sender propounds to be a finished paper"  to which, presumably, the output of a machine-learning system would actually be far preferable. Most technological disruptions" leave both positive and negative effects in their wake. If the college essay is indeed unsalvageable, perhaps ChatGPT will finally bring about its replacement with something more interesting, Chomsky added.

Chomsky mentioned in the conversation with EduKitchen that several students have been employing high technology to avoid learning and it is a sign that the educational system is failing. If the education system has no appeal to students, doesnt interest them, doesnt challenge them, doesnt make them want to learn, theyll find ways out," remarked the intellectual thinker.

Moreover, in order to avoid plagiarism, Sciences Po, one of France's top universities, has banned the use of ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence-based chatbot.

The university said the school had emailed all students and faculty announcing a ban on ChatGPT and all other AI-based tools at Sciences Po. "Without transparent referencing, students are forbidden to use the software for the production of any written work or presentations, except for specific course purposes, with the supervision of a course leader," Sciences Po said, though it did not specify how it would track usage.

ChatGPT has already been banned in some public schools in New York City and Seattle, according to U.S. media reports, while several U.S. universities have announced plans to do fewer take-home assessments and more hand-written essays and oral exams.

Sciences Po, whose main campus is in Paris, added that punishment for using the software may go as far as exclusion from the institution, or even from French higher education as a whole.

"The ChatGPT software is raising important questions for educators and researchers all around the world, with regards to fraud in general, and particularly plagiarism," it said .
On Friday, an unidentified object was shot down in Alaska airspace by a US F-22, and last weekend, a Chinese surveillance balloon was taken down by F-22s off the coast of South Carolina.
Popular internet forum website Reddit has confirmed it was the victim of a cyber attack, with hackers using a phishing attack on employees to steal login details and access the platforms internal systems.

The company said the attack on February 5 had seen hackers gain access to internal documents, code, as well as some internal dashboards and business systems.

However, the online forum said that after several days of investigation, it had no evidence to suggest that Reddit user passwords or other information had been compromised or distributed online.

In a statement posted to Reddit, the company said a sophisticated phishing campaign had been used to target Reddit employees.

A phishing attack involves hackers trying to trick victims into handing over personal information by posing as a credible figure or business in an effort to gain personal information.

As in most phishing campaigns, the attacker sent out plausible-sounding prompts pointing employees to a website that cloned the behaviour of our intranet gateway, in an attempt to steal credentials and second-factor tokens, Reddit said of the attack.

After successfully obtaining a single employees credentials, the attacker gained access to some internal docs, code, as well as some internal dashboards and business systems. We show no indications of breach of our primary production systems (the parts of our stack that run Reddit and store the majority of our data).

Reddit confirmed the attack had seen limited contact information of current and former employees and limited advertiser information had been exposed in the attack.

The company said the affected employee in the attack self-reported the incident and the firms security team cut off the attackers access.

Reddit also used the incident to encourage users to boost their own personal security.

Since were talking about security and safety, this is a good time to remind you how to protect your Reddit account, the company said.

The most important (and simple) measure you can take is to set up 2FA (two-factor authentication) which adds an extra layer of security when you access your Reddit account.

And if you want to take it a step further, its always a good idea to update your password every couple of months  just make sure its strong and unique for greater protection.
Examination of the wreckage of crashed Iranian Shahed-131, Shahed 136, and Mohajer-6 cruise missiles in November showed that 82 percent of them had some Western electronic components the Iranian sanctions are supposed to access to. Most of the banned components were manufactured in 2020 and 2021 and some of them improved the existing capabilities of the Iranian UAVs used as one-way cruise missiles. Iran is assisting Russia in setting up a UAV manufacturing plant in Russia and the two heavily sanctioned countries are combining their component smuggling efforts. This cooperation will allow improvements in current weapons and military equipment used by both countries as well enable the development of more capable systems.

Russia also has a problem with a growing number of Ukrainian spies operating in Russian occupied portions of Ukraine as well as pro-Ukraine )pr anti-Putin) Russians inside Russia who are provide Ukraine with target and other information about Russian military activities. Ukraine abides by the American restrictions on using American supplied missiles on targets inside Russia. Instead, Ukraine uses improvised or Ukrainian-made long-range weapons to strike these targets. Ukrainian special operations forces have also operated inside Russia and carried out some spectacular attacks on Russian military bases and industrial sites crucial to their war on Ukraine. The damage, especially spectacular explosions and fires are hard to hide from commercial and military satellites overhead or curious Russians with cellphone cameras and access to the Internet outside Russia. This lack of adequate or effective air defenses or facility security is embarrassing for the Russia government but no surprise to most Russians and Ukrainians.

Some information comes from Russians themselves as they complain about how their own government is treating then, especially government efforts to put more Russians into uniform and sent them, off to fight and die in Ukraine. This sort of thing is nothing new for Russians. They experienced it in the 1990s when Russia needed more troops to fight and die fighting Chechens in the Caucasus. Before that there was the eight year campaign in the 1980s that kept over 100,000 Russian troops in Afghanistan and sent 15,000 of these Russian soldiers home in coffins. Only a few thousand died in Chechnya. So far in Ukraine over 150,000 Russians have died in less than a year. The Wagner Group recruitment of convicts with the promise of a pardon if they served six months backfired when it became known that only about 20 percent of the first convicts recruited survived their six months and received their pardons. Recent recruiting efforts show that far fewer convicts are will to volunteer and, justifiably, feel safer serving out their sentences.

While Ukraine continues to catch, prosecute and punish corrupt officials, Russia is eliminating anti-corruption laws to enable corrupt officials to evade detection and continue to profit from corrupt practices. This encourages Ukrainians to keep fighting and Russians to resist getting mobilized into the military. This also encourages more Russians to sabotage the war effort via individual efforts. There are of Russians with Ukrainian or Belarussian roots, or anti-Putin Russians, who are willing to provide information to Ukrainian special operations forces or even participate in operations against the Russian war effort. Russia is increasingly at war with itself as well as Ukraine.

Meanwhile Ukrainian and NATO weapons specialists continue examining captured (largely intact) Russian weapons for useful details on how they operate or are supposed to operate and develop better methods were defeating these systems. This has been going on ever since the war began and Ukraine shares this captured gear with its NATO allies with a constant flow of Russian weapons sent to Poland and beyond for further examination and analysis. This has been particularly hard on Russian electronic systems, especially counter-measures that are supposed to reduce the effectiveness of Western weapons. Russia developed some interesting new tech which losses most of its effectiveness when the enemy know how it works and how to remotely make it not work.

Russia ahs captured some Western systems but not to extent that their systems have been captured and analyzed. These losses are common in any war and first became a major factor during World War II. This was especially true with the electronic warfare German and British engineers engaged in to keep their bombers operational over enemy territory. This established the model for tech warfare that persists to the present, especially in Ukraine and Russia. During World War II the Russians were allies of Britain and the United States and received a lot ofo impressive (to the Russians) Western tech. Russia found that even when they had this tech they had a hard time duplicating it. Throughout the Cold War Russia continued to fear the Western edge in tech and the Russian inability to manufacture it themselves. That changed after the Soviet Union disappeared in 1991 and a new democratic (for a decade or so) Russia had free access to Western manufacturing technology as well as the tech itself. During the last decade Russia has again gone to war with the West and no longer has all that access to Western tech and is feeling the widening gap between Russian and Western technical capabilities. China has long learned from Soviet and Russian mistakes and is now nearly equal to the West in terms of tech and a much more formidable foe for the West and, if need be, Russia. China is replacing Russia as the primary trade partner of the central Asian states that were more part of the Soviet Union and later post-Soviet Russia. The war in Ukraine has given China the opportunity to completely replace Russia in Central Asia, where Russia is facing growing Chinese activity. Russia long believed their eastern flank was secure but now there is a potential threat from China and a two-front war if Russia survives the current conflict with Ukraine and its NATO allies.
HELSINKI (AP)  The Finnish president said in an interview published Saturday that he trusts that Finland and Sweden will be admitted into NATO by July, and hinted that he wants the United States to put pressure on Turkey to approve their membership bids.

If the issue drags on, the entire process of admitting new members into the military alliance will become questionable, President Sauli Niinisto said in an interview with the Finnish news agency STT.

If it doesnt happen by the Vilnius meeting, why should it happen afterwards? Niinisto said.

Lithuania is set to host a NATO summit in the Baltic nation's capital on July 11-12.

NATO requires unanimous approval from its existing members to admit new ones. Turkey and Hungary are the only nations in the 30-member military alliance that havent formally endorsed Sweden and Finlands accession.

While Hungary has pledged to do so in February, Turkey hasnt indicated willingness to ratify the two countries accession any time soon. Niinisto stressed that the final Turkish decision is up to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

I think that under no circumstances will he allow himself to be influenced by any public pressure, Niinisto said.  But if something opens up during the bilateral talks between Turkey and the United States, it might have an impact.

Turkey has been holding off approving Sweden and Finlands membership into NATO as it has been infuriated, among other things, by a recent series of demonstrations in Stockholm by activists who have burned the Quran outside the Turkish Embassy and hanged an effigy of Erdogan.

In January, Ankara indefinitely postponed a key meeting in Brussels that would have discussed the two Nordic countries entry into NATO.

Niinisto said that Finland and Sweden heard many encouraging statements from NATO last spring  the Nordic duo had stated their intention to join NATO in May  about smooth and painless progress of membership.

He said that did not happen, adding that the delay isn't only a headache for the two applicant countries.

I can see that this has already become a problem for NATO. Clearly, NATO countries have also been surprised, Niinisto said.
CAIRO (AP)  Sudans ruling military concluded a review of an agreement with Russia to build a navy base on the Red Sea in the African country, two Sudanese officials said Saturday.

They said the deal was awaiting the formation of a civilian government and a legislative body to be ratified before it takes effect. The officials said Moscow met Sudans most recent demands, including providing more weapons and equipment.

They cleared all our concerns. The deal has become OK from the military side, one official said.

The officials did not provide further details and spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. A spokesman for the Sudanese military declined to comment.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also said Thursday the deal still needs ratification by Sudans yet-to-be-formed legislative body.

Sudan has been without a parliament since a popular uprising forced the military overthrow of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir in April 2019. The country has been mired in political chaos since an October 2021 military coup derailed its short-lived transition to democracy.

The deal, which surfaced in December 2021, is part of Moscows efforts to restore a regular naval presence in various parts of the globe. It was reached during al-Bashir's reign.

The agreement allows Russia to set up a naval base with up to 300 Russian troops, and to simultaneously keep up to four navy ships, including nuclear-powered ones, in the strategic Port Sudan on the Red Sea.

The base would ensure the Russian navys presence in the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean and spare its ships the need for long voyages to reach the area, according to Viktor Bondarev, the former Russian air force chief.

In exchange, Russia is to provide Sudan with weapons and military equipment. The agreement is to last for 25 years, with automatic extensions for 10-year periods if neither side objects.

In June 2021, Sudans Chief of General Staff, Gen. Mohammed Othman al-Hussein, told a local television station that Khartoum would review the agreement.

In February last year Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, commander of the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, held talks with senior Russian officials in Moscow.

Upon his return from the weeklong trip, Dagalo said his country didnt have objections to Russia or any other country establishing a base on its territory as it poses no threat to Sudans national security.

If any country wants to open a base and it is in our interests and doesnt threaten our national security, we have no problem in dealing with anyone, Russian or otherwise, he said.
Read the original article on Business Insider.

Western militaries have been regularly raiding boats attempting to smuggle weapons from Iran to Yemen, seizing massive amounts of explosives, guns, and ammunition.

These raids, Middle East and Iran experts say, are a coordinated effort designed to put pressure on Iran and derail its malign plans in the region.

Over the last few months, U.S. Central Command has revealed a series of raids carried out by U.S. or partner forces on boats, often derelict fishing ships, traveling along routes that have historically been used to traffic weapons illegally from Iran to Houthi rebels engaged in a civil war against Yemen's internationally recognized government.

The Iran-backed Houthis have fought for years against Yemen, backed by a Saudi-led coalition, in a brutal conflict that experts have often characterized as a proxy war between regional foes Iran and Saudi Arabia  both vying for influence. A fragile truce has kept tensions simmering for months, but the devastating war has left hundreds of thousands of people dead and millions in dire need of humanitarian assistance.

CENTCOM said this month that it supported "partner naval forces" during a January raid in the Gulf of Oman. The interception, which was carried out by French special forces, took place along traditional smuggling routes between Iran and Yemen and saw the capture of over 3,000 assault rifles, 578,000 rounds of ammunition, and 23 advanced anti-tank guided missiles.

Thousands of AK-47 assault rifles sit on the flight deck of guided-missile destroyer USS The Sullivans (DDG 68) during an inventory process, Jan. 7, 2023. U.S. naval forces seized 2,116 AK-47 assault rifles from a fishing vessel transiting along a maritime route from Iran to Yemen. (U.S. Navy)

CENTCOM said that the raid is one of four "illicit cargo interdictions" over the past few months that resulted in the seizure of more than 5,000 weapons and 1.6 million rounds of ammunition before they could reach Yemen. The United Nations currently has an arms embargo on weapons going to the Houthis.

U.S. forces in past raids have captured thousands of AK-47 assault rifles and a "massive amount" of explosive material used to fuel ballistic missiles. UK naval forces also seized surface-to-air missiles and cruise-missile rocket engines that came from Iran.

'This is not a coincidence'

Although these raids are not new, they have increased in frequency in recent years as Western nations turn up the pressure on Tehran.

The U.S. and its partners have been "ramping up their interceptions of Iranian supplied weapons, particularly heading to Yemen, over the last few years at least," Michelle Grise, who researches policy with a focus on Iran at the RAND Corporation, told Insider.

CENTCOM said that in 2021 it prevented 9,000 illegal weapons from arriving in Yemen, which was a 200 percent increase from the number of weapons seized in 2020.

But over the last few months, these sea raids have also coincided with major Western messaging against Iran. Examples of this include recent military drills between the United States and Israel, another of Iran's regional foes, and pressure in the European Union to designate Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) a terrorist organization.

"To me, this is not a coincidence," Alex Vatanka, the director of the Iran program at the Middle East Institute, told Insider. "I think this is a coordinated effort" by the U.S. and its European partners.

Vatanka said this campaign is "about putting pressure on Iran" to force the government to engage in meaningful talks around reviving the landmark 2015 Iran nuclear deal. "Not talks for the sake of talks, but talks that actually put the brakes on Iran's nuclear program," he said.

The agreement, also called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), set out to restrict Iran's ability to develop nuclear weapons. Former President Donald Trump controversially withdrew the US from the deal in 2018 and attempted to apply a "maximum pressure" campaign to force Iran into a stricter deal involving military pressure and harsh economic sanctions.

It didn't work, and Iran has slowly been taking steps in violation of the agreement  like increasing uranium enrichment levels  as European leaders try to revive the deal and the Biden administration expresses its openness to diplomacy.

The West wants to 'shape Iranian calculations'

Because of Iran's forward march toward the potential development of a nuclear weapon, there is an urgency to put pressure on Iran across the board, Vatanka said. Options include greater enforcement of sanctions and pushing back on regional influence  such as curbing the weapons transfers. Iran supports several regional proxies in addition to Yemen's Houthis, like Lebanon-based Hezbollah  which the US State Department considers a foreign terrorist organization.

Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, U.S. 5th Fleet and Combined Maritime Forces, shakes hands with Yemen Armed Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Sagheer bin Aziz, at the International Institute for Strategic Studies Manama Dialogue in Manama, Bahrain, Nov. 19, 2022. (Mark Thomas Mahmod/U.S. Navy)

The West is "trying to shape Iranian calculations by putting the pressure on  different fronts  whether economic, or in the region in the case of the seizing of the weapons," Vatanka said.

Gen. Michael Kurilla, the CENTCOM commander, has said that the transfer of weapons across international waters has a "destabilizing effect on the region," adding that the US and its partners will continue to seize lethal aid wherever it comes from.

Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, US 5th Fleet, and Combined Maritime Forces, said after a January interception that the shipments are "part of a continued pattern of destabilizing activity from Iran."

It remains to be seen whether the increase in raids will actually impact Iran's regional influence over the long-term.

Grise said she doesn't believe Iran will be deterred by the recent interdictions or that they will impact Iran's relationship with its proxy forces in the region.

"What we've seen over the last few years is that Iran is really adaptable at adjusting to a range of Western efforts that are designed to counter Iran's destabilizing behavior," she said, adding, "It is pretty skilled at circumventing things like sanctions and other efforts that are designed to counter its influence."

One example of this, she explained, is that Iran has managed to include Western-made parts and components inside the deadly drones it sends to Russian forces, which have been using them to attack civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.
BEIJING (AP)  China on Friday dismissed a U.S. House of Representatives resolution condemning Beijing over a suspected Chinese spy balloon shot down above U.S. waters as purely political manipulation and hyping up."

China is strongly dissatisfied with this and firmly opposes it," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told reporters at a daily briefing.

The resolution by the U.S. Congress was purely political manipulation and hyping up," Mao said.

The resolution, which passed unanimously on Thursday, condemned China for a brazen violation of U.S. sovereignty and efforts to deceive the international community through false claims about its intelligence collection campaigns.

Republicans have criticized the Biden administration for not acting sooner to shoot down the balloon, but both parties lawmakers came together on the vote, 419-0.

China insists the object was a civilian weather balloon that had been blown off course, but has not said whom it belonged to or offered other details.

Meanwhile, Chinas Defense Ministry said it refused a call from U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin following the downing of the balloon because the U.S. had not created the proper atmosphere" for dialogue and exchange.

The U.S. action seriously violated international norms and set a pernicious precedent," ministry spokesperson Tan Kefei said in a statement issued late Thursday.

Given that this irresponsible and seriously wrong approach by the U.S. did not create the proper atmosphere for dialogue and exchanges between the two militaries, China did not accept the U.S. proposal for a phone call between the two defense ministers," Tan said.

China, Tan added, reserves the right to use necessary means to deal with similar situations."

After initially expressing regret" over the incident, China's rhetoric has hardened in recent days as the FBI gathers debris from the site of the downing in U.S. territorial waters off the coast of South Carolina and sends it to the FBIs lab in Quantico, Virginia, for investigation.

Beijing said the U.S. overreacted by shooting it down. The Foreign Ministry has labeled the action irresponsible and calls U.S. claims that it was spying part of the U.S. sides information warfare against China.

Austin had sought on Saturday to discuss the balloon issue with his Chinese counterpart, Wei Fenghe, but was refused, the Pentagon said.

In the wake of the incident, Secretary of State Antony Blinken canceled a planned trip to Beijing this week that some had hoped would help stabilize bilateral relations, which have tumbled to their lowest level in decades over trade, human rights, China's threats against Taiwan and the Chinese military's increasing assertiveness in the South China Sea.

The U.S. has flatly contradicted Chinas version of events, saying that imagery of the balloon collected by American U-2 spy planes as it crossed the country showed that it was capable of conducting signals intelligence collection with multiple antennas and other equipment designed to upload sensitive information and solar panels to power them.

The U.S. says the balloon was part of a huge aerial surveillance program that targeted more than 40 countries under the direction of the Peoples Liberation Army. Similar balloons have sailed over five continents, according to the administration.

A State Department official said the U.S. has confidence that the manufacturer of the balloon has a direct relationship with Chinas military and is an approved vendor" of the army. The official cited an official PLA procurement portal as evidence.

Publicly available records show several Chinese companies have been developing balloons for military use, with some openly touting their connections with the PLA, advertising airships bristling with surveillance and communications gear.

Such high-tech balloons are often far larger than the hot air balloons used for recreational purposes. The one shot down by the U.S. was 60 meters (200 feet) tall.

State-owned defense contractor China Electronics Technology Group boasted in 2021 that its JY400 balloon could be equipped with radar and equipment to eavesdrop and interfere with telecommunications.

It can effectively deal with threats from low-flying targets, cruise missiles and sea targets, Anhui Daily said a report.

An email sent to the company bounced back because the inbox was full. A man who picked up the telephone at a number listed for it declined to answer questions and said email was the only way to send requests for comment.

Two balloon companies in the southern province of Hunan also tout military connections.

The Zhuzhou Rubber Research and Design Institute makes the rubber pouches that fill with helium, making balloons lighter than air, and works with the PLA, according to procurement notices, job advertisements and a now-deleted description on its company website.

The deleted description said it is one of only two weather balloon makers in China, and a military rubber products research and production unit.

The company, a subsidiary of a state-owned enterprise, the China National Chemical Corp., did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment.

The website of the second company, Hunan Aerospace, says it makes balloons that can float 3 kilometers (2 miles) high for 21 days at a time. It also produces balloons called elite scouts able to hover in place for long periods, according to Rednet.cn, a state-backed media outlet in Hunan province.

A woman answering a number listed for Hunan Aerospace denied any connection with the spy balloon incident. Its parent company, state-owned China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp., which also builds missile systems, did not immediately respond to a fax and email requesting comment.

In 2020, the Chinese Academy of Sciences broke ground on an experimental base dedicated to developing high-altitude balloons in a remote desert site in Inner Mongolia, where analysts suspect the balloon shot down in the U.S. took flight.

The academy has built an airship, Jimu-1, capable of flying at an altitude of 7 kilometers (4.3 miles), according to China.com.cn.

A number listed for the academy's Institute of Optics and Electronics rang unanswered, and an email sent to an address on its website bounced.

For the military, the strategic value of these balloons is high.

In the future, balloon platforms may become like submarines in the deep sea, a silent killer that brings terror, said an article in the PLA Daily, a newspaper published by the ruling Communist Partys Central Military Commission.

Balloons have been used in war for centuries. The French used balloons to spot enemy troop movement as early as the late 1700s, as did soldiers during the American Civil War.

In 1956, Chinese authorities intercepted American spy balloons and displayed remnants at an exhibition in Beijing, accusing the U.S. of violating their airspace.
As of Jan. 17, veterans thinking about hurting themselves can get free crisis care, including inpatient, for up to 90 days at Veterans Affairs. They do not need to be enrolled in VA care. For immediate help, dial 988, then press 1.

Editors Note: This is the second story in a multipart series. Read the first and third stories.

Army Sgt. Maj. Thomas Campbell didnt intend to live long enough to make it to Afghanistan with the 182nd Infantry Regiment, a National Guard unit out of Massachusetts.

Campbell, a career infantryman in the Army, returned from Iraq in 2009 to an ended 20-year marriage and orders to head to the Sergeants Major Academy at Fort Bliss, Texas.

When I get down to Fort Bliss, Im by myself, Im not busy, nobodys in charge of me, Campbell says. Im not in charge of anybody elseand I started to self-medicate.

Campbell, who suffered mental and physical painin part, he says, from traumatic brain injuries during previous Iraq and Afghanistan deploymentsrehearsed his own death: an accidental drive off a cliff on a Texas road with a tricky turn. The Army would not list his death as suicide, and thats the way he wanted it.

I dont know how many times I rehearsed it, so when it came down to the execution, it would be flawless, he says. I had to get my affairs in order before I executed my suicide so my kids would get the benefits.

The day he didnt want to rehearse anymore, he rode his motorcycle up the road only to find a car parked at the spot. An interruption. And then he received a phone call from his girlfriend. Another interruption. He didnt pick up. She called again. Another interruption. That one saved his life.

To this day, I cannot remember the conversation, Campbell says. His girlfriendnow wifehad no idea she was intervening. Its not what she said, its a matter of, she said something.

Exactly a year later, Campbell headed to Afghanistan as part of the provincial reconstruction team in Kunar, to which the 182nds Delta Company, second platoon, a Massachusetts National Guard unit, was attached. After he returned in 2012, Campbell sat on review boards for more than 70 suicides across the active Army.

By then, he better understood what had happened to him, and that normal responses to war can transfer to peacetime life in a negative way. He knew maintaining connectionsconnections who can interrupt when things feel direcould save lives. He knew the National Guard needed help to deal with the challenges of sending recently deployed soldiers back to civilian jobs, families, and lives, usually without the resources that come from daily interactions with others who have had similar experiencesor from the resources allotted to active-duty soldiers. And as National Guardsmen deploy more often in response to fires, floods, storms, and civil unrest, he knew the solution wouldnt come with the end of the forever wars.

A Separation Solution to an Attachment Problem

People kill themselves because they feel they no longer belong, psychologist and leading suicide expert Thomas Joiner says. The sense of social connection is so important to well-being that thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomenessa person no longer feels accepted and that they are a burden to othersis a precursor to considering suicide.

Brain images show stark changes in the way the amygdalathe emotional response portion of the braincommunicates with the front part of the brain in people who are at increased risk to kill themselves. Those brain patterns can change a persons behavior, even if its not obvious to the people around them.

Its more difficult to do emotion regulation and to self-regulate and to do the things that help you lead a healthy life, says Dr. Gregory Fricchione, associate chief of psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Besides its capacity to process emotions, the amygdala also connects to the parts of the brain tied to physical pain and the area most responsible for making decisions, as well as another part of the brain that holds memory. Our brains triangular relationship between emotions, decisions, and pain suggests we mainly make decisions to minimize painand sometimes memories trigger pain and anxiety.

As many as 44 veterans die by suicide in the United States per day, which is 2.4 times higher than Veterans Affairs reported national suicide rate, according to a 2022 report by the nonprofit suicide prevention group Americas Warrior Partnership, which gathered data about veteran deaths from eight states, including Massachusetts. Since 2011, nearly a dozen soldiers who deployed to Afghanistan with the two Massachusetts National Guard infantry units have killed themselves.

But people arent programmed to hurt themselves, Joiner says. Humans instinctively fear death and actively try to escape threatening situations. The military also trains service members to survive. Self-harm, then, must be something learned, something that builds over time. And some service members experience a more gradual decline than others, with deaths occurring years after they were exposed to trauma.

One of the primary steps involved in where people become suicidal is where they feel less and less connected to the people around them that they should be connected to, Fricchione says. That isolation part, whether its self-inflicted or not, is a huge factor.

Soldiers may take different paths to die by suicide, which makes it difficult to get a handle on it. But they have at least one thing in common, Fricchione says:

Suicide comes at a point of exasperation where you have given up on ever finding secure attachment, Fricchione says. Its a separation solution to an attachment problem.

So when you think about the problem in the military, you have to think about all the variations on that common theme, he says. Its enormous.

The Key to Our Survival

For centuries, the amygdalathe part of the brain that processes emotions like fear, pleasure, and angerhas evolved to reward the body for feeling settled into the people and places around it.

Were all bound up in that need to feel attached and socially accepted, Friccione says. [It] becomes the key to our survival.

When a person feels strong emotions, such as threatened or scared, the amygdala amps up, releasing a chemical that triggers feelings of anxiety. On the battlefield, a hypercharged amygdala can keep a service member alert and see them safely through an attack.

A Connecticut National Guard soldier wears a "breaking the stigma" patch on his uniform at the Army Aviation Support Facility in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, Sept. 8, 2022. The patch was a project of the state's Resilience, Risk Reduction and Suicide Program (R3SP) to raise awareness about the stigma of seeking help for mental health in the military. (Timothy Koster/Connecticut National Guard)

But threats that prompt an amygdala response dont have to be physical. The brain also perceives separation, or loss of attachment, as a threat, Fricchione says. So when a soldier comes home, reintegration can feel like walking off a sharp cliff after an intense period of attachment to others. Combat ignites the bodys chemical responsesand so does a life synchronized with others in every way, from fighting together to eating together to sleeping in the same room or ditch.

You had a jazzed-up brain for a long period of time, Fricchione says. That creates a very vivid memory track and embellishes the sense of need for attachment. And you come back and suddenly its like somebody turned off the lights.

Theres no longer the need to keep watch at all hours of the night. No need to run on adrenaline. No enemy eyes on you. No need to react fast or fiercely.

All the stress hormones crash when you get home because you dont have the external stress to keep them elevated, says Kenneth Pitts, the 182nds deployment operations sergeant major. Hes now a research psychologist at the U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences at Fort Benning, Georgia, where he studies biological responses to war-induced traumatic stress.

The deployed body, used to operating on high levels of adrenaline and stress hormones like cortisol, grapples with how to respond as the brain works to silence those signals when service members return home.

Now you have low energy, youve got a harder time focusing, its harder for you to pull your thoughts out to find the right words to process complex things, Pitts says. Theres a higher tendency to do avoidance behaviors where, instead of engaging with problems and getting into the details to figure it out, you tend to distance yourself from problems and just turn it into a fuzzy stressful blob and not really deal with it.

As combat veterans reflect and ruminate, some may interpret otherwise normal eventslike gatherings with friends or family, or quick encounters with strangersnegatively, even if theyre not, Pitts says.

And the environment a service member returns to can emphasize and even enable negative thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

The physiological reinforcements, the cognitive reinforcements, the behavioral reinforcementsthe three of these lines trend together in putting the person into the frame of mind thats ripe for some of these extreme solutions to these problems, Pitts says. Perhaps theyre exaggerating some of [their problems], perhaps theyre developing a narrative that only leaves them one way out or limited ways out.

To counter these changes, some combat veterans seek out the high of another deployment as an antidote to the biological crash. It can add meaning that feels as if its missing when a person goes from being a soldier trying to rout Taliban to a computer salesman or a student. But at some point, repeated deployments become an unsustainable avoidance method, and service members must reckon with change head-on.

It Was Easier Over There

Col. Eric DiNotos deployment to Afghanistan almost immediately followed his first deployment to Iraqand issues that began in Iraq ballooned in Afghanistan, he says. DiNoto served, as a major, as the executive officer for the 182nd during the 2011 Afghanistan deployment.

A lot from the first deployment came up after that second deployment, he says.

His disassociation from life at home to focus on the mission abroad turned to depression and dependency when he returned, he says.

Its weird because theres almost sometimesyou feel awful for thinking itbut you think that it was easier when youre over there, he says.

He wasnt the only one who faced difficulties coming home. For some, detachment became a mechanism to cope, but it only made things worse. For some soldiers, avoidance brought alcohol and drug dependency, aggression, and paranoia.

You get more stressed out about those things and start to generalize that stress to other things in your life, too, Pitts says.

Service members need to be taught how to reacclimateeven if they feel as if they havent changed, Pitts says. A strong reintegration program could help soldiers better adjust to life after deployment.

The majority tends to habituatethey get fine and they come back and they get reintegrated back homeand most people just kind of adapt without issue, Pitts says. So for people that dont, its very challenging to figure out how their individual characteristics, whether that be environmental or driven by personality, all contributed to this negative trending.

Nevada Guardsmen participate in a break-out session during the Nevada National Guard Suicide Prevention Forum at the Santa Fe Station Casino and Hotel on Sept. 10, 2022, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Adrianne Lopez/U.S. Army)

Some service members find it difficult to undo what their bodies and brains have settled into during prolonged periods of intensity. In a war zone, those habitshypervigilance, a constant flow of adrenaline, always waiting for the worst to happenkeep people alive. At home, those maladaptive habitswhat Pitts calls negative learningcan take hold as soon as the first 90 days of their return and could last as long as a lifetime.

After 9/11, the traditional culture, structure, and support systems couldnt keep up with the changing pace of the Guard, says retired Brig. Gen. Jack Hammond, who oversaw the 181st and 182nd Infantry Regiments Afghanistan deployments as brigade commander of the 26th Yankee Division.

The challenge was, when they came home, there was no care in place to support them, Hammond says. He became the executive director of the Massachusetts-based veterans clinical program Home Base, which provides care for veterans and their families, after he returned home.

Annual data released by the Defense Department parses suicide deaths between the Guard and active components, but there are limited studies comparing each to understand the factors that contribute to suicide deaths. But Hammond, who spent a large part of his 31-year career on active duty assigned to the Guard, says the disparities in support for the Guard compared to the active component have become more blatant in recent years.

For the Guard, their challenge is they live in the private world, Hammond says.

Most National Guardsmen have full-time civilian sector jobs and dont live on a military baseor anywhere near one. That means the robust community support networks and even physical proximity to other military families found on military bases simply dont exist.

The dual commitment to a military and civilian career has also presented a unique challenge in recent years, Pitts says.

As you go up in the ranks and your responsibilities mount, you have another career thats happening between [activations] thats doing the same thing, Pitts says. In between deployments, theyre trying to squeeze in all that productivity to make up for their absence, to get their careers and goals back on track so that timeline isnt affected as much.

National Guard soldiers also only have access to military health treatment centers when theyre on active-duty status. For most, thats about 38 days a year.

And seeking out civilian care adds an extra layer of difficulty: Civilian health care workers are less likely to have training in either military culture or combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder. This means that not only do clinicians not understand when a soldier says, I got blown up, or, We were always searching for IEDs outside the FOB, but they may not be properly trained to address issues like moral injury or to listen to stories that may be traumatizing in a way theyre not used to.

Even seemingly small slip-ups are enough to turn off a veteran on edge. One soldier who served with the 182nd says he didnt return to a therapist who asked him to recall his experiences in Iran. He served in Afghanistan.

Multiple Guard members say they had sized up clinicians and decided they didnt want to work with experts who didnt have some connection to the militaryregardless of their expertise in the field. Knowing this, combat veterans make up the majority of Command Sgt. Maj. William Davidsons outreach team at Home Base, and members of the family outreach team are all military-connected. Davidson, who served with the 181st during the 2011-2012 deployment, now is the director of veteran outreach and peer support at Home Base.

Fricchione, who also works as a clinician for Home Base, has experienced questions of credibility firsthand, he says.

When somebody like meand Ive never fought a warI say, Well, I think you should take this medicine, or I think you should try this therapy, they say, F you, you dont know what youre talking about. You didnt really experience it, he says.

Theres no arguing with the authenticity remark or critique of people who havent been through it themselves, he says. Its hard to compete with that.

But that rationale poses yet another challenge for service members: getting out of their own ways.

Thats a big problem, Fricchione says. I dont think anybodys really solved that.

Its OK to Get Help

DiNoto first received care at Home Base the summer after the battalion returned from Afghanistan. Motivated by his family, he stuck with formalized care at Home Baseoff and on initially, and then steadily for two years, he says.

DiNoto also relied on outside veterans-based groups that focus on strengthening connections.

I just made sure that it was consistent, even when I didnt think I needed it, he says.

Evidence-based care for veterans has expanded since the start of the post-9/11 wars. Mental health clinicians at VA and hospital-affiliated clinical programs like Home Base use specialized cognitive behavioral therapy for veterans, which may include exposing them to stress-inducing objects, thoughts, or memories to help desensitize them. Some clinical programs also incorporate psychedelics, such as MDMA and ketamine, as experimental therapies to address thoughts of suicide.

Retired Massachusetts Army National Guard Col. Tom Stewart, who initially struggled with the stigma associated with treatmentthat his soldiers would think he was weak, or that future employers, including within the military, might associate care with dysfunctioneventually sought military-provided services until he retired. Other service members, like DiNoto, who also acknowledged the stigma, instead turned to programs outside the Guard, so the Army has no record of it at all.

The National Guard has tried to address the high number of suicides at the unit level. At nearly every drill, trained ambassadors and behavioral health workers teach service members how to help themselves or others. Sometimes, retired service members talk about the care theyve received, Davidson says. But units struggle to find current peers willing to talk about their own care because they fear it will harm their careers.

Thats what we need, Davidson says. We need senior leaders or other soldiers saying, Its OK to get help, and were still in.

Service members are more likely to seek care if other members who have undergone similar experiences encourage them, Fricchione says. That can be much stronger than encouragement from even close family members.

That is a plus, and its also a minus, because theyre shutting out so many people who they dont consider to be credible or authentic, Fricchione says.

Retired Col. John Rodolico says he felt that way while he served in Iraq as an executive officer of a combat stress medical company, overseeing medical teams that debriefed units after traumatic events.

If Im coming into an infantry unit, and Im a psychologist, and Im doing one of these debriefings, Ive got to really sell myself on these guys, especially after a traumatic event, he says.

His team trained the infantry unit leaders to lead the conversations. When one of their own conducted the debriefs, the soldiers were more likely to engage, he says.

The closer the person leading these groups is to the identity of the unit, the better, he says. They were more successful.

Rodolico also served as deputy commander for the Massachusetts National Guards medical command, overseeing response efforts following the initial suicide deaths in the states two infantry battalions.

But theres yet another barrier: the belief that there arent enough clinical resources to get help even if a person seeks it out.

We have a lot of training on how to identify [a struggling soldier], how to help a friend, how to take them when theyre really at their lowest to the VA, or to a provider for help, says one soldier who served with the 182nd and wanted to remain anonymous. In training and war, a battle buddy constantly ensures their partner is safe. The military has worked to carry that model to mental health by having battle buddies watch for signs of distress.

What frustrates me is when [the] battle buddy did everything he could, the soldier says. He even identified it. He even was brave enough to go take him and convince him that he needs to go check in. Then, literally within a week of doing that, they still kill themselves.

We dont get enough help.

The South Carolina National Guard supports the South Carolina Department of Veteran Affairs in their third annual Steps & Strides Against Veteran Suicide fall festival and walk, Sept. 25, 2021, in Columbia, South Carolina. (Tim Andrews/U.S. Army National Guard)

Care in the Guard relies heavily on service members accounts of their own mental health. The Guards annual Unit Risk Inventory survey includes questions about a service members personal well-being to help their leadership identify high-risk thoughts and behaviors.

After a deployment, the military requires service members to take two surveys that assess their returning experienceonce at their demobilization station, and another at least 90 days after they return home. The surveys are meant to capture any reported struggles, but behavioral health experts in the Massachusetts National Guard say data is limited to what a service member wants to disclose.

In recent years, the National Guard has centralized its behavioral health and wellness programs under one division, called Warrior Resilience & Fitness. Since 2014, the Massachusetts Guards behavioral health team has grown from one person to five full-time clinicians. Some of the programs voluntary initiatives emphasize fitness groups to help maintain connection among service members, as well as nutrition and other aspects of self-care.

Human beings have autonomy, and we can provide all of these services, and if somebody doesnt want to engage in them, or doesnt want to share whats going on.   says Maj. Katherine Murphy, director of warrior resilience and fitness with the Massachusetts National Guard. Were still seeing that they make those choices and take their lives.

The Massachusetts National Guard has partnered with a few groups to help Guard members build resilience. But theyre not clinical-standard prevention and intervention methods, and active-duty guardsmen are much more likely to participate than the one-weekend-a-month guys, soldiers told The War Horse.

Though the Guard informally offers, after a deployment ends, 90 transition days before soldiers return to drill, theres no scientifically defined period for the body and brain to acclimate, especially as they continue to navigate a foot in both worlds, Fricchione says. The process can last for the remainder of a service members military careeror beyond.

Within 30 days of the end of a deployment, military leaders encourage soldiers and their families to attend a yellow-ribbon reintegration program, and soldiers must meet with a mental health specialist. The specialists pair soldiers identified as at-risk with a psychological health coordinator to connect the soldiers to resources, Murphy says. These post-deployment events have stayed the same since well before the 182nds 2011 deployment.

We all struggle [with] how do we meet folks where theyre at, so they are in a place of comfort to let us know that they are struggling, Murphy says. And that looks different, feels different for every single human being on this Earth.

We Do Preventive Maintenance on Everything Else

Like substance abuse disorder or most cancers where an individual is forever regarded as remaining in recovery or remission, resilience requires continual maintenance. Mental health treatment can be normalized just like other tangible methods of upkeep in the military, but not if it remains voluntary, Hammond says.

We do preventive maintenance for everything in the military from day one, he says.

Driving a Humvee requires maintenance and service checks before and after use, as does using a weapon. Mental health care should be treated the same way, Hammond says.

We do it a little bit now while theyre there with behavioral health teams, and on the back end [of a deployment] we ask them if theyre OK, Hammond says. It should be a presumptive condition that they require some transition on the way out.

But just as not every Humvee needs an oil change or a tightened lug nut, the solutions cant be the same for each soldier, he says.

We have these outliers that find a well of resilience and lead extraordinary lives, but we also know there are versions of terminal illness in psychiatry where people are so wounded that we dont feel good about their chances, Fricchione says. But nowadays, theres more and more hope.

Some bring childhood trauma or an internalized negative mindset with them into service. Others may be working through a moral injuryeither participating in or witnessing an atrocity that defies personal values. Some endure an identity crisis as they transition out of the military and struggle to define who they are without it. Some experience a combination of some or all.

In some cases, a soldier may be managing fine, but adding another major stressora breakup, a lost job, the death of a friendcan be enough to push that person into crisis.

Service members who have deployed are more likely to report higher levels of depression, anxiety, and stress compared to those who havent, but several studies suggest that the type, length, or even the number of deployments is not a sole indicator of suicide risk.

But while the number of combat deployments have decreased for Guardsmen, their suicide rates have not. And as they increasingly deploy in response to natural and manmade disasters such as forest fires and floods, as well as civil unrest, such as that seen in Washington, D.C., after the Jan. 6, 2021 attackstheir experiences remain extreme. Theyve had to adapt to those new, often traumatic situations, as well.

Often, [soldiers] dont really know how theyre adapting, Pitts says. How theyre paying attention to information differently, how theyre putting themselves in the mindset to get a better nights sleep, how theyre able to compartmentalize different types of stress.

There are obvious, fixable problems, Guard members told The War Horse. For one, not everyone is a risk, but everyone receives constant training, which takes millions of dollars in resources away from those who could use some extra help. The Defense Department has spent $100 million on research alone, according to the Rand Corporation.

Some evidence-based programs dont involve seeing a clinician or any form of medical intervention. They instead offer opportunities for veterans to reflect on their physical and emotional health and make meaningful connections with other service members. Veterans of earlier wars once found that sense of belonging in a VFW lounge; now, they may be more likely to find it in veteran groups that offer everything from equine therapy to rafting, hiking, and camping.

In fact the solution, the soldiers and therapists seemed to agree, is ancient.

Over generations, the Army has perfected the art of forming unit-based bonds. During training, soldiers go through intentionally stressful situations not only to strengthen individual readiness, but to build trust and unit cohesion through shared experience.

The success of the Army, and the success of the individuals in these battalions, is going to depend on that social attachment, Fricchione says.

With so much time spent together under different levels of duress, a syncing occurs among service membersa harmonizing of emotions, behavior, and perhaps even physiological responses, Fricchione says. The more time spent and experiences shared, the stronger the bonds.

Legend tells us this bond transcends life. According to Norse mythology, the bravest half of warriors who die in combat are promised a seat in the god Odins hall of slain warriors, known as Valhalla. The goddess Freyja takes the other halfthe ordinary warriorsto the field of warriors. In Valhalla, warriors gather to fight during the day and feast at night, preparing for the end of the world when theyll be called upon to assist Odin, the god of war and death, in the ultimate battle at the worlds end. Though intended only for those who die in combat, Til Valhallauntil we meet again in Valhallais written and said for any service member who has died, regardless of how.

The phrase has taken on a deeper scientific meaning to many who have grappled with suicide prevention in the ranks. To some, it validates that social attachmenta symbol of strength and resilienceis promised to the warrior, if not during the end stages of life, then eternally in death. Even those who die by suicide die on a recognizable battlefield, slain by a familiar enemy and worthy to their comrades of a seat in Valhalla.

For those working in suicide prevention, it is also a call to actto create an environment that maintains strong bonds and renews attachments; to help soldiers feel that life, too, is a worthy place to live.

Maybe Valhalla can wait.

This War Horse investigation was reported by Lara Salahi, edited by Kelly Kennedy, fact-checked by Ben Kalin, and copy-edited by Mitchell Hansen-Dewar. Headlines are by Abbie Bennett. Maria Wilson contributed to this report.
Factors that influence the price of Nanomaterials Many factors affect the price of nanomaterials. Several factors influence the price of. They include physical methods healthcare-related applications and cost implications. Here is a look at some of ...
New Patriotic Party (NPP) activist Kenneth Offei Asah has assured all and sundry that former National Organiser of the party Sammi Awuku is poised to contest the Akropong seat, warning that persons fabricating lies and propaganda against him will not succeed since he is undeterred.

Sammi Awuku, who is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Lottery Authority (NLA), has been key in mobilising support for the NPP as a National Youth Organiser and later as National Organiser.

His interest in the Akropong Constituency seat seemed to have riled persons who are hell-bent on denting his image with false accusations and propaganda.

But Mr Kenneth Offei Asah in a Facebook post has clapped back at the detractors, insisting that no amount of sponsored negative reportage can succeed in lowering the image of Mr Awuku.

Mr Offei Asah puts the accusations at the doorstep of the MP for Akropong Oheneba Nana Asiamah-Adjei. "You keep sponsoring negative stories about Sammi Awuku, yet it keeps failing. First you told your supporters there wont be Polling Station elections so they can go to sleep! You had a rude awakening when upon all your machinations the People stood firm and insisted there will be elections and there was elections."

"You approached some Prominent Chiefs up the mountains to support you to divide the constituency so you can take half and Sammi takes half. None of the Chiefs wanted to belong to your divisive ideas let alone come under your imaginary divided half," Mr Offei said.

He noted that other attempts to get Mr Awuku not to contest the Akropong seat have failed.

"Again you went behind to encourage Regional Executives of Greater Accra to appeal to the National Officers of the Party , Some MPs and Key people in Government to convince or force" Sammi Awuku to go for the Adenta seat.

"They tried, ambushed Sammi several times on this matter and even followed him to church just to convince him. That one too failed.

"Today you have sponsored another failed missile attack Claiming Jubilee House Has Pulled Breaks on Sammi Awuku and the President queried him on using NLA funds to sponsor Pro Dr Bawumia Media campaign.

"First of all the President has never engaged Mr Awuku on this your propaganda and more so there is no evidence whatsoever in this your propaganda!

"Madam my advice is that, focus and get ready for your elections wai because Sammi Awuku knowing him wont comment but very effective when he just smiles at this your games, he added, insisting that Sammy Awuku is determined to take the seat from the incumbent.

"Sammi Awuku, according to reliable sources, is one of the best performing Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) who has no issues raised against him in the Presidency. He has been praised by the President for his stellar performance at the NLA 60th anniversary celebration.

"That notwithstanding, negative stories about Sammi Awuku deemed to be from supporters of the MP for Akropong, get published every now and then. But supporters of Mr Awuku are certain that he will wrestle the seat from the incumbent," he emphasised.

Read full post below:
This week on The Sound Kitchen we celebrate World Radio Day with listener greetings! You'll hear the answer to the question about France's hunting laws, the bonus question and the Listeners Corner with Michael Fitzpatrick, and Music from Erwan. All that, and the new quiz question, too, so click on the Audio arrow above and enjoy!

Hello everyone! Welcome to The Sound Kitchen weekly podcast, published every Saturday  here on our website, or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll hear the winner's names announced and the week's quiz question, along with all the other ingredients you've grown accustomed to: your letters and essays, On This Day, quirky facts and news, interviews, and great music  so be sure and listen every week.

The ePOP video competition is open! The deadline for entries is 20 April 2023  but don't put it off! Start now!

The ePOP video competition is sponsored by the RFI department Planete Radio, whose mission is to give a voice to the voiceless. ePOP focuses on the environment, and how climate change has affected ordinary people you create a three-minute video about climate change, the environment, pollution  told by the people it affects. So put on your thinking caps and get to work ... and by the way, the prizes are incredibly generous!

To read the ePOP entry guidelines  as well as watch videos from previous years  go to the ePOP website.

Erwan and I are busy cooking up special shows with your musical requests, so get them in! Send your musical requests to [email protected] Tell us why you like the piece of music, too  it makes it more interesting for us all!

Be sure you check out our wonderful podcasts!

In addition to the breaking news articles on our site, with in-depth analysis of current affairs in France and across the globe, we have several podcasts which will leave you hungry for more.

There's Paris Perspective, Spotlight on France, and of course, The Sound Kitchen. We have an award-winning bilingual series  an old-time radio show, with actors (!) to help you learn French, called Les voisins du 12 bis. And there is the excellent International Report, too.

As you see, sound is still quite present in the RFI English service. Keep checking our website for updates on the latest from our staff of journalists. You never know what we'll surprise you with!

To listen to our podcasts from your PC, go to our website; you'll see Podcasts on the upper left-hand side of the page. You can either listen directly or subscribe and receive them directly on your mobile phone.

To listen to our podcasts from your mobile phone, slide through the tabs just under the lead article (the first tab is Headline News) until you see Podcasts, and choose your show.

Teachers, take note! I save postcards and stamps from all over the world to send to you for your students. If you would like stamps and postcards for your students, just write and let me know. The address is [email protected] If you would like to donate stamps and postcards, feel free! Our address is listed below.

Another idea for your students: Br. Gerald Muller, my beloved music teacher from St Edward's University in Austin, Texas, has been writing books for young adults in his retirement  and they are free! There is a volume of biographies of painters and musicians called Gentle Giants, and an excellent biography of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., too. They are also a good way to help you improve your English - that's how I worked on my French, reading books which were meant for young readers  and I guarantee you, it's a good method for improving your language skills. To get Br. Gerald's free books, click here.

Independent RFI English Clubs: Be sure to always include Audrey Iattoni ([email protected]) from our Listener Relations department in all your RFI Club correspondence. Remember to copy me ([email protected]) when you write to her so that I know what is going on, too. N.B.: You do not need to send her your quiz answers! Email overload!

And don't forget, there is a Facebook page just for you, the independent RFI English Clubs. Only members of RFI English Clubs can belong to this group page, so when you apply to join, be sure you include the name of your RFI Club and your membership number. Everyone can look at it, but only members of the group can post on it. If you haven't yet asked to join the group, and you are a member of an independent, officially recognized RFI English club, go to the Facebook link above, and fill out the questionnaire !!!!! (if you do not answer the questions, I click decline).

There's a Facebook page for members of the general RFI Listeners Club too. Just click on the link and fill out the questionnaire, and you can connect with your fellow Club members around the world. Be sure you include your RFI Listeners Club membership number (most of them begin with an A, followed by a number) in the questionnaire, or I will have to click Decline, which I don't like to do!

We have a new RFI Listeners Club member to welcome: Md. Rana from Naogaon, Bangladesh.

Welcome, Rana! So glad you have joined us! Be sure you join the RFI Listeners Club Facebook page!

You too can be a member of the RFI Listeners Club  just write to me at [email protected] and tell me you want to join, and I'll send you a membership number. It's that easy. When you win a Sound Kitchen quiz as an RFI Listeners Club member, you receive a premium prize, AND, you can join our Facebook page, the RFI Listeners Club page. You must ask to join the group, and you must furnish your RFI Listeners Club membership number. I'll approve you, and off you go!

This week's quiz: On 14 January, I asked you a question about an article written by Michael Fitzpatrick: France tightens hunting regulations but stops short of weekend ban. Activist groups want to see a ban on hunting on Sundays, to protect walkers and people who live near active hunting areas  and hunters are against it.

I asked you to answer these two questions: how many active hunters are there in France, and how many French people possess a hunting licence?

The answer is, to quote Michael's article: There are 1.1 million active hunters in France, according to the FNC, and some five million people possess a hunting licence.

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: What is your favorite proverb?

Do you have a bonus question idea? Send it to us!

The winners are: RFI English listener Murshida Yeasmin Momota from Bogura, Bangladesh. Murshida is also the winner of this week's bonus question.

Congratulations Murshida!

Also on the list of lucky winners this week are Debakamal Hazarika, the president of the United RFI Listeners Club in Assam, India; Asifa Riaz, a member of the RFI Listeners Club in Sheikhupura City, Pakistan; RFI Listeners Club member Babby Noor Al Haya Hussen from Odisha, India, and RFI English listener Sultana Begum from Sirajganj, Bangladesh.

Congratulations winners!

Here's the music you heard on this week's programme: The rondo from the Horn Concerto No. 4 in E flat major by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, performed by the Dresden Philharmonic conducted by Jorg-Peter Weigle with soloist Sebastian Weigle; The Flight of the Bumblebee by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; The Cakewalk from Children's Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and Young Mama by Olu Dara, performed by Dara and his ensemble.

Do you have a musical request? Send it to [email protected]

This week's question ... you must listen to the show to participate. After you've listened to the show, re-read Michael Fitzpatrick's article Paris summit in effort to lift Lebanon out of political paralysis to help you with the answer.

You have until 6 March to enter this week's quiz; the winners will be announced on the 11 March podcast. When you enter, be sure you send your postal address with your answer, and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number.

Send your answers to:

[email protected]

or

Susan Owensby

RFI  The Sound Kitchen

80, rue Camille Desmoulins

92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux

France

or

By text  You can also send your quiz answers to The Sound Kitchen mobile phone. Dial your country's international access code, or  + , then 33 6 31 12 96 82. Don't forget to include your mailing address in your text  and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number.

To find out how you can win a special Sound Kitchen prize, click here.

To find out how you can become a member of the RFI Listeners Club, or form your own official RFI Club, click here.
Tunisian police on Saturday arrested powerful businessman Kamel Eltaief, a former confident of ousted president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, as well as political activist Khayam Turki, their lawyers said.

Eltaief, 68, was arrested at his home in the capital Tunis, lawyer Nizar Ayed said without providing further details.

Many Tunisians -- especially supporters of the Islamist-inspired movement Ennahdha -- saw Eltaief as a symbol of past corruption in the North African nation.

The influential power-broker was involved in the 1987 coup that forced former president Habib Bourguiba from power on medical grounds, and was long considered a crony of his successor Ben Ali.

Eltaief later fell out of grace with Ben Ali in 1992 in a feud with the former dictator's wife Leila Trabelsi.

After the fall of Ben Ali in 2011, the businessman moved closer to the opposition.

In 2012 he was investigated for "conspiracy against state security", but no charges were brought against him and the case was closed in 2014.

Political activist Turki, 58, had once been considered as a potential candidate to head the government after the resignation of premier Elyes Fakhfakh in 2020, and belongs to the social democratic Ettakatol party.

Turki's lawyer Abdelaziz Essid, who said his client was not known to be wanted by the authorities, said he was arrested in an early morning police raid.

"He was taken to an unknown destination," said Essid, adding Turki had not been "facing any legal proceedings" to justify his arrest. No further details were immediately available.

Ettakatol was allied with the Ennahdha party within the government between 2011 and 2014, before the latter became part of the opposition.

Ennahdha condemned Turki's arrest and called for his "immediate" release.

Tunisia has seen a spike in the arrest and prosecution of politicians, journalists and others since President Kais Saied seized wide-ranging powers in a dramatic move against parliament in July 2021.

Since then, Saied's opponents have accused him of authoritarianism in the birthplace of the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings.
A businessman and author, Capt (rtd) Prince Kofi Amoabeng will take his turn as the guest speaker for the time Keeping dialogue series organized by Transformation Leadership Concepts, a behavioural and attitudinal change advocacy group.

The 6th edition of the dialogue series is scheduled for Sunday, February 12, 2023, via zoom. The event will also be live on the Facebook pages of Georgina Asare Fiagbenu and TLC. Capt Rtd Prince Kofi Amoabeng is expected to speak on the topic; Time As a Critical National Resource.

Mr. Prince Kofi Amoabeng is a retired Ghana Armed Forces Captain and a seasoned entrepreneur. He is the author of the book The UT Story (Vol 1).

The timekeeping initiative is being undertaken to help in creating a better timekeeping culture in Ghana. It was launched to improve the chronic lateness and lack of respect for time and timekeeping in Ghana.

The event will be chaired by Togbe Kwasinyi Agyeman V, the chief of Adidome and communications for change advocate, and will be hosted by Mrs. Georgina, Asare Fiagbenu, a communication for development advocate.

The dialogue series has featured distinguished personalities such as Prof. Lade Wosornu, a retired surgeon, poet, and a fellow of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, Nana Kwasi Gyan Apenteng, communication and culture expert, Mr. Sydney Casely Hayford, social commentator, Manasseh Awuni, journalist and a social commentator, Ibrahim K. Asante, International speaker, trainer and peak performance strategist, Mrs. Comfort Ocran, motivational speaker and author, Mrs. Ewurabena Benin, learning facilitator and author, Yvonne Oppong Ayisi, a manager at CBG, among others.

The national timekeeping initiative is targeted at policymakers, media, legislators, event organizers, corporate leaders, politicians, teachers, professionals, the youth, civil society, and behavioral change agents.
At least ten soldiers died in an ambush by a group of "armed terrorists" in southwestern Niger, close to the Mali border, the defence ministry said Saturday.

The toll from Friday's attack could rise as 16 people are still missing and 13 soldiers were wounded, a ministry statement said.

The troops were on patrol in the north of Banibangou department when they "came under a complex ambush by a group of armed terrorists" it said, referring to jihadist groups.

The statement also said several attackers were killed during the fighting, but did not specify how many.

The attack took place in Niger's vast western region of Tillaberi, which straddles Burkina Faso and Mali -- two countries hit by jihadist insurgency -- and has faced repeated attack since 2017 by armed groups linked to Al-Qaeda and Islamic State.

The region neighbours the Tahoua area, where heavily armed attackers stormed a camp housing refugees from neighbouring Mali last week.

Nine people were killed in that assault, which a local official said was carried out by "heavily armed terrorists" on motorcycles who fled back into Mali.

All the countries involved are former French colonies.

On Saturday, the French foreign ministry "condemned the attack in the strongest terms", expressing its "full solidarity with the authorities and people of Niger", adding it stands by their side "in the fight against terrorism".

Over 61,000 Malian refugees shelter in Tahoua and Tillaberi, according to the United Nations.

After the departure of French soldiers from Mali last year and a scheduled pullout shortly from Burkina Faso, France will field only 3,000 troops in the restive Sahel region -- in Niger and Chad -- where jihadist groups roam.
The Awkraboye Doku Family of Atrekor-We Teshie, Accra, has warned the general public to avoid dealing with individuals who are not legally authorized to conduct any type of land renegotiation involving the Otano lands in Adjiringanor, Adetan Municipality in the Greater Accra Region.

According to the family, it has been observed that some individuals are going behind to issue letters that have not been sanctioned by the family to occupants of the land covering a total area of 748.39 acres as a result of a court judgement in favour of the family.

The family stressed that it has no intention of evicting or demolishing any property of persons who were already occupying its land prior to the judgement and is notifying the public through this release to refrain from engaging in any transaction with unauthorised persons and only deal with Mr Dennis Famieh, the holder of the family's power of attorney to transact business on its behalf.

The family also cautions persons going around parading themselves with petitions mainly to disrespect the orders of the court to desist from such act.

The full public notice is available below.

Dated Friday 10th, February 2023

For Immediate Release

PUBLIC NOTICE: AVOID TRANSACTING BUSINESS WITH IMPOSTERS ON OTANO LANDS- AWKRABOYE DOKU FAMILY WARNS

The Awkraboye Doku Family of Atrekor-We Teshie, Accra in the Greater Accra region of the Republic of Ghana bring to the notice, attention and information of the general public at large and in particular, all persons in possession or occupation of all the piece and parcel of land commonly referred to as Otano lands in east Legon Accra, that;

By a Judgment of the High Court Automated Fast Track Division Accra delivered by His lordship Justice N.M.C. Abodakpi title in all that piece and parcel of land situate and lying at Otano within the Adenta Municipal Assembly Area of the Greater Accra region of the Republic of Ghana covering a total area of 748.39 acres more or less and covered by a land certificate number GA 019/11575/1995

That the Akwraboye Doku Family has obtained a writ of possession in respect of the land declared by the judgment.

A sequel to the above or further instruction is directly affected by the judgment and persons in actual possession or whose title for portions of Otano land have been subsumed by the judgment are hereby requested by this public notice /announcement to take immediate steps to have their title or possession regularised within 90 days of this announcement notice failing which the family shall be at liberty to recover without further notice.

All persons currently carrying out developments of any kind on any portion of the family's land are by this notice shall cease any such development pending an inspection and approval by the family before any such development shall continue.

The family shall direct the land commission to cease the processing of all title documents affecting the Akwraboye Doku Family land situate and lying at Otano which does not have the prior approval of the family even though the documents sought to be registered emanates from the family.

The family further cautions all manner of persons going round with fake documents and petitions to quarters mainly to disrespect the orders of the court and that of the family to desist from such act.

All business activities would be done at the office GD-190-8341 (Behind Rawlings house) and attended by the holder of the power of attorney in the person of Mr Dennis Famieh, the lawyer and the family only. Anyone who does business without these people and the office does that at their own peril.

SIGNED

MR. DENNIS FAMIEH

POWER OF ATTORNEY HOLDER
A driver of a Toyota vehicle with registration number GE 3040-12 died on the spot after his vehicle was involved in a fatal accident with a trailer with registration number AJ 27 10.

The accident happened at Apimanim in the Ahanta West Municipal Assembly at about 10:20pm Saturday, February 11.

According to the driver of the trailer, the Toyota vehicle, which was travelling on top speed, ran into his vehicle.

I stopped to urinate. I was just about entering the road again when the Toyota ran into my vehicle.

According to a bystander, he heard the cry of someone calling for help after the crash.

When I rushed to the car, it was the driver calling for help. Unfortunately, he stopped and I saw him give what appeared to be his last breath. He was the only one in the car. The car was lying on its side.

With the help of some members of the Western Region branch of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) , who were returning from Jomoro on an official assignment, and some police officers, the mangled Toyota vehicle was overturned.

The driver was taken from the car afterwards.

As at the time of filing this report, preparations were underway to take the body of the dead driver to a hospital.

The driver of the trailer was still at the scene.

3news.com
Rescuers pulled a seven-month-old baby and a teenage girl from the rubble on Sunday, nearly a week after an earthquake devastated Turkey and Syria and killed more than 28,000. UN relief chief Martin Griffiths said he expected the death toll to at least double after he arrived in southern Turkey on Saturday to assess the quake's damage.

Griffiths arrived in Turkey's southern city of Kahramanmaras, the epicentre of the first 7.8-magnitude tremor that upturned millions of lives in the pre-dawn hours of Monday.

He said of the death toll in an interview with Sky News on Saturday: "I think it is difficult to estimate precisely as we need to get under the rubble but I'm sure it will double or more.

"We haven't really begun to count the number of dead.

Officials and medics said 24,617 people were killed in Turkey and 3,574 in Syria. The confirmed total now stands at 28,191.

Tens of thousands of rescue workers are scouring flattened neighbourhoods despite freezing weather that has deepened the misery of millions now in desperate need of aid.

The United Nations has warned that at least 870,000 people urgently need hot meals across Turkey and Syria. Up to 5.3 million people may have been made homeless in Syria alone.

Solidarity

Meanwhile Greece's foreign minister arrived in Turkey on Sunday in a show of support, the ministry said, despite a longstanding rivalry between the two NATO countries.

Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias was met by his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu, according to footage on state-run ERT TV, before they boarded helicopters to quake-hit regions.

His arrival marks the first visit by a European minister to Turkey since the earthquake.

The two ministers are travelling to Antakya, where Greek rescuers are helping with search and rescue operations.

Almost 26 million people have been affected by the earthquake, the World Health Organization said as it launched a flash appeal on Saturday for $42.8 million to cope with immediate health needs.

Turkey's disaster agency said more than 32,000 people from Turkish organisations are working on search-and-rescue efforts. There are also 8,294 international rescuers.

"Soon, the search and rescue people will make way for the humanitarian agencies whose job it is to look after the extraordinary numbers of those affected for the next months," Griffiths said in a video posted to Twitter.

(with AFP)
The Public Accounts Committee of Parliament (PAC) is proposing harsh penalties for public servants and state institutions cited by the Auditor General for embezzlement of state funds.

PAC has been reviewing Auditor General reports on the public accounts of state institutions and, where irregularities are discovered, enforcing Auditor General recommendations.

The Chairman of Parliaments Public Accounts Committee, James Klutse Avedzi, told Citi News that simply recommending that embezzled funds be recovered is not enough of a deterrent.

Sometimes when you look at it, you realized that, the offence is so severe that, recovery of the money alone is not sufficient. It must come with some other punishments either in the form of paying interest on the money.

According to a recent report by the Auditor General, more than GHS 21 billion was mobilised for the fight against COVID-19, but only GHS 5.5 billion was spent on health.

The remainder was spent on budget line items such as government programmes including Free SHS and LEAP, among others.

Some of the funds were used for unapproved expenses or purchases that have yet to be delivered. As a result, the Auditor Generals report recommended that such funds be returned to the state.

I think what we should be doing in future is that we go beyond the mere recovery to other sanctions either prosecution or paying interest to serve as a deterrent to people who find spending state funds lucrative, James Klutse Avedzi further suggested.

In the wake of the Auditor Generals report on the governments COVID-19 spending, former Auditor General Daniel Yao Domelevo has renewed calls for the prosecution of individuals and institutions accused of misusing public funds.

The concerned former Auditor General argued that if state institutions such as the Auditor General and the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) collaborate to trigger the appropriate prosecutorial processes, the era of people who flout financial laws could come to an end.

The part of the audit that bothers on criminality should be handed over to the Office of the Special Prosecutor and I think he should work hand-in-hand with the Auditor General and see people being dragged to court and prosecuted in addition to the recovery of the monies. It will bring deterrence into the system. One of the things I expect in this collaboration is to get the necessary evidence that the OSP will use in court, he stressed.

By Citi Newsroom
12.02.2023 LISTEN

Mr Anderson Obeng Amoako, the Disease Control Officer, Ada-East District, has called for enhanced education and sensitization to counter misconceptions and myths surrounding some diseases, which threatens healthcare delivery.

He noted that inadequate information was a major cause of the spread of diseases and urged stakeholders to intensify awareness to overcome these beliefs to improve healthcare.

Mr Amoako, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency at Ada in the Greater Accra Region,

said due to superstitions associated with some diseases, family members of the sick preferred to visit shrines and churches for healing instead of seeking health care at the hospitals.

It is only when the sick person's condition gets worse at these shrines and churches before the family rushes to the hospital, when it is almost too late to save, he noted.

Most of these superstitious diseases could have easily been controlled at the initial stage, but often time was wasted at the prayer camp to no avail, he said.

When we delay by moving from one prayer camp to the other or from one traditional healer to the other, we only end up complicating the health condition of the sick person.

Mr Amoako cited the COVID-19 as an example, which some people associated with superstition, hence they refused to take the vaccines.

He added that Mpox was also being described as a form of superstitious or mystic sickness, based on which people refused to take precautions.

He advised that health messages must be persuasive with a combination of various techniques to suit the specific needs of the people and encourage them to patronise health facilities for solutions to ailments.

GNA
12.02.2023 LISTEN

The Western Regional Branch of the Food and Drugs Authority has destroyed quantities of seized products to safeguard the health of consumers.

The goods included expired, unregistered, unwholesome and fake products picked by the Authority during their regular market surveillance.

Environmental Health Authorities at the Sofokrom Landfill Site supervised the safe disposal of all the commodities: cosmetics, aphrodisiacs, food and confectioneries.

Mr. Francis Edem Odum, a Senior Regulatory Officer of the Authority, encouraged local manufacturers to endeavour to register their products with the Authority.

He also entreated consumers to look out for expiry date on products as well as FDA logo on Ghanaian products before they buy them.

The Senior Regulatory Officer added that food safety was a collective responsibility of both the Authority and the consumer.

He said the Authority had launch a campaign dubbed Buy Ghana: Love Ghana to increase the visibility of locally manufactured goods in the market.

He advised manufacturers to work with the Authority to safeguard their products.

GNA
Edward Mitole, PhD

12.02.2023 LISTEN

Financial warfare is a sophisticated form of warfare gaining popularity among imperialist nations as a means to subdue and coerce poorer nations to their exploitative will.

Growing Use Of Sanctions

It is a growing approach used by western powers because of the growing centralization of payment systems, financial institutions and financial resources in western centers.

While China believes in creating partnership, enticing African countries with access to their value priced goods, markets, loans and development projects to gain access into Africa. The West is still steeped in using force to cajole African leaders into one sided deals that Africans are beginning to walk away from.

As African leaders begin to walk away from exploitative asymmetric relationships with the west in favor of China. Western governments are desperately resorting to using their financial muscle and control accumulated through slavery and colonialism to try and influence behavior as they call it.

China Has Traded With Africa for 600yr

What the west fails to realize is Africans are not meeting the Chinese for the first time today. For over six hundred years Africans have been engaging in mutual trade with the Chinese without China ever attempting to subjugate a single African nation.

Through the old silk and sea routes, the Chinese were some of the first non-African traders that Africans encountered. Remanence of Chinese porcelain, silks and genetic bloodlines are still evident in ports of Kenya and Somalia, indicating trade and social integration of both societies way before Europeans reached the continent.

Problem Of Financial Weapons.

What makes the weapons of financial and economic warfare advantageous for western nations is they are covert, imperceptible and often times much more effective than conventional war in pressuring poor nations.

They enable aggressors to seem noble, benign and non-aggressive, yet their damage to economies, infrastructure and lives in the nations under attack is similar to a running war.

Destructive Consequences

More critical is how this form of warfare destroys the social fiber, culture, morality and spirit of a people by disrupting their institutions, livelihood and ability to develop economically under conditions that deceptively appear normal.

Due to the fact that the enemy in this form of war is unseen to most. It often leaves citizens demoralized, paranoid, pessimistic and blaming each other. Resulting in internal conflict and fracture.

Examples.

We saw this tactic employed subtly in South Africa, where lending institutions isolated South African SOEs, refusing to give them loans for close to three years. This resulted in the country getting a credit downgrade, sliding into recession and Jacob Zuma being removed as President of the nation before his time.

A more aggressive form of the former has been at work against Zimbabwe for the past 18yrs, eroding her institutions, weakening her government and destroying the resolve of the people to decolonize.

Similar was employed to weaken Serbia, Iraq and Libya before conventional warfare was used to dislodge the leaders and put these nations under western hegemony.

Historical Warfare

This form of warfare is not new, it has been used since the advent of civilization and humans trading with each other. Historically nations used naval blockades, town sieges, piracy and counterfeiting to subdue others and these are more or less the same tactics being employed with modern tools.

Many historians point to the fact that Pearl Harbor was Japans only option to respond to the steel, fuel, oil and food embargo that the US had placed on her to choke her industry and economy.

What Must Be Done

Its an insidious, corrupt and immoral method of war that collectively punishes civilians in a form of warfare not regulated by the Geneva Convention.

A warfare that only previous colonialists have institutions and competitive advantage to undertake because of the unjust wealth they built off the exploitation of the same nations they employ economic warfare upon.

The question now is how can poorer nations fight such a system?

Educate.

 Educate and prepare African citizens to understand financial warfare, its intent and impact on a nation.

 It is critical for governments to understand that in this form of warfare every citizen is targeted therefore every citizen is a combatant who should be equipped mentally and spiritually to defend the nation.

Investment Over Consumption

 African citizens must be educated to understand that consumption and consumerism are weapons of mass economic destruction as capital flies to the treasuries of the enemy instead of being employed in developing Africa.

 Africans must be trained to consume less western luxuries and to spend more on capacitation & production orientated investment to boost import substitution and domestic production.

 The African diaspora must save to send money back home as Home Biased Investment.

Intelligence Gathering

 African governments must train their citizens as hackers, accountants, lawyers, researchers, communicators, marketers, scientists, teachers, project managers who go around the world as economic soldiers and spies for the nation.

 African governments must set up intelligence departments to collect economic intelligence acquired from western institutions by their network of citizen spies.

 They must also offer incentives and reward mechanisms to pay for any economic intelligence gathered overseas or in western institutions on the continent. Paying more for innovation blue prints, systems intelligence, processes, formulas and patents.

Research And Development

 African government and private partnerships must establish research and development centers to collect and study foreign products, blue prints, patents, formulas, methods, processes and systems with the intent to understand materials used, how they were built and how to reverse engineer them.

 African citizens in the diaspora must be taught to acquire [steal] knowledge, intelligence, blue prints, trade secrets, manuals, formulas, procedures, processes, material, skills and data on western innovation and file them with government economic intelligence departments for reverse engineering and institutional knowledge creation.

Resource Control

 African governments must jointly nationalize and control strategic African resources, capital, institutions, labor and markets to ensure that we build capacity, systems and institutions to create a continental cartel for these resources and markets.

 Create central continental institutions to control the marketing and sales of African resources and stop European control of African resources.

Local Production Import Substitute

 Nations must substitute overseas imports as much as possible with what they can produce locally, regionally and continentally.

For example right now all African governments should be buying African built cars like the Nigerians made Innoson or Ghanaian Kantanka for their fleets on condition they are not owned by western manufacturers.

 We must learn to use our own inferior local products to enable us to grow up the learning & experience curves as we build local skills, capabilities, synergies and collaborations to grow the 360 degree value chain.

Continental Trade

 Our nations must depend on trading with each other more than they depend on western trade.

 Regional blocks must start uniting in regional trade, financial alignment and not allow infiltration by western capital as it causes a contagion and dependency on the western financial system.

Build An African Financial System

 Gold, platinum, tantalite, chrome, bauxite and a basket of strategic resources must be used as the foundation of African reserves and currencies with the intent of eventually building an African currency.

 All African resources and exports must be sold for resource backed Africa currencies.

 African nations must use revenues generated from their resources to create African controlled central reserve banks, banks, investment banks, development banks, insurers and investment companies backed by African currencies.

Crowd Funding/Collaborative Development

 Africans must start a development fund in which each African contributes a dollar a month. Companies can be persuaded to pay more to cover for the millions of Africans who can not make such contributions.

 Cancel and do not renew western controlled bank licenses.

 African governments must reduce aid, debt, donations, consumption and procurement from western centers to reduce payment flows to the west.

 Africans must be willing to do without certain licensed convenient western products (i.e. computer software, computers and FMCGs) as they foster dependency on western products and payment systems. Instead we must learn to replicate these products, get them from the east or substitute them with alternative solutions.

Realign To Symmetry Relationships

 Create new relationships with non-western aligned economies like China and Russia.

 Build a united African trade zone which has a central procurement and selling center for all countries to neutralize the exclusion of some African companies and countries from global value chains by unilateral western sanctions.

Use Nationals To Bust Sanctions

 African governments must use their citizens who have naturalized in western countries to set up companies that sell, procure and pay for goods and services as agents of the continent (not a specific country) to bust prohibitions and blockages on specific countries.

 Through such agents African governments can buy strategy tools, machines, technology and goods restricted by sanctions.

Those tools and products can be passed off as belonging to a neighbor in the same way South Africa, Rhodesia and Portuguese Mozambique did for each other during the colonial period.

 African countries must start their own off-shore financial havens that obscure transactions in the same way European companies have done with their tax haven.

Some will say, just follow western demands to avoid this economic terrorism but the question is are we willing to be slaves or colonies again because that is their prerequisites.

[ Image ]

Edward Mitole
MANZINI  The Deputy Sheriff of Manzini, Charles Thwala has been granted the order to break in and remove Swazi Mac Holdings (Pty) Ltds movable property in Manzini, in the presence of the police.

The order to attach movable property was granted by the High Court after the above mentioned company allegedly failed to settle the balance of an E822 537.25 debt allegedly owed to Village Group (Pty) Ltd dating back to last year. The order to break in and remove the property belonging to Swazi Mac was also granted by the High Court after Swazi Mac Managing Director (MD), Hector Ndlandla, allegedly resisted and refused to allow the deputy sheriff of Manzini to access their property in Manzini, Enguleni Building.

Auction

The movable property is to be sold by public auction by the deputy sheriff of the Manzini District in order to settle the debt of E822 537.25 plus nine per cent interest allegedly owed to Village Group (Pty) Ltd from March 14, 2022.

Village Group (Pty) Ltd is the applicant in the matter while Swazi Mac Holdings (Pty) Ltd, Ndlandla, the National Commissioner of Police (Royal Eswatini Police Service) and attorney general are the first, second, third and fourth respondents, respectively.

In the notice of motion, the applicant wanted the court to authorise the third respondent (National Commissioner of Police) to assist Thwala or any other authorised deputy sheriff in executing the warrant order of March 14, 2022. Swazi Mac Holdings (Pty) Ltd last year acknowledged and further agreed to settle the E1 944 509.50 debt owed to Village Group (Pty) Ltd in March last year. They further agreed to pay an extra E50 000 interest plus cost of suit billed at E10 000.

In the deed of settlement, the parties agreed that Swazi Macs account with Standard Bank Swaziland Limited was to be unfrozen. Swazi Mac would then instruct the National Maize Corporation (NMC) to make a payment of E1.2 million to Village Group (Pty) Ltd.

Instalments

It was further agreed that the remaining balance of E804 509 was to be in instalments, the first being the payment of the sum of E400 000 which would be paid before April 8, 2022 and the balance thereof be paid before May 2022.

In the deed of settlement, it was further stated that should Swazi Mac Holdings default in the due performance of its obligations in the terms of the agreement of settlement, the full balance outstanding would be due and payable.

Thwala in his founding affidavit said on or around December 12, 2022 and January 31, 2023 armed with Writ of Execution against the first and second respondents in the matter, went to Swazi Mac premises at Manzini, Enguleni Building to execute same. Upon arrival at the first respondents place of business, he alleged that he found the offices locked and upon enquiry; he alleged that he was informed that Swazi Mac long ceased being a tenant of the offices.

Respondent

I then called the managing director Hector Ndlandla who is also a surety and co-principal debtor with the first respondent. He promised to come and see me on the same day (December 12, 2022). The day came to an end without receiving a call from him as expected, added Thwala. He further added that he believed that in terms of the law, a party who on order was sought ought to be given notice of the intended hearing.

I submit that this right of the respondents will not in any way be prejudiced by an order ex parte as the Rules of the Court afford it adequate safe guards against the abuse of such right, he mentioned. Swazi Mac holdings (Pty) Ltd is yet to respond to the allegation made by the applicant in the matter.
12.02.2023 LISTEN

The people of Zimbabwe need our solidarity. If we don't stand together and defeat the US sanctions on Zimbabwe the enemy will never ever take us seriously.

The people of Zimbabwe are being punished for standing up to the bully and demanding self determination, economic freedom and land restitution. The people of Zimbabwe have been dehumanized enough. If we don't act together in order to save our brothers and sisters in Zimbabwe now then it means we have not learned anything from Haiti and Guatemala.

As punishment for creating the first free republic in the Americas (when 13 percent of the people living in the United States were slaves), the new Republic of Haiti was met with a global economic embargo imposed by the United States and Europe . The embargo was strengthened by a further demand from France for financial reparations of roughly $21 billion (2004 dollars) as compensation from the newly freed slaves for denying France the further benefit of owning them. It would be the first time in history that reparations would be imposed by a defeated nation on the nation that had defeated it.

American economic sanctions against Haiti would not end until the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, nearly sixty years after the founding of the free Haitian republic.

In 1825, twenty-two years after LOuvertures death, the Haitian army was no longer the feared fighting force it had once been. France, threatening to reenslave Haitians, imposed an ordinance requiring from Haiti a payment of 150 million francs and a 50 percent tariff reduction for all French ships docking in Haiti. To meet the first payment of 30 million francs under the terms of the ordinance, the government of Haiti was constrained to borrow the full amount from a private French bank, MM Ch Ternaux Grandolphe it Cie.

As late as 1915, 111 years after the successful slave revolt, some 80 percent of the Haitian governments resources were being paid out in debt service to French and American banks on loans that had been made to enable Haiti to pay reparations to France.

In 1922, seven years into a nineteen-year American military occupation of Haiti that resulted in 15,000 Haitian deaths, the United States imposed a $16 million loan on the Haitian government to pay off its debt to France .

The American loan was finally paid off in 1947. Haiti was left virtually bankrupt, its workforce in desperate straits.

The Haitian economy has never recovered from the financial havoc France (and America ) wreaked upon it, during and after slavery.

Jacobo Arbenz Guzman

In 1951, America imposed sanctions on Guatemala after their 25th president and revolutionary Juan Jacobo Arbenz Guzman embarked on a land reform exercise.

In 1951, the indigenous people of Guatemala took a brave stand and took their land, which had been shared among a few white families and USA and Anglo American Conglomerates. This move by the Guatemalans did not go down well with the Americans and their allies and hatched a propaganda blitz demonising President Juan Jacobo Arbenz Guzman.

This was followed by the imposition of economic sanctions and after 10 long years of sanctions and suffering the Guatemalan army ousted their president under the instigation of USA and their conglomerates.

The Guatemalan army thought that only their president was the problem and after eliminating him they believed that sanctions would be removed, but USA told them that the embargo could not be removed since, they, the army was part and parcel of the old regime (the same old Taxi with a new driver).

They were then told to hold so called free and fair elections in which they could contest with an opposition party, which was being sponsored by the USA.

This opposition party was recruited from the indigenous people, but directed by the CIA under Dulles and George Bush senior. The elections came and the opposition won them, but still sanctions were not removed. The reason given by USA was that this party was a Red Indian party and it was, they, the indigenous people, who had robbed the whites and the USA conglomerates of their land.

So, what they needed to do was to reverse the land ownership rights to what they were on 31 December, 1950. This meant the return of land to the whites, before the sanctions could be removed. They agreed to do that, but still sanctions were not removed.

The next condition given was that the USA would give the money to the white farm owners, so that they could revive their farms which had been vandalised by the Red Indians, but this money was going to be paid back by the Red Indian government through taxation of their indigenous people. They also agreed to that, but still sanctions were not removed.

The last but most brutal and final condition was that the Guatemalan government had to cut the reserves where their Indigenous people were living in congestion by 75 percent and give that land to the whites as compensation because the whites needed to cover up for the 10 years loss of production which had been caused by the land reform. Also, all the Communities whose land had been included in this 75 percent had to automatically become compulsory farm labourers of the new white owners.

This was agreed upon and up to today the indigenous people are living on 25 percent of their land while a few white families and United Fruit Company and other European Conglomerates occupy 75 percent of the land. Guatemala today is the biggest producer of the so-called Euro Banana. The standard banana, which is shipped to Europe at the cheapest price. The money from these products goes to USA and Europe leaving the Guatemalan indigenous people being one of the poorest communities on the planet.

Our situation in Zimbabwe is not so different from the one Guatemala experienced. The USA and its allies made it clear that no sanctions will be removed as long as the land ownership rights in this country have not been (reversed) and returned to the minority white Rhodies.

What colleagues who oppose the removal of sanctions miss is that sanctions are not likely to be removed even if the opposition gets into power as long as they do not reverse the land reform programme.

It is thus imperative for our Zimbabwean brothers and sisters to remain united in their steadfast opposition of sanctions. We do not want Zimbabwe to be another Guatemala where citizens have literally become squatters in the land of their birth.

As you can see, the US sanctions are primarily designed to cripple a nation and facilitate regime change or hostile takeover. The narrative that they are designed to safeguard human rights and democracy is false.

I look forward to the day when the sons and daughters of this beautiful continent will come together, break out from the prison of colonial borders, unite, and launch an all out war against the enemy.

Despite the cultural diversity that exists among the African people, there is a far greater degree of cultural unity that exists wherever you find Africans in the world. This is especially obvious in the common African ethos that binds us together as one. Our core values of humanism, collectivism and egalitarianism, for example, are demonstrated, amongst the masses, everywhere. Even our sense of being, space, and time are fundamentally different from other peoples in the world.

However, because of our status as a dominated people without power to determine our destiny, we are rarely able to have our view of the world expressed, regarded, or respected in any meaningful way by the rest of the world, and especially in any of the various corridors of power. Once Africa unites, however, the rest of the world will have to sit up and take notice. We will take our seat on the Security Council of the United Nations and be free to express, to the fullest, the most salient characteristics of what Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah termed, the African Personality.

#USSanctionsmustfall

Edward Mitole, PhD

Founder and Chair

The African Renaissance Project
The Most Reverend Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, has honoured Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Asantehene, with the highest honour of the Anglican Communion for his support to the Church and nation building.

The award is in honour of the Asantehenes significant contribution to the growth of the Anglican Communion.

The Cross of St Augustine is an award of merit from the Archbishop of Canterbury to members of the Anglican Communion who have made significant contributions to the life of the worldwide Communion.

The last royal person to receive the special Canterbury Cross was the late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in July 2022  two months before her passing  for her service to the Church of England.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, who paid a courtesy call on the King of Asante at the Manhyia Palace at the weekend, extolled his outstanding contribution to the growth of the Anglican Communion in Ghana.

The visit, on the eve of the opening of the 18th Plenary of the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC18) Conference in Accra, Ghana, saw the Archbishop of Canterbury travelling to the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi in the company of his wife, Mrs Caroline Welby.

The Most Rev'd Dr Cyril Kobina Ben-Smith, Archbishop of the Church of the Province of West Africa (CPWA) and Bishops of the CPWA and the Internal Province of Ghana (IpG), including the Bishop of Kumasi, The Rt. Rev'd Oscar Christian Amoah, led the delegation to the Palace after a service at the St. Cyprians Anglican Cathedral.

Archbishop Welby in a citation, before presenting the Cross of St. Augustine to the Asantehene, praised him for his consistency for the course of the Anglican Church and Ghana.

He said it was noteworthy to realise that the Asantehene, for many years, had preserved the honour and dignity of the throne and his life over the years, adding that his extraordinary achievements and that of his predecessors continued to show completely in the life of his people even in extraordinary times.

The Archbishop said it was not easy to govern and lead as people continued to be suspicious of authority, especially the youth, some of whom wonder why the old traditions were still valuable in a rapidly changing world.

He said in the United Kingdom, although in the last year Prime Ministers come and go, someone who served through royalty and showed respect and love for their people, was someone whose legacy and history remained.

People will have to look up the names of Prime Ministers, but they will all know that there were two monarchs who both served. And I am sure that you  your majesty  continue to have the affection of your people and their trust not because you dominate but because you serve.

Archbishop Welby said: As Christians, the greatest model of service in human history and all the universe is the God who washed his disciple's feet  the Crucified God; that is how to lead.

The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, expressed appreciation to the Archbishop and the Anglican Communion for the recognition and said his ascension to the throne was by the grace of God and I am always mindful of that.

He said: I'm also mindful that authority and power should not be used to abuse people or threaten people or to make them feel that you are the be-all and end-all. I always remind myself in this position that I am here to serve these ones that are here; What benefit can they get from where I sit? That is what informs me to come up with policies and directions that will inure to the benefit of Ghana and the entire people.

He assured of his continued support for the Church.

The Archbishop of Canterbury planted a symbolic tree as part of the Anglican Communions commitment to addressing environmental and climate change concerns at the Manhyia Palace

Some 110 delegates representing 39 of the Anglican Communion's 42 member churches, or provinces are in Accra for the Anglican Consultative Council Meeting.

GNA
A leading member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Gabby Otchere-Darko has said former Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo got it wrong in joining the picketing against the inclusion of pensioners in the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) at that particular time when all was done.

Mr Otchere-Darko said for all that publicity, she owed it to herself and her social standing to have understood the issues far better than what she exhibited last Friday.

In a series of tweets, he said As an individual bondholder myself I wish to join the others in thank ling those like Senyo Hosi, Gayheart Mensah and co, who volunteered to lead the advocacy resulting in a far better offer for individual bondholders (particularly pensioners) than the original offer. Ayekoo!

Whiles I have sympathies for those picketing, I think we should be bold enough to ask them what really is the purpose? Why picket over an offer which you have the liberty not to accept? You are asking to be exempted but from an improved offer programme which is voluntary!

The former Chief Justice, Sophia Akuffo, may mean well but she erred big time in her basic appreciation of the issues. Rather than asking the Govt for exemption at this late hour, why did she simply not exempt herself from exchanging her original bond for the new one!

Why picket over something you dont like (the improved offer) when you have the right not to sign up? Sorry, but I struggle to get her emotional outburst over-exemption! I hope she wont volunteer to picket tomorrow and on the same issues when the time to sign up has expired.

I was among those who pleaded for the exemption of pensioners. But, the Govt had to balance all that with the need to protect the economy for the 33m population and settled on the 15% yield maturing in 5yrs instead of 15, and that the individual was FREE not to participate.

For a former CJ to take up a noble cause such as she did but at such late hour when all was done and for all that publicity, she owed it to herself and her social standing to have understood the issues far better than what she exhibited last Friday. She is bigger than that.

Ms Sophia Akuffo has rejected the inclusion of pensioners in the DDEP.

Speaking to journalists after joining a group of pensioners to picket at the Ministry of Finance in Accra on Friday February 10, she said These are all people who have worked, they have worked very hard, they could have left the country when others were going but they stayed, they worked for the nation.

We have had our ups and downs. A lot of us were from generations where we were encouraged to save for tomorrow and all that. We have been through times where all your savings become nonsense because of some government policies, then over the years, bit by bit, people have become more confident in the economy and investments.

Quite a number of people here today, when they retired last two years they have put everything into government bonds, it is a contract and now all of a sudden, you virtually want to, at gunpoint, force them to agree with you that the repayment of the yield of their investment should be as you dictate it. Why?

She further criticized the government for not being able to account for the borrowings done over the years.

Why are we in the mess? Nobody has fully explained to us, yes we took debt, what was it used for? and where is the accountability? Exactly what was it used for? You are not telling us about how you are going to be able to make things better but just that 'help me and I help you', no, you help yourself first, let me see you doing something serious because we have seen these sort of things too many times.

I am over 70 years now, I am no longer government employed, my mouth has been ungagged and I am talking and I am saying that we have failed and it is important that the elderly should be respected. I find this wicked, I find it disrespectful, I find it unlawful, I find it totally wrong.

The pensioners have been picketing at the Ministry since Monday, February 6 to be exempted from the Programme.

Already, government has reached agreements with banks, insurance companies and securities companies to join the Programme, which is meant to be part of the country's debt restructuring exercise ahead of an extended credit facility from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Government had assured all active workers of exempting their pension funds from the Programme but is said to have included pensioners' funds in its revised memorandum.

Most of the pensioners say the bonds with government is their only source of livelihood, having worked to save those monies.

Government's seeming nonchalance to their demands forced them to begin an action, which sees them come to the Finance Ministry between 10:00am and 11:00am each day to press them home.

3news.com
The Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has on Sunday, February 12, 2023, cut sod for the construction of the Liberty Assemblies of God Hospital in Akweteyman, Accra.

The construction of the 50-bed community hospital is in commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Liberty Assemblies of God Church.

Vice President Bawumia, who has provided financial support, as well as 500 bags of cement to the church, towards the start of construction, congratulated the congregation on its 50th anniversary, and also expressed delight at joining them for the groundbreaking ceremony, which he described as "a manifestation of the goodness of God."

"It is really a pleasure and a privilege to be here," Dr. Bawumia said.

"Liberty Assemblies of God Church is 50 years this year and I was very privileged to be with you on that day when we celebrated the 50th Anniversary. And the theme was "declaring the goodness of God."

"This (sod cutting) is a manifestation of that theme. We are here today because we are seeing the goodness of God.

"The church, to thank God for 50 years, has decided to construct a 50-bed hospital for the community of Akweteyman," he stated.

Dr. Bawumia, having provided the Church his support, also reiterated his commitment towards the project.

"I am so happy and so honoured to be part of it and I want to assure Reverend that I will be keeping a close eye and participating in the construction of this beautiful edifice," he said.

"We want to see the completion in two years by the grace of God so I am one of you as we are going through this project, and we will see, by the grace of God, to its completion."

"I just want to thank all of you, Reverend in particular for making me a part and an honorary member of Liberty, of which I'm very proud. May God bless this building and may God bless all the people who are going to be working," he stressed.

Church Thanks Dr. Bawumia For Support

The Church expressed gratitude to the Vice President for his kind gesture and commitment towards the execution of the project.

"First of all, we wish to thank you for honouring our invitation to attend our 50th Anniversary in this local church. We also appreciate the fact that you made a giant contribution to the project we intended to undertake," said the Head Pastor.

"Mr. Vice President, thereafter, your 500 bags of cement was received and we are grateful again. At the last visit to your home when we made you aware the project was going to begin, you duly requested that you'll love to be part of the sod cutting. I was personally elated to hear that and I am happy to know that you have a keen interest in the project we are undertaking. We appreciate this," the Head Pastor added.
UAE looks forward to more investment from Hong Kong

Xinhua) 09:48, February 12, 2023

DUBAI, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- Government and business leaders of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have said that the UAE is looking forward to welcoming more companies from China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) to invest in the Gulf country.

They made the remarks during a recent visit to the UAE by a high-level Hong Kong delegation led by HKSAR Chief Executive John Lee. The delegation, comprising more than 30 Hong Kong business heavyweights from various sectors, concluded its four-day visit to the UAE on Friday.

"Investors are keenly looking at Hong Kong's development opportunities after overcoming the epidemic and reopening the economy. The UAE and Hong Kong companies are confident in the further expansion and deepening of friendly cooperation between the two sides," Lee said in an interview with Chinese reporters on Thursday.

He added that Hong Kong and UAE companies could carry out extensive cooperation in financial technology, building smart cities, green technology and environmental protection, biotechnology, energy, logistics and other fields.

The UAE is the largest trading partner for Hong Kong in the Middle East. Non-oil trade between the two sides reached 22.2 billion UAE dirhams (about 6.04 billion U.S. dollars) in the first half of 2022, up 16.2 percent from the same period in 2021 when the annual total non-oil trade hit 37.2 billion dirhams.

Speaking at the UAE-Hong Kong Business Forum held in Dubai on Wednesday, Lee said that he looked forward to deepening Hong Kong's cooperation with the UAE, especially in the field of green and sustainable financing.

The UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi told the forum that he expected more Hong Kong enterprises to invest in the UAE to take advantage of the Gulf country's status as a financial, trading and logistics hub in the Middle East and North Africa.

The Dubai Chambers, which will establish an office in Hong Kong, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) to develop their trade relations.

Lauding the long-standing relations between Dubai and Hong Kong, Abdul Aziz Abdulla Al Ghurair, the chairman of Dubai Chambers, said that this MoU will strengthen the existing relationship and boost trade and investment between the two sides.

The Hong Kong delegation visited Saudi Arabia before its arrival in the UAE on Tuesday.

(Web editor: Xian Jiangnan, Sheng Chuyi)
MBABANE  The Republic of Bangladesh is looking to increase its bilateral trade with the Kingdom of Eswatini to US$25 million (about E425 million) in the next three years.

Currently, the trade between the two countries is at US$3 million (about E51 million) a year. These figures were revealed by the State Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh, Mohammed Shahriar Alam, during an interview on Wednesday, as part of his two-day official visit to Eswatini. However, Alam, who was hosted for dinner by locally-based Bangladesh businessman Asraful Alam Chowdhury (Mansur), made it clear that there would be no trade in arms and any other form of military equipment between the two countries.

Eswatini is presently facing political unrest that has seen State security forces engaged in confrontation with armed groups and, therefore, any visit to the country by a high-ranking politician of a foreign country raises anticipation on whether this could have to do with military assistance.

Arrival

The recent visit by Russias Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov raised such expectations, especially because as a build up to his arrival, Russian Ambassador to Eswatini Alexander Surikov said they were ready to assist the kingdom in strengthening its security and armed force. Lavrovs visit culminated in Russia and Eswatini agreeing to increase security cooperation, and Moscow stating that it was ready to consider Eswatinis applications on any issues that needed to be resolved to ensure the security of the State. With Bangladesh though, Minister Alam said Eswatini did not make any approach for military cooperation in that respect.

The minister said military cooperation was something they definitely welcomed but for their countrys own defence.

What we meant is that we do not want to be seen as a country who wants to be a military power or a super power for the region or kind of have any ambition as such. We want to use our military strength to spread peace and maintain peace and thats why we are the largest contributor in UN peace-keeping missions. In that area we want to increase cooperation, he said.

Approached

Alam said they had been approached by South Africa and they would be having high level visits among themselves, while Nigeria had sent their officers to Bangladeshis National Defence College, which he described as an institution of excellence and invited officers from the Southern Africa region, including Eswatini, to come to for purposes of brightening and sharpening their knowledge.

Its not physical military training but more of intellectual side of affairs to war and peace. We have short courses; we have one-year long courses. Most of our senior government officers are trained there as well, officers of non-military responsibility also. And this is a fantastic institution and all the participants get to know not just Bangladeshi, but many other countries and they get to interact with each other. So, Bangladesh wants to excel and share the softer skill of defence with the friendly countries such as Eswatini, the minister said.

Alam reiterated there was no military quantification involved between Eswatini and Bangladesh as there wont be any buying and selling. He said from Bangladeshis side, there is only intellectual and theoretical part of defence related affairs that would be availed to Eswatini, including the provision and extending of scholarships.

Capacity

We are not looking at arms trade or military transactions as such. But for the businesses, our bilateral trade is only US$3 million import and export. Last year we exported U$55 billion as a country to the rest of the world. So we have some capacity surely. We are looking to increase that US$3 million and we would be happy if we can take it to US$25 million in the next three years, the Bangladeshi minister stated. He said as a country they pursued a foreign policy of friendship to all and at the same time they we practiced a policy of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries.

In that regard, he said, they did not even comment or act on others internal affairs. He said Bangladeshi believed that a government and its people needed to stay in close cooperation with each other because they should always be working together to fight poverty and create employment opportunities for the future and present generation of young people.

Experience

Alam said as far he knew, through experience, unrest in a country has never benefitted anyone. We all need to prosper and give the fellow countrymen a decent lifestyle. The government and people need to work together. Im not aware of your own internal challenges but we are aware of our own challenges and an unrest never helped in our case and has never helped in any other country; that can only take the country backwards. So, government and the people need to stay close for the greater benefit all, the minister said.

He then, on behalf of Bangladeshi President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, wished His Majesty King Mswati III good health and continued prosperity. He recalled that His Majesty met with Prime Minister (PM) Hasina in Kigali, Rwanda, during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) back in June 2022.

Gratitude

His Majesty also wrote to our president after a fire incident in Bangladesh in recent times. And also the prime minister of Eswatini expressed his gratitude when we sent some help during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. We sent some masks and protective gears. It was very well received and that resulted in some visits and exchanges, Alam said.

The minister noted that the entire world was going through two challenging periods; the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, disturbances that no country was immune to hence the need for closer cooperation in order to reduce the shockwaves. The minister left the country of Thursday and indicated that he would be making his next stop in Botswana, where he was also on official visit.
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.
MBABANE  Government says emaSwati resolved long time ago to continue advancing their democratic evolution  not revolution.

In a statement, Alpheous Nxumalo, the Government Press Secretary, said emaSwati resolved to advance it through consensus, consultation, mutual responsibility, mutual respect and mutual interest. He said while Eswatini valued the advice and perspective of its diplomatic allies within the international community, but was at the same time wary of those who might impose systems and values that could be detrimental to the sovereignty of the country.

He said the country was vigilant enough to detect and thwart systems and values that might be detrimental to the territorial integrity, peace, security and development of the country. The government press secretary mentioned that they were aware that the enemy was out there raging with anger and frustration, as emaSwati stood firm and strong behind their own homegrown Tinkhundla democratic political system, own primary and central institution of the Monarchy and the King.

He said the international and foreign exported revolutionary and subversion agenda was not gaining traction in Eswatini at all. He mentioned that millions of dollars were being transferred to waste as emaSwati pushed back on the foreign frontiers manifesting as a false domestic movement for democracy. Emaswati resolved long time ago, that they will continue to advance their democratic evolution, not revolution; by consensus, consultation, mutual responsibility, mutual respect and mutual interest, he said.

While we value the advice and perspective of our friends within the international system, however, we are a nation that is still vigilant to those who might impose upon us, systems and values which might be detrimental to our sovereignty, to our territorial integrity and to our peace, security and development. Nxumalo pointed out that the King and Her Majesty the Queen Mother and the entire institution of the Monarchy, remained a vital interest to all emaSwati because they are an anchor and a pillar that hold Eswatini together and intact.

He warned that anything that seemed to threaten this centre of gravity of emaswati would be treated as a threat to all emaSwati. If I were to borrow words from the current President of Namibia who is also the chairman of the SADC Troika, I would say a nation whose vital interests are under threat go to war to defend and to protect the same, said Nxumalo The president of Namibia is Hage Geingob.

When the principle of good neighbourliness and peaceful coexistence are not respected, he said the purpose of regional integration would collapse and the aggregation of the power of States in SADC would be undermined.

Therefore, he advised that the promotion of democracy and human rights in the region would be stalled and betrayed if States were to take hardliner positions against one another.

He also stated that nations would go back to the cold war era, a new war of ideological ascendancy, a new global turmoil if civil society organisations were being subverted and manipulated by faceless elements to be their fronts and actors. He frowned upon subversive democracy, which, he said, nations should resist. He said subversive democracy was a new brand of an unwanted political system. Subversion means overthrowing.

When freedom to connect and to express becomes a subversive tool to undermine human dignity and other nations value systems and identities, genuine support and promotion of constitutional (not subverted or ideological) democracy is under betrayal, he said.Slandering other nations institutions and values, including their ways of life is yet another form of promoting anarchy and autocracy in our space, Nxumalo said.

The government press secretary appeal to emaSwati whom he described as a peaceful loving nation, to do all that is possible to absolutely oppose such a political strategy. He said this political strategy tended to undermine and denigrate the name of the countrys leaders and the institutions upon which emaSwati had placed so much value. The government press secretary said Eswatinis ideological unity and cohesion behind the monarchy constituted the preservation of its national identity as a united family nation sustained by inherent cultural and divine guidance that were anchored in respect and honour of authority and power.

The mass democratic movement (MDM) in Eswatini has been calling for political reforms. Some groups within the MDM are calling for the consideration of multiparty democracy, while commentators on social media appeared to be lacking a fundamental political question. Eswatini made a submission to the SADC Extraordinary Summit held in Namibia on January 31, 2023.
By Lambert Strether of Corrente.

For want of a nail Heres the carnage in East Palestine the day after the derailment:

And heres mushroom cloud after the controlled release:

And in video:

This is what they call a "controlled release" The train derailment in Ohio at a little town called East Palestine had at least 5 tanker cars full of toxic flammable chemicals, apparently the only options were to let it burn like this or it would go off like a bomb. pic.twitter.com/SfogMDO9hd  _Imposter_ (@Imposter_Edits) February 7, 2023

I think we can all agree that mushroom cloud is not looking good, and not to be minimized, despite what the State of Ohio is doing, and what the conspicously silent Pete Buttigieg is not doing:

The NOTAMs (recently in the news) restrict the airspace around the toxic mushroom cloud. Youd think there be a press release or something, even if not a heartfelt statement from Buttigieg, but no.

East Palestine in the NOTAMs is where Norfolk Southern (NS) train 32N derailed[1]. Here it is on a map:

As you can see, East Palestine is conveniently located between Youngstown, OH and Pittsburgh, PA, which the prevailing winds may protect; but not the Ohio River[2], a little under twenty miles to the South.

In this post, I will not cover what has been well-covered elsewhere: The derailment itself (50 cars, 20 of which carried toxic materials, 14 of those vinyl chloride), the subsquent fire, which burned for three days, the ultimate controlled release of the poisonous gas, the toxicity of vinyl chloride, the effects of the poison on locals, their pets, and their streams, or the arrest of the reporter who asked questions at Governor DeWines presser. On the bright side, Norfolk Southern donated $25,000 to community shelters. NS is also funding a hotline to a toxicologist at an environmental consulting firm. The EPA has a timeline.

Rather, I shall begin from the very concrete (for want of a nail) and move to the very abstract: From the wheel, to the truck, the cars, the firm (Norfolk Southern), and the owners.

Steel Wheels on Steel Rails

Steel wheels on steel rails inherently produce 85-99% less friction than rubber truck tires on roads; the contact point of a wheel to the rail is about the size of a dime. Hence the inherent advantage of rail over trucks for moving goods:

Compared to truck  its main competitor  train is cheaper (in the US its 4 cents vs 20 cents per ton-mile), more efficient (the record-breaking train was 682 cars and 4.5 miles long carrying 82,000 metric tons of ore), and more sustainable (one ton of freight can be moved over 470 miles on just a single gallon of diesel fuel).

However, if you want that advantage to be real and not just theoretical, youve got to maintain all that steel in good working order; after all, when things go wrong with a train thats 4.5 miles long, they can go very, very wrong. Norfolk Southern adopted Precision Scheduled Railroading (see NC here, and alert reader Upstater, here) in 2019 (average train speed increasing by 10%), achieving a record operating ratio of 60.4% in 2022[3]. In so doing, it threw away the inherent advantage of rail. Specifically, in the East Palestine disaster, it did not maintain its steel wheels.

Railroad Trucks

On modern freight cars like the fire-blasted tank cars littering East Palestine, wheels come two to an axle, axles come two to a truck, trucks come two to a car. Here is an image of a truck:

Ive highlighted the journal, which is a bearing in which an axle turns. (UPDATE Modern trucks have roller bearings, which still overheat and still catch fire.) If a bearing overheats, its called a hot box. The heat is intense, and can damage the truck or even the car. The result will be a derailment[4]. And the train that derailed at East Palestine had a hot box. Kudos to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for actually doing some reporting:

(The hot box appears at 0:19.) And in prose, they describe the CCTV footage they found:

At 8:12 p.m. on Feb. 3, the southbound freight train passed by Butech Bliss, an industrial equipment manufacturer in Salem. One car, a few dozen behind the first locomotive, glowed brightly on the bottom as it passed. A minute later and a mile down the track, a camera at a meat processing plant called Fresh Mark captured the same fiery axle. The National Transportation Safety Board, which is leading the investigation into the derailment, said it believes a mechanical issue with one of the rail car axles is responsible for the accident. Board member Michael Graham said at a news conference on Feb. 4 that the train crew had gotten an alert shortly before the derailment indicating the mechanical issue, and started to apply the brakes.

So why the hotbox? The Holler interviewed 22-year railroader and SMART-TD member Clyde Whitaker:

It looks like a faulty bearing caused a catastrophic derailment. These railroads are turning profits hand over fist. Theyve cut their workforce to bare bones. And now theyre paying the price for it because the wheels are falling off the train basically. Carmen were inspecting cars about three minutes per car. Thats always been the industry standard. Now its 90 seconds per car. Is that because of PSR? Yes. Its a rush job right now. These guys are under pressure. I mean, theyre working men and women. And, you know, if they dont hurry up and get this car done, theyre gonna be fired.

(Here is another NS train with a hotbox. Must have been frustrating for the crew, having lousy communications with the dispatcher.)

Railroad Cars

Railroad Workers United describes the difficulties of blocking (organizing) the cars under PSR:

The train severed a knuckle between two cars at Attica, IN. This occurred while the train was going downhill and while in dynamic braking. Pretty much the only time a train breaks in this scenario is when the train isnt blocked properly. In order to mitigate in-train forces, railroads prior to PSR would build trains with the heavier cars on the head end and the lighter cars on the rear end. This prevents severe slack run-ins and run-outs throughout the trip and if the trains emergency brakes are applied, you dont have heavier cars running into lighter cars which causes jackknifing. This particular train had 40% of its weight on the rear 1/3 of the train. Most of this tonnage was made up of loaded tank cars which are very heavy and slosh back and forth when coming to a sudden stop. This sloshing after a stop can continue the pushing of more cars off a track in a jackknifing situation which is what occurred in this Ohio wreck. This block of tank cars was placed directly behind a block of cars that were in the middle of train which were equipped with cushioned draw bars. The draw bars on these cars slide in and out independent of the car body which helps protect the merchandise carried within from damage. These type of draw bars are usually on automobile carriers to prevent the cars/trucks inside from being damaged. Placing cars with these draw bars in the middle of a train creates elasticity. Building a train like this (Head end = locomotives, which are the heaviest part of any train, followed by heavy mixed freight loads, followed by a block of cushioned draw bar cars, followed by a block of heavy tank cars (such as the case with this 32N) is akin to placing two bowling balls on the ends of a rubber band and praying the rubber band doesnt break.

And:

Train was not blocked properly because PSR calls for limited car dwell times in terminals. Blocking a train for proper train handling (placing the majority of weight on the head end and ahead of cushioned draw bars) takes longer so this practice has been mostly eliminated by the rail carriers.

So again, the friction advantage of steel wheel on steel rail thrown away, this time through not blocking the cars properly.

Railroad Firms

Due to NS intimidating (or corrupting) the regulators, train 32N was not classified as a high-hazard flammable train, despite its obviously hazardous and flammable cargo. Such a classification would have affected both its speed and its route (possibly not through East Palestine). From Lever News:

Though the companys 150-car train in Ohio reportedly burst into 100-foot flames upon derailing  and was transporting materials that triggered a fireball when they were released and incinerated  it was not being regulated as a high-hazard flammable train, federal officials told The Lever. Documents show that when current transportation safety rules were first created, a federal agency sided with industry lobbyists and limited regulations governing the transport of hazardous compounds. The decision effectively exempted many trains hauling dangerous materials  including the one in Ohio  from the high-hazard classification and its more stringent safety requirements.

I dont have a documented connection to 32Ns classification and PSR, but it seems pretty obvious. Here from 49 CFR  174.310  Requirements for the operation of high-hazard flammable trains:

(2) Speed restrictions. All trains are limited to a maximum speed of 50 mph. The train is further limited to a maximum speed of 40 mph while that train travels within the limits of high-threat urban areas (HTUAs) as defined in  1580.3 of this title, unless all tank cars containing a Class 3 flammable liquid meet or exceed the DOT Specification 117 standards, the DOT Specification 117P performance standards, or the DOT Specification 117R retrofit standards provided in part 179, subpart D of this subchapter.

No railroad company dedicated to increasing average train speed by 10% through PSR would ever want to comply with that statute (which also imposes restrictions on the routes to be followed and allowable cars).

Railroad Owners

Here are the owners of the NS:

No doubt they are very happy with the Operating Ratio that NSR achieved through PSR. The chain of causality that begins with the hot box ends at their desks.

* * *

At least one railroad union was suggested nationalization. From Governing:

Last month, Railroad Workers United (RWU), an umbrella advocacy group for rail-industry union workers, did something its talked about doing for 10 years: It called for the sprawling network of rail infrastructure in North America to be publicly owned. The reasons why, according to a resolution adopted by RWUs international steering committee, include the railroad companies hostility to workers unions, steady reductions of workforce over the years, disinvestment in railway infrastructure and an obsessive focus on profits over service. Other countries, including Japan, China and parts of Europe, have extensive, high-functioning rail networks that are publicly controlled, RWU members note. And they say public ownership of other transportation infrastructure in the U.S. shows theres no inherent reason why railroad tracks should be private. I dont think its too radical to think that this can be done in a different way, Grooters says. To create the railroads, there was a lot of public investment that made that happen. Right now thats being liquidated.

Of course, some of that public investment is being set on fire and rising into the sky, but what of that?

NOTES

[1] Norfolk Southern, unsurprisingly, has form with toxic derailments:

In a similar incident on July 11, 2012, an eastbound Norfolk Southern train derailed 17 cars within the city limits of Columbus. Three of the cars that derailed were carrying over 86,000 gallons of denatured ethanol. Once breached, the ethanol in the tank cars ignited, fueling a large fire. The derailment led to the evacuation of over 100 people and cost over $1.2 million.

[2] This map shows that the derailment was near a stream called Sulfur Run which connects to the small State Line Lake; drone footage from Reuters seems to show a watercourse to the left of the derailment. So if the chemicals havent made their way into the water supply and the Ohio River, they will soon.

[3] Freight Waves includes some hilarious corporate Newspeak from NS COO Cindy Sanborn:

We are taking a ground-up approach to the development of the plan in order to explore what is possible when we remove historical constraints and take a fresh look at our business.

Translating: You gutted work rules where you could, and cut head-count to the bone and beyond.

We had some accelerated attrition in several core locations of our network that we had to really increase the pipeline for those locations. And thats largely [oh yeah] in place.

Translating: Your skilled workers couldnt take the abuse anymore, so you outsourced what you could and replaced the rest with untrained newbies. But will no one think of the Operating Ratio?

[4] I highlighted brakes because Cory Doctorow and Lever News are both advocating improved braking systems. This is a good idea, and better brakes would have brought the train to a halt faster after the hot box was detected, but the proximate cause of the detailment, as of this writing, seems to have been a hot box, not the brakes.
A mesmerizing look at natures eight-legged wonders National Geographic

Climate

#COVID19

Its bittersweet: Crucial COVID-19 data tracker shutting down after three years CTV. In other words, the current high plateau of infection is the new normal, because the normal doesnt need to be tracked. Well done, all. Johns Hopkins endowment is $9.32 billion.

For Older Americans, the Pandemic Is Not Over NYT. Three years in, the societal answer seems clear: With mask and vaccination mandates mostly ended, testing centers and vaccination clinics closed and the federal public health emergency scheduled to expire in May, older adults are on their own. Yes. Thats called eugenics. And it all happened spontaneously.

* * *

Vaccine hesitancy prospectively predicts nocebo side-effects following COVID-19 vaccination Nature. From the Abstract: The directionality between vaccine hesitancy and COVID-19 vaccine side-effects has not been hitherto examined. We hypothesized a nocebo effect, whereby vaccine hesitancy towards the second Pfizer vaccination dose predicts subsequent side-effects for a booster dose, beyond other effects. We expected these nocebo effects to be driven by (mis)information in males and prior experience in females. Results show that a quantifiable and meaningful portion of COVID-19 vaccine side-effects is predicted by vaccine hesitancy, demonstrating that side-effects comprise a psychosomatic nocebo component in vaccinated individuals. The data reveal distinct risk levels for future side-effects, suggesting the need to tailor public health messaging. Hmm.

* * *

Scientists discover receptor that blocks COVID-19 infection Phys.org. The authors said they are developing two strategies against COVID-19 using LRRC15 that could work across multiple variantsone which targets the nose as a preventative treatment, and another aimed at the lungs for serious cases.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronaviruses contributing to mitochondrial dysfunction: Implications for post-COVID complications Mitochrondia. From the Abstract: This review summarizes how mitochondrial function and dynamics are affected by SARS-CoV and how the mitochondria-SARS-CoV interaction benefits viral survival and growth by evading innate host immunity. We also highlight how the SARS-CoV-mediated mitochondrial dysfunction contributes to post-COVID complications. Besides, a discussion on targeting virus-mitochondria interactions as a therapeutic strategy is presented.

Covid-19 has significant impact on liver, says study at Mumbai hospital Business Standard. The study at Nair Hospital revealed that as the severity of COVID-19 infection increases, liver function abnormalities worsen, and such patients are more likely to develop a severe disease.. The cause of derangement is multifactorial. It could be due to virus itself, multiple drugs, complimentary and ayurvedic medications, low oxygen levels and any pre-existing liver disease, [Dr Sanjay Chandnani, a gastroenterologist and assistant professor at Nair hospital] said.
Lambert here: Not even a hearing on single payer, apparently. Its not just that the health care system is dysfunctional; our ruling and governing classes are dysfunctional, utterly, at all levels and across the board. Well, except for an orgy of looting and corruption. Adding, Im generally pretty happy with KHNs neutrality, but Allens second word: railing. What a scum-sucking tell. Hey, and how about some hearings on Bidens Covid policy of mass infection without mitigation?

By Arthur Allen, KHN Senior Correspondent, who writes about the FDA and the pharmaceutical industry as well as covid-related topics. Originally published at Kaiser Health News.

After railing at the injustices of U.S. health care for decades, Sen. Bernie Sanders in January became the new chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee. The job gives the health care industrys biggest Washington nemesis an unprecedented opportunity to shape health care reform in Congress. But the sort of radical changes he seeks could prove elusive. Even Sanders concedes there are limits to the powers of his position.

President Joe Bidens State of the Union address Tuesday night showed how much of Sanders platform has moved into the mainstream of the Democratic Party, with Biden at times sounding like his former Democratic primary foe, lashing out at Big Pharma and its record profits. Biden bragged about measures taken to lower drug prices and halt surprise bills during his term thus far, and he urged Congress to pass a federal expansion of Medicaid.

Still, the radical changes Sanders seeks could prove elusive. During an interview with KHN at his Senate office recently, the independent from Vermont spoke about the prospects for lowering drug prices, expanding access to primary care, and his ultimate goal of Medicare for All.

The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Q: What do you hope to achieve as chair of the HELP Committee  in terms of legislation, but also messaging and investigations?

What I ultimately would like to accomplish is not going to happen right now. We have Republicans controlling the House. And many of the views that I hold, including Medicare for All  I think if we had a vote tomorrow, wed get 15 to 20 votes in the Senate and would not win in the House. I realize that. But I happen to believe our current health care system is dysfunctional.

We spend twice as much per capita on health care as other countries and 85 million people have no insurance or are underinsured. It is a dysfunctional system that to my mind needs to be fundamentally changed to a Medicare for All system  but we aint gonna get it [Never, ever come to pass. Hillary Clinton]

Q: What can you actually accomplish?

[From] a poll a couple of months ago just among Republicans. Top concern? High cost of prescription drugs. Were long overdue to take on, in a very bold way, the greed and outrageous behavior of the pharmaceutical industry.

Q: So many parts of the system are messed up  patents, 340B, pharmacy benefit managers, insurance issues with formularies 

Right, there are a million parts to this problem.

Q: So short of a complete overhaul, what are the parts you think you can change?

Every year the U.S. government through [the National Institutes of Health] spends tens of billions of dollars on research. The Moderna vaccine was co-developed between Moderna and NIH and received billions of dollars in assistance, guaranteed sales, and you know whats happened in the last couple of years. The CEO of Moderna is now worth $6 billion. All their top executives are worth billions. And now they are threatening to quadruple prices. This is a company that was highly supported by taxpayers of this country. And thats one example of many.

What is the responsibility of a drug company that receives very significant support  financial support, intellectual support for research and development  to the consumers of this country? Right now, it is zero. Thank you very much for your support. I will charge you any price I choose. We have to end that.

Thats the starting point.

Q: But whats the mechanism? March-in rights, whereby the government could force a company to share its license for a drug that was developed with federal investment, allowing others to produce it?

That is one approach. Threatened by people in George W. Bushs administration, by the way. March-in is one option.

Reasonable pricing is another area. I have made two trips to Canada: once as a congressman from Vermont, took a bunch of working-class women across the border to buy a breast cancer drug; once as a presidential candidate, took people from the Midwest, and we bought insulin. The price was one-tenth of the U.S. cost in both cases.

Another area is primary health care. I have worked hard with other members through the Affordable Care Act and American Rescue Plan [Act] to significantly expand community health centers. FQHCs [federally qualified health centers] provide primary care, dental care, mental health counseling, and low-cost prescription drugs. About one-third of [people in Vermont] get primary care through community health centers.

Q: I was at a meeting of FDA and patent office people, hearing from biosimilars companies, patients, etc., and a lot of what they were saying is that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office cant do that much about patent thickets, and itd be good if Congress did something.

That is one of the disgraceful tools that pharma utilizes to make sure we pay high prices and dont get generics. Yes, its certainly something that we should be looking at.

Q: Other priorities?

The crisis in the health care workforce. We dont have enough doctors, nurses, dentists, mental health counselors, pharmacists. The nursing crisis is enormous. We have a hospital in Burlington, moderate size by national standards, largest by far in Vermont. They told me they are going to spend $125 million on traveling nurses this year. One moderate-sized hospital! Meanwhile we have young people who want to become nurses, and we cant educate them. We dont have enough nurse educators. I think we get bipartisan support for that issue.

Another thing I want to look at is dental care. Not enough dentists, too expensive, whole regions dont have them.

Q: Did you agree with President Bidens decision to end the public health emergency in May?

[Frowns] I have some concerns. [Sanders appeared to be the only member of Congress wearing a mask during Bidens speech on Tuesday.] Its going to dump a lot more people into the uninsured again.

Q: And things like vaccines would not be covered anymore.

Theyd go on the market. Our friends at Pfizer and Moderna want to quadruple the prices. So if youre hesitant now about getting vaccinated, and its free, what about when it costs you $125?

Q: As you say, drug prices are a big concern for everyone. But among Republicans there seems to be more inclination to push on pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, as opposed to drug companies. Is that an area where there could be legislation?

Youve got the insurance companies, the PBMs, and pharma. Everyone wants to blame the other guy. And yet theyre all culpable. And were going to take a hard look at it.

Q: Is Dr. Robert Califf, the FDA commissioner, a good interlocutor for you?

A lot of work has to be done with FDA. Lets just say I think its important that we take a hard look at what theyre doing. They have some responsibility for pricing. Its part of that mission that they havent exercised.

Q: What about the 340B issue? Accusations that hospitals are gaming the system.

Yes, it is something. One of the first things [I did] when I was mayor of Burlington from 1981-89 was take away the tax-exempt status of the hospital. Because I did not believe they were fulfilling their responsibility to serve the poor and working families. We had a lot of discussions, and the situation improved. Right now the criteria to receive tax-exempt status is extremely nebulous. Thats an issue somewhere down the road I want to look at. If youre not going to pay taxes, what are you, in fact, doing?

Q: Do you have particular allies in either party?

I talked today with a conservative GOP senator who will work with me on issue X, but not issue Y. It depends on the issue. If were going to be successful, were going to need bipartisan support. And there is that level of support. Ive talked to now four out of the 10 or 11 Republicans on the committee, and Ill talk to the rest.

Q: Do you have a policy for dealing with the lobbyists?

I dont have lobbyists flooding through my door. These lobbyists are effective, well paid, and they help shape the culture of where youre going. My culture is shaped by going out and talking to ordinary people. Ive talked to too many elderly people who cut their prescription drugs in half.

Im not worried about the lobbyists. Worry about the people who are dying because they cant afford prescription drugs.

I dont have to have some guy who makes seven figures a year telling me about problems of the drug companies. They have to explain to American people why they made $80 billion last year and people cant afford medicine.

Q: Are you going to bring in pharma executives for hearings?

Were looking at all options.
(Natural News) The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) continues to reject a growing body of scientific and real-world evidence suggesting that all covid-19 vaccine programs need to be shut down immediately. Not only has the CDC failed to provide adequate informed consent about these new mRNA jabs, but they also continue to push for babies to receive the jabs, against logical epidemiology and medical common sense.

The CDC just added the covid-19 vaccines to the routine immunization schedule for both adults and children, despite evidence showing that the vaccines harm immunity and pose new health risks to the population. By adding the covid-19 jabs to the already bloated and misguided immunization schedule, the CDC is causing more families and individuals to question the necessity, safety, and efficacy of the vaccines that are already on that schedule.

CDC approves three covid jabs for babies, in addition to the 37 doses of vaccine routinely given before 18 months

According to the CDC, infants who are just six months old should be injected with the first dose of either the Pfizer or Moderna mRNA covid-19 jab. Before the child turns 15 months old, they are scheduled to receive another two doses. This is in conjunction with the other 37 doses of vaccine that are routinely given before a child turns 18 months of age. Most pediatricians in the United States blindly follow the CDCs vaccine schedule, because the survival of their pediatric practice depends on the revenue generated from the vaccines and the chronic health conditions that are provably higher in heavily-vaccinated children.

Children ages six months to 11 years are prioritized for the same covid-19 vaccine protocol, which includes up to three doses at the moment. Adolescents ages 12 to 18 are also eligible for the Novavax covid-19 vaccines. Adults 19 and over are also recommended to get two or three doses of the covid-19 vaccine. The CDC has not added a fourth and fifth booster to the schedule, both of which were approved and recommended previously by the FDA and CDC.

Parental rights and all exemptions must be honored for all vaccines across the US

By adding the covid-19 vaccines to the childhood vaccine schedule, the CDC allows for state legislators to make the jabs mandatory for public school attendance. Over the past decade, state legislators have moved aggressively to quash parental rights, subjecting parents and their children to illogical vaccine mandates for school attendance. The most common legislative tactic is to remove philosophical, religious, and medical exemptions to vaccines. By removing vaccine exemptions from statutory law, legislators threaten the very existence of parental rights and body autonomy rights, subjecting millions of children to needless vaccines that may do more harm than good. This is why vaccine manufacturers invest so much time and money lobbying state legislators to remove the exemptions: it guarantees billions of dollars in profits  a sick cycle of abuse that sometimes destroys the lives of unsuspecting families.

However, this time around, more lawyers are prepared to sue any state that requires covid-19 vaccination for public school attendance. More public officials have vowed not to implement covid-19 vaccine requirements, but they must take it a step further and address the parental rights aspect of the law, to honor all exemptions invoked for any and all vaccines.

Because at any moment, parents could be one election away from being subjected to a new batch of public health officials who would love to implement covid-19 vaccine requirements against the parents will. This is why it is imperative that parental rights for all vaccines (and all philosophical, scientific, religious, and medical objections) be codified into law as part of a superior Parents Bill of Rights. Parents and their childrens health must be protected long term.

Sources include:

TheEpochTimes.com

ExposeNews.com

ICanDecide.org

CDC.gov

IJVTPR.com

MDPI.com

NVIC.org
(Natural News) A recent report revealed that China now has more intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launchers than the U.S., sparking debates about the countrys nuclear readiness.

The report from the U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM) addressed to Congress showed this alarming fact. The number of land-based fixed and mobile ICBM launchers in China exceeds the number of ICBM launchers in the United States, STRATCOM Commander Air Force Gen. Anthony Cotton wrote in the Jan. 26 report.

The notification was sent to the Armed Services Committees of both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

ICBMs pertain to ballistic missle with a range greater than 5,500 kilometers (3,400 miles). These are often designed for nuclear weapons delivery, with their warheads modified for this purpose.

The letter from the Department of Defenses arm triggered a debate about how the U.S. should respond to Beijings nuclear buildup.

Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, reiterated that ICBM launchers are only one metric in measuring nuclear expansion. He told Defense News: Launchers are one thing. [and] the nuclear enterprise involves a lot more than just launchers. We need to understand the issue in a little bit more detail before we figure out how to respond to it, so I think we need a more total vision.

Officials and external analysts said many of Chinas land-based launchers still consist of empty silos. STRATCOM also reassured Congress that the U.S. has more land-based ICBMs with nuclear warheads mounted on them compared to China. (Related: Analysts say China building up to 100 missile silos in northwestern desert.)

Republican lawmakers called on the executive branch to expand the countrys own nuclear forces to counter the Russian and Chinese forces. GOP lawmakers in the House Armed Services Committee said in a joint statement: It is not an understatement to say that the Chinese nuclear modernization program is advancing faster than most believed possible.

Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL), the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, stressed that now is the time to adjust the force posture and increase the U.S.s capabilities to meet the threat of China.

Beijing pundits scoff at Washingtons nuclear expansion plan

Over in China, pundits scoffed at the U.S.s plans to expand its nuclear arsenal. Military experts opined that the Biden administration may have seen an opportunity to use the incidents as an excuse to justify its demands for an increase in the defense budget. They would use it to expand their nuclear arsenal and upgrade their ICBM launching platforms like nuclear submarines. Critics further remark that these are based on exaggeration and the China threat theory.

Wei Dongxu, a Beijing-based military expert, told the news outlet that the U.S. military and politicians are using trickery to fool the public.

The U.S.s strategic nuclear capabilities mainly consist of sea-based and air-based launch platforms, so when they compare land-based launchers in the U.S. and China, they are just finding excuses to support their China threat theory for their own greedy purposes, Wei said.

Another military expert, TV commentator Song Zhongping, said the U.S. militarys purpose is to justify its budgetary demands to expand the nuclear arsenal and build more weapons for nuclear war.

They want to use Columbia-class nuclear submarines to replace the Ohio-class submarine, and also want more new B21 strategic bombers to replace the old B2, B1, B1B and B52 bombers. They are also developing the LGM-35 Sentinel ICBM system, he added.

NuclearWar.news has more stories about Americas nuclear readiness.

Watch this video about China conducting hypersonic missle tests on spy balloons.

This video is from the Suzie Etc- Search for Truth channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

RED ALERT: Americas military being GUTTED in preparation for Chinese military INVASION of the West Coast USA has just 300 land missiles in its entire arsenal.

What is China planning? Beijing rapidly expanding nuclear arsenal, sparking new war fears.

US national security at significantly greater risk due to breathtaking expansion of Chinese nuclear arsenal.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz rips Biden for allowing Chinese balloon to fly over entire country before shooting it down.

Sources include:

WSJ.com

DefenseNews.com

GlobalTimes.cn

Brighteon.com
(Natural News) States are rushing to join a class-action lawsuit against the Biden regime over a rule issued by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives that bans a popular pistol brace add-on to certain firearms.

So far, according to The Epoch Times, 24 states have joined the suit over the rule that subjects the stabilization braces to federal regulations.

The legal challenge, led by West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, argues that the new rule represents an abrupt reversal of the BATFs longstanding position on stabilizing braces and is a violation of the statutory language and history of the National Firearms Act (NFA) and the Gun Control Act (GCA), the outlet reported. The new ATF rule, called Factoring Criteria for Firearms with Attached Stabilizing Braces, classifies pistols equipped with stabilizing braces, or pistol braces, as short-barreled rifles, which subjects them to federal regulation.

Legal gun owners who utilize the braces are going to be required to comply with laws that regulate rifles, including the NFA, meaning they will have to apply for a permit, be placed into a federal guns database, provide the ATF with fingerprints, pay a fee, and then face restrictions on their ability to transfer the braces in the future, the outlet noted.

The suit says that the new rule requires millions of law-abiding Americans to make a choice between losing their legally purchased guns, loss of their privacy, or be put at risk of criminal penalties.

Frustrated with congressional inaction, the President of the United States ordered ATF to abandon a decade of practice under an established statutory framework and to treat pistols modified with stabilizing braces as subject to the National Firearms Act, the lawsuit says, while going on to claim that the BATFs rule is arbitrary and capricious and that the standard established to determine whether a brace is designed and intended to be shouldered is unworkable and unclear.

Lets call this what it is: an effort to undermine Americans Second Amendment rights, said Morrisey in a statement. This is an egregious final rule turning millions of common firearms accessories into short barreled rifles. This is a completely nonsensical regulation.

The West Virginia AG also said the rule is part of the continued attack by the Biden administration against lawful gun owners.

The lawsuit says that the rule violates the text, history, and purpose of the NFA and GCA and thus, ought to be considered illegal.

Congress enacted the NFA to regulate sawed-off guns and other dangerous weapons favored by criminal gangster[s] for concealability and indiscriminate accuracy, and specifically left without any restriction pistols and revolvers and sporting arms, the lawsuit notes. The Rule, by contrast, regulates pistols and other firearms based on accessories designed as orthotics that make them less concealable, more accurate, and less dangerous, thereby undermining public safety.

The stabilizing braces were initially designed to assist those with disabilities in utilizing pistols. However, they have been adopted by a wider range of gun owners including older citizens and people with limited mobility to cut down on weapon recoil and improve the shooters accuracy.

We should not be making it harder for senior citizens and people with disabilitiesand many disabled veteransto defend themselves, Morrisey said. I will continue [to] stand up for the Second Amendment rights of all West Virginians.

This is also another case of a federal agency not staying in its lane and doing the job the constitution clearly delegates to Congresswriting laws, he added. The Separation of Powers clearly bars federal agencies from making new laws without Congressional directive.

The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota Western Division.

As long as Im attorney general, we will never willingly cede Hoosiers cherished liberties to the whims of federal bureaucrats, Attorney General Todd Rokita of Indiana said in a statement. This is a clear case of overreach by the executive branch, and we fully expect to prevail in this lawsuit.

Sources include:

TheEpochTimes.com

Guns.news
A potent storm is expected to bring snow and rounds of rain to the Western United States next week.

Communities and motorists in the Western U.S. should keep track of the weather conditions as freezing rain can become possible.

Wintry conditions in the Western United States

AccuWeather's latest forecast said that the developing snow would help unfold more snow and rounds of rain.

Based on the weather outlook early next week, AccuWeather explained the chances of snow and severe thunderstorms.

Mild Conditions are expected in New York, Atlanta, Miami and Chicago.

Rain and possibly severe thunderstorms would unload in Houston.

Snow is forecast in Oregon, Colorado, Portland and Seattle.

Furthermore, the forecast said snow would stretch to Seattle, Reno, Los Angeles, Helena, Denver and Los Angeles from Monday to Wednesday.

Residents in the affected areas should avoid prolonged exposure to cold weather.

The snow can result in colder temperatures, especially at night.

Hypothermia and frostbite are the most cold-related concerns. People with pre-existing conditions are vulnerable to health risks.

According to the American Red Cross, staying warm is essential during heavy snow and winter storms.

On the other hand, AccuWeather reported that snowfall is expected from Tuesday night until Thursday morning in Salt Lake City, Denver, Wichita, Rapid City, Casper, Denver and Albuquerque.

On the other hand, the weather forecast said that Los Angeles and San Francisco could expect chilly conditions.

Challenging road conditions

The weather forecast noted that the heaviest snow would dump in Denver.

Road hazards are the main concern next week for commuters. Slower commuters and potential travel disruptions are expected.

The forecast pointed out that challenging road conditions can emerge from Tuesday and Thursday, especially on interstate highways (25, 40, 70 and 80).

Meanwhile, the National Weather Service (NWS) reported that portions of the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes could expect heavy snow due to possible winter storms.

NWS added that freezing rain and sleet are forecast. Temperatures would drop at night.

Severe weather risks in the South

On the other hand, weather agencies monitor for possible severe weather risks in the South. AccuWeather said that severe thunderstorms and flooding downpours are forecast.

The weather reports said the severe storm could unload heavy rain in Northern Texas, Oklahoma, Dallas, Little Rock and Springfield.

The forecast added that a possible tornado could emerge on Wednesday or Thursday.

Recently, CNN reported that isolated tornadoes recently occurred in the South, causing damage to properties.

Also Read: Severe Storms, Isolated Tornadoes, Heavy Rain Likely to Hit Central Florida This Weekend

The weather outlooked said potential local flash flooding and damaging wind gusts on Wednesday until Wednesday night in Dallas, Little Rock and Shreveport.

According to CDC on tornado safety, tornado outbreaks are considered dangerous.

It could cause widespread damage to communities.

Residents with possible isolated tornadoes should stay updated with the weather updates, especially portions of the South that can experience severe weather forecasts next week.

Related Article: Tornadoes Safety Tips as Storms Bring Severe Weather Conditions to U.S.

For more news, don't forget to follow Nature World News.
LOZITHA  His Majesty King Mswati III has called on the nation to silence the guns and end conflict.

Speaking during the 2023 National Prayer Service held at Mandvulo Grand Hall yesterday, the King reaffirmed the countrys commitment to the African Unions call for cease fire by 2030 in the continent. The national prayer service is usually His Majestys first public address after the cultural event, Incwala Ceremony. His Majesty was reacting to a speech by his special guest during the service, former President of the Republic of South Africa Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma. Zuma had indicated his worry over the current political instability and his desire for the impasse to be resolved swiftly.

Zuma was in the country to attend the service and he was accompanied by his wife. This was the second service for Zuma and he attended the first one alone. The King gave assurance to former President Zuma that the country was also touched by the current wave of violence and killings through guns. He recalled that President Zuma was part of the African Union High-Level Retreat on the Promotion of Peace, Security and Stability in Africa, where a commitment was made by all countries to silence guns by 2030.

The King said during the launch of the campaign, no one could have thought that Eswatini would face the same issues. We are committed to the campaign as a nation and want to assure the former president that we are worried too. I remember when we were together at the Africa Union to launch the silence of guns by 2030 in Africa. No one could have thought we would face such in Eswatini, where people would hunger and be blood thirsty, seeking who they can kill, said the King.

The High-Level Retreat His Majesty referred to was convened in Durban, South Africa on April 28 - 29, 2014 on the theme Silencing guns in Africa: Building a road map to a conflict-free continent. The retreat developed and concretised a road map towards realising an Africa without war.

Silence guns

The campaign to silence guns by 2030 aims at fighting the illicit proliferation of small arms and light weapons. It also seeks to promote reconciliation and social cohesion given the link between armed conflicts and social, political and economic grievances. His Majesty sent condolences to families that lost loved ones through the barrel of a gun and during the political unrest period. The King spoke deeply about the pain of the loss of a loved one felt by the families and said there was nothing that could take away such grief.

His Majesty then declared a prayer of healing for the families and said only God can heal their hearts. He prayed for the spirit of God not only to heal them but to also bless them with peace and love. We pray that those who lost their lives be our guardian angels and intercede to God for us, informing Him that we are still committed to the silencing of guns in Africa. We will do all in our power to ensure that the guns are silenced, as this concerns even those who are coming from other countries, said His Majesty.

Life of another person

The King said no one had a right to take a life of another person. He said God was the only creator of man who had every right to life as he gives or take it but not another human being. We hope that even those who train and equip the killers with guns are hearing what we are saying today because nothing justifies the killing of any soul. It is God who can decide on our lives and no one has the power to kill another, he said. His Majesty started his sermon by quoting Psalms 42 and said 2023 was a year where the nation needed to hold on to Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. He said answers to all issues faced by the nation were found in Jesus as compared to other people.
Anna Petrelli is an MLIS student and Adult and Youth Services apprentice at The Urbana Free Library, originally from Chicago Heights. She enjoys cooking, listening to audiobooks and porch-sitting with her two tabby cats.
MBABANE  After securing E5.4 billion funding for a coal mining project at Mpaka, a South African company has been pushed out of the investment.

This is despite the fact that His Majesty King Mswati III had issued a prospecting licence to Lurco Coal Eswatini (Pty) Limited for the Mpaka coal project. Lurco Coal Eswatini is a subsidiary of Lurco South Africa, a mining company listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). Listing means the formal admission of securities of a company to the trading platform of the exchange. It means the company is transparent in its business dealings. The directors of Lurco Coal Eswatini and Lurco Group in South Africa are Ellington Nxumalo and Aubrey Chauke.

Invested

In 2019, SA magazine publication Mining M, reported that Lurco Group invested E300 million in the surface deposits, which consisted of some 70 million metric tonnes (MT) in return for the mining licence  at the Optimum Coal Mine, the Mpumalanga thermal coal mine.To prove its capability, it is said that Lurco Group supply coal directly to Eskom. Investigations by the Times SUNDAY have revealed that a company associated with two well-known emaSwati has assumed control of the mining project at Mpaka. This is LCE Investments (Pty) Ltd, whose directors are Mlungisi Dlamini and Baya Mmiseni Dlamini.

Mlungisi is a manager in one of the big supermarkets in the country, while Baya is a Royal Protocol Officer.

The two Dlaminis are also directors of Kwasa Colliery Limited. They have, however, roped in a Chinese businessman, Fei Zheng, to be a director at Kwasa Colliery Limited, alongside James Bongane Mathebule, who hails from Mozambique. Documents show that Zheng was born in Chn Anhui-China. Anhui is an eastern Chinese province known for its Huangshan Mountains. He is now based in Mozambique.

Directorship

On November 3, 2022, Baya and Mlungisi took over LCE Investment. Initially, the company had nothing to do with mining. Upon assumption of directorship at LCE, they partnered with two businesspeople; Fortunate Bongiwe Mdluli and Hlobisile Hlophe. It must be said that Mdluli and Hlophe are the co-founders of LCE. On November 4, 2022, they (Mdluli and Hlophe) resigned from being directors of LCE.

The company was left in the hands of Baya and Mlungisi. Impeccable sources said the fact that Baya had been registered as a director for the two companies (LCE and Kwasa) did not mean he was commissioned by the royal family to undertake the coal project at Mpaka. It has been established that he forms part of the Kings protocol.

At some point, he was present when Nxumalo, one of the directors of Lurco Coal Eswatini, presented a cheque, as an offering in terms of Eswatini culture (kwetfula), to the King.

It is understood that the authorities of the country might have assumed that they were issuing a mining licence (replacing the prospecting one) to the same company  Lurco Coal Eswatini. Documents seen by this newspaper show that trouble started when the directors of Lurco Coal Eswatini complained to the Registrar of Companies on March 22, 2022 about a listing of new directors without their consent. An enquiry was then instituted by the Registrar of Companies into the purported listing of the new directors.

Aware

Details on the listing of the new directors will not be disclosed at this stage, as this issue may be heard by the court.

However, it must be said that certain elements, allegedly prepared documentation that purported appointment of new directors of Lurco Coal Eswatini. It is said that owners of the company in South Africa were not aware of this development. This is regardless of the fact that their signatures were appended against their identities.

Lurco Coal Eswatini was established in 2011 as Lurco Coal Swaziland. It must be said that the company was dormant for 11 years as it struggled to obtain a minining licence. According to the documents, the owners of the company in South Africa understandably authorised Mlungisi to only change the name of the company. Of course, it was changed to Lurco Coal Eswatini. It is said he was promised commission to do this job, which carried an offer of five per cent of an amount of money that was not disclosed in the papers.

Capital injection

The enquiry report states that he turned down the five per cent offer. After he had registered the company, Mlungisi is said to have informed the Registrar of Companies, Msebe Malinga, that time went by and there was still no capital injection from Nxumalo and Chauke. It is understood that he (Mlungisi) told Nxumalo that he would raise the capital but he (Nxumalo) didnt believe he had the capacity to raise the money. Indeed, he was able to raise the money, according to the enquiry report.

Mlungisi is said to have claimed before the registrar of companies that he paid for Lurcos mining licence from his pocket. He claimed to have also settled the companys tax arrears as it was dormant since 2011. These are the findings of the registrar of companies as indicated in the documents:

The extraordinary meeting of August 18, 2021 was not properly constituted;

That shareholders Ellington Nxumalo, Aubrey Chauke, Emmanuel Seyama and Mandla Mdluli were not in attendance at the meeting of August 18, 2021 as purported by the extracts of the minutes of the extraordinary meeting;

That the signatures appended next to the shareholders names of the above mentioned shareholders were questionable;

The resignation of Emmanuel Seyama on September 30, 2021, is questionable;

The extraordinary meeting of October 4, 2021 was not properly constituted;

That shareholders Ellington Nxumalo and Aubrey Chauke were not in attendance at the meeting of October 4, 2021 as purported by the extracts of the minutes of the extraordinary meeting;

That the signatures of the shareholders do not appear in the resolution of October 4, 2021.

In consideration of the findings as mentioned above, the registrar is said to have revoked and declined the changes made in Lurco Coal Eswatini (Pty) Ltd. The registrar rescinded all the changes and resolutions made in the absence of Nxumalo and Chauke. The company was then returned to the original directors, wherein Nxumalo and Chauke hold 50 per cent shareholding apiece.

Despite regaining full control of their company, they are reportedly having difficulties in accessing the project site at Mpaka. It is said they had been told that the duration of their prospecting work had elapsed. This is regardless of the fact that they had been made to run from pillar to post, correcting questionable documentation about their company.

It has been established that the Minerals Management Board, under the chairmanship of Prince Guduza hasnt offered tangible assistance to Nxumalo and Chauke, despite their complaints that they were removed from the project unfairly. They declined to shed light on the matter when they were telephoned on Friday by the Times SUNDAY.

Investigations

We are astute businessmen, whose ethics do not allow us to talk about the issue in the public space at this point in time. In short, we reserve our comments, said Nxumalo, while Chauke echoed his brief statement on the issue.

Despite their refusal to comment on the matter, investigations indicated that they had appealed to the Acting Minister of Natural Resources and Energy, Jabulani Clement Mabuza.

Mabuza said he would not divulge private information that pertained to entities reporting to his portfolio.

My comment in public can compromise my integrity as a minister, he said. Manqoba Khumalo, the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade, was also of the view that the matter was still being discussed at boardroom level.

In an interview, Mlungisi confirmed that Malinga, the Registrar of Companies, called him to his office in Mbabane, where he explained that he, as a matter of fact, who was removed from the directorship of Lurco Coal Eswatini (Pty) Ltd.

He disputed the fact that he and Baya were middlemen. He said every cost of the Lurco Coal Eswatini (Pty) Ltd was borne by him. The costs for the surveyor diagrams were paid by me. They were in Johannesburg when I ensured that all the companys paperwork was up to date, he said. There was no cent paid by Lurco. Asked who was in control of the Mpaka project, he said: I cannot discuss Board issues. Im a businessman. Asked about expertise, if he and Baya have it, he responded that ownership of a company did not require expertise.

Expert

You, as a journalist, can own a hospital. You dont need to be a doctor to own a clinic or hospital. You dont need to be an expert in agriculture to have a farm. You can employ experts in all fields to ensure efficiency of the business, said Mlungisi. He said he was at liberty to open a company of his choice and contribute to the development of the country. He said he had never robbed anyone of any company, as he and Baya were running theirs.

The problem with emaSwati is that we dont support each other. We are here to create jobs for local people. Your questions show that you dont want emaSwati to get employment, he said. Mlungisi said he did not get the report of the enquiry instituted by the registrar of companies. Mlungisi insisted that he did everything for Lurco Coal Eswatini (Pty) Ltd according to the book.

Baya was not contacted for comment as Mlungisi commented on behalf of their company. Prince Guduza and Commissioner of Mines Robert Biyela, were not available for comment. However, this publication got hold of their superior, the acting minister of Natural Resources and Energy. On another note, it was reported that Lurco had secured E5.4 billion investment commitment from GEM Global Yield LLC SCS (GEM), a private alternative investment group with offices in Paris, New York, and Nassau (Bahamas).

It was planning to employ 1 000 emaSwati at the time it lost control of the mining project. Lurco South Africa falls under Magni Investment Holdings, which was to take a majority stake in Johannesburg-listed Sable Exploration and Mining Limited (SEAM) ahead of a reverse listing of its mining assets.

Production

It has about 1.5 million tonnes of annual coal production, according to its website. It began operating in 2010 by trading coal and supplying some of it to local hospitals. In 2019, it unsuccessfully bid for control of Optimum Coal Mine  the Mpumalanga thermal coal mine once operated by Gupta company; Tegeta Exploration & Resources.

SEAM was previously known as Middle East Diamond Resources and before that it was Stable Platinum, a company listed in 2012 by diamond sector investment analysts James Allan and Rene Hochreiter.

To demonstrate its capacity to undertake a project of magnitude at Mpaka, it is said that Lurcos Magni Investment Holdings (MiH) had also agreed a share subscription facility of up to E4.45 billion for three years. This followed the reverse listing with Global Emerging Markets (GEM), a company described as an alternative investment group.

In 2018, an agreement was reached for the establishment of a 50/50 joint venture partnership between Shumba and South African black-owned Lurco Group South Africa at the Sechaba thermal coal project.
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The city will also get rid of five vehicles, including a pair of police squad cars and were to be sold via auction. But prior to them being removed from service, both vehicles were involved in separate motor vehicle collisions which resulted in severe damage that caused them both to be declared a total loss by the citys insurer."
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Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund PIF (The Public Investment Fund) today (February 12) said it has completed the acquisition of a 30% stake in Saudi Tabreed District Cooling Company.

A leading provider of sustainable district cooling schemes for some of the kingdom's largest projects, Saudi Tabreed currently manages 779,000 tonnes of refrigeration (TR) via contracts with major companies.

This includes Aramcos Dhahran plant, Jabal Omar plant in the city of Makkah, the district cooling scheme at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, and a centralized cooling plant at Amaad Business Park in Dhahran. The company also serves The Red Sea project, which is a key part of Saudi Vision 2030.

Saudi PIF said the investment supports its efforts to grow and develop the local utilities and low-carbon sectors.

The weath fund has a strong track record of investing in the low carbon sector including electric vehicles and solar energy projects, as part of a commitment to develop 70% of Saudi renewable energy by 2030.

PIF has major investments in renewable energy companies such as Acwa Power and Sudair and Al Shuaibah Solar Energy projects, and in the development of electric vehicles through investments in Lucid Motors, Ceer and E1.

"Our investment in Saudi Tabreed will support the achievement of PIFs economic diversification goals, especially in light of the anticipated growth in Saudi Arabias district cooling market," remarked Yazeed A. Al Humied, Deputy Governor and Head of Mena Investments at PIF.

"The investment is also fully aligned with PIFs strategy to enable promising sectors in the country, and supports Saudi Arabias transition to sustainable and more efficient sources of energy," he stated.

Saudi Tabreed Chairman Mohammed Abunayyan said: "PIFs investment further enhances our position as a market leader in Saudi Arabia. With added credibility and stronger financial performance, being part of the PIF portfolio significantly expands our ability to support the countrys energy transition and sustainability targets."

"We are committed to working together as we move forward in our mission to enhance Saudi Arabias urban development through innovative, advanced, and highly efficient district cooling solutions," he stated.

According to him, Saudi Tabreed offers highly efficient solutions that drive reductions in power consumption and the costs of operation and maintenance, as well as encouraging alternatives to traditional air conditioning systems.

District cooling is recognized as one of the most energy-efficient cooling solutions, due to its ability to conserve natural resources, making a major contribution to the reduction of greenhouse gases, he added.-TradeArabia News Service
The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) recognized 185 units from 134 hospitals that earned the Beacon Award for Excellence from Jan. 1-Dec. 31, 2022.

The Beacon Award for Excellence lauds hospital units that employ evidence-based practices to improve patient and family outcomes. The award provides gold, silver and bronze levels of recognition to hospital units that exemplify excellence in professional practice, patient care and outcomes. Recognition is for a three-year term.

AACN President Amanda Bettencourt, PhD, APRN, CCRN-K, ACCNS-P, praises the exemplary efforts of the unit teams who achieved the Beacon Award for Excellence.

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Beacon units were truly a light showing the way forward, as these teams demonstrated an ongoing and steadfast commitment to providing safe, patient-centered and evidence-based care to patients and families. This achievement is not only a tremendous honor, but it also provides meaningful recognition of their efforts to achieve excellence in patient care and create a healthy work environment." Amanda Bettencourt, PhD, APRN, CCRN-K, ACCNS-P, AACN President

Units that receive the Beacon Award demonstrate practices that align with AACN's Healthy Work Environment standards. Beacon-designated units meet the criteria in five categories, all of which are consistent with other national awards, including the ANCC Magnet Recognition Program, the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and National Quality Forum's Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality awards.

Results from AACN's most recent national nurse work environment study indicate that nurses who work in Beacon units and units in the process of obtaining Beacon recognition report healthier work environments and higher quality of patient care than nurses who don't work in Beacon units.

Recipients of a gold-level Beacon Award demonstrate staff-driven excellence in sustained unit performance and improved patient outcomes that exceed national benchmarks. Silver-level recipients demonstrate continual learning and effective systems to achieve optimal patient care. Bronze-level awardees demonstrate success in developing, deploying and integrating unit-based performance criteria for optimal outcomes.

In all, 66 units received gold-level Beacon awards, the program's highest distinction. Among the 2022 recipients, Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children, in Orlando, Florida, had five units recognized with gold-level awards. Morristown Medical Center, New Jersey, had three units earn gold-level awards, with another two units earning silver-level awards. University Hospital in San Antonio, Texas, also had five units receive Beacon awards in 2022  three silver and two gold. Eight other hospitals had two units recognized with gold-level awards.

The only international hospital recognized in 2022 was Fundacion Santa Fe de Bogota, in Colombia, a first for the country. Three units at the hospital received silver-level Beacon awards, and a fourth unit earned a bronze-level award.

A total of 34 hospitals had multiple units honored with an award in 2022, demonstrating a system-wide approach to caring for acutely and critically ill patients and their families.

In all, 29 units at 18 Texas hospitals attained Beacon status in 2022, the most for any state.
Fiber sensing scientists at Shenzhen University have developed a compact fiber optical nanomechanical probe (FONP) for measuring in vivo biomechanical properties of tissue and even single cell.

Publishing in the journal International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing, the researchers from Shenzhen University applied femtosecond laser-induced twophoton polymerization technology to fabricate fiber-tip microprobe with ultrahigh mechanical precision down to 2.1 nanonewton.

This high-precision mechanical sensing system enables the measurement of in vivo biomechanical properties of tissue, single cell, and other types of soft biomaterials. The findings could have a widespread impact on the future development of all-fiber Atomic Force Microscopy for biomechanical testing and nanomanipulation.

One of the lead researchers, Professor Yiping Wang, commented, "The biomechanical properties of different tissues in the human body range widely with seven orders of magnitude, from the softest cells to the stiffest bones. We have developed a flexible strategy that could design and fabricate the fiber-tip microprobes with the most fitted spring constant for the accurate in vivo biomechanical measurement of almost all the tissues in the human body."

Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) is one of the few technologies that could perform delicate biomechanical measurements. However, there are typical limitations of bench-top AFM system in its size and complex feedback system. It also requires certain geometry of the samples to be measured, which further limits its application in biomechanical measurement in vivo. First author Dr. Mengqiang Zou claimed, "Our work achieved a new generation of all-fiber AFM with the flexible methodology to achieve the best design of the fiber-tip microprobe for every in vivo test, which was turned out to be reliable and also much more miniaturized."

Professor Changrui Liao has pioneered the fiber-tip microdevices fabricated by femtosecond laser-induced two-photon polymerization technology for gas sensing. Here his group has developed the technology to achieve various fiber-tip microstructures, specifically in terms of microcantilevers with additional topological design, to achieve microprobes with a series of spring constants. This development allows the "all-fiber AFM" to become a next-generation tool for basic research involving the in vivo biomechanical measurement of various types of tissues.

The team utilized the finite element method and topological theory to optimize the design of fiber-tip microcantilever probes. The finest microprobe could reach a reliable measuring capability down to 2.1 nanonewton. Professor Sandor Kasas said, "This is a milestone achievement and it is only the beginning. We anticipate this technique to become a powerful tool for in vivo biomechanical study of human tissue and cells, to further understand the fundamentals of biomechanical changes related with diseases such as cancer, and also in the critical processes of developmental biology."
A University of Queensland-led research effort to develop an mRNA vaccine against Group A Streptococcus (Strep A) has in philanthropic funding.

The Leducq Foundation has announcsecured almost $8 millioned support for the project that could reduce Strep A infections, which cause more than 500,000 deaths a year  with about 70 per cent resulting from rheumatic heart disease.

Professor Mark Walker from UQ's Institute for Molecular Bioscience said there was no vaccine for prevention of Strep A, but efficacy data from the team's preclinical studies was promising.

The support from the Leducq Foundation will allow us to build on research already underway at UQ where we have been collaborating with Moderna to develop an mRNA vaccine against Strep A." Professor Mark Walker from UQ's Institute for Molecular Bioscience

The Strep A bacteria causes strep throat and scarlet fever and is a major driver of antibiotic use in children.

Repeated infections can lead to rheumatic heart disease, the most significant cause of childhood death due to heart failure.

Dr David Milan, Leducq Chief Scientific Officer, said this innovative approach to a Strep A vaccine falls squarely within the cardiovascular disease mission of the Leducq Foundation.

"Leducq is excited about the potential of a Strep A mRNA vaccine to significantly reduce not only strep throat infections but subsequent rheumatic heart disease, a major source of mortality worldwide, especially in low- and middle-income countries," Dr Milan said.

UQ Vice-Chancellor Professor Deborah Terry said she was extremely grateful for the Leducq Foundation's recognition and support of the University as a centre for excellence in vaccine research and discovery.

"It is a great example of how industry, academia and philanthropic organizations can work together to tackle some of the world's significant global public health challenges," Professor Terry said.

Moderna's Dr Obadiah Plante said this collaboration has the potential to deliver an mRNA vaccine for the prevention of Strep A-caused disease.

"This brings together Moderna's research team and leaders in the Strep A field across research, immunology and clinical practice to address a common goal," Dr Plante said.

"We are excited to develop an mRNA-based Group A Streptococcus vaccine and look forward to continuing our partnership with The University of Queensland to accelerate this research."

Immunologist Professor Gabrielle Belz from UQ's Frazer Institute said the crucial collaboration aimed to reduce or eliminate the burden of Strep A infections.

"We hope further research and testing will establish proof of concept and ultimately translate into a mRNA vaccine that provides long term immune protection," Professor Belz said.

The team includes researchers from UQ, the University of Melbourne, the Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Emory University, CONACYT and Moderna.
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The just-concluded LEAP 2023 in Saudi Arabia had helped Bahraini ICT companies to identify fresh concepts, form new alliances and interact with experts and investors.

More than 20 Bahraini ICT companies participated in this global tech event which was held under the theme Into New Worlds.

Bahraini tech companies have reported successful participation at the LEAP conference this year. They had the perfect opportunity to demonstrate their innovations at the biggest tech expo in the world. They also had fruitful discussions with their customers and partners, getting to know their most significant opportunities, challenges, and demands to create cutting-edge solutions to suit their requirements, said the Chairman of BTECH, Tareq Fakhroo.

Digital entrepreneurship

"By taking part in this conference, we hope to promote digital entrepreneurship and innovation among Bahraini ICT companies. Along with expanding their market share, developing, and providing access to their services and products in both regional and international markets," he said.

Fakhroo pointed out that the LEAP conference provided Bahraini ICT professionals with the chance to network with top technology innovators and organisations from across the globe.

Companies that joined the Bahrain Hub at LEAP included Etisalcom, Al Amthal for Consultancy and Software Co, Almoayyed Computers, VirtuThinko, Bin Hindi Informatics, Silah Gulf, Spire Technologies, Aramis, Ahlan Technologies, Qemat Al Marifah, Kanoo IT, ThinkSmart Gulf, Luminous Group, Via Cloud, SMS Country, CoinMena, Syskode and Ordable.-- TradeArabia News Service
Majid Al Futtaim, a leading shopping mall, communities, retail, and leisure pioneer across the Middle East, and valU, a Buy-Now, Pay-Later lifestyle-enabling fintech platform, are celebrating a key achievement of clocking more than E1 billion ($33.1 million) in BNPL sales across its malls in Egypt since the start of their partnership, namely at Mall of Egypt, City Centre Almaza, City Centre Alexandria and City Centre Maadi.

To celebrate this milestone and long-term partnership, valU will launch an exclusive one-day 0-0-0-6 offer (zero purchase fees, zero down payment and zero interest over six months) tomorrow (February 13).

Both companies strive to continually deliver customer-centric initiatives that are value accretive and have worked together closely for years to bring a revolutionised shopping experience to the Egyptian market, it stated.

Majid Al Futtaims shopping malls have achieved this substantial sales record with valUs products and special promotions  including Sha2labaz, which helps customers redeem their transaction value in cash and pay it back through instalments over the preferred tenure plan.

As both firms seek to reinforce their long-term strategic partnership, they have availed Sha2labaz at Mall of Egypt and City Centre Almaza in March 2022, allowing customers to receive cash reimbursements for their purchases at Majid Al Futtaims retail outlets beyond valUs merchant network, it added.

The highest sales recorded through the utilisation of valUs unique products and promotions were achieved by the following tenants: Bershka, Carrefour, Dream 2000, EGO, El Araby Group, Hub Furniture, LC Waikiki, Lazurde, Miss L, Mobilaty, Mazaya, Pull & Bear, Raya Electronics, Select, Sharaf DG, Tradeline, Vodafone, Xiaomi, Zara, and 2B.

Rasha Azab, Managing Director of West Region Shopping Malls at Majid Al Futtaim  Properties, said: "As responsible members of the community, we at Majid Al Futtaim strongly believe in our role to continue providing the Egyptian public with added convenience and choice."

"Our long-term partnership with valU has shown unparalleled success, reflected in the EGP 1 billion in sales. This significant milestone proves the strength of this strategic collaboration and the commitment of both entities. We look forward to continuing to drive growth while identifying opportunities that provide our community with flexible payment solutions for an unmatched shopping experience," he noted.

Walid Hassouna, CEO of valU, said the group's successful partnership with Majid Al Futtaim confirms valUs commitment to creating impactful financial solutions and long-term value for the people who rely on its disruptive fintech services daily.

The one-day 0-0-0-6 exclusive offer will be available exclusively at Mall of Egypt, City Centre Almaza, City Centre Alexandria, and City Centre Maadi only on February 13.

"Through the tieup we aim to bring to the market financial solutions that provide affordability to all and, in return, help merchants across the retail industry in Egypt grow their businesses sustainably despite market headwinds," stated Hassouna.

"This milestone comes at a key time in valUs history as we also celebrate surpassing 2 million transactions on valU since inception. Through continued successful partnerships such as this, we look forward to playing an even greater role in driving innovation in the market, benefiting individuals and businesses, he added.-TradeArabia News Service




Former Abia Senator, Adolphus Wabara has revealed that the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar has vowed to release Nnamdi Kanu if he assumes office as the next President.





Nnamdi Kanu was captured in Kenya, east Africa and bundled into Nigeria over a year ago and the leader of the proscribed Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), has been in detention since then.





Wabara, who is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the PDP, at the partys presidential campaign rally in Umuahia, the capital of Abia State on Saturday said Atiku promised to release the IPOB leader.





He said that Kanu would be released within the first one hundred days of Atikus administration.





Atiku has promised to release our son from prison in one hundred days of his administration. He is not afraid of anybody. He will do what he has promised, Wabara stated.





Wabara, a former senate president from Ukwa West Local Government Area of Abia State, urged the electorate in Abia State to vote for the PDP presidential candidate on February 25.




Popular broadcaster and socialite Ifedayo Olarinde, a.k.a Daddy Freeze, has disclosed that 65 out of the 83 women he counselled had cheated on their husbands.





Buttressing actor Deyemi Okanlawons opinion that making love four times a week is small, Daddy Freeze, in a post shared on Friday on Instagram





Daddy Freeze explained that s_x is very vital in marriage or relationships and advised his followers not to be misled by motivational speakers.





He said: Intercourse is very very very important in a marriage or in a committed relationship. Dont marry someone that can not satisfy you. Let me give you some scary statistics as a church leader. First, remember the Freenation Church only started in 2017, so all our members came from other churches, largely pentefraudsta.





In 2018, I counselled 83 married women. Sixty-five of them had cheated on their husbands, and 43 of them had cheated more than once. At the same time, 25 of them were in current relationships with other men. These were spirit-filled prayer warriors o. Some were even workers in my former Pente church.





If intercourse is not that important, please, why were they cheating?, from the moment you are engaged, my advice is, sample the goods, and taste the milk before you buy the cow. There is no scripture that says it is sinful for an engaged couple to have intercourse.





The word fornication was coined by authors of the King James Bible, and it never included s_x between engaged or betrothed couples. Dont be misled by motivational speakers.
Nigerians have urged the federal government to, as a matter of urgency, address the nation in a nationwide national broadcast on the suspension of the deadline for the old naira note swap.





On Saturday, residents of Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital, who spoke to journalists in separate interviews, said the appeal became imperative due to the rejection of the old naira notes by traders and petrol stations across the state.





The residents who expressed worry about the development noted that the refusal by the business community in Abakaliki amounted to a contravention of the recent Supreme Court ruling suspending the February 10 deadline issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).





Lawrence Onwe, a lawyer, said Nigerians deserved to know from the government the actual position of the naira swap to avoid the confusion, chaos, and panic the development has generated since the deadline elapsed on Friday.





People are confused; there was a sudden stop by traders, filling stations, transporters, and even most of the corporate business entities in the metropolis.





I was at the filling station yesterday to fill my car, but when I offered the petrol pump attendant an old naira currency of N1,000 bill, she flatly rejected it, saying that they were instructed not to accept old naira notes again.





There is an urgent need for the Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Information, Ministry of Finance, or the CBN, to address the nation to stem the panic, he said.





Silas Nkpuma, a civil servant, said he almost got into a physical brawl with a commercial motorcyclist (Okada rider), who insisted on being paid with a new naira note.





I hadnt any new naira notes on me, and the man refused a mobile transfer, and I was held hostage by the cyclist until a good Samaritan intervened and bailed me out.





The rejection stemmed from apparent ignorance, and what is more worrisome is that the filling stations and big business organisations started rejecting the old money yesterday, Mr Nkpuma said.





Chika Iteshi, a foodstuff dealer at the Ophoke-Abba, Kpiri-Kpiri Market within the state capital city, said she stopped collecting the old naira because Okada and Keke riders refused to collect it.





Yes, they said that the Supreme Court suspended the deadline, but we know that the federal government hardly obeys a court order that doesnt favour it, so, If I hear that government has publicly said we should go ahead and collect, I will do that, Ms Iteshi said.





She lamented that the business and other commercial activities in the city had been brought to a standstill due to a lack of new naira notes in circulation.





Government should make the new notes available to Nigerians to end the agony and sufferings of the ordinary people of this country, she added.





The CBN had earlier announced January 31 deadline when the redesigned N200, N500, and N1,000 notes would replace the old bills and hence would cease being legal tender, but the apex bank further extended the date to February 10.





However, the Supreme Court ruling in an exparte application brought against the federal government by three states government suspended the February 10 deadline.





The Council of State had advised the CBN to allow the new and old naira notes to co-circulate to ease the pains and sufferings of Nigerians.





(NAN)




A governorship aspirant under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State, Segun Showunmi, has said his case challenging the primary election of the party is still in court.





Showunmi said his case is currently before the Supreme Court in Abuja, expressing optimism that the court would rule in his favour.





The PDP chieftain described the partys governorship candidate in Ogun, Ladi Adebutu, as someone who is not ready for real reconciliation, saying he would not support him.





He said the judgment of the Supreme Court may come anytime, stating that nobody could build something on nothing.





Addressing party leaders in Abeokuta Saturday, Showunmi accused Adebutu of a lack of mutual respect and poor human relations.





I said very emphatically that any day the Supreme Court calls our case, then people will know that you cannot build something on nothing.





I am committed to Waziri Atiku Abubakar. You are all witnesses that Ive visited Adebutu a couple of times. I sent him condolences for his mother. I even went to his fathers house to sign the condolence register.





Is the distance from my own house to Adebutus house not the same distance from Adebutus house to my house? he asked.





He told his supporters that those who had taken him for granted would not enjoy his support.





While saying he is for PDP, Showunmi said the party would reconvene after voting for Atiku on February 25 to decide on the governorship poll.





Anything can change tomorrow. In 2019 when judgment came at the last minute, we stood with PDP, they are the ones who are merchandising the party, he stated.








Famous Nigerian comic actor, John Ikechukwu Okafor, popularly known as Mr Ibu, has opened up on his familys recent crisis.





Contrary to reports that the actor and his wife Stella had resolved their differences, his latest interview shows the seeming peace in their marriage is that of the graveyard.





Speaking in an interview, Mr Ibu said he doubts if he is still in the marriage.





This is my final marriage. If this one falls apart, I wont marry again. This is my fifth and the worst marriage because my wife embraces what is not obtainable. This feels like punishment and not marriage. I doubt if Im still in the marriage because it seems she has already prepared her mind to leave, and Im not going to stop her.





I support her leaving. I begin to breathe erratically each time i see her, and its not healthy for me because Im not ready to die.





The actor also claimed that since his recent clash with Stella Maris, he finds it difficult to eat her food because he is sceptical about her motives.





Since the recent incident, she has been so loving. But, I believe its all a pretence to get my attention. I still show her love, providing money for domestic needs and makes sure the family is fine. But, I am very sceptical. I cannot eat her food anymore. For now, I only eat from Jasmines kitchen. She cooks a lot, and I like eating.





This is coming days after Stella, in a viral video, alleged that the actor and his adopted daughter, Jasmine were in an intimate relationship. After which, the trio reconciled barely 24 hours later and recorded a fresh video clip as a family.
Jamaica has disclosed plans to source for vehicles from Innoson Vehicles Manufacturing in Nigeria.





This plan was revealed by Jamaican High Commissioner to Nigeria, Esmond Reid during a facility tour of IVM plant in Nnewi, Anambra State on Saturday.





He said, For us, it is a tremendous opportunity to witness vehicle manufacturing taking place here in Nigeria, which is one of our brothers in the south.





It is also a chance to be able to discuss commercial opportunities for sourcing vehicles from Nigeria.





This is my first visit. I will go and consult with my stakeholders back home to look at the timeline and determine the negotiations and engagements and when we will start the business of sourcing the vehicles.





Reid referred to the IVM factory as top class, promising to encourage Jamaican citizens to come and see for themselves.





I congratulate the management of this company and Im very grateful to the minister for making this visit possible for me. This can become the start of something great, he said.





In his response, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama called for strict enforcement of the Presidential Executive Order mandating government officials to buy and use Nigeria.





Im very proud. This plant is world-class compared to some of the vehicle manufacturing companies I have seen in some other countries. Innoson is doing well.





Left to me, every government official should be obliged to buy and use a Nigerian-manufactured car. There is a Presidential Executive Order that requires government officials to buy Nigeria.





That order has to be imposed and made mandatory. In France, it is impossible to see a French Government official driving a non-French car, same in Japan, Korea, the UK and the US.





We have to do the same here. This will encourage and support our citizens and demystify technology, he said.





NAN




Governor Ifeanyi Okowa has commiserated with the Delta Police Command and families of police officers killed by gunmen in Anambra.





Commissioner for Information, Charles Aniagwu briefed reporters on Saturday in Asaba, the capital.





The officers were ambushed and killed around 1.30pm on Friday on Ihiala-Orlu Road en route Umuahia while on official duty.





They were proceeding as an advanced team for the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, presidential rally in Abia.





The late lnspectors, Lucky Aleh, Celestine Nwadiokwu and Jude Obuh were attached to the Explosives Ordinance Disposal (EOD) Unit in Government House.





The team veered off from the convoy and took another route different from where the convoy was taking, the commissioner said.





Aniagwu explained that the state government delayed the announcement of the incident because efforts were being made to reach the families.





The official said the recurring killings in the South-East region are not healthy for the country because the general elections are close.





The Delta government urged security agencies to arrest the killers of the policemen as soon as possible and bring them to justice.
The Lagos mega rally organised by the Presidential Campaign Council of the Labour Party for its flagbearer and former Anambra governor, Peter Obi, on Saturday, was marred by violence as alleged Pro-APC thugs attacked several supporters of the Labour party candidate, Peter Obi

Several supporters of the candidate told NigerianEye that they were attacked by suspected Pro-APC thugs on their way to the Tafawa Balewa Square, the venue of the mega rally.

But the state Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, Mr Seye Oladejo, in a statement denied the involvement of the party in the attacks.

He said, It is irresponsible and reckless of the tottering party to level such a wild allegation without any substantial proof. The APC as the ruling party in Lagos State remains the biggest stakeholder to ensure that theres no breakdown of law and order.

However, the Lagos State Police Command, through its spokesman, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, had earlier said in a statement obtained by NigerianEye that only four persons were injured by some hoodlums suspected to be from opposition parties.

But a staunch supporter of Obi, Ayansola Dare, in a tweet on Saturday, said the number was more than that. This is as he raised the alarm on how hoodlums attacked the LP supporters outside the venue of the campaign.

NE gathered that some young men numbering over 12 were covered in blood while they received treatment from a paramedical team on the ground.

They were attacked by some masked miscreants who inflicted varying injuries on them.

One of the victims, who did not want to be named for fear of victimisation, said, As I stepped out of my house around Iyana-Oworo and stopped at Obalende, where I would take another bus to the venue, some men from nowhere wielding sticks and stones attacked me and my friends.

They kept asking us, What has Obi done for you?, You are in Lagos and you are supporting Obi?. It took the intervention of the policemen around the Access Bank area to calm things down but that was after they had inflicted me with injuries using their sticks.

One of my friends was severely injured in his head. He has been taken to the clinic for treatment.

Another supporter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, and had a bloody cut on her left hand claimed that she was attacked by a group of men around the Ajah area of the state. She alleged that some men with red clothes tied across their heads vandalised her car and broke the windscreen.

A Twitter user, @JaypeeGeneral, shared a gory video where some supporters of the LP candidate were being attended to by the standby medical team.

A bus driver, Daniel Etim, who spoke to journalists at TBS, said on his way from Ajah to the venue of the rally with LP supporters in his bus, some hoodlums with sticks and stones attacked them.

Meanwhile, Obi, while condemning the attack on his supporters, called on security agencies to protect the fundamental human rights of citizens.

As we go into the final stretch for the 2023 elections, I call on all Nigerians regardless of political affiliation or tendency, to eschew violence. I condemn any form of violence and political thuggery, and especially the incessant attacks on my Obidient supporters, Obi said in a tweet on Saturday.








One of the spokespersons for the Tinubu, Shettima Presidential Campaign Council, Festus Keyamo, has claimed his presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, has no ruling-party advantage in the forthcoming election.





Keyamo also said the opposition should be prepared to accept defeat in good faith.





His statement was contained in a post on his verified Twitter handle on Sunday.





The Minister of State for Labour and Employment said the opposition had assumed the Naira redesign policy was targeted at Tinubu.





He wrote, Since the opposition assumes that the NAIRA redesign policy is targeted at @officialABAT by the powers-that-be, its safe to assume that they now agree that BAT has no ruling-party advantage in this election. In that case, let them be prepared to take their defeat in good faith.
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Islamabad, Feb 12 (UNI) Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior leader Fawad Chaudhry slammed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for not holding a meeting on Punjab general elections on Sunday despite court orders.

Fawad, tweeted: "The Election Commission should have held a meeting today for the polls, don't make a joke of the Constitution and court orders."

Further criticising the commission, Fawad claimed that the "general impression" is that since the ECP is made up of "Munshis" (clerks or personal assistants), it will not hold provincial elections like it did in Islamabad.
The Krewe of Carrollton, the weekends oldest parade, follows with its captain and lieutenants on horseback. Carrollton rides with 525 men. The 24-float procession is titled "All Things Gold" and features more than 70 units. Krewe-emblemed throws include decorated shrimp boots and fedoras.

King Arthur follows Carrollton with its largest membership ever  2,400 men and women.

This krewe is one of the success stories in Mardi Gras, having been started in 1977 by a 17-year-old.

If all the tandem floats were disconnected, King Arthur would have 71 individual floats. Special throws include fedora hats, grail shaped cutout doubloons, and hand-decorated grails. The theme is "Are You Smarter Than a Knight Grader?"

Parade route

These parades will run on the standard St. Charles Avenue route. Femme Fatale will begin on Napoleon Avenue and Carrollton and King Arthur will begin on Magazine Street. All three parades will head downtown on St. Charles Avenue to Canal Street where they continue to their conclusions.

About the Mystic Krewe of Femme Fatale

The Mystic Krewe of Femme Fatale was established in 2013 by Gwendolyn Victoria Rainey. It was created to provide an opportunity for "women of all creeds and colors" during Carnival season.

The krewe gives young girls the opportunity to ride on their parade floats and learn about the culture of Mardi Gras.

Other parades happening today

Krewe of Barkus: 2 p.m., French Quarter

Did you know?

According to newspaper accounts, the queens of some early Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club parades were men, cross-dressing for comic effect.
On Super Bowl Sunday, a trio of Uptown New Orleans parades kicks off at 11 a.m.

"The Mystic Krewe of Femme Fatale Presents The Gems of Femmenation" is the theme of the 1,200-member clubs 10th parade, which features 25 floats. As Muses has her signature shoes and Nyx has purses, Femme Fatale features bejeweled compacts. Retired Chief Justice Bernette Joshua Johnson of the Louisiana Supreme Court is honored as grand marshal.

The Krewe of Carrollton, this weekends oldest Mardi Gras season parade, follows with its captain and lieutenants on horseback. Carrollton rides with 525 men. The 24-float procession is titled "All Things Gold" and features more than 70 units. Krewe-emblemed throws include decorated shrimp boots and fedoras.

King Arthur follows Carrollton with its largest membership ever: 2,400 men and women. This krewe is one of the success stories of Carnival, having been started in 1977 by a 17-year-old.

If all its tandem floats were disconnected, King Arthur would have 71 individual floats. Special throws include fedora hats, grail-shaped cutout doubloons and hand-decorated grails. The theme is "Are You Smarter Than a Knight Grader?"

In Slidell at 1 p.m., the 38th Dionysus parade rolls with the theme "A Day at the Races." The krewe of 350 male members historically features more than 40 units, including 17 floats. Doubloon collectors should seek out the royal escorts mounted units in front of the parade for special coins available only from them.

For the animal lovers of New Orleans, the Krewe of Barkus strolls through the French Quarter on Sunday afternoon, commencing near Louis Armstrong Park.
The key to a good Carnival song is the groove, says Delfeayo Marsalis.

Its the groove, and its putting you into a relaxed but party state-of-mind, the trombonist and bandleader adds.

Earlier this month, Marsalis and his Uptown Jazz Orchestra released Uptown on Mardi Gras Day, an album of Carnival season classics and originals that aim to strike that balance between laidback tunes and parade-day energy. And while the Uptown Jazz Orchestra plays in a big band format, theres a lot of funk and New Orleans rhythm and blues and brass band influences mixed in.

Uptown on Mardi Gras Day opens with Al Johnsons Carnival Time and includes the staples Big Chief, New Suit, All on a Mardi Gras Day, Street Parade and Mardi Gras Mambo, which is featured twice with a frenetic For the Jazz Cats version capping the album. Theres also The Meters They All Askd for You, which might not be considered a Mardi Gras song, but often gets played a lot around this time of year.

A Carnival song captures the spirit of New Orleans in some kind of way, Marsalis says. And these songs really do that.

Four new songs also are sprinkled across the album, including the title track, Uptown Boogie and So New Orleans. Midnight at the Zulu Ball is a tribute both to brass band culture as well as to the late-night vibes and celebrations happening at the social aid and pleasure clubs ball, Marsalis says.

The songs on Uptown on Mardi Gras Day capture different Fat Tuesday experiences, and Black Masking Indians are featured prominently with Earl Kings Big Chief, Willie Tees New Suit and Big Chief Bo Dollis All on a Mardi Gras Day. Its a reflection of the inspiration Marsalis had from talking with Big Chiefs and Queens during the height of the pandemic, when he started the emergency aid group Keep New Orleans Music Alive.

They would get up during the pandemic at 5 in the morning, cooking big pots of food, bringing it around to the neighborhood and making sure that everybody was looked after, Marsalis says. So to me, its the idea of celebrating folks for who they are and what they do, but not imposing [on them].

The Uptown Jazz Orchestra includes a number of standout New Orleans players like drummer Herlin Riley, trumpeter and vocalist Andrew Baham, saxophonist Khari Allen Lee and trombonist T. J. Norris. And the new album features saxophonist Branford Marsalis, vocalist Tonya Boyd-Cannon, Glen David Andrews, who sings and whistles here, and drummer Marvin Smith. Trumpeter Dr. Brice Miller, who regularly plays with the orchestra, shares co-writing credits on So New Orleans.

Uptown on Mardi Gras Day is a celebration of the Carnival season, but its also a celebration of New Orleans culture, Marsalis says. Its about the connection between locals and the citys music and traditions  and a reminder to visitors to be respectful to the community.

What Mardi Gras means to us in New Orleans is different from a lot of the folks who are just visiting. But we dont mind it. We have that kind of graciousness that you find if you go to certain nations  we were in South Africa, and we found that same level of compassion and understanding, Marsalis says. Thats what makes this music so unique and special: Its the relationship of the music to the people.

Find Uptown on Mardi Gras Day at dmarsalis.com. Marsalis performs with trumpeter Bria Skonberg on Wednesday, Feb. 15, and with his sextet on Friday, Feb. 17, at Snug Harbor. Find tickets at snugjazz.com.
FILE - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks in Vancouver, British Columbia, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023. On Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023, Trudeau said that on his order a U.S. warplane shot down an unidentified object that was flying high over northern Canada, acting a day after U.S. planes took similar action over Alaska. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP, File)
It was only two months ago that Belika Hudgins, a New Orleans mother of eight, said she began to recover from the loss of her 14-year-old son. Malik "Leaky" Carter was shot 19 times last spring and left on a sidewalk in Little Woods.

Wednesday evening, two more of her children fell victim to gun violence, when a 25-year-old daughter and 18-year-old son were shot and killed in a car at Chef Menteur Highway and Bullard Avenue.

"I just got off the dirt floor," Hudgins said Saturday. "I thought [God] was at least going to give me a break."

'One by one'

Hudgins, 46, has now outlived three of her children: Mailk, Tationa "Eastside Tye" Hudgins and Kristen "Fatt Joe" Hudgins.

That's left her and her husband, Chris Carter, desperately trying protect their remaining children and seven grandchildren -- with an eighth on the way -- in a city long burdened by generational violence.

Two of the grandchildren are Tationa's sons, Jayden, 3, and Keshawn, 8, and both were wounded when their mother was killed; they were being discharged from a hospital Saturday. Kristen's pregnant girlfriend was also wounded but is out of the hospital as well, Hudgins said.

Hudgins said that she's spoken with a detective about getting her family into a safe house. She hopes soon to return to work -- and to save enough money to move out of state.

"I've lost three already. It's like they're trying to take them one by one from me," she said.

To Texas and back

Hudgins said Tationa had moved to Texas a couple years ago for a change of scenery, and at one point came home for a visit and took Kristen back with her.
The Krewe of Pygmalion parade rolls on the uptown parade route in New Orleans, Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022. The Pygmalion parade followed the Knights of Sparta to the theme, "The Metamorphosis of Persephone." (Photo by Sophia Germer, NOLA.com, The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)
Turkiye-Syria quakes "worst" disaster of region in century, says UN as more aid needed

Xinhua) 09:49, February 12, 2023

ANKARA, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- The devastating earthquakes that shook southern Turkiye and northern Syria was the "worst event" to hit the region in a century, a senior official from the United Nations said on Saturday.

"What happened here on Monday, the epicenter of the earthquake, was the worst event in 100 years in this region," Martin Griffiths, UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, told reporters in the Turkish province of Kahramanmaras.

More than 100 countries have sent emergency response teams to Turkiye, but "we're going to need more than that," Griffiths said.

The UN would launch the appeal to raise money for agencies to come and help the people who've been affected, he added.

"We have a clear plan tomorrow (or) the day after to give an appeal for a three-month operation to help the people of Turkiye with humanitarian assistance, and we will do some similar one for the people of Syria," he said.

As they are coming to the end of the rescue phase, the UN official expressed concern for the second phase of the disaster. "The second phase of a natural disaster of this size is often a medical one, where we have huge worries here and in Syria, of the health problems which have been going on treated," he noted.

Turkiye's response to the disaster was "extraordinary," Griffiths added.

The death toll from Monday's devastating earthquakes climbed to 22,327 in Turkiye, while another 80,278 injuries were reported in the country, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced on Saturday night.

Search and rescue efforts in ten quake-hit 10 provinces of Turkiye have now begun to turn to debris removal on the sixth day of the disaster. Rescue teams from across Turkiye and around the world were still trying to find survivors in the rubble of toppled buildings and pulled them out against all odds. However, while the number of casualties is soaring, the number of injured pulled out of the rubble was so few on Saturday.

In a statement, the Turkish Medical Association warned about infectious diseases that may occur after the earthquake. Damage to infrastructure such as electricity, water, and sewerage increases the risk of water and food-borne diseases, the statement said.

Risks increase for acute respiratory infections such as influenza, and coronavirus, along with the possibility of contact-transmitted diseases such as scabies, lice, fungi, and diarrheal diseases, it added.

Chinese rescuers have successfully saved at least four survivors so far. An 82-member China Search and Rescue Team arrived in Turkiye on Wednesday to join earthquake relief efforts in the country. Members of the Blue Sky Rescue Team and other Chinese civil relief squads were also in Turkiye to join the international rescue work.

At least 160,000 people, including foreign teams, were on the field for search and rescue efforts, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday. All the state dormitories of universities will be reserved for earthquake victims, and university students will have distance learning until the summer, he noted.

Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu slammed Germany and Austria because their teams have suspended their efforts due to security threats, and criticized them for "slandering" Turkiye.

"Austria's search and rescue team left the job with the claim of battering ... From the first day (of the quake), 416 incidents took place. In the six days before the earthquake, 586 events occurred," in the region, the Turkish minister explained.

"230 people have been detained so far, there are more than 20 arrests. Our friends take the security of the logistics warehouses, the security of the debris fields, the security of the tent sites," he said.

A border gate between Turkiye and Armenia has been opened for the first time in decades for the passage of humanitarian assistance for earthquake victims, the state-run Anadolu News Agency reported Saturday.

The Alican Border Gate was last used in the 1988 earthquake in Armenia when the Turkish Red Crescent crossed the border gate to dispatch aid to disaster areas.

The Armenian aid delegation carrying 100 tonnes of food, medicine, and drinking water passed through the gate in the morning toward the southeastern province of Adiyaman, according to a tweet on Saturday by Serdar Kilic, Turkiye's special representative for normalization talks with Armenia.

Turkiye severed diplomatic relations and closed the border with Armenia in 1993 in support of Azerbaijan which was fighting a war with Armenia over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The two neighbors launched talks on normalizing their ties in 2022.

(Web editor: Xian Jiangnan, Sheng Chuyi)
The Northwest Indiana Business & Industry Hall of Fame will welcome its 16th class in 2023, and nominations are open for selecting new individual members and one Enterprise of the Year.

Anyone may go to nwi.com/halloffame until March 17 to nominate an individual or business for the honor.

The Hall of Fame, sponsored by The Times Media Co. and In Business magazine, currently has 81 individual members and seven Enterprise of the Year members, representing people and businesses who've contributed to the Region's growth and success for generations.

The Class of 2023 will be announced in a spring edition of In Business, and will be honored at a luncheon banquet in May.

NWI Business & Industry Hall of Fame inducts class of 2022, Gov. Holcomb speaks NWI Business & Industry Hall of Fame inducts class of 2022 NWI Business & Industry Hall of Fame inducts class of 2022 NWI Business & Industry Hall of Fame inducts class of 2022 Governor: 'The Region is moving in the right direction' NWI Business & Industry Hall of Fame inducts class of 2022 NWI Business & Industry Hall of Fame inducts class of 2022 NWI Business & Industry Hall of Fame inducts class of 2022 Governor: 'The Region is moving in the right direction' Governor: 'The Region is moving in the right direction' NWI Business & Industry Hall of Fame inducts class of 2022 Governor: 'The Region is moving in the right direction' NWI Business & Industry Hall of Fame inducts class of 2022 Governor: 'The Region is moving in the right direction' Governor: 'The Region is moving in the right direction'
When William Bush arrived at the home of Catharine and Levi Coffin in the small town of what is now called Fountain City on the eastern edge of the Indiana-Ohio state line, he had traveled more than a thousand miles on a quest for freedom.

The Coffins, who are credited with helping more than 2,000 slaves gain their freedom, helped Bush who was arriving from North Carolina, a state that was part of the deep south.

That fact is important to remember. The farther from a free state, the harder it was for an enslaved person to escape. A border state, say Kentucky or Missouri with just a river dividing them, though fraught with danger, offered a better chance of making it to freedom.

But Bush had persevered and though the Coffins helped him, he in turn would help the residents of Fountain City and his roots here remain deep.

While most of the slaves that the Coffins helped would journey on to Canada where slavery was outlawed, Bush remained although that made him more vulnerable to slave hunters hired to bring them back to their owners.

A National Historic Landmark, the Coffin home, now a state historic site and named one of the nations Top 25 Historical Sites by the History Channel, was designed in 1839 to be a stop on the Underground Railroad. At first glance, the attractive two-story Federal-style home looks like the type of establishment befitting a successful merchant like Levi Coffin who owned a store across the street. But on closer inspection the Coffins had tweaked the design of their eight room abode to make it easier to conceal runaways.

A small door, easily hidden by a bed in an upstairs bedroom, leads to a garret where slaves could hide when the home was being searched. A doorway near the top of the stairs was a ruse, drawing the eyes of the searchers.

An indoor well in the basement, fed by a nearby spring, provided cool and clean drinking water to those hiding in the Coffin home. Not having to go outside for water reduced the odds of slaves being seen by those unsympathetic to the abolitionists cause.

In the barn, the tour guide shows us the false bottom of the wagon thats parked there. How dark and uncomfortable it would be to climb in there, hear the wood plank be put in place and then a bale of hay loaded on top. The bumpy ride on rutted roads, the stifling heat in the summer and the bitter cold in the winter. It was just one of many dangers and discomforts of traveling the Underground Railroad.

The Coffins were so successful in their work that of the 1,000 people they helped during their time in Indianathey would later move to Cincinnati, Ohioall made it to freedom.

That included a woman named Eliza Harris, a young mother who had already buried two children. Determined that her two-year-old daughter would not be taken from her and sold to another family as was planned, she ran away with the girl in the middle of the night, heading for the Ohio River. It was winter and Harris thought the water would be frozen, but an early thaw had left big patches of icy cold water between the solid sheets of ice. Feeling as though she had no choice and knowing that pursuers were closing in, Harris entered the water, climbing from ice floe to ice floe as she made her way across the broad expanse of the Ohio. Once ashore on the other side, her clothing drenched, she still had to walk, holding her child, in the freezing weather.

But Harris was one of the lucky ones. She found her way first to the home of John Rankin in Ohio and then on to the Coffin home which was known as The Grand Central Station of the Underground Railroad.

Even though Indianaand Ohiowere free states, a succession of Fugitive Slave acts allowed slave hunters to come north and capture runaways. But while slave hunters could earn big rewards, they were opposed by a counter force not interested in money but in justice, people like the Coffins, who were Quakers.

I had already risked everything in the work  life, property, and reputation  and did not feel bound to respect human laws that came in direct contact with the law of God, he wrote.

And it was true, that he risked it all because those helping slaves could, under the law, lose their possessions and be imprisoned. After all, helping slaves was, in the minds of slaveholders, stealing their property.

Eliza did make it safely to Canada and years later she approached the Coffins when they were in Canada to thank them. Her story was immortalized in Harriet Beecher Stowes novel, Uncle Toms Cabin which revealed the horrors of slavery to Northerners.

But William Bush, once he found his way to the Coffin home, chose a different routeor rather no route at all. He stayed in Fountain City and became a vital member of the community, helping care for the ill and burying the dead when a pandemic hit. He married and had children and this is where the story turns personal for me.

When visiting the Coffin home and the interpretative center next door where William Bushs shoes are on display as well as blown up newspaper advertisements from before the Civil War offering rewards for the return of slaves and other exhibits of those times, I meet Eileen Baker-Wall, a former school administrator, who grew up in Fountain City and was Bushs great, great grandchild. Now a volunteer giving tours, she takes us to William Bushs grave and tells us stories that were passed down through the family.

During our conversations, she asks where I am from and I tell her East Chicago.

Thats interesting as her husband grew up there as well she says.

And then it hits me. I went to school with an Allen Wall who it turns out is her husbands brother.

Its a minor connection to a much bigger storyabout how much people were willing to risk helping out and to find freedom.

FYI: In the upcoming months there are several programs of interest including Feb. 20, Presidents Day with Abraham Lincoln for a talk and chance to "meet" the 16th President. Also April 29: Meet Harriet Tubman  known as Moses during her years aiding freedom-seekers on their journeys north from Maryland on the Underground Railroad. Learn about Tubmans life, hear stories of her escapes, ask questions about her work with the Underground Railroad and more.

The museum is open Wednesday  Sunday ,10 a.m.  5 p.m. It's located at 201 U.S. 27 North, Fountain City, Indiana. For reservations or more information, call 765-847-1691 or visit indianamuseum.org/historic-sites/levi-catharine-coffin-house
GARY  Indiana University Northwest is holding a free workshop Feb. 26 to help college-bound students fill out their Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

Financial aid professionals will volunteer to help the students, and their families, with the FAFSA, which is required to receive many federal, state and university-specific student grants, work-study programs and loans. Spanish-speaking volunteers will also be available.

IUN also announced that the university is giving away five $1,000 scholarships to students who attend the event and submit a completed evaluation form. IUN plans to notify winners in the spring; scholarships will be sent directly to the higher education institution selected by the winning students.

IUN asks that any students attending bring the following items:

FSA ID username and password. Create your FSA ID at studentaid.gov

before the event. The student and a parent (if applicable) need an FSA ID to log in to certain U.S. Department of Education websites and sign the FAFSA form  IUNs school code is 001815.

2021 IRS 1040 tax returns.

2021 W-2 Forms.

Other 2021 income and benefits information.

Current investment and bank records.

Students who worked last year should also have their income information available.

Students 24 years of age need to have the following items (for themselves):

2021 IRS 1040 tax return.

W-2 Form.

Other 2021 income and benefits information.

The workshop is scheduled for 2 to 4 p.m. in Hawthorn Hall, Room 454, on IUNs Gary campus, 3400 Broadway.
Judge Margret Robb, the first woman to serve as chief judge of the Indiana Court of Appeals, is planning to retire this summer after spending 25 years on the state's second-highest court.

As a result, the Indiana Judicial Nominating Commission is soliciting applications from experienced Hoosier lawyers and judges interested in succeeding Robb.

The application deadline is March 17. However, all applicants for this vacancy must reside in the 2nd Appellate District, which generally includes Indianapolis and nearby counties in north central Indiana.

The commission, led by Indiana Chief Justice Loretta Rush, plans to interview each applicant and ultimately will recommend three to the governor.

Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb then will have 60 days to decide which potential judge to put on the Court of Appeals for a two-year term.

Hoosier voters living in the 2nd Appellate District will decide at the 2026 general election whether the new judge should be retained for 10 more years.

Fifteen judges serve on Indiana's appellate court. They're organized into three-judge panels to hear and decide cases appealed from the trial courts in all 92 counties.

Map of Indiana Court of Appeals Districts Northwest Indiana and the northern third of the state is located in the Third Appellate District, as well as the Fourth and Fifth Districts th

Gallery: Take a virtual tour of Indiana's state parks Brown County State Park Chain O' Lakes State Park Charlestown State Park Clifty Falls State Park Falls of the Ohio State Park Fort Harrison State Park Harmonie State Park Lincoln State Park McCormick's Creek State Park Mounds State Park O'Bannon Woods State Park Ouabache State Park Pokagon State Park Potato Creek State Park Prophetstown State Park Shades State Park Shakamak State Park Spring Mill State Park Summit Lake State Park Tippecanoe River State Park Turkey Run State Park Versailles State Park White River State Park Whitewater Memorial State Park
Cardiovascular disease accounts for nearly one-third of all deaths worldwide each year.

To help reduce these stunning numbers, hospitals in the Region are utilizing cutting-edge technology. From minimally invasive surgical procedures to advanced imaging techniques, these state-of-the-art technologies are helping doctors diagnose and treat heart disease with greater precision and effectiveness.

For high-risk patients

Angioplasty has long been a procedure used to open a blocked artery so a stent can be inserted, allowing blood to more freely flow. Yet for some patients, whats now known as percutaneous coronary intervention can be a risky procedure.

Cardiovascular comorbidities such as heart failure and the severity of a patients blockages can affect whether that person is suitable for angioplasty, says Dr. Mihas Kodenchery, a cardiologist with Methodist Physician Group.

These high-risk stent procedures are very stressful for the heart, Kodenchery said. They are at high risk of the heart stopping, lungs flooding with fluid, blood pressure dropping and the heart flipping into a dangerous rhythm.

Yet with a tool called Impella, more high-risk patients can take advantage of this life-saving procedure, he says. Impella is a small heart pump that helps maintain blood flow during these procedures.

When we use Impella, part of the work of the heart is done by Impella during the procedure, Kodenchery said. So the patient and the heart tolerate them well, and reduces the risk of complications and improves the outcome.

Complete picture within minutes

The increased availability of a coronary CTA is helping doctors get a clearer picture of how significant a blockage is in a patients arteries.

Dr. Jay Shah, a cardiologist with Northwest Health, says a coronary computed tomography angiography is a noninvasive procedure that reveals plaque buildup in the coronary arteries.

Studies show that nearly half of all adults have cholesterol buildup without known heart disease or symptoms.

A coronary CTA involves an injection of iodine-containing contrast material and a CT scan to examine the arteries that supply blood to the heart.

Within minutes we can get a complete picture, Shah said. That is significant in seeing the severity of the blockage and helping guide any decision-making with treatment.

CT scanners have become more sophisticated, Shah says, allowing doctors to more quickly evaluate blood flow to the heart and determine whether a patient has heart disease.

In 2021, the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and American Heart Association (AHA) updated their evidence-based recommendations that address the diagnosis and evaluation of acute and stable chest pain in patients who come to the emergency room. Last year, Northwest Health-Porter announced that it had adopted these new guidelines for cardiac imaging.

One of the most significant updates is the elevated role of a coronary CTA to a Class 1 recommendation, the strongest for a medical test that indicates need for possible treatment or intervention.

The detailed recommendations are the first set of guidelines from the ACC and AHA that address chest pain and offer a roadmap for physicians when evaluating patients with or without known coronary artery disease (CAD), as well as patients who have risk factors such as age or other health conditions.

Cardiac CTA is becoming the new, quicker way to evaluate blood flow to the heart to determine whether someone has a blockage, Shah said.

Reducing stroke risk

Blockages in the carotid artery increase risk of a stroke, says Dr. Anas Safadi, a cardiology specialist with Community Healthcare System.

TransCarotid Artery Revascularization, or TCAR, is a revolutionary procedure performed through a small incision in the neck and designed to reduce this serious risk.

The traditional treatment for carotid artery blockages has been an open surgery called carotid endarterectomy. For patients who have more risk factors, such as advanced age or other medical conditions, this procedure is risky.

TCAR offers an alternative. It involves making an incision in the neck, placing a tube into the carotid artery and temporarily reversing blood flow away from the brain. This prevents loose bits of plaque from reaching the brain, which can cause a stroke, Safadi says.

A stent is then inserted into the artery to stabilize the plaque.

The pressure difference shunts blood away from the brain completely, therefore reducing the risk of a clot or debris going to the brain while the stent is being deployed, Safadi said.

TCAR can benefit most patients with significant carotid disease and help reduce their risk of suffering a stroke, he says.

The ideal patient is one who has blockage that is significant, which is more than 50% in patients who have a history of stroke or 70% in those who have never had a stroke, Safadi said. The procedure reduces the risk of stroke compared to the old stenting technique and is at least as equivalent to surgery in risk of stroke, with less risk of nerve damage, reduction of surgical time and quicker recovery.

Most patients go home early the next morning, he said.

There are even some centers that do the procedure with local and moderate sedation, reducing the risk of anesthesia to patients, Safadi said.

Another important tool used to reduce stroke risk is the Watchman device, Shah says. This device replaces the long-term use of blood thinning medication in many patients who have atrial fibrillation (A-Fib), a condition that causes the hearts upper chambers to beat out of coordination with its lower chambers. Those who have been diagnosed with A-Fib carry a higher risk of stroke, Shah said.

The Watchman is implanted in a minimally invasive procedure for people who have atrial fibrillation not caused by a heart valve problem. The device closes off the hearts left atrial appendage, where most blood pools and forms a clot in A-Fib patients. By keeping blood clots from escaping and traveling to other parts of the body, a stroke can be prevented.

Some people cannot tolerate blood thinners because of bleeding issues, Shah said. But at the same time, we dont want that higher risk of stroke to be present. We can put a Watchman device in there and lower the risk of stroke and get rid of the need for a blood thinner.

A quicker return home

An alternative to open heart surgery, TAVR, or transcatheter aortic valve replacement, is a minimally invasive heart procedure that replaces a thickened aortic valve that cant fully open.

TAVR is another example of an innovative procedure offered in Northwest Indiana that allows patients to spend less time in the hospital.

If the aortic valve, which is between the left ventricle and the aorta, cant open correctly, blood flow to the heart will be restricted.

For those who may be at risk of complications from open heart surgery to replace a damaged aortic valve, TAVR uses smaller incisions and a catheter to the heart while implanting a valve made from cow or pig heart tissue.

Now at Northwest Health-Porter, we can replace the valve through the groin and patients go home by lunch the next day, Shah said.
The Republican-controlled House has voted to boot Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., off the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

I salute Republicans for leadership, beneficial for the country and beneficial for Black Americans whose interests Omar pretends to represent.

Omar pushed back from the House floor, playing, of course, the race card. She accused Republicans of questioning her as an American because she is of a "certain skin color."

No. To quote one well-known Black American, this is about the content of her character, not about the color of her skin.

Anyone following the story has read the long series of antisemitic, anti-Israel diatribes from Omar since she has been in Congress.

But she is not just antisemitic and anti-Israel. She is anti-American.

Last year, she lumped Israel and the U.S. together in comparing both to the Taliban. "We have seen unthinkable atrocities committed by the U.S., Hamas, Israel, Afghanistan and the Taliban," she observed.

A number of years ago, George Gilder wrote a book called "The Israel Test."

The test, per Gilder, is summarized by a few questions: "What is your attitude toward people who excel you in the creation of wealth or in other accomplishment? Do you aspire to their excellence, or do you seethe at it? Do you admire and celebrate exceptional achievement, or do you impugn it and seek to tear it down?"

Those who admire success and seek to emulate it pass Gilder's Israel Test.

Of course, the test is about a state of mind, an attitude toward life. Israel is just one focal point.

You must have self-inflicted blindness not to appreciate that no country in the world has ever achieved what the United States has achieved and contributed. The creativity and innovation on every front of science, technology and entrepreneurship is mindboggling.

Americans have won 403 Nobel prizes, 43% of all since the award began 122 years ago.

But Omar and her lefty friends are more interested in focusing on what was and what is not perfect in our nation so they can trash everything and advance their left-wing agenda.

Israel's story is miraculous beyond words. Out of nothing, in just 75 years, a booming modern economy has been created, despite having to fight at least three major wars along the way against enemies that far outnumbered them.

Omar and her crowd hate this. They hate a story in which individuals take personal responsibility for their lives, fight, struggle against great odds and achieve.

Omar deserves to be booted because of her antisemitism. But more deeply, she deserves to be booted because she fails Gilder's Israel Test.

She loves to talk about her childhood in Somalia. Somalia has a national per capita income of around $500. Why doesn't she spend time trying to inspire change in her beleaguered home country?

Omar and her colleague Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez prefer making allegations about institutional racism rather than looking at what really drives poverty and underachievement in our poor communities. As a start, it is perpetuated by the Omar-AOC mindset looking for whom to blame, looking for whom to hate, rather than starting with freedom and personal responsibility.

We're in the middle of Black History Month.

Let's not let Omar and her lefty crowd hijack our great American story.

As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said in his historic "I Have a Dream" speech, the problem is not our great American values, but failures to live up to them.

The struggles, and achievements, of Black Americans to participate fully in the American saga and dream have made this country greater.

We are getting closer. But we must turn from the naysayers and move in the direction of life, family and freedom.

As for Omar, she ought to spend less time accusing others of denying that she is an American and more time learning and embracing the values that define, and make great, our free country under God.
Before going home to Philadelphia to watch the Super Bowl this Sunday, Cheyenne Corin, 27, a freelance journalist in Washington, D.C., texted her mother a special request: cheese steaks topped with caviar.

Cheese steaks are a great celebration food and caviar is a great celebration food, so why not have them together? she said. I cant wait.

Michelle Park, 40, a television journalist who lives in Essex County, N.J., always has a few jars of Olma Caviar in her refrigerator  not for dinner parties or date nights, but for her 4-year-old daughter and her play dates. The kids come over and ask for caviar because they know our house is a caviar house, Ms. Park said. Sometimes we put it on Ritz crackers or on top of a sour cream dip.

Trinh Carreon, 31, who posts TikToks of herself trying different foods, recently sampled the TikTok fad of Doritos topped with creme fraiche and caviar, calling it the most bougiest food combo I have ever tried.
Opening a line of communication

Tessa Miller Kiesz, 21, and her partner, Nicholas Brester, 22, had been living together for about two months when they decided to adopt a kitten named Rue. The adoption fee  $300, which included neutering  prompted one of their first conversations about money. They had been working as ranch hands in Montana and earned equal salaries, and Rue was their first bill to split.

The adoption started a shared financial journey that took them from Montana to New York, where Ms. Miller Kiesz started theater school and works in pottery and as a part-time nanny. Mr. Brester freelances on Off Broadway shows, mostly as a technical director.

The volatile nature of life in the performing arts makes it difficult to split everything 50-50.

When its good, its really good. When its bad, its really bad, Mr. Brester said. And sometimes artists just dont have that luxury of consistency.

Ms. Miller Kiesz and Mr. Brester have had to get more granular with their financial discussions, especially around date nights. They try to be more spontaneous, but cost-conscious, by using, for example, the New York Public Librarys Culture Pass program to receive free admission to museums. They also lay out in advance if theyre going to split a date or if one of them will treat the other.

I think the way that works best with us is always having that almost emotional and financial prep going into it, Ms. Miller Kiesz said. Bringing up Venmo during a date, she said, would remove the romance from an evening out.

But Ms. Miller Kiesz is comfortable with asking Mr. Brester to pay her back while shes in line at the grocery store. She said these single-digit conversations opened up a line of communication, allowing them to talk about larger financial issues.

It does kind of feel like an act of love within itself to open those conversations at the right time, when you know your partners in a good space, and to allow those moments to flow a little bit better, she said.
The Chinese diplomat behind the window at the visa office called me and the other journalists up to the desk, one by one, to hand us our passports. I flipped through mine until I saw the entry visa for China, good for four days.

It seemed an auspicious way to kick off the Year of the Rabbit, which promised to be a busy one for United States-China relations, a subject I cover as a diplomatic correspondent for The New York Times.

The other reporters and I were set to board a plane the next night with Antony J. Blinken, the U.S. secretary of state, to spend two days in China, which had closed itself off from the world during the coronavirus pandemic and was only just starting to reopen. An American secretary of state had not visited Beijing, the Chinese capital, since 2018, and we were making the trip to report on Mr. Blinkens talks with President Xi Jinping and other top Chinese officials.

I have traveled around the world many times with American secretaries of state, but this trip had a personal dimension: I reported from China for nearly a decade, and was The Timess Beijing bureau chief before finally returning to the United States in 2016. I got married and started a family there; I have lived in Beijing longer than I have in any other city in my adult life. Since leaving I have been back to China only once, on a brief reporting trip.
Based on her record so far, Justice Barrett might be compared with Chief Justice William Rehnquist, in terms of her clean, straightforward writing style and her reluctance to opine on issues not presented by the case before her (reflected in her relatively low number of separate concurrences, where such opining most often takes place). And there have been other surprises. In 2020, Democratic politicians opposed to her nomination confidently predicted she would hold the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional if confirmed. She voted to uphold it.

Justice Barrett did not join Justice Thomass concurrence, which reiterated his view that the A.C.A. is unconstitutional but rejected this particular challenge on technical grounds, and she did not join the dissent of Justice Alito, who would have declared the law unenforceable. And in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, she declined to call for overruling Employment Division v. Smith, a precedent that is deeply unpopular among religious conservatives  even writing a concurrence explaining the practical difficulties of overruling it.

Dont take our word for it: The significant ideological gap between Justices Thomas and Alito, on the one hand, and the Trump nominees, on the other, can be seen in their Martin-Quinn scores, a measure of judicial ideology developed by political scientists. Based on their rulings during the courts last term, Justices Thomas and Alito earn scores of 2.949 and 2.458, the higher number signifying greater conservatism. Justices Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Barrett earn scores of 1.019, 0.791 and 1.318, respectively  fairly close to one another, but markedly different from the two scores of the staunch conservatives anchoring the right wing of the court.

Nor do the Trump justices march in lock step with one another. In fact, Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh disagreed more with each other in their first term together than any other pairing of justices appointed by the same president since the Kennedy administration, according to Adam Feldman of the blog Empirical SCOTUS. They have found themselves on opposite sides of such issues as the death penalty, defendants rights, immigration law and Indian law. Knowing which of the two is more likely to defect from the conservative bloc on which issue is actionable information for Supreme Court advocates. It could help conservative lawyers trying to hold together a winning coalition of justices, or it could help liberal lawyers trying to cobble together a majority for their preferred outcome  or, more realistically, trying to do damage control by limiting the sweep of an adverse ruling.

One area where the Trump appointees have agreed with one another, interestingly enough, is in ruling against Mr. Trump. This was not preordained: Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee in Florida, seemed to bend over backward to rule in his favor in the Mar-a-Lago documents litigation. Instead, much to his chagrin, Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh voted against Mr. Trump in Trump v. Vance and Trump v. Mazars, two cases about access to his tax and other financial records. Justices Thomas and Alito dissented in both cases. Similarly, none of his justices voted to hear Texas v. Pennsylvania, Texas challenge to the 2020 election results that was strongly supported by Mr. Trump. He then lashed out, declaring that the Supreme Court should be ashamed of itself  even though he appointed a third of its members.
For almost 20 years, I wrote about mental health for The New York Times and, before that, for The Los Angeles Times. In those jobs, I would have been obligated to quote top experts and scare up data for a story on the number of people swimming in this dark sea. Yet I had my own qualitative data, a careers worth: I fielded queries from readers asking for guidance, advice, referrals or just five minutes to talk. And these were often educated, affluent people: Weve been up and down Park Avenue, and my son is just getting worse. Help! one reader pleaded in an email to me.

Here is the data point that matters: Hundreds of thousands of families go through this every year, without someone to talk to. Theyre on their own.

But here is another data point that also matters, especially to me and my colleagues fielding calls at a new mental health navigation service in Asheville, N.C.: an estimated 10 to 15 percent of people calm down after a 20-minute conversation, knowing they can call back and that we can find them help quickly. They might say, Thank you. I think Ill be OK. At least now I know I can call somebody.

Any real and durable improvement in mental health care in this country must come from the ground up, driven by educated consumers demanding both access and quality. Whoever figures out how to harness that power will do more for families in trouble than any politician or scientist.

I left my New York Times job to try to address this access issue directly. The timing seemed right. Twelve months of Covid had strained mental health services, especially for young people, and last year the government rolled out the 988 mental health crisis line to replace the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Those two developments made many headlines and helped expose not only gaps in service but also profound difficulties in access. Even if there is an excellent clinic or service a mile away, how do you find it? How do you know it really is the right one for your son or daughter or brother? Does it take your insurance?
Heres why Bidens 46 words are so important: First, it puts him squarely behind the compromise approach called for by President Isaac Herzog of Israel  and behind keeping Israels widely respected judiciary independent. Although Israels presidency is largely a symbolic job, the office carries moral weight. Herzog is a good man who has been trying to head off what he fears could be the most serious civil strife ever within Israeli society if such a big change in the judicial system, inspired in part by a far-right Israeli think tank, is rammed through.

Herzog has pleaded with Netanyahu and his coalition to step back and organize some kind of bipartisan, national dialogue that can patiently study what kind of judicial changes might be healthy for Israel but do it with legal experts, in a nonpartisan fashion and in a way that preserves the integrity of the judicial system that has existed since Israels founding.

Unfortunately, Netanyahu rebuffed the Israeli president, which prompted Herzog to declare on Jan. 24 about the so-called judicial reform: The democratic foundations of Israel, including the justice system, and human rights and freedoms, are sacred, and we must protect them and the values expressed in the Declaration of Independence. The dramatic reform, when done quickly without negotiation, rouses opposition and deep concerns among the public. He added, The absence of dialogue is tearing us apart from within, and Im telling you loud and clear: This powder keg is about to explode. This is an emergency.

With Bidens 46 words, Netanyahu now finds himself in a situation where, if he just keeps plowing ahead, he wont just be snubbing the Israeli president; he will be snubbing the American president as well. Thats no small deal. I also suspect that Biden taking a stand on this issue in this measured but unmistakable fashion will encourage other Western democratic leaders, business leaders and U.S. senators and representatives to do so, too, which will also energize the opposition.
This month, the popular conservative podcaster Matt Walsh tweeted a thought that rapidly went viral, with approximately 18 million views. All a man wants, he wrote, is to come home from a long day at work to a grateful wife and children who are glad to see him, and dinner cooking on the stove. This is literally all it takes to make a man happy. We are simple. Give us this and you will have given us nearly everything we need.

The message was obviously trollish and intended to generate outrage. Bringing back Leave It to Beaver is not a serious strategy for renewing American masculinity. But it touched on an important question: How much should a mans self-worth depend on the respect or gratitude of others?

I raise this because an overwhelming amount of evidence  from suicide, to drug overdoses, to education achievement gaps  indicates that millions of men are in crisis. And simply put, while many men demand respect, what they need is purpose, and the quest for respect can sometimes undermine the sense of purpose that will help make them whole. To put it more simply still: What men need is not for others to do things for them. They need to do things for others: for spouses, for children, for family and friends and colleagues.

Many Americans  especially in evangelical circles  are familiar with the saying, Men want respect while women want love. They may need both, but they sometimes want different things. The concept was popularized by a writer and pastor named Emerson Eggerichs, who wrote the book Love and Respect: The Love She Most Desires; The Respect He Desperately Needs, but its hardly an exclusively Christian concept. Eggerichs interviewed men and women and found that  in times of conflict  men overwhelmingly felt disrespected, not unloved, and if forced to choose, they would choose respect over love.
The latest manifestation of the government intolerance for critical reporting was its invocation of emergency laws last month to block a BBC documentary titled The Modi Question. The documentary revived damning questions about Mr. Modis role, when he led the government of the Indian state of Gujarat, in a horrific episode of violence in 2002, in which more than 1,000 people  most of them Muslims  were slaughtered over several weeks.

While many salient facts about the Gujarat rioting are well known, the BBC documentary revealed, among other things, a hitherto unknown British government report from 2002 that found Mr. Modi directly responsible for the tense environment that enabled rioting and that accused the Gujarat state government of leaning on the police not to intervene as Muslims were beaten, raped and burned to death. Mr. Modi has long denied any responsibility for the violence, and an investigative team appointed by Indias Supreme Court ruled in 2012 not to charge him because there was not enough evidence.

Mr. Modi, who was re-elected in 2019 with a substantial majority for his Bharatiya Janata Party, remains extremely popular. But two decades later he has not been able to shake persistent questions about his role in the violence, especially as the government has suppressed an open discussion of his brand of Hindu nationalism. Instead, as a recent Human Rights Watch report noted, the B.J.P.s ideology of Hindu primacy has infiltrated the justice system and the media, empowering party supporters to threaten, harass, and attack religious minorities, particularly Muslims, with impunity.

The two-part BBC documentary challenged all that. Though there had been no plans to air it in India, key portions promptly began circulating on social media. The government reacted with what has become its signature fury. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting blocked videos and links sharing the documentary, calling it hostile propaganda and anti-India garbage, with a colonial mind-set. It added that YouTube and Twitter had complied with the order. Earlier this week Indian tax agents raided BBC offices in New Delhi and Mumbai.

BBC said in a statement that the documentary was rigorously researched according to highest editorial standards.
Thompson has been grappling with that color line ever since, and this has led him to face hard truths about the history of his family, of our country and of the church. It led him out of the pulpit as a pastor and into a vocation in which he calls white Americans to truth, to responsibility and to the task of repair. Today, Thompson is a scholar, writer, artist and professional cook, whose work centers on race, religion, public memory and hospitality. We met eight years ago at an event for civic leaders in Boston. I spoke with him recently to learn more about his advocacy of reparations and the story of transformation that led him to it.

Growing up, Thompsons family didnt talk much about race. But he says he sensed an impermeable but also unintelligible barrier between races that is just really a part of Southern life. In high school, he became a Christian. His youth group began to talk about serving the economically disadvantaged in urban ministry. Looking back now, he sees that this approach characterized the Black community primarily in terms of their lack.

He wasnt aware of systemic inequality or injustice. Instead, he said, the focus was on racial reconciliation. He didnt want to be a racist in his heart, but he says, I had no notion of the social or historical content of that or the various temptations to white saviorism or paternalism.

Over the next couple of decades, his growing awareness about race was, in his words, incoherent. His first year of college at the University of South Carolina, his roommate was Black. They became close friends and Thompson realized how little he understood about the Black experience. Still, when a family member bought him a Confederate flag that had flown over the South Carolina State House, Thompson treasured it. The first home he and his wife rented together was on a former plantation. They had a portrait of Robert E. Lee on the wall. He was still affected by what he called the Souths low-grade commitment to the Lost Cause.

There was an utterly dissociative nature to what I was experiencing, he recalled. He wanted to follow God and love his neighbor. He cared about his Black friends, but he valued his Southern identity and had little grasp of history. I could not have told you anything meaningful about enslavement, he said. I would have said the tropes everyone says, about That was a long time ago or whatever.
Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida prizes preparation and the way it allows him to control his political narrative. But suddenly, he was on the verge of going off message.

He had traveled to a Central Florida warehouse this past week to promote a $2 billion tax cut proposal when he was confronted with the inevitable: an especially ugly attack from former President Donald J. Trump that seemed to warrant a strong response.

Mr. Trump had insinuated on social media that Mr. DeSantis behaved inappropriately with high school girls while he was a teacher in his early 20s. As a reporter asked for his reaction, the Florida governor  standing amid kitchen stoves and boxes of baby diapers  inhaled sharply. He straightened the papers in front of him and raised his open palms to interrupt the question.

But instead of slamming the former president, Mr. DeSantis demurred.

I spend my time delivering results for the people of Florida and fighting against Joe Biden, he said. Thats how I spend my time. I dont spend my time trying to smear other Republicans.
Did former President Donald J. Trump consume detailed information about foreign countries while in office? How extensively did he seek information about whether voting machines had been tampered with? Did he indicate he knew he was leaving when his term ended?

Those are among the questions that Justice Department investigators have been directing at witnesses as the special counsel, Jack Smith, takes control of the federal investigations into Mr. Trumps efforts to reverse his 2020 election loss and his handling of classified documents found in his possession after he left office.

Through witness interviews, subpoenas and other steps, Mr. Smith has been moving aggressively since being named to take over the inquiries nearly three months ago, seeking to make good on his goal of resolving as quickly as possible whether Mr. Trump, still a leading contender for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, should face charges.

Last week, he issued a subpoena to former Vice President Mike Pence, a potentially vital witness to Mr. Trumps actions and state of mind in the days before the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob.
Throughout the weekend, officials said they were still trying to determine what the three objects were. The first, a Defense Department official said, is most likely not a balloon  and it broke into pieces after it was shot down on Friday. Saturdays object was described by Canadian authorities as cylindrical, and American officials say it is more likely it was a balloon of some kind. Sundays object appeared unlikely to be a balloon, one official said.

NORAD radar tracked the first two objects for at least 12 hours before they were shot down. But Defense Department officials have never said whether they picked the objects up on radar before they neared American airspace. One official said it is unclear what keeps the objects aloft.

U.S. officials said they are reviewing video and other sensor readings collected by the American pilots who observed the objects before their destruction. But the exact nature of the objects, where they are from and what they were intended for will not be confirmed until the F.B.I. and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police have the chance to thoroughly examine the debris, officials said.

Asked during a news conference on Sunday whether he had ruled out extraterrestrial origins, Gen. Glen D. VanHerck, the commander of the Air Forces Northern Command, said, I havent ruled out anything at this point. But in interviews Sunday, national security officials discounted any thoughts that what the Air Force shot out of the sky represented any sort of alien visitors. No one, one senior official said, thinks these things are anything other than devices fashioned here on Earth.

Luis Elizondo, the military intelligence officer who ran the Pentagons U.F.O. program until 2017, concurred. But he said that the Biden administration must find a way to balance vigilance over what is going on in the skies above America against chasing our tail whenever something unknown shows up  a tough task, he said.
WARWICKSHIRE, England  The S.U.V. trundled along the winding English country road at dawn, its five masked occupants decked head to toe in black as the hills of the Warwickshire countryside rolled past.

Squinting through the rain-flecked windows, they spotted their target in the distance: hunters on horseback on the grounds of a grand 18th-century estate.

The distant howls of baying dogs sounded out, their cries drawing closer.

Suddenly, a pack of about 20 hounds appeared at the end of the narrow road, followed by dozens of galloping horses, their riders sporting navy blue jackets and cream jodhpurs.

Cries of Go, go, go! rang from the vehicle as the doors flung open and the masked occupants leaped out.
One peers down from a perch near the top of the Eiffel Tower. The silver eyes of another glint from the fountain in the Place du Chatelet. A red-eyed beast glowers near the Pompidou Art Gallery.

Along with Haussman apartment buildings and bridges spanning the Seine, Invaders work has become an essential part of Pariss aesthetic. They are an intimate part of the lives of some locals; many have formed volunteer teams to repair the damaged and replace the missing, and others plan their weekends and vacations around finding them.

His work is still technically illegal; the fear of arrest is why he first took a pseudonym. (His anonymity has since become an intrinsic part of his artistic identity, and he agreed to be interviewed only if his real name was not used.) But the Hotel de Ville, Pariss city hall, put the artists work on the cover of its poster advertising an exhibition celebrating street art. Mayor Anne Hidalgo called the artist herself to request permission.

What will happen the next time the police stop me on the street at 4 a.m.? said Invader, who has spent 10 nights in jail in Paris for vandalism, but never been formally charged. Will they ask for an autograph or arrest me?
The soldier knelt in the snow, aimed a rocket launcher and fired in the direction of Russian troops positioned about a mile away. He was set up at a Ukrainian firing position, and looked just like the other Ukrainian troops fighting south of the city of Bakhmut in one of the most brutal theaters of the war.

But he and his comrades are not Ukrainian. They are soldiers in a Ukrainian military unit made up entirely of Russians who are fighting and killing their own countrymen.

They have taken up arms against Russia for a variety of reasons: a sense of moral outrage at their countrys invasion, a desire to defend their adopted homeland of Ukraine or because of a visceral dislike of Russias president, Vladimir V. Putin. And they have earned enough trust from Ukrainian commanders to take their place among the forces viciously fighting the Russian military.

A real Russian man doesnt engage in such an aggressive war, wont rape children, kill women and elderly people, said one Russian fighter with the military call sign Caesar, ticking off atrocities committed by Russian soldiers that motivated him to leave his native St. Petersburg and fight for Ukraine. Thats why I dont have remorse. I do my job and Ive killed a lot of them.
Russian forces edged closer to Bakhmut on Sunday, claiming to capture a village on the outskirts of the strategic city in eastern Ukraine as they hammered nearby settlements with tank rounds, mortar fire and artillery shells.

The Wagner private military company, whose forces have helped lead the brutal and monthslong Russian campaign to seize Bakhmut, said that its assault units had taken the village of Krasna Hora, near the northern edge of the city. The statement was made by the press service of Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, the groups founder, and included a video purporting to show Wagner fighters at the entrance to the village.

This is what we have captured, one fighter is heard saying as an explosion rings out. They will continue on to the next village, he added. There was no immediate comment from Russias Defense Ministry, and neither the claim nor the footage could be independently verified.

Bakhmut has emerged as a focal point of the war and an important prize for President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, who has poured troops into the battle for a city seen as key to his stated goal of seizing the entire area of eastern Ukraine known as Donbas.
On the campaign trail in 2019, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey praised legislation that his political party had pushed through allowing property owners to have construction violations forgiven without bringing their buildings up to code.

The move was risky in Turkey, a fault-ridden land prone to earthquakes that had tightened those same codes to make buildings more tremor proof.

But it appealed to voters. At rallies in the provinces of Hatay, Kahramanmaras and Malatya, Mr. Erdogan said the legislation had solved the problems of more than 438,000 property owners.

Now, after last weeks devastating earthquake, those areas are blanketed with toppled buildings that entombed their residents when they fell.
This peanut butter hot fudge can be made a few days in advance and warmed in the microwave just before serving.

Credit... Mark Weinberg for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Yossy Arefi.
BBC Radio Scotland is a Scottish radio network owned and operated by BBC Scotland, a division of the BBC. It broadcasts a wide variety of programmes. It replaced the Scottish BBC Radio 4 opt-out service of the same name from 23 November 1978. Radio Scotland is broadcast in English, whilst sister station Radio nan Gaidheal broadcasts in Scottish Gaelic.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be travelling to the Bahamas next week to meet with his counterparts from 20 Caribbean governments.
The Voice of Democracy has had its licence taken after leader says the media organisation attacked him and his son.
Britain's Ministry of Defense said a lack of trained personnel, coordination and resources could account for the high casualty rate. Ukraine also continues to suffer a higher attrition rate, it said. DW has the latest.
Voters returned to polling booths across the German capital after a botched 2021 election was declared null and void. The result is an upset for Chancellor Olaf Scholz's SPD.
Human rights activists are trying to raise awareness after a teenage girl was left with a severe brain injury during a crackdown by Iranian security forces.
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Providing extra border crossings from Turkey into Syria is an "open and shut case" on humanitarian grounds following the catastrophic "mega" disaster, a UN aid chief has told Sky News.
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The object was shot down over Lake Huron, following two other such incidents over Alaska and Canada in recent days. Earlier, Canadan Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said investigators were hunting for the wreckage.
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In 2006, while serving as prime minister after his military career, Sharon suffered a stroke which ultimately put him into an eight-year-long coma.
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Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in France on Saturday in a fourth day of action against President Emmanuel Macron's pension reform, with unions warning
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#dudley #northcarolina #joelgillie #waynecounty #genoaroad #timrushenberg #csx
Watch VideoCanadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Saturday that on his order a U.S. fighter jet shot down an unidentified object that was flying high over the Yukon, acting a day after the U.S. took similar action over Alaska.



North American Aerospace Defense Command, the combined U.S.-Canada organization that provides...
Watch VideoPresident Joe Biden, hosting both Republican and Democratic governors for a black-tie affair at the White House, raised his glass for a toast.



Standing under a portrait of Abraham Lincoln, he told the people in the room to remember who they were. "We're the United States of America. We can get big things done if we...
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The Hell that doesnt exist has frozen over: I agree with Ross Douthat.

For those of you who dont recognize the name, Douthat is a conservative columnist for The New York Times. Hes an articulate and thoughtful conservative in the mold of William F. Buckley, not a conspiracy-spouting populist like Donald Trump or Ted Cruz though he usually arrives at the same policy positions.

Earlier this month Douthat wrote an opinion piece titled Be open to spiritual experience, but be really careful. The NYT site is paywalled, but this syndicated edition at the Salt Lake Tribune is not. The subtitle is with the decline of traditional religion, you dont know what you are getting.

As a practitioner of a non-traditional religion (or perhaps, the modern reimagining of a very old tradition), I completely agree.

Douthat begins by saying:

the dissolution of the old order of American religion  the decline of churches and denominations and the rise of deinstitutionalized spirituality  means that more and more religious lives are lived in-between worldviews, in experimental territory where its a mistake to expect coherence, theological consistency, a definite set of prior assumptions or beliefs. In this column I want to defend the rationality of this kind of spiritual experimentation and then to warn about its dangers.

He gives three examples: people who experiment with witchcraft, people who experiment with DMT, and a new statue outside a New York courthouse meant to symbolize female power in a historically male-dominated legal world and to protest Roe v. Wades reversal. He sees all of them as understandable given the lack of religious consensus in this country, but also as potentially dangerous.

Im not Douthats target audience. Hes mainly talking to atheists and other materialists who believe theres no danger in spiritual experimentation, because there are no spirits to cause danger. Or if there are, they just want the best for us. He says:

its important to emphasize something taught by almost every horror movie but nonetheless skated over in a lot of American spirituality: the importance of being really careful in your openness, and not just taking the beneficence of the metaphysical realm for granted.

Douthat is a Catholic monotheist  Im a Pagan polytheist. But were in agreement here. We live in a world full of spirits. Many of them are ambivalent towards humans and some are antagonistic. The Universe is not a divine helicopter parent just waiting to give us stuff if only well claim it. Even the many Gods often influence and impact our lives in ways that we would rather they not.

As for magic, Im fond of the line from the musical Into The Woods: wishes come true, not free.

I agree with what Douthat says in this piece and Im glad he said it.

I want to talk about what he left out.

Broken down structures are crumbling for a reason

Near the end of his essay, Douthat says:

theres reason to worry about a society in which structures have broken down and masses of people are going searching without maps, or playing around in half-belief, or deploying, against what remains of Christianity, symbols that invoke multiple spiritualities at once.

Why have religious structures broken down? Because theyre no longer relevant to the people theyre entrusted with serving. Theyre more intent on maintaining (and in many cases, reimposing) archaic social norms than with promoting spiritual growth. They make claims of exclusive possession of Truth that cannot be substantiated and that run contrary to the experiences and reasoning of ordinary people.

And they no longer have the political or social power to compel people to go along with them. Christianity has been declining for 500 years and that decline has steepened in this century. Any problem that flows from crumbling structures needs to be addressed with structural changes. Few churches have shown any willingness to do that.

As a Pagan, thats not my problem. My job is to be here for those who are looking for spiritual depth in Nature, in magic, and especially in relationships with the many Gods.

If the map doesnt lead where you want to go, get a different map

Douthat says masses of people are going searching without maps and hes right. His Catholic church has a well-established map for spiritual exploration. But its a very limited map, with huge sections of territory either marked off limits or simply not included.

And some people arent allowed access to the map.

Our ancestors had more maps. They showed different routes to different places. Most of those maps are lost, some to ordinary decay and some to deliberate destruction.

Some of us are trying to recreate those maps. Others are starting from scratch, exploring off the edge of the current maps and trying to leave good directions for those who come after us.

Were doing this because we want to go to those places. We want to meet the Gods of our ancestors (whether our ancestors of blood or our ancestors of spirit), we want to form and maintain relationships with the spirits of the places where we live, and we want to learn magic. This is a challenging world and its only getting more challenging. We need all the allies we can get. We need all the skills we can get.

We have some maps. I drew (wrote) two of them and I hope to draw more, either here on the blog or with future books. Other explorers have drawn their own maps. Where ever you want to go theres plenty of help getting started.

But keep practicing and sooner or later youll find yourself off the map. The answer is to keep moving and take good notes, not to reach back for a map that leads to some place you already know you dont want to go.

Nothing generates belief like results

Playing around in half-belief is dangerous. In my experience, though, the primary danger is to comfortable half-beliefs.

While research shows that believing in magic brings better magical results, magic isnt powered by faith. Magic is powered by action. Do the spells  and do them right  and youll get results.

Maybe the first time is coincidence. Maybe the second time is confirmation bias. But sooner or later, it becomes easier to just accept that magic is real than to keep rationalizing it away.

Sometimes results are scary. I once watched someone have a first-hand encounter with a God and shortly after declare themselves an atheist. It was easier for them to deny their own experience than to deal with the implications of real Gods who are active in our world.

Can I be honest with you? I still get scared occasionally. My calling is to be a bridge from the Otherworld to the mundane world, but the vast majority of my time and attention is spent here. Sometimes I get a little too comfortable with here. And then I get smacked in the face with a reminder that yes, all this is real. That happened this week. No, I wont write about it. Ask me about it in person and Ill explain.

But after I composed myself, I was back where I always am. If this is real  and Im convinced it is  then I want to learn as much about it as possible.

Even if I dont have a map to help me navigate.

Other religions should not be our enemies  but some are

We live in the most religiously diverse society in the history of humanity. Contrary to what the religious exclusivists believe, this is a good thing. People can find the set of beliefs and practices that call to them. If they try, they can find others on the same path  religion is best done in community.

Im a Pagan. Christians and Buddhists and others arent my competitors. We do different things in different ways for different reasons. If youre interested in what I believe and do, Ill be happy to help you get started. If youd be better off practicing Zen Buddhism (and to be clear: thats your call, not mine) thats where I want you to be. Its not a contest.

Except some religions insist that it is a contest. And if they cant win with honest persuasion, theyre more than happy to use the power of government to compel the rest of us to live the way they think we ought to live.

These religions are my enemies. Theyre the enemies of every person who values freedom of religion, freedom of conscience, and freedom of expression.

So when Douthat complains about people who deploy mixed symbols against what remains of Christianity he needs to understand that few of us (on the Pagan side, anyway) have anything against the followers of Jesus. Many of them are our friends and allies.

But those who would re-establish Christendom are our enemies and will be opposed with all legal and ethical means.

Spiritual experimentation is dangerous

Ross Douthat is right: spiritual experimentation is dangerous. I join him in encouraging everyone to be careful and pay attention. Not every spirit you encounter is your friend.

But unlike Douthat, I have no regrets and no misgivings about the direction spiritual experimentation is taking. His tradition is still meaningful and helpful to some, but it doesnt speak to others and it actively excludes many. Other traditions, other paths, and other practices are both necessary and helpful.

And some of us are doing our best to draw maps for those who come after us.

For a different perspective on Douthats column, see this piece by Nathan Hall on Fridays The Wild Hunt titled NYT prints advice for new Witches  from a conservative Catholic.
In a heartwarming moment, Madam Rosina Attoh-Korkoi Konuah, a beloved Vodafone Ghana customer for over 25 years, was gifted with the power of connection on her 101st birthday.



The Vodafone team, accompanied by an exquisite bouquet of fresh fruit, presented Madam Rosina with a brand-new smartphone loaded with airtime and data, to enable her to easily communicate with her great-grandchild who shes yet to meet and to stay connected with family and friends.



As the Vodafone team entered Madam Rosina's room to make their presentation, the room was instantly filled with warmth, laughter and the sound of a family connected by love and community.



Angela Mensah-Poku, Vodafone Ghanas Director for Digital Transformation and Commercial Operations said, "Madam Rosina is an old student of Achimota School and has been a loyal customer of Vodafones for over 25 years  since the days of Ghana Telecom. From our conversations with her, we learned that she wanted to see her great-grandchild who had been born recently.



Both mother and child live abroad, and Rosina was unable to see them because she did not have a way to connect. Thats why we wanted to gift her with a special Vodafone Package and help her connect with her family in a new way.



A joyous Rosina said the gesture was a demonstration of the companys commitment to appreciating its long-serving customers.



"She has been a loyal customer for so long, and it is an honour to have her as part of the Vodafone family," said Shirley Konadu Kyere, Vodafones Customer Loyalty Manager, who was present during the visit. "She always has a warm smile and kind words for us, and were glad we could do something special for her."



For close to 14 years, Vodafone Ghana has been present in the very fabric of Ghanaian culture and way of life; delivering innovative customer-centric solutions and empowering its 7.1 million customers. With an unwavering commitment to the needs of customers, Vodafone continues to lead the way in providing unsurpassed customer experiences.



Speaking at her home, and amidst her surprise, Madam Rosina expressed her joy and appreciation for the gesture shown by Vodafone. She further encouraged everyone to prioritize staying connected with their loved ones and thanked Vodafone for making it possible for her to do same.



Madam Rosinas daughter, Sarah, spoke to the Vodafone Ghana team, saying, "She had a lovely day! She was so happy and had us in stitches with her stories. She showed off her presents to everyone who cared to see! Thank you so much for everything."



The Vodafone team set up Madam Rosina's new phone and helped her make her very first video call to see her granddaughter. The Vodafone Ghana team urged loyal customers to expect more rewards, visits, and engagements in the coming months.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









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A new-born baby and his mother have been rescued from rubble in Turkey, around 90 hours after the first of Monday's deadly earthquakes.



The 10-day-old boy, named Yagiz, was retrieved from a ruined structure in the southern Hatay province.



Footage showed the child being carefully taken out overnight - a sight described by local media as miraculous.



Hopes of finding many more survivors are diminishing, amid freezing-cold weather four days after the disaster.



However, search and rescue efforts continue in both Turkey and neighbouring Syria - which was struck by the quakes as well.



New-born Yagiz was pictured wrapped in a thermal blanket being carried to an ambulance to receive treatment.



His mother was brought out on a stretcher. There were no further updates immediately available over the health of both.



Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu - whose teams were reportedly involved in the rescue - tweeted about the rescue, saying it happened in the town of Samandag.



Footage obtained by the Reuters news agency also showed a man being retrieved from the ruins, though it was not known if he had any connection to the other two.



More than 21,000 people have died - most of them in Turkey - after Monday morning's initial 7.8-magnitude tremor and the hundreds of aftershocks that followed.



There have also been fears of a secondary catastrophe, as many people have been made homeless and are lacking shelter, water, fuel and electricity.



Turkish President Recap Tayyip Erdogan has described it as the "disaster of the century".

Source: BBC









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Cases of dead fish washing up on Maputo Bay in southern Mozambique since last weekend are a cause for worry for the authorities, who are investigating possible causes alongside academic institutions, civil society groups and fisherfolk



One theory is that the fish could have been killed by low oxygen levels, caused by high levels of suspended sediment in the water, as a result of dredging and excavating when fibreoptic cables were installed.



The authorities also suspect that fresh water from rivers flowing into the bay may reduce salinity levels.



This isn't the first time such cases have occurred in Maputo Bay, with smaller incidents associated with discharges of fresh water into the bay being recorded in the past.



The authorities have urged residents, especially fisherfolk, to be vigilant and collaborate with experts on the ground who are investigating the incident.



They have also urged people not to eat the dead fish found on the beach and in the sea.

Source: BBC









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It?s been 5 days since the first in a series of earthquakes and aftershocks struck cities in Turkey and Syria, yet rescuers are still pulling out more survivors from the rubble.



At 4.17am local time on Monday, Feb. 6, the first earthquake struck, causing widespread devastation and the deaths of thousands.



More than 100 hours later, rescuers continue to work around the clock, hoping to pull more survivors from the debris.



One survivor, a teenager, pulled out after 94 hours said he had to drink his urine to stay alive. He was pulled out alive from the rubble of a building in Gaziantep.



?I drank my own urine to survive. I survived, thanks to God,? he said.



Another survivor Zeynep Kahraman, 40, was rescued from the rubble of a collapsed building in the town of Kirikhan on Friday, Feb. 10, 104 hours after she was buried alive by the earthquake.



German emergency workers lifted her onto a stretcher and into an ambulance.



?Now I believe in miracles,? Steven Bayer, the leader of the international search and rescue team said at the site. ?You can see the people crying and hugging each other. It?s such a huge relief that this woman under such conditions came out so fit. It?s an absolute miracle.



In Adiyaman province, southern Turkey, Eyup Ak, 60, was pulled alive from the rubble of a collapsed building on Friday, also 104 hours after being trapped by the quake. Ak was carried on a stretcher to receive medical attention following his rescue.



Murat Vural, 66, was rescued in the province of Gaziantep, Islahiye district, 103 hours after the first earthquake had struck. Vural was carried out of the debris after 10 hours of work by members of Turkey?s National Medical Rescue Team (UMKE) and police.



In Kahramanmaras, a 15-year-old Syrian girl was rescued by Azerbaijani teams after 103 hours.



In Hatay, a three-and-a-half-year-old girl was pulled from the rubble, also 103 hours since the initial quake.



In the Elbistan district of Kahramanmaras province, UMKE and police teams saved the life of 33-year-old Mustafa Sahin Sami, 102 hours after the first earthquake. The teams worked for 12 hours to rescue him from the rubble of a seven-storey building.



Rescue workers in Iskenderun, Turkey said six people were pulled from a collapsed building on Friday morning after spending 101 hours beneath the rubble. The six people, all relatives, survived by huddling together in a small pocket left within the collapsed structure, according to Murat Baygul, a search and rescue worker.



In Hatay province, a miner crew from Zonguldak province saved a mother, Ihlas Ayaz, and her son, 101 hours after the first earthquake struck.



In Kahramanmaras province, two sisters aged 15 and 13 were pulled from the rubble on Friday. The 15-year-old was trapped for 99 hours, her younger sister for 101 hours; both were given medical attention.



Naim Bayasli, 32, was rescued by an Uzbek rescue team from under the rubble of a collapsed building in Hatay province after he was trapped for 100 hours.



A family, including a one-and-a-half-year-old girl, was pulled alive from the rubble of a collapsed building on Friday. The family members included the baby?s mother, father, brother and uncle. They were saved in Hatay?s Antakya district after being trapped for 96 hours.



Rescue teams in Kahramanmaras pulled a young Syrian woman, Fatma Karus, 26, alive from the rubble on Friday, 96 hours after the earthquake.



Before dawn on Friday, rescuers in Gaziantep pulled a 17-year-old youth from the basement where had been trapped for 94 hours. ?Thank God you arrived,? he said, embracing his mother and others who leaned down to kiss and hug him as he was being loaded into an ambulance. A crowd of friends and relatives chanted his name, clapping and crying tears of joy as he was carried out. The teenager said he had been forced to drink his own urine to slake his thirst.?I was able to survive that way. A rescue worker, identified only as Yasemin, told him: ?I have a son just like you ? I swear to you, I have not slept for four days. I swear I did not sleep; I was trying to get you out.?



A 10-day-old infant was found alive with his mother in Hatay after 90 hours trapped. A five-year-old girl and her father were pulled out of the rubble also at the 90th hour.



In Kahramanmaras, a seven-year-old boy and his 32-year-old father Ozan Ramazan Guclu were found alive after 89 hours.



In Ad?yaman, rescue teams were able to save two siblings aged seven and 14 from the rubble of a six-storey building after 88 hours.



Watch the video below.

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The Immediate past Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu yesterday reported to the House for business but rejected the seat allocated to him and rather made contributions from the Majority side of the chamber a rare occurrence.

Mr Iddrisu rejected the seat on the grounds that it belonged to a senior colleague, Collins Dauda, who was older than him in age and experience in parliament.



He said he was willing to take up a new seat but not the one which was assigned to Mr Dauda because of the respect he had for him.



Mr Speaker, forgive me if I have to assume your chair, there was an issue of whether I should take over from Collins Dauda and I told them that Collins is a senior by age and senior even in this house. So I will not fit into his chair as I am somebody who is well trained at home so any other chair is acceptable to me. I am still the elected member of parliament for Tamale South, he said.



Reappearance



Mr Iddrisu and the former Minority Chief Whip, Alhaji Mohammed-Muntaka Mubarak reappeared in the House after both of them exited the chamber earlier than usual on Tuesday when Parliament reconvened.



It was unclear what had necessitated the early exit on Tuesday, but their reappearance yesterday gave the minority front a unified outlook.



Mr Iddrisu wore an all-white outfit with a colored cap, while Muntaka wore lemon-green kaftan with a cap.



Wrong seat



Mr Iddrisu, unwilling to take up his newly allocated seat in the House, briefly sat on the back bench of the Minority side before moving to the vacant seat of the First Deputy Speaker, Joe Osei Owusu.



He sought permission from the First Deputy Speaker, Joe Osei Owusu to make a contribution to a report on the African Union Convention on cross border cooperation, known as the Niamey Convention.



The former Minority Leader discussed the importance of the report and the need for the House to adopt it to help resolve cross border conflicts.



He stated that he would not occupy a chair that was not his, but he was ready to occupy any other seat given to him.



Prior to the reconvening of the House, the new leadership of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) had made changes to the leadership of the Minority front bench, replacing Mr Iddrisu as Minority Leader, James Klutse Avedzi as Deputy Minority Leader, and Muntaka Mubarak as Chief Whip.











Source: graphiconline.com









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Government Communicator, Kofi Tonto has sided with the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council (GPCC) over their request for President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to downsize his government.



The Council has appealed to the President to reduce the number of his Ministers and appointees and cut down on expenditure to build confidence to address the country's economic challenges.



"This should include the government explicitly and verifiably cutting down on its expenditure, including reducing the size of government, among other areas. This is very critical to encourage the buy-in of the public, a communique issued at the end of the GPCCs Conference of Heads of Churches and Organisations (CHCO) Extraordinary National Delegates Conference said.



Contributing to "Kokrokoo" panel discussion show on Peace FM, Kofi Tonto stated that the GPCC has a valid point that needs the attention of the President, explaining that, in the political optics, reducing the size of the government will help the economy as well as benefit the New Patriotic Party(NPP) in next year's general elections.



He elucidated that as the government is telling Ghanaians to cooperate with them in implementing its debt restructuring measures aimed at revamping the economy, it is equally incumbent on the government to empathize with the populace and make efforts to palliate their plight.



"You do something to optically show the person that you are also making an effort. In that regard, I think it's a good proposal and the government must accept and make some effort in the space of optics to show that we also take part of the burden share," he said.



He, however, noted that when it comes to downsizing the government, the President is already on course stating he has reduced the number of his Ministers from 110 to 86 and cut down on expenditure by introducing a 30 percent cut on salaries of his officials.



"When you take the budget we are running for this year, when it comes to goods and services, the government has made 20% expenditure cut in goods and services. So, I feel the government has shown commitment in this regard," he told host Kwami Sefa Kayi.



However, he noted that, "if Ghanaians are not convinced, I think it spoils nothing for the government to interact with them and show them what we have done and what we can add, we add it up because if we can bring the economy on the right path, we need all Ghanaians to join".



He asked the President to take the GPCC's request "in good faith and we must do everything to ensure Ghanaians will come on board with us in this forward movement we are making to bring the economy on the right path".





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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Government Communicator, Kofi Tonto has asked the government to empathize with Ghanaians and find a better way to resolve the issues with bondholders regarding its Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP).



Former Chief Justice, Sophia Akuffo joined a crop of pensioners picketing at the Finance Ministry on Friday, February 10 to stop the government from using the bond yields of pensioners.



The pensioners have been picketing at the Ministry since Monday, February 6 to be exempted from the Programme.



Speaking to the media, she described as "wicked" and "disrespectful" government's decision to include pensioners in the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP).



She said; We are over 70 years now, I am no longer government employed, my mouth has been unguarded and I am talking and I am saying that we have failed and it is important that the elderly should be respected. I find this wicked, I find it disrespectful, I find it unlawful, I find it totally wrong.



These are all people who have worked, they have worked very hard, they could have left the country when others were going but they stayed, they worked for the nation...Quite a number of people here today, when they retired last two years they have put everything into government bonds, it is a contract and now all of a sudden, you virtually want to force them to agree with you that the repayment of the yield of their investment should be as you dictate it. Why?



Why are we in the mess? Nobody has fully explained to us, yes we took debt, what was it used for? and where is the accountability? Exactly what was it used for? You are not telling us about how you are going to be able to make things better but just that help me and I help you, no, you help yourself first, let me see you doing something serious because we have seen these sort of things too many times", she added.



Tackling the matter, Kofi Tonto appeared lost for words that it has come to a point where a former Chief Justice appointed by President Nana Addo would join the crusade for the government to reconsider its decision.



"This is a woman who just about three or four years ago was the fourth in command in this Republic. It may be that her money is not part but rather her relative's or that she feels for the ordinary Ghanaian," he said.



He appealed to the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, to heed the calls by the bondholders stressing "we should apologize to the bondholders. As a government, we have to listen to them. We have to empathize with them. We must do everything necessarily possible to bring them on board".



He said this during a panel discussion programme on Peace FM's morning show "Kokrokoo".





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has cautioned Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and Board Chairpersons of State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) to sit up or risk being kicked out of office as the countrys economy faces one of its toughest times in history.



He said the CEOs and board chairpersons of specified entities had for a long time been overlooked when blame was being apportioned for the downturn of Ghanas economic fortunes, with the blame going to sector ministers and the President.



In his keynote address at the maiden State Interest and Governance Authority (SIGA) annual stakeholder meeting being held at Kwahu Abetifi in the Eastern Region, President Akufo-Addo said those CEOs could no longer stay in the shadow while others received the backlash for the countrys problems.



The time has come for you to own up to this responsibility and take the front stage in our nations development. As captains of our industries, you hold some of the keys to unlocking some of Ghanas full economic potential.



Jump-starting our economy begins with you, you should be the major drivers of the economy rather than being a financial burden, he stated.



President Akufo-Addo (3rd from left) with some of the participants



The SIGA stakeholder meeting was held on the theme: Time to reflect and rebuild.



It brought together over 200 CEOs and chairpersons of boards of specified entities in the country.



Justify call to service



The President said it was unacceptable that specified entities, which together controlled half of the countrys assets, contributed less than five per cent to the national gross domestic product (GDP).



Your call to this service was based on the belief in your capabilities to help develop our nation and your task is simple, be efficient and profitable where applicable and contribute significantly to the growth of the economy, he stated.



He said his expectation was that those specified entities should contribute some 30 per cent to GDP.



I entreat you all to reflect deeply on our nations current situation, what your contribution has been and what you can do to help turn things around.



Excuses for non-performance will no longer be tolerated..... Steer the ship as an able captain or be kicked out, he cautioned.



Leveraging AfCFTA



President Akufo Addo also urged the specified entities to leverage the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat to develop intra-African trade opportunities.



That, he said, would help increase the countrys exports as well as ensure food security.



Our nation is facing one of the toughest times in its history and the challenge before us is daunting but surmountable. We can only prevail when we increase revenue mobilisation and rationalise our expenditures.



You have the responsibility to steer your individual entities towards economic development by encouraging innovation and growth. We have to sail together or sink together and I have no doubt about your expertise and commitment, he stated.



We are not in normal times



The President noted that although the world was undergoing the fourth industrial revolution, the country was, unfortunately, lagging in this regard.



He said if the economy would be transformed, the specified entities must rise up to the task and be productive enough to support the economy and compete at the global level.



He pointed out that those entities had historically been characterised with fragmented and uncoordinated oversight, lack of clearly defined ownership framework, poor governance practices and lack of transparency and financial accountability.



He said SIGA was therefore established to address those challenges, with a mandate to oversee and administer the states interest in specified entities.



President Akufo-Addo said he had taken note of consistent improvements recorded in the performance contracting system which had seen an increase in participating entities from 47 in 2019 to 63 in 2022.



That, he said, had improved profitability, evidenced by the stories of Tema Development Company and the State Housing Company.



He said entities such as Ghana Grid Company Limited and the Volta River Authority had also seen significant reduction in losses, translating into significant turnarounds.



He noted that even though SIGA had done a good job in streamlining the sector, its biggest challenge was non-compliance, especially with the financial reporting timelines.



Entities are required to submit management accounts by February 28 to allow the Auditor-General submit audited accounts to Parliament by April 30. This is a requirement of the law and must always be complied with, he stated.



He also charged chairpersons of boards and CEOs to collaborate with their respective internal auditors in the preparation of the management of accounts to reduce the incidence of infractions in the 2022 Auditor- Generals report.

Source: graphic.com.gh









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House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Michael McCaul (R-TX) tried to say that House Democrats who have unanimously supported aid to Ukraine didnt and was immediately corrected on Face The Nation.

Video:

Despite some in the House GOP introducing a bill to try to cut off aid to Ukraine, House Foreign Affairs Cmte. Chairman @RepMcCaul says he is "very confident" that Congress will continue to provide the assistance needed. "I'd like to see if faster, so they can win this faster." pic.twitter.com/KjJ1mlpyOO  Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) February 12, 2023

McCaul said, We have factions on the left and right that do not support Ukraine.

Face The Nations Margaret Brennan stopped him and said, This is a Republican bill.

McCauls only response was to say, right, and then try to move on.

The truth is that Democrats have unanimously supported aid to Ukraine.

McCauls lie was triggered by at least ten House Republicans introducing a bill called the Ukraine Fatigue Resolution, which would cut off aid to Ukraine. There are no Democratic bills calling for aid to be cut off to Ukraine. There was an old letter from the House Progressive Caucus that was accidentally released and withdrawn that called for more diplomacy, but House Democrats have consistently supported Ukraine.

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Republicans cant both sides opposition to supporting Ukraine. The GOP is the only side that has members who are supporting Putin and Russia by calling for aid to Ukraine to be cut off.

For the third straight week, a Sunday show did not allow a House Republican to get away with a lie. The Sunday shows may finally be listening to criticism from viewers and starting to check a few of the egregious falsehoods that some Republicans try to state on their programs.

A free press that doesnt both sides everything is essential to US democracy.
The first Valley Empty Bowl event was held Saturday at Leavelle McCampbell Middle School.

Attendees were invited to try three different flavors of soup, browse the silent auction items and take home a handmade ceramic bowl created by students at the school. For a first time event, Sandra Weeks, event organizer and art teacher at the school, said it went surprisingly well.

I think we raised about $1,000 for ACTS (Area Churches Together Serving), which is good, Weeks said. We had a lot of support and people were already asking us about next year. Pleasantly surprised and hopeful for next year.

+10 Parents give feedback at first Highland Springs Middle School rezoning meeting Parents made their opinions known about the rezoning options for the new Highland Springs Middle School at the first of two meetings.

ACTS works with churches, organizations and individuals to help people in need, according to its website. The needs covered include helping with food, clothing, prescription medicine or other assistance.

The profits will be split with 40% to ACTS, 45% to next year's event, 10% to a UNICEF organization, and 5% to the host middle school, Weeks said.

Leavelle McCampbell principal Dr. Tiffany Hall said she was very proud of the students for the work they put into helping with the event.

I'm looking forward to the students understanding that they can act locally and think globally and impact more than just our local community and that service over self, because this is tied to our House of Amistad, which is also our interact club, Hall said. I'm hoping they see little actions can (lead to) big rewards.

Felica Wright had two kids working the event and wanted to come out to offer support.

I'm going to bid on a couple of things," Wright said. "I think it's a great thing to do for the community

Diana Silas came out because she wanted to support the local schools.

I'm the executive director for the Gregg-Graniteville Foundation, so I've tried to become very involved with Mrs. Hall and what they have going on in the school and wanted to support what I thought was a great cause, Silas said. We partner with ACTS, so I also wanted to support them.

Weeks said there will be an event next year because the grant the school received states it needs to be continued. She added that a few women from ACTS were at the event and started talking about making the event bigger for next year. There is also talk about moving the date to some time in March so the weather is nicer.

+2 Leavelle McCampbell named 'Leader in Me' school Leavelle McCampbell Middle School has added another certification to its credentials.
Aiken, SC (29801)

Today

Except for a few afternoon clouds, mainly sunny. High 81F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy early with increasing clouds overnight. Low 61F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.
Full text: Joint Statement between the People's Republic of China and the Kingdom of Cambodia on Building a China-Cambodia Community with a Shared Future in the New Era

Xinhua) 10:15, February 12, 2023

BEIJING, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- China and Cambodia on Saturday released a joint statement on building a China-Cambodia community with a shared future in the new era.

Please see the full text of the statement.

Joint Statement between the Peoples Republic of China and the Kingdom of Cambodia on Building a China-Cambodia Community with a Shared Future in the New Era

At the invitation of the Government of the Peoples Republic of China, Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, paid an official visit to the Peoples Republic of China from 9 to 11 February 2023.

During the visit, President Xi Jinping met with Samdech Techo Prime Minister Hun Sen, having in-depth exchanges on building a China-Cambodia Community with a Shared Future in the New Era and international and regional issues of shared interest, charting the course for future China-Cambodia relations. Samdech Techo Prime Minister Hun Sen also held talks with Premier Li Keqiang and met with Chairman Li Zhanshu of the Standing Committee of the National Peoples Congress. Both sides spoke highly of China-Cambodia impregnable ironclad friendship, which has been carefully nurtured by the elder generations leaders of both countries and has been constantly growing from strength to strength in the last 65 years since the establishment of diplomatic ties, showcasing the new type of international relations. In the face of momentous changes and challenges in the world, the strategic significance of China-Cambodia relations gains further prominence. No matter how the international situation changes, the two sides will unswervingly deepen their close ironclad friendship and develop win-win practical cooperation for the mutual benefits, with a view to promoting the building of a community with a shared future for mankind. The two sides announced the launch of the China-Cambodia Friendship Year events to celebrate the 65th Anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, to usher in a new era of building a high-quality, high-level and high-standard China- Cambodia Community with a Shared Future, to carry forward the most treasured ironclad friendship through coming generations.

1. The Cambodian side renewed its warm congratulations on the full success of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the election of H.E. Xi Jinping as General Secretary of the 20th CPC Central Committee, spoke highly of Chinas achievements in the decade of the new era and the Chinese modernization that offers an alternative path to modernization, contributing greater wisdom, solution and strength to address the common issues for mankind. The Cambodian side expressed firm belief that under the leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, China will achieve its second centenary goal of building a great modern socialist country in all respects towards great national rejuvenation through Chinese modernization, making greater contributions to the noble cause of peace and development of humanity.

2. The Chinese side spoke highly of Cambodias remarkable achievements in national stability, prosperity and rising international influence. China believes that with the blessing of His Majesty Preah Bat Samdech Preah Boromneath Norodom Sihamoni, King of Cambodia, and under the leadership of the Royal Government of Cambodia headed by Samdech Techo Prime Minister Hun Sen, Cambodia will keep achieving new progress in national development and peoples well-being and playing a greater role in maintaining peace and prosperity in the region and the world.

3. Both sides emphasized that mutual support on the issues of each others core interests is the essence of a China-Cambodia Community with a Shared Future. The Chinese side reaffirmed resolute support to Cambodian peoples choice of development path that suits Cambodias national conditions, to Cambodias endeavors to safeguard her independence, sovereignty, security, and development interests, and to steady advancement of important Cambodian national political agenda while expressing firm opposition to any foreign interference in Cambodias internal affairs .

The Cambodian side reaffirmed her resolute adherence to the One-China Policy. The Government of the Peoples Republic of China is the sole lawful government representing the whole of China. Taiwan is an inalienable part of China s territory as well as China s internal affair, which brooks no interference from any external forces. Cambodia opposes any attempt to interfere in Chinas internal affairs or to block and contain China under the subterfuge of Taiwan, or any form of separatist activities seeking Taiwan independence, and resolutely supports Chinas every effort to achieve national reunification. Cambodia will not develop any form of official relations with Taiwan .

Both sides agreed that Xinjiang - related issues are not about human rights, but about countering violent terrorism, extremism and separatism. The Cambodian side reiterated her resolute opposition to interfering in China s internal affairs by manipulating Xinjiang- related issues.

Both sides concurred that while exploring human rights improvement, it is important to proceed from people s needs and real national conditions. Both sides expressed firm opposition to politicizing and instrumentalizing human rights issues, double standards, abusing democratic values to interfere in the internal affairs of sovereign countries or provoking division and confrontation on the pretext of safeguarding democracy and human rights, or imposition of one countrys will on others.

4. Both sides agreed to enhance high-level engagements through various formats such as bilateral visits, video calls, messages and letters, to advance strategic communication and political trust through in-depth exchanges on major bilateral, international, and regional issues in a timely manner, to firmly steer China-Cambodia relations in the right direction.

5. Both sides agreed to develop a diamond cooperation framework with six priority areas including political cooperation, production capacity , agriculture , energy , security and people-to- people exchanges:

Both sides agreed to put into full play the role of China-Cambodia Intergovernmental Coordination Committee, to negotiate and sign a new Action Plan of Building a China-Cambodia Community with a Shared Future at an early date, to coordinate efforts on practical cooperation in various fields. Both sides agreed to strengthen political party cooperation and exchanges in various areas and at all levels, to enhance exchanges on governance and personal training; promote cooperation between counterpart departments on supervision, organization, and publicity, and advance friendly youth exchanges. Deepen exchanges between Chinas National Peoples Congress, National Committee of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference and National Assembly and Senate of Cambodia. Implement Agreement on Advancing Cooperation in Building a China - Cambodia Community with a Shared Future in the New Era between the two Foreign Ministries to safeguard shared interests.

Both sides agreed to deepen strategic synergy and cooperation between the Belt and Road Initiative and Rectangular Strategies , ensuring safety of the projects and personnel, and according a greater role to China-Cambodia Working Mechanism for Production Capacity and Investment Cooperation. Explore development of an Industrial and Technological Corridor towards the vision of developing Preah Sihanouk Province as a model of the multipurpose Special Economic Zone ( SEZ ). Build on the Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone ( SSEZ ) as the flagship project and Phnom Penh - Sihanoukville Expressway to attract more competent Chinese enterprises to increase investment in Cambodia, exploring cooperation possibilities in transportation facilities, power grids, fiber optics networks , warehousing and logistics, to optimize the mix of China - Cambodia production capacity cooperation.

China supports Cambodia in the preliminary work of railway planning, design, and feasibility studies to promote railway construction and projects benefiting peoples livelihood along the railway. Both sides look forward to early railway connection between Cambodia and China - Lao - Thailand Railway.

Both sides agreed to implement the MoU on China-Cambodia Development Cooperation Planning(2023-2025). Promote the construction of infrastructure including roads, bridges, reservoirs, sewage treatment and submarine fiber optic cables. Carry out rural roads, water supply, schools, and medical projects in Cambodia to improve peoples livelihood. The Cambodian side expressed appreciation for Chinas financial support of various forms for the implementation of relevant economic and technical and human resources development projects in Cambodia .

Both sides agreed to explore the establishment of a Fish and Rice Corridor centred on north-western Cambodia and the Tonle Sap Lake area, to develop modern ecological agriculture near the lake. Accelerate the planning of Cambodias modern agricultural development, explore cooperation in digital agriculture; and support upgrading of Cambodia ' s aquaculture , tropical plantation and other competitive sectors. Enhance customs inspection and quarantine cooperation and actively promote the imports of high-quality Cambodian agricultural products; continue to advance Single Window interconnection to promote bilateral trade . Make full use of RCEP and China-Cambodia Free Trade Agreement while advancing China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 upgrade negotiations, and platforms including China International Import Expo, China Import and Export Fair , and China-ASEAN Expo as well as bilateral digital economy cooperation mechanisms, to enhance the competitiveness and popularity of Cambodian products in China and advance bilateral trade to new heights . Encourage localities in both countries to play their respective advantages in full to enhance practical cooperation in agriculture, economic and trade aspects .

Both sides agreed to enhance cooperation in hydropower, photovoltaics, and other clean energy sources, to explore green, stable and reliable energy cooperation solutions. Promote the establishment of the China-Cambodia Low-carbon Demonstration Zone Project of South-South Cooperation on Climate Change in Preah Sihanouk Province. Ecology and environment cooperation is to be furthered with highlights on policy dialogue, joint research, and capacity building, as well as training for ecological and environmental protection management in Cambodia, to enhance the exchange of concepts , strategies , regulations , and standards .

Both sides agreed to enhance engagements between the Peoples Liberation Army ( PLA ) and the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) at all levels, tapping into the potential of the cooperation mechanism through the two militaries by enhancing counterpart forces exchanges and joint exercises and training, with enhanced practical cooperation in such areas as capacity building, military training, logistics and equipment, as well as closer coordination and cooperation in multilateral security affairs.

Both sides agreed to continue cooperation in the exchange and sharing of information between law enforcement officials, with highlights on countering transnational crime, counter-terrorism, preventing color revolution, combating drug-related crimes, telecom fraud , illegal cross-border gambling , human trafficking , and law enforcements capacity building. Promote the strengthening of the China-Cambodia Law Enforcement Cooperation and Coordination Office.

The Cambodian side spoke highly of Chinas efforts to optimize and adjust its COVID -19 prevention and control policy in light of the evolving situation, which creates better conditions for safe, healthy and orderly people-to-people exchanges between China and other countries, bringing more benefits to global economy. China declared Cambodia among the first countries to resume outbound group travel with, and will give priority to restoring and increasing direct passenger flights. The Cambodian side reiterated a warm welcome to Chinese tourists and the commitment to provide quality service and security. Both sides agreed to encourage cooperation between cultural and tourism enterprises of the two countries, to jointly design tourism routes, develop cultural and tourism products, and enhance cooperation in cultural and tourism personnel training.

Both sides agreed to implement Agreement on Scientific, Technological and Innovative Cooperation between the two governments on the basis of equality, equity, and mutual benefit, including holding the 1st Meeting of China-Cambodia Joint Committee on Science, Technology and Innovation, and promoting cooperation in technology transfer and people-to-people exchanges in science and technology.

Both sides agreed to launch education policy dialogues, supporting Cambodian youth to study in China and Cambodia to develop Chinese language teaching, promoting the setting up of new Confucius Institutes in Cambodia, stepping up vocational education cooperation and digital transformation of education.

Both sides agreed to promote China-aid Project of Royal Palace Restoration in Angkor and protection and restoration of Preah Vihear Temple and other cultural heritages, and are committed to a joint action to preserve Asian cultural heritage, exploring the establishment of China-Cambodia joint working group on cultural heritages, to promote across-the-spectrum cooperation. Both sides agreed to continue working on the platform of the Asian Cultural Council to strengthen the cooperation in promoting peace, prosperity and solidarity through mutual understanding, respect, trust and interest and to connect the civilizations of Asia .

China supports Cambodia to hold 2023 Southeast Asian Games and will continue to assist Cambodia in training athletes . Cambodia will send delegations to attend the Chengdu Summer Universiade and the Hangzhou Asian Games .

Both sides agreed to deepen exchanges and cooperation in traditional medicine and other health fields, promoting the establishment of the China-Cambodia Traditional Chinese Medicine Cooperation Center. The two sides actively support various formats of people-to-people exchanges, and promote civil society organizations to carry out civilization mutual learning and livelihood projects cooperation, with a view to enhancing two-way people-to- people exchanges.

6.Both sides recognized the common values for all humanity of peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy, and freedom, and stood ready to safeguard the international system with the UN as its core, the international order based on international law, and the basic norms governing international relations embodied in the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, while opposing all forms of hegemonism , power politics , unilateralism , exclusive bloc politics which targets specific countries. The two countries are committed to building a new type of international relations and promoting global partnerships of equality, openness and cooperation towards a community with a shared future for mankind.

Both sides agreed on the adherence to true multilateralism, firmly supporting the open, transparent, inclusive, non- discriminatory and rules-based multilateral trading system with the WTO at its core , and standing ready to jointly promote the WTO to play a greater role in global economic governance . China welcomes Cambodias joining of the Group of Friends of the Global Development Initiative ( GDI ). Cambodia stands ready to enhance cooperation at both bilateral and multilateral levels on its implementation, to jointly implement the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals. Cambodia supports Chinas proposal of the Global Security Initiative ( GSI ), and stands ready to work with China on global security governance towards common , comprehensive , cooperative and sustainable security .

The Chinese side congratulated on the successful Cambodias Chairmanship of ASEAN 2022 under the theme ASEAN A . C . T .: Addressing Challenges Together, and highly valued the positive role of Cambodia in achieving enduring peace, stability, development and prosperity in the region and beyond. Both sides reiterated their commitment of open regionalism towards building a peaceful, safe and secure, prosperous, beautiful, and amicable home in the region and deepening China-ASEAN comprehensive strategic partnership , and agreed to enhance Lancang-Mekong Cooperation and promote the building of an even closer community with a shared future for Lancang-Mekong countries .

7.Both sides believed that with joint efforts of ASEAN countries and China, the situation in the South China Sea has maintained overall stability. The two countries call on relevant parties to carry forward the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) fully and effectively, to enhance maritime cooperation, and reach an early conclusion on a substantive and effective Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC) on the basis of mutual consensus, to build the South China Sea into a sea of peace, friendship and cooperation. Any attempt to use the South China Sea issue to undermine regional peace, stability and trust are counterproductive and should be avoided.

8.Both sides expressed satisfaction with the outcomes of the visit. Samdech Techo Prime Minister Hun Sen extended sincere appreciation for the warm and friendly hospitality extended by Chinese leaders and people while inviting President Xi Jinping and other Chinese leaders to visit Cambodia.

During the visit , the two sides held the China-Cambodia Economic Forum on Trade, Investment and Tourism, and signed cooperation documents in the fields of foreign affairs, economic and trade cooperation, development cooperation, agricultural exports to China, infrastructure, education, media and cultural heritage protection, etc .

Beijing, 11 February 2023

(Web editor: Xian Jiangnan, Sheng Chuyi)
The Henry Middleton chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution honored one of its members for 70 years in the organization Tuesday morning.

Regent Karen Woods presented a certificate of appreciation to 91-year-old Jane Davis at a ceremony held at the Aiken County Historical Museum.

Davis, a native of LaGrange, Georgia who moved to Aiken to work at the Savannah River Site's lab (now the Savannah River National Laboratory), said she joined the Daughters of the American Revolution because her grandmother, Ethel Dallas Hill, agreed to pay her dues to the LaGrange chapter.

"When I was about 35, my grandmother called me and she said, 'Jane I see that you have a chapter [in Aiken] and I think it's time you pay your own dues,'" Davis said.

She added she was a gloriously happy member of the chapter for all these years.

The Henry Middleton chapter also presented a historic preservation recognition award and pin to the Hitchcock Woods Foundation and a posthumous award and pin to Celestine Eustus.

Woods said Eustus is considered one of the founders of the Aiken Winter Colony and helped to create city parks with plants and trees from different climates. She said Eustus also donated a 100-acre tract of land for a hospital, nurses quarters and hotel.
BLUFFTON  For artist Amiri Geuka Farris, history is inescapable. He works it into his large paintings and collages all the time. At first glance, the viewer sees a sprawling color field, but then he discerns figures and symbols and animals and objects  all associated with some aspect of culture, politics, identity and history.

His parents, Jewel Bishop and Theodore Farris, met when they were students at Kent State University. They were doing homework indoors when the National Guard in May 1970 fired upon unarmed students at a peace rally who were protesting the expansion of the Vietnam War. The shooting took the lives of four young people and injured nine. Jewel and Theodore knew some of them personally.

Amiri Farris grandparents, Charlotte and Jack Bishop, were Southerners who in the 1930s migrated to Pittsburgh, where Jack found work in a steel mill. Charlotte was from the Beaufort area; Jack from Alabama.

Growing up, Amiri Farris listened to his grandmother talk about the Gullah-Geechee culture from whence she came, a culture he would later mine in his work.

But as a kid, Farris was little exposed to the tribulations of the world. When he was 4 or 5, his family moved from Pittsburgh to West Palm Beach, Fla. His mother became a public school teacher; his father became a deputy sheriff.

Amiris days were spent at school, at the beach, riding bikes, playing with friends. From an early age he showed a distinctive proclivity for the visual arts. His mom enrolled him in an afterschool program at the Armory Art Center, where he learned to make ceramics, then drawings and paintings. By the time he was in high school he was winning awards, including a national one that drew him to the U.S. Capitol for a memorable ceremony.

He also became involved in an African American theater company  Quest Theatre, founded by TV actress Bhetty Waldron  designing the sets and backdrops. Sometimes hed get a role to play on stage.

He has always made art that draws from real life. As a young artist he created portraits and painted sea creatures he had encountered on the beach. At the Savannah College of Art and Design, he focused on illustration. He provided the images for a childrens book. He made comics. He created large public murals.

He loved SCAD, receiving an undergraduate degree in 1997, then a masters degree in 2006.

It was art 24/7, which I enjoyed, he said.

After completing his formal studies, he found work as art director of the Boys and Girls Club on Hilton Head Island, and as an adjunct professor  at Georgia Southern, then the University of South Carolina Beaufort, then Savannah State University, then SCAD.

In 2010, he drove through Bluffton on his way back to Savannah from Hilton Head and noticed a house for sale. It was in the old part of town. Art galleries were mere steps away. He decided to buy it.

Around this time he remembered the stories of his grandmother, the Gullah traditions she shared.

When youre a kid, youre like, eh, whatever; youre not really paying attention, he said. But when I got to South Carolina, I understood what she was talking about.

He was pulled in, seduced by this part of his heritage. It began to show in his artwork.

He became friendly with the elders of the Gullah community on Hilton Head, which many decades ago was an isolated sea island populated by Black people. He started working with the Gullah Museum on Hilton Head. He got involved at the Penn Center on St. Helena Island. And he found a gallery in Bluffton, Red Piano, that shows most of his work.

The pictures incorporate indigo, a blue dye first produced in North America by enslaved people of the Carolina Lowcountry. They feature figures engaged in utilitarian activities such as basket weaving or crabbing or simply talking with one another. He strives to capture the essence of the Gullah experience, without romanticizing it, he said.

Im trying to educate people more on history and the subject of Gullah-Geechee people, Farris said.

But he doesnt want to be typecast as a Gullah artist.

I tell people Im a multidisciplinary contemporary artist, and I have so much to say, even though this (Gullah culture) is very important to me, he said.

Lately, hes combined various imagery in a single work: Gullah figures mixed with comics and animals and graffiti and African masks and screen-printed flowers. He lets the paints run. He creates textures and layers. Among his artist-heroes are Robert Rauschenberg, Andy Warhol and Kehinde Wiley.

When Farris was artist-in-residence at the Gibbes Museum of Art in the fall of 2022, he created large works using reclaimed materials, including old boxes and bags. It was more abstract than representational, but still incorporated recognizable forms. He also made the 2022 MOJA festival poster.

I really want to try to push the bounds in my artwork, he said. I cant say everything I want to in one genre. I need to keep pushing forward.

Its a balancing act.

I want to push the envelope, but I dont want to be a starving artist, he said.

What he wants is to find a way into more institutions, to demystify and diversify museums, to represent the Gullah experience to the world, and to keep trying new things.

Amiri Farris has come into his own.
Ask Kerri Forrest how to tie a bow tie and shell show you. She learned this particular skill early in her TV career at NBC. It doesnt often come in handy.

But her TV skills do.

Shes a good listener, and a good talker. She knows how to ask the right questions. She can figure out who to contact for this or that. She can manage her time and get things done quickly. She can improvise. She can learn fast.

So when she transitioned from television to the nonprofit sector, she brought these capabilities with her and helped revitalize the Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundations Lowcountry operations. And then, after four years with the foundation, she went to work for MDC, a community development nonprofit based in Durham, N.C., that focuses its efforts on the entire American South.

More on that in a minute. First, lets consider how Forrest got from the Westchester neighborhood on James Island, where she grew up, to her role as a senior program director who specializes in leadership development and philanthropic engagement.

Westchester was a Black middle-class community, tightly knit. Neighbors looked out for one another. Forrest had a Catholic education, attending first the Nativity School on James Island, then Bishop England High School when it was still in downtown Charleston. She participated in Christmas and Easter plays, gaining confidence before an audience.

In 1990, she went to Clemson University, majoring in biology. She was pre-med. But she was also interested in exploring the schools various opportunities. She took up fencing. She became a DJ for the college radio station.

During the summer before her senior year, Forrest went to New Orleans to participate in a pre-med program for minority students designed to prepare them for the MCAT exam and pair them with doctors in Tulane Universitys public health program. When he heard about her trip, a record label friend told her: You gotta meet Jeff B.

So I would spend all day doing the pre-med thing, then all night doing the college radio thing, she recalled.

And she soon made a fateful decision. She would not be going to medical school after all. In January 1995, Forrest moved to the D.C. area and, thanks to an introduction facilitated by her sister, landed a job at an NBC affiliate. She was a page, fetching coffee, delivering mail, making photocopies. But she was inside the broadcast news world, figuring out how it worked.

Shed bump into Tim Russert, Gwen Ifill and Andrea Mitchell in the halls. She made small talk with interesting people. Irving R. Levine, the economics correspondent, graciously taught Forrest how to tie a bow tie.

She also learned how news broadcasts were created.

After paging for a year, Forrest became a production assistant for The Today Show, working with Bryant Gumbel and Katie Couric. She had a nurturing boss who patiently taught her the ropes and gave Forrest room to fail.

Shed wake up at 4 a.m. and go with the camera crew to help with the setup. Shed make sure the signal connected to NBCs Washington, D.C., or New York headquarters. She learned how to write scripts.

After a year with The Today Show, NBC launched MSNBC and recruited lots of young staffers to help with the startup.

We all got poached from every corner of the company to go to Secaucus, N.J., Forrest said.

She was there for nine years.

I got hired as a dayside booker, a producer who books on-air guests for the shows. I had to find talking heads to fill every hour.

It was a constant effort to find balance, then breaking news would cause temporary disarray until Forrest could set things straight again.

It was insanity, she said. (Work in) cable (television) needed to be counted in dog years. You were living lifetimes in a week.

During her time with MSNBC, Gianni Versace was murdered in Miami, TWA flight 800 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean after takeoff from John F. Kennedy International Airport, Frank Sinatra died and Heavens Gate cult adherents conducted a coordinated series of mass suicides.

Forrest would get to her home in Plainsboro, N.J., 45 minutes from the station, only to receive a phone call summoning her back right away.

In 1998, she was sent to Washington to help with coverage of the Bill Clinton impeachment.

I would hang out in the subway tunnel between the House and Senate and grab senators to go up and do interviews in the rotunda, she recalled.

She talked with Sen. Orin Hatch nearly every day. (He was always very nice, she said.)

She remained in D.C. and worked with Andrea Mitchell, Laura Ingraham, Pat Buchanan and Oliver North.

One lesson I took away from old Washington: We might not agree politically or ideologically, but we dont have to be nasty to one another, she said.

In 2002, she joined Hardball with Chris Matthews, a terrific colleague, she said. They bonded over their Catholic school experiences. At one point, they did a tour of 30 colleges over 52 weeks. Theyd drop into a location and Forrest would wrangle an audience and produce a live show, then theyd move on to the next place and do it all over again.

In 2005, she joined the White House unit as a producer. She spent hours in the editing booth cutting tape and finding pictures for David Gregory. She rotated between posts as traveling producer and pool producer, running traffic and conveying content to headquarters. She spent part of the summers covering then-President George W. Bush, sweating a lot in the Texas heat.

Over the course of her TV news career, Forrest visited Vietnam, Alaska, Singapore, Australia, Africa, Hungary and Cuba.

In 2008, she became senior producer for the CBS Early Show. But the experience was a letdown after those heady, adrenalin-filled years at NBC. After a couple years, she gave it up, sold her condo and returned home.

Everybody told me I was nuts, she said. But I had completely lost my love for television by that point.

She did some consulting work, some volunteering, then found a part-time PR job. She taught a class at the Art Institute of Charleston (now defunct) and at the College of Charleston. She joined the American College of the Building Arts as a public relations manager. She sat on the board of the YWCA of Greater Charleston during a transitional phase when the organization sold its building and found a new director.

In 2015, she became Lowcountry program manager for the Chicago-based Donnelley Foundation, helping to rebuild the organizations networks in nine coastal counties, advocating for land conservation and the arts.

I was familiar with the arts scene in Charleston, she said. But I didnt know what the words land conservation meant.

With guidance from Executive Director David Farren, she learned the ropes. Forrest wasnt afraid to admit ignorance and ask questions. Many took a liking to her, and she soon became a key figure in Lowcountry conservation circles.

My journalism background helped me immensely, she said. Youve got to process large chunks of information and mold it into a way people can understand.

She focused on building capacity, linking nonprofits, bolstering productive programs. She found ways to support small organizations committed to preserving Gullah culture and history. And she began to concentrate on environmental justice issues, climate change impacts on marginalized communities and resiliency.

In 2018, she was a Liberty fellow and chatted informally with program facilitator John Simpkins about her work and interests. At an Association of Black Foundation Executives conference in April 2022, they met again. He told her: You really ought to be leading your own thing, but I have an interesting opportunity. She replied: Tell me more. He said: Im looking for someone to attend to equity-centered leadership and philanthropy. She thought: Well, Im good at convening and connecting people, at fostering conversation, at mentoring young people, at conceiving fresh ideas, at executing projects. She thought: I know something about leadership and philanthropy and equity work.

This position really felt like an opportunity to take what I think Im good at and create a space at MDC helping to (foster) more talent in the South, she said.

She started in July 2022, after more than seven years with the Donnelley Foundation. Since then, Forrest has been part of the organization's growth from around 15 to 40 people. She has managed fellowship and leadership programs for early and mid-career professionals in North Carolina and South Carolina. Now she's helping to expand MDC's reach across the southeast.

She has hit the ground running.
Art is the throughline. As a kid growing up in Denver, she spent lots of time at the Colorado Historical Society. Her mother was a security guard there. CHS hosted a big annual art show. So young Michaela Pilar Brown had ample opportunity to interact with working artists.

Her mother encouraged her interest in art, providing her with materials.

Childhood, therefore, was art-filled, creative, fun  in some ways really idyllic, Brown said.

The Park Hill neighborhood was diverse. The yard was large. Neighbors fostered a strong sense of community. Brown took dance and theater lessons. She attended public schools through eighth grade. She made good friends, lasting friends.

It changed in high school. Brown attended the private Kent Denver Country Day School, with a student body of about 400. Only nine were Black. And the wealth disparities was pronounced.

I think it pushed me toward thinking about social justice, Brown said.

But art was always a focus, providing a way for Brown to express herself.

At Howard University, she reveled in a nurturing place replete with all kinds of rewards. Unlike high school, Howard afforded the opportunity to be herself with little concern for what others might think.

The HBCU encourages a joy of learning in an environment where youre not constantly saddled with the burden of defining and explaining blackness, she said.

Whats more, it provided its students with a new vantage point, that of Black excellence and achievement.

And then of course D.C. was everything, D.C. was wonderful, she said. She took note of people in positions of power who looked like her. She enjoyed easy access to cultural institutions and lots of live music. And she witnessed intriguing, disturbing, entertaining examples of cultural conflict: objections to photographer Robert Mapplethorpe's work, deemed pornographic by some; controversy over the portrayal by David Hammons of Jesse Jackson as a White man with blond hair and blue eyes in a work titled How Ya Like Me Now?

It was really just an exciting time to be in D.C., Brown said.

At Howard, she was baptized in Black Art. She studied sculpture and art history. She worked with mentors such as sculptor Richard Hunt and Jeff Donaldson, founder of the AfriCOBRA collective.

Donaldson made art that reflected a social consciousness, that had a political purpose, Brown said. It revealed to the young student something of the range of expression that could be achieved, and how ones concerns and experiences might manifest in the work.

She decided she wanted a career making public sculptures. She also gained experience in the nonprofit world, working for the touring agency International Arts and Artists, founded by Charleston native David Furchgott.

Then, disruption.

In 2001, just before the terrorist attacks of 9/11, Browns parents relocated from Colorado to South Carolina, where her father had roots. They settled on property in rural Fairfield county, outside of Winnsboro. When her father was diagnosed with Alzheimers disease, Brown came to help, becoming a caregiver for seven years.

She found ways to channel her creativity, making beautiful dinners, curating a little, thinking about the meaning and application of memory, assisting the Fairfield County Museum with oral histories, and working sporadically on art pieces. But a full-time artist focused on projects and exhibits she was not.

And she was isolated. She could go weeks without much human interaction, she said. It was a period of introspection and, it turns out, creative transformation.

When her father died in 2007, she was suddenly confronted by the need to figure out what comes next. Her art  insofar as it is a kind of conversation between maker and viewer  now needed to be personal. She wanted it to contemplate American history, to say something about gender and race, family and place, to be experiential.

I was thinking about the world very differently, Brown said. I was thinking about what it means to move in this world in this body.

Her canvas enlarged to encompass whole spaces, objects, movement, photographs, natural materials, paints and pigments, and even her own physical form. She still made sculptures and two-dimensional works, but also now performance pieces and conceptual art.

In Columbia, she found a home for her work, and opportunities to share it despite the challenging questions she asks and the sometimes provocative way she uses her own body in the work.

One supporter was Wim Roefs, whose If ART Gallery on Lincoln Street in Columbias Vista neighborhood sold Browns work. The gallery specialized in contemporary, sometimes politically charged art. Roefs was a staunch advocate of artists, such as Brown, who took risks and made bold statements.

He also founded the 701 Center for Contemporary Art, where Brown once served as director.

When he died suddenly in May 2022 at age 62, Columbia artists and art patrons mourned loudly. The gallery space was divided into two parts. Painter and sculptor Mike Williams took over one part, and Brown claimed the other, changing the name of If ART Gallery to Mike Brown Contemporary.

Today, she represents Colin Quashie, Leo Twiggs, Dorothy Netherland, Ed Rice, Aggie Zed and several other others.

She is, in some ways, continuing what Roefs started, promoting artists with something to say about the world in which we live. She is also busy making art herself. One piece commissioned by the International African American Museum is a sculptural reference to her familys South Carolina origins. Others are mixed-media works imbued with symbolism, or installations or photographs.

And she continues with her performance art, inviting spectators to interact with her, and to contemplate what it means for an imaginative Black woman to move in this world.
Tamara King was nearly 10 pounds and two weeks late, so her mom left home in the Hollywood area and made her way to Charleston, to the hospital, where she assumed she would give birth.

But the doctors sent Retha Mungin back, saying the baby wasnt ready. Mungin knew better.

So she walked hard, she squatted, she pushed and nudged until baby Tamara understood it was time to make her move. There was no chance now to get all the way back to the Charleston. Mungin was in labor, at home, with only her mother present to help. In the midst of the effort, paramedics arrived to lend a hand, then take mother and newborn daughter to the hospital.

After Mungin settled in, doctors came to check on her.

See, she said, I told you I was having a baby today.

That baby grew up in a Gullah community, learning from her elders and soaking in the encouragement of her family. Her father, Nelson B. Rivers III, once gave her a childrens book celebrating the achievements of well-known Black women. It was an early boost to Kings self-esteem. If these women enjoyed such success, maybe she could, too.

She read voraciously and was heartbroken when she discovered her grandmother couldnt. You have your gifts, and I have mine, the elder woman, who came up during Jim Crow, told the child.

Kings Gullah accent was strong; her mother worked to straighten it out. Repeat after me, she would say. Be-cuhz, Ex-plain. PEH-nny.

Perhaps King went too far. Later, an acting teacher told her her words are too pronounced.

When she was starting elementary school, her mother attended seminary in Atlanta, after which she was back in Hollywood for second grade and the encouragement of Tina Edwards, a teacher who insisted that King was special.

She was the first person who believed in me, King recalled. She opened the world up for me.

When Edwards left after just one year, King cried. But then came several years of school hopping.

Her mother was assigned a church in the small South Carolina town of Manning, and then other churches. King was in a new school every year for third through sixth grades.

At Manning High School, though, she found her stride. She started dating Ronald King. She landed a job at a country music radio station. She put on her news anchor voice and nurtured an interest in broadcast media.

There werent many African American women on news desks at that time.

I wanted to be the Black Connie Chung, King said.

At the radio station, Wheels 92.5, she worked overnight on the weekends. She learned to love Shania Twain, Trisha Yearwood, Michelle Martin, Reba McEntire and George Strait. Their music comprised the soundtrack of high school for King.

During the wee hours of the morning, she would take calls from some strange people. They didnt know she was Black. Some would use racial slurs or make racist comments. King, 16 and 17 years old at the time, learned to navigate this ugly discourse.

These were slow hours, allowing her to get her homework done.

Her stepfather was a Clarendon County sheriffs deputy and often squad cars gathered in the radio stations parking lot. Looking back, King realizes that her stepfather was providing protection.

Her goal now was to be on TV. She earned degrees in journalism from the University of South Carolina, then landed a job at an ETV station in Beaufort. She learned a lot, she said.

Dont write into holes. Get the right video. Go with what you got. Dont put on makeup until youre on the way.

After a while, she got a job as an editor with WIS in Columbia. Hard work and a bit of surreptitious creativity resulted in a promotion to news reporter. She worked the night beat and weekends, she covered a lot of death. The Iraq war was underway, a 2005 train wreck and chlorine spill in Graniteville killed nine and injured 250. She covered a terrible traffic accident that killed a mother and her three children.

It was too much. She was stressed. She was developing an ulcer. She told her producer Jemme Hinson about her dilemma: This was her dream, a career in TV news, a spot on the anchors desk, and she was so close! But she couldnt take it anymore.

Hinson replied: Some dreams are stupid. And it was an epiphany for King. If ones career becomes more burden than boon, its time for a change.

So King went into public relations, working for Richland County government, then for the S.C. Department of Commerce. After a decade of PR, she was ready for another change. She went back to school to get a masters degree in library science.

She could blend her PR experience with a passion for public service and a love for reading. Libraries, she knew, were great equalizers. They were open to all. They sought to educate. They facilitated access not just to books but to information derived from a variety of sources.

On Dec. 3, 2014, she became community relations coordinator for Richland Library. Before long she was concentrating on equity and engagement.

In April 2015, Walter Scott was killed by a North Charleston police officer, and Freddy Gray died in police custody in Baltimore. In June 2015, nine parishioners were murdered at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston. In July, Sandra Bland died in police custody in Dallas.

King and others at the library knew they needed to do something. There was a lot of anxiety and anger brewing in the community. The Black Lives Matter movement, a simple assertion of the rights of African Americans to live free from state terror and institutional racism, was received badly in some circles.

The librarys parking lot sometimes was used as a gathering place for BLM protestors and counterprotesters carrying Confederate flags.

Arguments were more common than productive engagement.

So King and her colleagues started a social awareness program called Lets Talk Race. It started small, but grew over three years. People would assemble at round tables and take advantage of a safe space in which to discuss some difficult subjects: privilege, prejudice, etiquette, history, memory, heritage, slavery, monuments, racial violence, protest and more.

It went well.

In 2021, King began to oversee the development of a Lets Talk Race curriculum. Clearly, this initiative could benefit people beyond Richland County, if there was a way of sharing the materials and protocols.

That curriculum will be ready for distribution this spring. It can be used by groups large and small  by other libraries, nonprofits, corporations, book clubs and church groups.

Anyone who wants to be in a brave space and have these conversations, this guide is for you, King said.

For years, King viewed her father, the prominent civil rights activist, as the familys revolutionary. He was the one unafraid to utter hard truths. He was the one intent on confronting injustice.

King assumed her path was different. She would navigate through the institutions. She would push for change within. She would focus on the work of public libraries, on ensuring free access to information, on encouraging everyone in the community, no matter his or her station, to take advantage of the opportunities these places provide.

But with this recent work  the new curriculum  she has come to realize that theres more than one front line in the war for social justice, and her armor shines brightly.
Today, few are familiar with the story of the Hanging Tree, the place where legend tells us Denmark Vesey and others were executed in 1822 for their role in an interrupted slave revolt.

The tree, a symbol of violence and oppression, refers to the politics of fear, a certain way of life in the South that demanded a uniquely American response. That response first was organized on a national scale in 1908 with the founding of the NAACP, which focused on White violence against Black people, including the many lynchings of that period. It reached a culmination during the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, with Martin Luther King Jr.s eloquent appeals for justice.

King is the best-known figure of the movement, but many more, including dozens of activists and civic leaders in South Carolina, took great risks over the decades to advance democracy.

Consider the work of Levi G. Byrd, a plumber living in Cheraw who first founded a new branch of the NAACP in the 1930s and then revitalized the organization throughout the state, setting the stage for strong statewide advocacy and influence in the years that followed.

And remember the Briggs v. Elliott school segregation case. It was the first legal action taken against school segregation in the nation and one of five lawsuits that eventually was made part of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case. It could not have been possible  and by extension, nor could have Brown v. Board  if not for the courage of the Rev. Joseph Armstrong De Laine of Clarendon County.

The Briggs case

In the early 1950s, Rural Clarendon County was among the poorest counties in South Carolina, which made it among the most underdeveloped in the United States, wrote Orville Vernon Burton, Beatrice Burton and Simon Appleford in their essay, Seeds in Unlikely Soil.

African Americans comprised roughly 70 percent of the population, and most worked on land almost 85 percent of which was owned by Whites, they wrote. The segregated public schools of Clarendon County had an enrollment of 6,531 African American and 2,375 White students in 1951. Yet total expenditures for White students exceeded that for Blacks by $112,379  some 300 percent per pupil  leaving the African American schools in appalling conditions and lacking basic facilities.

In addition to roughshod school buildings, the lack of toilet facilities, gaping holes in the curriculum and other problems, Black students were forced to walk to school, sometimes miles, sometimes carrying drinking water, while White students rode the bus.

De Laine, an Allen University graduate and Methodist minister, campaigned to end these inequities, eventually persuading Harry and Eliza Briggs to be the first to sign a petition. The case did not challenge segregation itself, only the disparities between Blacks and Whites, but a White federal judge in Charleston, J. Waties Waring, known for his radical views on racial issues, instructed (NAACP attorney Thurgood) Marshall to challenge explicitly Plessy v. Ferguson and the very institution of segregation.

De Laine would be forced to flee South Carolina after threats to his life culminated in a drive-by shooting.

Illuminating the Briggs case, and many other issues of the 1940s and '50s, was newspaperman John McCray, whose Columbia-based Lighthouse & Informer served as a beacon of information for the Black community. McCray worked closely with Modjeska Simkins, active in the South Carolina NAACP and a seemingly ubiquitous force for change in the state.

NAACP and the law

In 1954, Septima Clark and Esau Jenkins set up the first citizenship school to teach would-be Black voters how to read. Jenkins had founded Haut Gap School on Johns Island and was a tireless advocate of civil rights.

Clark was a longtime member of the NAACP, eventually becoming vice president of the Charleston Branch. In 1956, the S.C. Legislature passed a law forbidding city or state employees from joining civil rights organizations. Clark refused to quit the NAACP and was fired from her job as a public school teacher after decades of dedicated and successful service.

In 1958, the Rev. I. DeQuincey Newman became NAACP field secretary and, later, state president. He emerged as the organizations chief strategist and a highly skilled political negotiator, writes Jack Bass and Scott Poole in The Palmetto State. He set up the NAACP Legal Committee in South Carolina, recruited Matthew J. Perry Jr. to become its chairman, played a key role in ending the states Jim Crow laws and later became the first Black state senator since Reconstruction.

Perry would go on to represent or assist thousands of Black defendants during the 1960s, including, briefly, Cleveland Sellers, who was arrested on a trumped up incitement charge in the 1968 Orangeburg Massacre. In 1979, Perry would be appointed by President Jimmy Carter to the bench of the U.S. District Court. A courthouse in Columbia is named after him.

In 1963, the year of the March on Washington, Clemson University was integrated after a three-year effort by Harvey Gantt and his attorneys, Perry and Willie T. Smith Jr. Gantt, born and raised in Charleston, would go on to serve as mayor of Charlotte 1983-87. He ran for U.S. Senate against Jesse Helms, twice, and lost. He is a practicing architect in Charlotte.

Luminaries

The late Rev. McKinley Washington Jr., a Presbyterian pastor who in the 1960s signed up Black residents on Edisto Island to vote and founded the NAACP branch there, became a member of the General Assembly, where he served from 1975 to 2000.

Lucille Whipper, another trailblazer, applied to the College of Charleston in the 1940s to try to change its policy of segregation. In response, the public college went private, allowing it to maintain the status quo.

Whipper breathed life into what was the Avery Normal School, organizing the Avery Institute of African-American History and Culture, which later became the Avery Research Center at the College of Charleston, and went on to become a powerful voice in the state Legislature from 1985 to 1995. She died in 2021.

As a young lawyer, Ernest A. Finney Jr. defended the Friendship 9 after the group of African American students attempted to integrate a Rock Hill lunch counter in 1961. Twenty-four years later, in 1985, he joined the S.C. Supreme Court. In 1994, the General Assembly made him chief justice, the first Black man to hold that position since Reconstruction.

Christine Jackson, first cousin of Coretta Scott King, initially worked as a home economics teacher with the Clemson University Extension Service after she moved to Charleston in 1963.

When the directorship at the YWCA of Greater Charleston became available in 1966, she took charge, and over the course of 36 years, desegregated the institution and assumed a leadership role in promoting civil rights for African Americans and all women.

The Hospital Strike

A pivotal moment in the states history came in 1969, when hospital workers in Charleston went on strike to demand union representation. For strikers, fair labor treatment and basic civil rights were inextricably linked, according to The Palmetto State.

Tensions in the city increased. Andrew Young and Coretta Scott King, one year after her husbands assassination, led a huge downtown march. About 900 were arrested during the turmoil, and 5,000 National Guard troops were called into the city.

Bill Saunders, a militant leader groomed by Jenkins, negotiated directly with Gov. Robert E. McNair, who a little more than one year earlier had ordered state troopers to rein in protesting Black students on the campus of S.C. State College in an episode that would end tragically with three dead and at least 28 injured.

In the end, a crucial call came to the governors office from White House aide Harry Dent, former top staffer for Sen. (Strom) Thurmond, Bass and Poole wrote. His message amounted to an ultimatum from the White House: get the strike settled.

The Medical College Hospital backed down. Mary Moultrie and other workers celebrated.

Instrumental in negotiating a settlement were a young Jim Clyburn, a schoolteacher and director of the S.C. Commission of Farm Workers, and Robert Ford, an organizer for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

Anthems to change

No survey of South Carolinas contributions to the civil rights movement should fail to acknowledge the careful manner in which three governors  Fritz Hollings, McNair and John West  moved the state in midcentury from hostile defiance to moderation.

Or the dynamic leadership of Jesse Jackson, born in Greenville, who one day would run for president of the United States and have his campaign managed by Sellers, the Denmark native and organizer for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee who was shot and arrested during the Orangeburg Massacre.

Or Reuben Greenberg, Charlestons first Black police chief, who was hired by Mayor Joe Riley in part to help defuse racial tensions (though his approach to crime sometimes frustrated members of the Black community).

Or the contemporary leadership of the Rev. Joseph Darby, a Columbia native and AME pastor in Charleston, who as a vice president of the Charleston NAACP, worked hand in hand with the president, Dot Scott, who stepped down in 2022. The Rev. Nelson Rivers, pastor of Charity Missionary Baptist Church in the Liberty Hill neighborhood of North Charleston, was for years a senior leader in the NAACP at the national level, then moved to the Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network.

In the small Upstate town of Laurens, the Rev. David Kennedy continues to preach love after years confronting hate in the form of the Redneck Shop, where the Ku Klux Klan and American Nazi Party held meetings and recruited members.

And there are the many Whites who have advocated for change: Judge Waring, political operative and filmmaker Charles Traynor (Bud) Ferillo, and author Jack Bass  to name just three. Ferillo received the 2010 Harvey Gantt Triumph Award from the YWCA of Greater Charleston in recognition for his film, Corridor of Shame, which drew attention to the poor condition of rural schools in the state.

South Carolina even contributed music to the movement. In 1960, folklorist and musician Guy Carawan, visiting Johns Island, first heard the song We Shall Overcome, which had been sung by striking workers 15 years earlier at the cigar factory in Charleston.

After Carawan became music director at Highlander Folk School in Tennessee, the song  and others he first heard on Johns Island, such as Eyes on the Prize and Aint You Got a Right to the Tree of Life  became anthems of the civil rights movement.

Finally, there was one man in particular who worked harder than most to create a visual document of the movement in South Carolina: photographer Cecil J. Williams. He was there to capture Thurgood Marshall stepping off the train in Charleston. He was there to photograph episodes at S.C. State. He committed images of Gantt to posterity. He photographed those who participated in the sit-ins and freedom rides. And he shot a priceless portrait of the plaintiffs in Briggs v. Elliott, among many other achievements.

Thanks to Williams, students of history can see what the civil rights movement looked like in South Carolina. Williams captured the pride of the people, the undying human wish, sometimes hard to fulfill, for a better life.
Online retail behemoth Amazon will be delivering a legal argument with roughly $12.5 million on the line this week in Columbia.

South Carolina tax officials will be looking to return to sender, saying the goods are defective.

It's the latest turn in a sales tax dispute that's been plugging along for at least seven years, pitting the e-commerce titan from the Pacific Northwest against the S.C. Department of Revenue.

They likely won't be exchanging candy or flowers when they square off once again, this time on Valentine's Day, when they take their case to the Court of Appeals.

Amazon is flexing its resolve to go the mat over a miniscule financial rounding error compared to the $514 billion in revenue it hauled in last year.

The state is equally determined to settle a past-due bill that it insists the company ought to make good on.

The relationship began on friendlier terms with an economic development deal in 2011, when the rapidly evolving e-commerce industry was still in its Wild West phase. Amazon agreed to invest $125 million and create 2,000 jobs in South Carolina in exchange for a five-year moratorium from state sales-tax collections.

The Department of Revenue began examining the company's books shortly after the grace period expired. It was early 2016, when a new law began requiring out-of-state online retailers to pay sales tax proceeds to the agency.

The Amazon audit covered the first quarter of the year. It found the company owed South Carolina about $9.6 million, plus $2.9 million in interest and penalties, for products that independent merchants had sold on the company's powerful "Marketplace."

Amazon fired back. It argued that it wasn't responsible for taxes on third-party transactions because it never owned the goods that had changed hands. The company has likened its role to an online shopping mall owner, providing a secure place of business for buyers and sellers, while also handling some back-office functions, such as shipping and payment processing.

Amazon challenged the eight-figure tax bill at the S.C. Administrative Law Court, which reviews disputes that involve state agencies. The appeal failed in 2019  and it's now looking to reverse the decision.

The dispute has reverberated beyond the courtroom. The original Amazon approved a dozen years ago was a key reason legislators required all out-of-state retailers that sold at least $100,000 in goods within South Carolina to pay into the system starting in 2016. The law was expanded a few years later to include online clearinghouse platforms, like Amazon's, after the U.S. Supreme Court provided an opening.

The Seattle-based company has insisted early and often that it's always played by the Palmetto State's tax rules. It's also sticking to its guns in fighting the $12.5 million assessment.

"The key dispute ... is whether South Carolina's sale tax statute in 2016 required Amazon ... to collect sales tax on third-party sales. The answer to that question is no," lawyers for the company said in a Feb. 2 court filing.

A parade of pro-business groups have sided with the company, including the National Retail Federation, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the S.C. Chamber and the Greater Columbia Chamber.

On the other side, a pair of tax policy experts from the University of South Carolina School of Law have filed a "friend of the court" brief that supports the Department of Revenue's position.

Tessa Davis and Clinton Wallace said a well-lawyered business of Amazon's size and sophistication should have known that once it established a "physical nexus" in South Carolina  meaning its Lexington County warehouse  it would be required to pony up sales taxes as soon as its five-year exemption expired.

The associate professors also tossed in a plea for the small fry, saying "the consequences will be stark" if the 800-pound gorilla of the retail industry gets it way.

"First, it will establish a 'playbook' for well-resourced taxpayers to contest tax laws in a manner that will never be an option for 'mom-and-pop' South Carolina businesses," they wrote in their briefing. "No small retailer can afford the decade-long political and legal efforts that Amazon has undertaken to avoid paying sales tax, and no small retailer will benefit if Amazon prevails."

Also, the lost revenue "would eventually fall on law-abiding South Carolina taxpayers."

After some seven years of legal sparring, Amazon and the Department of Revenue will rendezvous once again this week, on Valentine's Day. They and their allies have been allotted a total of 40 minutes to woo the court.
COLUMBIA  A few blocks northwest of Williams-Brice Stadium is a neighborhood with a common bond dating back to the 1890s. In a 120-year-old house on the corner of Olympia Avenue and Virginia Street, its current and former neighbors have been piecing together their own story about cotton milling, child labor, classism and pride.

What became the Olympia and Granby apartments, home to University of South Carolina undergraduates today, was a cotton mill throughout the early 20th century established by engineer and entrepreneur W.B. Smith Whaley, the namesake of one of the area's main streets.

The neighborhood was a microcosm of the New South through the first decade of the 1900s, with rural farmworkers who rented the mill village's saltbox-style homes to work industrial jobs and raise their families.

Mill workers' homes, including the home that served as an eight-room schoolhouse from 1900 to 1909 and now serves as the Olympia Mill Village Museum, are still standing.

From the child labor laws that allowed minors to work in any of the four cotton mills Whaley had built in 1898, to the consolidation of the old Olympia High School with Richland County School District One (now the state's ninth-largest school district) in the 1950s and school integration in 1971, to a turn-of-the-century fire that destroyed most of the school's campus, to the influx of neighborhood homes becoming rental properties, much has changed for the Olympia mill village.

The museum's founders, Jim "Jake" and Sherri Jaco, said their hope since purchasing the old schoolhouse in 2014 was to give those who live, work and attend school in the area today an opportunity to learn and understand the neighborhood's complicated history.

"This is not 'the Jaco museum.' This is the Olympia Mill Village Museum," Sherri Jaco said.

It wasn't just nostalgia that drove Sherri to call on old friends, neighbors and Olympia High School alumni for any documents, artifacts or otherwise tangible memories to become museum exhibits. A retired teacher, she said it was ingrained in her to try to connect with her youthful neighbors, many of them USC students from different corners of the country with no historical understanding of the property they rent from typically absent landlords.

Weekend tailgate parties for the South Carolina Gamecocks have always come with the territory, the Jacos said. They have no problem with college students moving into the neighborhood, Jake Jaco said, and they have no interest in being the grumpy grandparents known around the neighborhood for calling noise or litter complaints in to Columbia police.

If the kids' landlords are not there to school them on the neighborhood's history though, she might as well give it a shot, Sherri Jaco said.

Instead of telling students what boils down to "get off my lawn," Sherri said, she prefers to invite them over to the museum, or to her Virginia Street home across from it, and say, "Do you know where you're standing? Would y'all like to come and see?"

The teacher-turned-museum curator held a stack of envelopes as she walked outside her home on Dec. 19, to go check on the museum. Inside were gifts for the sanitation workers who regularly come through the neighborhood. She hoped to see them that afternoon to thank them.

She also had thank-yous for the Richland County Sheriff's Department deputies who, instead of intimidating students who cause disturbances, accepted museum literature from her and granted her request that they show it to the students instead.

Olympia and Granby encompass about 85,000 square feet southeast of the university. The mills stood at Heyward and Wayne streets in the neighborhood's northeastern corner, and the mill workers' family homes lined the parallel streets housing 5,000 people by 1908. By the 1940s, Jake was growing up on Texas Street and walking to school alongside Sherri, his Kentucky Street-raised wife to be.

The museum takes visitors through the life of the average Olympia mill village resident during each decade of the 20th century, starting with Whaley's vision of a mill village in the Columbia area and the Olympia school's founding in 1900.

The poor White farmers who would become mill village residents were seen by urban Columbia residents as "failed farmers or lazy mountain dwellers who were ignorant, illiterate and who had no desire to improve," according to one of the museum's exhibits.

The exhibits do not shy away from the racism embedded in the neighborhood's history.

People of color could not own property in the mill village before the enactment of the federal Civil Rights and Fair Housing acts in the 1960s. After that, people of color still mostly opted not to live in the mill village among "linthead" poor White folks, Sherri said  a moniker originally used disparagingly but that mill villagers now wear as a badge of honor.

She did not blame non-White people of the time for this, though, as racism had persisted in the village by way of the Whaley mills employing Black people to roll bales of cotton outside, laboring in the heat or cold in contrast to their White colleagues who worked inside on machines.

Black students did not attend the original Olympia school either. Once schools integrated in 1971, high school-aged White students in the mill village attended the former Booker T. Washington High School with Black students.

"On the third day (of school), he jumped out the window," Sherri Jaco said of her grandfather, the late Major Hall, who did just that in 1901 at 9 years old in the Olympia schoolhouse.

Hall went to work in the mill and did not return to school until adulthood. Because of the Olympia school's early 1900s night program for adults, former child mill workers like Hall could eventually learn to read and write, Sherri said.

The museum's annex, a renovated shed behind the house, is dedicated to the old Olympia school with memorabilia from student life in the first half of the 20th century, from military honors to letterman jackets. Enrollment spiked in the 1920s after child labor laws restricted the age when kids could work in the mills.

"Lintheads" still were demonized as not caring about education, according to the 1981 book, "Olympia-Pacific: The Way it Was 1895-1970" by Alvin Byars, one of the annex's artifacts.

The school sticks to its roots as something of a trade school. Richland One offers career and technical education pathways for students at the campus. Today, the Olympia campus houses Richland One's alternative school, where students are sent for misconduct on their residential school campuses rather than attending by choice.

The mill itself closed in 1996 and remained vacant until 2007, when renovations began to convert it into apartments.

Sherri, other members of the neighborhood association "We Are Olympia," and donors to the museum dedicated an outdoor space behind the house and the annex to the mill workers on Dec. 3.

Among the artifacts in that space: a shoe lathe to repair the shoes you've worn down; an ax sharpener to sharpen the ax you've worn down; an enormous bale of cotton on which to rest after a long shift when you've worn yourself down.

Click here for more news from Columbia, S.C.
WEST COLUMBIA  Plans for a makeover of the Lexington County city's main thoroughfare have caught the attention of business owners who have long craved a more cohesive retail district with more places to park.

West Columbia is crafting plans to invest more than a third of its pandemic recovery funding in road improvements on Meeting Street, one of the main corridors connecting the heart of West Columbia to the Vista in Columbia, where it becomes Gervais Street and travels past the S.C. Statehouse.

West Columbia, a city of 18,000 just west of downtown Columbia, hopes to turn the section of Meeting Street between 9th Street and State Street into a walkable retail district, through traffic slowing, pedestrian safety and beatification projects, Mayor Tem Miles told The Post and Courier.

"My hope has always been that Meeting Street would be a destination for people for shopping and restaurants and other businesses like mine," said Chaye Alexander, owner of Meeting Street Jazz Venue Chayz Lounge. "It's coming  and Chayz Lounge is going to be dead smack in the center of all of it."

West Columbia's decision to fund the project with pandemic recovery dollars comes just two months after voters nixed Lexington County's proposed penny tax, putting an end to the city's initial plans to pay for the improvements from its share of those funds.

Although Meeting Street, which is also U.S. Highway 1, is one of three major corridors connecting the county to downtown Columbia, West Columbia officials and business owners have both said they are unconcerned with the traffic that might come with a more established retail district, like those seen by drivers through West Columbia's neighbor, the town of Lexington.

When Meeting Street's facelift was planned as part of the penny tax, improvements to the road were high on the list of 120 projects attached to the referendum, which sought a 1 percent bump in the countys sales tax to fund road repair and infrastructure improvement projects.
I speak about my personal experiences with mental health in writing. It ends up having me hear from Black men either on the fence about getting therapy or, at least when they get it, treats it as a secret. Read moreFight the Power: The life of being a Black man embracing therapy
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GREENVILLE  Eighteen months after an insurgent "MAGA" movement took over the Greenville County Republican Party, the South Carolina GOP headquarters that's at odds with the group is planning to seize control of the county party's upcoming local organizational efforts.

State party Executive Director Hope Walker said the move is rooted in concerns that the leadership of the county party has alienated mainline Republican voters who state leaders want to attract as they look to the 2024 election cycle.

Jeff Davis, chairman of the Greenville GOP, called the state's intervention a "tyrannical" power grab using dirty tricks to find any justification to seize control.

It's the latest expansion of what has been an acrid rift along the fault line of perceived loyalty to former president Donald Trump and lingering grievances over the 2020 election.

Next month the party will conduct its precinct reorganization, a biennial effort that culminates in a county convention. It's a vital fundraiser with pomp and circumstance, with the aim of recruiting and mobilization.

"Everything will run through the state party," Walker told The Post and Courier. "The convention is supposed to be a fun and inviting time. We want as many people as we can to get involved and not be turned off. We don't want that to be a deterrent for someone to get involved."

The county party's current leadership managed in the summer of 2021 to oust a state party-friendly governance that had been elected a few months before  an election that Davis said was proven to be rigged by "RINOs," short for "Republicans In Name Only."

"I think they want the opportunity to cheat again," Davis told The Post and Courier regarding the state party's move to take over reorganization. "They did it just to try to throw a monkey wrench."

On Feb. 2, the state party's Rules Committee voted to recommend that the state Executive Committee vote to take over Greenville County's reorganization and convention, according to a Feb. 4 memo formalizing the recommendation and endorsed by 13 members from across the state.

State party leaders accused the county party of, among other alleged violations, conducting chaotic and sometimes violent meetings without proper quorums that have created a steady member exodus. Added to that, they said, is the county party's opposition to successful Republican candidates that back the former president.

The result in part led to the creation of the Fourth District Republican Club, a group representing more-mainstream Republicans which has hosted the likes of former 4th District congressman Jim DeMint and former presidential candidate Ben Carson.

In December 2021, the state Executive Committee had Davis escorted from its meeting and banned him from future attendance.

Davis told The Post and Courier that the county party's leadership was unaware of any rules violations and repeatedly sought clarification from the state party dating back to November, only to be stonewalled.

"This was just a surprise," Davis said. "They never told or sent any communication that we were breaking any rules."

In a Feb. 8 letter to Walker, the county party asked for specifics on how the state party would assist in the reorganization effort. It inquired about funding and providing 3,000 necessary reorganization forms that county leaders said have been distributed to other counties.

Davis said he believes establishment Republicans want to enlist voices that align with like-minded GOP politicians, whereas he would attract a crowd of 3,000 with an "America First" slate.

Davis pointed to the county party's successful effort in electing its preferred members to the Greenville County School Board.

"I think they're real nervous about our convention," Davis said, adding that the takeover also is rooted in concern that he will run for the state chairman position.

Meanwhile, Walker said state leadership is forging ahead with planning Greenville County's effort.

"Right now, we are working on venue dates and locations for what the process will look like in Greenville," Walker said.

The divide began in the weeks following Trumps November 2020 loss to President Joe Biden and unproven claims of widespread voter fraud. Powered by the conspiracy theory, more people began to attend county party meetings in greater numbers, facilitated by a group Davis and others started, MySCGOP.

It happened just as the party conducted that year's reorganization. In April 2021, a three-person slate of candidates backed by traditional party leaders was elected to lead the county apparatus, a vote conducted virtually because of the pandemic and before widespread distribution of vaccines.

A faction billing itself as the MAGA slate objected and claimed a rigged process. That group met in a Greenville hotel ballroom that day and submitted paper ballots.

The MAGA slate lost in a close race, but come summer the insurgent group applied enough pressure to prompt the leaderships resignations. Thats when Davis came into power, along with state executive committeeman Pressley Stutts, who a month later died due to COVID-19.

Throughout the course of the year, the county party led protests against vaccine mandates, acceptance of election results, detainment of some of those accused of participating in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol and a host of other far-right issues.

The county party at one point changed the party logo to feature Trumps signature swooping, orange combover.

It isn't the only intraparty conflagration in South Carolina.

In September, five members of the Horry County Republican Party abruptly resigned.

Billing themselves as "America First Patriots"  mostly aligning with the beliefs of the current Greenville County party leadership  the Horry County leaders cited harassment and "backhanded" political tactics by the state party to undermine them.

The resignations came after a September State Executive Committee meeting, which voted to condemn and remove perks from the members of the committee who, using false allegations, attempted to stall the reconvening of the 2021 State Republican Convention.

Reporter Nichole Ziege contributed from Myrtle Beach.
Greenville, Charleston and Berkeley county school districts have blocked the new artificial intelligence technology ChatGPT from school devices.

They're joining several of the largest school districts in the country that announced they were blocking the technology, which was released in November.

ChatGPT is an AI chatbot launched on Nov. 30 that has dominated headlines because it can write essays on topics like masculinity in the novel "Lord of the Flies" in seconds. It can also write code, poetry or reports on historical events.

Its release upended both the higher education and K-12 communities. Professors from schools like Furman University and Appalachian State University received essays they suspected were written by ChatGPT. Los Angeles Unified School District temporarily blocked access to ChatGPT and its parent company, OpenAI's, website in December. New York City's Department of Education and Seattle Public Schools also blocked the technology.

Tim Waller, a spokesman for Greenville County School District, said in a Jan. 24 email that the district saw a few attempts by students to access OpenAI's website on school-issued Chromebooks but their efforts were unsuccessful.

"With any new technology, there are always concerns, but we are confident in our ability as a school district to adapt and take any necessary precautions," he said.

He said the district is constantly evaluating what skills students must acquire for future success and that emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, may allow students to bypass those essential skills. He added that this has to be balanced with the duty educators have to embrace new technologies that can equalize education for the district's most at-risk learners.

In a Feb. 9 media call, Charleston County School District's executive director of information technology, Tom Nawrocki, said the district was blocking ChatGPT so they could take time to learn more about the technology and are cautious about viewing it as a "bad thing."

"But it can be used for things like cheating or plagiarism, so from this standpoint right now, until we've learned more about this, we've blocked it completely, so no one has access within the district," he said.

Nawrocki said he plans to meet with the district's learning services department to see how both teachers and students can be trained to use the technology productively.

Some education experts have cautioned against unilaterally banning ChatGPT, saying that it could help children with communication disabilities. Others have said that blocking ChatGPT won't prevent students from accessing the site since they could easily do so from their personal devices.

The left-leaning think tank The Brookings Instruction likened ChatGPT to a calculator, saying it has the power to help writers hone their critical thinking and communication in a Jan. 9 report. Chris Marsicano, an assistant professor of educational studies and public policy at Davidson College, told The Post and Courier in late January that ChatGPT offered him the opportunity to redesign his courses to better test students' critical thinking skills.
French President Emmanuel Macron is fighting for his governments political life. He just barely survived two no-confidence votes. There are riots in the streets, and some workers  including garbage collectors  went on strike to protest. Read moreStevens: We need Social Security reform before we are in crisis
The University of Guam serves as that steward of place to deliver equitable and inclusive public value through its academic programs, research Read moreSustaining UOGs accreditation is key to delivering a high-quality Guam workforce
Movie Title: Wura

Cast: Scarlet Gomez, Yomi Fash Lanso, Carol King, Ray Adeka, Iremide Adeoye, Ego Iheanacho, Martha Ehinome, and Lanre Adediwura.

Release date: 23rd January

Director: Dimeji Ajibola, Adeola Osunkojo and Yemi Morafa

Runtime: Average of 25 minutes per episode

If there is one thing Nollywood producers continue to teach us; its their fearlessness in exploring different film genres.

Last year gave us a fresh take on how our stories are told with the likes of Brotherhood, the psychological drama Diiche, and several indigenous films, including the hit film Anikulapo.

With the release of Shantytown and Showmaxs latest original project, Wura, one cannot help but get excited at what this year has in store.

The first of its kind for Showmax, Wura, is a telenovela series that tells the story of an ambitious and ruthless CEO of a gold mining industry who would stop at nothing to protect her company and those she loves.

An adaptation of the South African telenovela series, The River, Wura, offers a different content value but falters in the compelling art of storytelling.

The Tea (Plotline)

We are introduced to a flash-forward scene where we see a lady pouring gasoline over a tied-up lady before setting the entire building ablaze.

As the fire burns, we flashback to a year earlier, where we are introduced to the lady who sets the building ablaze in the opening scene; her name is Wura (Scarlet Gomez).

Wura owns a gold mine that is falling apart due to the absence of gold. This causes conflict between her and the workers because of salary differences.

During her conflict with the workers, a spokesperson arises from them, Pa Kuti. Although this act angers Wura, her temper soon fades away after Pa Kuti shows up later in the day, announcing his discovery of a new gold mine.

Pa Kuti proposes that Wura increase workers wages in exchange for the gold mines location.

Things soon take a sharp turn when Wura hits Pa Kutis head with a rock, causing him to die. With this new development, Wura and her brother try to cover up their crime, but it becomes futile when there is a missing piece of evidence.

Now at a crossroads, Wura is forced to unleash her ruthlessness as she faces two threats: a blackmailer and Tumininu, the daughter of Pa Kuti.

The Good

It was nice to watch a series that did not take place in the city of Lagos. Finally, Nollywood producers are getting the memo that there are over thirty cities and hundreds of communities where dramatic events can unfold.

The setting, although simple, made it relatable and, for some weird reason, hard not to watch. First, there is the house of Pa Kuti which helped bolster his portrayal as an average worker, then Wuras mansion is simply astonishing, and finally, there is the mine. The producers maximised the space and create the illusion of a real mine.

Camera angles and lighting also complimented each scene and were professionally executed.

Kudos to the casting director who took the risk to cast new acting talents. It was like a breath of fresh air to see new faces. Scarlet Gomez excels as a ruthless leader and kind mother in her role as Wura.

The Bad

There was more that could have been done in terms of scripting. In the language of an average Gen-Z, the dialogues and actions were not giving what they were meant to give. They felt too bland and did not represent how such characters would speak.

Delivery is another issue in this movie. While the actors looked the part, their deliveries could have been better. It was just monotone and lacked depth and emotion.

Watching this movie might make you question how day and night work. One moment we are watching Wura visit Pa Kutis family; the next scene is during that same day when they are having a burial ceremony after complaining about a lack of money. It just doesnt add.

Lastly, there were many show, dont tell moments. It was obvious that the writers relied on dialogue to move the plot forward. If this was their attempt at making the episodes shorter, they failed as many scenes dragged on. For example, in the party scene where Yomi Fash Lanso spent about two minutes talking about how good a food tastes. Unnecessary.

Final Verdict

6/10. Watch it. Wura has been done several times before, but the drive and ambition of the main character tend to hook you.

Wura is now streaming on Showmax.

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Two weeks to Nigerias presidential and legislative elections, the countrys military has denied reports that its officers are planning a coup.

The Defence Headquarters Saturday dismissed the coup report as malicious propaganda by unscrupulous elements.

The Acting Director of Defence Information, Tukur Gusau, a brigadier general, said this in a statement on Saturday in Abuja.

He added that the Armed Forces of Nigeria was dismayed that even politically exposed persons had denigrated themselves into joining the agents of destabilisation.

He said the unscrupulous elements who shared the report claimed that some military officers met with a presidential candidate with the aim of disrupting the general elections and setting the country on fire.

According to him, the purveyors of the propaganda also indicated that a so-called Thursday meeting is plotting a coup detat to establish unconstitutional order.

Mr Gusau said those who made the false claims were agents of destabilisation and violence seeking to heighten tension in the polity and would be made to face the wrath of the law.

It needs to be stated that the Armed Forces of Nigeria is a professional military that is loyal to the constitution of the Federal Republic and will never be part of any evil plot against our democracy.

Besides, the military remains apolitical and neutral in the current political process and will not engage in the alleged shenanigans.

The Armed Forces of Nigeria will never be part of any ignoble plot to truncate our hard-earned democracy, he said.

Mr Gusau said the military high command would ensure that those who fabricated and spread the unfounded report were invited by appropriate law enforcement agencies to substantiate their claims.

The general public is advised to disregard such information and go about their normal activities, he added.

Nigerias last military leader left office in 1999 and the country has practised democracy since then.

The 25 February presidential election is the seventh since 1999, the longest such run since Nigerias independence in 1960.

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Supporters of Senate President Ahmad Lawan disrupted an event organised to celebrate the ruling of the Supreme Court which named him the authentic senatorial candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for Yobe North in the National Assembly election.

The event was disrupted after the supporters started throwing objects at the Governor of the state, Mai Buni.

The event, which was attended by hundreds of supporters of the party, doubled as the APCs zonal campaign rally for the Yobe North district. Trouble started when the governor stood up to deliver his speech.

As soon as the governor started speaking, the angry supporters, who loudly cheered Mr Lawan who spoke before the governor, began to chant slogans of rejection; bwamayi bwamayi bwamaso  which means we dont want you.

The heckling supporters subsequently started throwing objects at the governor and other guests at the poduim.

The rally abruptly came to an end as the governor was whisked away by security operatives.

PREMIUM TIMES learnt that Mr Lawans supporters attacked the governor because it was believed that he backed Mr Lawans opponent, Bashir Machina, who was the APC candidate until the Supreme Courts ruling.

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The presidential candidate of the APC, Bola Tinubu, has backed the cashless and naira redesign policies introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN).

Mr Tinubu said he was, however, concerned by the policies shoddy implementation which has led to a serious cash crunch in the country with no end in sight even as the general elections are a few weeks from now.

Mr Tinubu had initially said the naira redesign policy coupled with fuel scarcity were tools by saboteurs to prevent him and the APC from winning the 25 February presidential election.

The fuel scarcity has reduced a bit, especially across the major cities, though the price of PMS in most rural communities remains high.

The deadline for the naira redesign policy of the CBN which phased out old N200, N500 and N1000 notes expired on 10 February although a Supreme Court judgement in a suit brought against the CBN by three state governments halted the expiration of the old notes pending the determination of the substantive suit on the issue before it.

The CBN has not said anything concerning the courts judgement since it was delivered which has further heightened tension and anxiety among Nigerians as they scramble to get cash for their various transactions.

The new notes are acutely short in supply while the old notes still in circulation are now being rejected.

READ ALSO:

On the day the naira swap deadline set by the CBN elapsed, the National Council of State at its meeting backed the CBN on the currency redesign policy, called for an aggressive pumping of the new notes into circulation while it also said the old notes should continue to serve as legal tender to bridge the supply gap.

In a statement he personally signed on Sunday and made available to journalists, Mr Tinubu said despite the challenges and current difficulties, Nigeria is a country of resilient, bold and courageous people who dont succumb to hard times.

He said: We have always overcome our most difficult times and come out better as a people and a nation. This time will not be different. We will make lemonade out of our current lemons.

Way forward

The former two-term governor of Lagos State called for the continuous usage of the old notes as legal tender alongside the new notes for the next 12 months as it happens in developed economies, saying such will immediately remove growing tension in the country, eliminate panic reactions by the populace and allow time to scale up infrastructural gaps around alternative payment options to cash.

He also called for the immediate suspension of associated charges on online transactions and bank transfers and payments via point of sale until the current crisis is fully resolved.

In addition, Mr Tinubu called for the mobilisation of all Money Deposit Banks and payment platforms to show clear commitment and timelines for expanding their infrastructure and support services.

He also suggested that fintech companies with capabilities into currency swap programmes for the next 90 days to help decongest banking halls and ATM points where people line up for hours should be brought in.

He admonished the CBN and other relevant MDAs to form an Inter-Agency Action Committee for immediate oversight over the cash supply gaps from the Nigerian Security and Minting Company and deal with issues around capabilities and turn around time to meet the needs of the informal sector and unbanked people.

The CBN, National Orientation Agency and Ministry of Information, State and Local Governments with their relevant organs in both the public and private sectors should commence a major public enlightenment and sensitisation campaign to further educate and empower our people on the new naira and cashless policy for better understanding and mainstream adoption, he said.

Read the full statement below:

LET US MAKE THE BEST OF THIS MOMENT

The past few weeks have been a challenging one for Nigerians especially our SMEs, poor and vulnerable masses and those whose very survival depend on daily cash transactions. They have felt the brunt of the combined problems of scarcity of fuel and new Naira notes.

We feel the pains of our market women and artisans who have experienced low sales because customers do not have cash to make purchases. We hear the loud cries of farmers in rural areas and hinterlands who have been forced to sell their produce at much lower prices so they dont lose out completely. We hear every Nigerian dealing with the consequences of the roll-out of the cash swap programme.

While the scarcity arising from the supply limitations of the new naira notes is still with us, we are encouraged about reports that the fuel queues across the country are easing out as a result of better supply to fuel stations. We are now confronted with how to bring quick, sustainable solution, and relief to Nigerians on the challenges still posed by the non availability of new Naira notes, so that social and economic activities can move on unimpeded and normalcy can immediately return to our financial services sector and overall productivity of our nation.

In seeking a quick resolution, the National Council of State met on Friday, February 10, 2022 and advised the government and Central Bank in particular, to push more new Naira notes into circulation and also allow for the old notes to remain a legal tender by ensuring supply gaps relative to infrastructural limitations are bridged by recirculating it to ameliorate the pains caused by the scarcity of new ones. We agree with the wisdom of the Council of States as a necessary starting point to begin redressing the unintended consequences of what would have otherwise been a good policy that required mainstream adoption. For the records, I and my running mate, Senator Kashim Shettima and our campaign council do not have anything against the CBN Naira redesign and cashless policy in principle. We are,however, only concerned about its disruptive implementation and the hardship it has brought on the generality of our people who currently cant access their hard-earned money to meet obligations and the attendant consequences on the informal sector, where majority operate.

Despite the challenges and current difficulties, we are a country of resilient, bold and courageous people who dont succumb to hard times. We have always overcome our most difficult times and come out better as a people and a nation. This time will not be different. We will make lemonade out of our current lemons.

To bring immediate relief to our people, we urge the Central Bank to consider the following:

1. Following the advice of the Council of States, the CBN should announce that the old and new Naira notes (especially the non-withdrawn notes and coins) will co-exist as legal tender for the next 12 months to follow examples of countries that have successfully implemented similar monetary policy. This will immediately remove growing tension in the country, eliminate panic reactions by the populace and allow time to scale up infrastructural gaps around alternative payment options to cash.

2. We advise the immediate suspension of associated charges on online transactions and bank transfers and payments via POS until the current crisis is fully resolved. This cost should be considered a roll-out expense by the CBN to incentivise the envisaged shift to alternative transaction channels; for both the financial services consuming public and those in charge of implementing the scale-up programme.

3. Mobilise all Money Deposit Banks, Payment platforms to show clear commitment and timelines on expanding their infrastructure and support services.

4. Bring in Fintech companies with capabilities into currency swap programme for the next 90 days to help decongest banking halls and ATM points where people line up for hours.

5. The Central Bank and other relevant MDAs should form an Inter-Agency Action Committee for immediate oversight over the cash supply gaps from the Nigerian Security and Minting Company and deal with issues around capabilities and turn around time to meet the needs of the informal sector and unbanked people.

6. The CBN, National Orientation Agency and Ministry of Information, State and Local Governments with their relevant organs in both the public and private sectors should commence a major public enlightenment and sensitisation campaign to further educate and empower our people on the new naira and cashless policy for better understanding and mainstream adoption.

As leaders, our commitment to our country everyday must be on how to make life better for our people and we are called upon not to waste the opportunity the moment presents to us to ramp up capacity and capability to serve 200 million Nigerians, leaving no one behind and ultimately improve the living conditions of every single Nigerian. Our task now is to restore hope in the country by implementing these steps to energise our people that we can do big things for a better future and shared prosperity. We can build upon this citizen-focused policy challenge to offer a template on how governance should work for the people.

God bless you and God bless Nigeria. We are overcomers.

Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu

All Progressives Congress Presidential Candidate

February 12, 2023

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Experts in the agriculture sector in Edo and Delta have offered advice to farmers in the states on some of the best farming methods to adopt.

This is against the backdrop of the Nigerian Meteorological Agencys (NIMET) recent prediction of early rainfall across the country, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

Segun Solomon, the director of Extension Services, Nigerian Institute for Oil Palm Research (NIFOR), Benin, advised farmers against planting with the first rain to minimise losses.

Mr Solomon told NAN in an interview in Benin that it was advisable to begin planting when the rains are relatively steady.

It is very good that NIMET provides some level of rainfall predictions to guide Nigerian farmers.

It is advisable for farmers not to plant with the first rains. Experience in the last three to four years has shown some level of dry spell after the first rains.

It is advisable to commence planting when the rains are relatively steady to minimize losses, he said.

Mr Solomon said adequate rainfall is good for agriculture with good management practices for improved yields.

According to him, the issue of climate change has greatly affected weather predictions and agricultural production all over the world.

Similarly, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Peter Aikhuomobhgbe, also advised farmers to plant their crops when the rains are steady.

Mr Aikhuomobhgbe said normally, the month of March was the beginning of the farming season in Edo, but farmers were advised to plant when the rains were established.

We have had rain in January in Edo; if farmers had planted in January, you can imagine what would have happened because there has been no other rain since then.

Only those farming by the riverbank with irrigation can plant when they like to plant.

Those who depend on rain to farm will need to wait till the end of March when the rains will be fully established, he said.

Mr Aikhuomobhgbe explained that the state government was putting a strategy in place to make sure farmers had a seamless farming season.

Government is planning to make improved seeds, seedlings and cassava cuttings available through the ADP to farmers to intensify production because we now have a lot of companies that will off-take the produce in Edo.

Farmers will be re-empowered to grow maize; maize is one of the crops we are pushing this year, same we are doing for cassava, he said.

According to Mr Aikhuomobhgbe, the ministry is trying to intensify the cultivation of TMS 2205 alongside TMA 419 cassava varieties because they have a high yield.

But, the Deputy Chairman of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) in Edo, Amadi Osayande, differed a little, saying farmers could plant with the first rain depending on the crops.

Mr Osayande said it is good to plant early so that there will be a good harvest.

It is good to plant yam early even with first rain. So, for me, I am preparing land to plant my yam when the rain starts, he said.

In Delta, the state chairman of AFAN, Richard Asenime, said the association was already sensitising farmers on NIMETs prediction of early rainfall this year.

Mr Asenime said the sensitisation was to educate farmers to become cautious and to mitigate their fears of the past experience where they (farmers) rushed into land preparation and planting with early rainfall.

Unfortunately, that did not augur well with the farmers as they lost their crops to the scorching heat of the sun.

Yes, we have experienced rainfall in certain parts of Delta this January; but we are being sceptical not to begin clearing and planting until we have more and enough rains that could wet the ground enough to enable us plant our crops, he said.

Mr Asenime said AFAN was working out modalities to sensitise the farmers in the state on NiMets predictions of early rainfall.

He said the association would equip them with the right knowledge on what to do at the right time to avoid the pitfalls of the previous years when farmers planted and the rains ceased.

NiMet prediction is good; at least, we can reassure the farmers that with the prediction, the situations will not be the same as the failed years when we applied the rule of thumb.

But there is no doubt that if we can plant early and harvest early, the percentage possibility of flood sweeping all our crops will be eliminated or minimized if we take advantage of the early rainfall, Mr Asenime said.

While Asenime disclosed that the association planned to engage in all-year-round farming through an irrigation system, he, however, said farmers would need the governments support for the realisation of this dream.

(NAN)

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Lawan Jimeta, an Assistant Inspector General (AIG) of Police in charge of Zone 5 comprising Edo, Delta and Bayelsa States, has died in Benin City, at the age of 58.

The zonal Public Relations Officer, Tijani Momoh, confirmed the AIGs death to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Benin.

Mr Momoh said Mr Jimeta died early Sunday at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) after a brief illness.

He said his remains would be flown to Adamawa, his home state, for burial.

Yes, it is true we lost him. We are preparing to fly his corpse to Adamawa now for burial.

He was 58. Meanwhile, an official statement will soon be released to the public, the PRO said in an emotion-laden voice.

READ ALSO:

NAN reports that the demise of the ppolice boss was broken on a WhatsApp group platform created by the Police Press Unit of the zone.

Innalillahi Wainnailaihi Rajeuun, We lost AIG Jimeta to the cold hand of death, said the officer who shared the post.

Reacting to the post, another officer said Ah! my gifter. After many prayers, we still lost him.

He was a very nice man, he cared for everyone around him. Rest in Peace Boss.

NAN correspondent recalls that prayers were offered for a quick recovery of the ailing AIG on Friday, during the jumaat service at the Central Mosque of the Nigerian Army 4 Brigade in Benin.

Mr Jimeta was posted to Edo as Commissioner of Police in 2019, but was promoted to AIG in January 2022 and made the head of Zone 5.

He served in the Nigeria Police in various capacities such as the Commissioner for Police, Bauchi Command; Personal Assistant to the AIG of Police, Department of Training and Development, Force Headquarters Annex, Lagos State as well as Chief of Training, Directorate on Peace-keeping, FHQ, Abuja.

He had previously served as the Area Commander, Suleja Area Command, Niger State.

(NAN)

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The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, has promised to grant federal universities full autonomy to operate independently.

Mr Tinubu made the promise on Saturday during a presidential campaign rally at the Eagle Square in Abuja.

In his address, Mr Tinubu said young people are angry because of the lack of jobs, poor development, and frequent shutdown of tertiary institutions in the country.

To tackle the problem of the shutting down of universities by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Mr Tinubu said he will grant the schools autonomy and implement his student loan scheme as promised in his manifesto.

We are ready to make those changes and be more creative in a way that you definitely will enjoy your tomorrow.

University will be autonomous, you have to be able to do your course, take student loan if necessary, finish a four years course in four years, be a scientist and a discoverer. Be a great researcher and builder. Get education and not dereliction. We are grateful that you have voted us to power. We will serve you and continue to serve you, he said.

Administrative autonomy for universities is one of the major demands of the lecturers, and is contained in the 2009 agreement between the ASUU and the federal government, which successive administrations have failed to implement.

Last year, government-owned universities were shut down for over eight months due the failure of the government to implement the agreement. The lecturers were forced to resume academic activities after the ruling of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria.

Although, federal government-owned universities are autonomous by virtue of the universities autonomous Act of 2003, which granted the governing councils the powers to make decision for the schools, the federal government continues to fund them and play key roles in the administration of the universities.

ASUU has consistently maintained that government must continue to fund universities as it opposes the increment of school fees.

Mr Tinubu had in his manifesto promised to introduce student loans so that schools can charge cost-reflective fees.

ALSO READ: Vice Chancellors of state universities demand autonomy on admission policy

We will institute a pilot student loan regime like the program established by the Lagos and Kaduna State Governments. This will expand access to education to all Nigerians regardless of their backgrounds. At the same time, this will give institutions the ability to charge more cost-reflective tuition fees, the manifesto reads.

We accept Ayus confession, Tinubu mocks PDP chairman

Mr Tinubu also used his address to take a dig at the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Iyorchia Ayu, who made a gaffe during a presidential rally in Kano by saying PDP brought shame to Nigeria.

Mr Ayu perhaps had a slip of tongue during the rally in Kano, however, Mr Tinubu, who is notorious for gaffes during rallies, stated that it was a true confession from the national chairman of the PDP.

The APC presidential candidate said the nation is willing to forgive Mr Ayu for making the confession.

Only yesterday I saw the confession of a leading political party, where the National Chairman of the PDP, Dr Iyorcha Ayu, confessed and regret that PDP has damaged the country and put the nation to shame. I agree with him, I agree totally with Ayu, and we forgive him for a true confession. Go and read it, the words from his mouth. It is a great confession, Mr Tinubu said.

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The police in Lagos State have condemned Saturdays attack on Labour Party (LP) supporters and called on politicians to prevail on their followers to shun violence.

This is contained in a statement issued by the police spokesman in the state, Benjamin Hundeyin.

Yet-to-be-identified persons attacked some LP supporters who were on their way to a rally at the Tafawa Balewa Square addressed by the partys presidential candidate, Peter Obi, on Saturday.

Mr Hundeyin stated that the police would leave no stone unturned to deal decisively with offenders in accordance with the law.

He added that the police command has launched an investigation into the attack with a view to apprehending and prosecuting the suspected attackers.

Four injured persons were promptly taken for medical attention and are responding to treatment.

The State Criminal Investigation Department has taken over investigations into the incident from Ilasan Division, which had earlier commenced preliminary investigations, Mr Hundeyin added.

(NAN)

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Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court, Lagos Judicial Division, has again restrained the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, from selling the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) Plc.

The courts ruling on an interlocutory injunction sought by defendants in the suit specifically restrained the AMCON from alienating, selling, disposing or transferring the IBEDC pending the final determination of the suit before it.

The 11 defendants include the integrated Energy Distribution and Marketing Company Limited, Tunde Ayeni, Olusola Ayandele, and personal legal representatives of the estate of Idahosa Okunbo.

Others are Akere Ayanwola, Kayode Ojutiku, Folu Olusanya, Aliyu Ibrahim, Usman Mohammad, Abubakar Aminu and IBEDC.

They sued AMCON and asked the court to determine whether the plaintiff was entitled to remain in possession of, manage and exercise all the powers of a receiver or manager on all the 1st defendants assets.

They also sought the courts relief on whether or not the 2nd, 3rd and 4th defendants and indeed all the other defendants were liable to the plaintiff for the debts charged against the first defendants properties and assets.

This is by virtue of their respective personal guarantees which they issue in the respect of the loan, the subject matter of this suit as well as under sections 48, 49, 50 and 61 of the Act, read together.

The plaintiffs also sought some reliefs which included but were not limited to an order of the court affirming the appointment of the plaintiff as receiver and manager and protecting the powers of the plaintiff to act and continue to act as the manager.

The counsel to the applicants, Dele Adesina, had in November 2022 lamented AMCONs ploy to dispose of IBEDC despite what he described as the issue for determination or subject matter of settlement initiated by both parties.

He lamented the attempt by the plaintiff to shut the door of justice against the defendants as it was being attempted in this instance.

In granting the injunction sought by the applicants pending the final determination of the suit, the court also made the following orders sought by the applicants.

It would be recalled that AMCON took over the management of the IBEDC following the judgement by a Federal High Court on 8 September 2021.

This granted orders in its favour as Receiver/Manager of Integrated Energy Distribution and Marketing (IEDM) Limited, IBEDCs core investor, over default in Loan Service Agreement.

(NAN)

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A Lagos man, 47-year-old Frederick, has lost his life while fighting with a school bus driver who allegedly sexually assaulted his seven-year-old daughter.

He died on the school premises in a scuffle with the driver, known as Jacob.

Frederick had gone to meet the schools management in the company of his wife and their daughter to narrate their daughters experience with Jacob and to ask for immediate action.

After he died in the scuffle, Jacob absconded from the scene, leading to a manhunt by the police.

The spokesman of the police in Lagos State, Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the incident and said the police were on the trail of the driver and would not relent until he is brought to book.

Fredericks widow had told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that her daughter narrated to her how Jacob had been taking her to his house at Ajuwon in Ogun to molest her.

She said she narrated the same report to her deceased husband after which, he called the school and he was asked to come so that the matter could be settled.

On Wednesday, February 1, my daughter told me that her school bus driver had been taking her to his house at Ajuwon, on the pretext that he needed to drop something at home and that she should follow him.

When they entered the house, the driver would ask my daughter to sit on his lap; to raise her school uniform and to kiss him on his mouth.

I told my husband what our daughter said on Monday, February 6 and he immediately called the school to lodge a complaint and said he was also reporting the allegation to the police.

He was told to come to the school first so we went there on Tuesday, February 7 and we met the school owner, the driver and some of the teachers.

The school owner after listening to us confronted the driver, saying that he had returned late with the school bus the previous week and when asked, he said he had gone to drop something at home.

He was later asked about the allegations levelled against him, but he denied. My daughter was then asked and she narrated the same experience she told us at home.

The driver couldnt say anything other than to query: `me? `me?, `me?

My husband who was visibly angry went to the driver and shouted at him to question why he had molested his daughter.

My husband angrily slapped the driver and they started fighting during which he pushed my husband on his chest. He fell and efforts to revive him were abortive.

We rushed him to a hospital, where he was confirmed dead, the widow said.

She added that Jacob absconded after the incident and she subsequently reported the matter at Iju Police Station.

The schools director, declined to speak on the matter saying that he was assisting the police in hunting for Jacob, the school bus driver that absconded.

(NAN)

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The Abdu Aboki-led Special Independent Investigative Panel on Human Rights Violations set up by the Nigerian government to probe the allegations of gross rights violation by the countrys military has commenced sitting in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State.

The panel is specifically mandated to investigate the allegations of forced mass abortion on pregnant women by the troops of the Nigerian military, as revealed in an investigation by Reuters last year.

The revelations, which attracted global outrage, claimed that the Nigerian military since 2013 carried out a secret, systematic and illegal abortion program in the countrys northeast, ending at least 10,000 pregnancies among women and girls who were kidnapped and raped by Islamist militants.

Upon arrival in Maiduguri this week, members of the panel met relevant stakeholders, including the Shehu of Borno and top officials of the state government as well as the military.

During its first panel sitting at the medical facility complex of the Maimalar Cantonment on Saturday, the panellists engaged the commanding officer of the foremost military hospital, Adeniyi Ogunsakin, a lieutenant colonel.

They were led by the lead counsel of the National Human Rights Commission and Secretary of the Panel, Hillary Ogbonna, who cross-examined Mr Ogunsakin for over two hours.

Mr Ogunsakin, who heads all military medical facilities under the 7 Division Nigeria army, denied most of the claims published in the Reuters report.

Mr Ogunsakin said the allegations of mass abortions are mere claims that can be made by anybody which has no foundation or proof to back it up.

We have never had such issues in this hospital, and neither have we gotten any report in all our records of over ten years of this hospital, he said.

The Commander, who has been in the army medical corp for over 16 years, explained the procedure for rescuing civilian casualties and how the medical corp usually handles them.

When troops rescue civilian victims from Boko Haram or during a crossfire, they are usually rescued and taken to the rear of the advancing forces where they are given emergency care before they are taken either by road or by chopper to the 7 Division Hospital in Maiduguri where they are medically examined, given needed treatment and then handed back to the Theater Command from where they are taken to the government-owned hospital for further medical attention.

The colonel said civilian casualties are not admitted to the hospital beyond a few hours because the hospital is strictly meant to cater to military personnel and their family members, while civilians are only given outpatient services.

Mr Ogunsakin said the only rescued civilian casualties admitted at the hospital were 12 Chibok school girls who were rescued from captivity.

On the question of whether the hospital does perform abortions on patients rescued from Boko Haram captivity, the military commander said all female patients who are of childbirth age were subjected to all kinds of tests, including those for malaria, genital infections and even pregnancy by a certified obstetric gynaecologist.

The Consultant Obstetric gynaecologist treats the patients for any ailments that may have been diagnosed and ensure that they are stable. The patient would be handed back to the Theater of Operation for onward delivery to the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), he said.

He said the hospital does not sanction or carry out any form of abortion of pregnancy on any patient.

The only female civilians diagnosed as pregnant at the hospital were two out of the 12 Chibok schoolgirls, he said. And the two knew that they were pregnant.

On the general rescue we have had in the field had no single case of diagnosed pregnancy. We dont admit them here, as I said, but we transfer them to the State Specialists Hospital, where the ICRC has a clinic.

On the alleged illegal, forced and unconsented abortions, Mr Ogunsakin said: The allegation is highly fallacious because even as military doctors, we have signed an oath to protect lives, and the care for our patients is paramount over any other thing; we prioritize the patients care and wellbeing to what end would we kill innocent lives in the name of abortion which is killing people. We dont do that in medicine, not to mention being in the military medical corp where you are expected to be highly disciplined and professional. As the commander here, I am under the General Officer Commanding who must know everything that we do here; he received a constant report of everything that we do here, from patient admission to the drugs administered.

Another claim in the Reuters report stated that one of the womans full name was seen written an Excel of the hospitals abortion register, which confirmed that she had a surgical abortion and she absconded from the facility after the procedure; a second woman also confirmed the authenticity of such register that it contained her name and accurately described the procedure she had, the Panel lawyer asked if the commander could confirm the existence of such abortion register. Mr Ogunsakin responded: No we dont have such a record because we dont conduct abortions in this hospital, so there is no basis for having an abortion register.

He further explained that abortion could only be done in the case of medical abortion, which he said is done to save lives and with consent.

According to the Reuters report, the clandestine nature of the programme makes it impossible to determine the total number of abortions performed.

Reuters said its estimate was based on interviews with soldiers, guards, health workers and women who underwent abortions, as well as patient registers and other documents.

Reuters explained further that The tally, at least 10,000, is attested to by three sets of sources: 155 individual procedures recorded in patient registers; at least 3,900 performed over several years by a soldier at one military base; and 7,000 or more in another area described by three soldiers and one guard. Reuters rounded the sum to 10,000 because of possible overlap in some cases.

Acknowledging that the hospital has military and civilian staff whom he said work under strict supervision, Mr Ogunsakin dismissed the possibility of any rogue character carrying out secret illicit acts like abortion in the hospital or the barracks.

He was later cross-examined by the two military lawyers led by one MY Abdullahi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, and Mohammed M Kallah, a retired brigadier general.

Shehu Borno doubts culpability of the military

The Shehu of Borno, Abubakar El-Kanemi, said he doubted the military would be found guilty of rights violations during the counterinsurgency operations in North-east Nigeria.

Mr El-Kanemi told members of the Special Independent Investigative Panel on Human Rights Violations in the Counter Insurgency Operations in the North East (SIIP-NE) when they paid him a courtesy call at his palace.

The traditional ruler expressed delight at the visit. He said the Emirate is worried about the Reuters report, describing it as capable of distracting the military from carrying out their operations, which, according to him, have brought relative peace to Borno state and the North-east region in general.

We are happy with the setting up of the panel by the government; it is a relief to us because we are hopeful that it will get to the root of the matter and travel the truth, he stated.

The Shehu recalled that before the deployment of troops to the state on counter-insurgency operations, Borno and other parts of the North -east several villages were captured, airports were inoperative, roads were barricaded, telecommunication was interrupted, women and school children were kidnapped at random by the insurgents.

The monarch said barbaric crimes and grave human rights violations were reduced minimally with the massive deployment of troops, and I will be highly surprised if the panel finds the military guilty of unprofessional conduct and human rights violations.

Earlier, the Executive Secretary of the NHRC, Tony Ojukwu, said the panel visited the Shehu of Borno before the commencement of sittings so that the Emirate would be aware of the presence of the panel in the State as well as the objective of the panel.

He noted that Reuters report has serious human rights implications, and as an Independent body which among other responsibilities.

The Commission deemed it fit to establish the panel as mandated to assist the government in fulfilling its international human rights obligations, he said

The Chairman of the panel, Abdu Aboki, a retired judge, said the visit is necessary to enable the panel to achieve its objective of arriving at the truth of the matter and serving justice to all parts.

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The police in Lagos State and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have reacted to a viral audio clip in which two men threatened some residents and traders to vote for the ruling APC in the general elections or risk eviction from the Eti-Osa community.

The police spokesperson, Benjamin Hundeyin, told PREMIUM TIMES on Sunday that the police were carrying out a forensic analysis on the audio to identify those behind it.

The News Agency of Nigeria reported that a traditional ruler was one of those that issued the threat and would be invited for questioning by the police.

However, Mr Hundeyin said the outcome of the police investigation will determine who will be called for questioning.

The APC said the audio did not involve any of its members or leaders.

Audio

In the 11 minutes and 34 seconds audio, a yet-to-be-identified man and one other at a meeting with traders and residents of Gbara in Eti-Osa asked the people for their PVCs.

The man wanted to know how many people at the meeting had their PVCs but only about 20 answered in the affirmative.

The man said: Im sure, If we take the number of people here, we will not be less than 60, but we have 20 people that have PVCs. What is happening to the rest?

Because we are ready to fight. Yes, I am not hiding it. I have to be blunt. I have narrated everything to you. In the continent, we have Africa, out of that we have West Africa, in West Africa, we find Nigeria, in Nigeria, there is Lagos; in Lagos, there is Eti-Osa; within Eti-Osa, we have the Gbara community and by the grace of God in Gbara today, we can take our decision.

The people that will be friends with us are those with PVCs and the people that will be doing business, and making a profit here will only be the people that have their PVCs and are willing to vote for our party  APC. Nothing short of that.

If you have any other party in mind, as a Nigerian, Im not holding you, make sure that you are far away from here, just give a gap from Gbara. You want to vote Labour party, you want to vote PDP, it will not be here.

The man said that no voter has been threatened like this before, adding that he was acting on a directive.

He warned that he would not allow the residents to jeopardise his future and the future of his children.

As it is now, you have all failed. You are ready to battle with us and we are also ready, he continued.

For the few who are voting here, we will identify you. The rest of you can no longer stay with us. Im sorry, so do the needful.

After speaking, the man called on one SSG to continue the conversation.

The SSG said the meeting was important because it has to do with moving the nation forward.

From his words, it appeared those present at the meeting were predominantly non-Yoruba speakers.

He said they had been doing their businesses peacefully without disturbance, it is because Lagos State is okay.

As you have been benefitting us, we also want to benefit from you. And that is the only thing that can cause problems for us. We have been mandated to talk to you.

The man noted that the attendees must take pictures of who they vote for if they want to continue to do their business in the community peacefully.

The development violates section 93 of the newly amended Electoral Act 2022 which prohibits the use of force or violence during political campaigns.

A party, candidate, aspirant, or person or group of persons shall not directly or indirectly threaten any person with the use of force or violence during any political campaign to compel that person or any other person to support or refrain from supporting a political party or candidate, the law reads.

A political party, candidate, aspirant, person or group of persons that contravenes the

provisions of this section commits an offence and is liable on conviction 

(a) in the case of a candidate, aspirant, or person or group of persons, to a maximum fine of N1,000,000 or imprisonment for a term of 12 months; and

(b) in the case of a political party, to a fine of N2,000,000 in the first instance.

PDP

The PDP governorship candidate in the state, Abdulazeez Adediran, described the threats as a desperation of a dying dynasty.

In a statement signed by his spokesperson, Gbenga Ogunleye on Saturday, he called on the police to investigate and invite those responsible for the audio clips to forestall the breakdown of law and order.

In an audio clips making rounds in social media, some identified leaders of the APC in the Igbara community in Eti Osa Local Government area of the state summoned some residents and business owners in the community to a meeting and issue a threat to evict them from their residences and business premises if they fail to vote for the APC in the forthcoming general elections, the statement reads.

This is one among several cases of threat to life and intimidation of voters in other local government areas known to be the strongholds of the PDP.

APC

Contacted, Seye Oladejo, the APC spokesperson in the state, said the audio is false and should be taken with a pinch of salt.

He said the opposition party could have orchestrated the audio.

We are not under any pressure, we are extremely comfortable as we count down to the nation. What will be the basis for the threats and intimidation? There is no point., he said.

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The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested the general overseer of a church in Lagos over alleged drug trafficking.

Femi Babafemi, the NDLEA spokesperson, made this known in a statement on Sunday.

He said the high priest, Nnodu Kendrick, was apprehended alongside several others over an attempt to export 283 parcels of methamphetamine and 14.90 kilogrammes of skunk concealed in kegs of palm oil to Dubai.

The agency said the illicit drugs were concealed in kegs of palm oil and passed through the NAHCO export shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja Lagos to Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The cleric who is the founder of the Seraphic and Sabbath Assembly, in Ijesha, Surulere area of Lagos was arrested with his accomplices  Uzezuka Udoka, a student of Emmanuel College of Theology, Samanta, in Oyo and their freight agent, Mary Obasi.

High Priest Nnodu was arrested on Saturday 11th February 2023 at his Seraphic and Sabbath Assembly church located at No 1, Sabbath Close, Ijesha area of Lagos following the arrest of two suspects: Oyoyo Mary Obasi and the theology student, Udezuka Udoka on Thursday 9th February at the Lagos airport in connection with the seizure of 283 parcels of skunk weighing 14.90 kilograms and 204 grams of methamphetamine concealed in four 25-litre kegs of palm oil for export to Dubai, the statement reads.

In her statement, Mary indicted the General Overseer of her new-found church, Nnodu and his son, Chisom Obi, who is now at large as the persons that gave her the consignments for export after being compelled to take an oath of secrecy as well as a sacrifice of chicken in the church while High Priest Nnodu prayed for her for the success of the transaction.

One of the suspects told the anti-narcotic agency she was threatened and compelled to take the illicit drugs after they knew she had known their secrets, adding that High Priest Nnodu was always referring to the illicit drugs as Ice and Bible, (Street names for Methamphetamine and Cannabis) in their telephone text message chats.

The other suspect, the theology student, was allegedly introduced to Ms Obasi to tutor her because she was new in the illicit business.

Mr Udezuka said he was paid two million naira for his role and had to play it because he needed the money for his education.

Another attempt to send a consignment of skunk and tramadol 225mg to the UAE by a Dubai returnee, Nnamani Monday Innocent, was also halted by the agency.

The suspect was arrested at the Trade Fair complex in the Ojo area of Lagos, where he had gone in the company of his friend Nwanana Ikechukwu with the cargo to a freight company to process the consignment for export on Tuesday, the NDLEA said.

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15 years ago, Olayiwola Aderemi, sitting as a Justice of Nigerias Supreme Court, warned that democratic government and society as a whole can only function fairly and properly within a framework of laws, justly, fearlessly and fairly administered by men and women who have no obligation save to justice itself. it does not, of course, mean that judges are licensed to do exactly as they like; quite the opposite. They must allow themselves to be guided by well tested principles so fashioned that lead to justice. Could the Supreme Court be hard at work to ensure democratic government and society as a whole dont function?

In June 2020, Malawians took to the streets and the judges joined to resist the attempt by President Peter Mutharika to fire Chief Justice Andrew Nyirenda, in order to enable him rig a presidential re-run. The people trusted the Chief Justice more than the president, so they got rid of the president in order to keep the Chief Justice. One month later, in Mali, an uprising began when an unpopular ruling party used the Constitutional Court to rob the opposition of its victories, eventually leading to the dissolution of the court and a military coup.

Judicial immersion in political disputes is hazardous and judges called upon to do so have a clear choice to either resist importunations that compromise their authority or canoodle with the politicians at the risk of irremediable damage to the judicial office. Nigerias Supreme Court appears to have made its choice and the consequences are unflattering.

At the beginning of 2019, President Muhammadu Buhari procured the termination of a Chief Justice of Nigeria in a manner that manifestly flouted the Constitution. A public long inured to the machinations of a judiciary, many of whose senior members appeared to treat their judicial oaths with levity, chose not to take notice.

This denouement was long in the making. On 18 January 2008, Nigerias Supreme Court installed Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi as governor of Rivers State in Nigerias Niger Delta. Mr Amaechi scored 6,527 out of 6,577 votes cast in the primaries organised by the then ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), ahead of the governorship election on 14 April, 2007. The party hierarchy duly forwarded his name to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as its candidate.

However, on 2 February 2007, the party withdrew Mr Amaechis name and asked INEC, then chaired by an alchemist called Maurice Iwu, to substitute in his stead one Celestine Omehia, who did not participate in the primaries. Mr Amaechi sued to challenge the substitution but while the case was pending, the party dismissed him from its ranks; INEC then organised the election, declaring Mr Omehia the validly elected governor of Rivers State.

In a judgment of unprecedented audacity, the Supreme Court on 25 October, 2007 sacked Omehia, affirming Amaechi as the winner of an election in which he did not even campaign. In reasons issued on 18 January 2008, Adesola Oguntade, the Supreme Court Justice who delivered the lead judgment, with which all six other justices on the panel concurred, said: the sum total of the recent decisions of this court is that the court must move away from the era when adjudicatory power of the court was hindered by a constraining adherence to technicalities. This often results in the loser in a civil case taking home all the laurels while the supposed winner goes home in a worse situation than he approached the court.

One Justice, Chima Nweze, from Enugu State (not far from Imo State, the theatre of this judicial magic), dissented, warning with remarkable prescience that the judgment will sooner or later haunt our electoral jurisprudence. The judgment accomplished more, however; Imo State promptly descended into anarchy under the rule of a governor voted for exclusively by Supreme Court Justices, none of whom will ever live near Imo State.

Olayiwola Aderemi, another Justice on the panel, added: The judgments of this court must not be final only in name, but must be seen to be really final in the sense that they have legal bite that makes the judgments truly conclusive. All issues that will make its judgments reasonable and conclusive must be clearly addressed by the Supreme Court. This court has a standing and rigid invitation to do substantial justice to all matters brought before it. Justice to be dispensed by this court must not be allowed to be inhibited by any paraphernalia of technicalities.

Whether the Supreme Court has any memory of having issued these is now questionable. On 13 January, 2020, the Court issued a decision by which it declared as winner, the man who came fourth in the 2019 election for governor of Imo State. To arrive at that wonderment, the court relied solely on the evidence of a manifestly crooked deputy commissioner of police, with a wizards calling in conjuring up votes from ghosts. Invited to review an evidently perverse outcome the following month, a majority of the court framed the question as a challenge to their existence, making avoidable fetish out of an outcome that brought the court to manifest disrepute.

One Justice, Chima Nweze, from Enugu State (not far from Imo State, the theatre of this judicial magic), dissented, warning with remarkable prescience that the judgment will sooner or later haunt our electoral jurisprudence. The judgment accomplished more, however; Imo State promptly descended into anarchy under the rule of a governor voted for exclusively by Supreme Court Justices, none of whom will ever live near Imo State.

The Supreme Court appears not to have taken any notice though. In Yobe North Senatorial Zone, in north-east Nigeria, Bashir Sheriff Machina emerged in May 2022, as the candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to fly its flag in the contest to represent the constituency in the Senate in the 2023 general election in primaries monitored by INEC. That seat also happens to be occupied by the current Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, who has been in the National Assembly since 1999. In June 2022, Dr Lawan sought and lost the ticket of the party for the presidency. INEC did not monitor any other APC primary for the Senate in Yobe North, so no other person could have emerged validly besides Machina.

Yet, on 6 February, 2023, the Supreme Court ruled that Ahmed Lawan, who did not participate in the only valid primary, was the APC candidate for the Yobe North Senate seat. Conveniently disregarding its own decision 15 years earlier, requiring the court to do substantial justice to all matters brought before it, a three-person majority hinged its decision on the jaw-dropping premise that the lower courts lacked jurisdiction to question the bare-faced robbery perpetrated against the winner because an originating summons was the wrong form of action by which to commence the proceedings. Chima Nweze, who dissented when the case affected his people in South-East Nigeria wrote the lead judgment this time, while Adamu Jauro, the Supreme Court Justice from Gombe which borders Yobe State in North-East Nigeria, dissented.

A friend described the courts reasoning as agricultural jurisprudence; and another complained that it felt like a scene of profound judicial hooliganism. Supreme Court Machinates Machina was how one newspaper described it. In a 2009 book, Obi Nwabueze, law professor and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), accused the Supreme Court of having played a discreditable part in denuding the courts and governance in Nigeria

Machina sued by originating summons because a Practice Direction by the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court in July 2022 required that. If he failed to comply, the Court would have declined his case. The Supreme Court punished him for complying with the rules of court applicable when he sued. To achieve that, a five-person panel of the court effectively overruled long-established precedent, which only a seven-person panel can.

A friend described the courts reasoning as agricultural jurisprudence; and another complained that it felt like a scene of profound judicial hooliganism. Supreme Court Machinates Machina was how one newspaper described it. In a 2009 book, Obi Nwabueze, law professor and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), accused the Supreme Court of having played a discreditable part in denuding the courts and governance in Nigeria, citing the courts chronic failure to appreciate that the question of who should rule Nigeria is not one to be decided by a perverse and narrow legalism, by the technicalities of the rules of evidence, practice and procedure and by considerations of expediency.

Not done, on 8 February, the Supreme Court issued an exparte order in an original jurisdiction suit initiated by three states concerning the implementation of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) policy. The claimants deliberately refused to join the CBN because they knew that if they did, the court would decline the case in its original jurisdiction.

Much of what issues from the Supreme Court these days in these matters of high political salience cannot be explained logically. To many, the Court has become a danger to the rule of law as no one can sensibly advise anyone based on predictions of what a responsible court would do.

15 years ago, Olayiwola Aderemi, sitting as a Justice of Nigerias Supreme Court, warned that democratic government and society as a whole can only function fairly and properly within a framework of laws, justly, fearlessly and fairly administered by men and women who have no obligation save to justice itself. it does not, of course, mean that judges are licensed to do exactly as they like; quite the opposite. They must allow themselves to be guided by well tested principles so fashioned that lead to justice. Could the Supreme Court be hard at work to ensure democratic government and society as a whole dont function?

Chidi Anselm Odinkalu, a lawyer, teaches at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy can be reached at chidi.odinkalu@tufts.edu.

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These are the biggest and most urgent problems I see in Nigeria as an entity, if we can fix these issues below our future is promising and bright:

An underdeveloped people is a liability, 60% literacy: We need to aggressively develop our human capital resources. A nation with the highest number of out of school children is not serious about development.

Lack of values and ignorance of how to develop them: Its like our government and people in general dont have an understanding of the role of value system in national development. We need to intentionally study and build values into our people and into the entire fabrics of our society.

Unregulated population growth and lack of damily planning: A matter of great shame to us as a nation is our income per capita. This problem will persist until we do something about our rate of population growth. We need to learn from China and begin to enforce family planning right now. We can start by limiting a woman to a maximum of three children and a maximum of six children per family or per father.

Lack of law and order: Unfortunately our country has not learnt to live by law and order. Yes we have parliament but we lack the culture of abiding by the law. This factor alone could propel us to become a civilised country. This will take a hard work in cultivating a new mind set in our people.

Biometric registration of all Nigerians: Statistics and figures are not a part of our culture yet. We must know that information and biometric data of every citizen and foreigners in our country must be a matter of highest priority. As long as we dont have the data of every person living in our country, then we dont have a country. We are only doing imitation of a country. It is the very basic requirement for us to call ourselves a country.

The elites versus the poor: Our society is build on feudalism principles when a man that has is worshipped by the have nots. Hence everyone else wants to attain some level of power either political or financial so theyll also be adored by their countrymen. This must change if we are to build a truly civilized society. We need to make all equal before God and before the law. We must strive to build an egalitarian country, instead of a bourgeoisie class conscious country we are presently running.

No to secessions, yes to reconstruction: Our diversity is one of our greatest blessings by God. We should not let some separatist elements poison our feelings towards one another. We are better together hence we must all fight against all sorts of secessionist movements in our country. Unless you want your children to become refugees like Syrians, Liberians, Ukrainians or Sierra Leonians who had the bad luck of being forced out of their lands because of separatist wars.

Representative democracy of all major groups in the nation: Nigerians like to blame leadership for all their woes, while there is a truth to this, its not exactly as our people see it to be. Leadership doesnt compose of only the president and the parliament, but all citizens of the land. We are all responsible for the well being of our country. We all should show leadership and participate in the leadership of the land. By taking responsibility for where we are we become the leaders there. This mindset must be drilled into our people, such that we dont simply wait for someone to do something for us but rather to individually take responsibility to build the kind of country we want for ourselves.

Religion must be guided and regulated: Religion is supposed to be a positive force in nation building if well channeled but with the way religion is given free fall in our country, it could become the greatest threat to our nationhood. The government must be bold enough to develop a set of rules by which all religions in the country must agree to abide. All must be equal before the law including religious organizations.

I have tried to paint a rather objective and positive picture of this great country called Nigeria. I happened to be born there and Im so grateful and proud of that fact, hence despite living abroad for most of my life I still keep my Nigerian citizenship. I agree that a lot of the points and statistics I presented in this work might be objected to by critics, thats not a problem for me. In fact I welcome all constructive criticism of my works.

I however, will insist that we begin to speak out about the positive things our country represents. I have personally visited over 60 countries in all continents and I can make bold to say Ive never quite seen a people group like Nigerians. We are a most unique people. Nigerians stand out and stand tall in comparison with any group of people anywhere. Unfortunately, for the negative campaigns and propaganda against the most populous black nation, we are yet to fully realised our potentials. Hence Im appealing to us Nigerians to begin to acknowledge all the good things about our country. Charity begins at home, if we will begin to speak well of ourselves then only would the rest of the world follow suit to celebrate us.

Chinua Achebe, our prominent Nigerian novelist and essayist is the one who was quoted to have said There is that great proverb, that until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.

Its high time we begin to tell our stories, otherwise its those who hunted and still hunt after us who will end up telling us who we are or who we are not. These negative reports and propaganda against Nigeria and Nigerians was also started by these hunters, until we ourselves bought into the negativity and now can only talk evil of ourselves.

Friends, please lets change the narration, lets sell the best of ourselves to the rest of the world. Im not saying we should not criticise our country. No, not at all, Im a major critic of our country myself, but we should not sabotage ourselves in the process. Like I said earlier in the beginning of this article, there is always the other side to a coin, we must be diligent enough not to only focus on the negative but with a similar vigour we can likewise tell of the great strides of our country.

May Nigeria Succeed And May All Her Enemies Live Long To Witness It.

Sunday Adelaja is a Nigeria born leader, transformation strategist, pastor and innovator. He was based in Kiev, Ukraine.

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Flutterwave welcomes the withdrawal of claims against the company by the Asset Recovery Agency (ARA) in July 2022 and looks forward to market expansion in Kenya. As a result, Flutterwave has been cleared of any wrongdoing. Flutterwave has fully cooperated with all stages of this review.

This update resolves an ongoing challenge which began when the Asset Recovery Agency (ARA) obtained an ex parte court order to review the bank accounts of several foreign owned technology firms, including Flutterwave Payments Technology Limited Kenya (Flutterwave Kenya).

We are pleased to have this matter resolved so we can resume our work with our strategic partners in Kenya, providing innovative payment solutions to companies and individuals in one of Africas largest and most dynamic economies, said Flutterwave Founder and CEO, Olugbenga Agboola. The fintech sector in Africa, with its new entrants and accelerated pace of growth attracts a considerable amount of scrutiny and at times, suspicion. Given our own rapid growth and status as a first mover, we anticipate and welcome the opportunity to be transparent about our operations and cooperate with regulators.

Flutterwave is a payments technology company founded in 2016 with the mission to simplify transactions to accelerate international commerce and economic growth in Africa. Flutterwave has its headquarters in San Francisco and its main operating base in, with operations in over 30 African countries. In a short period, Flutterwave has become a major driver of commerce and economic growth in Africa, serving more than one million businesses and processing more than 400 million transactions worth over $25 billion since inception.

Flutterwave supports thousands of jobs in Kenya, including Uber drivers, food vendors, and others that rely on the payment platform for their daily income.

We are looking forward to continuing with our mission to simplify payments for endless possibilities in Kenya. We will continue to be the payment partner of choice for any Kenyan business looking to start locally and grow globally and any foreign firm looking to expand their business in Kenya, CEO Agboola said.

Flutterwave has instituted a number of changes over the past year to ensure all internal governance structures are best-in-class. It has continued to take steps to strengthen its risk and governance and recently hired Emmanuel Efenure from Mastercard, as VP and Head of Risk for Africa. These steps are in addition to existing arrangements with Big four companies who support independent internal audit programs in support of the efforts done internally by the Flutterwave team. All company policies are subject to annual reviews conducted by third-party audit firms in the areas of AML/CFT, data privacy, information security, and finance.

We take corporate governance and transparency very seriously at Flutterwave, said Cathy Kinyua, Flutterwaves Regional Expansions and Partnerships Manager, East Africa. This update should reassure our partners and stakeholders across the continent that we have complied with all regulations and laws in Kenya, as well as all other markets where we operate.

READ ALSO:

Flutterwaves recent highlights include obtaining a Payment Services Provider and Facilitator Licenses in Egypt, a Switching and Processing License by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)  widely regarded as CBNs most valuable payments processing license  and announcing a collaboration with Google Pay. Flutterwave also renewed its operational license in Tanzania and South Africa, as well as its IMTO license in Nigeria. In June 2022, the company announced the appointments of OnealBhambani(Ex-Amex) to CFO and Gurbhej Dillon (Ex-GoldmanSachs) as CTO, adding to Flutterwaves world-class talent.

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The police in Kwara have lifted the ban imposed on rallies and processions across the state.

This is contained in a statement by the police spokesperson, Okasanmi Ajayi, on Saturday in Ilorin.

He urged the people of the state to work with security agencies to deepen the peace and harmony the state is known for.

He said the cooperation and strict compliance with the order of temporary ban on rallies and processions in the state have helped in preventing criminal elements from taking advantage of the fuel and Naira note swap challenges.

He added that all necessary security arrangements have been perfected across the state to forestall any security breach, before, during and after the general elections.

The police spokesman assured that the command would continue to protect the lives and property of the residents of the state at all times.

(NAN)

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A viral photo of a young man standing with arms wide open in front of Peter Obis SUV to welcome the Labour Party presidential candidate to Lagos on Saturday has been fraudulently listed for sale in an NFT marketplace called OpenSea.

NFTs (Non-fungible tokens) are cryptographic assets with unique identification codes. It gives people the platform to create arts, images, video, and memes, and to sell them digitally as NFTs.

Esther Umoh, a photographer and poet, shot the viral photo of Mr Obi in Lagos.

Some unknown person had, however, fraudulently put up the photo for sale at $767.11 price on OpenSea, despite the photo bearing the word pendrops, which is Esthers trademark.

The photo is captioned The New Nigeria in the marketplace and would remain on sale for 27 days, till 11 March.

Putting up my work on @opensea without my permission is really not a great thing to do. I dont know who this person is, Esther said on Twitter, Sunday afternoon.

She added that four out of her seven siblings are lawyers, apparently threatening litigation. She is appealing to Twitter users to help her in reporting the fraud to OpenSea.

The photo, which some Nigerians dubbed photo of the year, has earned praise for Mr Obi, Esther, and the young man in the picture.

Good photography is not about carrying expensive cameras, its all capturing great and iconic moments and @EstherUmoh10 knows exactly how to do that, said a Twitter user, @Ceephic.

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AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Feb. 12, 2023 /PRNewswire/ --

Ram brand's first EV pickup  the all-new Ram 1500 REV  debuts to the world in Big Game commercial

Consumers can reserve their spot in line and become part of the Ram Revolution with the exclusive Rev Insider+ membership program at RamREV.com

Ram 1500 REV product imagery and initial details now available on Ram.com

The introduction of the Ram 1500 REV marks the next step in the Ram brand's electrified journey, once again redefining the pickup truck segment

Production of the all-new Ram 1500 REV to begin next year

Ram Brands first EV pickup  the all-new Ram 1500 REV  debuts to the world in Big Game commercial

The all-new Ram 1500 REV  the first battery-electric light-duty pickup truck from the Ram Truck brand  makes its world debut today in a 60-second Big Game commercial. The standalone Ram Truck brand also announced today that customer reservations for the Ram 1500 REV are now open at RamREV.com.

"The Ram brand has redefined the pickup truck segment before and will once again with the all-new Ram 1500 REV," said Mike Koval Jr., Ram brand CEO  Stellantis. "We believe in bringing the right range of powertrain solutions to our customers, and the Ram 1500 REV will be the first in a lineup of electrified solutions that will add to our current award-winning truck lineup. We are on an exciting electrification journey that will see Ram push past the competition in areas customers care about the most: range, payload, towing and charge time."

Consumers can go to RamREV.com now to learn more about the all-new Ram 1500 REV, see newly released images, and secure their spot to pre-order a vehicle through the Rev Insider+ program. For a one-time $100 refundable fee, the program unlocks privileges that include a chance to reserve a place in line for pre-order and exclusive access to events, news and information about the Ram 1500 REV.

The Ram brand's commitment to offering a full portfolio of electrified solutions supports the Stellantis Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan to lead the way the world moves by delivering innovative, clean, safe and affordable mobility solutions.

Production of the all-new Ram 1500 REV begins next year.

Ram Truck Brand

In 2009, the Ram Truck brand launched as a stand-alone division, focused on meeting the demands of truck buyers and delivering benchmark-quality vehicles. With a full lineup of trucks, the Ram 1500, 2500/3500 Heavy Duty, 3500/4500/5500 Chassis Cab and ProMaster, the Ram brand builds trucks that get the hard work done and families where they need to go.

Ram continues to outperform the competition and sets the benchmarks for:

1,075 lb.-ft. of torque with Cummins Turbo Diesel

Towing capacity of 37,090 lbs. with Ram 3500

Segment first 1,000 lb.-ft of torque with Cummins Turbo Diesel

Payload of 7,680 lbs. with Ram 3500

Most luxurious: Ram Limited with real wood, real leather and 12-inch Uconnect touchscreen

Best ride and handling with exclusive link coil rear and auto-level air suspensions

Most interior space with Ram Mega Cab

The most cargo space available in any traditional full size cargo van

Most capable full-size off-road pickup  Ram Power Wagon

Ram 1500 TRX is the quickest, fastest and most powerful mass-produced pickup truck in the world

Most awarded light-duty truck in America

Highest owner loyalty of any half-ton pickup

The latest J.D. Power APEAL study, which rates the emotional bond between customers and their vehicles, named the 2022 Ram 1500 as the best vehicle in the large light-duty pickup category. This marks the third straight year Ram 1500 has received top honors.

The Ram 1500 lineup includes the Know & Go mobile app featuring an immersive experience for customers who want to learn more about their vehicles.

Ram is part of the portfolio of brands offered by leading global automaker and mobility provider Stellantis. For more information regarding Stellantis (NYSE: STLA), please visit www.stellantis.com.

Follow Ram and company news and video on:

Company blog: http://blog.stellantisnorthamerica.com

Media website: http://media.stellantisnorthamerica.com

Ram Truck brand: www.ramtrucks.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/RamTrucks

Instagram: www.instagram.com/ramtrucks

Twitter: www.twitter.com/RamTrucks and @StellantisNA

YouTube: www.youtube.com/RamTrucks, https://www.youtube.com/StellantisNA

SOURCE Stellantis
Aligarh, Feb 12 : A 12-year-old girl was allegedly raped inside a banquet hall in Uttar Pradesh's Aligarh district where she had come to attend a wedding, police said.

The incident took place in Mahuakhera police circle and the alleged accused who is yet to be identified, fled after committing the crime.

The girl, later narrated her ordeal to her family. She was taken to hospital and local police have launched an investigation into the matter.

Superintendent of Police (City), Kuldeep Gunawat, said, "A case has been registered under IPC section 376 (rape) and investigation is ongoing. Cops have inspected the venue and collected some evidence. Two police teams have been formed to arrest the accused." Mahuakhera Station House Officer (SHO), Vijaykant Sharma, added, "We are looking for the accused and we will divulge more details of the case soon." According to the locals, the girl was part of the marriage procession and she had gone there with her family. When all guests were busy with the wedding rituals, the accused lured her to a room and raped her.
Ankara, Feb 12 : The devastating earthquakes that shook southern Turkey and northern Syria was the "worst event" to hit the region in a century, a senior official from the United Nations said.

"What happened here on Monday, the epicentre of the earthquake, was the worst event in 100 years in this region," Martin Griffiths, UN Under-Secretary-General for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, told reporters in the Turkish province of Kahramanmaras on Saturday.

More than 100 countries have sent emergency response teams to Turkey, but "we're going to need more than that," Griffiths said.

The UN would launch the appeal to raise money for agencies to come and help the people who've been affected, he added.

"We have a clear plan tomorrow (or) the day after to give an appeal for a three-month operation to help the people of Turkey with humanitarian assistance, and we will do some similar one for the people of Syria," he said.

As they are coming to the end of the rescue phase, the UN official expressed concern for the second phase of the disaster, Xinhua news agency reported.

"The second phase of a natural disaster of this size is often a medical one, where we have huge worries here and in Syria, of the health problems which have been going on treated," he noted.

Turkey's response to the disaster was "extraordinary," Griffiths added.

The death toll from Monday's devastating earthquakes climbed to 22,327 in Turkey, while another 80,278 injuries were reported in the country, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced on Saturday evening.

Search and rescue efforts in ten quake-hit 10 provinces of Turkey have now begun to turn to debris removal on the sixth day of the disaster. Rescue teams from across Turkey and around the world were still trying to find survivors in the rubble of toppled buildings and pulled them out against all odds. However, while the number of casualties is soaring, the number of injured pulled out of the rubble was so few on Saturday.

In a statement, the Turkish Medical Association warned about infectious diseases that may occur after the earthquake. Damage to infrastructure such as electricity, water and sewerage increases the risk of water and food-borne diseases, the statement said.

Risks increase for acute respiratory infections such as influenza and coronavirus, along with the possibility of contact-transmitted diseases such as scabies, lice, fungi and diarrhoeal diseases, it added.

At least 160,000 people, including foreign teams, were on the field for search and rescue efforts, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday. All the state dormitories of universities will be reserved for earthquake victims, and university students will have distance learning until the summer, he noted.

Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu slammed Germany and Austria because their teams have suspended their efforts due to security threats, and criticized them for "slandering" Turkey.

"Austria's search and rescue team left the job with the claim of battering ... From the first day (of the quake), 416 incidents took place. In the six days before the earthquake, 586 events occurred," in the region, the Turkish Minister said.

"As many as 230 people have been detained so far, there are more than 20 arrests. Our friends take the security of the logistics warehouses, the security of the debris fields, the security of the tent sites," he added.
Washington, Feb 12 : The US downed yet another flying object on Saturday. This time over Canada in a closely coordinated action between the militaries of the two countries.

The Saturday shooting was the the third by the US starting with the downing of the Chinese spy balloon on February 4 after it had drifted across the American mainland for a week entering the US through Alaska on January 28. Another object was blown out of the skies on Friday over Alaska.

There was no word from both the US and Canada on the origin, ownership and purpose of the object downed on Saturday.

Following a call between the Prime Minister of Canada and the US President, President Biden authorised US fighter aircraft assigned to North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) to work with Canada to take down a high-altitude airborne object over northern Canada today," said the US Department of Defence on Saturday.

NORAD detected the object on Friday over Alaska. Two US F-22 fighter jets monitored the object to study and characterize it, the Department of Defence said and added the monitoring continued till the object floated into Canadian airspace, with the US jets joined by Canadian CF-18 and CP-140 aircraft.

A US F-22 shot down the object in Canadian territory using an AIM 9X finally, in a mission closely coordinated by US and Canadian authorities.

There had been no statement from Canada till the filing of this report.
Sambhal : , Feb 12 (IANS) About two dozen stray cows were run over by a train after they were allegedly pushed towards a railway track by farmers in Sambhal.

Eleven cows died on the spot, while several others sustained grievous injuries.

This incident was reported from Lahravan village on Saturday. The cows were possibly hit by a speeding Dehradun Express, which departed for its onward journey after a delay of an hour after the incident.

Locals said the cows were destroying crops in the farms near the Aligarh-Moradabad track and the farmers perhaps "pushed them towards the track in anger".

Soon after the accident, right wing activists staged a protest and demanded action against those responsible for the death of the cows.
Lucknow, Feb 12 : The Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) will celebrate the birth anniversary of its founder, late Chaudhary Charan Singh, with weeklong celebrations 'Samrasta Abhiyan'.

The campaign will begin on Sunday from Mathura where RLD president Jayant Chaudhary will address a meeting.

RLD's national spokesman Anil Dubey said that the party will focus on the failures of the Yogi Adityanath government which is promoting hatred between communities for political gains.

"Party leaders will fan out into the rural interiors and urge people not to become a pawn in the ruling party's game plan. Our leaders will visit 1,500 villages during the campaign and interact with farmers. The problems of farmers remain unaddressed and we will highlight the issue," he said.

The RLD, he said, will continue to demand a better price for sugarcane and solution to the stray cattle menace.

The party will hold a demonstration at all divisional headquarters on February 26.
Panaji, Feb 12 : With the reopening of Saptakoteshwar temple at Narve in Bicholim-North Goa after the restoration work, hopes have been raised about the other historical structures destroyed by the Portuguese during their 450-year rule.

Saptakoteshwar, a form of Shiva, was one of the chief deities of the Kings of the Kadamba dynasty around the twelfth century. As per historians, it was demolished by the Portuguese and was later revamped in 1668 by Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

Maharashtra MLA Shivendra Raje Bhosale, a descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, was present for the inauguration of this temple on Saturday and expressed happiness over the restoration of the temple.

According to historians, in 1352, when the Kadamba kingdom was conquered by the Bahmani Sultan Allauddin Hasan Gangu, this tiny state came under the rule of the Sultan for about 14 years. During this period a number of temples were destroyed and the Linga (symbol of Lord Shiva) at the Saptakoteshwar temple was dug up by the troops.

In 1367, the army of Vijayanagar King Harihararaya defeated the Bahmani Sultan's troops in Goa and managed to restore most of the temples to their former glory including Saptakoteshwar. According to the records, the temple was reconstructed by Madhava Mantri by the end of the 14th century.

After it was vandalised by the Portuguese, the temple was rebuilt by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in 1668.

As this temple was in need of restoration, the BJP government had started the restoration process in 2019, after then Minister for Archaeology Vijai Sardesai had taken the initiative.

Now that one historical site has been restored, politicians and people from all faiths are demanding the restoration of other structures destroyed by Portuguese.

There is a demand to see whether mosques and churches were also targeted and to restore them if any record is found.

Goa's Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao has welcomed the step taken by the government to restore Saptkoteshwar Temple at Narve. He has asked the government to also take up the restoration work of several other historical sites.

"Reminding Chief Minister Pramod Sawant that Chieftains Memorial at Cuncolim, historic Lohia Maidan, Martyrs Memorial at Assolna and Patradevi, Azad Maidan at Panjim are craving for urgent attention and to get notified," he said.

Congress MLA Altone D'costa has also said that it is important that historical monuments are protected and preserved.

"I demand that the government must take immediate steps to restore the Betul Fort and install the statue of Great Maratha Warrior Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. I also demand that the area of the Fort must be freed from the control of the Customs Department," D'Costa demanded.

"Betul Fort was built in 1679 under the guidance of Great Maratha King Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. This historic monument should be refurbished, restored and protected. This Fort was taken over by Portuguese and remained under their control till Liberation of Goa. There is one Canon at the Fort. The Government has declared the Fort as 'Protected Site' but it needs urgent attention," he said.

"Betul Fort in South Goa is a gifted location. Visitors to the Fort get a panoramic view of River Sal and Arabian Sea. Restoration of this Fort will boost tourism in this area. I hope the Government will take steps to respect the legacy of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj," he added.

According to Minister for Archaeology, Subhash Phal Dessai, his department is vetting the claims of temples destroyed by the Portuguese in Goa, and once confirmed, they will be taken up for restoration or reconstruction.

Speaking about the scheme, where the Goa government had made a budgetary provision of Rs 20 crore in 2022 to restore the temples demolished by the Portuguese, Dessai said that this scheme had mentioned about temples. However, if claims of other sites come, the government will decide on them.

"The scheme is only for temples, but if any other claims come, we will discuss them. We have received one claim of a mosque, which we will decide upon," he said.

The minister said that on January 23, a committee appointed to study the claims had started work on them.

"They (committee members) are vetting the details by visiting the sites and speaking to the villagers. Once it is confirmed that a temple was destroyed by the Portuguese, the restoration work will begin. We want to do it in a fair way," he said.

"The Portuguese used to send orders in writing (about destroying structures). Their documentation used to be perfect, which is there (with us). Archival sources will be converted into claims and archaeological remains will be studied to confirm them," he said.

According to sources, a survey of all the archaeological remains in Goa is presently underway.
Bhopal, Feb 12 : Determined to return to power with absolute majority after the Assembly elections scheduled later this year, the Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee has stepped up its preparations for the polls and the process of finalising candidates has also been initiated.

The names of least 60-65 candidates, who are considered strong nominees, including some senior party leaders, will be finalised soon and they will be asked to kick-start their campaign in their respective areas.

Sources said MP Congress chief Kamal Nath had initiated the process of taking feedback from party workers during Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra, which traversed through the tribal and OBC dominated Malwa-Nimar region in November-December 2022.

"While he (Kamal Nath) was participating in the MP leg of Bharat Jodo Yatra, he was also taking feedback from party leaders and workers (who had come from across the state for being part of the Yatra) on various Assembly seats, and matched them with the findings of the internal surveys on those seats," a senior Congress leader told IANS.

Besides, the state unit of the grand old party is also likely to spring a surprise by fielding at least 30-40 per cent new faces in the elections to the 230-seat Madhya Pradesh Assembly, which will be in addition to the list of strong candidates.

According to reliable sources, the fresh candidates will be fielded in those seats where the party has been continuously losing since the past four-five elections.

Sources privy to the developments told IANS that Kamal Nath has started selecting new candidates on the basis of their reputation in their respective areas, and their loyalty towards the party.

However, the new faces will be only those who have been working for the party for the past at least one decade and also if their acceptance among the people is high.

Kamal Nath himself has reiterated that party workers who have been putting their best efforts for several years deserve a chance.

Therefore, it is assumed that there will be a long list of new candidates for the upcoming Assembly elections, which are due at the end of this year.

"The candidates will be finalised first for those seats where the party has not done well in the past four-five elections, but the names won't be declared officially. Instead, these nominees will be conveyed by the party about their candidatures and will be asked to start working on the ground, possibly six months before the polls," an MP Congress leader told IANS on condition of anonymity.

Based on the internal surveys, which have categorised the 230 seats into various segments based on the party's prospects there, some sitting legislators have already been alerted about their performance not being up to the mark and the possibility of them being dropped from the final candidates' list if they don't pull up their socks.

Sources also claimed that some sitting legislators, including a former state minister from the Malwa region who had won the last polls by just 5,000-plus votes, are considering to change their constituency, as internal surveys didn't paint a rosy picture for their poll prospects.
Jaipur, Feb 12 : Finally, it appears that the Assembly poll bugle has been sounded in Rajasthan with Prime Minister Narendra Modi visiting the state for the second time in the last 15 days.

Earlier, he had visited Bhilwara district to reach out to the Gujjars, and a few months before that, he had come to Mangarh dham to woo tribals.

This time, Modi is visiting Dausa to inaugurate the first phase of Delhi-Mumbai expressway. Dausa comprises a Meena belt and hence it won't be wrong to say that Modi's visit in this belt can help the party garner a larger vote share.

BJP overall has a weak presence in eastern Rajasthan, and hence comes the back to back visits of PM Modi to garner mileage in the forthcoming polls in December this year.

Earlier, the BJP had announced that the party would not campaign on a CM's face but will contest elections on Modi's face.

After this announcement, factionalism is now out in the open with many leaders aspiring to be the CM-candidate.

It is a Herculean task for the party to shortlist a CM face among the aspirants who can go along with the central leadership, said party officials. Also, it is difficult for these CM candidates to find the right seat that fits the social engineering equations.

The top aspirant in the run up for the CM face as of now undoubtedly is former CM Vasundhara Raje, a six-time MLA and has a strong hold on her constituency, Jhalrapatan. However, the queen has an issue with the central leadership and hence comes the challenge, said sources.

Second in the fray is Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, who is an MP from Jodhpur. However, the challenge for him is to find the right Rajput seat.

Discussion on his contesting from the Lohawat constituency has been done, but the seat is Jat dominated. In this case, Haryana's Kuldeep Singh Bishnoi might be called here to contest as an MP and in return he can pull votes for the BJP. The other seat for him can be Pokhran, which is a Hindu-Muslim seat.

In the last Assembly polls, Saleh Muhammad won the seat by 339 votes by defeating Mahant Pratap Puri. So this seat is difficult. Next is Shergarh and Barmer seats, which are yet again difficult in terms of Jat's dominance.

The third candidate in fray is Satish Poonia, who is the BJP state president in Rajasthan. He won the Amer seat in a third attempt and has lost two Assembly polls earlier. Finding a right seat for him is yet again a challenge as he doesn't want to go out of Jaipur but caste equations are not favourable here.

He can contest from Kishangarh, which has rich Jats, but they can be influenced by 'Madam' which is Raje. Sahada can be yet another choice for him, but it has a Gangabai temple connected to Gwalior Scindias where again Raje has a role. Jyotiraditya Scindia recently came here to campaign.

Masuda is a seat which has Jat dominance. This can be a winning or losing seat for Satish Poonia too.

Next candidate in fray is Union minister Arjun Meghwal, but he has already crossed 70 years and hence his age is a barrier.

Rajendra Rathore, deputy leader of opposition is yet another candidate in fray, however his Churu seat, which is a mix of Jats and Rajput candidature, this time faces a challenge. Now MP Rahul Kaswan, a Jat is Raje's man.

Diya Kumari, Jaipur princess and Rajsamand MP is next in line, however finding a Rajput seat for her is yet again a challenge. She might be fielded from Nathdwara, but here C.P. Joshi is a strong face and Brahmin Vs Rajput will not make a decent choice.

Kishanpole constituency, meanwhile in Jaipur, can be a decent choice for her as the City Palace comes under it, and she also has a decent influence here.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla's name is yet again making rounds for the CM's post, but it is difficult if Delhi leaves him.

So, as the CM candidates stay busy in finding safe seats, BJP leadership seems equally busy in playing safe by staying away from announcing any CM face before polls.

Senior leaders like Amit Shah, Arun Singh, J.P. Nadda have announced that the Assembly polls will be contested on Modi's face.

All eyes are set as to which CM will the central leadership finalise from amongst these aspirants, who can go hand-in-hand with the top leadership for after the 2023 Assembly polls and the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, said sources.
Jaipur, Feb 12 : A few hours before Prime Minister Narendra Modi' visit to Rajasthan, the BJP in Rajasthan had a surprise after the leader of opposition Gulab Chand Kataria (LoP) was named as Assam Governor.

Speculations are rife as to who next will be appointed as the leader of opposition in Rajasthan.

Presently, the party has been hit by factionalism as former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje' loyalists are demanding her to be projected as the CM face.

However, there is no confirmation from the central leadership's move over the same. The party leadership has announced to contest the forthcoming Assembly polls on Modi's name and face.
London, Feb 12 : An Indian who was honoured by Queen Elizabeth II for supporting 50 families with free food during the Covid-19 pandemic, faces deportation to India after losing an immigration appeal in the UK.

Vimal Pandya, 42, had come from India in 2011 on a study visa but his college's right to sponsor foreign students was revoked by the UK Home Office three years later, the Daily Mail reported.

Evers since then, Pandya, who lives in Rotherhithe, south London, has spent the last nine years fighting to remain in the UK.

As a local shopkeeper, Pandya had supported at least 50 vulnerable families with free food deliveries during Covid, which earned him a letter of thanks from the Queen's personal representative in London.

But now he has just a matter of weeks left before he is forced to fly back to India, after a judge said that Pandya has been working in the UK "illegally for many years".

"I can't sleep at night because of this endless torture and misery. They can deport me at any time and send me back home - it's really scary," Pandya had told Daily Mail last year.

According to the report, Pandya has a maximum of 28 days from the date of the verdict, which was given on January 24, to decide whether he wishes to challenge the judge's decision, after which he will be at risk of removal by the Home Office.

Local community members as well as people from across the UK have come out strongly in support of Pandya, with hundreds attending demonstrations to support him.

An online petition to reinstate his visa has gained more than 1,75,000 signatures.

Originally a stockbroker, Pandya had enrolled in a management course with a college in the UK in 2011, but after paying the fees, it went out of business.

The Home Office had then asked Pandya to find a higher education institute to sponsor his student visa within 60 days or return to India.

He successfully found another college willing to do so, but after a return trip to India in 2014, the UK Border Force agents informed him that this college had lost its right to sponsorship.

Neither the college nor the Home Office had informed Vimal of this, a Change.org petition in support of Pandya read.

"I have worked very hard to survive in this world. Altogether I have spent 42,000 Pound on legal fees. Even criminals don't have to spend that much," he told The Mail.

Pandya had tried to challenge the deportation notice, arguing it breached his rights to a private life, but it was rejected by the Home Office.

He appealed the verdict at a tribunal hearing in Hatton Cross, south-west London, in January, but it was rejected by Judge Adrian Seelhoff.

"Considering all the factors in this case in the round and despite the Appellant's impressive achievements, I am not satisfied that they outweigh the public interest in immigration control when viewed in the context of a full and informed assessment of all the facts of the case. As a consequence I dismiss the appeal," Judge Seelhoff said.
Scottsdale, Ariz : Scottie Scheffler, the defending champion held onto the lead at the WM Phoenix Open in a bid to successfully defend his title and regain the No. 1 spot in the world.

Scheffler, the World No. 2, shot a 3-under 68 in front of some 200,000 fans at TPC Scottsdale to get to 13 under, two strokes ahead of third-ranked Jon Rahm and Nick Taylor.

Scheffler is chased by Canadian Nick Taylor (67) and Spaniard Jon Rahm (68), who is aiming for a third TOUR victory in four starts. Jordan Spieth (69) and Adam Hadwin (71) share fourth place on 203 in what is the second designated tournament of the year.

Scheffler would take the No. 1 spot from Rory McIlroy -- tied for 28th at 3 under after a 70 -- with a victory, as long as McIlroy finishes worse than solo third. Scheffler also could get to No. 1 by finishing solo second if McIlroy is 36th or worse and Rahm doesn't win.

Rahm, the former Arizona State star from Spain, would go to No. 1 with a victory if McIlroy finishes worse than a three-way tie for second, or by finishing solo second if McIlroy finishes worse than solo 47th and Scheffler doesn't win.

Jordan Spieth and Adam Hadwin were 10 under.

Scheffler, who is defending a PGA TOUR title for the first time, birdied Hole Nos. 2, 4, 14 and 17 to offset a lone on 13 to retain his overnight lead. The American will also be seeking to become the seventh player to successfully defend the WM Phoenix Open, with Matsuyama being the last player to do so.

"I haven't been thinking about it too much," said Scheffler about his thoughts on the first title defence bid. "I didn't start at a couple under this week. Everybody started even. Had to go out there and do my best. I'm in the position now. Something I talked about at the beginning of the week was I felt like I've been on the outside looking in on Sundays. To be in the final group with a two-shot lead, I believe, is definitely a position I want to be in.

Korean Im stays in contention Korea's Sungjae Im started fast and finished strong to remain in contention after the third round. A second successive 4-under 67 at TPC Scottsdale moved the 24-year-old into a share of the sixth position on 9-under 204, four adrift of Scheffler.

Im, a two-time PGA TOUR winner, birdied two of his opening four holes which included a 38-footer on the par-3 4th hole before marking his scorecard with three more birdies and a lone bogey over the five-hole stretch starting from Hole No. 13. He made birdies on all the three par-5 holes.

The Korean star was happy to remain the hunt despite an errant driver, hitting only seven fairways. "In the front nine, there were not many opportunities due to poor tee shots, but as my driving improved on the back nine, I was able to create more opportunities. There was not too much wind too coming in, so it became a little easier to manage my game." Im knows he has to keep his foot on the pedal in his bid to end a 16-month title drought dating back to October 2021 when he won the Shriners Children's Open and also etch his name into the tournament's history books as the second Asian winner after Japan's Hideki Matsuyama, who won at TPC Scottsdale in 2016 and 2017.

He is also keen to deliver a third birdie of the week at the famous par 3 16th hole, which has a purpose-built arena that fits 17,000 fans.

Korea's Si Woo Kim, the Sony Open in Hawaii winner last month, jumped 20 rungs to T20 on 208 following a 67 while Matsuyama continued his resurgence by carding an identical score to power from T54 to T25 on 209. Tom Kim was left rueing a costly double bogey on the last hole as he slipped to T28 after battling to a 73.

Last year, Scheffler beat Patrick Cantlay in a playoff for his first PGA TOUR title. Scheffler added victories in the Arnold Palmer Invitational, WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play and Masters and was the PGA TOUR's Player of the Year.

Rickie Fowler, the 2019 winner, had a 67 to join Tyrrell Hatton (67), Sungjae Im (67), Jason Day (68) and Xander Schauffele (70) at 9 under. Schauffele bogeyed Nos. 15 and 16.
In a democracy where caste is intrinsic and indispensable in the electoral theatre, its impact was perceived to be a significant factor in nation building back when the Constitution was being framed after Independence.

The caste census is a caste-wise breakup of the population that enlists all scheduled and unscheduled castes in terms of both numbers and percentage. India's first caste census was conducted in 1881.

In January 2017, instead of the poverty line, the Union government agreed to use Socio-Economic Caste Census as an instrument for identification of beneficiaries and transferring funds for social schemes in rural areas.

The reasons to support the caste census is to acquire greater insight into the socio-economic nuances of the OBC population, ascertain their representation in various institutions and assess whether it is in requisite proportion to their numbers.

With this meticulous social assessment, it may be expected that a renewed political consciousness will be created out of this exercise, particularly among the marginalised groups. This in turn, should facilitate social justice by way of novel approaches.

Hence, a caste-based census would be instrumental to bring in a measure of objectivity to the debates surrounding the larger matter of reservation, and its implementation for most optimal results, besides rendering a check on economic disparity.

Hindrances to a caste census The Census Act of 1948 mandates the Centre to conduct a census to have a reliable source about fundamental characteristics of the population -- which, in India, is divided by castes -- hence a census on grounds of this.

In an affidavit submitted by the Centre to the Supreme Court in September 2021, it put forth practical difficulties in carrying out a caste census, stressing that the population census is not the "ideal instrument" for collection of details on caste. However, in 2010, when the BJP was in Opposition, it had supported the demand for a caste census.

In 2018, then Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh had announced in Parliament that data on OBCs would be part of the 2021 census. The 2021 census was postponed in the wake of the pandemic and is due.

The government's reasons for not including caste with regular census pertain to administrative, operational and logistical concerns. It was added that stressing on this engagement may even jeopardise the very census exercise itself.

It is explained that while the Central list has 2,479 castes reserved under OBC, there are about 3,150 OBC castes under the States' and Union Territories' lists together.

Besides, the preparatory work for the census has to commence three to four years prior to the event -- the questionnaires need to be field-tested and finalised. Thus, any addition of questions later is not feasible and could disrupt the method of execution.

Further, unlike the provisions for SC and ST, there is no Constitutional mandate to provide the census figures of the OBCs and the BCCs (Backward Class of Citizens).

And ultimately, as the Supreme Court ruled, it is the prerogative of the Central government to make its policy decisions pertaining to what information it should collect in a census; also that while the court may find a certain policy untenable, it was "legally impermissible" for the court to guide the government about what policy it should follow.

Positives of a caste census This exercise would justify the extent of reservation for different communities. Scholars and social scientists attest to this as it is perceived to be a mistake to not consider assessment of population in terms of caste, that is, to not count the crucial element of caste in a casteist society, thereby being in denial of the phenomenon and the corresponding impacts of it at large. In order to address an issue, it needs to be acknowledged first. Hence, the importance of the knowledge gleaned from a caste-based census.

Scope of a caste census The 2011 caste census collected data on not just OBCs but on all castes. Although the dominant demand was for OBC-based data with a view of expanding socio-economic mapping, the supporters demanded that upper castes be covered too, and in the process have an objective assessment of their "privileges". However, there have been demands to release the caste census data from the 2011 Census.

As matters stand today Pushing for a nationwide caste census to bring forth the Socially and Economically Backward Classes and OBCs, can have a flipside as well. The use of caste as a census category could lead to creation of further divides along the lines of caste. There also looms the risk of divisiveness by political parties.

(Kavya Dubey may be reached at kavya.d@ians.in)
Guwahati, Feb 12 : It's been more than three years since the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) was made into a law by the Parliament, yet the Home Ministry has not framed the rules for implementing this controversial legislation across the country. A process that should have been completed in six months has taken the Union Home Ministry a bit, too, long.

The All Assam Students' Union (AASU), an ardent critic of the CAA, alleges the government has been intentionally delaying the proceedings on this matter in the Supreme Court for political gains. The students' body has been fighting a case in the country's apex court, demanding to scrap the act.

Speaking to IANS, AASU's Chief Adviser Samujjal Bhattacharya, said, "Our stand on this issue is absolutely clear. The CAA must go." The students' body had led a fierce protest against the CAA just after it was introduced in the Parliament.

"We have been continuing our fight against CAA through both democratic and legal means. The legal battle we are fighting at the Supreme Court. Democratically, we have been always active among the people of Assam and northeast to make everybody understand that CAA is pretty much harmful to us," Bhattacharya added.

He also made it clear that AASU will never change its stand on the controversial Act. The students' body leader has also asked questions about the double standards while writing down the CAA.

"The states that have the provisions of inner line permits (ILP) like Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Manipur were exempt from the CAA. If this act is not beneficial for these four states, how could it be for other tribal areas in the country," AASU's Chief Adviser asked.

The areas falling under the sixth schedule of the Constitution of India were exempted from this Act. Bhattacharya questions that too.

He said, "Most of the places in Meghalaya belong to the sixth schedule areas. Assam, too, has a few regions under this agreement where the CAA will not be applicable. Therefore, I may ask the same question to the Central government about including other regions within the CAA." Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has said the BJP government is committed to bring the CAA into force.

"It is part of the BJP's commitment, it is part of our ideology. We will implement it," Sarma added.

He rubbished the claim by the Opposition parties that the BJP has been using CAA as a tool for political gain.

When Bhattacharya was asked about the BJP's strategy regarding the CAA, he replied, "We are an apolitical body and do not want to engage in votebank politics."
New Delhi, Feb 12 : The caste census has come as a weapon to counter the Hindutva politics. It will be mandal vs kamandal politics which has been at the forefront after former Prime Minister late VP Singh implemented the Mandal commission report and the BJP went ahead with its Mandir politics. BJP leader LK Advani took out a chariot march to Ayodhya from Somnath but was arrested in Bihar and the BJP pulled down the government. The following decade was the mandal era and OBC leaders became the local satraps.

Of the three Congress Chief Ministers in the country, two are from the OBC community, pointed out a Congress leader. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Bhupesh Baghel of Chhattisgarh belong to the OBC community but the party is unable to use them politically fearing the loss of upper caste votes.

Congress leader and then Prime Minister Narasimha Rao was instrumental in implementation of the Mandal report but the Congress could not take a stand politically and lost the OBC vote which gradually shifted to regional parties and later to the BJP.

The Congress at its Udaipur session adopted a resolution to make public the caste census data of 2011.

The Congress resolution also mentioned about the fight for all sections of the society and particularly about the caste census, which is a big OBC push. Congress leaders point out that it may affect the BJP's social engineering in many states, especially in the election-going states.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had also said that he will implement the Udaipur Declaration -- the party had adopted it during its Chintan Shivir in May last year.

In the political resolution, the party had said that it will incorporate all sections of the society in the party and will fight over the attack on the core values of the Constitution.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh had said that the Congress is in favour of caste census and it is necessary to get it done.

To counter the BJP the regional parties have started to demand a caste census. The BJP has planned to make the Ram temple its main poll plank in the 2024 elections. The party is strong in Uttar Pradesh with 67 Lok Sabha members and in Bihar too it has a sizeable number of MPs. However, the Samajwadi Party has pushed forward Swami Prasad Maurya to connect with the Backwards and Dalits by raising the issue of the alleged insult to them in the Hindu epic 'Ramcharitmanas' and is simultaneously flagging the demand for a caste census.

The demand for a caste census -- or scientific count of castes last undertaken in 1931 (a caste count was also done in 2011 but its data was not shared) -- is based on the premise that it would help the government rework its social justice rollout.

The move by Bihar's OBC parties -- Janata Dal(U) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal - to go for caste census, has rattled the BJP and it doesn't want to be seen as opposing it. The Congress will now have to promote its OBC leaders to snatch away a big chunk of votes ahead of the general elections.
Patna, Feb 12 : The 2024 Lok Sabha elections are crucial for the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The ruling party is facing anti-incumbency due to the rising prices of every essential commodity, growing unemployment, unresolved farmers' issues and non-fulfilment of old election promises, such as Rs 15 lakh in the bank account of every individual, two crore jobs per year, 'Achche Din', and others, say analysts.

The BJP has managed to gain political ground in states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Haryana on the basis of Hindutva and the politics of breaking the government. Maharashtra is an example of breaking the government. However, the BJP also lost power in a similar way when Chief Minister Nitish Kumar used the same tactic in August last year and forced the saffron party out of power in Bihar.

The BJP think tank believes that a caste census will give an edge to Nitish Kumar and Tejashwi Yadav in Bihar. Hence, it is trying every possible way to enter into the caste combination of the JD-U and the RJD and create divisions in their core voters.

The JD-U has its core voters among the Kurmis and the Koiris (Kushwaha) in Bihar. People of these two castes are financially very sound thanks to the government of Nitish Kumar for the last 17 years. They are loyal to Nitish Kumar. The recent rebellious moves of Upendra Kushwaha could be an attempt by the saffron party to create confusion in the Kurmi vote bank. Upendra Kushwaha openly denied the leadership of Tejashwi Yadav and asked Nitish Kumar to avoid promoting him.

"The statement of Upendra Kushwaha to CM Nitish Kumar not to promote Tejashwi Yadav for the 2025 assembly poll was a clear indication that he is talking the language of the BJP. Uncle and nephew are united and going strong in Bihar and BJP wants to create differences among them. The BJP actually wants to deceive the voters of the Koiri community through Upendra Kushwaha and hurt the vote bank of the JD-U," said Mritunjay Tiwari, national spokesperson of the RJD.

Upendra Kushwaha has said that the JD-U is weakening in Bihar after the formation of the Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) government. Moreover, promoting Tejashwi Yadav by CM Nitish Kumar for the 2025 assembly poll is sending a wrong message to the Kurmi and Koiri voters who believe that once Tejashwi Yadav becomes the chief minister of Bihar, Yadavs and Muslims will become the dominant groups.

Reacting to Upendra Kushwaha's statement, Nitish Kumar on Friday without taking his name said: "He used to give statements against me in the media every day and I learned through newspapers. What is the meaning of his statement? I believe he has an alignment with others (BJP) and hence he is talking its language. He is free to say anything, we do not care." "Kurmi and Koiri voters have been anti Yadav in Bihar for years. It is true that Kurmi and Koiri give their votes in the name of Nitish Kumar. Similarly, Yadav voters give their votes in the name of Lalu Prasad Yadav and now Tejashwi Yadav. Now, Nitish Kumar is promoting Tejashwi Yadav for the 2025 assembly election," RJD vice president Shivanand Tiwari told IANS.

"Mahagathbandhan alliance partners have announced the Purnea rally on February 25 where leaders of all 7 parties including Nitish Kumar and Tejashwi Yadav will be present. It will be interesting to see how Kurmi-Koiri voters would share the same space with Muslims and Yadavs. The success of the Purnea rally will give a strong message to the BJP in Bihar," Tiwari said.

"The Upendra Kushwaha episode may create confusion in the Koiri caste but we have to see how he is capable of taking away the voters from Nitish Kumar. The relevance of leaders like Upendra Kushwaha will be tested only when he is capable of individually taking away the majority of voters of his caste and form the government with the BJP. I am not sure if he is popular enough in his caste. If we analyze, a number of Kushwaha leaders are present in every party and they are popular in their respective constituencies. Upendra Kushwaha may create uncertainty in the mind of some voters of his caste but not all," Tiwari said.

Nitish Kumar has the sharpest political brain in the country. He finds out the "Jaichands" within his party and picks them out. Upendra Kushwaha and RCP Singh are examples of it, he said.

Nitish Kumar is currently doing the Samadhan Yatra in Bihar and making every possible effort to attract the EBC vote bank. The EBC voters play a crucial role in deciding the fate of political parties in Bihar. They have an estimated strength of 23% percent in Bihar. Hence, the role of leaders like Jitan Ram Manjhi and Mukesh Sahani becomes more important. Manjhi represented the Mahadalit community while Mukesh Sahani called himself the "Son of Mallah" (Fisherman). These two are loyal to Nitish Kumar, he added.

For the RJD, Tejashwi Yadav wants to transform his party's image of Muslim-Yadav to A to Z to lure voters from the upper castes. The RJD under Tejashwi Yadav conducted special events for the Rajput and Bhumihar castes. He gave portfolios to Kartikeya and Sudhakar Singh soon after the formation of the Mahagathbandhan government. They belong to the Bhumihar and Rajput castes respectively. Jagadanand Singh is also a Rajput and the state president of the party.
Chennai, Feb 12 : The ruling DMK is for a caste-based census in Tamil Nadu to fulfil the long-standing demand of various communities in the state.

The Tamil Nadu government has in a policy note said that the government was committed to implementing and protecting the 69 per cent quota in educational institutions as also for the appointments in government service in the state. Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has already demanded a caste-wise census.

The Opposition AIADMK had in its previous tenure set up a commission for collection of quantifiable data on castes, communities and tribes and had appointed a retired Judge of the Madras High court, Justice A. Kulasekharan as the chairman of the commission. The commission was constituted following the vociferous demand of the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), an ally of the AIADMK.

The DMK government is also not averse to a caste based census and the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and father of M.K. Stalin, late M. Karunanidhi had categorically stated that a caste based census was necessary for social justice.

He had recommended to the Central government that it should itself carry out a caste based census as it was desired by all those who were concerned about social justice.

DMK deputy secretary and Member of Parliament, Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, who is the daughter of M. Karunanidhi and sister of M.K. Stalin, has also demanded a caste based census and said that people cannot wait for another decade to know about caste based compositions.

She had said that without statistics no difference could be made in society. The DMK has pushed for a caste based census over the years as it feels that the welfare of the marginalised communities is linked to the caste based report.

The DMK and other political parties demand a caste based census so that they can justify the reservations provided to various communities. The DMK and its leaders including Kanimozhi are batting for this census due to the fear that the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) of the powerful Vanniyar community will steal the limelight on the issue.

The Central government had informed the Supreme Court in 2021 that a caste-based census was not feasible. The DMK and the AIADMK are supportive of a caste-based census but except for speaking in seminars and occasional statements from the Chief Minister and other leaders, the issue has not been raised vociferously.

The DMK is of the opinion that if the actual number of Other Backward Classes (OBC) is known then the party would be able to break the reservation cap of 50 percent fixed by the Supreme Court.

A senior leader of the DMK who did not want to be named while speaking to IANS said, "When the actual number of OBCs is known, then we can move the Supreme Court to increase the percentage of reservation." Even as the DMK is batting for a caste census, the party did not restore the services of the A. Kulasekharan commission appointed by the AIADMK government. Party leaders said that the state government cannot conduct a caste census and that it should be held along with the general census.

The DMK had in its election manifesto for the 2021 assembly elections stated that it would urge the Central government to conduct a caste census for the entire population.

The party has also said that it would push for 27 per cent reservation to the backward community in admissions to the IITs and other educational institutions as well as in the appointment of teachers.

DMK leaders in public and in Parliament push for a caste-based census, but the party has not been pushing this as an agenda and has been lukewarm in demanding it during the census to be carried out by the Government of India.
Vijayawada, Feb 12 : Two persons were killed and one injured in a road accident in Andhra Pradesh's NTR district on Sunday.

A speeding truck rammed into a car coming from the opposite direction near Adduroadu village in Visannapeta mandal, police said.

Two of the three persons travelling in the car died on the spot. The third was injured.

The deceased were identified as Guptalal (45) and Sunitha (35).

The condition of Sunitha's husband Rambabu is stated to be critical. He has been admitted to a hospital in Vijayawada The accident occurred when they were returning from a wedding at Tenali.
Mumbai, Feb 12 : As Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol's film 'My Name Is Khan' turned 13 on Sunday, filmmaker Karan Johar penned a heartwarming note for the movie, calling it "a super special film." Karan took to Instagram Story, where he shared a poster of the film and wrote: "A super special film, A super special team, A spectacular time #13YearsOfMNIK." 'My Name Is Khan', is a 2010 social drama film directed by Karan Johar. The film stars Shah Rukh as Rizwan Khan, an autistic Muslim, and Kajol as Mandira, his Hindu wife with a son from her previous marriage. Set in the United States, the plot revolves around Rizwan, who faces Islamophobic discrimination after the September 11 attacks.

The discrimination leads to the murder of his stepson, killed in a racist fight against fellow collegians. His wife, Mandira, Sameer's mother, blames Rizwan, and he consequently sets out on a journey to meet the president of the country and absolve himself.

Karan's Dharma Productions shared a note too on Insatgram.

It read: "A film that tugs at heartstrings with lessons of faith, love, loss & family.

Celebrating #13YearsOfMNIK. #13YearsOfMyNameIsKhan #MyNameIsKhan @karanjohar@apoorva1972 @iamsrk @kajol."
New Delhi, Feb 12 : With women emerging as strong voters in recent elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party is going to connect with women voters through a year-long campaign ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

The party has set a target to reach maximum women beneficiaries of central government schemes. BJP has asked its women cadre to reach out to one crore women beneficiaries and click selfies with them while collecting their details. They have been asked to post selfies on social media under the hashtag #Selfiewithmahilalabharti.

According to Vanathi Srinivasan, Mahila Morcha president, the BJP has made a roadmap to reach out to the women beneficiaries and ensure that they acknowledge the improved standard of living under the Modi government.

This year-long programme will start from this month and will continue till February next week.

With more women coming out to vote independent of their families' traditional bent towards a political party, the Modi government has started many schemes to make the lives of women respectable and smooth. With the Lok Sabha elections approaching, the BJP is now set to leverage this connect.

Mahila Morcha is also planning a Sammelan (conference) of women representatives from Panchayat to Parliament from all over the country. Though dates for the same are not out yet but this such programmes strengthen the party's hold on women beneficiaries and voters, say party insiders.

The purpose is to make the women beneficiaries realise how the schemes of the Modi government have changed their lives.

The women cadre will also be given online training so that they are fully equipped with the knowledge of schemes. They will be getting a certificate on completion as well.

The BJP is also giving training to its cadres, especially the new ones about the schemes of Central government at mandal level so that they are ready and well prepared before reaching to people and interacting with them.

The party is working in a cluster form and leaving no stone unturned to retain power in Lok Sabha 2024.

Similarly, the BJP has planned multiple reach out programmes like Reach out plan to Pasmanda-Bohara Muslim community, SC/ST connectivity, interaction with Tribals, student- voters, gathering with working class and others.

BJP's Lok Sabha Pravas yojna is also going on, which is focusing on 144 seats that the party lost in 2019. Under the Yojana, the party leaders have been entrusted with handling weak constituencies for the upcoming general elections 2024, where the party had finished as runner-up or third in the 2019 general elections or won with a slim margin.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given a poll mantra for the BJP leaders to fight anti-incumbency in the 2024 general elections at a meeting of the party MPs on February 7. He said if the party lawmakers reach out to the voters, "there will be no anti-incumbency".

PM Modi had earlier also stressed the importance of reaching out to the voters. At the BJP National Executive last month, he asked the party leaders to gear up for the Lok Sabha elections.
New York, Feb 12 : A US Air Force general has warned of the likelihood of a war with China saying: "I hope I am wrong. My gut tells me will fight in 2025." Mike Minihan's chilling memo spoke of a confluence of events for it -- the US and Taiwan distracted by the 2004 presidential elections -- giving China's President Xi Jinping a chance to move on the long-coveted island nation.

Add to that, Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine based on claims not too different from China's on Taiwan, an outcome Beijing is closely watching.

Although the Pentagon disowned the prediction, Taiwan is the trigger point in the US-China strategic confrontation that runs through the Indo-Pacific region even though Taipei's status is in limbo -- Washington does not recognise it as an independent nation, having been committed to a "One China" policy, and publicly opposes it seeking independence.

Yet President Joe Biden has committed the US to defend Taiwan with its forces if there was what he called an "unprecedented attack".

Last year, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi led a Congressional delegation that included Indian-American Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi to Taiwan and China retaliated by holding military exercises surrounding the island and firing missiles demonstrating its invasion capability.

Another showdown is likely this year if Speaker Kevin McCarthy makes a similar trip.

The last time the US went head-to-head against China was in the Korean War of the 1950s when it deployed 6.8 million personnel, losing 54,200, in a confrontation that ended in a stalemate and the division of the peninsula into two nations.

The question now arises whether the US has the stomach for another foreign military action -- one involving China again -- that may require the deployment of thousands of troops after defeats in Vietnam and Afghanistan and a futile war in Iraq.

Washington does look at what could happen to its economy and defence in the eventuality of a China takeover of the island and it is one of the drivers behind the Biden $52 billion programme to promote domestic manufacture of semiconductor chips is that Taiwan produces about 65 per cent of them and over 90 per cent of the advanced types.

If there is a deterrence to an all-out war, it is the threat of mutually assured destruction or MAD, a concept in the context of nuclear weapons, but in the US-China case it applies to their economies with devastating consequences for their societies because of US debts of about $1 trillion held by China, which also depends on US markets.

Taiwan is but one piece in China's arc of aggression that runs through the Indo-Pacific region and veers into the Himalayas for the border confrontation with India.

The US sees Beijing's policy in the region as a step towards global domination.

A Biden administration document on Indo-Pacific strategy released last year said that China "is combining its economic, diplomatic, military, and technological might as it pursues a sphere of influence in the Indo-Pacific and seeks to become the world's most influential power".

In its quest to assert authority over the region, China is involved in maritime disputes with Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia.

The US has made its position clear in these disputes saying it champions the right of free navigation and territorial integrity and sometimes -- as recently as last November -- sent its Navy ships through contested waters sparking protests from Beijing.

The US has defence agreements with Australia, South Korea, Japan, the Philippines and Thailand in the region, and Manila agreed this month to increase cooperation by providing access to more bases.

Tying them together into a military pact is a near impossibility for now. A 1950s security pact, the Southeast Asia Treaty Organisation (SEATO), which included Pakistan and Britain and France, foundered and self-destructed in the 1970s, and is unlikely to be resurrected with a new set of players.

The US has launched the Quad with three of the most powerful nations of the region, India, Japan and Australia, as a soft power enterprise to counter China's push.

India is the weakest link in any attempt to transform this into a security arrangement because of its reluctance for practical reasons to annoy China and ideological reasons to keep its semblance of non-alignment and pursuit of a policy of strategic independence.

The US wants to get partners from outside the region also involved in its vision of security arrangements for the region that go beyond the military to put up a multi-faceted challenge to China.

Its Indo-Pacific strategy document said: "We will foster security ties between our allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond, including by finding new opportunities to link our defence industrial bases, integrating our defence supply chains, and co-producing key technologies that will shore up our collective military advantages." Washington brought in Britain in 2021 to form with Australia the AUKUS security pact, which has as expected angered China.

The US wants to extend it further and its Indo-Pacific strategy document promised to "bring together our Indo-Pacific and European partners in novel ways, including through the AUKUS partnership".

US and French defence officials held their 3rd Indo-Pacific Strategic Dialogue this month to discuss "the security environment in the Indo-Pacific, multilateral approaches to regional security challenges, and cooperation in the region", according to the Pentagon.

China has a big advantage in the region because it is right there in the front and backyards of the countries in the area with a mighty military and as an economic power they are enmeshed with.

This puts limits on how far the ASEAN, for example, would go along in defending Taiwan or standing up to China on other matters.

In a counter-offensive, China has intensified overtures to smaller but highly strategic islands in the Indo-Pacific like the Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Samoa, Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and Timor Leste.

Without any pretensions of promoting human rights or democracy, Beijing has been pursuing military or police relations with those countries that could give it ultimate control - and create choke points and launching pads for action.

A security agreement between the Solomon Islands allows Beijing to send troops and police to the country to maintain law and order as well as give Chinese ships rights to logistical facilities.

Beijing is pushing for similar deals with other Pacific islands and held meetings with senior police officials from some of them.

Propping up North Korea as a nuclear proxy is a more serious Chinese countermeasure, even if it may come to haunt Beijing.

Like Pakistan, which poses a nuclear threat to India without China having to hold it out directly, North Korea plays a similar role for Beijing against Washington developing missile capabilities to strike the US.

Ultimately though, it comes down to how much control China has over the unstable Kim Jong-un regime having built it up over generations.

The danger for China -- and the world -- is Pyongyang defying Beijing as it appeared to do when former President Donald Trump made overtures to Kim, but going off in a different direction.

(Arul Louis can be contacted at arul.l@ians.in and followed at @arulouis)
New Delhi, Feb 12 : With China-based tech giants like Huawei triggering national security concerns -- amid Beijing-backed bad actors capable of orchestrating massive cyber-attacks on industries and defence establishments across the world -- the outcome of the constant tussle could shape the world's tech landscape for years to come.

Beijing has always denied its links to any large-scale cyber attack, espionage via its tech companies or stealing users' data via its apps (like TikTok), experts warn that tensions between Washington and Beijing over technology could lead to a "digital iron curtain", which would compel foreign governments to decide between doing business with the US or China.

According to New York-based think-tank Council on Foreign Relations, Huawei faces accusations that Beijing could use its 5G infrastructure for espionage.

"The US and other countries claim that Huawei threatens their national security. They say it is beholden to the Chinese government, which could use the company to spy," according to the council's latest report that came out earlier this week.

The US, Australia, Japan, and others have effectively banned Huawei from building their 5G networks, but it remains popular in low-income countries.

In recent years, the US and several other countries have asserted that Huawei threatens their national security, saying it has violated international sanctions and stolen intellectual property, and that it could commit cyber espionage.

Many US policymakers view Huawei as a commercial extension of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

"There are also concerns that Huawei's 5G infrastructure could contain backdoors that allow the Chinese government to collect and centralize massive quantities of data and give Beijing the necessary access to attack communications networks and public utilities. In 2022, an FBI investigation found that Huawei equipment can be used to disrupt US military communications, including those about the U.S. nuclear arsenal," according to the Council's report.

Huawei, however, has denied all such accusations. The company has distanced itself from the CCP, repeatedly asserting that its equipment have never been used, and will never be used, to spy.

The US government limitations on Huawei have been ongoing since 2017, when the Congress restricted some Department of Defense networks from using Huawei or ZTE equipment.

In November 2022, the Joe Biden government banned the sale and import of new communications equipment from five Chinese companies, including Huawei and ZTE, amid concerns over national security.

Other Chinese companies listed included Hikvision, Dahua and Hytera, which make video surveillance equipment and two-way radio systems.

Hikvision, Huawei and others denied supplying data to the Chinese government. Hikvision said that its products present no security threat to the US.

In January 2023, the Biden administration stopped providing licenses for US companies to export goods to Huawei.

The countries of the so-called Five Eyes intelligence alliance -- The US, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the UK -- have banned or are rolling out bans on Huawei.

Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, France, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Sweden have also restricted the use of Huawei equipment in the construction of their 5G networks.

Meanwhile, China has also been accused of cyber warfare against countries.

In 2021, the US, NATO and other allies alleged China employed "contract hackers" to exploit a breach in Microsoft email systems, giving state security agents access to emails, corporate data and other sensitive information.

China-sponsored hacker groups also allegedly compromised the US energy department, utility companies, telecommunications firms and universities.

ByteDance-owned TikTok has also been in the news for reportedly stealing US users' data.

The US plans to ban Chinese short video-making app TikTok nationwide, and the House Foreign Affairs Committee will hold a vote next month on a bill to completely block the platform.

According to reports, the bill will give the White House the legal power to ban TikTok over larger national security concerns.

Last month, the Chinese short-form video making app was banned on mobile devices issued by the US House of Representatives. The House ordered staff to delete TikTok from all mobile phones.

A TikTok spokesperson told South China Morning Post that a total ban of the app is a "piecemeal approach to national security and a piecemeal approach to broad industry issues like data security, privacy and online harms".

"We hope that lawmakers will focus their energies on efforts to address those issues holistically, rather than pretending that banning a single service would solve any of the problems they're concerned about or make Americans any safer," the spokesperson said in a statement.

TikTok is currently negotiating a deal with the US Justice Department to resolve national security concerns.
United Nations, Feb 12 : China's posture in the world is reflected in the United Nations where it has leveraged its growing economic might to become a power player.

It is the second largest contributor to the UN's coffers, sending $491 billion or 15.24 per cent of its annual budget, and an important contributor to other agencies.

Beijing's 'One Bridge One Road' project has poured hundreds of billions of dollars into projects in scores of developing countries, in many cases clamping them into a debt trap.

For how this influence can work, take the Security Council reforms that are now caught in a cycle of inaction.

The reform process known as the Inter-governmental Negotiations (IGN) had made the most progress ever in 2015 under the leadership of Courtenay Rattray, who had brokered a breakthrough in the stalled process.

And then, Rattray, who was the permanent representative of Jamaica at that time, pulled out of the IGN under the orders of his government which said it wanted him to devote more attention to other areas.

The advances made under Rattray collapsed and the IGN is mired in repetitive rhetoric.

Behind his removal was the hand of China, which opposes reforms that could add India and Japan to the Security Council as permanent members.

Beijing, which was negotiating a $1.2 billion project for a port and industrial park in Jamaica, had demanded his removal from the IGN. And the government of Prime Minister Portia Lucretia Simpson-Miller obliged.

But ironically, the project was scrapped when her People's National Party lost the election in 2016 and Jamaica Labour Party's Andre Holness took over.

A move at the UN Human Rights Council last October to discuss China's alleged human rights abuses against Uyghurs and other Muslims in Xinjiang Province was voted down.

Any kind of condemnation of China is an impossibility at the Security Council, where it has veto powers, or at the General Assembly, where it can muster enough opposition.

But even more problematic was the former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet's admission that she had been under "tremendous pressure" over a report on China's human rights violations against the Uyghurs.

After delaying the report's release for several years, she published it on her last day in office -- saving her from facing the wrath of Beijing.

Republican Senator Marc Rubio asserted that the report "downplayed" the severity of the human rights violations and added, "Clearly, the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) is willing to go to great lengths to hide their crimes, even if it means undermining the authority of international organisations." Several human rights organisations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have criticised UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres of not being vocal enough on the Uyghurs issue.

He has, however, rejected the assertions saying that he has publicly criticised China's treatment of the Uyghurs.

The World Bank presents yet another example of China exerting its economic muscle. An independent inquiry found that International Monetary Fund's (IMF) head Kristalina Georgieva, while she was the Chief Executive of the World Bank, had "unduly pressured" staff to change the rank of China in its 2018 report surveying ease of doing business in various countries.

At the World Health Organization (WHO), Peter Ben Embarek, who led a team of scientists to study the Covid outbreak in Wuhan, had said they were pressured on what they could report on its origins.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was criticised in the early days of the pandemic for opposing other countries imposing restrictions on travel from China and for praising its initial response while delaying the declaration of an international public health emergency.

China pays almost $120 million to the annual budget of WHO -- the second highest contributor -- and has the third-largest voting power at the World Bank based on its shareholdings.

Beijing has made a concerted effort to have its nationals head international organisations - and the West later organised a pushback.

Currently, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) is headed by Qu Dongyu, who was elected in 2019 defeating a French candidate.

The UN Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) was headed by Li Yong and the International Civil Aviation Organisation by Fang Liu till 2021.

China's attempt at having its citizen head Interpol, the global organisation for law enforcement, though backfired.

Under Meng Hongwei, who was elected in 2016, the Montreal-headquartered Interpol was accused of misusing "red alerts", the international all-points wanted bulletin, against critics of China's leadership.

But he mysteriously disappeared from France in 2018 and surfaced in China, where he was convicted of bribery and sentenced to more than 13 years in prison.

Weixiong Chen is currently the acting Executive Director of the Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate, a key UN unit for fighting terrorism.

(Arul Louis can be contacted at arul.l@ians.in and followed at @arulouis)
Los Angeles, Feb 12 : Actor Jonathan Majors enters the MCU as the next major villain portraying Kang the Conqueror in 'Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania'.

Looking ahead at 'Avengers: The Kang Dynasty', Majors recently revealed he would like to share the big screen with Robert Downey Jr. reprising his role of Iron Man, reports Deadline.

"So Kang Dynasty - I can't even think about it because I'm so excited about [Quantumania] - but Kang Dynasty feels to me that it has the potential to grow the mythology of Kang, to grow the curiosity of Kang that much more, which is extremely exciting," the actor told Lifehacker Australia.

"This is like a Robert Downey Jr. day, he just keeps popping in [to my head]," Majors added. "Like, I know he's an OG. I mean, he's one of the originals. I'm just such a huge fan of him as an actor. I think what he did with Iron Man was such a gift to the culture at large." He continued: "I would love to be across from him on screen to see how our philosophies, acting-wise and character-wise, just personally, match up. You know, I find him to be such a fascinating artist, which is why Iron Man is so fascinating. His portrayal of Iron Man is so fascinating and he represents a very clear world view and energy of the Avengers. And I think Kang represents a different era."
New Delhi, Feb 12 : China has been fomenting trouble at the international border shared with India along border areas such as Ladakh's Pangong Tso, Tibet, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim due to its nefarious designs.

Airstrips as well as bridges are being built by China on the border areas shared with neighbouring India.

Although the Indian Army has categorically made it clear that it is fully capable and ready to deal with any war-like situation along the border areas shared with China.

During the recent skirmishes between India and China, the Indian Army has successfully defeated Chinese' People's Liberation Army (PLA).

A similar simmering tension on the Line of Actual Control between India and China is evident in the Pangong Tso lake in eastern Ladakh due to Chinese aggression against India.

Now China is rapidly building a bridge in the Pangong Tso Lake area. Satellite images have revealed that China is building a bridge about eight metre wide and the work on this bridge continued in winters despite the severe cold temperatures.

This bridge is being constructed on the southern side of the Chinese army base located on the northern bank of Pangong Tso lake. During the border skirmish with India in 2020, China had built temporary hospitals and godowns at this place.

On June 15, 2020, a clash took place between the Indian and Chinese soldiers at Galwan valley in eastern Ladakh where 20 Indian soldiers were martyred, while China had to pay a heavy price for the conflict in which 42 PLA soldiers were killed. This violent clash between the armies of the two countries took place on the night of June 15, 2020. China's aggressive actions were responsible for this entire incident.

Several months later, in February 2021, China announced posthumous medals to four of its soldiers who were killed in the Galwan Valley skirmish. China confirmed the death of only four PLA soldiers but an Australian newspaper claimed in one of its investigative reports that at least 38 PLA soldiers were killed in Galwan Valley and not four Chinese soldiers.

In 2022, after increasing its number of personnel, the Chinese army tried to reach the strategically significant 17,000 feet peak in Arunachal Pradesh's Yangtse area on December 9. According to sources, the Chinese army reached the LAC on December 9 with 300 soldiers as part of a well-planned conspiracy to remove the Indian post located in the Yangtse area.

Although India was already cautious of Chinese army's movement in Arunachal Pradesh and so the number of Indian soldiers was increased in proportion to the China's PLA. Well-prepared Indian Army personnel defeated the Chinese in their nefarious attempt in Arunachal Pradesh. The source said that a total of 34 Indian and more than 40 Chinese soldiers were injured in the clash.

Even in Sikkim's Nathu La, China has shown its nefarious designs. In September 1967, Indian and Chinese soldiers clashed at Nathu La in Sikkim Where 88 soldiers of India were martyred while about 340 soldiers of China were killed. The China's PLA had first attacked Indian posts in Nathu La.

The Indian Army is also particularly cautious in the eastern Ladakh region regarding China. China has been trying to dominate the unfenced areas with the intention of occupying the land. According to media reports, this issue has also been said in the note presented in the meeting of DGP and IGP held in New Delhi last week.

In such a situation, the Army officials have suggested to the Indian government that border tourism can be promoted rapidly in strategic areas such as Turtuk or Siachen sector and Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) or Depsang plains. Experts believe that the Karakoram Pass can also be opened for domestic tourists for trekking and hiking.

The Minister of State for Defence, Ajay Bhatt has also told IANS that the Union government is moving towards promoting tourism in the border areas.
New Delhi, Feb 12 : Amid reports that the Chinese "surveillance balloon" collected information on military assets "in countries of emerging strategic interest to China" such as India, New Delhi has had its share of "national security" concerns with Chinese tech companies and platforms.

The total trade between the two countries has surpassed $125 billion. Chinese exports to India accounted for the majority of this figure, totalling $97.5 billion.

India's smartphone market has been dominated by Chinese companies like Xiaomi for several years now. Raw materials and components to assemble several tech products in the country are still arriving from China, although the government's emphasis on local manufacturing is slowly changing this scenario.

India's tech tussle with China began in June 2020, after Chinese and Indian troops engaged in aggressive skirmishes at locations along the Sino-Indian border, including near the Pangong Lake in Eastern Ladakh and the Tibet Autonomous Region.

Following the Galwan Valley skirmish on June 15, 2020, some Indian campaigns about boycotting Chinese products were started and calls were also made to stop the entry of Chinese companies into the country.

The first ban on Chinese apps was announced in June 2020, starting with 59 apps including popular platforms like TikTok, Shareit, WeChat, UC News, UC Browser, Mi Community and more. India then went on to ban more than 300 Chinese apps.

In 2020, the Indian Army also asked its personnel to delete 89 mobile apps, that included several Chinese apps, from their smartphones to curtail leakage of information.

However, the bigger tech skirmish came when India took on the leading Chinese smartphone companies which are a dominant force in the country.

The Indian government looked into cases of alleged tax evasion by three Chinese mobile companies -- OPPO, Vivo India, and Xiaomi. The companies were served notices by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) for duty evasion.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had seized Rs 5,551.27 crore of Xiaomi India lying in its bank accounts under the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).

In a major relief to Xiaomi India in December, the Karnataka High Court quashed the Income Tax department's order of attaching Rs 3,700 crore fixed deposit amount in a tax evasion case against the company.

Indian authorities also prevented Chinese smartphone maker Vivo from exporting 27,000 smartphones worth $15 million for more than a week.

A Chinese state-run Global Times report later claimed that If India uses more unfair practices to aggravate foreign companies' concerns, "it will not only hurt the interests of Chinese companies, but the reputation of India's business environment may be irreversibly damaged".

"Relevant departments in India need to further investigate and make clarifications in a timely manner to dispel anxiety among the business community," said the publication.

According to technology analysts, it will be difficult for India to rid its dependence on China's relatively cost-effective mobile phones.

Reports also surfaced late last year that China's ZTE Corporation and Huawei's Indian unit workforce have reportedly decreased by about 90 per cent over the past two years, as the companies have been unable to acquire new businesses, including the supply of 5G technology in the country.

In its latest digital strike, the Centre last week ordered to ban around 200 apps, including 138 betting apps and 94 loan lending apps, over "Chinese linkage" concerns.

The IT Ministry was recently instructed by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to ban such apps, which operate through a third-party link.

Sources said that all these apps were found violating Section 69 of the IT Act and contained materials which were deemed as threat to India's sovereignty and integrity.
New Delhi, Feb 12 : The Belt and Road Initiative is a massive China-led infrastructure project that aims to stretch around the globe.

Some analysts see the project as a disturbing expansion of Chinese power, and the United States has struggled to offer a competing vision, as per an article in the Council on Foreign Relations.

The initiative has stoked opposition in some Belt and Road countries that have experienced debt crises, the article said.

China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), sometimes referred to as the New Silk Road, is one of the most ambitious infrastructure projects ever conceived.

Launched in 2013 by President Xi Jinping, the vast collection of development and investment initiatives was originally devised to link East Asia and Europe through physical infrastructure. In the decade since, the project has expanded to Africa, Oceania, and Latin America, significantly broadening China's economic and political influence.

Some analysts see the project as an unsettling extension of China's rising power, and as the costs of many of the projects have skyrocketed, opposition has grown in some countries.

Meanwhile, the United States shares the concern of some in Asia that the BRI could be a Trojan horse for China-led regional development and military expansion, the article in the Council on Foreign Relations said.

To date, 147 countries -- accounting for two-thirds of the world's population and 40 per cent of global GDP -- have signed on to projects or indicated an interest in doing so, it added.

China has both geopolitical and economic motivations behind the initiative. Xi Jinping has promoted a vision of a more assertive China, even as the country's outstanding loans have grown to the equivalent of over a quarter of its GDP, the article said.

"China has had a fair amount of success in redrawing trade maps around the world, in ways that put China at the centre and not the U.S. or Europe," says CFR's David Sacks, an expert on U.S.-China relations.

The Belt and Road Initiative has also stoked opposition. For some countries that take on large amounts of debt to fund infrastructure upgrades, the BRI money is seen as a potential poisoned chalice, the article said.

Examples of such criticisms abound. In Malaysia, former prime minister Mahathir bin Mohamad campaigned against overpriced BRI initiatives and cancelled $22 billion worth of BRI projects, although he later announced his "full support" for the initiative. CFR's Belt and Road Tracker shows overall debt to China has soared since 2013, surpassing 20 percent of GDP in some countries.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine roiled global markets, a climbing number of low-income BRI countries have struggled to repay loans associated with the initiative, spurring a wave of debt crises and new criticism for BRI.

In Pakistan, for example, imports required to build CPEC infrastructure contributed to a widening budget deficit, ultimately resulting in a bailout from the IMF. And in Ghana and Zambia, high debt loads that partly consisted of BRI loans led to sovereign default. However, many countries that sign on to BRI have few alternatives, Sacks says.

During the past decade, China handed out a trillion dollars in international loans as part of Beijing's Belt and Road initiative, intended to develop economic trade and expand China's influence across Asia, Africa and Latin America, Wall Street Journal reported.

Those loans made Beijing the largest government lender to the developing world by far, with its loans totalling nearly as much as those of all other governments combined, according to the World Bank.

Yet China's lending practices have been criticised by foreign leaders, economists and others, who say the program has contributed to debt crises in places like Sri Lanka and Zambia, and that many countries have limited ways to repay the loans.

Some projects have also been called mismatches for a country's infrastructure needs or damaging to the environment, Wall Street Journal reported.

Now, low-quality construction on some of the projects risks crippling key infrastructure and saddling nations with even more costs for years to come as they try to remedy problems.

"We are suffering today because of the bad quality of equipment and parts" in Chinese-built projects, said RenA Ortiz, Ecuador's former energy minister and ex-secretary general of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.

Built near a spewing volcano, it was the biggest infrastructure project ever in this country, a concrete colossus bankrolled by Chinese cash and so important to Beijing that China's leader, Xi Jinping, spoke at the 2016 inauguration.

Today, thousands of cracks have emerged in the $2.7 billion Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric plant, government engineers said, raising concerns that Ecuador's biggest source of power could break down. At the same time, the Coca River's mountainous slopes are eroding, threatening to damage the dam, Wall Street Journal reported.

It is one of many Chinese-financed projects around the world plagued with construction flaws.

Chinese money has been used to build everything from a port in Pakistan to roads in Ethiopia and a transmission line in Brazil.

Chinese construction companies often bid for government projects or directly approach local officials with projects with a promise that they can easily arrange financing packages from Chinese banks and insurers, Wall Street Journal reported.

That, developing-country officials say, has given Chinese companies a leg up, because it means governments eager to build a new dam or road don't have to drum up their own funding. In Africa, more than 60 per cent of the revenue major international contractors collected in 2019 went to Chinese companies, according to a 2021 paper by the China-Africa Research Initiative at Johns Hopkins University.

Critics say the relatively easy availability of Chinese loans for Chinese construction can lead to inflated project costs because there is less pressure on governments to minimize expenses.

Flaws in some of the Chinese-built projects have come to light, Wall Street Journal reported.

In Pakistan, officials shut down the Neelum-Jhelum hydroelectric plant last year after detecting cracks in a tunnel that transports water through a mountain to drive a turbine.

The head of the country's electricity regulator, Tauseef Farooqui, told Pakistan's senate in November that he was concerned the tunnel could collapse just four years after the 969-megawatt plant became operational. That would be disastrous for a nation that has been battered by rising energy prices, said Farooqui.

The closure of the plant has already cost Pakistan about $44 million a month in higher power costs since July, according to the regulator, Wall Street Journal reported.

(Sanjeev Sharma can be reached at Sanjeev.s@ians.in)
New Delhi, Feb 12 : After three unsuccessful meetings of the MCD House to hold the mayoral elections, Delhi's civic body will meet on Thursday to elect the mayor, deputy mayor and the members of standing committee.

Delhi Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena has accepted a proposal by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to hold the elections on February 16, the L-G office said on Sunday.

The national capital is yet to elect the Mayor and Deputy Mayor after three previous meetings held on January 6 and 24 and February 6 were adjourned without holding the exercise following a ruckus between the BJP and AAP councillors.

The last meeting of the MCD councillors held on February 6 was adjourned until the next date amid sloganeering and ruckus over the issues of aldermen voting rights. The MCD Presiding Officer had said that the polls to elect mayor, deputy mayor and Standing Committee members will be held simultaneously. She also said that as per the DMC Act, aldermen are eligible to vote in the mayor, deputy mayor polls.

However, the AAP councillors protested vehemently against the aldermen being allowed to vote. AAP's Councillor and Leader of the House Mukesh Goel had said, "The Supreme Court order clearly says that aldermen can only vote in ward committee polls but cannot vote in the mayor polls. This is completely illegal."
Bhopal, Feb 12 : A political controversy erupted yet again over a life-size statue of the Congress stalwart and late former Union Minister Madhavrao Scindia, installed on the premises of the Circuit House in Tikamgarh, Madhya Pradesh, after the district administration issued a notification sanctioning Rs 24.85 lakh for the completion of the project.

The notification issued by Tikamgarh district administration also mentioned that the statue is proposed to be unveiled by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Madhavrao Scindia's son and Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia later this month.

Talking to IANS, Tikamgarh Akhil Bharatiya Kshatriya Mahasabha president Pushpendra Singh Chouhan said: "We had questioned the legality of the statue when it was installed without any prior information to the local administration, and now tender process for the same project is coming up almost one year later. What is the meaning of issuing tenders when the statue has already been installed there. It means that installed statue was at an questionable stage and now paper works are being done to create an impression that all has been done following the government's direction." "The money was sanctioned for establishing only a 'chabutara' (platform) under MLA funds within the premises of Circuit House. But, it turned out to be a statue of Madhavrao Scindia and within a fortnight, the proposal was passed. They (Scindia's supporters) installed the statue of their leader and also removed the photos of (Orchha) Tikamgarh's Bundela king Rudra Pratap Singh from the Circuit House, which was built by Maharaja Veer Singh Judeo," said Chouhan.

Terming it as an attempt to "destroy" Tikamgarh's history, localites said: "Madhavrao Scindia had no role in the development of the city. So the statues of local heroes should be installed." The localites called it an attack on rich history of Orchha (Tikamgarh) as the historic Circuit House where late Scindia's statue has been installed, was established by Maharaja Veer Singh Judev (Bundela clan of Orchha).

Madhavrao Scindia's statue was installed in March, 2022 by a group of local BJP leaders, who are considered to be loyalists of his son Jyotiraditya Scindia.

A petition challenging the project was filed before the High Court earlier in October-November last year, however, the court was yet to give any date for hearing in the matter.

Political observers said that it is also a fight between Scindia House in Gwalior and veteran Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh from Raghogarh.

Tikamgarh, which falls under Gwalior-Chambal division, is located around 250 km from Gwalior and around 300 km from Raghogarh, home town of Digvijaya Singh. The Scindia family has a strong domination in politics of Gwalior and Guna, while Digvijaya Singh has strong control over politics of Tikamgarh and Raghogarh.

Locals said that the statue has been installed by some local BJP workers to prove loyalty towards Scindia family aiming to gain political virtue, however, political observers were of the view that all has happened on the directions from Scindia House in an attempt to "expand" its political region in Bundelkhand.

Though local Congress leaders have maintained silence on this issue, Digvijaya's son and Raghogarh MLA Jayvardhan Singh has been actively participating in political events in Tikamgarh.
Tokyo, Feb 12 : Two men were found dead after a fire on Sunday morning burnt down three houses in Tochigi city in Japan, local media reported.

Local police said the house fire at a two-story wooden house in the city of Oyama was reported after 2:00 a.m. local time, Japan's public broadcaster NHK reported Sunday.

The local fire department extinguished the fire about three hours later, but two bodies were found in the burnout of the house, which is believed to be the source of the fire, Xinhua News Agency reported.

In the accident, a total of three residential houses were burnt down as the initial fire further spread to two nearby ones, according to the reports.

A joint police and fire department investigation will be carried out to identify the victims and establish the cause of the blaze.
Agartala, Feb 12 : Former Tripura Chief Minister and opposition leader Manik Sarkar while reacting strongly to the statements made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in two election rallies in Tripura, said the PM gave speeches based on "falsehood" and tried to hide the "misrule" of the BJP government in the state.

Sarkar, a CPI(M) politburo member, said that a Prime Minister should not make statements on the basis of falsehood and he should not misguide the people.

He said that when he was the Chief Minister (1998-2018), he approached the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to supply electricity to Bangladesh and after that so many meetings were held in 2013-14 during the Left Front government rule while Modi claimed that electricity supply to the neighbouring country started after the BJP government cam in Tripura in 2018.

Sarkar said that the decades-old insurgency was tamed during the Left Front rule and Tripura was the first state in the country to withdraw the Armed Forces (Special Power) Act, 1958 (AFSPA) on May 27, 2015.

"Modi once called a meeting of Chief Ministers and asked me how the Left government tamed the insurgency in Tripura. On his request I gave him a detailed report about the Left government's initiative to tame the militancy.

"Over 350 party members, supporters, Left leaders and workers, including a minister were killed by the militants in Tripura. When the entire country knows about the performance of the Left government to curb the militancy, Modi alleges that there was no peace in the Left regime," the former Chief Minister said.

Modi said there was no democracy in Tripura during the Left regime and if it is true how the BJP government came to power when the CPI(M)-led Left government was in power in 2018, Sarkar asked.

"After the BJP government came to power, a jungle raj has been started. There is some discipline in the jungle (forest) but there is no rule of law in Tripura now under the saffron party governance." Referring to Modi's criticism against the Left-Congress seat adjustment deal, the CPI(M) leader said that the strategy was taken only to defeat the BJP and to restore democracy and rule of law in Tripura.

"A fear of defeat gripped the minds of Modi and that was reflected in his speeches. The BJP gave 299 commitments before the 2018 Assembly polls and he (PM) did not refer to the failure of BJP in fulfilling these pre-poll promises," said Sarkar.

He said that after 2018, all the elections conducted in the state were totally rigged by the miscreants of ruling party and made these into a total farce, he said adding that after the BJP came to power, all the political, democratic and constitutional rights of the opposition parties were suppressed and hundreds of party offices were vandalized or set fire in broad daylight.

The former Chief Minister said that the BJP government made the police a "wooden doll" and whenever any attacks and atrocities took place by the BJP members and their goons, police remained silent.

He also said that whatever PM tried to convince the people of the state, nothing would happen as people of the state were determined to oust the BJP government in the February 16 elections.

He also raised questions over the deployment of security forces from the BJP ruled Gujarat and Assam in the election duties in Tripura instead of the central forces.

Congress leader and former BJP government Minister Sudip Roy Barman also said that the Prime Minister's speeches were full of falsehood and misinformation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday addressed two election rallies in southern Tripura's Udaipur and in Dhalai district headquarters Ambassa.

BJP sources said that the Prime Minister is likely to address another election rally in Agartala on Monday (February 13), a day before the end of the campaign for the February 16 Assembly polls.
When The Citizenship Amendment Act : was passed on December 11, 2019, it sent the youth of the nation into a frenzy. Central Universities, particularly in the national capital, erupted in protests.

This Act grants citizenship to refugees from six communities of religious minorities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh only if they have lived in India for at least six years.

This amendment of the Citizenship Act of 1955 provides a means to acquire Indian citizenship for persecuted religious minorities that are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis or Christians, who entered India before December 2014.

This legislation was widely criticised for denying such eligibility to Muslims and discriminating on grounds of religion.

This was also the first time that religion was overtly a criterion for citizenship under an Indian law. The world watched. And criticised.

The CAA was brought in by the ruling saffron party which had promised in its election manifestos that citizenship would be granted to people of persecuted religious communities that migrated from the three neighbouring countries.

This amendment relaxed the residency requirement from twelve to six years for these migrants to be naturalised for citizenship.

As per IB records, there are at least 30,000 immediate beneficiaries of this development. This is said to include about 25,447 Hindus, 5,807 Sikhs, 55 Christians, 2 Buddhists and 2 Parsis.

Reasons for drawing flack There is a concern that this law, along with the National Register of Citizens (NRC), could be used to render many Muslim citizens stateless if they are unable to produce identity proof.

There also remains the unanswered question about not considering religious minorities from other neighbours like Myanmar, Tibet, and Sri Lanka.

India's stand is that since three of its prominent neighbours - Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan - already have Islam as their state religion, it is presumed that it is "unlikely" that Muslims there would be at the receiving end of religious persecution.

However, communities like the Hazaras in Afghanistan and Ahmadis in Pakistan are known to face persecution.

Why the protests Apart from offending intellectual sensibilities as seen in university-centric unrests, the northeastern states (particularly Assam) were panic-stricken by this legislation since if the CAA granted Indian citizenship to immigrants and refugees, the locals will stand to lose their "political rights, culture, and land rights." There was also the fear that this provision would bring in more migrants from Bangladesh.

In the wake of the protests that had turned violent, some states announced that they would not implement the Act. In response, the Union Home Ministry said that states do not have the authority to stop its implementation.

However, the Act exempts the tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, and Tripura from its applicability, in addition to the areas regulated through the Inner Line Permit (the permit for an Indian to travel into a protected area for a limited period) in Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Nagaland. Manipur was included in the Inner Line Permit on December 9, 2019.

The law that was When the Constitution was implemented in 1950 it guaranteed citizenship to all residents of India irrespective of religion.

The Citizenship Act of 1955, subject to certain limitations, accorded citizenship to all born in India. It also provided for foreigners to acquire Indian citizenship.

Those from "undivided India" were allowed to register for citizenship after seven years of residency in India. Those from other countries were allowed to be naturalised after twelve years of residency in India.

Developments in the 1980s, particularly those pertaining to the violent movement in Assam against migrants from Bangladesh, led to revisions in the Citizenship Act of 1955.

In 1985, the Act was first amended after the Assam Accord was signed by the Rajiv Gandhi government. This granted citizenship to Bangladeshi migrants who had come before 1971. The government also agreed to identify all migrants that arrived after this time, remove their names from the electoral rolls, and send them back.

This law was amended again in 1992, 2003, 2005 and 2015.

In December 2003, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government amended the Act with significant revisions, bringing in its purview the notion of "illegal immigrants" who are ineligible for citizenship by registration or naturalisation.

Illegal immigrants were those who entered India without valid travel documents, or those who remain beyond the permissible period. They were liable to be deported or imprisoned.

The necessity for the NRC came about following the 2003 amendment. This was supported by the Congress and prominent Left parties.

The emerging vote bank In 2004, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government said that there were 12 million illegal Bangladeshi migrants in India. Owing to porous borders, linguistic ties, and economic constraints, there was an influx of Bangladeshi refugees in India. This increase in headcount brought with it the scope of as many votes.

As per Bangladeshi scholar Abul Barkat, over 11 million Hindus left Bangladesh for India between 1964 and 2013. The reason for the migration was religious discrimination/persecution by the post-independence military regimes.

India is neither a signatory to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention nor to the 1967 Protocol which pertains to the status of refugees. It has no national policy on refugees and classifies all refugees as "illegal migrants".

Despite the humanitarian gesture of hosting refugees, the Nehruvian stand on the matter was that these refugees must return to their homeland once the situation there normalises.

The prevailing political situation However, for the current political dispensation, the "detection, deletion and deportation" of illegal migrants has been on the agenda since 1996. In fact, in the 2016 assembly elections in Assam, the BJP promised that it would rid the state of Bangladeshis.

This promise was made while they also promised to protect Hindus that had fled religious persecution in Bangladesh.

In this process, the proposal for granting citizenship took on a new meaning - that "illegal" migrants were eligible for citizenship as long as they were not Muslims, and only Muslims would be deported.

The BJP's manifesto for the 2014 general election had promised a "natural home" for persecuted Hindu refugees.

In 2015, before elections in Assam, refugees belonging to religious minorities from Pakistan and Bangladesh were legalised and were given long-term visas.

The BJP government introduced a bill to amend the citizenship law in 2016. The bill stalled in parliament after there were widespread protests in the northeast.

As a result of a 2014 Supreme Court ruling, the NRC was implemented in Assam. The updated register was made public in August 2019, and approximately 1.9 million residents were not on the list, i.e., they stood a chance of losing their citizenship.

Many of those affected happened to be Bengali Hindus - a major vote bank for the BJP.

Towards the end, the BJP withdrew its support for the Assam NRC.

On November 19, 2019, Union Home Minister Amit Shah declared in the Rajya Sabha that the NRC would be implemented throughout India.

(Kavya Dubey may be reached at kavya.d@ians.in)
Guwahati, Feb 12 : Much before the Union Ministry of Home Affairs banned the Popular Front of India (PFI) under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 2019 on September 28, 2022 for five years, a Assam Minister revealed that the PFI orchestrated the violence during the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) agitation.

The anti-CAA protests had first started in Assam, parts of West Bengal and other northeastern states in 2019 and continued till 2020 before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.

At least five persons were killed in the protests against the CAA in Assam, which also witnessed large-scale violence and imposition of curfew for several days.

Assam Minister of Information and Public Relations, Pijush Hazarika, who is also the spokesman of the state government, had said that the PFI is a threat to the country, they were engaged in violent agitations against the CAA in the state.

"The PFI were fanning religious sentiments to disestablish the state and had a plan of merging Assam with Bangladesh. They should be banned permanently," the minister had said.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma also said, "We have seen PFI being associated with the CAA protest and in Gorukhuti in the Darrang incident".

Two persons, including a 12-year-old boy, were killed and 20 others were injured after a mob clashed with the police during an eviction drive in Assam's Darrang district on September 23, 2021.

In a major setback, the annual Japan-India summit that was scheduled to be held in Guwahati in December 2019 was postponed after the outbreak of protests against the CAA.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe were expected to participate in the mega event, in which industrialists from both countries were expected to participate.

"Led by the Japan External Trade Organisation (Jetro), around 150 companies were slated to visit in December (2019). However, due to the unrest, they had dropped their plans. We are again trying to bring them here," an Assam minister said.

A senior Assam Police officer said that the police have so far arrested 43 PFI and six Campus Front of India (CFI) cadres.

"These PFI leaders were arrested as there is reliable information that they were making all out efforts to foment communal strife in Assam," the police officer told IANS refusing to be named.

He said, "They were indulging in whipping up communal passions and sentiments of the religious minority by criticising every policy of the government with communal overtones which include the CAA, NRC (National Register of Citizens) and D'-Voter (doubtful voter issue), the New Education Policy, Assam's Cattle Protection Act, Teachers' Eligibility Test examinations." He said these PFI leaders had been instigating the people against the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, the Agnipath scheme, eviction from encroached government lands with a view to term these actions as an attack on the Muslim community.

Giving details, the Assam Police officials said that the PFI leaders had been extensively using cyber space to provoke the people to defy the government and to divide society on religious lines and obstruct the government in the execution of its policies.

The PFI leaders, according to the police officials, are organising protests on such issues in very communally sensitive areas like Badarpur, Karimganj, Barpeta, Baksa, Kamrup (Rural), Goalpara and Kamrup (Metro) districts, the police said.

They were also trying to spread communal feelings in Muslim dominated pockets by whipping up their sentiments on the issue of communal violence, Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti that took place in Rajasthan.

In Manipur, various law enforcing agencies, led by NIA Deputy Superintendent of Police J.S. Raukela earlier raided various offices of the PFI, including their major office at Lilong in Thoubal district.

In Nagaland, Chief Secretary J. Alam referring to the Centre's notification had said that the state government has directed that the Commissioner of Police, the District Magistrates, and the Deputy Commissioners shall exercise their powers accordingly.

According to Census 2011, Muslims account for 34.22 per cent of the population in the entire state, while Hindus and other religions account for the rest of the 3.12 crore population of Assam.

Of the 126 Assembly seats, religious minorities decide the electoral fate in 23 seats, mostly in western and southern Assam and play a crucial role in about seven more assembly seats in different districts.

Of Assam's 34 districts, 12 per cent or more of the Muslim population resides in 19 districts. In six districts (out of 19 districts) the Muslim population constitutes 50 per cent or more.

(Sujit Chakraborty can be contacted at sujit.c@ians.in)
Guwahati, Feb 12 : Akhil Gogoi, an MLA from Sivasagar in Assam, may face tougher times now that the Gauhati High Court has allowed the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to frame charges against him related to the violent protests that broke out in the state after the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) was passed by Parliament.

Gogoi and three of his associates were accused in the anti-CAA stir in Assam in December 2019.

He was arrested by the NIA from Jorhat district amid the high-pitched protests against the CAA during that time. Later, the stringent Unlawful Assembly Prevention Act (UAPA) was also slapped against him.

Gogoi has been jailed for quite a long time. He fought the Assembly election two years ago while in prison and won.

There were multiple cases registered against him at different police stations in the state.

When the NIA took over the investigation, they added the sections under UAPA to a case lodged at Chabua police station in the Dibrugarh district. However in July 2021, a special NIA court acquitted the legislator, and Gogoi could walk free after spending more than one and a half years in jail.

The NIA had challenged the special court judgement in the Gauhati High Court. Recently, a division bench comprised of two judges quashed the special court order and asked the NIA to reopen the case and book Gogoi.

The court order said: "It is no doubt correct that the advent of CAB/ CAA had triggered widespread public resentment across the state of Assam leading to the sporadic outbreak of protests across the state. A number of organisations also participated in such protests.

"It is also correct that the members of the public have a constitutional right to resort to peaceful protest in such matters. The fact, however, remains that the prosecution is relying upon the record to show that the protests and agitations resorted to by the accused persons during the relevant time, in some places, had turned violent." Gogoi in association with the active support of his followers, had not only mobilized the public and persuaded them to join the agitation in protest against the CAB/CAA but also had spear-headed such agitation in many places. During the course of the agitation, incidents of violence did break out in many places, the court order further said.

"As such, the approach of the learned Special Judge, NIA, in our considered opinion, was clearly erroneous in the eye of the law, thus having a vitiating effect on the impugned judgment.

"For the reasons stated above, we consider that the entire matter calls for reconsideration by the learned Special Judge, NIA. We set aside the impugned order dated July 1, 2021, and remand the matter back to the learned trial court to conduct a fresh hearing on the framing of the charge against all four accused persons," it added.

Following the recent High Court judgement, another jail term is on the horizon for the Sivasagar legislator.

However, an upset Gogoi said that he would approach the Supreme Court against the order, meanwhile, the NIA is preparing to tighten its grip on the MLA and his associates.
En Peru, el 80% considera que la corrupcion ha aumentado en los ultimos anos (Proetica, 2022).



Por ello, nos aliamos con @ContraloriaPeru para unir esfuerzos e innovacion en la prevencion y lucha contra la corrupcion ? https://t.co/3FniTG1q3f pic.twitter.com/RkaOCFTOcx
Agartala, Feb 12 : The influential tribal based Tipra Motha Party (TMP), which has been demanding elevation of the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) into a full-fledged state, said if it comes to power in the February 16 assembly polls, within 150 days it would adopt a resolution in the assembly against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

The ruling BJP's ally, the Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT), the opposition Congress and the CPI-M are also strongly against the CAA.

The IPFT, in a low profile manner in the ongoing election campaign is against the CAA but the Congress and the CPI-M are not making it an election issue.

"We are not making the CAA an election issue even though we are strongly against the CAA. In the event of a changed post poll scenario, if the TMP or any party moves a resolution in the assembly we would consider it," CPI-M Tripura state secretary and senior tribal leader Jitendra Chowdhury told IANS.

Congress' Tripura state president and former minister Birajit Sinha demanding scrapping of the CAA, said that the party is not making it an issue in the ongoing election.

TMP chief and former royal scion Pradyot Bikram Manikya Deb Barman recently released its 15-point promises -- Mission 15 for 150 days -- for the February 16 Assembly elections.

He announced that if his party comes to power within 150 days it would adopt a resolution in the assembly against the CAA.

"Tipra Motha is not against any religion, caste or creed or community. All people irrespective of caste and religion have the right to live in harmony. In a country there cannot be two laws, similarly, one country cannot have a law which bars Muslims, Hindus, Christian, Sikhs, tribals and non-tribals," Deb Barman told IANS.

He said that the TMP wants constitutional protection and all round socio-economic development of the tribals and the indigenous people.

"If we do not take appropriate legal and constitutional measures to protect the tribals, their traditional life, culture, economic position would be jeopardized further." The TMP or Tipraha Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance's (TIPRA) since 2021, has been demanding elevation of the TTAADC areas by granting of 'Greater Tipraland State' or a separate state under Article 2 and 3 of the Constitution.

The ruling BJP, CPI-M led Left parties, Congress and the Trinamool Congress have been strongly opposing the demand of the TIPRA. The party in support of the demand organised agitations both in the state and in the national capital Delhi.

After thrashing the BJP, CPI-M and the Congress in the crucial polls, since April 2021, TMP or TIPRA has been ruling the politically-important 30-member TTAADC, which has jurisdiction over two-third of Tripura's 10,491 sq km area and is home to over 12,16,000 people, of which around 84 per cent are tribals, making the autonomous council a mini-Assembly.

The TTAADC was formed in 1985 under Sixth Schedule of the Constitution to protect and safeguard the political, economic and cultural interests of the tribals, who consist of one third of the state's four million population.

The tribal based parties including the TMP and the IPFT have been demanding promulgation of the Inner Line Permit to protect the tribals and the indigenous people.

The ILP under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873 is an official travel document that allows an Indian citizen to visit in the ILP enforced state and areas for a limited period and with a specific purpose.

The Central government had earlier announced that the CAA would not apply to the ILP and the Tribal Autonomous District Council (TADC) areas.

The ILP had been in force in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram. On December 11, 2019, it was promulgated in Manipur, to allow an Indian citizen into the ILP enforced areas for a stipulated period with the written permission of the state and competent authority.

(Sujit Chakraborty can be contacted at sujit.c@ians.in)
Guwahati, Feb 12 : As the poll dates approach in Meghalaya, the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) has emerged as a talking point among the leaders of different political parties.

The tribal state has nearly 80 per cent of its population practising Christianity, and moreover, the Khasi tribal people were always uncomfortable with the BJP's idea of introducing CAA and giving citizenship to the Hindu Bengalis.

As Meghalaya shares a long border with Bangladesh, infiltration has always been a political issue in the state. After the passage of the CAA in Parliament, Conrad Sangma, National People's Party (NPP) chief and former ally of the BJP, had looked very upset and there was tension between the two allies.

Though the alliance continued until the elections were announced, Sangma was never comfortable after the passage of the CAA.

The Khasi people opposed it, and demanded the implementation of the Inner Line Permit (ILP) in Meghalaya. However, Union Home Minister Amit Shah's ministry in Delhi was reluctant to introduce the ILP there, and Conrad believed that the CAA and the post-political atmosphere tarnished his image.

Now, with the elections knocking at the door, opposition parties including the Congress and the Trinamool Congress have raked up the CAA issue.

They are using it as a tool to damage Conrad Sangma's appeal among Khasi voters. Sangma's party was accused of "complicity" in the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) in Parliament in 2019, by the opposition Congress.

Congress leader Ronnie V. Lyngdoh said, "All regional parties are culpable, they cannot wash their hands, and they are working hand in glove to guarantee CAB becomes an Act in Parliament." If the NPP had truly opposed the CAA and put the interests of the people of Meghalaya first, they should have left the central government, he said.

Lyngdoh also claimed that in December 2019, a formal resolution opposing the CAB was approved by all 60 MLAs in the Meghalaya Assembly. However, NPP MP from Tura, Agatha Sangma, who is the sister of NPP national president and chief minister Conrad K. Sangma, offered her support to the CAB when Home Minister Amit Shah introduced the bill in Parliament.

"NPP leaders are concerned only about their positions," the Congress leader alleged.

Meanwhile, the NPP tried to portray its primary opposition Trinamool Congress as a Bengali-dominated party and said the state will be run from Kolkata if the TMC is voted to power. Sangma's men tagged the Trinamool leaders as 'outsiders'.

Reacting to these allegations, the Trinamool is also using the CAA as a weapon and launching a scathing attack on Conrad Sangma.

Fernandez S. Dkhar, the state youth leader of the Meghalaya TMC, asked, "In 2019, who supported the Citizenship Amendment Bill? It wasn't TMC; it was NPP. Mamata Banerjee, our chairman in West Bengal, organised a sizable protest against this law that discriminates against indigenous people." He alleged that the NPP is in favour of Bangladeshis because the whole point of the CAA is to attract oppressed minorities from Bangladesh and other surrounding nations into the country.

Although Conrad Sangma is fighting the election without forging an alliance with the BJP, the saffron party's stand on the CAA issue has continued to haunt the Meghalaya Chief Minister when he is eyeing a straight second term in office.
Agartala/Shillong, Feb 12 : The Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) issue through not vociferously highlighted in the ongoing campaign in three election bound states -- Tripura, Nagaland, Meghalaya -- remains active in the entire northeast region even after over three years of passing the law and the on-off agitations against it.

The All Assam Students Union (AASU), the North East Students Organisation (NESO) and several other organisations along with the Congress and the CPI-M led Left parties are strongly opposing the CAA.

The leaders of AASU and NESO said that as their organisations are apolitical bodies they did not highlight the CAA issue in the poll bound states while the Congress and the CPI-M also largely remained silent on this issue.

However, some local parties including the influential tribal based party Tipra Motha Party (TMP) during the election campaign in Tripura highlighted the objections against the CAA.

The TMP, which has been demanding the upgradation the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) into a full-fledged state, promised to pass a resolution against the CAA within 150 days if the party comes to power in Tripura after the February 16 Assembly elections.

TMP chief and former royal scion Pradyot Bikram Manikya Deb Barman while announcing its 15-point agenda -- Mission 15 for 150 days -- for the Assembly elections said: "We want people irrespective of any religion and caste to live in Tripura. We will pass a resolution against the CAA.

"In one country there cannot be two laws, similarly, one country cannot have a law which bars Muslims, Hindus, tribals and others." Deb Barman, who was the president of the Tripura Pradesh Congress, quit the party in 2019 after differences with the Central leaders over CAA. He also filed a case in the Supreme Court against the CAA.

Deb Barman's father Kirit Bikram Debbarman was the Congress MP from Tripura and his mother Bibhu Kumari Devi was a minister in the Congress led coalition government (1988-1993).

The AASU and the NESO had also earlier filed cases against the CAA in the Supreme Court.

Talking to IANS, NESO chairman Samuel B. Jyrwa said that though they are not making the CAA an issue in the election bound states, they would fight against the law both on the ground and in the courts.

The AASU and the NESO on December 11 last year observed the third anniversary of the passage of the law in Parliament as a 'black day' across the northeastern region.

"The observation of 'black day' is to give a message to the government of India that we are against the CAA and also at the same time to remind our people of yet another political injustice that the government perpetrated on the indigenous peoples of the northeast," the NESO chairman told IANS over phone from Shillong.

The NESO, which is a conglomerate of eight student organisations of seven northeastern states including the AASU, has been spearheading the agitations across the region since the BJP-led Central government moved the law in Parliament in November-December 2019.

In Assam, which was the epicentre of the anti-CAA protests in 2019, the AASU held memorial gatherings on December 11 last year at different places and offered floral tributes to the five people who were killed in firing during the agitations three years ago.

AASU president Utpal Sharma said they won't accept the CAA as it is against the indigenous people and genuine citizens of India.

"We would continue our agitations against the CAA," he said.

AASU leader Samujjal Bhattacharya said that they would continue the agitation against the CAA, which according to him is against the original people of the region.

The anti-CAA protests had first started in Assam, parts of West Bengal and other northeastern states in 2019 and continued till 2020 before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.

At least five persons were killed in the protests against the CAA in Assam, which also witnessed large-scale violence and imposition of curfew for several days.

The CAA seeks to grant Indian citizenship to non-Muslim minorities -- Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians -- who have migrated from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014, after facing faith-based persecution.

It was passed by both the Houses of Parliament and given Presidential assent in December 2019.

However, rules under the CAA are yet to be framed.

Besides the CAA, the NESO has been agitating demanding complete scrapping of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, providing constitutional safeguards to the indigenous communities, and the imposition of Inner Line Permit (ILP) to protect the indigenous people in all northeastern states.

(Sujit Chakraborty can be contacted at sujit.c@ians.in)
When he passed away in 2013, the centenary year of Indian cinema, Pran had been acting for well over two-thirds of his 93 years, beginning as hero and ending up as a supporting actor - but making his mark in a long stint as such a convincing and consummate villain that Indian parents did not use his name for their children for at least a quarter of a century! He did not need any appurtenances to portray his evil nature onscreen - just a glare from his remarkable eyes, along with his steely voice, and a sneer - where enough.

Pran, however, sought to imbue each performance - whether as villain or supporting actor - with something different, be it mannerisms, make-up, and proper accents. Remember his outings as a Pathan, a Nepali, a Bhopali, and a Goan, or the ones in which he modelled his appearance on Sheikh Mujibur Rehman, Abraham Lincoln, or Sam Pitroda? Born on this day (February 12) in Delhi in 1920, Pran may not have been a "method actor" but he had natural talent and acute powers of observation of different types of people that he artfully incorporated into his performances.

In the process, he transformed the Hindi film villain from a stereotype to a well-delineated character, who did not even require the willing suspension of disbelief needed for most cinematic performances.

In his case, his fame was balanced by public abuse, children hiding from him, suspicion of most of his female co-workers (initially at least!), and the avoidance of the use of his name as his Allahabad University fans researched and informed him.

Son of a prosperous government civil contractor Kewal Krishan Sikand, Pran Krishan Sikand did not seem destined for a film career.

With a mobile childhood, studying in schools from Lahore to Unnao as his father moved to various places for his work, he was average in studies. So when his father asked him about his career choice, Pran, who was rather interested in photography, asked him to arrange his apprenticeship with a leading Delhi photo studio - whose proprietor was his father's friend. Pran proved good at his work - so much that when the business expanded to Lahore, he was posted there.

And this paved for his most filmi entry into films. Once in Shimla, he had acted as Sita in Ram Leela, with Madan Puri as Ram, but that was it and neither was he interested in acting. However, a fortuitous encounter at a Lahore shop changed all that.

A man, who was sizing him up, approaching then 19-year-old, said he was film writer Wali Mohammad Wali and the way Pran had eaten the pan had impressed him. He asked him to come to famous producer Dalsukh Pancholi's office the next day to test for a role.

Pran thought the offer had been made to him when Wali was inebriated, so he did not keep the appointment. As fate would have it, he went to the cinema the next Saturday and ran into Wali, who walked across and "began abusing me with choice Punjabi invectives" for ditching him, he recounted later. A sheepish Pran apologised and promised to come, but Wali noted his address and came himself to pick him up.

Pran debuted as villain in 'Yamla Jat' (Punjabi, 1940) where Noor Jehan was the female lead. He did another couple of Punjabi films before the studio cast him as hero in its first Hindi film 'Khandan" (1942) - again opposite Noor Jehan. He did two dozen-odd films till Partition - mostly as a hero, though he later confessed that he did not like being a hero because it involved singing songs and chasing heroines around trees! Partition put the brakes on his first stint, and he, having married and had a son, was lucky to be in Indore from August 1947, just as violence engulfed Lahore - having come to attend his son's first birthday. The family moved to Bombay, but he failed to find any work and in process, they moved from the Taj Mahal Hotel, to a string of cheaper hotels, and ultimately, a guest house as their funds dwindled.

As he looked for work, he faced rejection after rejection and even intervention by friends like actor Shyam and writer Sadat Hasan 'Manto' was of no avail. However, in early 1948, his fate turned with Bombay Talkies offering him the villain's role in 'Ziddi' (1949) - which also launched Dev Anand's career as a hero.

Offers started pouring in and his career was on a roll again - and continued till he himself called off his screen appearances in the late 1990s due to growing age and health issues. During this, one of his signal contributions was getting Amitabh Bachchan his break in 'Zanjeer' (1973) as he and Ajit managed to convince the director.

Among Pran's varied roles, those as Dilip Kumar's tormentor in films like 'Madhumati' (1958), 'Dil Diya Dard Liya' (1966), 'Ram Aur Shyam' (1967) and then again in 'Duniya' (1984), Raj Kapoor's near nemesis in "Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hain" (1959) -- where his rubbing of neck was to portray the dacoit's fear of the noose, Amitabh's benefactor in 'Zanjeer' (1973), 'Majboor' (1974), reluctant ally in 'Don' (1978) and 'Kaalia' (1981), and then, father in 'Amar Akbar Anthony' (1977), 'Naseeb' (1981) and 'Sharaabi' (1984), are the best known.

But, his role as the magician in fantasy 'Alif Laila' (1953), the title role in costumed drama 'Halaku' (1956), where he played Genghis Khan's grandson with panache, his first outing as a Pathan in 'Chhalia' (1960), as a misogynistic professor and his effeminate nephew in rom-com 'Jangal Mein Mangal' (1972), his romp with Ashok Kumar in 'Victoria No 203' (1972), and the dacoit-turned-Lakhnavi Nawab in 'Dharma' (1973) are also worth being seen.

Roles of the unrepentant dacoit in Manoj Kumar's 'Shaheed' (1965) and then of Malang Chacha in 'Upkar' (1967) paved way for more positive characters. And though he did occasionally return as villain, Pran had a positive role in Raj Kapoor's 'Aah' (1953) - this was attributed as a factor for it flopping! - and a hero in the comedy 'Pilpili Saheb' (1954).

While there are many more fascinating facets about Pran on and off screen, including his love for sports, there are three which need to be told.

He once turned down a Filmfare Award to protest a deserving candidate being left out in another category; he was a prime driver for a fund to support distressed film artistes and technicians, and he was one of the few Bollywood figures who publicly criticised the Emergency.

In the process, Pran proved that he didn't need to play the hero to be one.

(Vikas Datta can be contacted at vikas.d@ians.in)
Lucknow, Feb 12 : The controversy sparked off by senior SP leader Swami Prasad Maurya on the allegedly objectionable verses from Ramcharitmanas, has now started boomeranging on the Samajwadi Party itself.

Upper caste legislators in SP have started raising objections to Maurya's statement and have even threatened to quit the party if action is not taken against Swami Prasad Maurya.

Rakesh Pratap Singh, MLA from Amethi, said, "Whether I remain in politics or not, whether I remain a legislator or not and whether I get a ticket or not, I will not remain quiet when my religion is questioned." He said that anyone who makes objectionable comments on Sanatan Dharma, cannot be a Samajwadi.

"One who makes unpardonable remarks on Lord Ram also cannot be a Samajwadi. Only a mentally unstable person can make such remarks," he said.

He said he would continue to oppose those who make such comments against Lord Ram and Lord Krishna.

SP spokesman Roli Mishra Tiwari has also voiced her opposition to Maurya's statement. She has demanded action against Swami Prasad Maurya.

"I am a Brahmin and a follower of Sanatan Dharma and will not accept what Maurya has said. I was quiet because I thought he was speaking in his personal capacity but now it seems that this is the party's official stand," she said.

Mishra, who is being trolled for her statement, has sought protection from Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, fearing an attack on her.

She tweeted that a large group of chaotic elements are attacking her on social media for coming out in support of Ramcharitmanas.

"I am apprehensive of any physical attack on me. I have two small girls and my husband is posted at the border. I need protection," she tweeted.

Both the leaders claim that they are upset because they have realized that the party leadership is now backing Maurya on the controversy.

"It is clear that the party leadership sees a casteist benefit in the issue and has no qualms about insulting religion," they said.
New Delhi, Feb 12 : Former Australia captain Mark Taylor is worried about the psychological damage which has been done to left-handed batter Travis Head after being axed for the first Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test against India in Nagpur.

In the match which Australia lost by an innings and 132 runs inside three days, right-handed batter Peter Handscomb came in for Head, who made 525 runs at an average of 87.5 against the West Indies and South Africa in the home summer, leaving many former players baffled.

"I dare say they'll go back to him now for the next Test, but I worry about the psychological damage that may have been done to Travis Head because what the selectors have told him is that they don't have great faith in him on those sorts of pitches. That's not what you need when you're going in to bat in places like India," he was quoted as saying by Nine's TODAY show.

Ranked fourth in ICC Test Rankings, Head's previous struggles in the subcontinent may have resulted in his axing for the Nagpur Test. In sub-continent conditions, Head averages just 21.30. Moreover, on Australia's tours of Pakistan and Sri Lanka last year, he fell to spinners five out of six times.

Taylor feels the only way for Head to improve that record was to continue being exposed to subcontinental conditions. "He's 29 years old and he's potentially the future of our middle order and the only way he's going to get better is if he plays in India. He still hasn't played a Test match in India yet, so that's where it surprises me." Asked on how Australia could bounce back from a crushing loss in the Nagpur Test, Taylor felt communication will be a major key in preparing for the second Test set to happen in New Delhi from February 17.

"It's not impossible. I can think back to 25 years ago to my last couple of Test matches in India. We got beaten in Kolkata by an innings and 220-odd runs in the third Test of that series. In the fourth Test of that series, we turned it around and won by eight wickets, so you can do it." "You've got to have belief, and that's the problem because there's been mixed messages sent about Travis Head, to people like Ashton Agar, who played in Sydney but then didn't play the first Test. That's sending mixed messages. So I hope the communication in that changeroom is right because it needs to be. Australia needs to be clear in their minds and start again on Friday."
Ankara, Feb 12 : Two people have miraculous escape on Sunday after rescuers pulled them out of the debris of devastating earthquake that jolted Turkey on February 6.

Rescue teams saved a 35-year-old man, Mustafa Sarigul, from the rubble of a six storeyed building in Hatay's Antakya district, Anadolu News Agency reported.

Sarigul, who was trapped under the debris for 146 hours, was pulled out in five hours by rescue teams.

Eylul Kilic, in Gaziantep's Nizip district, was also rescued from debris of collapsed buildings.

Killic was at her aunt's home when the quakes rocked the region.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes affected more than 13 million people across 10 provinces, including Hatay, Gaziantep, Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, and Sanliurfa.
Ramchandra Rana, a resident of Chunukdiha village of Tundi area under Dhanbad district of Jharkhand, is known as the largest producer of mangoes in the area. Image Source: IANS News

Ranchi, Feb 12 : It is not an ordinary thing to return to normal life after wandering in the dark streets of violence for years after being associated with the Maoist.

However, some did that extraordinary thing, laid down arms, served sentences spening a long time in jail, and finally started off their life afresh with a noble cause, setting an example at least for those, who still wish to get out of the crime.

IANS tried to peep into the lives of some of such personalities who have become an inspiration for the others.

Ramchandra Rana, a resident of Chunukdiha village of Tundi area under Dhanbad district of Jharkhand, is known as the largest producer of mangoes in the area. Now, he has come out of his past, but when he was 19, he used to wander in the jungles with a gun on his shoulder.

There was no means of employment in the village. Influenced by the Maoist, he joined the outfit and started considering the police as the biggest enemy.

In 1993, his name figured in two cases- in murder of area chief Tikait Singh Chaudhary and in attack on police. In 2001, Rana was also named in eight Maoist incidents, including killing of 13 police personnel, looting weapons, blowing up the police party in Topchanchi block office premises of Dhanbad.

One day when he had come to his village, the then SP of Dhanbad, Abdul Ghani Mir surrounded him with 500 policemen and arrested him. His house was also damaged.

In 2008, after coming out of jail, Rana resolved to restore the image of the village defamed because of him. He associated himself with farming. Along with the people of the village, he met the top officers of the district and pleaded to connect the village with a paved road and to open a government school in the village.

Not only did he give his land for the road, he also convinced the villagers for it. The village was connected to the road five years ago. School also started in the village. Meanwhile, Rana planted more than 100 mango trees on his land. Last year, he sold 100 quintals of mangoes.

The house of Vijay Singh, a resident of Untari road block in Palamu district, was blown up by Maoists in the 1990s. Enraged by this, he joined a banned organisation called Sunlight Sena. The organisation made him the area commander. In those days, more than 18 people were killed in the massacre in Malwaliya village of the block.

The name of the Sunlight Army came to the fore in the massacre. Vijay Singh was an accused in this case. Apart from this, he was also named in about 48 cases. For almost 10 years, he dealt with the world of bomb-guns, violence. Jharkhand Police had declared a reward of Rs 25,000 on him. In 2003, he surrendered in Palamu Court, stayed in jail for 5 years.

In 2007, he came out of the jail. He got inclined towards spirituality while being in jail. He returned to his village Sildili. There is a Mahavir Mandir Math in the village, which was built during the British rule by Zamindar Tarak Nath Sarkar who had given 14 acres of land for it.

There was a dispute in the area regarding its land and no priest was ready to worship in the temple. The villagers held a meeting regarding this and it was decided that it should be handed over to a trust. Then people went to Gaya Peethadhishwar Jagadguru Swami Venkatesh Prapannacharya in Bihar, he took the Mahavir temple under his control, but no one was ready to become a Mahant.

Swami Prapannacharya garlanded Vijay Singh in the meeting of the villagers and ordered him to serve Hanuman ji. Vijay Singh took 'diksha' from him and his name was given as Balabhadracharya. Since then, he took a vow to devote his whole life to the service of God. Now he spends his all time in worship, spirituality and temple arrangements.

Daniel Lakra, a resident of Dhanamunji village of Bhandra block of Lohardaga district, decided to return to the mainstream on the persuasion of his wife and family members after being the Maoist organisation for nearly seven years. In 2013, he surrendered before the Jharkhand Police. When he was released from jail after almost nine months, he befriended Hal-Kudal.

According to the policy of the government, he got the help of Rs 2.5 lakh on surrender. He worked hard in agriculture and horticulture along with his wife and today he is known as a very successful farmer of the area. Under the MNREGA scheme, he planted many varieties of mangoes like Amrapali, Himsagar, Malda, Jardalu, Sonpari on about two acres of ancestral land.

Now, he earns about Rs 1.5-2 lakh rupees every year through horticulture. He is also cultivating chillies and other vegetables by taking three acres of land on lease.

In March last year, Suresh Singh Munda, the zonal commander of the Maoist organization, surrendered before the police in Ranchi. After spending almost 25 years in the world of ammunition and guns, he was inspired to return to normal life by none other than his school-going daughter. His daughter had sent an emotional letter to the father.

Pained by the letter, he decided to lay down his arms. While surrendering to the police, Suresh Singh Munda had said that he hoped to get out of jail and after that he would spend the rest of the time helping the needy people of the society. He had said that after reading the daughter's letter, he realised that the society can never be changed through the path of violence.

A person named Sadhu Kisan, a resident of Mahuadand block of Latehar district, also had been with the Maoist organisation for a decade. His position in the organisation was that of area commander. About a decade ago, he decided to return to the mainstream.

After walking out of jail, he started taking active part in social work. Last year in June, in the panchayat elections, the people of the village elected him as a member of Ward No. 10 in Netarhat Panchayat. Now he is a participant in the development schemes run in the panchayat as a ward member.

Ram Poddo does tailoring work in Ranchi's New Police Line. He stitches the uniforms of the policemen. He earns enough to fulfil his family's needs. But before 2013, his life was not like this.

He used to be a part of the Maoist organisation. He used to wander through the jungles carrying a gun. He then decided that nothing is to be gained from this. He surrendered his weapon before the police. He stayed in jail for some time and then came out and associated himself with the employment of tailoring.
Karachi, Feb 12 : The prices of chicken and chicken meat have experienced a sharp increase in the city of Karachi and other cities throughout Pakistan, local media reported.

The current price of chicken in Karachi is Rs 490 per kg, while the price of chicken meat has reached Rs 720 per kg, Samaa TV reported.

This price hike is due to the closure of several poultry businesses due to a shortage of feed, Samaa TV reported.

Poultry business owners have hinted at this being the reason behind the skyrocketting prices, with a kilogram of poultry meat selling for as much as Rs 720 in Karachi.

In Rawalpindi, Islamabad, and some other cities, the price of chicken has also reached an all-time high, with a kilogram of poultry meat being sold for Rs 700-705, Samaa TV reported.

Meanwhile, in Lahore, the second most populous city in the country, the price of chicken meat is hovering between Rs 550-600 per kg.

These rising prices have been a cause of concern for many consumers, who rely on chicken as a staple source of protein.

The government is currently investigating the cause of the feed shortage and looking for ways to provide relief to consumers affected by these rising prices.

The poultry industry is a vital part of Pakistan's economy, and any disruptions to its supply chain can have a significant impact on the country's food security and economic stability, Samaa TV reported.

The government is working to ensure that the supply of poultry products remains uninterrupted and that prices remain stable.
Srinagar, Feb 12 : President Droupadi Murmu on Sunday appointed a new Lieutenant Governor for Ladakh amid growing voices from the union territory seeking statehood and special status under the sixth schedule of the Constitution.

A communique issued by the President's House said that Brig B.D. Mishra has been appointed as the L-G of Ladakh replacing Radha Krishna .

The communique also said that the President has accepted Mathur's resignation.

Mathur was appointed as the first L-G of Ladakh in 2019.

The two Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh were carved out from the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir with the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019.

B.D. Mishra is a retired Brigadier of the Army, who served in the armed forces for more than three decades.

He has participated in the India-China war in 1962, 1965 war with Pakistan and the 1971 war against Pakistan in the liberation of Bangladesh.
#BCRP: En 2022, las exportaciones alcanzaron los US$ 65 835 millones, mayor en US$ 2 684 millones a lo registrado en 2021. pic.twitter.com/e3IjgCT6k1
Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 12 : The main actor and director of super hit Kannada movie 'Kantara', Rishab Shetty, and its producer, Vijay Krigandur Ahad were present before Kozhikode Deputy Commissioner of Police, K.E. Baiju today.

The director and producer of the movie appeared before the investigating officer after the Supreme Court of India on Thursday (Feb 9, 2023) granted anticipatory bail to director Rishab Shetty and producer Vijay Kirgandur.

The division bench of the Supreme Court comprising of Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justices P.S. Narasimha and J.B. Padiwala had said in the order that "Petitioner shall present before the investigating officer on February 12 and 13. In case he is arrested, he shall be released on bail forthwith subject to conditions on trial court." The producer and director have given their statements before the police following a complaint lodged by the Kerala-based music band 'Thaikoodam Bridge' that a song in the movie was a product of the band and that the movie makers did not acknowledged that.

The band had complained that the song 'Varaha Roopam' in the movie was actually plagiarised from their song 'Navarasam'.

The music director of the movie, 'Kantara', B. Ajaneesh Loknath had rejected the allegations stating that the similarities were due to the same 'Raga' used in both songs.

However, 'Thaikkudam Bridge' complained that blatant infringement of copyright law had taken place.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi gestures during the inauguration of the year long celebrations to commemorate the 200th birth anniversary of Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2023. (P Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi being felicitated during the inauguration of the year long celebrations to commemorate the 200th birth anniversary of Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi on Sunday, Feb. 12, Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, Feb 12 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday inaugurated the commencement of year-long celebrations to commemorate the 200th birth anniversary of social reformer and founder of Arya Samaj Swami Dayanand Saraswati, in the national capital.

Modi described Dayanand Saraswati as a voice of reasoning and logic, who emerged as an effective force against centuries of social evils associated with women.

He reignited the essence of Vedas in the Indian society, the Prime Minister said.

"We bow to Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati Ji on his 200th Jayanti. He was a beacon of knowledge and spirituality," Modi said while kick-starting the celebrations at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium on the occasion.

Union ministers G Kishan Reddy, Arjun Ram Meghwal and Meenakashi Lekhi were also present on the occasion.

Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati, born on February 12, 1824, was a social reformer who founded Arya Samaj in 1875 to counter the prevalent social inequities.

Arya Samaj has played a key role in the cultural and social awakening of the country through its emphasis on social reforms and education, official sources said.

The government has been committed to celebrating social reformers and important personalities, especially those whose contributions were not given their due yet on a pan-India scale, they added.
Lucknow, Feb 12 : The Opposition parties in Uttar Pradesh including the Samajwadi Party are trying to gain momentum in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, and are raising several issues such as the recent controversy over Ram Charit Manas and the caste census issue to take on the ruling BJP.

According to political analysts, political parties in the state have intensified their efforts to tilt the voters of the OBC community in their favour. In wake of these developments, Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Maurya also extended support to the caste census.

BJP's allies Nishad Party and Anupriya Patel's Apna Dal (S) are also in favour of the caste census. However, the ruling party is not able to come forward more openly on the issue because of its political compulsions.

If political pundits are to be believed, the Samajwadi Party is attempting to strengthen its hold over the OBCs and Dalits, who have tilted towards the BJP.

Since the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has been consistently trying to bring back OBC and SC/ST voters into its fold. Even several leaders who were associated with the BSP's Dalit movement are inducted into the Samajwadi Party. This includes names such as Swami Prasad Maurya, Ramachal Rajbhar, Indrajit Saroj and Lalji Verma.

Besides this, while Akhilesh Yadav is raising the demand for the caste census, leaders from his party are vocal against Brahminism.

Akhilesh Yadav wants to defeat the BJP by uniting Dalits and OBCs in his favour.

Rajpal Kashyap, the President of Samajwadi Party's Backward Class cell, says that his party has been demanding the caste census for a long time, to which the BJP government is "not paying attention".

Kashyap asserts "how the people from backward and deprived castes can get their rights unless their numbers are not known, especially those who are far lacking in their rights, respect and education in the country".

He said that the Samajwadi Party is going to run an awareness campaign for this across the state. "We will force the government to execute the caste census by transforming it into a mass movement in favour." BSP chief Mayawati says that like SC and ST, the demand for conducting caste census of OBCs has gained a lot of momentum in the whole country, but the Centre's "refusal to do so is affecting the entire society and their future in the same way, like it is hurting them due to non-filling of their backlog in jobs".

Sanjay Nishad of Nishad Party, a coalition partner of the BJP governme"t in the state, said, "I believe that there should be a caste census. But the discrepancy of castes done by the previous governments is wrong." BJP's Backward Class Morcha President Narendra Kashyap says that the Opposition "does not want to do any work".

"The focus of the Samajwadi Party, BSP and the Congress is limited to family and corruption. That's why they raise such issues to remain in headlines," he added.

Senior political analyst Ratanmani Lal says that the Opposition parties feel that the BJP has strengthened its vote bank among several castes through Hindutva, and the issue of caste census can help them in tilting a big section of the Hindutva vote bank into their fold.

"The Samajwadi Party has been doing politics of minorities and backward people. This strategy is not working much, and that's why they are engaged in bringing back the most backward and downtrodden classes who have joined the BJP into its fold. It is trying to bring back its slipping vote bank," he explained.

It may be noted that the politics of Uttar Pradesh has been confined around the OBC community for the past decades. Since the formation of Narendra Modi's government in 2014, a large section of this class is with the BJP and the party is also trying to retain their faith through its Hindutva politics.
New Delhi, Feb 12 : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been stuck in a maelstrom regarding the caste based census. The opposition parties have been attacking the BJP by citing different statements from its leaders, in attempts to prove that the saffron party is against the caste census.

Former Union Minister and BJP Lok Sabha MP from Bihar's Saran, Rajiv Pratap Rudy while targeting the Nitish Kumar-led government in the Lok Sabha on February 10, said that Bihar's Grand Alliance government had been trying to divide the state into castes by the caste based census.

He alleged that it had been creating ethnic frenzy, due to which quarrels had been taking place in many villages.

In a conversation with IANS, Rudy said that the BJP had supported the caste census in Bihar, but had laid certain conditions for it such as including the caste and profession of the four crore people who had left Bihar due to the wrong policies of the government.

Rudy had added that the Bihar government had reached bankruptcy and was conducting the caste census in an attempt to stick to power.

He stressed that the time had come for people to move on from the politics of caste and numbers.

In a conversation with IANS, BJP OBC Morcha national president and Rajya Sabha MP Dr K. Laxman denied the Opposition's allegations of the saffron party being against the caste census and said that since the census would take place for the first time after 1931, the BJP wants the states to take the initiative keeping in view the legal, technical and administrative concerns that may come up.

Accusing former Finance minister P. Chidambaram and the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government of dividing the country into lakhs of castes and spending funds wrongly, Laxman said the BJP is not against the caste census but is against the way the UPA government had spent Rs 6,000 crore through private NGOs under this pretext.

Laxman alleged that no one benefitted from it and it was not even published by the UPA government.

He said that the states were given the right by the Parliament to decide upon the castes to include in their OBC list.

Along with this, he said that many castes of the OBC still had not gained any benefits from reservation and the BJP believed in every member of the community benefitting from reservations.

Significantly, the BJP supported the move when the Nitish Kumar-led government in Bihar approved the caste census in 2022.

On the lines of Bihar, Akhilesh Yadav has also been talking about a caste based census in Uttar Pradesh.

However, many BJP leaders of Bihar have been raising questions on why sub-castes are not being included in the caste based census even without openly opposing the same.

Recently, UP Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya while addressing journalists had claimed that the BJP was not against the caste census and described Akhilesh Yadav's campaign as anti-Modi.

The saffron party, ever since its inception, has raised the flag of Hindutva and has made it clear that it does not want to indulge in caste based politics.

Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the saffron party is now attempting to connect with the minority communities, including Muslims and has raised the slogan, "Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas." In such a situation, the BJP is dreading that opposition parties like the Samajwadi Party (SP), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Janata Dal-United (JD-U) might defeat the party by restoring the era of Mandal-Kamandal politics in the country on the pretext of caste census.

Perhaps this is the reason why the saffron party has been treading lightly around the issue.

According to sources, the BJP is waiting for the recommendations of the Rohini Commission constituted to look into the issues related to sub-categorisation within the OBCs.
Prayagraj, Feb 12 : Lawayankala, located a few kilometres from Sangam in trans-Yamuna area in Prayagraj, will soon emerge as the best example of river tourism on the Ganga.

Lawayankala is dotted with island-like cropping of rocks and sand bases mid river and has a sizeable number of Gangetic dolphins.

A proposal to invest Rs 75 crore has been made by an investor Tanmay Kishore Agarwal at the ongoing Uttar Pradesh Global Investors' Summit-2023 for developing Lawayankala like the Dal Lake of Kashmir.

Tourists here will not only be able to enjoy boat rides but also stays complete with yummy snacks and food on board houseboats soon.

"The 'Ganga Dweep' is envisioned as a river tourism project on an island in Gangapur and Dhuipur Kachhar areas of Lawayankala in Prayagraj.

A Vedic tent city on the island, houseboats, floating jetties, boats and catamarans will be part of the project to showcase the Ganga dolphins and life along the holy Ganga," said investor Tanmay Kishore Agarwal who belongs to Prayagraj.

The initiative will focus on spirituality, meditation, Ayurvedic and Yoga practices apart from hosting high-end Vedic weddings to spiritual discourses on river cruise that will take the holy experiences to a new level, he added.

"To promote Yoga, a meditation centre will be opened here and another centre will be set up for Ayurveda treatments. We also plan to install gentle sound systems here through which tunes of devotional songs will be heard throughout the day," he said.

The project would also provide direct employment to around 50 people, said Tanmay, who has submitted the investment intent form online through the state government designated 'Investment Promotion and Facilitation Agency'.

Regional tourism officer, Prayagraj, Aparajita Singh said her department has received a number of projects for cruises and other such initiatives.

"We will look into the details of all proposals and assess them on their merit. Only those which meet the norms of not causing environmental pollution and adhere to set guidelines of the state government regarding cuisine to serve and other aspects would be given a go ahead," she said.
New Delhi, Feb 12 : Misalignment and lack of awareness during practice or even everyday activities can lead to neck pain, which is very frequent. These include routine daily motions that require repetitive forward movements, bad posture, or the propensity to hold your head still. The likelihood of developing discomfort in this region of your body is common, and it is simple for that pain to spread to your shoulders and back. Headaches and even injuries can result from neck pain.

Yogic Warm-up You should start your practice with Sukshma Vyayam or other subtle exercises. When practicing yoga, you should warm up by gently rotating your hips, arms, wrists, head, and neck as well as mobilising your ankles to gradually warm up the joints. Walk quickly around the area to stretch and relax your muscles. By doing this, you'll get your body ready for practice and lower your risk of being hurt.

Make sure your body is fully warmed up before attempting any poses that require you to bend your back, such as Camel Pose and Snake Pose.

Take a core test After elevating your feet, tuck your legs into your chest for a full five seconds before lifting them all the way up to ensure you have the appropriate core strength.

Locate a comfortable place to rest your head.

Rest the base of your palm at the top of your nose and extend your middle finger to the top of your head to determine where you should place your head on the floor. This area enables your Practice inversions safely

. Rotate your forearms and elbows toward the floor while performing a headstand.

. Verify that you are not experiencing any pressure or sensation in your head.

. When you are in the stance, keep your head still at all times. Also, use a spotter if possible.

Stretch regularly It is advisable to do yoga and regular stretching in the morning to combat this. This may help with issues including discomfort or stiffness in the shoulders and neck. Use these yoga practices in your practice at least three times per week.

Yoga Asanas To prevent neck pain, there are a few poses that call for particular caution. There are many steps you can take to ensure that you are performing yoga in a way that is suitable for your body, level of ability, and desired objectives.

Bird Dog, a variation of Marjariasana The transverse abdominals and the back can both benefit from more strength training with this yoga position.

. While on all fours and using double mats for enhanced knee protection and cushioning, extend one arm and the opposing leg. After pausing to take a breath, switch sides.

. 5 times on each side of the repetition . Helpful for supporting the back and abs.

. Enhances spinal health . Fosters mental focus Ustrasana (Camel Pose) - Gently crouch down on the yoga mat or on a soft surface.

. Hands should be placed on hips.

. Next, gradually begin to arch your back.

. When the arms are straight, slide your palms over your ankles.

. Don't put any stress on your neck by leaving it in a neutral position.

. After exhaling, slowly return to the starting position.

Sarpasana (Snake Pose) . Lie on your stomach with your hands clasped behind your back; . Take a big breath in and hold it for a few seconds (this is known as Kumbakh); . Raise your head, shoulders, and chest as high as you can; . Keep your feet firmly planted on the ground; . Hold the position for ten breaths.

Limit your digital usage We wind up using digital gadgets like smartphones, computers, and tablets for the majority of our waking hours as a result of our current lifestyles.

According to recently completed research, people are thought to use their smartphones for an average of 4 hours every day. This can total an incredible 1,400 hours per year, which is completely unnecessary. Long periods of sitting and all these unhealthy practices can cause bad posture and stiffness in the neck and shoulder regions.

The amount of stress that has been bottled up may be a major contributing factor to stiffness in the neck, shoulder, and back. The stored nervous energy that is present in the neck and shoulder area while you are under stress causes a great deal of pain. You can relax your muscles with the aid of gentle yoga asanas, breathing techniques, and meditation. Spend a few minutes each day and notice how your stress levels change.

(Himalayan Siddha Akshar is the founder of Akshar Yoga Institutions, Himalaya Yoga Ashrama, and World Yoga Organisation) (IANSlife can be contacted at ianslife@ians.in)
New Delhi, Feb 12 : After Mallikarjun Kharge's parts of speech were expunged and Congress MP Rajani Patil was suspended, the opposition parties are likely to meet on Monday to devise a strategy.

The meeting of like-minded opposition parties will take place in Parliament House. Congress President and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, on Friday had alleged that the Centre was conspiring to hide the truth by exerting undue pressure on the presiding officers.

"The (Narendra) Modi government is conspiring to hide the truth by exerting undue pressure on the presiding officers of both the Houses of the Parliament, and is conspiring to suppress the JPC inquiry demand," Kharge said.

His remarks came after parts of the speech of Rahul Gandhi and Kharge made in the House were expunged by the presiding officers.

He said questions will be asked both inside Parliament as well as in the 'people's parliament'.

"Should there not be an inquiry into the Adani scam? Shouldn't the falling value of LIC's money, invested in Adani's companies, be questioned? Shouldn't questions be asked about the Rs 82,000 crore loan given to Adani by SBI and other banks," he asked
Bettiah : , Feb 12 (IANS) A resident of Pipra village in Bihar's West Champaran district has taken a vow to remain unmarried for environmental protection, similar to 'Bhishma' in 'Dvapara yuga' (in Hinduism, an age believed to be the best of the four yugas) took a vow of lifelong celibacy for his father's happiness.

Gajendra Yadav, of Pipra village under Narwal Borwal Panchayat of Bagaha block, has planted about eight lakh saplings so far.

Yadav considers the trees his family and celebrates major festivals such as Dussehra, Diwali and Raksha Bandhan with them.

In a conversation with IANS, Yadav apprised that he is the eldest of four siblings and all of them are married.

He said he gets worried if his trees are harmed.

Yadav talked about how he was listening to the radio in his teens, wherein in a programme it was said that the environment would become unbalanced in the absence of trees, threatening all life on earth due to lack of oxygen.

Yadav changed the course of his life after that episode and dedicated himself to protecting the environment.

Marriage proposals started coming in for the modern day 'Bhishma' when he reached the suitable age, but Yadav stood firm on his ground and remained dedicated to his work.

Yadav mentioned how he once met Vikas Vaibhav, an IPS officer who was posted in Bagaha as the Superintendent of Police.

Yadav invited the SP to the banks of Semarkol Tirhut canal of the panchayat, which was known for being an area where crimes like rape, murder and theft were common.

Vaibhav planted a mango tree in the area to spread the message of peace and harmony.

Yadav said that his work intensified after getting inspired by this gesture and he now spends his entire day in serving the trees.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and former Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi honoured Yadav in Patna and were impressed by his commendable work and dedication towards tree plantation.

Yadav apprised that he has been indulging in the work since 2003 and has planted about eight lakh saplings so far, most of which include Banyan, Peepal, Pakad and Neem as they provide shelter to birds and small animals, along with preventing soil erosion during floods.

These trees live long and provide ample oxygen to humans.

Yadav's use of empty spaces on embankments, canals, roads, school premises and outskirts of villages to plant trees has won him wide acclaim.

He said that he prepares the saplings himself and has a team of 100 youths who help him in the process.

Adding that, he keeps an eye out for woodcutters, who are mostly released by the police after they admit to their action.

Yadav said that FIRs are registered against the ones who do not admit their mistake.

While speaking of his upcoming plans, Yadav said that he would stick to his routine as long as his body allows him to.

Sakina Khatoon, head of Narwal Borwal Panchayat, also praised Yadav's work and said that he is spreading the message of protecting the environment and motivating youths to do the same.

She added that greenery could be seen everywhere in the village because of Yadav's efforts.
New Delhi, Feb 12 : A man, who was carrying a reward of Rs 20,000 on his head in connection with the suicide case of a woman Delhi Police Constable, was arrested by the Crime Branch from Uttar Pradesh's Meerut, official said on Sunday.

A senior police official said that the accused was identified as Sonu Bhalotiya (27). The official said the accused was frequently changing his addresses and locations and was evading his arrest but was held on the basis of technical analysis.

The official said that the accused was declared proclaimed offender and a cash reward of Rs 20,000 was declared on his arrest.

The victim woman police constable was posted in police station Palam. On August 3, 2021, a PCR call was received at PS Palam Village regarding suicide by woman constable. A complaint was filed by deceased's sister alleging therein that her sister had committed suicide because of harassment by Bhalotia.

Sonu came in contact with her sister in 2020. Thereafter, Sonu got closer to the deceased , mentioning that he was a resident of her neighbouring village and also made her believe that he is unmarried.

"Sonu also took access to the email ID and password of the deceased and extracted all the contact details, photos and videos from her Google account. In 2021, the deceased told all facts to her sister and she also came to know that the accused was already married. She blocked the mobile number of the accused but he kept on contacting her through different numbers," said the official.

In the meantime, the engagement of the deceased was fixed with another man. On this, the accused threatened her that if she didn't talk to him he would tell everything to her fiance. After this the deceased went into depression and committed suicide.

Search of the accused was made but he was absconding and evading his arrest.

"The police got a tip off that the accused was hiding in Meerut. Thereafter, on the basis of technical surveillance, a raid was conducted in the area and accused Sonu was apprehended from," the official said.
Mumbai, Feb 12 : Director Ram Madhvani has expressed his desire to make a series or film centred on Sikandar Kher's character Daulat from the International Emmy-nominated crime thriller series 'Aarya' starring Sushmita Sen.

Ram and Sikandar are presently working on the third installment of Aarya. During a recent live session, Ram recalled how he was impressed with Sikandar's performance as Daulat, especially the emotion and intensity in his eyes. He then said he would like to make a spin-off title focused on Daulat.

"There is a certain sensitivity, hurt, vulnerability, emotion and guilt in Daulat... All of which came through without you saying anything and just emoting with your eyes. All I had to do is put some music and it was done," Ram said.

He added: "There is a certain samurai quality to Daulat. The samurai tradition in cinema has been in French movies and Hollywood movies and of course Japanese movies. Besides the guy being well-built and tall, there is a certain stillness and silence in him that's very Samurai-like." Building on this thought, Ram expressed: "So there are two things. I want to make a film or series on Daulat alone. And secondly, at some point, Sikandar, we have to do a comedy on a character who is like a Samurai." Delighted with the idea, Sikandar responded: "That will be mad. The thought is amazing! It's so spoofy and crazy. That's the greatest thing I have heard. You will make a great comedy director since you laugh genuinely at things."




To that end, an amendment to Article 98 of the Criminal Procedure Code has been proposed.

The amendment states that the power of the Public Ministry's head to bring said actions is conditioned on the compliance with a particular requirement.





The current text indicates that the Attorney General may file a claim of unconstitutionality, as long as there is a prior agreement of the Board of Supreme Prosecutors

For its part, the bill presented by Attorney General Patricia Benavides indicates that the head of the Public Ministry can bring the claim directly, without having to meet other requirements.





Current text

The aforementioned article of the current law provides that the Judiciary Chair can also file a claim of unconstitutionality, but with the prior consent of the Plenary Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice.

The President of the Republic may also bring such an action, with the approval vote of the Council of Ministers.

The purpose of the legislative initiative is to maintain the normative hierarchy that the Constitution grants to the Attorney General, as well as the autonomy.





(END) FGM/RMB

The Peruvian Public Ministry has submitted a bill to Congress to grant autonomy to the head of the Attorney General's Office when filing a claim of unconstitutionality.Published: 2/12/2023
Noida number one in investment, only Noida got 27 percent of the investment of the Global Investor Summit, then the turn of other cities. Image Source: IANS News

Noida number one in investment, only Noida got 27 percent of the investment of the Global Investor Summit, then the turn of other cities. Image Source: IANS News

Noida number one in investment, only Noida got 27 percent of the investment of the Global Investor Summit, then the turn of other cities. Image Source: IANS News

Noida number one in investment, only Noida got 27 percent of the investment of the Global Investor Summit, then the turn of other cities. Image Source: IANS News

Noida number one in investment, only Noida got 27 percent of the investment of the Global Investor Summit, then the turn of other cities. Image Source: IANS News

Noida number one in investment, only Noida got 27 percent of the investment of the Global Investor Summit, then the turn of other cities. Image Source: IANS News

Noida number one in investment, only Noida got 27 percent of the investment of the Global Investor Summit, then the turn of other cities. Image Source: IANS News

Noida, Feb 12 : Noida has emerged as the most favoured investment destination of Uttar Pradesh in the three-day Global Investors Summit, 2023 being held in Lucknow. The investment share of all the three Noida Authorities alone is recorded at 27 per cent.

Investors are flocking to Yamuna Authority in view of the upcoming Jewar Airport. Along with this, Greater Noida Authority and Noida Authority have also attracted several investors.

The Uttar Pradesh government has received an investment proposal of Rs 32,92,000 crore from the Global Investors Summit (GIS), which will provide employment to 92 lakh people.

Agra and Lucknow have been the second and third preferred destinations for investment by the investors.

Siddharthnagar remained the least preferred, with an investment of only Rs 650 crore generated from a total of 128 companies in the district, which measures to 0.2 per cent of the total investment.

During the summit, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that 18,645 MoUs have been signed, in which maximum investment has been done in Western Uttar Pradesh due to cities like Noida and Agra.

He said that 45 per cent of the total investment will be done in the area.

A total of 29 per cent investment has been done in Purvanchal. Paschimanchal and Purvanchal together have 74 per cent.

Investment of 13 per cent each has come in Madhyanchal and Bundelkhand of the state.

Reliance Group will invest Rs 75,000 crore in the state and will set up renewable energy capacity of 10 GW in the state under the Akshay scheme.

Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani in his address at the event said that 5G service will be available in all the cities of the state by the end of 2023.

The investments include Rs 21,622 crore from UAE, Rs 21,922.5 crore from Canada and the US, Rs 10,704 crore from Netherlands & France, Rs 25,456 crore from Japan & South Korea, Rs 1,76,740 crore from Germany, Belgium & Sweden, Rs 1300 crore from Brazil, Argentina and Mexico, Rs 26,120 crore from Australia and Singapore.

Proposals worth Rs 7,85,937 crore came from Gautam Buddha Nagar during the Investors Summit. Out of this, MoUs worth Rs 7,45, 815 crore were signed. In this, the maximum proposal of Rs 1,60,000 crore came for the Yamuna Development Authority.

MoUs worth Rs 1 lakh 116 crore were signed in this. This investment will provide employment to more than one lakh people. As many as90 officers from all the three authorities participated in the event.

This year, the target of the entire state of Uttar Pradesh was raised to Rs 17 lakh crore in the ongoing event while investment proposals have come up to Rs 21 lakh crore.

Gautam Buddha Nagar district alone has an investment of more than Rs 7 lakh crore.

Investments have been made in the fields of IT, ITES, commercial, infrastructure, group housing, dairy, energy, agriculture, education, civil aviation, medical education and forest companies. However, the largest investment has been in the IT/ITES sector.

Proposals worth Rs 88,700 crore have come for Noida Authority. In this, MoUs worth Rs 85,993 crore were signed on the behalf of 361 companies.

The companies include Lulu Mall Management which has invested Rs 2500 crore, Adani group which has invested Rs 5000 crore, M3M India Private Limited with an investment of Rs 7500 crore, Rs 4300 crore by Injika, Rs 4000 crore by Clear Lake Pvt Ltd, Rs 3200 crore by Theme County Private Limited, Rs 2400 crore by Godrej Property Ltd., Rs 2000 crore by Fairfox Infra Pvt Ltd., Rs 2000 crore by Rose Berry State LLP, Rs 2000 crore by Theme County Pvt Ltd, Rs 1800 crore by Mahagun Infratech Pvt Ltd Canciller Consultancy has included companies worth Rs 1200 crore.
New Delhi, Feb 12 : The Delhi Police have issued a summon to Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's officer on special duty (OSD) Lokesh Sharma in connection with a July 2020 phone tapping case.

A police source said that Sharma has been asked to appear before the Delhi Police on Monday to get his statement recorded. This is the sixth notice sent to Sharma under section 41.(1) of Cr.P.C.

Statement of Sharma was recorded on two occasions December 6, 2021 and May 14, 2022.

Earlier, on July 3, 2021, the Delhi High Court had granted some relief to Sharma by asking Delhi Police Crime Branch not to take coercive action against him. Sharma had moved to the Delhi High Court seeking quashing of the FIR.

The Crime Branch also moved a plea before the Delhi High Court seeking vacating of the interim order. The Delhi Police have alleged that Sharma was deliberately delaying the investigation.

Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Union Minister and BJP MP from Jodhpur had lodged a complaint against Sharma and others, accusing them of phone tapping.

Acting on his complaint, the Delhi Police lodged an FIR on March 25, 2021. Alleged Audio clips of Shekhawat in which he was talking to rebel Congress leaders to topple the Rajasthan government had gone viral.
Dhaka, Feb 12 : Former Judge and anti-corruption commissioner Md Shahabuddin Chuppu is poised to become the 22nd President of Bangladesh with the ruling Awami League, which holds absolute majority in Parliament, nominating him for the top post.

A delegation of Awami League, led by the General Secretary Obaidul Quader, submitted Chupu's nomination papers at the Election Commission earlier in the day.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is also Bangladesh Awami League chief, has nominated Shahabuddin Chuppu for the post of chairman of the party's publicity and publication sub-committee in accordance with Article 25 (1) (a) of the party's constitution.

Of 350 parliamentary seats, the Awami League currently has 302, while the main opposition Jatiya Party has 26. The Workers Party has four seats; Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh and Gono Forum have two each; Bangladesh Tarikat Federation and Jatiya Party (Manju) have a single seat each; and three remaining seats are occupied by independents.

After the nomination was filed, Chupu said: "Everything was done with blessings of Almighty." Nomination for the post of president will close at 4.00 p.m. on Sunday.

"Except Chupu, if no other nomination is filed till 4 p.m. on Sunday, we will announce him as the president elect if his nomination papers are found to be valid during scrutiny of forms tomorrow," EC officials told IANS.

Obaidul Quader had handed over the nomination letter to Shabuddin at Hasina's office in Dhanmondi on Friday afternoon.

Born in Pabna in 1949, Chuppu was member of Pabna district Chhatra League, Awami League's student wing.

He was the convenor of the Swadhin Bangla Chhatra Sangram Parishad in Pabna in 1971, and took part in the Liberation War movement. He became the president of the Pabna district Jubo League in 1974.

He was imprisoned for three years, after protesting the brutal assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on August 15, 1975. He was later appointed as the Law Ministry's coordinator in the Bangabandhu assassination case.

In 1982, he joined the BCS (Judicial) Department, and in 1995, he was elected General Secretary of the Judicial Service Association. He served as the chairman of the Judicial Inquiry Commission, which investigated the brutal murders, rapes, thefts, and other crimes committed by BNP-Jamaat alliance's killers following the 2001 general election.

He also worked as a District and Sessions Judge and retired in 2006. He was a commissioner at the Anti-Corruption Commission from 2011 to 2016.

The presidential election is scheduled for February 19, but it will take place only if there is more than one candidate.

The tenure of the present President Abdul Hamid, the longest serving president of the country, will end on April 23, and according to the constitution, there is no scope for his re-election as Article 50 (2) of the constitution reads that no person shall hold office as president for more than two terms Hamid was appointed acting president of Bangladesh on March 14, 2013, while then president Zillur Rahman was in hospital in Singapore. Zillur died six days later. Hamid was then elected unopposed as president on April 22, 2013, and was sworn in two days later. On February 7, 2018, he was re-elected unopposed for a second term.
Dhaka, Feb 12 : Habibur Rahman Bhuiyan, who initiated a movement demanding a 'violence-free campus' after he lost his daughter in a gunfight between two groups of Chhatra Dal in Dhaka University's SM Hall, has passed away.

Habibur, a father of three, passed away on Saturday battling cancer. He was diagnosed with cancer on September 1, 2021 and was undergoing treatment at a hospital.

"He was frustrated that those responsible for Sony's death have not been punished in 19 years. He used to talk about his elder daughter Sony despite having difficulty in speaking, Habibur's son Rana said.

Bhuriyan's daughter Sony, a student of the Chemical Engineering batch of 1999, was caught in the middle of the gunfight between the groups led by BUET Chhatra Dal President Mokammel Hayat Khan Muki and Tagar, leading to her death.

A case was filed after a long protest and the lower court sentenced Muki, Tagar and Nurul Islam Sagar to death.

In 2006, the High Court commuted the death sentence to life imprisonment and acquitted SM Masum Billah. Muki fled to Australia and Sagar went into hiding as well. Tagar is in jail.

Different student organisations at BUET observe the death anniversary of Sony as 'Student Protest Day against Violence'. Also, the Sony Memorial Foundation observes June 8 as a 'violence-free campus' day.

The BUET administration named the female students' hall 'Sabikunnahar Sony Hall' following demands from students.
Chennai, Feb 12 : Three people died and seven people were injured in an explosion at a firecracker godown in Vaniyambadi, Tirupatthur district of Tamil Nadu.

Police said that the explosion took place in the firecracker godown and investigation is on regarding the cause of the explosion. The police added that seven people were rescued from the burning godown, the situation of those who survived is not clear.

Police said that the identity of the three, who died in the accident, has yet to be ascertained.
New Delhi, Feb 12 : Traders' body the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has lauded the issuance of show-cause notices to over 20 e-pharmacies including Amazon and Flipkart by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) on February 10.

The entities have been given two days to reply to the notices.

The drug regulator has asked online pharmacies to explain why action should not be taken against them for selling and distribution of drugs in contravention of provisions of Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940.

The e-pharmacies have been told in the notice that there are several cases in various courts requesting prohibition of online sale of drugs.

The show-cause notice alleges that the operations of these entities fall foul of the injunction of the Delhi High Court dated December 12, 2018 in the case of Dr. Zaheer Ahmed v. Union of India & Others.

In the above stated case, the Delhi High Court had held that "online sale of medicines without licence" is injuncted.

In a statement, CAIT said that the body alongwith South Delhi Chemists Association and Delhi Drug Dealers Associations and other chemist associations, had raised the issue strongly against e-pharmacies in the past, and even met Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya in June last year.

CAIT National President B.C. Bhartia and Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal have sought strict enforcement of the law and the judgment of Delhi High Court in the matter.

They have also sought assurance that no e-commerce company is allowed to sell medicines violating the Drug and Cosmetic Act.

CAIT has also sought strict action against the e-commerce intermediaries and platforms including Amazon and Flipkart, who are selling medicine without obtaining the requisite licences.
Lahore, Feb 12 : Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan believes that a country's system fails if its elected government doesn't have both responsibility and authority, a local media outlet reported.

The former Pakistani Prime Minister - who was ousted via a no-confidence motion last year - expressed these views in an interview with the US broadcaster, Voice of America, stressing that the elected governments must have authority as well as responsibility, The News reported.

"The leading principle of the balance (of power) is that the elected government that has the responsibility, which people have mandated through their vote, must also have the authority," Khan said.

He said that responsibility and authority cannot be separated and hence a system cannot work if the two things are not vested in the same individual.

"If the authority lies with the army chief, (but) responsibility lies with the Prime Minister, no management system works," Khan added, the media outlet reported.

While responding to a question regarding his relationship with the military as the premier, the PTI chief said that all the policies of the military in Pakistan depend on one individual.

"Military (in Pakistan) means one man, the army chief. So, the whole policy of military vis-a-vis their dealing with the civilian government depends on the personality of one man," he said.

Khan said that the positive side of his relationship with the then-army chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa was his government having the "organised strength of Pakistan army to help us".
Kolkata, Feb 12 : With Trinamool Congress strongman and Birbhum unit President Anubrata Mondal in jail for his alleged involvement in the multi-crore cattle smuggling scam in West Bengal, infighting in party's district unit seems to have risen.

On Sunday afternoon, Kajal Sheikh, representing the anti-Mondal lobby in Birbhum unit of Trinamool and recently included in the district core committee, alleged that despite being behind the bars, Mondal is still controlling the party's organisational affairs.

Sheikh also alleged that Mondal, currently lodged in the Asansol Special Correctional Home in West Burdwan district, had been speaking regularly on his mobile phone with Trinamool legislator from Suri Assembly constituency of Birbhum, Bikash Roy Chowdhury.

"Everything will be clear if the call-lists are cross-checked. Probably that is why Bikash Roy Chowdhury is operating as per Mondal's directions. The clear instructions from West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to convene a district core committee meeting was overruled. How can there be a district committee meeting of the party before the core committee meeting?" Sheikh questioned.

Since the time Mondal was arrested last year, factionalism and infighting had cropped up. In fact, last month during her tour to Birbhum, Banerjee had announced that for now onwards, she will herself supervise her party's organisational activities there.

"The absence of Anubrata Mondal will not make much difference. Everyone in the district will have to work unitedly for the forthcoming panchayat elections. I will personally oversee the district organisation affairs in Birbhum," she reportedly said at a meeting with the members of her party's district committee then.
London, Feb 12 : Practicing Sikhs in the UK face the risk of being unlawfully banned from entering courthouses or tribunals in England and Wales under present guidelines over kirpan (ceremonial dagger).

Sikh lawyer Jaskeerat Singh Gulshan challenged the security policy of the courts and tribunals concerning kirpans in a case which was heard this week by the lord chief justice and the vice-president of the court of appeal, The Guardian reported.

Practising, or Amritdhari Sikhs, are required to carry Kirpan at all times along with other articles of faith.

Gulshan launched a legal battle after he felt humiliated at Ealing Magistrates' Court where he was barred from entering till he removed his kirpan in 2021.

He was carrying a Kirpan with an overall length of eight inches, and the length of the blade was four inches, which was within the permissible limit, according to him.

As per the prevailing guidelines, Sikhs are allowed to bring a kirpan into a court or tribunal building if the overall length is no more than six inches and the blade is no more than five inches in length, the report stated.

But according to Gulshan, these measurements are physically impossible as a Kirpan with four inches of blade cannot have two inches for the handle and sheath.

"In light of the HMCTS (HM Courts and Tribunals Service) guidance as it currently stands, it is apparent that a Sikh lawyer ... cannot expect to practice law because he has effectively been banned from appearing in court in violation of his right to carry a kirpan as protected by UK legislation," Gulshan's barrister, Parminder Saini, told the lord chief justice and the vice-president of the court of appeal, The Guardian report said.

"Sikhs are unique in being a protected religion as well as a race. As a person of Sikh ethnicity, this systemic discriminatory treatment therefore occurs on both religious and ethnic grounds, and equates to systematic discrimination against Sikhs," Saini added.

In its argument, the government said that the security policy came into force after consulting the Sikh community.

In reply to this, Saini said the government spoke with the smaller Supreme Sikh Council and not the Sikh Council UK, which is the community's largest platform in the country, the report said.

Sukhjeevan Singh from the Sikh Council UK, said in his submission to the court that "to design and manufacture such a kirpan would be a mockery of our sacred article of faith".

Saini said the court's guidance is unlawful because it seeks to overrule primary legislation -- it is not an offence to carry an article with a blade in a public place if a person has the article with him for religious reasons.

To this, the government argued that permission to appeal should be refused because the policy falls under the legitimate aim of protecting the security of others. Saini's objections, they said, are "a misreading of primary legislation".
Dausa : Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, MoS VK Singh and others during the inauguration of the Delhi-Dausa-Lalsot section of Delhi Mumbai Expressway, in Dausa,on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2023. (Photo Image Source: IANS News

Dausa : Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, MoS VK Singh and others during the inauguration of the Delhi-Dausa-Lalsot section of Delhi Mumbai Expressway, in Dausa,on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2023. (Photo Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi : A view of Delhi Mumbai Expressway which will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi today,in Dausa on Sunday, February 12, 2023. (Photo:IANS/Twitter) Image Source: IANS News

Dausa : Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Union Minister Nitin Gadkari during the inauguration of the Delhi-Dausa-Lalsot section of Delhi Mumbai Expressway, in Dausa,on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2023. (Photo:PIB/IANS) Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, Feb 12 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Delhi-Dausa-Lalsot section of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway in Rajasthan's Dausa on Sunday.

He also laid the foundation stone for 247 km of national highway projects to be developed at a cost of more than Rs 5,940 crore.

The inauguration of the highway section in Rajasthan holds a political significance as the state will go to the Assembly polls in December.

"The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is one of the most advanced expressways in the world which presents a grand picture of developing India," he said on the occasion.

"For the last nine years, the Central government is continuously making huge investments in infrastructure. This budget has allocated Rs 10 lakh crores for infrastructure which is five times more than the allocation in 2014," he said in the presence of Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.

He informed the gathering that in the "in past few years, Rajasthan has received Rs 50,000 crore for highways".

"Delhi-Mumbai Expressway and the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor are going to become two strong pillars of progress for Rajasthan and the country," Prime Minister Modi added.

The 246 km Delhi - Dausa-Lalsot section of the Delhi Mumbai Expressway has been developed at a cost of more than Rs 12,150 crore.

The operationalisation of this section will reduce the travel time from Delhi to Jaipur from the existing five hours to around 3.5 hours and provide a major boost to the economic development of the entire region.

Delhi-Mumbai Expressway will be India's longest expressway with a length of 1,386 km.

It will reduce the travel distance between Delhi and Mumbai by 12 per cent from 1,424 km to 1,242 km and travel time will be reduced by 50 per cent from 24 hours to 12 hours. It will pass through six states - Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra and connect major cities like Kota, Indore, Jaipur, Bhopal, Vadodara and Surat.
South Africa: Ubuntu Awards honour trailblazers

South Africa has honoured the contribution made by those who have excelled in promoting the interests of the country on an international stage.

DIRCO [Department of International Relations and Cooperation] is honoured to shine a light on South Africans who have distinguished themselves in promoting our national interests, our talents, and values around the world as ambassadors of our country, said DIRCO Minister, Dr Naledi Pandor, at the Ubuntu Awards ceremony held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre on Saturday evening.

Pandor said the awards celebrate excellence and are the departments way of honouring excellence.

We are so excited to have this thrilling privilege of once again revealing the quality within South Africa to the world. Many are ordinary South Africans, who are honoured here for doing extraordinary things, Pandor said.

The Minister said the nominees and award recipients have each championed the essence of the meaning of ubuntu, an ancient African philosophy that speaks to having compassion for others and lending energy to uplifting communities.

The essence of ubuntu is a stress on the oneness we share. It reflects a humanist African philosophy that has been decimated and weakened largely by colonialism and sociology economic deprivation. It suggests community as a building block of society.

Essentially, it asserts that we are all bound together in ways that may be invisible to the eye. We achieve ourselves by sharing ourselves with others and caring for those around us, Pandor said.

She urged for cooperation in the many global challenges confronting the different countries of the world.

These challenges are so immense that they suggest that as leaders and communities, we must do more to actively live and breathe Ubuntu, [and take] action that is framed by justice for all people, and by the practice of fairness and equality regardless of race, gender or social status.

As a global community, we must be [enjoined to address] climate change, migration, disease, human trafficking terrorism and hunger. Our help must uplift communities and not increase their vulnerability, the Minister said.

She said the rescue efforts in earthquake-ravaged Turkey and Syria indicate commitment in caring for one another.

We commend all those South Africans and global citizens who are showing the spirit of ubuntu as they offer humanitarian support. We also laud all who are contributing in many different forms of support.

For us working in the domain of international cooperation and diplomacy, I am pleased to share with South Africans that working with the countries gathered in this room, we are striving to partner in addressing the difficult challenges facing South Africa, Pandor said.

The Minister said South Africa is delighted to chair BRICS [Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa] this year.

The chosen theme by South Africa is, BRICS and Africa: Partnership for Mutually Accelerated Growth, Sustainable Development, and Inclusive Multilateralism.

Our theme and priorities reflect our foreign policy focus of advancing in partnership. We cannot neglect the critical task of developing our continent Africa and the global South.

One of the issues which will be discussed in BRICS is how to restructure the global, political, economic and financial architecture so that it becomes more balanced, representative, inclusive, and equitable, Pandor said.

Award winners

Popular South African musician, Makhadzi, received an award in the category of Arts and Culture Diplomacy.

She is known to many music lovers for her hit songs, Tshanda Vhuya and Matorokisi.

Makhadzi was among the performers at the 2020 DStv Mzansi Viewers Choice Awards. She has performed in France, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.

I am happy to receive the award. This really shows that hard works pays off, she said in her acceptance speech.

Makhadzi has represented South African music in other countries.

Wherever I go to perform, I perform in my mother tongue. I am proud to be a South African. Music and dancing is what I do best, an elated Makhadzi said.

She told SAnews that music is her life and that she loves entertaining people.

Singing and entertaining people is what I do best. I dont see myself doing anything else other than entertaining people.

Another artist who received an award in the same category was Abigail Kubeka. The renowned Kubeka is a professional actress, film, television and cabaret star.

In the Ubuntu Economic Diplomacy category, the award went to Shoprite, which has over 500 stores and over 20 million shoppers across the continent.

Also in the same category, Theo Baloyi, a South African entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of Bathu Shoes, was also awarded.

He launched his eponymous shoe brand in 2015, having previously served as a Senior Associate at PwC in Dubai. He was featured in the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2019. In 2021, he won GQ's Business Leader of the Year.

In the Ubuntu Youth Diplomacy category, the award was received by Nsovo Mayimele, who is a pharmacist and lecturer at the Tshwane University of Technology.

Mayimele has served South Africa and the global community through her skills in healthcare, development and policy. She is an award-winning contributor, scientist and voice for advocacy in access to healthcare and womens health.

The Ubuntu Awards were launched in 2015 and have since become a platform for celebrating the achievements and contributions of those who work tirelessly to promote SAs image.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2023-02-12. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
DPP authorities obstruct mainland delegation's trip to Taiwan to mourn Master Hsing Yun: spokesperson

Xinhua) 10:20, February 12, 2023

BEIJING, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese mainland delegation was unable to go to Taiwan to pay tribute to Master Hsing Yun due to obstruction from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities, a mainland spokesperson said Saturday.

Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said the mainland has attached great importance to the passing of Master Hsing Yun, founder of the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist order in Taiwan. Master Hsing Yun passed away on Feb. 5 in Taiwan.

At the invitation of Fo Guang Shan, a 38-member delegation comprised of personnel from the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, the National Religious Affairs Administration, the Buddhist Association of China and relevant departments of Jiangsu Province had planned to travel to Taiwan to mourn Master Hsing Yun from Saturday to Tuesday, according to Zhu.

However, the trip could not take place due to the obstruction of the DPP authorities, Zhu said.

Zhu pointed out that the DPP authorities, in disregard of basic humanitarianism, flagrantly rejected the delegation's entry to Taiwan, making the ceremonies to remember Master Hsing Yun incomplete. The acts of the DPP authorities severely hurt the feelings of the believers of Fo Guang Shan, and would find no support, Zhu added.

The mainland will pay respect to Master Hsing Yun on Sunday at the temple he helped develop in Yixing of Jiangsu Province.

(Web editor: Xian Jiangnan, Sheng Chuyi)
A seven-week-old baby girl who has been fighting for her life in a Bali hospital is on a medical flight back to Australia, 7News has reported.

The family from Melbourne were on holiday when Lucky's mum Honey Ahimsa noticed her baby was struggling to breathe and rushed her to hospital last week, where the family have been since.

The family were distraught that their baby girl Lucky in Bali was fighting for her life. Source: Bailey Scarlett

Lucky remained on a ventilator while local doctors desperately tried to understand what was wrong. The family reached out to medical specialists across the globe in search for the answer.

A team from Queensland Medical Rescue have flown to Bali to offer medical assistance, with Lucky now on her way to hospital in Brisbane.

Bali hospital 'not equipped' to deal with severe cases

Speaking to Yahoo News Australia last week, family friend Bailey Scarlett echoed the family's belief that the health system in Indonesia was not able to offer Lucky all the help she required.

There were concerns that the seven-week-old would not be strong enough to fly but it is reported the aircraft she is travelling back to Australia in on Monday morning is fully equipped with an intensive care unit and several specialist health professionals.

Lucky will reportedly be transported directly to hospital on arrival and be treated for a severe bacterial infection.

In attempt to raise as much awareness about Lucky's illness as possible, loved ones have been reaching out to media outlets, with Ms Scarlett leading the charge. She also has been caring for Lucky's four-year-old brother Hendrix while Honey and partner Pan were at their baby's side in hospital.

Another family friend Natalie Sapir set up a GoFundMe page which has exceeded their original $90,000 goal, covering the cost of the medical evacuation, and is currently sitting at over $192,000.

Treatment at the Bali hospital was costing upwards of $8,000 per day according to Ms Scarlett.

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Chennai, Feb 12 : In a major crime spree, a gang of robbers looted four ATM machines, located around 20 km from each other at various places on the Cuddalore-Chitoor road (NH 38) in Tamil Nadu's Tiruvannamalai district early on Sunday, police said.

The beat police personnel, who were on routine rounds, found the damaged ATMs and informed the police station. Of the four ATMs that were looted, two are located near the bus stand on the Thandrampattu main road and near Mariamman temple within Tiruvannamalai town.

The third is located near the railway station in Polur town and the fourth near the Government Boys high school in Kalasapakkam town.

Police said that the burglary would have happened after 2 am on Sunday and gas welding machines were used to cut open the chest and rob the ATM.

The suspects, according to the police, have set fire to all the ATMs after looting the money. The ATM of India One did not have any CCTV cameras while all three SBI ATMs were equipped with CCTV cameras.

The three SBI ATMs had money to the tune of Rs 30 lakh (Thandrampattu branch), Rs 33 lakh (Mariamman branch), and Rs 20 lakh (Polur town), while the fourth ATM in Kalasapakkam town had Rs 3 lakh.
Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 12 : Lashing out against Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that Kerala is a safe place to reside for people of all castes, creed and religions.

He was responding to a speech of Amit Shah at Puthur in Mangalore on Saturday in which the Union Minister had warned the people that if the BJP didnot return back to power, the state would be like Kerala.

Vijayan, while speaking at a public function in Kottayam, said that the Union Home Minister had said that he does not want to speak further on Kerala and asked the Union minister what was there to speak.

He said that Kerala was a place where there was no demarcation among anyone and people were living in close amity in the state.

The Kerala Chief Minister also said that unemployment and poverty were at their zenith in the country and added that the administration must be for the poor and not for the well-to-do people.

He also said that those who cannot properly administer the country were trying to create a wedge between people in a communal manner and added that Kerala was an exception to such matters.

The Kerala Chief Minister also said that the people of the state will not allow the state to change from the present situation of people living in harmony and amity.
Bengaluru, Feb 12 : The "largest-ever" US delegation participating at the Aero India 2023, signifies the growing Indo-US ties in various sectors, US Charge d'Affaires A. Elizabeth Jones said on Sunday.

Jones, who will inaugurate the USA Partnership Pavilion at Aero India 2023 on Monday, said: "India and the United States are working together in so many ways to ensure a free and open, prosperous, connected, and resilient Indo-Pacific region, where our democracies can thrive. As partners, we're working together to address climate change; improve global health and prepare for new pandemics; cooperate on cyber challenges; build quality infrastructure; and ensure sustainable supply chains. We're strengthening our cooperation on critical technologies, from space components to semiconductors." Aero India 2023, the biennial air show that India hosts in Bengaluru, set for inauguration on Monday, has evolved into one of the prestigious air shows in this part of the world.

With a host of US aeronautical and aerospace companies setting up operations in India, the Bengaluru event offers the perfect setting for companies from both countries to explore new opportunities and strengthen connections.

Jedidiah P. Royal, the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs, who leads the US delegation of senior officials from the Department of Defense, said: "These close partnerships have generated tens of thousands of jobs in India and enabled critical transfers of technology and manufacturing expertise to India. US companies have established engineering centers and manufacturing hubs and have also invested in building R&D centers that harness India's incredibly talented scientists and engineers to advance cutting- edge R&D projects." Among the major highlights throughout Aero India 2023, an F-16 Fighting Falcon duo, one of the US Air Force's leading fighter jets, will conduct daily aerial demonstrations. The F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornet, the US Navy's most advanced frontline carrier-based, multi-role strike fighter available today, will be on static display.

Major General Julian C. Cheater, Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force, International Affairs, said: "As democracies bookending the Indo-Pacific, the United States and India share a common vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific. That shared vision is strengthened by world-class events like Aero India where we are able to engage in-person to increase trust and understanding." Leading US defence companies participating in Aero India 2023 with exhibits in the US Partnership Pavilion include Aero Metals Alliance, Aerospace Industries Association (AIA), Astronautics Corporation of America, Boeing, Defense Security Cooperation Agency, GE Aerospace, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc, Hi-Tech Import Export Corporation, Jonal Laboratories, Inc., Kallman Worldwide, Inc., Lockheed Martin, Pratt & Whitney, TW Metals, LLC, and United Performance Metals.

Rear Admiral Michael Baker, the Defense Attache at the US Embassy in New Delhi, said: "As we mark the one-year anniversary of the US Indo-Pacific Strategy, we are excited to be in Bengaluru for Aero India. The US-India Defence relationship is an important element of that strategy - and our defence partnership is stronger than ever. This week you will have the chance to see American Air power operating alongside the Indian Air Force: we plan to have a variety of aircraft here, one of our largest delegations ever, and the US Air Force Pacific Band who will perform at venues around Bengaluru."
Gurugram, Feb 12 : Atleast 35 candidates have showed interest in contesting the upcoming Manesar Municipal Corporation (MCM) elections in Gurugram on BJP ticket.

The civic body comprises a total of 20 wards, and is expected to go to the poll in March-April.

Apart from this, over a dozen of contestants have come forward for the Mayor's election, a party source claimed.

For the first time, the Mayor in Manesar will be elected directly through the municipal polls.

These candidates also submitted their bio-data during a recently held meeting chaired by Haryana former Education Minister and Election in-charge of MCM Ram Bilas Sharma.

In a few wards, not even a single contestant came forward, while the party was expecting that it would get at least four to five claimants in each ward, but it did not happen, the sources elaborated.

The election in-charge of MCM on Saturday said: "The dedicated workers will be given a strong hold on the upcoming corporation elections." "For this, an internal survey will be conducted, and based on the report, the organisation will start ticket distribution," he said.

"During the meeting, bio-data of the workers willing to contest the mayor's election were sought from Manesar Corporation. More than a dozen workers have submitted their profiles before the senior party leader," Sharma said.

The former minister said, "The election date will be decided by the Election Commission, but the party organisation is fully prepared for the upcoming Manesar Corporation Elections."
Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 12 : Veteran Congress leader and former Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, who has been ailing for a few months, was airlifted to Bengaluru on Sunday.

His wife, Mariamma Oommen, son Chandy Oomen, and daughters Maria and Achu accompanied him on the special chartered flight, arranged by the Congress.

The former Chief Minister was not keeping well since 2019 and had undergone laser surgery for a throat ailment at a hospital in Germany. He was under treatment at a multi-specialty hospital in Bengaluru but had later returned back to Thiruvananthapuram.

However, there were reports in the past few days that proper care was not being taken of him and later, he was taken to a private hospital in Neyyatinakara near here for treatment of pneumonia. After a few days of treatment, Chandy's health condition improved.

On his way to the airport, Chandy denied reports that had appeared in a section of the media that his family had delayed his treatment.

"I don't know how such reports have come stating that my family delayed my treatment. This pained me and my family members," he said.

Congress General Secretary, K.C. Venugopal had met the former Chief Minister at the hospital and conveyed the party's decision to provide all the treatment to Chandy as also the chartered flight to airlift him to Bengaluru.

A controversy erupted after Oomen Chandy's younger brother Alex Chandy and some other relatives had written a letter to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan seeking his intervention to provide treatment to the former Chief Minister, and this was picked up by a section of the media.
Kolkata, Feb 12 : BJP national President J.P. Nadda, at his twin rallies in West Bengal on Sunday, launched a scathing attack against Trinamool Congress claiming that "extortion-mafia-corruption" is the other name of the ruling party in the state.

The contents of his speech at the two rallies, first being at Purbasthali in Est Burdwan district and the second being at Kanthi in East Midnapore district were more or less the same.

During his speech he drew a comparative between the "progress of India in the world under the leadership of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi" and the "backwardness of West Bengal under the leadership of the chief minister Mamata Banerjee".

"There has been rampant corruption in implementation of the Prime Minister Awas Yojana in West Bengal. The money allotted for the food ration system for the poor people has been looted by the ruling party leaders. Despite having a woman as the Chief Minister, the rate of crime against women in West Bengal is among the highest in the national perspective. Trinamool Congress is equivalent to 'extortion-mafia-corruption'," he claimed.

On the other hand, he said, the Prime Minister- led Union government does not differentiate among people. "It is because of the Covid-19 vaccine invested in India that so many people are sitting here without any mask. India is now providing vaccines to 100 countries, out of which 43 countries are given it free of cost. From the position of a 'taker' India has reached the position of a 'giver' under the leadership of Narendra Modi," Nadda said.

He also directly attacked Mamata Banerjee. "The Chief Minister's name is Mamata which means affection. I wonder since when she has adopted the path of brutality," Nadda said.

Ridiculing the statements made by him, Trinamool General Secretary and party spokesman Kunal Ghosh said that such tall talks does not suit Nadda, who despite being BJP's national President, could not ensure his party's victory in his own state of Himachal Pradesh in the recently concluded Assembly elections there.
Mumbai, Feb 12 : The opposition in Maharashtra erupted into joyous celebrations as the President accepted Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari's resignation and named Ramesh Bais as the new Governor on Sunday.

Top leaders of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance comprising Congress, Nationalist Congress Party, Shiv Sena-UBT and others termed it as a "welcome" and "long overdue" development.

Governor for 42 months since September 2019, Koshyari, 80, goes into retirement as per his own request made to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in January which has been acceded to.

From its 31-month long tenure, the MVA harbours a host of unpleasant memories of their political tussle with the Governor, and even his controversial remarks against top state icons like Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Dr B.R. Ambedkar, Mahatma Jyotirao Phule and Savitri Phule, the slight of the Marathis vis-a-vis Gujaratis-Marwaris, and many other happenings.

NCP President Sharad Pawar said: "Maharashtra has become free. He should have been removed much earliera The decision has come now. Such a Governor was never seen in Maharashtra's history." "It's a big win for Maharashtra! The resignation of the Governor has finally been accepted. He who constantly insulted Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Mahatma Jyotirao Phule and Savitri Phule, our Constitution, Assembly and democratic ideals, cannot be accepted as Governor," declared Sena-UBT's Aditya Thackeray.

"Finally, he has to go... he has been given an exit though he insulted the state repeatedly. The people of Maharashtra know how to take their revenge," said state Congress President Nana Patole.

Some like NCP state President Jayant Patil also expressed cautious hopes that the new Governor should not be a puppet of the Bharatiya Janata Party like Koshyari.

Other senior leaders of all the three parties like Naseem Khan, Atul Londhe, Ajit Pawar, Supriya Sule, Dilip Walse-Patil, Dr. Jitendra Awhad, Sanjay Raut, Arvind Sawant, Dr. Manisha Kayande, and many more expressed their sentiments at the Governor's impending departure after his turbulent tenure, some saying "finally the state has been spared".

On the other hand, BJP leaders like Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, ministers Chandrakant Patil, Nitesh Rane, ex-MP Kirit Somaiya and more bid a farewell to the Governor and recalled his dedicated services to the state.

Last month, Koshyari had expressed his desire to spend the rest of his life in reading, writing and other leisurely activities.

"I was an absolute honour and privilege for me to serve as the Rajya Sevak or Rajyapal of a great state like Maharashtra - the land of Saints, Social reformers and valiant fighters," Koshyari said.

"I can never forget the love and affection I have received from the people of Maharashtra during the last little more than 3 years," he said.
Amaravati, Feb 12 : Exuding confidence that Telugu Desam Party (TDP) will form the government again in Andhra Pradesh, party's national General Secretary, Nara Lokesh, on Sunday promised that it will bring down the prices of diesel and petrol.

Lokesh, who was on his padayatra 'Yuva Galam', interacted with an autorickshaw driver in Gangadhara Nellore Assembly segment. When the TDP leader enquired about the diesel price, the auto driver replied that it is Rs 95.39 per litre. "How come you are getting it for a lesser price," Lokesh asked and the driver informed him that he fills the fuel in Tamil Nadu as he lives in the border area.

"It is certain that the TDP is going to come to power again and the taxes on fuel will be reduced to control the prices and there will be no need for you to cross the state border to fill uel to your vehicle," Lokesh told him.

Later, at Eedigapalle, the Gouda community representatives met Lokesh and submitted a memorandum to him explaining the problems they were facing. Responding to them, Lokesh promised all the steps to resolve their issues once the TDP is back in power and his party is committed to the welfare of the toddy-tapper community.

He also promised to take measures for construction of roads and also extend financial assistance and subsidies to them through the BC Welfare Corporation. "Our sole aim is this psycho should go and cycle should come back," Lokesh said.

"My mike may be grabbed from me but my voice can not be choked. The people are my strength. I always raise my voice against this atrocious rule," he said while addressing people at KM Puram of Karvetinagaram.

Pointing out that several leaders undertook padyatras earlier in the State, Lokesh asked why problems were being created only for him when he began his venture. "My campaign vehicle and sound system have been seized while my mike was grabbed from me by the police. But the police can not choke my voice and I will raise my tone even if there is no mike," he said.
Hyderabad, Feb 12 : Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Sunday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his recent speech in Parliament, saying it was the "most disgusting" speech.

Speaking in the state Assembly, Rao came down heavily on Modi for keeping the country in dark over Adani, "It was the most disgusting speech made by the honourable Prime Minister. I too had hoped that he would speak well at least in the other house because the country is in a critical situation," he said, referring to the Adani issue.

"Rs 10 lakh crore is not a small issue. Crores of people are involved in this but he kept aside the turmoil. He did not say what he would do and kept the country in the dark," KCR, as the Chief Minister is popularly known, added.

Noting that the LIC had invested a lot in Adani Group, he claimed that ever since the scam broke out, billions had evaporated. The entire nation was keen to know what the Centre would do on the Adani issue but he did not utter a word.

KCR said there was no assurance, or no mention of constituting a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) as demanded by the opposition.

He referred to The Economist magazine's story on the Adani episode being a test for Indian capitalism.

Replying to debate on the Appropriation Bill, KCR predicted that the BJP regime would see its end in 2024 and the "repression" and "arrogance" of the Modi government would not last long.

He recalled that after the Bangladesh war, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was hailed as invincible but people had voted out the Congress government.

"Power is temporary and people will teach a fitting lesson with their votes," he said.

KCR said that in 2014 people believed in the BJP and made Modi the Prime Minister, but the country's situation has turned from bad to worse since then.

Citing facts and figures from the Comptroller Auditor General of India, he highlighted the failures of the Modi government.

KCR said had the country performed well as it did during Manmohan Singh's rule, Telangana's GSDP would have been Rs 16 lakh crore against the present Rs 13 lakh crore. He claimed that due to the BJP's failure, Telangana had lost Rs 3 lakh crore.

The BRS leader said that though Manmohan Singh had performed better than Modi, he never boasted about his achievements and went about his job quietly. On the contrary, the BJP government was making tall claims with false achievements despite failing on all fronts. He referred to a book "The Lost Decade" written by journalist Puja Mehra.

He claimed that after the Modi government came to power, 20 lakh people had given up Indian citizenship.

KCR called for a debate on the BJP government's target of becoming a $5 trillion economy and remarked that it had now become a joke. He said that after all the hype, India managed to become just a $3.1 trillion economy. At least, the aim should have been higher and one should have vision and dare to dream, he said.

He pointed out the economy of the US is $25 trillion while that of China is $18.3 trillion.

He said the per capita income of a nation reveals the real story. Among 192 countries, India is 139th position while even Bangladesh, Bhutan and Sri Lanka were ahead in terms of per capita income.

KCR slammed the Modi government for its discrimination towards Telangana. He pointed out that the Centre announced 157 medical colleges across the country, but not even one was sanctioned for Telangana.

He said he was appealing to the Prime Minister with folded hands to stop discriminating against Telangana. "Telangana is a contributor to the national development. We will definitely cooperate with you and request you to cooperate with us," he said.
Srinagar, Feb 12 : Pakistan-based handlers are pushing drugs into Jammu and Kashmir to spread drug addiction among youth, police said on Sunday after arresting drug peddlers from Baramulla district.

Police said in a major breakthrough, four drug peddlers were arrested in Baramulla and a huge consignment of contraband, along with cash, was recovered from their possession.

"Based on specific information regarding smuggling of narcotics in the area of Kamalkote Uri, a police party led by incharge PP Kamalkote under the supervision of SDPO, Uri, Showkat Ali established a special checkpoint at Sultan Daki Kali Mitti. During checking, a vehicle (Tata Sumo) bearing registration No. JK05D-3680 with four persons on board was intercepted and tried to fleet but was stopped by the alert police party," police said.

"During search of the said vehicle, cash amount of Rs 25,39,000 and 1.17 kg of Brown Sugar like substance was recovered." The four accused persons identified as Naseer Ahmad Bhatti, Reyaz Ahmad Khanday, Fayaz Ahmad Khanday, and Mohd Pazeer, all residents of Madiyan Kamalkote Uri, were arrested and taken to the police station.

"During preliminarily investigation, it was learnt that under a well hatched conspiracy, Pakistan based handlers are pushing drugs inside J&K through such smugglers to spread drug addiction among youth of J&K. Further investigation into the case is going on," police said.
Almost every public high school in the Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES region scored graduation rates above the state average last year, but five out of the nine schools had year-to-year decreases, according to new data from the state Education Department.

Eight of the nine schools in the region reported a graduation rate above the state average of 87% for August 2022, data posted by the state earlier this month showed. The one exception, Auburn High School, had an August 2022 graduation rate of 74%, while every other local school district had high school graduation rates of at least 90%.

While most were above the state average, the majority of the nine area high schools experienced graduation rate reductions compared with the previous year, with Auburn, Jordan-Elbridge, Moravia, Skaneateles and Southern Cayuga posting lower numbers in 2022 in than in 2021.

A total of 236 students graduated from Auburn High School as of August 2022 out of 319 students who entered high school in 2018, the data show. Auburn's August 2021 graduation rate was 77%, with 222 students graduating out of a group of 290 seniors. Auburn's graduating class of over 200 students was by far the largest of any of the Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES high schools last year. Skaneateles High School had the second highest graduating class, with 105 students.

The 87% statewide graduation rate was up from 86.1% in the prior year. One factor for graduation rates in recent years has been the COVID-19 pandemic exemptions that were in place in 2020 and 2021 for Regents exams. Students normally need to pass at least four of the exit exams  in English, math, science and social studies  but in the wake of educational disruptions due to COVID-19, the state said it was enough that students passed the courses.

"New York's graduation rate continues its steady, upward trend," state Education Department spokeswoman Emily DeSantis said in a statement. "Despite the sustained trajectory, additional work must be done to improve student outcomes for all students, especially our most vulnerable populations."

Two area school districts saw their high school graduation numbers drop by over five percentage points last year, such as the Southern Cayuga Junior-Senior High School going from 98% in August 2021, with 49 out of 50 students graduating, to 90% in 2022, with 52 out of 58 students graduating. Moravia Junior-Senior High School had the next biggest decrease, falling from 97% to 90%, with 63 out 70 students earning their diplomas.

Four Cayuga County-area districts  Cato-Meridian, Port Byron, Union Springs and Weedsport  saw year-to-year increases in their graduation numbers. Port Byron and Weedsport tied for the highest graduation rate out of the nine local public schools, as both had 98% rates as of August 2022.

Union Springs High School had the biggest local year-to-year upswing, from an August 2021 graduation rate of 90%, representing 44 out of 49 students graduating, to a 96% rate one year later, with 46 out of 48 students graduating.

Dr. Jarett Powers, superintendent of the Union Springs Central School District, told The Citizen Friday that the district is happy to see "that our students are successful, and are able to graduate as we expect them to. We're very proud of their accomplishments, and we're excited to see where their success takes them."

Noting that the COVID-19 pandemic prompted different challenges over the last few school years, Powers talked about what he attributes the high school's graduation rate increase to.

"It's an effort on the part of our students, on the part of their families, on the part of our teachers and support staff, our administration and everyone sort of working together to create positive outcomes for kids," he said. "I would attribute it to the resiliency of our community to come together and prioritize education during a series of challenging years."

Adding that the district ultimately wants to see every student graduate, Powers said "we want everyone to know that we're going to continue to work hard to help ensure that every kid achieves and graduates. That's the business of our business, right? It's student learning and achievement."

Cayuga County-area graduation rates August four-year graduation rates for the public high schools in the Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES region, according to the state Education Department: High school 2021 2022 Auburn 77% 74% Cato-Meridian 91% 94% Jordan-Elbridge 93% 91% Moravia 97% 90% Port Byron 96% 98% Skaneateles 96% 95% Southern Cayuga 98% 90% Union Springs 90% 96% Weedsport 93% 98%
New Delhi, Feb 12 : Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat will deliver the keynote address on the inaugural day of the annual meeting of the river cities alliance (RCA), which would be held in Pune between February 13 and 14.

Being organised by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), the annual meeting of RCA, which is known as 'Driving holistic action for urban rivers' (DHARA), it will provide a platform for senior officials including Commissioners, Additional Commissioners, Chief Engineers and senior planners of the 95-member river cities in India to co-learn and discuss solutions for managing local water bodies.

The event has strong synergies with the Urban20 (U20) initiative under the ambit of India's G20 presidency. One of the thrust areas of U20 is to promulgate urban water security, and healthy rivers have a vital role to play in enhancing the overall water security of the city.

DHARA 2023 will witness multiple sessions over the two-day event that include sessions on 'National Case Studies on Innovative River-related Practices' to introduce the participants to several unique and innovative solutions for different aspects of urban river management involving lake and pond rejuvenation, de-centralised used-water management, enhancing river-related economy, groundwater management, and flood management and 'International Case Studies' to focus on innovative river-related practices in countries like Denmark, reuse of used water in Israel, floodplain management in the Netherlands, river health monitoring in the US, pollution control in Japan, and water sensitive city design in Australia.
New Delhi, Feb 12 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the 14th edition of 'Aero India 2023' at Air Force Station, Yelahanka in Bengaluru on Monday.

The Asia's largest aero show will showcase the country's progress in design leadership, growth in UAVs Sector, Defence Space and futuristic technologies. Further, it will also promote the export of indigenous air platforms like Light Combat Aircraft (LCA)-Tejas, HTT-40, Dornier Light Utility Helicopter (LUH), Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) and Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH).

Being organised in an area of around 35,000 sq metre, it will be the biggest-ever event till date, and is likely to witness the participation of 98 countries.

The Defence Ministers of 32 countries, Air Chiefs of 29 countries and 73 CEOs of global and Indian OEMs are expected to attend the event.

As many as 809 defence companies, including MSMEs and start-ups, will showcase the advancement in niche technologies and the growth in aerospace and defence sector.

According to the Ministry of Defence, the major exhibitors include Airbus, Boeing, Dassault Aviation, Lockheed Martin, Israel Aerospace Industry, BrahMos Aerospace, Army Aviation, HC Robotics, SAAB, Safran, Rolls Royce, Larsen & Toubro, Bharat Forge Limited, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) and BEML Limited.

About five lakh visitors are expected to attend the event physically and many millions more will connect through television and internet.

As per the ministry, the focus will be on showcasing indigenous equipment, technologies and establishing partnerships with foreign companies, in line with 'Make in India, Make for the World' vision for a secure and prosperous future.

Addressing the curtain raiser programme on February 12, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that the Aero India 2023 will showcase the country's manufacturing prowess and the progress achieved towards realising the 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' as envisioned by the Prime Minister. This event will significantly contribute to the development of the aerospace and aviation sector, he asserted.

February 13-15 will be business days, while February 16-17 will be for public visit. The event comprises a Defence Ministers' Conclave, a CEOs Round Table, Manthan start-up event, Bandhan ceremony, breath-taking air shows, a large exhibition, India Pavilion and a trade fair of aerospace companies.

The Defence Minister termed the record international participation as the reflection of not just India's buyer-seller ties with different countries, but also their shared vision of global prosperity.

"Spanning five days, the event, on the theme 'The runway to a billion opportunities', will radiate the rise of a strong and self-reliant 'New India' by displaying India's growth in aerospace and defence capabilities... It will integrate domestic MSMEs and start-ups in global supply chain and attract foreign investments including the partnerships for co-development and co-production," Singh added.
Agartala, Feb 12 : Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said that the February 16 Tripura Assembly elections is a battle between double engine versus triple "Apad" (trouble-makers) -- Left parties-Congress and the Tipra Motha Party.

He claimed that the Congress and Left regimes were full of corruption and violence and if any one voted for them, the three 'Apad' would facilitate the return of corruption, violence and "cadre raj" in Tripura.

Addressing election rallies in Chandipur in northern Tripura and Charilam in western Tripura, he said that "Cadre Raj" has dominated during the 25 years rule of the Left.

"The CPI-M forged alliance with Congress means they conceded defeat to the BJP. The Left party realised that they could not defeat the BJP. During the Left government, hundreds of Congress workers were murdered. Despite this, the Congress forged an alliance with the Left," Shah said.

The Communists have finished from the entire world and the Congress finished from the country, he claimed.

Without naming CPI-M state Secretary Jitendra Chowdhury, Shah claimed that the Left betrayed and deprived tribals for a long time in Tripura and now projecting a tribal leader as the chief ministerial face in the elections to "dupe" people.

Chowdhury, a CPI-M Central Committee member, is contesting the elections from the Sabroom constituency in southern Tripura.

Shah claimed there are so many corruption cases in Left and Congress regimes in various sectors and added that there is not a single case of corruption in the five-year rule of BJP in Tripura.

"Drug peddling and its extreme menace were at the peak of the Left regime and the BJP, after coming to power in 2018 launched a war against drugs to make Tripura a drugs drug-free state," he said.

Promising two gas cylinders to every poor household, he said that the saffron party-led government has already provided piped water connections, electricity and provided concrete houses to lakhs of families and these welfare activities would be stepped up after the BJP retained power for the second time.

"Modiji has restored peace in Tripura by signing an agreement with the NLFT (National Liberation Front of Tripura) militant outfit. Providing settlement to the 37,000 displaced Reang tribals, the 26 years old uncertainty of these tribal communities was resolved," Shah said.

"By 2025, every eligible family would get a house under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and 50,000 college girls will get scooties, Rs 200 crore would be invested in the tea and rubber industry, farmers would get Rs 8000 per month and every tea worker's family would be allotted two Ganda (1,728 sq.ft.) land," he added.

Shah also participated in a roadshow at Pratapgarh on the outskirts of the capital city on Sunday.

During the last three days, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, BJP National President J.P. Nadda, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Sarbananda Sonowal, Kiran Rijiju, Arjun Munda and many other party leaders and MPs have addressed over two dozens of election rallies across Tripura.

The Prime Minister is likely to address another election rally in Agartala on February 13, a day before the end of the campaign for the February 16 Assembly polls.
Amaravati, Feb 12 : Actor politician Pawan Kalyan on Sunday asked bureaucrats in Andhra Pradesh to take seriously the comments made by former Supreme Court judge Justice Gopal Gowda on the YSR Congress Party's "unruly governance".

The Jana Sena leader tweeted that people are watching the bureaucrats behaving like workers of the ruling party.

"People at the highest level are very closely watching each and every bureaucrat who's behaving like a YCP Karyakartha," he said.

"Karma is the universal law of cause and effect. You reap what you sow. Hope every bureaucrat who's blindly supporting the YCP would understand the concept called karma," wrote Pawan Kalyan.

He also shared a video of Justice Gopal Gowda's comments about violation of rule of law in the state.

Referring to the land pooling for Amaravati, the retired Supreme Court judge stated that there was breach of contract entered with the farmers of Amaravati for development of the state capitall.

Justice Gowsa had also stated that there was denial of fundamental rights in the case of Amaravati farmers protesting against the move to shift the capital. As many as 307 cases were foisted against farmers in an arbitrary exercise of power. He also mentioned brazen loot of natural resources and the curbs on activities of opposition parties.

Meanwhile, Pawan Kalyan has greeted former Supreme Court judge Justice S. Abdul Nazeer on his appointment as the new Governor of the state.

The Jana Sena leader noted that Justice Nazeer delivered several crucial judgments as a Supreme Court judge and brought honour to the position of judge by delivering unbiased judgments with the principles of framework of the Constitution.

"I hope that Justice Abdul Nazeer who had observed the present Indian society from the position of justice may be well aware of the situations prevailing in Andhra Pradesh. I wish he would instil the Constitution's spirit in the State with his vast experience as a judicial expert," Pawan Kalyan said in a statement.
Kathmandu, Feb 12 : Nepal's Defence Minister Hari Prasad Upreti on Sunday left on a five-day visit to India, during which he will attend the Aero India 2023 in Bengaluru.

This is the first high-level visit to India from Nepal after the formation of Pushpa Kamal Dahal aka Prachanda led government.

According to Nepal Defence Ministry spokesman, Nepal, a team led by Upreti is visiting India at the invitation of his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh. During the visit, besides other issues, there will be discussions on military and security cooperation between Nepal and India, and resumption of Agnipath recruitment from Nepal that has been halted since last year of August among others.

After recruitment under Agnipath caused a controversy in Nepal by some sections saying that the new Indian Army recruitment plan violates the 1947 tripartite agreement, the then government led by Sher Bahadur Deuba had communicated to New Delhi that the new government would take necessary decisions in this respect. After Deuba government handed over the responsibility to the new government formed in December 25, now it is up to the government led by Prachanda to take a call.

Aero India, which is called the largest air exhibition in Asia, has been held since 1996. However, the Chief of Army Staff has not yet participated in any of the programme.

The Ministry of Defence said that Upreti and his Indian counterpart will hold talks on the sideline of the expo.

Aero India 2023 will witness participation by more than 80 countries, while ministers of about 30 countries and 65 CEOs of global and Indian OEMs are likely to participate in it. The exhibition will witness the participation of more than 800 defence companies including around 100 foreign and 700 Indian companies.
New Delhi, Feb 12 : Delhi Lt Governor V.K. Saxena has recalled the files of infrastructure projects, interstate expressway and others pending for more than one month at the level of Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister Manish Sisodia, sources said on Sunday.

"Invoking his powers to recall files under Rule 19(5) of the Transaction of Business of the GNCTD Rules (ToBR), 1993, the LG has ordered to recall from the Home Department all such files that are pending for more than a month at the level of the Minister (Home), i.e. Manish Sisodia. The said Rule 19(5) of the ToBR, empowers the LG to recall files pending inordinately with Ministers/CM, in public interest," said a LG office source.

"These files have been inexplicably pending since years together due to inaction on part of the AAP government, although all statutory requisite formalities, procedures and permissions have been put in place, with regards to removal of unauthorised religious structures erected by land grabbers after 2009, when the Supreme Court barred any further occupation by such structures and ordered for their removal," the LG office said.

A Religious Committee was formed in 2014 in pursuance of the SC judgement, to consider and recommend removal of such unauthorised religious structures upon receipt of request by the land-owning agency concerned. The Committee is headed by the Delhi Home Secretary and comprises senior representatives from the Delhi Police and the land owning agencies in Delhi.

"Despite the recommendations of the Religious Committee, to remove 'unauthorised religious structures' that have held up several key developmental infrastructure projects in Delhi, the Home Department of Delhi Government headed by Manish Sisodia has kept 78 such proposals from various agencies pending since May 2022, prompting Lt. Governor, VK Saxena to recall these files," it added.

The proposals for removal of unauthorised religious structures pertain to the construction of Delhi-Saharanpur Expressway, government residential flats under General Pool Residential Accommodation (GPRA) at 7 locations pending since 2018 and decongestion of 77 corridors. The decongestion of the 77 corridors which is pending since 2017 due to the "inaction" of the Delhi government, is extremely critical for smooth traffic flow and mitigation of air pollution in the Capital, said the LG's office.

The Delhi-Saharanpur Expressway, which is a part of the Delhi-Dehradun Expressway, is a time-bound project being monitored at the PMO level and has been pending since 2018. The Home Department had even written to Sisodia requesting him to approve and forward these cases to the LG, but the files are still pending.

The construction of government residential flats and decongestion of 77 corridors, apart from several other projects of national significance, were also held up by the AAP government due to non-granting of permission for translocation of trees. "Compelled by this inexplicable and inordinate delay and non-adherence to his two letters to the CM in this regard, the LG, in December last year, recalled 11 files from the Delhi Government that were pending with the Minister of Environment and Forest, Gopal Rai." "However, once the LG Secretariat invoked Rule 19(5) of the ToBR to recall these files, the minister and the Chief Minister duly approved and signed the files within days and sent to the LG for approval. Upon receiving these files, the LG immediately approved the same, and works/construction activities have since started on these projects," the LG office said.
New Delhi, Feb 12 : Congress MP Rahul Gandhi has been asked to reply to breach of privilege notices regarding his remarks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi by February 15.

The breach of privilege notices was served on the Congress MP by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi and BJP MP Nishikant Dubey after Rahul Gandhi alleged that the Prime Minister had connections with billionaire Gautam Adani.

Rahul Gandhi made the accusation against the Prime Minister during his speech in Lok Sabha while participating in the discussion on motion of thanks on President's address.

The Congress MP had questioned Prime Minister Modi's links with Adani, while pointing out at the businessman's sudden rise in fortune after the BJP-led NDA came to power in 2014.

He had accused the Prime Minister of 'crony capitalism'.

According to Lok Sabha secretariat sources, the notices seek a response from the Congress leader for making "misleading, derogatory, unparliamentary, and incriminatory statements" during a discussion on the President's address in Lok Sabha on February 7.

In a letter dated February 10, the secretariat asked Rahul Gandhi to furnish his reply on the notices by February 15.

On February 8, Dubey had written to Speaker Om Birla, giving a notice of breach of privilege against Rahul Gandhi. The notice had accused the Congress leader of levelling allegations against Prime Minister Modi without any "documentary evidence" and of "misleading the house".
New Delhi, Feb 12 : Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind President Maulana Syed Arshad Madani stirred a controversy on Sunday after he claimed that 'Om and Allah are same'.

Madani made the remark during the 34th general session of Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan, after which Jain saint Acharya Lokesh Muni and several other religious leaders left the stage midway.

Madani said, "I asked dharma guru when there was no one, neither Shri Ram, nor Brahma, then whom did they worship to? Some people told me that they used to worship 'Om'. Then I told them that this means that there is only one 'Om or Allah', and both are the same, and it is the only thing Manu used to worship. There was no Shiv, no Brahma, but only one Om and Allah that was worshipped... Om is called Allah by us, Ishwar by you (Hindus), Khuda by Farsi-speaking people (Persian) and God by English-speaking people." Expressing displeasure over his remarks, Lokesh Muni and other religious leaders left the stage saying, "We only agree with living in harmony, but all the story regarding, Om, Allah, and Manu is all rubbish. He (Madani) completely spoiled the atmosphere of the session." Addressing the media, the Jain saint slammed Madani's controversial statement on religion and gods. He said, "Swami Chidanand Saraswati talked about love, I Jain Acharya Lokesh Muni talked about love, the statement given by Madani should not be taken seriously. We say that our parents have given us birth, god has not given birth to us. His statement is baseless. We believe in philosophy that our good work leads to good fortune and our misdeed leads to bad luck." "The stories he said, I can narrate even bigger stories than that. I would even request him (Madani) to come for a discussion with me, or even I can come to meet him in Saharanpur," he asserted.
New Delhi, Feb 12 : After Delhi Lt Governor V.K. Saxena on Sunday ordered recall of pending files of infrastructure projects from him, citing "inaction", Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia hit back, calling the allegations "baseless" and "cheap politics".

Sisodia said: "LG's allegations are completely baseless and cheap politics, which he does best. On one hand, he has withheld every single file of the Delhi government, on the other he is accusing us of not letting him demolish temples? The LG's actions raise doubts over his priorities. Why is he so keen to run bulldozers over temples in Delhi?" He said it is deeply unfortunate that the LG is choosing to play politics over such a sensitive matter that concerns dozens of old temples of Delhi. "Any decision over making any amendments to religious structures can not be taken in haste, let alone allowing them to be demolished. Is demolishing temples more important for the LG than sending government school teachers to Finland?" he asked.

"LG calls himself the 'local guardian' of Delhi, why doesn't he clear projects of public interest? Approval for appointment of principals, DERC Chairman, legal counsel pending with the LG. I fold my hands and beseech the LG to let the elected government function peacefully," Sisodia said responding to the allegations.

"The LG has held back the approval on the appointment of Principals on 244 posts and asked the department to conduct an assessment study to check whether these Principals are required in schools or not. These posts had been lying vacant for over the past five years. What kind of joke is this? It is baffling that he, despite being the LG of the national capital, has time to play petty politics but not clear public interest projects," he said.

Sisodia demanded that the LG and his office "should stop interfering" on the work of the elected government. "There are dozens of files pending for the LG to clear, he should look into those files instead of using his position to play politics. The LG's actions cast aspersions on his priorities."
Panaji, Feb 12 : Along with the state's people, Goans staying abroad or other Indian states too joined the 'Save Mhadei Save Goa' movement by lighting diyas and candles on Sunday evening to mark their support to save the river.

The 'Save Mhadei Save Goa' front had appealed to the people of Goa to light a candle or diya on Sunday evening, and share the images and videos of worshipping 'water' on social media, to mark their support.

Not only politicians, but people of all faiths supported the movement and vowed to protect the Mhadei. Youths were seen in large number supporting the cause.

Prof Prajal Sakhardande, convener of the campaign, had urged everyone to come together as one to participate in a united effort to save the 'revered' river Mhadei.

"Let us show the world that we are a people who cherish and protect the natural blessings of our land. Let us rise to the occasion and take a stand for the future generations to inherit a better world," he said.

While in north Goa people carried out rally with candles, in South Goa, people were seen gathered in groups and worshipping the 'water' by lighting diyas.

Ever since Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai announced that the Centre has cleared the much disputed Kalasa-Bhanduri dam project in his state, people have started holding public meetings against the Central government's decision.

Goa and Karnataka are currently battling out a dispute over the Kalasa-Bhanduri dam project across the water of Mhadei river at a central tribunal.

Mhadei originates in Karnataka and meets the Arabian Sea in Panaji. While the river traverses 28.8 km in Karnataka, it is 81.2 km in length in Goa.

Karnataka plans to construct dams on the river, aimed at diverting the water into its water-starved Malaprabha basin in the state's northern region.
Volvo is not keen to follow the trend of price reduction of electric cars, which has been set by Tesla. Tesla CEO Jim Rowan has said that the Swedish luxury car brand has no plan to reduce the pricing of its electric cars at this point, claims a report by Reuters. The automaker's stand comes at t time when Tesla has slashed prices of its EVs by up to 20 per cent, starting what some have dubbed an all-out EV price war.

However, Volvo has cleared that it is not interested in participating in the price war. The carmaker has cited strong demand and a solid backlog of orders for its EVs. We dont see (price cuts) at this point in time. Demand for our (battery electric vehicles) is the highest weve ever seen, the backlog for that as well," said Volvo CEO Jim Rowan.

Also Read : This BMW concept EV can share your moods with you

Several automakers, including Ford and some EV startups, have followed the trend and competitively reduced their respective EVs' pricing to match with Tesla. Ford has cut the price of its all-electric Mustang Mach-E by up to $5,900, while Lucid has started offering massive discounts. VinFast too planning promotions for its yet-to-be-delivered made-in-Vietnam EVs.

Also check these Cars Find more Cars Volvo Xc40 Recharge 78 kWh | Electric | Automatic | 418 Km 55.9 Lakhs* *Ex-showroom price Add to compare Check latest offers UPCOMING Tesla Model 3 70 - 90 Lakhs* *Expected Price View Details UPCOMING Tesla Model S 70 Lakhs - 1 Cr* *Expected Price View Details Audi Q3 1984 cc | Petrol | Automatic (DCT) | 14.93 kmpl | 188 bhp 44.89 - 50.39 Lakhs* *Ex-showroom price Add to compare Check latest offers Hyundai Ioniq 5 | Electric | Automatic 44.95 Lakhs* *Ex-showroom price Add to compare Mini Cooper Jcw 1998 cc | Petrol | Automatic (Torque Converter) | 17 kmpl 45.5 Lakhs* *Ex-showroom price Add to compare Check latest offers

However, there is a different picture as well. Volvo is not the only car brand that declared it would resist cutting prices for its electric vehicles. Volkswagen Groups CEO Oliver Blume, too, said that the German auto major has no plans to reduce the prices of EVs. He said that VW is focusing on reliability. He took a jab at Tesla EVs' lack of reliability. Renault, on the other hand, has echoed the same sentiment when it comes to reducing EV prices. VW-owned Porsche has in fact hinted at increasing EV prices.

Speaking about Volvo's sales performance, the automaker has registered three times growth in global plug-in vehicle sales in 2022, while the pure electric models accounted for 20 per cent of the total sales volume. This has been a record for the Geely-backed European car manufacturer.

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New Delhi, Feb 12 : The National Investigation Agency (NIA) said on Sunday that they have arrested two terror suspects in a case related to activities of the Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS).

The NIA on Saturday conducted raids in Bengaluru and Thane and detained the suspected persons. On Sunday, the agency confirmed that they have made two arrest in the matter.

The accused were identified as Mohammad Ari, a resident of Karnataka and Hamraz Worshid Shaikh, a resident of Maharashtra.

"Preliminary investigations have revealed that the accused, Arif and Shaikh were in contact with foreign-based online handlers affiliated to proscribed terrorist organisations. They had also made elaborate plans to leave for Afghanistan to progress their terrorist activities," the NIA said.

The suspected accused Arif was the first to be arrested by the NIA, he was planning to go Syria via Iraq to join ISIS. He was held from Bengaluru in a joint operation between Internal Security Division (ISD) of Bengaluru and the National Investigation Agency (NIA). Later on Shaikh was arrested.

The NIA sources have claimed that Arif was in touch with abroad-based terrorists and was held for his suspicious activities.

Sources said that Arif was allegedly radicalising gullibe youths. The Central agencies have found several suspected transactions made by him and done into his account.

The NIA recovered electronic gadgets from his possession and recovered tons of data from his laptop which is said to be highly objectionable and anti-India.

Arif was repoetedly working in a private tech firm as a software engineer.

Sources said that Arif was planning to flee Karnataka in the month of March and was about to sell all his home furniture and electronics gadgets online. The source claimed that Arif had also booked tickets for Iraq and from there he had planned to go to Syria.

"He confessed that he received money from abroad based handlers of ISIS and Al-Qaeda to radicalise youth. He wanted to join ISIS. He was contacting his handlers through Telegram app. We were keeping an eye on him for past two years. This morning we conducted raids and have held him," sources claimed.

Further probe in the matter is on.
Bengaluru, Feb 12 : Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai is taking decisive steps to implement recommendations of the Justice Nagmohan Das Commission on hiking reservation for the SCs and STs.

Reservation for the SC community has been hiked from 15 to 17 per cent and for the Scheduled Tribe community from three per cent to seven per cent.

While the Justice Nagmohan Das Commission report was long pending, Bommai had called a special Assembly session to pass the bill for hiking the reservation for the SCs and STs.

He also called an all-party meeting to support hiking reservation for the SCs and STs, and directed his administration to work for their effective empowerment.

For the welfare of the SC/ST community, the government granted 75 free units of power, Rs 25 lakh grants for farmers to buy land, Rs 2 lakh grant to build a house, and also enhancement in the number of hostels for students.

Bommai has also enhanced scholarships of students from SCs and STs, while ensuring free transport both in urban and rural areas for them.

By boosting Mid-Day Meal scheme with nutritional items, Karnataka government has also incentivised SCs & STs to send their children to the schools.
Guwahati/Shillong/Agartala, Feb 12 : Chief Ministers of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Meghalaya welcomed the new Governors appointed by President Droupadi Murmu on Sunday.

Former Rajasthan Home Minister and current Leader in Assembly, Gulab Chand Kataria has been appointed as the new Governor of Assam replacing Prof Jagdish Mukhi, who also holds the additional charge of the gubernatorial post of Nagaland.

Congratulating the new governor, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma tweeted: "Heartiest congratulations Shri Gulab Chand Kataria ji on being appointed as Hon'ble Governor of Assam. Your vast experience in public service will surely benefit Assam immensely. Looking forward to work with you to take our journey of progress further." Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu and his Deputy Chowna Mein on Sunday congratulated Lt Gen Kaiwalya Trivikram Parnaik (retd) on his appointment as the new Governor of the bordering state.

He replaces Brig Dr B.D Mishra (retd), who has been appointed as Lt Governor of the Union Territory of Ladakh. Mishra had assumed office of the governor in the northeastern state on October 3, 2017.

The Chief Minister called on the Governor at the Raj Bhavan here to wish him on his new assignment in Ladakh and said the state will remain grateful forever for his guidance.

Khandu tweeted : "Hon Guv Brig Mishra Ji always guided & supported us in furthering Arunachal's development. On his appointment as Lt Guv of Ladakh, called on Hon Guv today at Raj Bhawan and wished him the best for his new assignment. Sir, we shall remain forever grateful for your margdarshan." "Respect and congratulations to Lt. General Kaiwalya Trivikram Parnaik, PVSM, UYSM, YSM (retired) on being appointed as Governor of Arunachal Pradesh. Look forward to learning from your vast experience, and working with you for prosperity of our state," Khandu said in another tweet.

Chhattisgarh Governor Anusuiya Uikye, has transferred to Manipur replacing La. Ganesan, who has been transferred to the gubernatorial post of Nagaland.

Congratulating the new Governor, Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh tweeted : "A hearty welcome to Smt Sushri Anusuiya Uikye Ji on being appointed as the new Governor of Manipur. I am confident that the people of Manipur will see great progress under your leadership. Also, I extend best wishes to Shri La Ganesan Ji on his new post as Governor of Nagaland." Bihar Governor Phagu Chauhan was transferred to Meghalaya as Arunachal Pradesh's outgoing Governor Mishra was holding its additional charge.

Of the five northeastern states, where governors were changed, assembly election process is going on in two states - Nagaland and Meghalaya.
Istanbul, Feb 12 : The Qatari emir visited quake-hit Turkey and met with the Turkish President in Istanbul on Sunday.

The Turkish presidency said in a statement that Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani visited Turkey over twin deadly earthquakes which hit 10 provinces in the southern part of the country on Monday, Xinhua news agency reported.

The two leaders held a closed-door meeting at the Vahdettin Mansion in Istanbul.

Qatar was among the countries which dispatched aid to Turkey.

The death toll of the earthquakes has climbed to 24,617 in Turkey, with 80,278 injured, according to the latest official figures.
Kolkata, Feb 12 : In a late evening development on Sunday, the West Bengal Raj Bhavan is reported to have asked the state Secretariat to replace Governor C.V. Ananda Bose's current Principal Secretary Nandini Chakroborty with immediate effect.

The development happens a day after BJP's state President Sukanta Majumdar called on the Governor to apprised him of the existing situation in the state.

The reported request from the Governor House assumes special significance after Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari's repeated allegations that Chakroborty had been acting as "an implant" of the state government and "misleading" the Governor.

Sunil Kumar Gupta, a 1987-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of West Bengal cadre, was the Principal Secretary to former Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar. After Dhankhar became the Vice President , Gupta too went on a central deputation and was appointed as his Secretary by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.

Thereafter Chakroborty, a 1994-batch IAS officer of West Bengal cadre, was appointed as Principal Secretary to the Governor during the term of the interim Governor, La Ganesan. After Ananda Bose took charge during the closing quarters of 2022, she continued in his post.

She was seen taking a leading role in the "hate khori" (beginning of learning) of Ananda Bose in Bengali language at the Governor House lawn on January 26 this year on the twin- occasion of Republic Day and Saraswati Puja (worship of the Hindu goddess of learning), where Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was the chief guest, Since then, the state BJP leadership especially Adhikari had been critical of the Governor.

--IANS src/vd

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Jerusalem, Feb 13 : The family home of a Palestinian man who carried out a car-ramming attack in East Jerusalem that killed three Israelis has been sealed, the Israeli police said.

A video clip released by the police shows policemen and soldiers welding the doors and windows of an apartment in East Jerusalem.

The home belongs to the parents of the assailant and is occupied by two of his brothers, who were all evacuated along with their belongings prior to the sealing, according to a police statement on Sunday.

This sealing, the first step toward a possible demolition of the house, came under the order of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Xinhua news agency reported.

Three Israelis, including brothers aged eight and six, were killed on Friday when Hussein Qaraqa, 32, rushed his car into a bus stop in the East Jerusalem settlement of Ramot. The attack also injured five, including the father of the two brothers. Police shot and killed Qaraqa at the scene.

In remarks during the opening of his weekly Cabinet meeting on Sunday, Netanyahu pledged to take tougher stance in East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank.

"The cabinet is convening today to prepare for a more wide-ranging operation against those carrying out terrorism and their supporters in East Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria, while preventing as much as possible harming those uninvolved," he said. Judea and Samaria is an Israeli term for the West Bank.

The move was part of a series of measures the Israeli government plans to take against a recent surge of Palestinian attacks. A government-backed bill to revoke the Israeli citizenship of Palestinian attackers is expected to come up for a vote later this week.

Tensions in the region have been running high, sparked by daily Israeli military raids in the West Bank in which at least 43 Palestinians have been killed since the beginning of 2023. Israel says the raids are aimed at arresting suspects of "terrorism".

The Israeli media reported that since January 1, at least nine Israelis have been killed and several injured in several attacks carried out by Palestinians in East Jerusalem.
American HealthCare Academy (AHCA) offers online certification courses for CPR/First Aid, ACLS/PALS/HIPAA/BLS, and other life-saving techniques. These courses are designed to be flexible and can be taken at the student's own pace. Both lay responders and nursing assistants can enroll in these courses for free. The courses follow the latest AHA and 2020 ECC Guidelines and are taught by OSHA-certified experts to ensure students gain the necessary skills to perform CPR and other critical life-saving techniques accurately.

Students learn how to use Automated External Defibrillator (AED), a machine that helps someone who has had a heart attack, in an online CPR certification course by American HealthCare Academy. Various other topics in the course help nursing assistants identify medical emergencies confidently. Nurses also learn to be patient while calming others around the scene. With the updated and nationally accredited course study material, nursing students and assistants learn to revive a patient from sudden cardiac arrest.

The online CPR certification course can help nursing assistants and students advance their medical careers. The American HealthCare Academy offers this course along with other life-saving courses for two years of validity. However, if anyone wants to register for the Bloodborne Pathogens course, know that it is only valid for one year.

Registering for certification and recertification courses is easy at American HealthCare Academy. Students need to sign up on the website to create an account. They can browse the course overview from the Course Demo page before learning the course at their pace. After completing the course, each student can take the final exam. The exams for certification and recertification courses typically consist of multiple-choice questions, and the students must score more than 75% to be eligible for the course certificate. It is the same criterion for renewal of the expired course certification for nursing assistants and other students.

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Interested students can register at the American HealthCare Academys official website to learn the updated online CPR certification course for free. The contact details of the Customer Support Team are mentioned below. They can help students register for the course, purchase course codes, complete the course, and know the immediate next steps to download the certificate on time.
As the foundation of our company lies in delivering excellent customer experience, it is our responsibility to ensure that we regularly and successfully comply with industry best practices and standards."

Sonnecto, a South Europe-based company with partners in the US and UK, is proud to announce that it has successfully implemented and integrated two new ISO certifications, ISO 27701 and 14001. These two new certifications are in addition to already existing and successfully implemented ISO 9001 and 27001.

This is the third consecutive year that Sonnecto has been certified with ISO 9001:2015 (Quality Management Systems) and ISO 27001:2013 (Information Security Management Systems), demonstrating their consistency in providing the highest level of quality and security to their clients.

ISO 27001:2013 and ISO 27701:2013 pertain to Information Security Management Systems, guaranteeing that Sonnectos data is protected from unauthorized access and breaches. This certification assures that clients sensitive information is kept secure, demonstrating that the company takes personal data protection seriously.

ISO 14001:2015 certifies that Sonnectos environmental management system complies with international standards. This certification assures that the company is taking steps to reduce its ecological impact, demonstrating that Sonnecto is committed to operating environmentally responsibly.

ISO 9001:2015 is the International Standard for Quality Management Systems, and the certification ensures that Sonnectos processes and procedures meet the highest standards for customer satisfaction. This certification guarantees that Sonnectos clients can expect consistent, high-quality products and services, demonstrating that the company is dedicated to continuous improvement.

Sonnectos achievement of these certifications is a testament to the companys dedication to excellence. As one of the few companies with this many internationally recognized certifications, Sonnecto is committed to maintaining the highest standards of quality and security in everything it does.

Achieving these certifications is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our employees, said Fatos Ameti, CEO of Sonnecto. As the foundation of our company lies in delivering excellent customer experience, it is our responsibility to ensure that we regularly and successfully comply with industry best practices and standards. In addition, Liridona Gerxhaliu, ISO team Lead, noted that obtaining these certifications was a smooth process taking into account already advanced management systems of Sonnecto and the vision of the company to be compliant with best and internationally recognized standards.

Notes to editors

More information about ISO can be found at http://www.iso.org

About Sonnecto

Sonnecto is a tech-driven BPO company with remote specialized teams in South Europe (Kosovo). They enable the most efficient digital transformation and customer growth through dedicated support and digital back-office teams.

For more information: http://www.sonnecto.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sonnecto/
Non-tobacco flavored disposables vapor products --- sold in flavors such as mango, bubble gum and others--- were not included in the FDA's 2020 flavored cigarette crackdown; this legislation closes that loophole and bans these wildly popular items that are marketed towards our children.

Rep. Shelia Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL) introduced the Disposable ENDS Product Enforcement Act of 2023 to close the Trump Administrations loophole on disposable electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) (i.e., disposable vapes) containing flavors specifically intended to entice our children into becoming hooked on nicotine for life.

As the mother of two children and a former healthcare executive, I am pleased to introduce this critical legislation, said Rep. Cherfilus-McCormick. Too many of our youth are forming nicotine addictions, increasing their risk of future addiction to other drugs. I am even more troubled by the fact that Chinese manufacturers and suppliers are flooding the U.S. market with unregulated, harmful substances that are altering our childrens brain development and lives. I am calling on the Biden Administration to close this harmful loophole for the sake of our youth and to put an end to this national epidemic.

The Disposable ENDS Product Enforcement Act of 2023 directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to update the guidance under Section 2 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to describe how the agency will prioritize enforcement against disposable ENDS products, including non-tobacco-derived nicotine products.

Rep. Cherfilus-McCormick is helping to lead the charge in Congress to encourage the Biden Administration to close a loophole created by the Trump Administration that allows for the sale of flavored e-cigarettes if the delivery device is disposable. In 2020, the Trump Administration took a half-step forward by prohibiting the sale of flavored e-cigarettes such as fruity pebbles and bubble gum, but only for e-cigarettes that required a cartridge refill. This left an opening for companies to swoop in and sell disposable versions of the e-cigarettes with the very same flavors intended to be taken off the shelves to protect our children.

According to the 2022 National Youth Tobacco Survey published by the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, disposable e-cigarettes are the device currently most used by youth. That number has skyrocketed since the loophole was created by the Trump Administration in 2020 and is causing a public health crisis among our children.

In Florida, roughly 1,750 youth under the age of 18 become new daily smokers each year. Additionally, statistics show that 270,000 youth under the age of 18 who are alive in Florida will ultimately die prematurely from smoking.

In 2015, Broward County, which is in Rep. Cherfilus-McCormicks district, banned the use of e-cigarettes in county facilities. However, since flavored disposable e-cigarettes are still available under federal law, thanks to the Trump Administrations loophole, they can be sold outside the city limits and made readily available to the children of Broward County.

This is evident because an estimated 15.8% of youth in Broward currently use e-cigarettes. To counter this epidemic, Broward County Public Schools developed a tiered curriculum structure for students to provide greater awareness regarding prevention and intervention resources.

Rep. Cherfilus-McCormick is determined to work with the Biden Administration to close the flavored disposable e-cigarette loophole and is dedicated to the safety and security of our future generations.

The American Heart Association appreciates Rep. Cherfilus-McCormicks leadership to close the disposable e-cigarette loophole, which has kept dangerous products with kid-friendly flavors on the market and easily accessible to our nations youth. Big Tobacco has been successfully manipulating loopholes such as this one in its ongoing attempts to hook youth and adults to its harmful products. The Disposable ENDS Product Enforcement Act will provide FDA with a vital tool to hold the tobacco industry accountable and move us one step closer to the Tobacco Endgame, said Mark Schoeberl, Executive Vice President, Advocacy, American Heart Association.

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If you're thinking of opening a coffee shop in South Dakota or any other state, call 1-888-800-9224 to reach our startup team. Were excited to share information and resources to help entrepreneurs like you," - Greg Ubert, Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea

Want to learn how to open a coffee shop in South Dakota? Get tips on starting a profitable business in The Mount Rushmore State from coffee shop startup experts at Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea.

Through its 7 Steps to Success coffee shop startup program, Roast magazines 2016 Macro Roaster of the Year has taught over 300 entrepreneurs in 30 states how to open their own independent coffee shops.

Now, the companys 7 Steps coffee shop startup consulting team has added to its series of state-level coffee shop startup guides with, How to Start a Coffee Shop in South Dakota.

South Dakota is a terrific place to start a coffee shop! said Crimson Cup Founder and President Greg Ubert.

In fact, South Dakota ranks 39th among the states in the number of coffee shops per capita, with fewer than one coffee shop for every 7,231 residents. That leaves a lot of South Dakotans without a local coffee shop, especially in the smaller cities and towns.

The program is based on Uberts book, Seven Steps to Success: A Common-sense Guide to Succeed in Specialty Coffee, which he wrote to help coffee shop owners develop profitable businesses by mastering all aspects of successful coffee shop operations.

We help entrepreneurs with little or no coffee experience become owners of thriving coffee shops serving their local communities, he said.

From choosing a terrific location and writing a strong coffee shop business plan to buying and laying out equipment, hiring and training staff and more, our team is here to guide you.

To hear about the book in Uberts own words, download a free recorded introduction on Soundcloud.

Besides the South Dakota guide, Crimson Cup recently published guides on How to Start a Coffee Shop in Texas, Ohio, North Carolina, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Tennessee, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Virginia, Missouri, Wisconsin, Connecticut, New Jersey, Iowa, Alabama, Maine, Arkansas, Vermont, Rhode Island, Utah, Colorado, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas and Wyoming.

The roaster will continue to post a state-level guide each week until all 50 states are covered.

Although the fundamentals of coffee shop operation remain the same from state to state, the economic opportunities, business formation and licensing requirements vary widely, Ubert said. Were excited to share information and resources to help entrepreneurs expedite their startup journey.

He invited anyone who is thinking of opening a coffee shop in any state to call Crimson Cup for guidance.

If you run into any roadblocks or just want to discuss your vision with a coffee expert, you can reach our startup team by calling 1-888-800-9224.

About Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea

Founded in 1991, Crimson Cup is at the forefront of the coffee industry. Its attentive roasting, startup support and global partnerships are consciously designed for the greater good of communities around the world. Among other national recognitions, the company has earned 2020 and 2017 Good Food Awards, the 2019 Golden Bean Champion for Small Franchise/Chain Roaster and Roast magazines 2016 Macro Roaster of the Year.

Crimson Cup travels the world searching for the perfect cup  driven by meaningful relationships, honesty and a shared vision for the future. Its Friend2Farmer initiatives foster respect and decency through mutually beneficial collaboration across local and global communities.

Through its 7 Steps to Success coffee shop startup program, the company teaches entrepreneurs how to open and run independent coffee houses in their local communities. By developing a coffee shop business plan, entrepreneurs gain insight into coffee shop startup costs.

Crimson Cup coffee is available through over 350 independent coffee houses, grocers, college and universities, restaurants and food service operations across 30 states, Guam and Bangladesh. The company also owns several Crimson Cup Coffee Shops and a new CRIMSON retail flagship store. To learn more, visit crimsoncup.com, or follow the company on Facebook and Instagram.


The centennial anniversary of Plutos discovery is on the horizon, and the I Heart Pluto Festival is ramping up excitement in the meantime. Hosted right here in Flagstaffa.k.a. Pluto Town U.S.A2023 marks the festivals fourth year.

In the early 1900s, Lowell Observatorys namesake, Percival Lowell, suggested the existence of a ninth planet and began the search for what is known today as the dwarf planet Pluto. Since then, Lowell Observatory and Flagstaff have been at the heart of major Pluto moments.

On Feb. 18, 1930, Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto at Lowell Observatory. Using images from the 61-inch telescope at the U.S. Naval Observatory Flagstaff Station, where he had previously worked, astronomer James Christy discovered Plutos largest moon, Charon, in 1978, and in 2015, Lowell Observatorys Will Grundy acted as the co-investigator for NASAs New Horizon Pluto fly-by mission. Kevin Schindler, Lowell Observatory historian said that virtually every major Pluto discovery has connections to Flagstaff.

So, a few years ago, we decided to start this festival to celebrate this Pluto heritage, Schindler said.

Building up toward the hundredth anniversary of Plutos discovery in 2030, Schindler said the festival acts as an opportunity for people to demonstrate their love of Pluto and their love of Flagstaff, as the two go hand in hand.

In 2030, after 100 years of Pluto, theres anticipated to be greater interest in the festival. So, in the years leading up to then, Schindler said the I Heart Pluto Festival will be building momentum and refining festivities.

Since its origin in 2020, the I Heart Pluto festival has looked different each year. In its second year, the festival switched to a virtual format due to COVID-19. In its third year, Schindler said the festival saw a hybrid format. This year, he said, festival organizers are looking forward to more in-person engagement, which, they believe, will help them begin rehearsing for the inevitably large centennial celebration.

Schindler said the past challenges with the event helped organizers entertain a stronger, more inclusive format for this years festival and festivals in years to come.

We are offering a couple of virtual programs because I think one thing we got from COVID is, you know, we want to try to bring people here and show them things in person, but theres the whole world out there, Schindler said. They should be able to celebrate also.

Despite the festival being an event that members of the scientific community are likely to enjoy, Schindler said the I Heart Pluto Festival is meant to be an event celebrating Flagstaff as wellmade for anyone to enjoy.

Its is a science thing, but its also part of our culture here, Schindler said.

For instance, Mother Road Brewery crafted a beer with a commemorative can for the festival. The beer is set to be unveiled on Feb. 16.

In addition, Schindler said other businesses around town are getting in the spirit for the festival. Special restaurant offerings and space art shows will supplement the science and history activities.

We really look at this as a community celebrating, working with partners around Flagstaff, Schindler said.

Without Flagstaff, major Pluto discoveries would have mapped out differently. Additionally, without those discoveries, Flagstaff wouldnt be the place it is today. Schindler said the 24-year-old Flagstaff residents 1930 discovery of Pluto put Flagstaff on the map.

This was news around the world, Schindler said. A new planet in our solar system was discovered, and it was right here in this little place called Flagstaff, Arizona. So, it really brought a certain amount of world attention here.

Following Plutos discovery, Schindler said astronomers upheld a long tradition of involving Flagstaff in Pluto-science operations. For Schindler, theres a sense of pride in the town that the I Heart Pluto Festival helps remind him of.

The first night of the festival is dedicated to retracing the steps that Clyde Tombaugh took on the night Pluto was discovereda night that many would consider to be a classic, Flagstaff evening.

We know where he ate dinner, we know that he went to see a movie at the Orpheum Theater, Schindler said. Through the years, Flagstaff has been nicknamed the home of Pluto not just because of the science but because the community embraces it.

Throughout the I Heart Pluto Festival, the community continues to embrace that scientific heritage in its own ways. For example, local artist George Averbeck has created I Heart Pluto commemorative glass ornaments and sculptor Paula Rice has fashioned many interesting Pluto-themed pieces.

One of the trademark events of the I Heart Pluto Festival is the keynote speaker event. This years speaker is retired NASA Astronaut Nicole Stott. Like many local artists inspired by the heavens, Stott is also a space artist who will share her perspective during the Night of Discovery events at the festival.

[Stott will discuss] what it means to explore, and in her case, to have escaped the bounds of Earth zone and to be in space and see our planet from up there looking down, Schindler said.

Stotts speech will be followed by a signing for her book Back to Earth: What life in space taught me about our home planetand our mission to protect it.

Other events that I Heart Pluto Festival attendees can look forward to include a Pluto Pub Crawl the evening of Feb. 17 through downtown Flagstaff and the Tombaugh Telescope Dedication on Feb. 18 with Tombaugh family members and local leaders in attendance. During the Night of Discovery, Schindler will lead festival attendees through a revival Tombaughs day when he discovered Pluto. The night will also include Flag Tag ax throwing.

Its a nice opportunity to celebrate thats fun for the family, too, Schindler said.

Feb. 19 and Feb. 20, virtual festivities will commence, including an interview with Alan Stern, planetary scientist and the New Horizon Missions principal investigator.

So, scientists and non-scientists alike can enjoy a bit of local flair alongside learning about Pluto. Schindler explained that the festival is public, meaning anyone interested can attend. He said that VIP tickets are also available, which include exclusive offerings and festival keepsakes.

For more information about the upcoming celebrations set to occur at the 2023 I Heart Pluto Festival, visit iheartpluto.org.
Potential disciplinary or corrective action against both Flagstaff Arts and Leadership Academy Executive Director Eli Cohen and Christina Wolfe, the schools Exceptional School Services director, was first on a meeting agenda Oct. 24, 2022, as was potential reassignment for both.

FALA school leaders Board James Yih, president Kyle Winfree, vice president Andy Bessler, secretary Debra Edgerton, member Ron Borkan (resigned), treasurer New board members Jim Burton, treasurer Isaac Hayes, member Administrators Eli Cohen, executive director Christina Wolfe (resigned), ESS director Krista Sanders (resigned), director of student affairs Interim administrators and temporary consultants Kara Kelty, school improvement specialist Russ Randell, ESS consultant Michele Lucci Wilox, ESS consultant

Through most of the beginning of the process, Flagstaff Arts and Leadership Academys (FALA) Board of Directors did not provide specific details about the reasons for potential discipline, citing a desire to protect Cohen, Wolfe and others involved.

Throughout the process, board members said concerns with enrollment led to looking at staff attrition  which in turn led to scrutiny of exit interviews and contacting former employees. What the board found, Vice President Kyle Winfree said, was concerning enough to put discipline for the two on the next meetings agenda.

At the previous meeting (Sept. 27), Cohen had presented enrollment and attrition numbers to the board. During those minutes, enrollment is listed in the low 260s and attrition rates are shown to have been rising over the past three years, to a rate of 29.17% in the school year so far.

Cohen and Winfree both estimated that the schools total number of staff is somewhere in the 40s. With the latest wave of resignations, FALA has now lost a total of 24 employees in the 2022-23 school year so far.

Exit interviews

In response to a request from Cohen that the reasoning be made public (at the time, he stated he was also unaware), board secretary Andy Bessler said in a Dec. 13 meeting that a board examination of exit interviews had revealed allegations of a pattern of retaliation and fear that Cohen and Wolfe had both been involved in. Citing privacy concerns, Bessler did not go into more detail at the meeting.

We first learned of these exit interviews in 2022, and this was all pretty new to the board in the sense of a toxic culture that was being presented, he said. There are aspects of that toxic culture that I saw both Eli and Christina playing a hand in, based on not just one source of information, but multiple people. Those patterns were really concerning to me as a parent and as a board member  and because these were of a personal nature, we cant really speak to that in public.

Winfree declined to give a specific number of exit interviews that mentioned concerns with Cohen and/or Wolfe, due to those individuals fear of retaliation. What he did say is the number is more than the five he said Cohen claims, but not the majority. He also said some current staff had expressed concerns with the two, again without giving specific numbers (the Daily Sun has heard from one of these staff members, who asked that their name not be used in this story, also due to concerns about retaliation). Borkan also didnt share details from the exit interviews, saying they were confidential, but said many referenced concerns about their supervisors  both Cohen and Wolfe.

The board was rightfully concerned about staff turnover, he said. It was high, and it was not just because people were leaving their jobs because of COVID or [being] tired of teaching  there were a half dozen or a dozen that were concerned about [how] the school was run and what their boss was doing, whether that was Christina or Eli.

One former employee, who asked to remain anonymous, shared their exit interview. Cohen and his preferential treatment of Wolfe was cited as the main reason they left and, when asked whether they would consider working at FALA in the future, they said both would need to be removed first.

Eli used a divide-and-conquer approach when there were concerns on things like contracts, pay, course offerings, future recommendations  either discouraging group negotiation or outright refusal to meet with groups when it suited him, they wrote. Eli talked about the FALA family atmosphere, but in many ways, he treated individuals as unvalued members of the family.

Wolfe and Cohen were in a relationship for about a year, which started while Wolfe was a teacher in the ESS department; Cohen was not her direct supervisor at the time, but as the schools director, he did supervise her. Cohen recused himself from hiring for the ESS director position, though Winfree said he was not aware of the relationship until after Wolfe was in the position (Cohen recusing himself from a hiring decision is common enough that he didnt think to ask for a reason, he said).

When the board brought charges against Cohen on Jan. 12, this relationship was cited as evidence of a lack of judgment on his part.

Wolfe said she had checked the school policies before the relationship started and at the time, there was nothing prohibiting it.

They found this out in January or February, they more or less gave him a slap on the wrist, they checked in with HR to ensure there hadnt been any conflict of interest, she said of the boards initial response to learning about the relationship, which had ended at that point. HR went on the record saying no, there wasnt, and then they offered him a three-year contract at the end of May, early June.

Other concerns the employee brought up in their exit interview were Cohens prioritizing urgent items over higher-level long-term tasks and the lack of a uniform and fair discipline policy.

FALA leadership: Poor leadership pointed to as reason for employee exodus at FALA It has taken on a life of its own, said former board treasurer Ron Borkan, who resigned in December due to concerns with how the board had handled situations.

It is incredibly sad and depressing to leave this way after years of heart and soul given to a school and a vision, they wrote.

According to Cohen, the former employees contacted as part of the boards investigation into attrition issues were close personal friends of one board member. He also said the board shared meeting agendas with people outside of the school, which Winfree said was not the case.

Wolfes understanding of the situation was similar to Cohens.

Five unhappy and disgruntled staff members who had given exit interviews were given an opportunity to addend their interviews and receive direct transcripts of those addended interviews, she said. It is my belief that they colluded for the purpose of professional damages against me and [possibly Eli]. Two of those disgruntled staff members are close friends with Kyle Winfree. One of them consistently told untrue statements about me to my staff  which created significant trust issues and interpersonal issues in my department this year.

Staff concerns

On Jan. 5, Cohen said the reasons for his reassignment were still unclear, despite his repeated requests for transparency. He had a few informed conjectures, ranging from the general toxicity at the school and unspecified issues in the ESS department to a staff meeting in 2021 where hes pretty sure he both swore and yelled in response to finding out that a student had heard a false rumor about him.

If you want to call that retaliation, sure, he said. But thats the only thing I can think of. ... No one was given improvement plans that shouldnt, no one was disciplined that shouldnt, no one was given more work or penalized benefits.

Staff accounts of problems at the school are similarly diffuse, including both overall concerns about leadership and detailed complaints about specific events and practices since at least 2019.

This can also be seen in the Jan. 12 meeting where the board discussed bringing charges against Cohen; while not as numerous, several concerns about a range of issues were brought up.

A few commonly mentioned items are Cohen and Wolfes relationship, Cohens handling of school finances, Cohens lack of background in education, a previous PIP from 2019 and a variety of communication issues, including with a grievance document signed by about 15 staff in 2020.

This document has a two-column format, contrasting expectations for the executive director with evidence of failure to perform and lists dozens of specific concerns over 23 pages.

Cohen said those concerns are a mix of valid and just personal complaints that sometimes contradict each other.

Four people cited in this, including both Cohen and Winfree, mentioned FALAs high turnover in leadership positions as either evidence or a cause of the problems.

Jed Hayes, who was the schools dean for a year in 2019, said FALAs leadership  and similar interschool divisions to what is currently happening  was his primary reason for not continuing to work there. His exit interview was not among those reviewed by the board, as he said he was not given one.

When I came to FALA, I saw a person in Eli that very much wanted to do good and make change. I think that what happened unfortunately is that change isnt always welcomed, he said.

Cohens first few years as FALAs director were met with animosity from teachers and the board, Hayes said. But because he lacked a background in education, Cohen was not able to respond effectively.

While most of the allegations hed heard against Cohen were hearsay, Hayes found a few things hed experienced concerning  topics like administrative decisions not going through proper channels, or being given directives he wasnt comfortable with. Without giving specific examples (due to privacy concerns), Hayes said some of these had to do with staffing changes, scheduling conflicts and the number of sections teachers were given.

I often felt like I was given directives to go and deliver really bad information without having gone through the democratic process, he said. And when I would push back on that, youre met with a really interesting thing where youre kind of cut out, youre no longer in the triad of leadership or whatever it is. I think there are concerns similar to that [now]: when you present critical opinions of things that are happening there, you are met with an adverse work environment.

Without addressing those issues, Hayes said, he didnt think FALA would be able to move forward.

If theres division, theres a reason for that division, and to simply say that its just disgruntled employees is to ignore that everybody comes into a dialogue with reasons, he said.

While teacher Allison Grubers reasons for leaving FALA in 2021 were health-related, she said she did not pursue an alternative working plan due to concerns with Cohen. She said the board contacted her for an exit interview in the fall, but did not ask for any specific information.

In May 2020, Gruber said she was among a group of staff that called a meeting with Cohen in order to help him shore up the school during COVID.

We were hemorrhaging students and faculty who are more veteran, seasoned teachers, she said.   Ive been in education for 25 years and that was true of many of my colleagues who left around the same year I did. We were noticing some really big failings, and, in addition to administrative failings, it seemed Mr. Cohen had checked out completely from interest in what was happening at the school.

After that meeting, Gruber said he blocked her on all social media platforms and stopped replying to emails  even work-related ones. So, she said, she could not have stayed under those conditions, even if she had wanted to.

When asked, Cohen said there were several committees formed to respond to COVID that summer, but he didnt remember anything similar to this meeting. He did say he had blocked some on social media, including staff members.

Gruber had also been following the current situation and wasnt optimistic about FALAs future.

Its not Flagstaff Arts and Leadership, its a body on a ventilator, she said of the school now. Basically what I see are people collecting paychecks, especially the executive director, who has no interest or investment in that school or the safety of the students in the school.

According to Borkan, enough employees mentioned concerns with both Wolfe and Cohen to require further investigation. What he disagreed with is the way the board went through that process.

You cant change everything because some departing employee says theres a problem, he said. But when a bunch of them say theres a problem, its something worth looking into. Its the boards responsibility to make the school run well, so it can be a place of education and teaching and safety for the students, so when concerns are raised, they need to be analyzed and worked on  but as I said, this process got out of hand really fast.

Staff support for administration

Many current FALA employees, and the majority of those who made comment at board meetings related to the situation, said none of the allegations reflect their experience with Cohen. Several even said working with him was one of their best experiences as educators.

School counselor Chad Fields said he appreciated the culture Cohen and Wolfe had worked to create at the school, describing it as connected, authentic, genuine, understanding [and] compassionate.

I dont want to sound too hyperbolic, but honestly, having worked in schools for the last eight years, its been so refreshing to work for them, he said.  ... I felt like I was working with people who saw me professionally and personally, and were willing to work with me as an integrated person  [which] has been really rare for me in education.

He said he didnt have many complaints about Cohen and Wolfe in terms of leadership except for the typical things that come up at work  issues like being busy, meaning they had less time for support  and that their absence has had a major impact on his work.

Another current employee, who asked to remain anonymous due to fear of retaliation, wrote to the Daily Sun:

Many of us think Eli is the best boss we have ever had. Throughout this, he has stuck up for us for the sake of doing what is right, they said. Unfortunately the board has loved it to now be able to throw insubordination or unprofessionalism above him.

They added: He truly goes above and beyond for FALA, but that is rarely recognized because he doesnt ask for that or make it obvious how much time and effort he puts in. He truly will be a loss, and I fear for FALA if he is let go.
Over recent decades, parents, grandparents, and high school students have been subject to a barrage of messages suggesting that everyone should go to college. Higher education is the pathway to more money and more status, were told.

Few have asked, Is this path best for all young people, and is it best for our country? Many young people are not cut out for college, but they have other talents. The vast majority of jobs in this country dont require a college degree, although many do require additional training.

As a result, there is a huge misappropriation of funding, with far too much going to colleges and far too little going to trade schools, community colleges, and other places where young people can get the post-high school training they need to help them lead productive, successful lives.

The U.S. Census shows that in 2021, a total of 62.2% of the population 25 and older did not have a college degree. Of the 37.8% who have a bachelors degree or higher, one-third are underemployed, according to the Federal Reserve. Many of them are in jobs that dont actually require a college degree.

The fact is that many of the most successful Americans throughout our history didnt go to college. Some of our greatest presidents  George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Harry Truman  never received a higher education. More recently, tech and media giants like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Ted Turner, and cultural giants like Oprah Winfrey and Maya Angelou, along with countless others, didnt get degrees and yet went on to achieve great success.

This is not to deny that a college education is necessary for some. Doctors, lawyers, accountants, engineers, professors, teachers, and many other professions require a college education. That doesnt mean that colleges should just be trade schools for those students. They should also offer a strong liberal arts program to help students become more informed citizens and lead more meaningful lives. Many colleges unfortunately are neglecting or even cannibalizing this part of their curriculum.

So, what can we do?

First, lets face the reality that most jobs in the country dont require a college degree, and most young people dont get one. Then lets change our attitudes. Good tradesmen and other service people deserve as much respect as those in the professions. The country needs good plumbers and good carpenters, for example, unless we are willing to live with leaky pipes and poorly constructed homes. And often, these skilled craftsmen earn better livelihoods and enjoy their work more than those with white-collar jobs.

It may be true that the average college graduate earns more than a non-college graduate over the course of his life. But that isnt the case when you compare those with a college degree in a job that doesnt require one against those well-qualified tradespeople who dont have degrees. And then, when you consider the extraordinarily high cost of college  the lost 4 or 6 years of earnings and the burden of the debt acquired to pay for college  any difference becomes much less significant.

We should stop pushing everyone to go to college. Parents, high school counselors, and others with influence in students lives need to realize that this isnt always the best advice. Then, reminding ourselves that the vast majority of young people get most of their education in the K-12 system, we need to focus on teaching the basics. Teaching good grammar and solid math skills is essential, along with giving students a strong background in civics and history, to prepare high school graduates to be good workers and citizens. Businesses should stop requiring college degrees for those jobs that dont require one.

Perhaps high schools should offer more vocational classes for students interested in the trades. And high school counselors should let students know about the full array of potential training opportunities in addition to college.

Then lets strengthen those additional training opportunities. We already have a strong community college network, where young people can get training for many different types of work or as an inexpensive first two years toward a college degree. But there arent nearly enough trade schools and virtually no apprenticeships as there are in Germany and other countries. This should be a priority.

In America, we promise everyone The possibility of living The American Dream, as James Truslow Adams defined it, in which life should be better, richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability and achievement.

As Martin Luther King would say, its time to live up to that promise, for everyone. We owe everyone an equal place at the starting line; from there, we can let meritocracy determine the outcomes. That is the American promise. And the place to start is with our educational system, from top to bottom.
100 years ago

1923: A hard-headed old-timer wants to know why the road from Flagstaff to Tonto Basin hasnt been kept in better shape. He recalls when it was extensively used by residents of Payson and other towns in that section who came here for supplies and whose trade amounted to many thousands of dollars annually, but now goes elsewhere because of this bad road. Their business would be more profitable to the town right now than the tourist business we are making such a heavy bid for.

To the Lowell Observatory, we are indebted for new information about Mars. Prof. Slipher, who has been director of the observatory since the death of Prof. Percival Lowell, says there is air about Mars, and the temperature is about 70 degrees average.

It has been the contention of most scientists that Mars is blanketed only in ether. If there is any atmosphere containing oxygen, it is too thin for any form of life. They also believe the mean temperature is 25 degrees Celsius below that of Earth. Dr. Lowell, however, found out more about Mars than any other astronomer. He not only held to the theory that animal and vegetable life exist on that planet, but in 1905, also gave the world the first photographs that prove the existence of the Martian canals.

75 years ago

1948: Plans for a new city airport to be located near Fort Tuthill are nearly ready for submission to the CAA, and indications are the first unit of the port can be constructed with the $100,000 that has been set up for the project, city engineer Sid Fisher told city council.

The first unit of development under the master plan calls for a northeast-southwest runway, 5,300 feet long; lighting that runway; installation of an electrically lighted windsock; and fencing of the port. The runway will be graded to 300 feet wide, but in the initial project will receive blacktop paving for the center 150 feet only.

Funds for the initial project will come from a $40,000 bond issue approved by city taxpayers last September, and $60,000 tentatively allocated by the federal government by its airport aid plans.

The bid of the Weatherford Cafe has been accepted for the supplying of meals to city prisoners during the year beginning Feb. 15, the chief of police said. The Weatherford bid was 55 cents. Bids from the Weatherford, Roundup Fountain Cafe and the Black Cat Cafe were opened at a meeting of the city council Monday night but the award was delayed pending further study.

The five northern Arizona counties had 51 traffic fatalities during 1947, and have had four already in 1948, according to figures prepared by the Arizona Inter-Industry Traffic Safety committee. Coconino County led in number of fatalities in the north last year, no doubt because of the great stretches of transcontinental highway in this county. Deaths in the county during the year, attributed to traffic accidents, numbered 16.

50 years ago

1973: More than 1,000 persons braved a cold wind whipping down the runway at Municipal Airport Tuesday noon only to miss welcoming the Apollo astronauts to Flagstaff. Small children, sitting on the shoulders of a bigger friend to get a clear look at the last three men to set foot on the moon, never had a chance to break out with a warm cheer for Eugene Cernan, Ronald Evans and Harrison Jack Schmitt, the Apollo 17 astronauts. Instead, when they heard the sad news, Im sorry, the astronauts have decided they cannot land, the boys and girls with their mothers or teachers, the high school students taking the afternoon off, and the adults who wanted to see the last of the moonwalkers turned their bundled bodies around and hurriedly walked back to their cars. All of the U.S. Geological Survey officials, Mayor Harenberg, Chamber of Commerce directors and the county attorney thanked the people for coming.

NASA No.2 made four passes at the airport, and still couldnt find a hole in the clouds. So, the turboprop airplane turned around and headed for San Diego, the next stop on the Apollo 17 tour. They apologized that they couldnt make it, Russ Wahmann said. He is with the U.S.G.S.

The Arizona Daily SUN recently filed a lawsuit against that citys government, demanding all disclosure of a series of reports concerning a $300,000 fire that claimed the life of an 18-year-old youth. The reports, written by Flagstaff departments  fire, water, public works and policehave not been released by city officials.

The fire struck an apartment complex near Flagstaff on Dec. 29. A week later, the SUN reported that firetrucks could not reach the apartment building because of snow and ice on an unpaved road. The SUN pointed out the road was to have been paved, but the city waived the requirement to the apartment developer.

At this point, the issue is that public information is being withheld without explanation. The SUNs lawsuit seeking to make the information public, along with a similar action filed by tenants of the apartment, is now pending in Coconino County Superior Court. (Reprinted from the Arizona Daily Sun, Tucson)

If you want to complain about the weather, go ahead. You have every right to do so. The city has just experienced the longest cold spell on record, according to Paul Sorenson, official in charge of Flagstaff weather bureau. He noted the past six months have all registered below-average monthly readings. November was the coldest on record. December tied for the coldest on record. Average readings for the past month were 22.9 degrees, Sorenson said. The normal is 27.3 degrees.
Mary & the Hot Hotty-Hots jazz and swing band has kept Athens jiving since 2015. The band, led by vocalist Mary Sigalas, started out as the in-house jazz band at The Globe in downtown Athens, and now plays music from the 1910s, 20s and 30s all over the Classic City.
If youve been paying attention to TV lately, youve probably heard people raving about HBOs adaptation of The Last of Us. The show has been praised both for its accuracy to the game and for some of the masterful deviations. One of these deviations highlights an important trend in media that cannot lose its momentum: The character Sam is deaf.
On Feb. 9, the Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library hosted the first Politics and Zines: Create Your Own Zine Workshop. Participants had the opportunity to learn about the history of and craft their own zine using magazine clippings, pictures and other art materials.
Alive but not safe: Local Turkish citizen makes appeal to anyone who can help following earthquake
Brattleboro, VT (05301)

Today

Cloudy. High 79F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Overcast with showers at times. Low 52F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
(People's Daily Online) Western media frequently portrays China negatively, and they never cease to shock the world by descending to new lows, such as burying China's efforts to aid earthquake-ravaged Turkiye.

Despite being one of many countries that have sent several governmental and civilian teams, and provided assistance supplies to Turkiye and Syria in the aftermath of the earthquake, Western media has intentionally ignored China's contributions in their coverage.

Unwelcome details blanked out

On February 9, CNN released a photo report with multiple images of rescue workers from different countries. These photos were accompanied by captions that detailed the rescue crews' nationalities and provided specifics about the missions they undertook. Rescuers from countries including Japan, South Korea, Hungary, and the Czech Republic are depicted, but Chinese rescuers are noticeably absent.

There is no reason to criticize CNN for leaving out Chinese rescue workers from their report on the worldwide rescue squad, as it is reasonable to assume that the network could not include all countries in its coverage.

However, on the same day, CNN published a photo shot by Reuters showing a Chinese rescuer looking on as his colleagues searched amid the rubble. The words "China Search and Rescue" were barely legible in English but noticeable in Chinese on his jacket. Unlike his international colleagues, the Chinese man in the backdrop of this photo receives no mention in the caption.





The photo was published by CNN without any mention of the Chinese rescuers. (Photo taken from CNN's website)

When it comes to reporting on China, Western media tends to exaggerate and twist anything "Chinese" so that it can be used to criticize the country. Furthermore, crucial details that could help foreigners get a better understanding of the country are routinely covered up.

Over the past few days, western media outlets have produced countless pieces highlighting rescue operations from countries like the US in Turkiye while ignoring the fact that US sanctions are the main reason international rescue personnel have encountered problems reaching Syria, another country that was affected severely by the earthquake. Some western media outlets have prioritized their political bias, excluding countries like China from their coverage rather than fostering global cooperation at this crucial moment.
In this handout image courtesy of the US Navy a US Coast Guard helicopter flies over a debris field during recovery efforts of a high-altitude surveillance balloon in the Atlantic ocean, Feb. 4, 2023

It wasnt an errant meteorological vessel as Beijing claims, but the Chinese spy balloon that drifted across the United States before being shot down off the Atlantic Coast did carry a forecast: more stormy weather ahead for U.S.-China ties.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken called off a planned trip to Beijing after the suspected spy balloon was spotted over Montana last week. The U.S. military shot down the suspected Chinese spy balloon on Feb. 4, prompting protests from Beijing.

Anger in the U.S. Congress has spiked and new revelations of the scope and capacities of Chinas surveillance program continue to emerge as the U.S. Navy retrieves remnants of the Chinese balloon and the FBI analyzes evidence.

China has rejected U.S. accounts of the balloon episode, with China rejecting a Pentagon request for a phone call between Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chinas Minister of National Defense Wei Fenghe, citing the lack of goodwill on the U.S side.

The timing of the balloon incident sparked speculation about deliberate sabotage of the Blinken visit, but China experts mostly say that is unlikely. They warn that the incident will distract from efforts to stabilize bilateral ties to deal with future potential crises in Taiwan, the South China Sea.

"There were expectations that early 2023 would be a window of opportunity for Washington and Beijing to get to work on building the guardrails for the relationship that both sides recognize are vital for preventing confrontation, said Patricia Kim of the John L. Thornton China Center and the Center for East Asia Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution.

Washington has spoken of building guardrails or setting a floor on ties, which have deteriorated over longstanding disputes like Taiwan, as well as trade and technology, amid ideological competition between Washington and Beijing.

Highlighting the broader battle of ideas in his a State of the Union speech on Feb. 8, President Joe Biden waxed passionate.

In the past two years, democracies have become stronger, not weaker. Autocracy has grown weaker, not stronger: Name me a world leader whod change places with Xi Jinping, he said. Name me one.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a press conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in the Benjamin Franklin Room of the State Department in Washington, DC, Feb. 8, 2023. Credit: AFP Distraction from true dangers

Last year, Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping met and agreed to resume high-level talks that had largely stalled during Chinas COVID-19 lockdown and friction over trade, security and human rights.

With more information coming out about China's vast surveillance balloon program, and Beijing having dug in its heels that this was a civilian weather vessel and that the U.S. overreacted by shooting it down, it's hard to see the restoration of the moderate diplomatic momentum we saw following the Biden-Xi meeting at Bali anytime soon, Kim told Radio Free Asia.

With presidential election season approaching in both the United States and Taiwan, also looming in 2023 is a potential visit to Taiwan, a self-governing island claimed by Beijing, later this year by U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

China experts warn against letting the balloon episode distract from bigger, more dangerous issues.

This incident is unlikely to escalate further or fundamentally alter the trajectory of U.S.-China relations, says David Sack, a research fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.

But it offers an important window into the fragility of the relationship between the worlds two largest economies and the difficulty they would have in managing a real crisis as leaders in Washington and Beijing would seek to protect their political flanks, he wrote.

US President Joe Biden (R) and China's President Xi Jinping (L) shake hands as they meet on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Nusa Dua on the Indonesian resort island of Bali, Nov. 14, 2022. Credit: AFP Xis game plan

The spy balloon incident argues against holding the hope that Xi Jinping, fresh from being appointed to a third term as Chinas top leader, would temper his approach to diplomacy after a decade of his assertive, authoritarian rule has ruffled feathers with much of the outside world.

Xis abrupt abandonment of his failing zero-COVID policy amid street protests early this year inspired conjecture that other problematic policiessupport for Russia in Ukraine, military incursions near Taiwan and aggressive actions in the South China Seamight be modified by a comfortably entrenched Xi.

But nothing like that has happened so far.

I don't see like anything in Xi Jinping's rhetoric or behavior that suggests that they're thinking about playing it nice. If anything it was more of like a temporary pause, said Oriana Skylar Mastro, a fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University.

They recognize that the situation has gotten worse for them, but they tend to blame outside forces outside of their control. And this balloon incidents no different, she told RFA.

Chinas widespread spying is not a shock to retired British diplomat Charlie Parton, who argues the U.S. should have sent Blinken to Beijing to put all the blame on the Chinese by raising the balloon case at every level.

Of course China is doing this sort of thing, all forms of spying and surveillance. When hostility to the U.S. is the basis of all foreign policyby 2049, trying to reduce America to number two status, with China becoming the number one thats what you do, said Parton, of the British think tanks Rusi and Merics.

Is (the balloon episode) a rupture or a hiccup? Frankly, its more of a hiccup in the sense that relations between the two countries ain't never going to be good with the current regime.
In Brief

Several Chinese news reports and editorials published over the past year have claimed that the number of U.S. nuclear weapons increased by more than 1,700 warheads from 2017 to 2021.

Asia Fact Check Lab (AFCL) found no evidence to support these claims. A number of authoritative sources that detail the size of the United States nuclear arsenal indicate that its stockpile of nuclear warheads decreased during this four-year period.

In Depth

Has the total number of U.S. warheads increased by 1,728?

A recent editorial published on Zhongguo Wangping cited data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, or SIPRI, to argue that the U.S. nuclear arsenal had increased by 1,728 warheads between 2017 and 2021. Several articles making similar claims were published on the Chinese news aggregator website 163 in December 2022 (1, 2).

The oldest Chinese report that AFCL could find criticizing the United States for increasing its nuclear holdings since 2017 was one published by the military news outlet Nanjiang Zhanqi Hong, which ran on the popular Chinese social media platform Wechat on Oct. 12, 2021. While presenting an overview of statistics on U.S. nuclear forces, the articles author Lu You wrote:

According to the last official government announcement, the U.S. nuclear stockpile sat at 3,822 warheads as of Sept. 30, 2017. The U.S. has once again announced the number of nuclear warheads in its stockpile, showing an increase of 1,728 stockpiled warheads in a four-year period, with an average increase of more than 400 warheads per year.

Stockpile vs inventory

The purported increase, subsequently repeated in the Chinese editorials and news stories, contradicts data from a number of reputable reports  including from SIPRI, one of the sources originally cited by Zhongghou.

The mistaken Chinese claim seems to originate from an incorrect comparison between the terms stockpile and inventory.

Stockpile refers to active and inactive nuclear warheads that are currently available for use. Inventory includes all stockpiled weapons plus any retired warheads that are waiting to be dismantled. Thus inventory figures will naturally be higher, but they do not represent the actual number of weapons that can be used. The most accurate measure of a countrys nuclear arsenal should focus primarily on stockpile data, not its inventory.

SIPRI, a widely respected independent think tank based in Sweden, has estimated that the U.S. nuclear stockpile decreased by 92 warheads between 2017 and 2021, to 3,708.

The U.S. State Department also described a downward trend in warhead numbers in a Sept. 30, 2021, report of declassified data on the U.S. nuclear stockpile from 1962. While the report provided annual figures only through 2020, it disclosed that the U.S. stockpile fell from 3,822 warheads in 2017 to 3,750 in 2020. SIPRI said it based its estimates on this State Department report and other publicly available data.

Similar numbers have been cited by credible third-party organizations such as the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists and the Federation of American Scientists.

Apples and oranges

The Chinese claim appears to make an inaccurate comparison by using two sets of data that mean completely different things.

It appears that the writers of the Chinese articles arrived at the purported increase of 1,728 nuclear warheads by subtracting the 3,822 stockpiled U.S. warheads reported by the State Department for 2017 from a different category of warheads reported by SIPRI for 2021: the number of weapons in the U.S. nuclear inventory, which totaled 5,550.

But the number of stockpiled weapons in 2021 was estimated at 3,708. An apples-to-apples comparison would show a decline of 92 nuclear warheads.

In fact, even as the U.S. stockpile decreased between 2017 and 2021, so too did the U.S. inventory of nuclear weapons, with the U.S. dismantling 1,222 warheads over this period, according to SIPRI estimates (1, 2).

At most, critics could say that the number of stockpiled U.S. nuclear warheads has changed little over the past few years.

Has the U.S. nuclear arsenal increased at any time since 2017?

While the total number of U.S. nuclear arms has dropped sharply over the last few decades, it is true that dismantlement was both slow and slightly uneven in 2017 2021.

According to the State Department, the U.S. stockpile of nuclear weapons has increased only once since 1996, with the total rising by 20 warheads between 2018 and 2019, before falling back the following year. The temporary bump was not reported at the time due to the Trump administrations decision to withhold nuclear data. In 2021, the Biden administration restored the U.S. governments previous policy of nuclear transparency.

Conclusion

Therefore, the Asian Fact Check Lab concludes that the Chinese claims that the United States has increased its nuclear weapons stockpile is false.
A brass band performs during games at the May Day Stadium in Pyongyang, North Korea, June 7, 2019.

The stereotypical cliche of Korean tiger parents shelling out for private lessons so their children can master a musical instrument may have an ounce of truth to it, even in North Korea.

In South Korea or among most of the diaspora, musical proficiency might be seen as a way to help children stand out during a highly competitive college admissions process.

But in North Korea, parents dream that their children can learn to play the trumpet or French horn so that they can join a propaganda band to avoid backbreaking work during their mandatory military service. But its mostly for wealthy families who can afford to pay for lessons and an instrument.

After high school, women must serve five years and men must serve seven. For many, it means a good portion of the best years of their youth will be spent toiling away at collective farms, construction sites or coal mines  because that is how North Korea uses a good portion of its military personnel.

Demand for musicians in military propaganda bands has made musical skills a ticket to relatively easy deployments, sources in the country told Radio Free Asia.

If you learn a brass instrument, even if you are assigned to a construction unit,  you will be transferred to an arts and propaganda unit to play, a source from South Pyongan province told RFAs Korean Service on condition of anonymity for security reasons. This is the way to escape hard labor and always being hungry.

Nice side gig

The source said more and more children are taking up brass instruments for this purpose, so high school music teachers are capitalizing on the trend by offering their services as private tutors on evenings and weekends. They can earn about 30,000 won (US$3.70) for a one-hour lesson. Over a month, this can bring in more than $100 per student.

Considering that the monthly government salary for teachers and professors is the equivalent of a mere 37 U.S. cents, teaching kids how to play the trombone is a nice side gig.

But on top of tutoring fees, the instruments themselves can cost as much as 500,000 won ($61), so only the children from wealthy families can afford it.

Poor students cannot learn an instrument even if they wanted to, the source said.

Another source, from North Hwanghae province, said private music lessons are all the rage for high school kids in the city of Sariwon.

As the number of people who want to learn the brass instruments increases, the number of tutors teaching the instruments is also rising, the second source said.

Just trying to survive

North Koreas private tutoring industry has roots that date back to the national crisis known as the Arduous March, the 1994-1998 famine that killed as many as 2 million people or 10 percent of the countrys population by some estimates.

Although technically illegal, authorities began tolerating private tutoring during the famine because the government stopped delivering food rations to teachers and professors, and they had no other way to survive other than by peddling their services to wealthy families.

At that time, foreign language tutors were in high demand, but now in the era of North Koreas nascent market economy, private tutoring is even more widespread, and teachers of all disciplines have more opportunity.

In Pyongyang and most cities, parents who have the means can hire tutors for math and physics, computer science and IT, music and even dance  as long as they dont teach the kind of dance featured in South Korean K-pop performances.

This year is the first time that brass instrument tutoring has appeared and high school music teachers or brass instrument players in art propaganda teams are tutoring students at home, the North Hwanghae source said.

[It] has become popular among students subject to conscription because if [they]  are selected to join the propaganda teams, they will not be hungry during their military service.

Translated by Claire Shinyoung Oh Lee. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster.
When the Taliban returned to power in 2021 in a lightning military insurrection that toppled Afghanistans internationally recognized government, the country immediately fell into diplomatic isolation.



Two of Kabuls neighbors to the north, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, chose a different route, putting the hard-line groups fractious history with the former Soviet Central Asian republics aside and prioritizing engagement over criticism and pressure.



But a giant canal project in Afghanistan now taking shape that the Taliban is pursuing at a rapid pace is giving the two water-stressed countries doubts about whether strategic patience with the Islamic fundamentalist group will yield rewards.



If you look at other projects that have involved Afghanistan and Central Asia somehow, there has often been a win-win element, Jennifer Brick Murtazashvili, founding director of the Center for Governance and Markets at the University of Pittsburgh, told RFE/RL.



But the Qosh Tepa Irrigation Canal, which will divert large volumes of water from the dwindling transboundary Amu Darya River, is a very different case.



This is very much zero sum, because water is a finite good and there dont seem to be any benefits for Afghanistans neighbors here, said Murtazashvili, adding that she expects the Central Asian countries to pursue a lot of quiet diplomacy on the project that will add to the pressures faced by outsized agricultural sectors already battling climate change and historical mismanagement.

But the Taliban will be probing to see how far it can go, Murtazashvili said, something she suggested its downstream neighbors will have to get used to.



If the first Taliban [regime that ruled most of Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001] was weighed down by insurgency and in some ways never really behaved like a state, Taliban 2.0 seems to really like the idea of projecting state power, Murtazashvili said.



Old Project With New Momentum



The stated dimensions of the irrigation canal that workers started digging last spring are enough to understand why the downstream countries have concerns.



With a length of 285 kilometers and a width of some 100 meters, experts believe it could draw a significant portion of the Amu Daryas flow while irrigating 550,000 hectares of land.



An Afghan civil servant with knowledge of the project told RFE/RLs Uzbek Service that work on the second of three stages of the project that began in the spring of 2022 is expected to begin in the coming months, with more than 100 kilometers already dug and visible from space.



The plan to irrigate land in northern Afghanistan is not new.



Farid Azim, an official at the National Development Company overseeing its construction, pointed out last year that Afghanistans first president, Mohammad Daud Khan, had a similar vision in the 1970s.

The project was most recently pursued by the U.S.-backed administration of President Ashraf Ghani -- which the Taliban overthrew less than two years ago.



A press release issued by the United States Agency for International Development from 2018 marking the launch of a Washington-funded feasibility study for Qosh Tepa described a 200 kilometer-long canal serving a cultivated catchment area of 500,000 hectares.



Developing Afghanistans agriculture sector provides great potential for employment and economic growth, then-U.S. Ambassador John R. Bass said in the release.



But the project was not a pressing concern for neighbors, primarily because political infighting and chronic instability in northern Afghanistan had made it impractical.



Bismellah Alizada, a researcher at Londons School of Oriental and African Studies, told RFE/RL that Rashid Dostum, who was the Afghan first vice president from 2014 to 2020, was among the influential politicians with concerns about the project.



One of those concerns was that it would be used to benefit and resettle members of the politically dominant Pashtun group to which President Ashraf Ghani belonged, Alizada said.



Dostum -- an ethnic Uzbek warlord -- long enjoyed strong ties to the regime in Uzbekistan and was even reported to have fled there when the Taliban captured Mazar-e Sharif, overwhelming forces jointly under his command before the group advanced on Kabul.

Members of Dostums exiled Junbish-e Milli party have reiterated these concerns more recently, but the reality is that the Taliban has no opponents capable of preventing it from forging ahead with giant public works projects, Alizada said.



More obvious obstacles are technical capacity and cash, with billions of dollars in funds belonging to Afghanistans central bank frozen after the Taliban takeover. That would make it hard for the cash-strapped Taliban to finance a project whose first phase cost nearly $100 million, according to reports.



But Graeme Smith, a senior consultant for the International Crisis Groups Asia Program, said the Taliban has a strong political will to finish off projects begun by the former government with Qosh Tepa the biggest that the group has revived so far.



With their very limited resources, the Taliban have prioritized [Qosh Tepa], said Smith, expressing skepticism that the Islamic fundamentalist group would pay attention to its neighbors concerns.



The Taliban is a nationalist movement intensely focused on their domestic constituencies, Smith said.



I think its fair to assume they will continue governing with a strong focus on issues inside the country and less regard for concerns outside, he told RFE/RL.



Games Of Leverage



Taciturn Turkmenistan has so far said nothing about the canal project.



But a Turkmenistan-based hydrologist speaking in March to RFE/RLs Turkmen Service on condition of anonymity called the project not a problem, but a disaster.



RFE/RL correspondents in the closed authoritarian country reported this year about severe water shortages in Turkmenistans Soviet-built Karakum Canal, which is four times the length of the one the Taliban is seeking to complete.



The World Resources Institute in 2019 ranked Turkmenistan as one of 17 countries in the world with extremely high water stress. Uzbekistan and Afghanistan were placed in the next highest category. Central Asia as a whole depends on rivers that rise in mountains, where many glacier stocks are being depleted by climate change.



Tashkent, whose own Moscow-imposed, cotton-growing legacy is one of the chief causes of the Amu Daryas demise, has been more proactive on Qosh Tepa.

According to the Talibans deputy prime minister for economic affairs, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the topic was among those broached by Uzbek presidential envoy and former Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Komilov when he was in Kabul last month for talks on economic cooperation.



Komilov was cited by Baradars office as saying that Uzbekistan was ready to work with the Islamic emirate (the Taliban-ruled Afghanistan) through technical teams in order to maximize the benefits of the Qosh Tepa canal project.



Uzbekistan provided no comment to that effect in its release on the talks, but President Shavkat Mirziyoev -- in a national address in December -- flagged Qosh Tepa as a concern as he touched on the problem of desertification.

At the moment, we consider it necessary to conduct practical talks on the construction of a new canal in the Amu Darya basin with the interim government of neighboring Afghanistan and the international community based on international standards and taking into account the interests of all countries in the region, he said.



We believe that this approach will be supported by our neighbors.



Mirziyoevs preference for dialogue over threats on transboundary water use has been welcomed by the neighborhood since predecessor Islam Karimov passed away in 2016.



This appears to have worked with upstream Kyrgyzstan, where successful border negotiations saw Uzbekistan granted de facto control of a strategic reservoir located inside Kyrgyz territory, albeit not without a rash of political discontent in Kyrgyzstan.

And although authoritarian Karimov virulently opposed the construction of giant hydroelectric dams in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, Mirziyoev has given both his blessing, with Tashkent even attaching itself to Kyrgyzstans Kambar-Ata-1 project as a partner -- a move that will give it a hand in upstream management.



Qosh Tepa, however, is becoming a source of public anxiety in Uzbekistan.



With the volume of the Amu Darya water [already] decreasing, Afghans will take a quarter of its water through this canal, complained Uzbek academic and outspoken government critic Khidirnazar Allakulov in an interview with RFE/RLs Uzbek Service.



Instead of solving the problem, the Uzbek government takes the Taliban to Samarkand, dressing them and presenting them with gifts. The government bows to Afghanistan.. Not only the current generation, but also future [Uzbek] generations can be endangered by the water problem, Allakulov said.



Regular exchanges between the Turkmen and Uzbek governments and the Taliban predated the fall of the Ghani government, and Turkmenistan was among the first countries in the world to accept a Taliban-appointed ambassador.

But in line with the international community as a whole, neither has recognized the new regime in Kabul.



This only complicates what Alizada calls the legal lacuna between Afghanistan and its former communist neighbors, since Kabul had not previously signed treaties with them on transboundary management.



And while Afghanistan is keen for more trade opportunities and relies on its northern neighbors for supplies of electricity for several provinces, there are other areas of these bilateral relations where the Taliban feels it has real leverage, Alizada argued.



For the Central Asian countries, I think the number one concern is hard security, especially with the regions history with transnational extremist groups. The Taliban will continue to use assurances on security in negotiations with these countries going forward.
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.
On January 31, all 22 defendants were found guilty at the end of trials connected to the violence that left at least 21 people dead in Uzbekistans western region of Karakalpakstan. One of the defendants died in custody four days later. Uzbek authorities have been trying to demonstrate a new openness in judicial proceedings, including livestreaming some of the court sessions. But most of the testimony, the confessions, and the verdicts looked to some people like the managed trials of Uzbek authorities 15 or 20 years ago. Joining host Bruce Pannier to discuss the Karakalpak trials are Alisher Ilkhamov, director of Central Asia Due Diligence, and Steve Swerdlow, a rights lawyer who has spent many years focusing on Central Asia and who is currently teaching at the University of Southern California.
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
In January it was announced that Pavel Zaifidi, an educator in the central Kostroma region and the local coordinator of the pro-Kremlin All-Russia Popular Front (ONF), who specializes in work with children who have learning disabilities, had won a 2.2 million ruble ($30,250) federal grant to develop a youth organization called Health Guarantee.

The Russian word for guarantee is spelled with the Latin letter Z.

According to the announcement, the grant will be used to develop a program of adaptive physical training and inclusive practices for children with Down syndrome and other disabilities. In an interview with RFE/RL, Zaifidi said he couldnt answer specific questions about the project because the money would only be received later this month.

The main theme is to illustrate positively our traditional cultural values and to humorously mock superficial Western ones, like tolerance."

Zaifidis social media pages, however, have attracted criticism since Moscow launched its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine last February. He has repeatedly posted photographs of the children with whom he works holding posters supporting the war and featuring pro-war symbols, including the Latin letters Z and V and the black-and-orange St. George ribbon.



But people who know Zaifidi caution against judging him hastily.



He is a real teacher who is passionate about his work, said one colleague, who asked not to be identified, told RFE/RL.



Does he support what is happening in Ukraine? she said. Does he have a choice? If you want to get something done, you have to play by the rules.



Ilya Shepelin, a Russian journalist who monitors Russian government disinformation and propaganda on the YouTube program Zomboyashchik, agreed.



I am sure these children really need help -- special equipment, medicine, treatment, and so on. But these days the government, it seems, is not just giving money away without strings, but rather in exchange for supporting the special military operation, Shepelin said, using the Kremlins mandatory euphemism for its war against Ukraine. The government isnt going to support the needy just because it should. You have to feel sorry for teachers under such circumstances.

As the invasion of Ukraine approaches the one-year mark on February 24, the Kremlin and its proxies in local government and government-friendly political and social organizations have stepped up efforts to insinuate the pro-war symbols into every facet of the lives of ordinary Russians. Just weeks before the invasion, the government announced it would spend 319 billion rubles ($4.4 billion) on state media in 2022-24. In addition, the Kremlins program of presidential grants expects to hand out 4.3 billion rubles ($59 million) to support socially oriented nonprofit organizations like Zaifidis.



At the same time, the Kremlin-controlled United Russia ruling party increased its budget for propaganda and public events in 2022 by nearly 10 times, from 83 million rubles ($1.1 million) to 730 million rubles ($10 million). Other establishment political parties that support the war against Ukraine, including the Communist Party, A Just Russia, and New People, also increased their budgets for such activities, the daily Kommersant reported in August 2022 reported.

'The Little Tail Of The Elephant'

Another 2.2 million ruble grant handed out by the Kremlin in January went to Sergei Ivanov -- a United Russia lawmaker in the city council of Syzran, the third-largest city in the Samara region  to stage a miniature reconstruction of the World War II tank battle around Kursk in the summer of 1943.

The widely ridiculed event featured schoolchildren in Nazi German and Soviet uniforms pushing makeshift tanks around a local gym and prompted local activists to ask prosecutors to look into how the grant was spent.



Ivanov told RFE/RL that the idea of staging the battle came to him during a visit to a Russian-occupied part of eastern Ukraine in March 2022, where, he said, he saw not a special operation, but a war.



Am I satisfied with how the reconstruction went? he said. How should I answer? On the whole, of course, I am satisfied. The children saw it. It was intended for schoolchildren.



He added that the clips that appeared on social media only showed the little tail of the elephant.



A group in the central Russian city of Yaroslavl received a 9.9 million ruble ($135,000) presidential grant to make a series of four short films to tell viewers about the Russian world.



The main theme is to illustrate positively our traditional cultural values and to humorously mock superficial Western ones, like tolerance, said former Rostov Mayor Konstantin Shevkoplyas, who heads the League For Preserving Our Heritage, which received the grant.

United Russia in November 2022 launched a national martial arts program called Sambo (using the Latin Z) aimed at developing the physical, moral-psychological qualities of people, as well as patriotism and civic-mindedness. The program, headed by Russian Sambo Federation head Sergei Yeliseyev and senior United Russia official Andrei Turchak, has spread the Z symbol through schools across Russia and in occupied Ukraine in just a few months.



Propaganda in militaristic societies works like this -- you have to cover everything around with swastikas or other symbols so that even people who dont care about politics get the feeling that this is part of their lives, journalist Shepelin said. People get used to it and accept it as a part of life. The propaganda seeps into their subconscious. At least, I think that is what the presidential administration is thinking.



In terms of the quantity of such symbols, we are still far from a totalitarian society, he added. But are we moving in that direction? Of course, we are.

In Siberias Novosibirsk region, the governmental Center for Civic and Patriotic Education And Public Projects earlier this month announced a 1.44 million ruble ($20,00) tender to create patriotic videos to be shown in Novosibirsk business centers. The center also plans to produce patriotic posters to hang in elevators and other visible locations in residential buildings.

'Tired Of Spitting'

In January, the authorities in Yaroslavl gave a 10,000 ruble ($137) one-time premium to 83-year-old Lidia Chuliskiene, who was born in Leningrad during the wartime blockade of the city. Her father was killed early in the war and her mother was arrested in 1942. Chuliskiene spent three years in a prison camp as the daughter of an enemy of the people before being sent to be raised in a Yaroslavl orphanage.

Yaroslavl Mayor Artyom Molchanov bragged about the premium on social media, posting a photograph of Chuliskiene wearing a Soviet Army uniform emblazoned with a prominent Z symbol.

The same month, the mayor of the southern Siberian city of Bratsk, Sergei Serebrennikov, received a letter from a local woman, the mother of seven children, who asked for help buying a stroller.



The head of the family works a lot, but cant afford additional expenses, Serebrennikov wrote in a Telegram post. His post included a video of the mayor delivering the stroller to the family and, additionally, handing out to all the children black ski caps emblazoned with the Z symbol.



Two newly constructed residential blocks in the Siberian city of Abakan, the capital of the Republic of Khakasia, have been festooned with the Latin letters Z and V. The buildings were constructed by a company owned by United Russia regional lawmaker Matvei Dreyev.



Im tired of spitting every time I drive by them, said a local man who asked to be identified only as Maksim for fear of retribution for his views. It is OK when they put some stickers on something -- you pick them off and forget about it. In fact, many have already been removed. But this, you could say, is somehow monumental.



Just outside Abakan, along the main road to the major city of Krasnoyarsk, stands a massive heating plant owned by the company Khaktek with a 10-meter-high Z emblazoned on it, along with the slogans: For Russia, For Putin, For Our People.



That is hilarious, said Stanislav, who lives in the Abakan suburb of Chernogorsk and who asked that his surname be withheld for fear of repercussions. The most crooked company -- and Im using the mildest language I can think of -- is the first one to hang out the Z. I remember how Khaktek used to heat the city. There would be no water for days, no heat in the winter. In 2019, we were sitting around warming ourselves by the open oven. And things like that happened every winter.



But painting a letter is a lot easier than working properly, he added. To me, this is the symbol of Russia today, unfortunately: a worn-out heating plant that looks like a crematorium with such slogans on it.

Written by RFE/RL correspondent Robert Coalson based on reporting by RFE/RLs Siberia.Realities
The founder of Russians private mercenary group Wagner said his forces have captured a village in Ukraines eastern Donetsk region just outside Bakhmut, a key objective for the Russian military, as Kyiv says Moscows latest offensive is struggling.

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.

"Today the settlement of Krasna Hora was taken by the assault troops of the Wagner private military company," Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin said in an audio message posted on Telegram on February 12.



A separate post showed what appeared to be Wagner fighters at the entrance to Krasna Hora. RFE/RL was unable to verify Prigozhins claim.

Russian forces, boosted by Wagner, have been trying for months to capture Bakhmut, which sits along several important highways and whose capture could put other key Ukrainian cities in danger. Bakhmut has also become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance and whose loss could hurt morale.

As Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine approaches its one-year anniversary on February 24, President Vladimir Putin is hoping to highlight battlefield success, experts have said. Putin is scheduled to make his state-of-the-nation address on February 21.

Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraines National Security and Defense Council, told Ukrainian television on February 12 that Russias long-anticipated 2023 offensive is already under way but is being met by fierce resistance.

They have begun their offensive, they're just not saying they have, and our troops are repelling it very powerfully, Danilov said. "But [it is] not the offensive they were counting on.

Prigozhin said on February 10 that Russian forces must capture Bakhmut for the invasion to succeed, but admitted Ukraine is putting up tough resistance.

Russian forces had suffered more than 820 casualties per day over the past two weeks as they ruthlessly push to capture well-fortified towns like Bakhmut and Vuhledar, Ukraine's military claims.

British intelligence said that would represent the highest Russian casualty rate since the first week of the war.

British intelligence attributed the high number of Russian casualties to the lack of trained personnel, coordination, and resources, and cited the Russian effort to take Bakhmut as an example. RFE/RL is unable to confirm battlefield casualties.



Russian forces have also suffered massive losses in recent days around Vuhledar, a town that is close to the dividing line between the eastern and the southern theaters of the war. Ukrainian military drone footage posted last week appeared to show Russian lost nearly 30 armored vehicles, including tanks and infantry fighting vehicles, in fighting around Vuhledar.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military reported on February 12 that it had repulsed 11 attacks by Russian forces in the eastern Luhansk and Donetsk regions over the previous 24 hours.

In the Luhansk region, fighting continues to be intense near the village of Bilohorivka, the last area of the region still held by Ukrainian forces.



Luhansk region Governor Serhiy Hayday said in a Telegram post on February 12 that the region had been the target of powerful attacks in recent days, with Russian forces focusing on Bilohorivka and Kreminna, near the western border with the Donetsk region.

The Russian forces suffered significant losses, according to Hayday, and were forced to retreat.

They pulled back because they had to replenish their units, Hayday said.

Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko said later that day that Ukrainian electricity production has been restored following the latest Russian rocket attacks targeting power infrastructure. Some areas still remained without power, he said.



Russias military said on February 11 that it had carried out a massive strike with missiles and drones on Ukraines energy infrastructure, leading to power cuts in many cities and towns.

With reporting by Reuters




Photo shows a dish displayed at the exhibition. (Photo/Shi Yalei)

Over 200 dishes, including smelly mandarin fish and hairy tofu, along with over 100 kinds of ingredients and 100 pre-cooked dishes went on display at an exhibition of Anhui cuisine in Huangshan city, east Chinas Anhui Province, on Feb. 8, 2023.

The government of Huangshan city has formulated standards on 24 local dishes in an effort to promote Anhui cuisine, creating a database for over 75 dishes and their ingredients, cooking methods, and history. Over 10 million yuan ($1.47 million) in funding has been granted for programs related to Anhui cuisine. In 2022, Anhui's cuisine industry yielded over 20 billion ($2.95 billion) in output value.
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Kinney Manufacturing came to Beatrice in 2018 and has been expanding since with the purchase of three other local industrial businesses.

Randy and Debby Kinney both grew up on family farms in northeast Nebraska. They married in 1991 and spent time working for different companies in Louisiana, Texas, and Kansas. They returned to Lincoln in 2005.

In 2011 they created Kinney Manufacturing by purchasing IntoMetal in Lincoln. The business works with industrial partners in contract fabrication. Their shop are is 80,000 square feet and they have approximately 80 employees.

In 2018 as the company continued to grow and were looking for opportunities to expand, they were able to purchase Precise Fabrication in Beatrice from LeRoy and Doreen Janzen.

I had known of Precise Fabrication for several years and we had the great opportunity to purchase them. The company had a great reputation, nice facility and was located close to one of our prime customers  Exmark, Randy Kinney said.

Precise Fabrication

Precise Fabrication entered the custom fabrication business in 1985 when it was part of Goossen Industries. LeRoy Janzen, along with two other Goossen employees, made up the Precise Fabrication ownership team when they purchased the business in March 2001. LeRoy became the sole owner in 2010.

During the early years the customer base was made up predominantly of manufactures in the lawn and turf care equipment industry in the Industrial Park area of Beatrice.

Those initial companies are still a very important part of our customer base, Kinney said.

Precise Fabrication doubled the working area and expanded production capabilities when we moved to our current location on the north edge of Beatrice Industrial Park in 2007. The shop area has 40,000 feet square feet and there are approximately 40 employees.

Weve been able to take a lead role in contract metal manufacturing in the region since purchasing Precise Fabrication, he said.

Kinney said that as the customer base grew there was a need to expand offices. With the acquisition of J&J Wire, they were able to continue to increase the number of employees in Beatrice.

J&J Wire

Starting out in his garage, John Church started the company as a side business. Now the manufacturing company, specializing in forming and fabrication of wire, bar stock, tubing and strap iron. They also offer powder coating.

J&J Wire, Inc. operates in a 42,000 square foot facility located in the Industrial Park of Beatrice.

Blazin Grill Works/MGrills

Purchased in mid 2022, Blazin Grill Works and MGrills offer high-end cooking products. The manufacturing site in the Industrial Park in Beatrice

Our grills and smokers are not stamped on an assembly line or made overseas with inferior materials. We strive to make our line of barbecue products better at all costs, Kinney said.

Industrial Maid

A division of Kinney Manufacturing, Kinney Air recently purchased Industrial Maid in January. Currently located in Cortland, the business will move to Beatrice Industrial Park into a portion of the J&J Wire Building.

Industrial Maid has been providing industrial customers with high quality air filtration systems for almost 20 years. The systems filter dust, smoke, particulate matter and other impurities from the working environment.

Kinney Manufacturing received the Best Business of the Year at the Beatrice Area Chamber of Commerce Awards Luncheon in November 2022.

Kinney said there are over 70 employees in Beatrice, and he is excited to continue to grow.

I love the opportunity to grow our businesses, Kinney said. There is always something that we can learn or adapt to make our companies better. This allows us to support our customers, employees and suppliers.

It is exciting to see how these companies can work together to support each other and how we can maximize all of their potential. This creates advantages for our customers and employees.

He noted that Kinney Manufacturing is always looking for talented folks to join the team. Current openings can be found at www.kinneymfg.talentplushire.com.
Pavel Shelkov, Chief Geologist of the Almazy Zapolyarya (Polar Diamonds) group of companies, is engaged in prospecting and evaluation work on developing new diamond deposits in Russia with a wide geographical coverage, from Karelia to Yakutia.

In this interview with Rough&Polished, he speaks about the current projects the geologists are implementing and their prospects.

A few years ago, you told Rough&Polished about the most interesting prospecting and exploration projects carried out by the Almazy Zapolyarya company. What are their results?

In general, all the projects announced have been implemented, all the applications have been submitted and licenses have been obtained. Today, 18 licenses have been issued to five of our companies, 17 of them are in the Oleneksky District of Yakutia, and one license is given to carry on the work in the Medvezhyegorsky District of Karelia - in the area of the Kimozero kimberlite pipe.

Almost all of these licenses are very interesting, and there is a very high probability that primary or placer diamond deposits are within the licensed areas. In Yakutia, in particular, large-scale diamond placers are in our licensed areas in the basin of the Malaya Kuonamka river. Except for placers in the area of the Kuonamki river, the placers on its tributaries can be distinguished, including the Delingde and Usumun rivers as well as the Luchakan river where we expect the discovery of deposits with total reserves of more than 10 million carats. The placers on the Omonos and Ukukit rivers are very interesting where the rough diamonds characteristic of the kimberlite pipes of the West Ukukit kimberlite field located here prevail in the 10-km sections of the valleys. And in the valley of the Ukukit river (in the 80-km section), the diamond grades of 0.3 to 0.8 ct per cu.m were achieved from alluvial small-volume samples during the testing made by the Amakinskaya Geological Survey Expedition.

A very interesting paleo placer deposit on an area of about 4 sq. km was discovered earlier within our licensed area at the origin of the Kuogas-Uluybut-Motorchuna river in the Lower Jurassic Domerian stage deposits near the Aerogeologicheskaya and Sestra-19 kimberlite pipes. This placer deposit is characterized by low-nitrogen diamonds that prevail in these pipes, and very rare pink diamonds are present, which was a big surprise to me. Similar fancy-coloured and super-large-sized type IIa diamonds are characteristic of kimberlite deposits where low-nitrogen diamonds predominate that formed in the lower mantle over billions of years of slow growth at great depths. These deposits include the Letseng, Motae and Kao pipes in the Republic of Lesotho, as well as the famous Premier pipe where the largest Cullinnan (Star of Africa) diamond weighing 3,106 carats was found in South Africa, and the Karowe pipe in Botswana, each of which contained 600 type IIa diamonds weighing 900 carats and more.

Such unique diamonds of super-large sizes and fantasy colours are also characteristic of placer deposits formed during the destruction of kimberlites from such pipes like the Lulo placer in Angola where a 170-carat pink diamond of the first water was mined in 2022. The Lucara Diamonds company that owns the license has been searching for the pipe that formed the Lulo placer for over 15 years in the valley of the Lulo river, but with no success. Among our licensed areas, the Aerogeologicheskaya and Sestra-19 pipes located in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) and the Kimozero pipe in the Republic of Karelia are the kimberlite pipes with low-nitrogen diamonds where we expected to find giant diamonds and fancy-coloured ones. While studying the materials obtained in previous works, we became convinced that we were right and pink diamonds were present in these pipes. This was one of our first discoveries.

Also, low-nitrogen diamonds are found (although in a smaller amount) in the Svetlana, Lorik, Leningrad and Ruslovaya pipes, and the study of unpublished reports confirmed our prediction about the presence of large-size rough diamonds in these kimberlites because during the recovery of the geological samples from the Svetlana pipe, a gem-quality rough diamond larger than 4 carats was crushed into many smaller stones!

This is the second discovery and it means that large-size type IIa diamonds present not only in the kimberlites of these pipes but also in the placers on the Ukukit and Omonos rivers. These placers were formed by the destruction of these pipes, which can significantly increase the value of rough diamonds in the placers.

The third discovery relates to the Kimozero pipe in Karelia discovered by the Canadian Ashton Mining company that left the pipe in 2012. The area of this largest pipe is 2,000 m by 800 m. When I began to study the material, the first kimberlite sample taken by the Ashton Mining geologists in 1993 from blocks of the kimberlite almost in the bed of the stream (called Almazny by geologists) was the richest one with the average grade about 15 carats per tonne. The sample was taken 40 m from the place where the Ashton Minings discovery was made, and the sample showed a higher content of pyropes that are practically absent in diamond-poor kimberlite samples.

And the last sample of kimberlite taken by the Ashton Mining geologists in 2012 at the end of their work on the project also showed 15 carats per tonne. According to the conclusion of the mineralogist of the laboratory in Arkhangelsk, the rough diamonds were crushed into dozens of fragments during the processing of the sample, and they were initially 1-2 large rough diamonds weighing up to 1 ct. And although both samples rich in rough diamonds were not representative in terms of volume (10-18 kg only), these finds confirmed that in the Kimozero pipe with huge reserves of kimberlite ore, there were also kimberlite ores much richer in rough diamonds (in addition to diamond-poor kimberlites) with an ore grade of 1-2 carats per tonne and higher. In slightly eroded kimberlite pipes, the upper part of the kimberlite body is a crater deposit, where the ore grade is rather low, economically unviable, but there can be diamond-rich kimberlites under it, as in many pipes in Yakutia or Angola, and the samples with a lot of rough diamonds and pyropes.

And third, we have three licenses in the Tyung river area and one in the Chimidikyan river area. The Tyung river is closer to the Udachny mine.

They were looking for diamond pipes there, werent they?

Its an amazing story, diamond pipes were searched for there, but they were not found as it is quite difficult to find them. Almost all rough diamonds in this area are concentrated in the first five centimetres of the alluvium, another 20 cm is an alluvium-enriched layer, and there are no diamonds below this depth. That is, they are at the top, and in some areas, they are up to 9 carats per cubic metre, and there are almost no rough diamonds at the bottom. Usually, the opposite happens and they fall down. No one can explain why it happens so. About a decade ago, the Amakinskaya expedition carried out their work there, they searched for bedrock bodies but did not find them, and the placer deposits were assessed as P2. So, 3.5 million carats were found, but to a depth of 20 cm. In the early 1950s, a very large-scale work was carried out there, ditches were dug and a 27-carat rough diamond was found that was called Lucky Find. But nothing was found nearby. There is a term alluvial diamonds: when the water level rises in high water periods and diamonds rush from some place, and sometimes their content is up to seven carats per cubic metre, which is a very high one. That is, these are placers that need to be explored to a depth of 20 cm. There are such alluvial diamonds in the placers of the Congo, and there, at high water, local residents put small nets to catch them and even, according to various accounts, place them in buckets - so many of them are washed. In the 2010s, a lot of diamonds of a very good quality were found there; their price was up to $200 in 2015, and now it could be $400. It turns out that somewhere, there is a very rich pipe that has not yet been found yet, but when high water flows along the tributaries in the upper reaches, the diamond-bearing rocks are eroded and brought to the Tyung and Chimidikyan rivers. This is a unique geological phenomenon.

And the fourth discovery: we figured out where the diamonds came from to the Malaya Kuonamka river where we have licensed areas. There is a Malaya Kuonamka river valley about 3 km wide, but the most diamond-rich areas explored by the Almazy Anabara company are located downstream the confluence of its right tributaries (the Maspaky and Delingde rivers, etc.). And as you move away from the tributaries, the diamond content in the placer drops and the placer width decreases to 40 metres. It turns out that almost all the diamonds were brought to the Malaya Kuonamka river valley by the tributaries whose upper reaches are eroded by intermediate reservoirs of the Cretaceous age and where the content of the Ebelyakh type diamonds even today is up to 0.2 carats per cubic metre.

Today, diamond-bearing Cretaceous deposits, from which diamonds are brought, occupy very small areas in the upper reaches of the Maspaka and Delingde rivers that carry diamonds to the Malaya Kuonamka river. But in the pre-Quaternary time, diamond-bearing deposits were almost everywhere, and due to rapid destruction, huge amounts of diamonds were released that formed rich placers on the Maspaka river (12 mn carats) and the Malaya Kuonamka river (4 to 4.5 mn carats) that were included on the books and records by the Almazy Anabara company as it operates near this area.

It is characteristic that the placer on the Maspaka river has larger reserves, diamond content and the width of diamond-bearing placer channels of 140 m compared to the placer on the Malaya Kuonamka river. In its upper reaches, the average grade per mountain line was 2.4 carats per cu.m, which is several times higher than the average grade in the placers in the middle reaches of the Maspaka and Malaya Kuonamka rivers. So, 2/3 of the diamonds released during the erosion of intermediate reservoirs remained in the valleys of the rivers that drained them, and a smaller part of them was brought to the Little Kuonamka river. We predict a placer with reserves of more than 12 mn carats - similar to the placer on the Maspaka river - in the valley of the Delingde river that flows in parallel with it and has the same sources of rough diamonds. There is another geological phenomenon - before the Quaternary uplift that formed rich diamond placers, the Malaya Kuonamka river flowed into the Olenek river, i.e., it flowed in the opposite direction. The Usumun river where we have a licensed area and that features the areal contamination with diamonds (like in the Malaya Kuonamka area) was its paleochannel in the past! This explains that the most diamond-rich areas in the valley of the Malaya Kuonamka river are located not down the river, but up the todays river current, according to its paleocurrent!

Ebelyakh type diamonds are also brought to our areas, as well as from the Malaya Kuonamskaya pipe -where the diamond quality is rather high, according to the current price list, and the price for rough diamonds is $400 to $500 per carat.

How has the lockdown due to the Covid pandemic affected your plans?

We had a preparatory period at this time. But we managed to conduct a positive examination of all licenses; under the license agreements, we have a year to attract investments. We are currently negotiating with several investors, gold mining and oil companies, but the negotiations are not easy as everyone is in tension due to the current political situation and the Western sanctions.

What can you say about the general problems in exploration?

Everyone is having a hard time now. The situation is not easy in terms of attracting investment to implement projects. It hits everyone. At such times, investors are trying to withdraw capital and not invest it in anything. Only very brave investors can invest in such projects; for example, these can be gold mining companies that also have a very difficult time now because everything has risen in price, including explosives, fuel and lubricants ...

If the ore grade at the gold mines is below 4 g per tonne, the production becomes unprofitable; for example, one of our potential investors was at a loss. Unfortunately, we also faced this situation.

In addition to investment, there are also other problems. As for Yakutia, of course, it has a very poorly developed infrastructure, which also requires fairly large investments. For example, there is a magnificent Malokuonamskaya pipe - you can practically call it a deposit, although it has not yet been included on the books and records, but exploration was carried out there with pits and wells, in fact, in category C1-C2. In a rich block, the ore grade is 0.46 ct per tonne but we believe that after processing the bulk samples, which makes it possible to extract large diamonds, it will be, at least, higher than a carat per tonne. The quality of diamonds is absolutely fantastic: the cost of rough diamonds in one tonne of ore, for example, can reach $150-$200 in the 2017 prices and $300-350 in the 2022 prices. It means, that the price of rough diamonds in a tonne of kimberlite ore should be from $180 to $300, which is a very high figure. But at the same time, a bottleneck is the lack of any infrastructure; the distance to the Udachny mine is 400 kilometres along the winter road, which practically brings all the advantages to nought.

Placers can be developed on a rotational basis, which also increases the cost, but the development of any primary deposits located far from the areas with developed infrastructure is an extremely difficult task for private investors. We held meetings with different companies, made our offers and had discussions... People seem to show some interest in the placers, but as for a primary deposit, they hesitate because there are no roads, which actually means that it is necessary to build an airport. And the airplanes are required...

When you start calculating all the costs of creating the infrastructure, you understand that if it would be a pipe, for example, like Mir or Udachnaya ones, it would pay off. And it would be very difficult to implement such a project now because earlier, the USSR state could afford such expenditures. Now, of course, developing and putting primary deposits into operation in undeveloped areas requires the same efforts as a flight to Mars.

How long can it take to implement projects like yours, for example?

As for placers, 2-3 years are required to include a deposit on the books and records, if funding is normal, and 2-3 years are required for exploration, and after that, 3-4 years are required for the production, so in the best scenario, a project can take 7 years.

I dont have a very good idea of how to include alluvial diamonds on the books and records, they are just on the surface, it is possible to carry out sampling in one summer season, and start mining - even not on a large scale. We really hope for the alluvial diamonds from the Tyung deposit. And in the Malaya Kuonamka and other areas, serious mining work is required as blasting through permafrost is an expensive and time-consuming work.

And it is unknown what will happen tomorrow. For example, people would start working on tractors in mines, in placers. And in the spring, they can be mobilized to become tank operators, and all the work can stop at our project.

As a result, what feeds your optimism and helps you continue your work?

I just understand that we managed to collect diamond assets of absolutely unique quality - both in placers and in primary deposits. This, of course, is cause for optimism. Five years ago, I had never even dreamt of that. That is, we managed to obtain licenses and defend our projects.

Really, inherent optimism, probably, and love for diamonds are just a matter of life for me. It gives me strength when I look at magnificent diamonds shining with all their facets, and when I imagine what kind of rough diamonds will be in the Aerogeologicheskaya pipe, Sister-19, Kimozero - yellow, red, pink, green stones... And by the way, in the Malokuonamskaya pipe, there are absolutely unique sea-green diamonds, as the colour of a sea wave, such diamonds are almost never found anywhere. But they are typical of these pipes. When I look at them, they invigorate me.

This is enthusiasm, we can say that there is a little material component in this, in general. Enthusiasm and belief that in the long run, I will be able to do it all, despite all the great difficulties that exist now.

I fell in love with diamonds when I studied at the institute. When I joined the army in 1985 at my third year of the Moscow State Institute of Natural Resources, I took the book Diamond Geology of the USSR. I was interested in geology since childhood, as I brought stones home when I was a child.

Even now, around my house, near Moscow, kimberlites are put all around, they were brought from Yakutia, from the Kimozero pipe, and other places.

I would also like to add that in Karelia, we are on the verge of discovering a new kimberlite pipe. That is, kimberlite has already been found, it was proved that this is not a single outcrop, this kimberlite differs from the Kimozersky kimberlite in thin sections, and we will explore it for diamond potential ... And, most likely, another pipe is ten kilometres away - that is, there is a whole kimberlite field. This is very interesting and, of course, important when some new kimberlite bodies are found. Moreover, this is Karelia, it is easier to get there thanks to good roads. But in general, I am full of optimism, of course, I realize that these are magnificent diamond assets. In practice, there are diamonds everywhere - of course, the diamond content may vary, but in principle, everything was very well planned.

It remains to include it all on the books and records, which is not easy in our time.

But I think that our project will be the third private one after the AGD Diamonds and ALMAR companies, in terms of resource potential, may be, we are in the next place after the Grib pipe. Our potential is huge.

And one more thing: we have two licensed areas - near the Delingde river opposite the Zhilinda village and near the Usumun river, and both areas along these watercourses have a very high gold content in samples that amount up to 500 small gold particles (less 1-3 mg) for an 8-litre stream-sediment placer sample. And it is up to 3.5 g per cu.m in small-volume samples from the Usumun river area. That is, in addition to diamonds, placer gold can also be an important mineral to be mined in these areas. And between these two watercourses, there are, most likely, primary sources because when surveying in the Usumun river valley area, gold-sulfide veins were detected that are, probably, gold-bearing. In addition to gold, there is also halenit characteristic of Kuranakh-type gold deposits in dolomites with horizons of carbonaceous matter that is a natural sorbent of gold. By the way, gold in diamond-bearing placers on the Malaya Kuonamka and Bolshaya Kuonamka rivers comes from such deposits, it is extracted today along with rough diamonds. Such deposits can have fantastic reserves amounting to hundreds and thousands of tonnes. And this is the 5th discovery, although it is no longer related to diamonds and kimberlites, that shows another interesting potential. In general, Yakutia is a very cold region but fantastically rich in resources, and I am sure that the people of Sakha Yakutia, will properly manage their wealth and have a very prosperous life.

Galina Semyonova for Rough&Polished
(jckonline.com) - In two weeks, Bruce Cleaver (pictured) will step down as De Beers CEO, after six years in the role. His replacement will be energy executive Al Cook. Going forward, Cleaver will serve as De Beers co-chair, along with Duncan Wanblad, the CEO of Anglo American, De Beers parent company. Before Cleaver leaves the job of CEO, we wanted to talk with him about the highlights of his time running the company, and where he sees the industry going. This is a two-part interview. The second part, which will run later this week, will cover a look back at Cleavers tenure. The first part, which runs today, concerns current events, including De Beers contract with Botswana, Russian sanctions, and whats happening with Forevermark and Lightbox.
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Managing Editor

she/her | Bridget is the Messengers managing editor. She oversees the newsroom and covers the Maple Run and Franklin West school districts, the communities of St. Albans and Fairfax and pays attention to recreation, food and the arts. She's also an avid cyclist and skier.

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Justine Panian, San Marcos service leader for Girls Scouts San Diego, talks with new Junior Girl Scouts during a meeting April 13 at San Marcos Elementary School. With her mom, Kassie, Justine recruited 43 bilingual college students to lead nine new troops.

Girl Scouts of the USA has been tackling two big challenges in recent years: How to keep in touch with former scouts during their college and pre-parenting years, and how to recruit troop leaders in underserved and minority communities.

This spring, a mother-daughter team of volunteers in San Marcos have been working to solve both problems at the same time.

In February, 24-year-old Justine Panian and her mom, Kassie Panian, recruited 43 Cal State San Marcos students  most of them bilingual and many of them former scouts  who are now helping to lead nine new troops of Brownies, Daisies and Junior Girl Scout troops in San Marcos and Vista.

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The Panians all-volunteer pilot program has caught the attention of Girl Scout officials both in San Diego and at the organizations headquarters in New York, where Justine now serves on the national alumnae volunteer committee.

This is right on target with our focus area, said Susan Swanson, Girl Scouts of the USAs vice president of strategic initiatives, alumnae. I do think this is part of an unleashing something bigger thats happening across the USA  This is the beginning of some really exciting work.

New Junior Girl Scout leaders who are Cal State San Marcos students watch a presentation during a meeting of Daisy, Brownie and Junior Girl Scouts at San Marcos Elementary School on April 13. (Howard Lipin / The San Diego-Union-Tribune )

The seeds for the Panians pilot program were sewn nearly six years ago, when Justine went away to college at the University of Alabama. She missed her family, she missed her hometown of San Marcos and she missed Girl Scouts.

I didnt realize until I was in college how much Girl Scouts prepared me for life in seemingly intangible ways, like communications, leadership and planning events, said Justine, whos now a clinical research coordinator at the Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health in La Jolla.

From Brownies up through the Senior Scout level, Justine was passionate about Girl Scouts. Thats thanks in large part to her mom and longtime troop leader, Kassie Panian.

Kassie, 53, also grew up in a scouting family. Her mom was den mother to her brothers Boy Scout troops and was Kassies first Girl Scout troop leader in their native Alabama. She said scouting offered opportunities she couldnt find elsewhere.

Where I grew up, girls leadership was not encouraged. Girls Scouts gave girls voices, Kassie said. Girl Scouts was the best experience I had as a girl, bar none, and I wanted that for my daughters.

Volunteer Kassie Panian, North County service units director for Girl Scouts San Diego, hands out snacks during a meeting of Daisy, Brownie, and Junior Girl Scouts at San Marcos Elementary School last week. (Howard Lipin / The San Diego-Union-Tribune )

Once Justine arrived at the University of Alabama, she found a way to continue her Girl Scout journey. She and another volunteer started a campus student organization to do scouting outreach to underserved girls in the Tuscaloosa area. Their most successful event was a free all-day science and math camp that drew more than 100 girls.

After graduating with a degree in chemical engineering, Justine came home in 2016 eager to carry on helping Girl Scouts. She joined her mom, who never stopped serving as a Girl Scouts volunteer, even after her two daughters aged out of the program as teens (daughter Jaymee, 22, is an aerospace engineer).

Last year, Justine replaced her mom as Girl Scouts San Diegos San Marcos service unit manager. (Her mom went on to serve as service units manager for all of North County.) Justines first goal was to create a new super troop for all the San Marcos girls whod been on a waiting list for months.

As luck and timing would have it, Cal State San Marcos senior Holly Isaacs stepped forward to help. Isaacs had been a scout from ages 5 to 10, but when her family moved to a new town, the local troop wouldnt accept new members, so she was forced to give up scouting. She didnt want other girls to experience the same heartache.

I wanted to volunteer with Girl Scouts because I wanted to make sure no girls were stuck on the wait list and potentially never getting placed in a troop, said Isaacs, a speech-language pathology major.

Last October, the Panians helped Isaacs and fellow volunteer Jessica Harlow start the San Marcos super troop, which cleared the citywide wait list. Isaacs said she has loved the experience but has been shocked to learn of the desperate need for volunteers in the area.

Cal State San Marcos senior and Girl Scouts troop leader Holly Isaacs, center, holds the hand of Natalia Romero, right, a Daisy Girl Scout, as Kahlo, an aplomado falcon, is perched on her forearm during a citywide troop meeting at San Marcos Elementary School. (Howard Lipin / The San Diego-Union-Tribune )

Encouraged by her initial success, Justine decided to mine Cal State San Marcos for more student volunteers. The first person she contacted was Alice Quiocho, a lecturer in the Human Development Department. Quiocho also spent many of her childhood years in scouting.

Girl Scouts have been kind of ignored in our society but I can tell you that I learned a lot of leadership in the scouts and I would like other girls to have the same exposure, Quiocho said. Girl Scouts train strong members.

Through Quiocho, Justine got several professors on board and in early February, Kassie made classroom visits to recruit volunteers. The goal was to find bilingual students who could lead new troops and help at scout camps.

Although young Latino girls interested in scouting speak English, many of their mothers do not, and many of their mothers have no experience in Girl Scouts, so they rarely volunteer to serve as troop leaders.

To the Panians surprise, 43 CSUSM students volunteered and since March theyve been leading 96 girls in nine troops at Alvin Dunn, San Marcos and Joli Ann Leichtag elementary schools.

Gloria Vargas, regional membership recruitment manager for Girl Scouts San Diego, said the Panians pilot program has been a big success.

This is an outstanding example of innovative Girl Scouting, Vargas said in an email. We applaud Justine and Kassie for creating a successful and replicable volunteer-led model for expanding Girl Scouting in our communities.

Swanson with Girl Scouts of the USA in New York said the Panians project is one of several similar grassroots programs that are now being introduced by alumni in cities nationwide.

Theres a pent-up enthusiasm across the country to help connect our passionate Girl Scout alumni with one another to help girls and women, Swanson said.

Justine said shes been gratified at how fast the program has grown, the enthusiasm of the girls and their troop leaders and the unexpected benefits of these new mentoring relationships.

These troop leaders are closer in age to the girls, so theyre more relatable, and because theyre college students, theyre the coolest people ever. Theyre role models and they serve as a direct connection for these girls to the university, Justine said.

Next, the Panians hope to recruit MiraCosta College students to lead troops in Oceansides underserved neighborhoods, followed by Palomar College students to work in Escondido. Justine is also looking for ways to raise money for these new scouts uniforms, since cookie season is over for the year and many of their families are low income.

Justine recently applied for medical school and she doesnt know where that path will lead her. But wherever she goes, she plans to be a Girl Scout volunteer.

This journey has taught me leadership, confidence and investment in bettering the world and the next generation of women leaders, she said.

Falconer Adam Chavez, right, holds Mr. Bojangles, a Eurasian eagle-owl during a Girl Scouts meeting at San Marcos Elementary School on April 13. (Howard Lipin / The San Diego-Union-Tribune )

pam.kragen@sduniontribune.com
A Baker man pleaded not guilty earlier this week in federal court to allegations of trafficking an underage girl and using her to create child sex abuse material.

Dane Ralph James Curry, 39, has been charged in U.S. District Court with conspiracy to produce child pornography, sex trafficking of a minor and destruction of records in a federal investigation. He was indicted in January, and appeared for his arraignment February 7.

Federal prosecutors alleged that in April 2021, Curry coerced an underage girl in Ekalaka into performing sexually explicit acts in order to create child sex abuse material. During that same time, according to charging documents, Curry enticed that same girl to engage in commercial sex. Curry then allegedly destroyed some of the child sex abuse material with the aim of hindering the investigation into the victims abuse.

If convicted of conspiracy to produce child pornography or sex trafficking of a minor, Curry could be sentenced up to life in prison. As of Saturday, he was in custody at Yellowstone County Detention Facility.

On Friday, a former Colstrip police officer admitted in U.S. District Court to receiving child sex abuse material after starting an inappropriate relationship with an underage girl. Hossein Cristiano Luigi Borhan, 49, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Cavan to one count of receipt of child pornography.

Between August 2021 and April 2022, court documents said, Borhan began messaging the girl over the internet while he was still a member of the Colstrip Police Department. The messages became sexually explicit, with Borhan instructing the girl to send him photos and videos of herself. Borhan resigned from the department last year, the Gazette previously reported.

At his sentencing, Borhan is facing a mandatory minimum of five years and up to 20 years in prison.

Tips of child sex abuse material being shared through the internet can be submitted anonymously to law enforcement through the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at https://report.cybertip.org/.
U.S. sanctions hugely erode purchasing power of Iranian middle, lower classes

Xinhua) 10:23, February 12, 2023

TEHRAN, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- Although the United States claims that the Iranian people are not the target of its sanctions, the country's middle and lower classes are experiencing a huge erosion of purchasing power as a result of the unilateral coercive measures.

Mohsen Mohammadi, a sales manager of a real estate office, said because of the U.S. sanctions, it has become difficult for low- and middle-class people in Iran to rent a house, let alone purchase one.

Two years ago, it cost about 1.5 billion rials (3,488 U.S. dollars in the parallel market) to buy a decent housing unit with an area of almost 90 square meters. Now, that amount is hardly sufficient to pay the yearly rent of a 60-square meter one, he explained.

Lying behind the soaring prices is the sharp depreciation of the rial against other major currencies over the past years as a result of U.S. sanctions. In 2018, each dollar was sold at 32,000 rials in the Iranian market, while the greenback is now priced at around 430,000 rials.

In addition, as many of the construction materials in Iran are imported, they are susceptible to sanctions and fluctuations in the foreign currency market, Mohammadi said, adding the cost of construction has witnessed a fourfold increase in the past three years.

Iran's automobile market is also among the sectors hit hard by the sanctions, which have made it difficult for the country to import cars and auto spare parts.

Prior to the reimposition of the U.S. sanctions, a locally manufactured sedan model known as Pride, an economy car affordable by the lower class, was priced at about 300 million rials, but it is sold at about 2.88 billion rials at present.

The price increase has been even more noticeable with regard to foreign automobiles.

Against such unfavorable conditions, domestic automakers in Iran are gaining momentum and expanding in size in the past few years.

Iran's car production has seen a steady increase since March 2019, as the country produced 671,435 vehicles from March 2019 to March 2020, and 994,156 from March 20 to Dec. 22, 2022, according to a report by the semi-official Mehr news agency.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and the world powers in May 2018, and reimposed unilateral sanctions on the country.

The sanctions, which have targeted Iran's main lifelines, namely oil exports and banking sectors, were reimposed as part of the U.S. "maximum pressure" campaign against Iran in an attempt to negotiate a new nuclear deal with the Iranian government.

(Web editor: Xian Jiangnan, Sheng Chuyi)
Billings police investigate a homicide outside America's Wild West on Southgate Drive Sunday morning. At 1:40 a.m. a man was shot following a disturbance and transported to a local hospital. The shooter was identified and located before being arrested and charged with deliberate homicide and tampering with evidence, according to a social media post from the police department.
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A 19-year-old swimmer has died after falling from a cliff at Gibraltar Falls in the ACT.

Rangers from ACT Parks and Conservation and passers-by provided assistance and first aid to the teenager until emergency services arrived.

ACT Policing said it received reports about 11.15am on Sunday that a man had fallen off a cliff.

A stock image of Gibraltar Falls in the ACT, where a 19-year-old man died on Sunday. Credit: Alamy

Despite the best efforts of all involved, the man was pronounced deceased at the scene, police said.
The vaccine technology used to fight COVID-19 could soon protect people from another deadly respiratory virus, and trials are under way to determine whether it might also be effective against cystic fibrosis and melanoma.

An mRNA vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)  a highly contagious infection that can be life-threatening to babies and the elderly  could be in medical clinics before the end of the year.

The technology behind mRNA vaccines is being adapted to tackle new diseases.

In January, Moderna reported promising results from a large, late-stage clinical trial of its RSV vaccine: it was 83.7 per cent effective at preventing symptomatic RSV in older adults. Trials of the vaccine in pregnant women and infants are now under way.

A more ambitious therapy is close behind: a vaccine for melanoma.
When St Pauls, the final male bastion among Sydney Universitys residential colleges, opened its doors to women, the hope was for healthy interest from both genders. It got a stampede.

Said warden Edward Loane: St Pauls College has had more applications than any time in its [more than 165-year] history. An equal number of men and women have applied. Theres been about six applicants for every spot.

Ashley Buchanan, right, will transfer from The Womens College to St Pauls College when it becomes co-ed in 2023, joining the existing male students, including Lachlan Oldfield, left, in Sydney. Credit: Janie Barrett

Loane puts the high demand down to two things: an enthusiasm for mixed-gender living, and a renewed interest in college life among students who have spent years learning from their bedrooms and who crave an old-fashioned, real-life university experience.

Other colleges have also experienced a surge in interest. Said Womens College principal Tiffany Donnelly: Weve all seen an upswing in applications. Students have been saying to me, I want to spend time on campus.
An alleged sexual assault from the 1990s was uncovered decades later when a woman found a videotape in her garage depicting her estranged husband assaulting an unknown woman, a court has heard.

A man, who cannot be named, is facing trial in NSW District Court accused of setting up a camera and filming himself assaulting a woman some time between October 1991 and March 1993. He has pleaded not guilty to 11 counts of sexual intercourse without consent.

In an opening statement to a jury last week, Crown prosecutor Alex Morris said the woman, then aged in her 20s, agreed to have dinner with the man, where he repeatedly asked her to have sex. She declined, the prosecutor said, and as the night went on she started to feel woozy after drinking orange juice.

Morris said the womans last memory of that evening was going to the mans home at Liverpool in Sydneys south-west because he said his father was unwell, and she thought something might have been wrong.

It is alleged the man assaulted the woman for about 40 minutes during the hour-long video, calling her a slut and a bitch and threatening to have anal sex with her if she didnt hug and kiss him.
But over the past few years, this changed, with schools often following up non-attendance with a phone call instead. She was never told why, and said without engaging with families directly, change to attendance rates would be almost impossible. Over the years, attendance has become a major problem ... it seems to have regressed, she said. Most people just want the kids to do their best, but the current system doesnt allow it. Its not an equal playing field. Very few [Aboriginal] children would have an attendance rating of 80 per cent or more. Home visits to encourage children to attend and to support parents to get them to school do not happen as often as they used to. We are losing a lot of our children from education by about year 4. They stop being regular attendees by then. I feel very sad that my mob do not, or cannot, enjoy education and I dont know how we will change this.

Most [Indigenous] children dont see a future that can be made better by attending school. They dont see people in their lives working. There are not many Aboriginal people on the front line, in offices or supermarkets. Poverty was also a factor, she said, with uniforms and book lists often too expensive. She said she had also seen students attend school, but become bored or discouraged because of the assumptions they were below their peers academically. Most people just want the kids to do their best, but the current system doesnt allow it. Its not an equal playing field, she said. She said many Aboriginal and Islander education officers were now being used as mainstream education assistants in schools, on top of their numbers declining.

There is no career path, she said. The pay is also not enough, especially for a one income family to live on... You couldnt raise a family on my wage. Theres nowhere near enough funding or resourcing going into engaging [Indigenous] students. Shane Yardley There has always been a lot of talk about improving schooling for Aboriginal children, but it feels like this is just to tick a box. There hasnt been much actual change over the past 22 years. SMYL Community College acting principal Shane Yardley works with young people who have disengaged or who are at-risk of disengaging from mainstream education.

Its getting more and more difficult to get [Aboriginal education] workers. There are not enough of them in areas of need, he said. Somewhere with a high number of Indigenous students might only have one Indigenous worker, and they would probably need three or four to get that attendance up. Its a big task, and its becoming harder and harder to attract those people into that, its not as highly paid as it could be. Yardley said it would likely be more attractive to get a job with less stress and higher pay, and that right now, they would be better off training as a teacher. The figures speak for themselves, there is talk about closing the gap, but theres nowhere near enough funding or resourcing going into engaging [Indigenous] students, he said.

The evidence is pretty clear. Our current education system doesnt meet the needs of those students, and we need to look at other methods, whether that be through more Indigenous teachers, teaching more Indigenous culture in more schools with a higher percentage [of Indigenous students]. Yardley has compiled a snapshot of Perth metropolitan schools which shows the difference between Indigenous and non-Indigenous attendance rates is vast, regardless of the proportion of Indigenous students. It also shows the lack of Indigenous children able to attend some of the most respected public schools, often found in higher socio-economic areas. Yardley said new Education Minister Tony Buti appeared to be readying to focus on ATAR and university entry rates, rather than attendance and engagement.

I think thats the wrong thing to be doing, he said. Encouraging VET, certificate courses and other alternative pathways and ways to employment is where we would actually improve the lives of the Indigenous students and their families and improve things for the next [generation]. In the latest WA Department of Education annual report, Director General Lisa Rodgers said named Aboriginal engagement was both a priority and one of our more significant challenges. The department was unable to provide information by deadline on the total number of Aboriginal and Islander education officers whether currently or historically. Deputy Director General Melesha Sands said there were 75 vacancies for Aboriginal and Islander education officers leading into day one, 2023, but that all roles had now been filled.

There is not a one-size-fits-all approach to improving attendance, we must understand the barriers to regular attendance, she said. Loading Schools work closely with families, community organisations and agencies to support strong student engagement and address any underlying causes of when school attendance is of concern. Strategies that we know work include celebrating regular attendance and identifying poor attendance early so that schools can intervene and support families. Sands said one of their initiatives was a 10-point plan to improve attendance rates titled Every Day Matters and that in 2022, their Education Conversations series was held in each of the eight education regions around the state.
How much of this convention lasts remains to be seen, but the exhilaration in Old Parliament House touched hardened political hearts and warmed the spirit of the nation.

The Prime Minister said as much when he opened Constitution Place in Canberra yesterday. The name will be a lasting tribute to this historic convention.

As the convention finished there were hugs for the ARM with Janet Holmes A Court, at left, and Malcolm Campbell getting a hug from Wendy Machin. 13th February, 1998. Credit: John French

February 13, 1998. It might just turn out to be Golden Friday. At the very least, it is unlikely that Australian democracy will be quite the same again.

First published in The Sydney Morning Herald on February 14, 1998 Cheers, tears and the tang of eucalypts Convention Diary

Delegates who had arm wrestled for two weeks threw their arms around one another. Hands formerly raised in anger were offered in friendship. Kisses were offered and accepted, tears shed.

Mr Howard said: The reason it has been a success and why it has captured the interest and imagination of the Australian people is that . . . we all smell the same eucalypts, we all know the same dust, and we all feel the same salt in the same ocean.

The shining moment came at 2.44 pm. Seventy-three delegates had voted that this convention supports the adoption of a republican system of government on the bipartisan appointment model in preference to there being no change to the Constitution. There were 57 votes against and 22 abstentions. The mood was strangely subdued. Members of the Australian Republican Movement were disappointed. Delegates were distracted by argument as to whether or not the 73 constituted a majority.

Then Mr Howard rose to announce that, because a clear majority had voted for a republic and the bipartisan model was clearly most favoured, it would be a travesty in a democracy for that proposition not to be put to the Australian people.

The vast majority of delegates, and most visitors in the public gallery, broke into applause. Lloyd Waddy, who has defended the monarchy like Horatio on his bridge, led the clapping.
Alexander Hamilton asked the question: whether men (and women) are really capable or not of establishing good government from reflection and choice, or whether they are forever destined to depend for their political constitutions on accident and force. What will our answer be?

Our constitutions, approved by the people and not their legislative agents, are a higher form of law than the statutory creations of the legislative branch. They are exclusively focused on the public good, instead of party preference or autocratic impulse. Accordingly, amending a constitution, is, by express design, much more difficult than the enactment of a simple statutory provision.

However, when the question arises whether an amendment to the Constitution should be referred to the people, legislators assume a position different from that associated with routine law-making duties. In such an instance, it is incumbent upon those legislators, in concert with their oath, to determine, to a moral certainty, that the offered amendment will serve the public good. Not just the public good of some, but the best interest of all.

Since the 1972 Montana Constitution was passed 50 years ago, there have been 50 constitutional amendment proposals referred to the people by the Montana Legislature and placed on the ballot. An average of one per year. During that same period of fifty years, through 27 sessions of the Montana Legislature, there were never more than five proposals in any one legislative session placed on the ballot. In four of the last seven sessions of the Legislature, there were no constitutional amendment proposals referred to the people and placed on the ballot.

This year in the Montana Legislature, there are 57 constitutional amendment proposals. Four of those proposals have been introduced. Of the remaining 53 proposals, apparently only seven have been drafted. So, at this point, the content of the remainder remains a mystery at this point.

It is important to note that, based on titles alone, nine of the proposed constitutional amendments focus on a variety of different issues redesigning the judiciary, including the selection and terms of supreme court justices; term limits for supreme court justices; new judicial recall provisions; judicial appointments; changes to the judicial standards commission, the removal and discipline of judges; and, astonishingly, a proposal providing for the impaneling of a grand jury in criminal cases by the voters of an individual county, along with a mandatory duty requiring the county attorney to prosecute the voter initiated indictment or face a criminal charge of obstruction of justice or official misconduct.

In addition to the focus on the judiciary, there are three proposed amendments regarding the Board of Regents and 13 centered on elections, redistricting and ballot issues. There are, then, 21 proposals, or 38 percent, of the total suggested changes to alter the Constitution that are directed at the judiciary, the Board of Regents, elections and redistricting.

It cannot escape notice that the unprecedented number of the proposed constitutional amendments presented to a single Legislature exceeds the total number of legislatively referred constitutional amendments placed on the ballot during the last 50 years. Nor can it be ignored that all 57 amendment proposals have been requested by the same political party; or that a significant number of the proposed constitutional amendments are closely connected to issues that were the subject of intense debate and litigation involving Republican elected officials, the Board of Regents and the courts during and after the 2021 legislative assembly.

The picture painted by all of these interrelated facts is precisely why George Washington, in his farewell address warned against the rise of political parties: They serve to organize faction; to give it an artificial and extraordinary force; to put in the place of the delegated will of the nation the will of a party and ...in the course of timeto become potent engines by whichcunning, ambitious...men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government. The spirit of party, in its dominant form, Washington believed, "agitates the community with ill founded jealousies and false alarms, kindles the animosity of one part against another, (and) foments occasionally riot and insurrection.
The head of Australias peak body for private parking operators will meet with Queenslands Transport Minister this week after the governments public outrage over stories emerging from the sector.

Transport Minister Mark Bailey held a press conference last month after examples of Brisbane residents being sent threatening payment letters for allegedly overstaying parking limits at privately run sites.

Parking overstayers are unlikely to wind up in court, but they might find debt collectors on their doorstep. Credit: Paul Rovere

He called the practice a rip-off, suggesting operators might have been exploiting a loophole enabling them to seek contact details for motorists caught breaching rules by either staff or Transport Department technology.

Parking Australia chief executive Stuart Norman emailed Baileys office on January 31 seeking a meeting to discuss the media coverage and a review. Two days later, he was told it was being considered.
Phnom Penh: Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has ordered the shutdown of one of the last independent local news organisations in the country, saying it had attacked him and his son and hurt the country.

The Voice of Democracy, also known as VOD, no longer has a licence to publish or broadcast from Monday, the prime minister said in a statement posted on his official Facebook page on Sunday night (Phnom Penh time).

Hun Sen said a recent VOD article had hurt the dignity and reputation of the Cambodian government. Credit: James Brickwood

He ordered Phnom Penh police to keep order but not seize property. He said foreign donors to VOD should take back their money and its staff should find new jobs.

Commentators tried to attack me and my son Hun Manet, Hun Sen wrote. He said a VOD story published earlier this week had hurt the dignity and reputation of the Cambodian government, and he ordered the Ministry of Information cancel VODs licence.
In their latest effort to rein in carousing visitors, Amsterdam officials announced plans this week to tamp down disruptive behaviour in the citys Red Light District, including barring pot-smoking on the streets, reducing hours for restaurants and brothels, and tightening some alcohol restrictions.

Tourists walk in the red light district of Amsterdam, where prostitutes try to lure customers from behind their window. Credit:

The rules are meant to ease the impact of hordes of sometimes-rowdy tourists on people who live in the area. An announcement from the city council referenced an alcohol- and drug-fuelled atmosphere at night that makes the neighbourhood unsafe and prevents residents from sleeping.

Officials are taking public comments on many of the proposed measures for the next four weeks before finalising amendments to municipal bylaws.

Under the measures announced on Thursday, the smoking ban would go into effect in mid-May. The city could take more action if the ban doesnt go far enough to reduce nuisance behaviour.
Brussels: Europe is rushing to launch a COVID-style plan to ramp up shell production after leaders told Volodymyr Zelensky they did not have much in our warehouses to give.

European governments have backed plans to use the EUs fast-tracked, multibillion-euro coronavirus vaccine scheme as a blueprint to produce the ammunition so desperately needed by Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky gives a speech at the European Parliament in the presence of all MEPs and parliamentary leaders on February 9 in Brussels. Credit: Getty

Kaja Kallas, the Estonian prime minister, urged member states on Saturday to back the scheme as Russia launched a large-scale renewed offensive.

A number of the blocs leaders told the Ukrainian president they no longer have much in our warehouses to give after he handed them wish-lists of weapons during a visit to Brussels earlier this week.
Residents claim heavy rescue equipment was slow to arrive in neighbourhoods. Credit: AP Among those detained on Saturday was Mehmet Ertan Akay, builder of a collapsed complex in the hard-hit city of Gaziantep, who was charged with involuntary manslaughter and violation of public construction law, a Turkish news agency reported. The Gaziantep prosecutors office said it had issued the detention order after inspecting evidence collected from the rubble of the complex he had built. Mehmet Yasar Coskun, builder of a 12-storey building in Hatay province with 250 apartments that were destroyed, was detained on Friday at an Istanbul airport while trying to board a flight to Montenegro. Dozens of people are thought to have died when the building collapsed. Two builders of a collapsed 14-storey building in Adana, who reportedly fled Turkey immediately after the quake, were detained in Northern Cyprus, according to the Turkish-controlled Northern Cyprus administration. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkeys president, visiting Diyarbakir province on Saturday, defended the governments actions, saying that this earthquake was three times bigger and more destructive than the 1999 quake, the greatest disaster in our countrys recent memory. While acknowledging that official response has been slow, he said the country was not prepared for an earthquake of this size.

Loading Erdogan, who faces a tough election battle in May, called for unity, saying: Unfortunately some political parties, NGOs, still seek to attack immorally, impudently. He vowed retribution on looters and said that all Turkish universities would switch to online learning so that survivors could live for now in state-run dormitories. While Turkey has building codes put in place after the 1999 quake, residents said they were often not applied because contractors could earn more money when they cut corners  mixing the concrete and using cheaper metal bars to gird pillars, among other things. Mesut Koparal, a car dealer whose mother was killed in the quake, was furious at the state for not doing more to ensure buildings were constructed well.

The state is responsible, he said. If you have a small amount of debt, the state chases you and finds you, but they dont check the buildings. Im not an engineer, Im not a contractor, he added. How would I know? Rescuers carry Muhammed Alkanaas, 12, to an ambulance after they pulled him out five days after the earthquake in Antakya. Credit: AP His neighbour Mehmet Celik, 38, a middle-school teacher, said the big problem was so-called amnesties for buildings that were not built according to code, which the government occasionally issues to effectively legalise such buildings. It was good politics because no one wants a building or apartment they had paid for to be condemned, he said. But then the building is vulnerable when a quake hits. In the city of Adiyaman, the main thoroughfare felt like a construction site that sprawls out, block after block. But instead of putting up buildings, crews of workers, cranes, bulldozers and excavators were digging through the rubble of those that had collapsed.

Residents said rescue crews and aid were initially slow to arrive after last Mondays powerful earthquake. The crews now pack the main roadway. Rescue workers, miners and uniformed soldiers stand atop piles of rubble and rest on the grassy median, warming themselves with wood fires that choke the air with smoke, and sipping lentil soup made in volunteer kitchens. Firefighters stand next to a Turkey-bound train loaded with emergency aid for building shelters, at a railway station in Romania on Saturday. Credit: AP Adiyaman was badly damaged, with a number of buildings on each block along its main street now collapsed. Many others have cracked windows and walls, and none appear to have inhabitants. Prepared food, nappies and baby formula were being handed out at various distribution points. In an empty dirt lot, volunteers set up an open-air pharmacy to hear residents complaints and look at their medical records before fetching the proper pills or syrups from folding tables behind them.

At a medical tent next door, doctors offered free consultations to anyone who walked in. The most common complaints were wounds from shattered glass or falling bricks, respiratory illnesses aggravated by the cold weather and diarrhoea from the lack of potable water for the droves of homeless people, said Dr Firat Erkmen, the head of a medical association in Sanliurfa that sent a delegation of volunteers. A million or more people in the affected region are thought to be without shelter in a cold winter, UN officials said, as local and foreign aid workers pushed to bring food, clean water and temporary housing to the affected areas, especially in north-west Syria, which has been largely cut off from outside aid because of political obstacles stemming from a 12-year civil war. Loading The earthquake left widespread destruction across south-eastern Turkey and northern Syria, both in the last opposition-held territory in Syrias north-west and in swaths of government-held territory, particularly Aleppo. Humanitarian aid has been politicised for a long time in a divided Syria, with President Bashar Assad insisting that it be funnelled through the central government, while most Western aid agencies want to deliver aid directly to the countrys north-west, which is held by Turkish-backed opposition forces.

Only one border crossing from Turkey into north-west Syria, Bab al-Hawa, has been authorised for aid deliveries by the United Nations Security Council, where Russia, which supports Assad, has refused to allow other crossing points to function. There were reports that the Syrian Red Crescent received permission to send 14 trucks of aid through the crossing to Idlib, accompanied by UN officials, but much more aid is needed. The Syrian death toll is expected to grow considerably in the next few days, as a disorganised rescue effort gets into higher gear. Emergency response must not be politicised, said Geir Pedersen, the UN special envoy for Syria, speaking after a meeting of a humanitarian task force in Geneva. Our immediate asks are two: access and resources, he added. While aid has been pouring into Turkey, the situation in Syria is more chaotic and dire. Pedersen is only one of a number of UN officials expected to visit the country. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director of the World Health Organisation, travelled on Saturday to Aleppo, and the UN aid chief, Martin Griffiths, is in Turkey and hoping to go to Syria, where Assad has been touring areas of devastation and blaming the West for shunning his government. Griffiths acknowledged the particular difficulties of getting aid to Syria and said he planned to put more pressure on the Assad government to open up two other crossings. Its life and death, he said, warning that the death toll could double.

One Syrian volunteer, Mohamed al-Shibli, said on Saturday the Syrian White Helmets rescue group was now recovering only the dead. Yesterday and today we havent found any cases alive, he said. Assads opponents say he is using the crisis to try to get sanctions lifted, and to argue that most Syrian aid funded by Europe and the United States goes through UN agencies and their local partners based in the capital. They say that Syria routinely blocks international aid to opposition-held areas in the north and siphons supplies for the rest of the country. Assad, in turn, accused the West of playing politics. The West prioritised politics over the humanitarian situation, Assad said on Friday while visiting the devastated Aleppo neighbourhood of Masharqa. Its natural that they politicise the situation, but there is no humanitarianism, neither now nor in the past. On Thursday, the US State Department refused to lift sanctions on Syria, saying that humanitarian aid efforts were not impeded by the policy. But the Treasury Department issued a six-month exemption from sanctions for all transactions related to providing disaster relief to Syria. Rescue operations continued in Turkey, where 67 people had been pulled alive from the rubble in the past 24 hours, Vice President Fuat Oktay told reporters overnight. He said that about 80,000 people were being treated in hospitals, while 1.05 million left homeless by the quakes huddled in temporary shelters.
Washington: US military fighter jets have shot down an octagonal object over Lake Huron, Michigan, the Pentagon said, the fourth such incident since a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon put North American security forces on high alert.

On President Joe Bidens order, an F-16 fighter shot down the object at 2.42pm on Sunday (Monday AEDT) on the US-Canada border, the Pentagon said.

Though it did not pose a military threat, the object could have potentially interfered with domestic air traffic as it was travelling at 20,000 feet (6100 metres), and it might have had surveillance activities, the Pentagon said.

US Air Force General Glen VanHerck, who is tasked with safeguarding US airspace, told reporters the military has not been able to identify what the three most recent objects were, how they stayed aloft, or where they were coming from.
Residents of New Zealands biggest city were urged on Sunday to prepare for the impact of a storm that buffeted Australias Norfolk Island overnight.

Gabrielle, downgraded to a sub-tropical low pressure system from a Category 2 cyclone, passed over Norfolk Island, its most destructive winds missing the island, the Australian outposts emergency management authority said.

New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins is briefed ahead of Cyclone Gabrielles arrival at Waka Kotahi Auckland Transport on Sunday. Credit: Getty

The focus shifts to New Zealand, 1460 kilometres south, where the nations weather forecaster warned of the storms impact from Sunday. Last month the largest city, Auckland, was hit by record rainfall that sparked floods and killed four people.

The city of 1.6 million was in line for a full trifecta of heavy rain, strong winds and storm surges, said Georgina Griffith, a spokeswoman for the forecaster, MetService.
There is no liberty if the power of judging be not separated from the legislative and executive powers. Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 78.

It is easy to attack those who cannot defend themselves. Ethical rules prevent judges from responding to partisan punches, even in self-defense. Despite this fact, politicians of all stripes tend to sound off when they learn of judicial decisions they dont like. Sometimes though, political disagreements escalate into personal attacks on judges and legislative proposals to undermine and dominate the judicial branch.

When that happens, watch out because freedom is in danger.

In 2020, the American Bar Association, explained: In Mexico, the threat to independent judges comes from drug cartels. In Poland, it comes from the president and parliament. And in the United States, it comes from politicians who would turn impartial judges into partisan political actors.

A nonpartisan judicial center reported last year that at least 26 states had introduced bills in 2021 that would politicize or undermine the independence of state courts.

In Montana, attempts are underway to discredit judges by subjecting them to ridicule, insult and even threats of criminal investigation and prosecution. Talk of impeachment is in the air. Proposals are on the table calling for term limits, making judicial elections more political, putting the Legislature in charge of judicial discipline and pressuring judges to toe a party line. All this, of course, is calculated to intimidate judges and render them subservient.

A 2018 poll by the National Judicial College found that 90% of American judges think judicial independence is threatened in the current political climate.

According to the American Board of Trial Advocates: Recent years have witnessed a tremendous increase in attempts to assert political influence on the courts. These efforts came from politicians, political parties and special interests with a political agenda. Frequently they amount to efforts at intimidation and retaliation. When successful, they disrupt and interfere with the fair and impartial administration of justice. Indeed, political vendettas aimed at the judiciary are assaults on the rule of law itself.

Attacks on the courts represent an attempt to usurp judicial authority and violate the separation of powers. We have all heard the term, but why does the separation of powers matter? What is so important about an independent judiciary?

The United States and Montana constitutions established three co-equal branches of government: legislative, executive and judicial. This separation of powers is designed to ensure that no one person or group accumulates too much authority.

These constitutions also guarantee fundamental individual rights like freedom of speech and religion, the right to bear arms, the rights to due process of law and to be free from unreasonable search and seizure, the rights to access the courts and to personal privacy. Together, the federal Bill of Rights and the Montana Declaration of Rights provide the legal fortress for the most cherished American value: liberty. At least on paper they do  but without the independent judiciary, the paper means nothing.

The judicial branch is frustrating to some powerful interests. Unlike the legislative branch and the executive branch, judges cannot be lobbied. The decisions of judges turn not on relationships or passions or personal preferences, but on the law. Fact issues are decided by juries, based on evidence, and juries cannot be lobbied either. There is no buttonholing, no log rolling, no deal making, no wine and cheese receptions. And every person gets an equal seat in the courtroom regardless of their position or rank or wealth. So, it is not surprising that certain groups want to weaken this process.

The good news is that Americans overwhelmingly support strong courts that adjudicate cases without political interference. Montanans also have overwhelming confidence in the courts  so long as they remain independent. But because the judiciary has no army or treasury, its independence depends on the other branches of government to respect and honor its decisions and separate authority.

When the other branches fail to do that, our judges count on us  the people of Montana  to have their backs.

So, when self-serving political interests propose and advocate so-called reforms in the next few weeks, let your legislator know where you stand  with judicial independence and against those who threaten it.
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NATO and EU membership and the continuous deepening of the Strategic Partnership with the U.S. are the basic elements of Romania's national security policy, National Defense Minister Angel Tilvar said during a meeting with a delegation of the U.S. Congress, a release of the National Defense Ministry informs.

Minister Tilvar and Chief of Defense Staff, General Daniel Petrescu, met on Saturday at the Defense Ministry's headquarters with a delegation of the U.S. Congress led by Chairman of the House Armed Forces Committee Mike Rogers, according to agerpres.ro.

The dialogue focused on the analysis of the security situation in the Black Sea region against the backdrop of the war waged by the Russian Federation against Ukraine, the bilateral relations in the field of defense, as well as the activities of the U.S. forces on the territory of Romania.

The Defense Minister emphasized the steadfastness of Romania - U.S. military relations, as their strategic partnership turned a quarter of a century in 2022. The Romanian official noted that this year also marks three decades since the becoming operational of the State Partnership Program, a platform that ensured the progressive development of cooperation between the Romanian troops and the National Guard of the U.S. state of Alabama.

"We define ourselves as a staunch ally of the U.S. and participate in the collective effort for regional stability by strengthening the deterrence and defense posture," said Minister Angel Tilvar.

The Romanian Defense Minister highlighted the importance of the presence of American forces in the security architecture on the allied eastern flank, emphasizing their relevant contribution to NATO's deterrence and defense posture, including in the Black Sea region.

"Starting with the deployment of the structures of the 101st U.S. Airborne Division to our country, the joint training program has diversified substantially. Also, American allies join us in air transport, air policing, increased vigilance, situational awareness missions, as well as in military infrastructure development activities," declared General Daniel Petrescu.
Operators of the Special Telecommunications Service (STS) handled 10,248,377 calls last year (by 90,000 fewer than in 2021), of which emergencies represented 57.82 percent, the STS informs.

The number of foreign language emergency calls was by 16 percent higher in 2022 compared to the previous year, at 24,383 compared to 20,944 in 2021. The number of 112 calls placed in Ukrainian and Russian increased to over 1,000 in 2022 compared to fewer than 50 in 2021, according to agerpres.ro.

"Last year, the operators of the 112 emergency call service of the STS handled emergencies in various foreign languages, provided translation support during emergency medical care interviews and interventions, search and rescue operations in the mountains near the border or in cooperation with the local authorities and those of neighboring countries. Each operator is fluent in at least one international language, including English, French, Spanish, Ukrainian, Hungarian, Italian, German, Turkish, Russian, Greek and Bulgarian," the STS informs.

Out of the total of 10,248,377 calls received last year, 42.18 percent were non-emergencies, representing requests for road traffic or railway service information, taxi and food delivery orders, notifications regarding pensions or various public services, as well as other requests for which no emergency intervention was necessary.

The number of non-urgent calls was by approximately 1.5 percent higher compared to 2021, but more than one percentage point less compared to 2020. Most of the emergency cases handled last year were transferred to the Ambulance Service (51.36 percent), followed by the Police (23.35 percent), the Mobile Emergency Resuscitation and Extrication Service (18.05 percent), the Gendarmerie (5.12 percent) and other agencies (2.11 percent).

The counties with the highest percentage of emergencies compared to the total number of registered calls are: Bucharest-Ilfov - 66.41 percent, Alba - 66.24 percent, Cluj - 66.16 percent. The counties with the highest percentage of non-urgent calls compared to the total number of calls placed with the respective 112 call center are: Gorj - 64.86 percent, Mures - 58.03 percent, Covasna - 55.70 percent.

New features have been added to the Apel 112 mobile app, which can be currently used in Romanian as well as in English, French, German, Hungarian and Ukrainian, according to agerpres.ro.

The cases handled in 2022 by the 112 emergency service include that of a Ukrainian man fleeing war, who attempted to enter Romania in October, in dark, rainy and low-visibility conditions and got lost in the mountainous area of the northern Suceava County, or that of a 19-year-old Ukrainian woman who had been turned over to human traffickers. Both cases were handled successfully and the callers were rescued and taken to safety, the STS reports.

February 11 marks the European Day of the Single European Emergency Number, which citizens of all 27 EU member states use to call for help from specialized intervention agencies: the ambulance, firefighters, police, gendarmerie. In Romania, the same number is used to call the mountain rescue services.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Bogdan Aurescu met on Saturday with the visiting bipartisan delegation of the U.S. House Armed Services Committee headed by Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, offering thanks on this occasion for the support provided by the U.S. Congress for security on NATO's eastern flank and Romania's security in particular. Aurescu also voiced appreciation for the substantial increase of the American military presence in Romania after the outbreak of the Ukraine war, an increase made possible by the support received from the U.S. lawmakers, the Foreign Ministry said in a release, told Agerpres.

The importance of Romania's admission to the Visa Waiver Program was also discussed during the meeting.

"Aurescu welcomed the inclusion in the U.S. National Defense Authorization Act (drafted by the Armed Services Committee) of a reference to the critical importance of the Black Sea region for U.S. security, and emphasized the fact that Romania is a reliable ally of the U.S., actively involved in the Black Sea area. He also reiterated Romania's interest in a U.S. strategy for the Black Sea region, pointing out that he conveyed to Secretary of State Blinken, on the occasion of the latter's visit to Bucharest in November, a substantial document with Romania's contribution to the reflection process initiated by the American side on this subject," the cited source said.

Also, the sides exchanged views on the regional security situation in the Black Sea area, the threats to Euro-Atlantic security generated by Russia's aggression against Ukraine and the joint measures taken within the transatlantic community to increase the resilience of this area.

Minister Bogdan Aurescu made a presentation of the multidimensional support provided by Romania to Ukraine, particularly in terms of humanitarian and refugee support, the facilitation of the transit of agricultural products from Ukraine (over 12.9 million tons) and the successful operation of the humanitarian hub in northern Suceava.

The Romanian top diplomat referred to the importance of supporting the Republic of Moldova, especially in the field of energy and economy, as the neighbouring country faces increased difficulties and risks following the conflict in Ukraine.

Bogdan Aurescu emphasized the importance Romania's admission to the Visa Waiver Program has for Romanian citizens and asked for the support of the U.S. Congress for the accomplishment of this goal, "support which was fully confirmed by the U.S. Congress delegation".

"The delegation of U.S. lawmakers thanked for the involvement of the Romanian leadership and the solidarity of the Romanians in supporting Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova. Also, they emphasized the continuation of close cooperation, both bilaterally and within NATO, for ensuring security and stability in Europe and at regional level. The members of the U.S. Congress and Minister Aurescu highlighted the need to continue the full implementation of the decisions of the Madrid Summit, amid the threat posed by the actions of the Russian Federation. The delegation of the U.S. Congress thanked Romania for its role as a responsible and strong ally of the U.S., as proven by the close cooperation over the last decades, and reaffirmed their unwavering support for the continuation and deepening of cooperation with Romania in order to boost the security of both states," the cited release states.

The House Armed Services Committee has jurisdiction over the general defense policy, ongoing operations, and the organization of the Department of Defense. The committee also has the task of drafting the National Defense Authorization Act, which establishes the maximum spending ceilings for the various sub-chapters of the U.S. defense budget, including the one of the European Deterrence Initiative, which has funded in recent years infrastructure development projects at Romanian military bases.

Apart from Chairman Mike Rogers, the delegation visiting Romania includes representatives John Garamendi, Gus Bilirakis, Donald Norcross, Andrew Clyde, Nicole Malliotakis, Lisa McClain, Mark Alford.
They did not get off scot-free, the way Carolyn and James Newhouse say they were first led to believe in 2012 when the Environmental Protection Agency asked to inspect the 13 abandoned, decades-old oil wells on their 61 acres of swampy woodlands.

But the Newhouses no longer face a past due bill of $1.3 million for an environmental cleanup that came to them as a shock and threatened to crush their finances.

The couple recently resolved a lawsuit they filed in U.S. District Court in Buffalo after the federal government started billing them for inspecting and plugging the wells and cleaning up around the ones leaking on their land along Route 219 in Cattaraugus County.

After their administrative appeals failed, the Newhouses last year sued the EPA, which led to mediation and a consent decree they signed two weeks ago. They will pay $40,000 on top of the $13,822 the government has already collected from them in previous years over the matter.

"It wasn't a good experience for them," said John T. Kolaga, their lawyer. "But I think they're relieved to get it resolved at a number they can live with and move on."

After the lawsuit was filed, Kolaga was able to work with the U.S. Justice Department's Environmental Enforcement Section to get the matter into mediation instead of the usual litigation route.

"So rather than taking depositions, and reviewing documents and engaging in slow and somewhat expensive legal processes, we were able to settle on a mediator," he said.

After submitting short position statements, lawyers for each side met with the mediator and "within a day we had an agreement on what the appropriate number was."

The Newhouses, through their lawyer, declined to comment. The Department of Justice did not respond to requests for comment.

The Newhouses' dealings with the EPA started in 2012. The federal agency sent them a letter about a project to permanently plug the abandoned crude oil production wells on their property under the Clean Water Act and the Oil Pollution Act of 1990. The letter said the project was being paid for with federal money from the Oil Spill Liability Trust.

The Newhouses, who are small business owners, live in Bradford, Pa., about 12 miles from the Cattaraugus County property.

The couple granted the EPA access to their land.

When they purchased the land, they did not even know how many wells were there, had no right to extract oil, had no interest in assuming control over the wells and had not talked to those who owned the mineral rights, the couple said in their affidavits.

Years before the EPA's 2012 letter, the state's environmental agency told them a previous owner was liable for the wells on their Carrollton property. The couple bought the property for $8,400 in 2000, mainly as a place where her father could hunt, and the deal did not include rights or royalties to the abandoned wells.

The last-known operator of the wells failed to plug them under a consent order he had entered into with the state Department of Environmental Conservation, according to the EPA's letter.

Wells were leaking oil into Tunungwant Creek, a tributary of the Allegheny River. In addition to plugging the wells, the four-month project included removing oil pipelines and oil storage tanks and excavating and treating contaminated soil, according to the project description.

The shocking revelation about who would pay for the cleanup came in 2015.

A letter from the National Pollution Funds Center said multiple wells were found to be leaking oil, and it listed the Newhouses as owners of the wells and indicated they were responsible for the costs and damages.

Four years later, in 2019, another letter arrived from the National Pollution Funds Center, with the bill then put at $1 million. Five months after that, the U.S. Treasury sent a notice of debt, and it put the past due bill at $1.3 million. Wage garnishment letters soon followed.

Before filing the lawsuit, the Newhouses tried to appeal the debt through administrative channels but did not succeed.

"You're basically appealing to an agency itself to reverse a finding," Kolaga said. "It can be a difficult battle to win."

There was a cost to plugging and cleaning up after the wells, Kolaga said.

"They feel it's their responsibility to the taxpayers to get the money back," he said of the federal government. "They will proceed and see if they can get that money. At some point, my clients decided they really needed to get out of the administrative process and get into federal court in front of a neutral judge."

The 2012 letter "clearly, and from our perspective, correctly" identified the previous owner as responsible for the wells, based on the records of the DEC, James Newhouse said in affidavit filed as part of the lawsuit.

Before the project started, the Newhouses telephoned the federal on-scene coordinator to discuss the EPA's plans, asking him what the couple's legal liability was, James Newhouse said in his affidavit. The coordinator told him "clearly, without hesitation, and repeatedly that we had no liability for the actions EPA would be taking, without any equivocation whatsoever," James Newhouse said.

The Newhouses did not get that in writing.

Would that have made a difference?

"It may have," Kolaga said.

But the agency could also have decided that person didn't have authority to say that or was wrong.

"I suspect the EPA would have pursued the claim anyway," he said.

The size of the settlement was not influenced by how much money the Newhouses have, he said.

"It wasn't a compromise number based on my client's financial position," he said. "We settled the case based on the merits of the case. It is my view the final outcome is true value of this claim."

Kolaga said the case offers a lesson for those looking to buy land.

"Environmental laws are very harsh," he said. "Laws are written so if a government has to come in and spend money, they have a wide variety of people they can choose to get the recovery, even if in many cases that person didn't have anything to do with the contamination.

"It's not unusual for innocent people to get trapped within the scope of these harsh environmental laws," he said.

"Before you buy a piece of property, it really behooves you to make sure you consider the environmental angle, if it's a property with an industrial history, for example, or if its a property used in the energy sector. Those are the types of properties you want to tread carefully before you buy because you may find you're stepping into someone else's shoes and you may find yourself in this kind of situation. These are the kinds of cases you need a lawyer to get yourself out of."
MEP Eugen Tomac (EPP, People's Movement Party - PMP) estimated on Saturday that CJEU proceedings over the lawsuit initiated by him for Romania's not being accepted to join the Schengen could last between one year and a half and two years.

"There are many elements that we will bring to the Court for discussion and obviously our strategy is much broader and I am aware that this is a long process, and I am prepared to defend every request in this lawsuit, because it is based on the provisions of the EU's Functioning Treaty and of course, the Schengen acquis. It is essential that we carry through with this action, because if no unanimity is reached in the next two years, this lawsuit is our only remaining chance," Tomac told a press conference on Saturday at the PMP headquarters.

He emphasized that this initiative does not block Romania's Schengen accession negotiations, but on the other hand he voiced his opinion that Romania won't be able to join this year, according to agerpres.ro.

"The lawsuit opened at the Court of Justice of the European Union does not block Romania's negotiations with Austria, it doesn't block Bulgaria's negotiations with the Netherlands. The Council has the right and the freedom to make this decision at any time. So a lawsuit at the Court of Justice of the European Union doesn't hinder in any way the Council's freedom to meet whenever it considers - there can also be an extraordinary Council meeting - and take a decision to correct this injustice," said the MEP.

He once again emphasized that Romania and Bulgaria have been meeting the Schengen accession criteria since June 9, 2010, as acknowledged by a European Commission report, whereas on the other hand, Croatia applied to join in 2021 and was accepted in 2022.

Eugen Tomac pointed out that until now no MEP has ever challenged in court an act of the EU Council, and that through his legal action, he wants the MEPs to also have the right to act as privileged applicants, just like the member states, the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission. Currently, MEPs can only act as non-privileged applicants, which means that they must demonstrate a direct interest in the challenged act.

"Until 1990, not even the European Parliament had privileged applicant status in challenging regulatory acts of the Commission or the Council. There was a precedent in this regard as well. That is precisely why I emphasize that, in addition to the annulment of this act, I pursue the same right for MEPs too, regardless of where they come from, because it is fundamental. We do not have the right of legislative initiative, as the Romanian MPs have, for example, but at least in matters related to the EU policies and the acts adopted by the Council, let us also enjoy this right to appeal in the Court of Justice of the European Union as privileged applicants," he said.

Also, MEP Tomac asked the Court to be allowed to request the government of Romania or the European Parliament to intervene in this process.

"At least in the European Parliament we have several instruments at hand through which we can ask for this, which I will do in the next period. We have a debate scheduled this month in the LIBE Committee, I spoke with the chairman of the committee, he will call this debate where we will invite the Austrian and the Dutch Interior ministers to explain the reason for their abstention, which has nothing to do with the migration issue. And obviously, I will fight for the European Parliament to intervene in this lawsuit on my side. It is a more complex procedure and of course, we are battling for all the chances, but it's a first," he said.

On February 6 Tomac filed with the Luxembourg-based judicial institution an action for annulment, based on Art. 263 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, asking the Court to declare the illegality of the implicit decision following the December 8, 2022 vote by which the Council decided against the full enforcement of the provisions of the Schengen acquis in Romania. Tomac maintains that his main argument can be found in the Accession Treaty, which provides in Protocol 1, Art. 4 para. (2) that "The provisions of the Schengen acquis are to be applied on the territory of each of these member states only on the basis of a European decision adopted by the Council in this regard, after verification, in accordance with the applicable Schengen evaluation procedures, of the fulfillment on the territory of the respective state of the necessary requirements for the application of all the relevant parts of the acquis."
More than 100 high-ranking officials from 41 countries will attend next weekend the official inauguration of the western city of Timisoara as European Capital of Culture, the organizers announce.

The Royal House of Romania will be represented by Crown Custodian Margareta and her spouse, Prince Radu. European Commissioner Adina Valean will present the city with the Melina Mercouri Prize of the European Commission, shows the program of the TM2023 Association, told Agerpres.

"I thank all those who will come to Timisoara to celebrate together with the city residents the title of European Capital of Culture. We are honored by the great interest shown to Timisoara in this strategic year, not only for us, but for the entire country. I am sure that Timisoara will impress and win the hearts of our guests, both through its beauty and the artistic quality of the inauguration program and the hospitality and warmth of its locals. I also thank them because those present in our city in the inauguration weekend will pass down the bold story of multicultural and innovative Timisoara," city mayor Dominic Fritz said on Sunday.

The guests will participate on Friday, February 17, starting at 5:30 p.m., in a festive concert at the Palace of Culture (Timisoara National Theatre) and then will join as of 7:00 p.m. the main event in Unirii Square - Celebrating the Inaguration, which is expected to draw up to 15,000 people.

Taking the show stage will be Doctorul Sinteza and K-Lu, Implant Pentru Refuz together with Dora Gaitanovici, Adrian Despot, Dan Byron and Ukrainian rapper Alyona Alyona, while Duchamp Pilot / Muare Experience will animate the atmosphere with a stunning show of original and sophisticated aerial acrobatics staged with the help of safety systems and cranes. Also on the bill are the gypsy band Taraf de Caliu and their guests, as well as Berlin DJ Fritz Kalkbrenner who will close the evening with a special mix of melodic house.

The concert at the Palace of Culture and the show in Unirii Square will be aired on the national TV channel TVR1.

The national program "Timisoara - 2023 European Capital of Culture" officially opens in the weekend of February 17 - 19 with a string of 130 events hosted by venues throughout the city.

The inauguration of Timisoara's stint as 2023 cultural capital is coordinated and organized by the Project Center, and is financed by the Municipality of Timisoara. For the opening weekend, the Timisoara City Hall allocated 7.5 million RON, and the Ministry of Culture 800,000 RON.
ST. LOUIS COUNTY  A 17-year-old boy died after being gunned down Friday night near Florissant in unincorporated north St. Louis County.

Jayden McCain was shot shortly before 10 p.m. in the 1800 block of High Sun Drive, according to the St. Louis County Police Department.

Jayden, who lived in the same area at Sunset Park Condominiums, was found in a parking lot and later died at the hospital, officials said.

Police said three boys, ages 15, 16 and 17, were in custody Saturday at St. Louis County Family Court for second-degree murder.

Kaitlyn Phelps, 24, who shared her condo with Jayden, said she didnt know the three boys, nor why they may have shot him.

He wasnt the kind of kid in trouble, said Phelps.

She said she ran outside Friday night after a car drove by and fired several shots. She found Jayden on the ground.

By the time I got down there, he wasnt breathing on his own, she said. Dispatch had me perform CPR on him until the ambulance arrived.

She said there was a handgun on the ground by Jayden. She wasnt sure if it was his, but she said he often carried a gun at night.

He had it for self-defense, she said.

Phelps said Jayden lived with her for a little over a year. She said both of his parents had died years before and he needed a place to stay. She said he attended Hazelwood West High School and was going to buy a vehicle with money he earned working for his grandfather.

He was a good kid, said his half-sister, Mya Holland, 20. He had a lot of plans and goals. He wasnt mean.

She said he grew up in various parts of St. Louis and St. Charles counties.

Police ask that anyone with information about the incident to call investigators at 636-529-8210.

To remain anonymous, or potentially receive a reward, contact CrimeStoppers at 866-371-8477.
CLAYTON  A former teacher's aide in the Ferguson-Florissant School District has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for child sex abuse.

Joseph Guyre, 33, of Hazelwood, pleaded guilty in October and was sentenced Jan. 30 to 12 years in prison for one count of statutory sodomy, according to court records.

St. Louis County Judge Kristine Kerr suspended Guyre's sentenced for one count of first-degree child molestation and a second count of statutory sodomy. He was placed on five years probation for those counts.

Guyre admitted to molesting a child in both 2013 and 2017, when he was a teacher's aide at Wedgewood School in the Ferguson-Florissant School District teaching English as a second language, according to the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney's office.

The victim reported the abuse to Florissant police in 2021.

Guyre was last employed by the district in January 2020, according to a news release last year from the Ferguson-Florissant School District.

The district said no criminal history surfaced in Guyre's criminal background check.
ST. LOUIS  A 25-year-old man was shot and killed Wednesday afternoon at a Mobil gas station in St. Louis' Mark Twain neighborhood.

Police found Jerry Savage Jr., of Dellwood, lying on the ground at about 2:45 p.m. in the gas station parking at 4540 North Union Boulevard. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.

St. Louis police have not named a suspect in the case.

Police ask anyone with information on the shooting to call detectives at 314-444-5371. People who would like to remain anonymous to possibly receive a reward can contact CrimeStoppers at 866-371-8477.
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ST. LOUIS  The legendary Mexican fish fries at St. Cecilia Catholic Church in south St. Louis will be back in person starting this month. The future for the Hispanic parishs signature event is not as clear under sweeping proposals to downsize the Archdiocese of St. Louis, which could include closing the nearly 100-year-old church.

I cannot imagine my life without this window at the corner, said local historian NiNi Harris, referring to a massive stained glass window depicting Gods creation of earth. There are just not enough adjectives to convey this church. Closing it would leave the center of community life vacant.

The archdioceses All Things New initiative is expected to drastically alter the blueprint of the Roman Catholic church in the region in response to declining numbers of worshipers and priests. In a draft proposal released Wednesday, the 178 parishes in the archdiocese would merge into 88 pastorates  groups of one or more parishes that will be served by a single priest designated as pastor.

There are three possible structures for each pastorate: a single parish with a resident pastor, two or more parishes with independent finances that share a pastoral team and staff, or two or more parishes that merge into one.

Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski will release his final plan on May 28, Pentecost Sunday. A reorganization of archdiocesan grade schools was postponed and is now expected sometime before the 2024-2025 school year.

The Catholic faithful are still digesting the new proposal for parishes, which signals a greater chance of mergers in St. Louis city and north St. Louis County while the boundaries of three dozen parishes in south and west St. Louis County and St. Charles County are unlikely to be touched. The 13 parishes at the far southern reaches of the archdiocese, in Ste. Genevieve and Perry counties, will be consolidated into four pastorates in one of the more drastic changes.

I feel so sorry for the people in these rural communities, said Michael Kern of Save Our St. Louis Parishes, a group that is preparing to challenge any large-scale mergers. Their landscape will change dramatically. Its not like they can get on a highway and get to the next town in 20 minutes.

St. Gianna in Wentzville, the archdioceses newest parish, was originally slated to become a Hispanic personal parish and now appears to be merging with Immaculate Heart of Mary in New Melle despite objections from parishioners.

Feedback from priests and parish leaders last fall included the suggestion that St. Gianna definitely not merge territory with Immaculate Heart of Mary  wrong travel pattern.

I think basically theres a myth out there that the archdiocese is listening to us, said Elisabeth Meinecke, one of the leaders of Friends of St. Gianna. Were growing, were thriving, we have all of these things going for us. Why does it make sense to change or alter our status in any way?

Much of the chatter around the latest proposal centers on the rationale for about 40 stand-alone pastorates with a single parish that likely wont experience mergers or closures:

 The smallest stand-alone pastorates include St. Margaret of Scotland in south St. Louis with an average weekend Mass attendance of 437, St. Anselm in Creve Coeur with 666, Holy Redeemer in Webster Groves with 680 and Immacolata in Richmond Heights with 719. In feedback from a listening session at Holy Redeemer last fall, some felt that there were many cultural differences between the Kirkwood and Webster Grove parishes due to the rivalry that exists between those two cities.

 One of largest pastorates includes St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, St. Peter and St. Robert Bellarmine with a combined 2,292 Mass attendance in St. Charles County.

 Most Sacred Heart in Eureka, a stand-alone pastorate with 857 in average attendance, borders the pastorate that combines St. Alban Roe and St. Clare of Assisi, with an attendance of 2,394.

 In north St. Louis County, Holy Spirit stands alone with attendance of 887 and borders a pastorate made up of five parishes: All Souls, Our Lady of the Presentation, St. Ann, St. Jude and St. Rita, with a combined attendance of 1,612.

The stand-alone parishes could still be affected by losing an associate priest or collaborating with other parishes on education or social justice programs where there are opportunities to have more vibrant ministries, said Father Chris Martin, vicar of strategic planning for the archdiocese.

Archdiocese leaders expect to make some recommendations for primary worship sites in each pastorate, but parish leaders and laity will also have the opportunity to weigh in, Martin said.

Instead of allowing us to focus on the beautiful charisms of each parish, it pits us against each other for survival and thats not helpful for anyones spirituality. Its not helpful for evangelization, Meinecke said. Our goal should be more churches, more buildings.

Early models released last fall showed St. Cecilias church and school would be closed because of needed repairs to the roof and two steeples, and the Hispanic parish would then share space at St. John the Baptist or Immaculate Heart of Mary in south St. Louis. Pleas for St. Cecilias survival came from across the city including 100 handwritten letters, the majority in Spanish.

Please dont kick us out for being poor, that is not what Jesus taught us! one wrote.

St. Cecilia was built primarily by German immigrants in the Romanesque style of architect Henry Hess. It boasts an estimated 3,000 square feet of mosaics, second only to the Cathedral Basilica in St. Louis. In 2005, St. Cecilia was converted to a personal parish for the growing Hispanic community, with no geographic boundaries.

The parish is subsidized by the archdiocese, and its debt load surpassed $1.5 million last year. The crowds at St. Cecilias fish fries during Lent brought in $70,000 a year before the pandemic hit and the dinners were served to-go. Weddings, another revenue generator for the photogenic church, fell off the calendar for a while.

If St. Cecilia were moved to another church without the historic architecture and professional kitchen, its fundraising would be doomed, parishioners said.

Give us a chance, and we will work hard to keep St. Cecilia open and in the black! read another response to the archdioceses original proposal.

The archdioceses new map of south St. Louis shows St. Cecilia church staying open within the parish boundaries of St. Anthony of Padua and remaining a Hispanic personal parish. Parishioners are relieved for now, according to Harris, the neighborhood historian.

We raised a lot of hell. Their feet were to the fire, she said. We know it may not be over, so we wait and see.

Close All Things New planning areas New draft models from 15 geographic planning areas in the Archdiocese of St. Louis All Things New reorganization show about 80 pastorates  groups of one or more parishes that will be served by a single priest.

Photos: St. Cecilia Catholic Church, a 'personal Hispanic parish' in south St. Louis St. Cecilia Catholic Church in St. Louis St. Cecilia Catholic Church in St. Louis St. Cecilia Catholic Church in St. Louis St. Cecilia Catholic Church in St. Louis St. Cecilia Catholic Church in St. Louis St. Cecilia Catholic Church in St. Louis St. Cecilia Catholic Church in St. Louis St. Cecilia Catholic Church in St. Louis St. Cecilia Catholic Church in St. Louis St. Cecilia Catholic Church in St. Louis St. Cecilia Catholic Church in St. Louis St. Cecilia Catholic Church in St. Louis St. Cecilia Catholic Church in St. Louis St. Cecilia Catholic Church in St. Louis St. Cecilia Catholic Church in St. Louis St. Cecilia Catholic Church in St. Louis St. Cecilia Catholic Church in St. Louis St. Cecilia Catholic Church in St. Louis St. Cecilia Catholic Church in St. Louis St. Cecilia Catholic Church in St. Louis St. Cecilia Catholic Church in St. Louis St. Cecilia Catholic Church in St. Louis St. Cecilia Catholic Church in St. Louis St. Cecilia Catholic Church in St. Louis St. Cecilia Catholic Church in St. Louis St. Cecilia Catholic Church in St. Louis St. Cecilia Catholic Church in St. Louis St. Cecilia Catholic Church in St. Louis St. Cecilia Catholic Church in St. Louis St. Cecilia Catholic Church in St. Louis St. Cecilia Catholic Church in St. Louis
A Jamestown man accused of causing two fatal highway accidents has been remanded to Chautauqua County Jail without bail following his release after two months in a hospital, Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt announced.

Randall J. Rolison, 59, had been undergoing treatment in UPMC Hamot in Erie, Pa., since a crash Dec. 5 on Route 83 and Center Road in the Town of Arkwright, which killed Linda A. Kraemer, 71, of South Dayton, and seriously injured her husband, Gary. State Police allege that Rolison's SUV failed to stop at a stop sign.

Chautauqua County Court Judge David W. Foley revoked Rolison's bail last week and issued a warrant for his arrest upon his discharge from the hospital, Schmidt said.

At the time, Rolison was out on bail following charges of leaving the scene of a fatal accident and driving while impaired by drugs in the Dec. 31, 2021, death of Lexy Hughan, 15, who was struck and killed on West Sixth Street in Jamestown by a tractor-trailer truck Rolison was driving.

He also was about to go on trial for three counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. Prosecutors said police found three unregistered handguns in a storage unit he rented in the Town of Busti.
HELENA, Mont.  Leo Thompson received plenty of love, food and shelter from the non-Native American family who raised them, but missed out on any exposure to their Indigenous culture, heritage, ancestors and community.

The only time they acknowledged my heritage was when theyd make passive comments like, Oh, you know, youve always liked that Native American stuff,'" said Thompson, who lives in Missoula, Montana. That stuff that they so casually referred to is not casual at all. Its the practices of my ancestors. Its the very same culture thats healed my soul. Reconnecting with my heritage as an adult has been a long and arduous journey.

Montana is one of a handful U.S. states  along with Wyoming, Utah and North Dakota  considering legislation this year to keep more Native American children from enduring similar experiences by including provisions of the U.S. Indian Child Welfare Act in state law.

The states are driven by concerns that Supreme Court challenges have put the federal law in jeopardy. During a hearing last year, the justices seemed likely to leave in place most of the law that gives preference to Native American families in foster care and adoption proceedings involving Native children. The law also requires child welfare agencies to provide services to help Native families move toward reunification.

Ten other states have similar laws in place, including New Mexico, whose law took effect this year, and they too could be affected, depending on how the justices rule. Most federally recognized tribes want the act upheld, fearing that an adverse ruling could dismantle a whole range of federal laws based on their political relationships with the U.S. government.

Thompson, who uses she/they pronouns, shared their story during a recent legislative hearing on a bill sponsored by Montana Democratic Rep. Jonathan Windy Boy.

The federal Indian Child Welfare Act was passed by Congress in 1978 in response to the alarming rate at which Native American and Alaskan Native children were taken from their homes by public and private agencies. From 1887-1969, Native children were placed in boarding schools that used abusive practices to assimilate them into white society. Many were adopted by non-Native families, often depriving them of their tribal and cultural heritage.

The law has helped change that, but there is still work to do.

In Montana, nearly 11% of all children are Indigenous but they made up 37% of those in foster care in 2021, according to the National Indian Child Welfare Association. About 9% of North Dakota children are Indigenous, but account for 44% of the children in foster care, the association said.

I have witnessed and experienced the benefits of keeping a child within the care of their family where he stays connected, rooted and knows who he is and where he comes from, Sharen Kickingwoman, with the ACLU of Montana. testified. We know from our experiences and research that affirming Indigenous identity, especially for youth, is some of the strongest things you can do to enhance resilience amidst adverse childhood experiences.

Wyomings effort is furthest along, having passed the Senate 20-11. In Utah, tribes and statewide officials support the proposal, yet lawmakers held it in a legislative committee during the final week of January amid questions about whether it was needed yet and despite a request by Navajo Nation leaders to pass it.

Bills in Montana and North Dakota have had committee hearings but no votes, while a South Dakota bill was rejected this week.

One aspect of the case awaiting a Supreme Court ruling argued that the Indian Child Welfare Act amounts to federal overreach, and that such protections should be enacted in state law. Another argument is the act provides race-based protections that violate the equal protection guarantee in the Constitution. Native Americans argue the measure is a government-to-government agreement between the U.S. and sovereign tribal nations that, like the U.S., determine citizenship in ways that aren't based on race.

No one testified against the proposed policy during a Montana hearing, while supporters testified about the importance of family relationships within tribes.

Kickingwoman, a member of the Gros Ventre and Blackfeet nations, said Native societies are built around kinship. Kickingwoman said shes been honored to provide guardianship to many of her relatives, including her cousin's son, who she said by mainstream society's standards would be considered a distant relative," but to her is a son.

A lot of our extended families and friends are close kin in relation to us, she said. What may be on paper seen as a second or third cousin really is a brother or sister, maybe a niece or a nephew.

Influential Indigenous Americans you might not know about A closer look at Indigenous history Tecumseh Red Cloud Edmonia Lewis Susan La Flesche Picotte Allan Houser Charlie Parker Maria Tallchief Mildred Loving Ben Nighthorse Campbell Wilma Mankiller Joy Harjo Charlene Teters Louise Erdrich John Herrington Deb Haaland Kent Monkman Lila Downs Sharice Davids Tommy Orange
VANCOUVER, British Columbia  Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Saturday that on his order a U.S. fighter jet shot down an "unidentified object" that was flying high over the Yukon  a day after the U.S. took similar action over Alaska.

North American Aerospace Defense Command, the U.S.-Canada organization that provides shared defense of airspace over the two nations, detected the object flying at a high altitude Friday evening over Alaska, U.S. officials said. It crossed into Canadian airspace on Saturday.

Trudeau spoke with U.S. President Joe Biden, who also ordered the object to be shot down. Canadian and U.S. jets operating as part of NORAD were scrambled and it was a U.S. jet that shot down the object.

Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand told a news conference in Ottawa that the object, flying at around 40,000 feet, had been shot down at 3:41 p.m. EST, approximately 100 miles from the Canada-U.S. border in the central Yukon. A recovery operation was underway involving the Canadian Armed Forces and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Hours later, in the U.S., the Federal Aviation Administration said Saturday night it closed some airspace in Montana to support Defense Department activities. NORAD later said the closure, which lasted a little more than an hour, came after it had detected "a radar anomaly" and sent fighter aircraft to investigate. The aircraft did not identify any object to correlate to the radar hits, NORAD said.

F-22 fighter jets have taken out three objects in the airspace above the U.S. and Canada over seven days, a stunning development. At least one of the objects downed was believed to be a spy balloon from China, but the other two had not yet been publicly identified.

While Trudeau described the object Saturday as "unidentified," Anand said it appeared to be "a small cylindrical object, smaller than the one that was downed off the coast of North Carolina." A NORAD spokesman, Maj. Olivier Gallant, said the military determined what it was but would not reveal details.

Anand refused to speculate whether the object shot down over Canada came from China. "We are continuing to do the analysis on the object and we will make sure that analysis is thorough," she said. "It would not be prudent for me to speculate on the origins of the object at this time."

Anand said to her knowledge this was the first time NORAD had downed an object in Canadian airspace.

"The importance of this moment should not be underestimated," she said. "We detected this object together and we defeated this object together."

She was asked why a U.S. jet, and not a Canadian plane, shot down the object.

"As opposed to separating it out by country, I think what the important point is, these were NORAD capabilities, this was a NORAD mission and this was NORAD doing what it is supposed to do," she said.

Anand didn't use the word "balloon" to describe the object. But later, Gen. Wayne Eyre, chief of the defense staff, said the instructions given to the planes was "whoever had the first, best shot to take out the balloon had the go-ahead."

Trudeau said Canadian forces would recover the wreckage for study. The Yukon is the westernmost Canadian territory and among the least populated parts of Canada.

After the airspace closure over Montana, multiple members of Congress, including Montana Sens. Steve Daines and Jon Tester, said they were in touch with defense officials. Daines tweeted that he would "continue to demand answers on these invasions of US airspace."

A day earlier, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said an object roughly the size of a small car was shot out of the skies above remote Alaska. Officials couldn't say if it had surveillance equipment, where it came from or what purpose it had.

Kirby said it was shot down because it was flying at about 40,000 feet and posed a "reasonable threat" to the safety of civilian flights, not because of any knowledge that it was engaged in surveillance.

According to U.S. Northern Command, recovery operations continued Saturday on sea ice near Deadhorse, Alaska.

In a statement, the Northern Command said there were no new details on what the object was. It said the Alaska Command and the Alaska National Guard, along with the FBI and local law enforcement, were conducting search and recovery.

"Arctic weather conditions, including wind chill, snow, and limited daylight, are a factor in this operation, and personnel will adjust recovery operations to maintain safety," the statement said.

On Feb. 4, U.S. officials shot down a large white balloon off the coast of South Carolina. It was part of a large surveillance program that China has been conducting for "several years," the Pentagon said. The U.S. said Chinese balloons have flown over dozens of countries across five continents in recent years, and it learned more about the balloon program after closely monitoring the one shot down near South Carolina.

China responded that it reserved the right to "take further actions" and criticized the U.S. for "an obvious overreaction and a serious violation of international practice."

The Navy continued survey and recovery activities on the ocean floor off South Carolina, and the Coast Guard was providing security. Additional debris was pulled out Friday, and additional operations will continue as weather permits, Northern Command said.

Most expensive US military weapons and programs Most expensive military weapons and programs #30. VH-92 Presidential Helicopters #29. Patriot Advanced Capability Missile Segment Enhancement #28. Cloud #27. Standard Missile-6 #26. Artificial Intelligence #25. THAAD Ballistic Missile Defense #23. Frigate (FFG(X)) (tie) #23. AEGIS Ballistic Missile Defense System (tie) #20. Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) (tie) #20. Landing Platform Dock Ship (LPD) (tie) #20. AH-64E Attack Helicopters (tie) #19. Joint Light Tactical Vehicles #16. M-1 Abrams Tank Modifications/Upgrades (tie) #16. CH-53K King Stallion (tie) #16. Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) (tie) #14. F-15EX (tie) #14. National Security Space Launch (aka EELV) (tie) #13. Global Positioning System III and Projects #12. F/A-18 E/F Super Hornets #11. Space Based Overhead Persistent Infrared Systems #10. B-21 Long Range Strike Bomber #8. CVN-78 FORD Class Aircraft Carrier (tie) #8. KC-46 Tanker Replacements (tie) #7. DDG-51 Arleigh Burke Destroyers #6. Cyberspace  Operations #5. COLUMBIA Class Ballistic Missile Submarine #4. Virginia Class Submarine #3. Cybersecurity #2. Nuclear Command, Control and Communications #1. F-35 Joint Strike Fighters Most expensive US military weapons and programs #23. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) Ballistic Missile Defense #22. Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicles #21. Building Pandemic Preparedness #20. Amphibious Combat Vehicles #19. PATRIOT Advanced Capability - 3 (PAC-3) Missile Segment Enhancement #18. Joint Light Tactical Vehicles #17. Frigate (FFG-62) #16. Launch Vehicles - National Security Space Launch (NSSL) and Rocket System Launch Program (RSLP) #15. NGAD (Air Force) #14. Global Positioning System (GPS) Enterprise #13. Ground-Based Midcourse (GMD) and Improved Homeland Defense/Next Generation Interceptors (NGI) #12. F-15EX #11. KC-46 Pegasus #10. Addressing the Climate Crisis #9. LGM-35A Sentinel Weapon System #8. Space-based Overhead Persistent Infrared (OPIR) Systems #7. B-21 Raider #6. DDG-51 Arleigh Burke Class Destroyers #5. Columbia Class Ballistic Missile Submarine #4. Funds to procure highly survivable, precision-strike, and long-range firesfrom hypersonic to subsonicacross the joint force #3. Virginia Class Submarines #2. F-35 Joint Strike Fighter #1. Increasing cybersecurity and operationalizing Zero Trust Architecture
In the days surrounding the release of the Tyre Nichols video, I found myself listening to Nina Simone when her cover of Strange Fruit came on. Ive heard this song, about lynching, a million times. It never feels good, but that day it hit me differently. Perhaps because only an hour before that, I was discussing with my teenage son the many reasons he should not watch the video of Tyre Nichols murder. And yet, as I listened to Nina mourn the strange and bitter crop of Black bodies swinging in the breeze, I kept thinking about a contradiction.

The idea that despite the harm, we (Black people) are almost required to watch such things, to bear witness, in order to seek justice. But the stories of Black life beyond struggle, beyond slavery and civil rights, are unacceptable in our books and curriculum for fear that they may cause white guilt.

The Missouri Senate continues debating a bill to limit how race and history are taught in Missouri schools. This mirrors moves in several local districts throughout the state that suggest that the potential harm of white guilt is more concerning than the actual harms of racism. These and similar measures elsewhere, including the College Boards gutting of the advanced-placement Black history course, tell teachers, citizens and our society to not look, to not bear witness to the harms of racism in this country. This war against truth, especially against the truth of racial brutality, past and present, only promises to perpetuate injustice.

I teach some of our best and brightest students about the history of the American school. Despite their success in our K-12 education system, they are shocked at the racist, classist and gendered roots of the American school. Shocked that they never learned about Native American boarding schools that violently removed youths from their families to civilize them. Shocked at the violence wrought on enslaved youths learning to read or write. Shocked by the vast disparities in resources provided to segregated schools for Black youths across the country or Mexican American youths in the West. To me, this suggests that what our students need is more, not less, discussion of race and racism in K-12.

Maybe helping our kids to understand the centrality of racism in the development of our educational system is necessary. Maybe teaching them that most of the gains we have made occurred because they also benefited white America, the way Brown v. Board of Education improved Americas image on the world stage. Maybe teaching them that the power of telling all of our stories, including the stories of Black people, is necessary to fully understand and address racism. Maybe this is what our Missouri Congress doesnt understand.

As a mother, Im troubled by a contradiction. Whether my son chooses to watch the Tyre Nichols video or not, he endures trauma each time someone who looks like him is brutally murdered. We have been forced to watch and endure violence against our very existence for hundreds of years. Yet its a step too far for white youth to learn the very history of the structural racism and oppression that has caused and continues to cause this violence, because it is uncomfortable. Parents are concerned about protecting white children from the imagined guilt that comes with learning the difficult facts of Black history, as Florida scholar Tameka Bradley Hobbs put it, but not concerned about how suppressing these facts hurts my kids, all kids. Why is their discomfort more important than our humanity?

As the lyrics of Strange Fruit remind us, lynchings have historically served a dual purpose as a visual visceral warning to us, to Black folks, a reminder of what could be our fate. But also as a message to white people that we are less than human. Similarly, bills like the one debated in the Missouri Senate serve as a message about whose stories we tell, whose rights matter, whose lives matter.

Our legislators would suggest that books and content telling the stories of Black people dont deserve space on the shelves, that history demonstrating the truths of oppression shouldnt be taught, and that anything that doesnt sell the myth of white supremacy is unsafe for our schools. They suggest that these stories, this history, these truths of the racism that permeates our history as a nation, are too uncomfortable for our white schools. That our white kids are too fragile to understand that our current social context is a result of not only slavery but decades of racism, discrimination and violence at the hands of white America. They also miss that learning from this history is the very way forward. Bearing witness, learning truth, is the only way we begin to chip away at the vast walls racism has created.

Kelly Harris, Ph.D., is an assistant professor at Washington University, a resident of St. Louis and a mom.
Bidens accomplishments outweigh concerns about his age

Regarding Does Biden maybe have a little too much experience? (Feb. 4): The facts cited in Kevin McDermotts piece actually support the opposite of his conclusion that President Joe Biden might be too old to be an effective president or electable candidate. Uniting global powers to combat Russias Vladimir Putin in Ukraine, securing a huge economic relief package that rescued us from the pandemic, pressing infrastructure support that previous presidents could not get through Congress, championing a bipartisan package of clean energy investment, and  most importantly, in my opinion  leading a return to sanity and mature leadership strongly support his claim for reelection.

In the presidential election in 2020 and the 2022 midterms, the country on the whole rejected extremism and returned to the political center, where we have always been at our strongest as a nation. Age is a factor to be taken into consideration for any candidate, including Biden and former President Donald Trump. But that doesnt support McDermotts thesis is that Bidens age may open the door to Trump. I think the opposite is true. Biden is the one Democratic presidential candidate who took on Trump at his strongest, and as an incumbent, and beat him soundly.

For saving the United States from Trump in 2020, the country will always be in Bidens debt. I believe he has proven that he is effective as a leader and a winner as a candidate.

Kevin F. OMalley  St. Louis

Article on Clay and Bosley drew unfair conclusions

Despite being a loyal reader and Post-Dispatch subscriber, I was extremely disappointed with the article Records point to Lacy Clay and Brandon Bosley in St. Louis corruption scandal (Feb. 6). The headline revealed a theory, with the evidence from the federal investigation cited in the article being an effort to support it, despite the lack of charges against the named politicians.

The investigation described in the article pointed to Public Official One and an unidentified alderman. This article, for me, helped undermine public trust and confidence in public officials who havent been charged. If the Post-Dispatch wants to attack or impugn politicians, it should do it on the editorial page. I feel the Post-Dispatch did a great disservice to our community by publishing this article. I subscribe for facts, not what I regard as conspiracy theories.

Dennis Roach  St. Louis

Long-abandoned car was a strange sight amid city attractions

Id never visited St. Louis before, and I loved the historic neighborhoods, the Arch, Soulards Market, etc. But one thing was striking to me: a car, abandoned, in the middle of a downtown street, near the AT&T building. It was diagonal, blocking one full lane of traffic and most of the bike lane. There were tickets on it, and a big notice on drivers window that said car will be towed. But the date was from November 2022, and the car was still there. Does no one at any level who works nearby say anything? If theres a notice to tow, why no tow? It struck me as extremely odd, in the shadow of perhaps the best monument in the United States.

Ron Schweitzer  Cincinnati

Speech showed why political parties should be banned

After watching what was the spectacle of the State of the Union address last week, I have come to the conclusion that neither political party is willing to help the country. They are only interested in helping themselves. No political parties are mentioned in the Constitution. We should vote for candidates in the primaries by name only. The two candidates with the most votes should face off in the general election.

F.E. Joseph  Ballwin

Qualified immunity for police seems to have backfired

Nationwide, police departments are having difficulty recruiting enough good guys to fill their growing vacancies. Could qualified immunity  the shielding from personal, financial, and legal accountability for their actions  be part of the problem?

Why would upstanding, ethical people want to affiliate themselves with organizations that seem to allow and promote the brutalization of unarmed individuals? Despite body cameras, cellphone video footage and images from street cameras, the brutalization of Black and brown bodies by police officers continues and has, in fact, increased in the past few years.

Recruitment is down, brutality incidents are increasing, more families are suffering life-changing losses, and cities are paying large amounts for wrongful death and injury settlements. Qualified immunity seems to have backfired. It makes law enforcement an appealing career for power-crazed, impulsive bullies, be they white, Black or otherwise.

If America wants to end the madness in its streets, qualified immunity must end. It is supported by those who want to inflict maximum pain. I think it has run its course. Make police personally responsible for their actions like the rest of us. They would think twice before beating someone, armed or unarmed, to death. They would think twice before choosing a law-enforcement career. Community trust would eventually be restored as only the criminals would be the bad guys.

Norma Rhodes  Kingshighway Hills

Read letters online at STLToday.com
Paid press release content from The Financial Capital. The StreetInsider.com news staff was not involved in its creation.

FlaxEX brings concept of digital asset ownership



The crypto world is changing fast, and the role of blockchain in the field of financial services has further expanded. At present, the market urgently needs products with complete functions, comprehensive services, and application scenarios that meet the needs. And that's what FlaxEX aims to bring.

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FlaxEX is reconstructing digital asset ownership and the connection between blockchains for the multi-chain world, and adopting a new approach to bring liquidity and capital efficiency to the blockchain economy. FlaxEX created the first trustless decentralized custody network suitable for the governance and compliance process of financial institutions. Its security is guaranteed by multi-party computing (MPC), which realizes decentralized custody and cross-chain atomic Swaps, cross-chain credit facilities, and access to liquidity.

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AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Feb. 12, 2023 /PRNewswire/ --

Ram brand's first EV pickup  the all-new Ram 1500 REV  debuts to the world in Big Game commercial

Consumers can reserve their spot in line and become part of the Ram Revolution with the exclusive Rev Insider+ membership program at RamREV.com

Ram 1500 REV product imagery and initial details now available on Ram.com

The introduction of the Ram 1500 REV marks the next step in the Ram brand's electrified journey, once again redefining the pickup truck segment

Production of the all-new Ram 1500 REV to begin next year

The all-new Ram 1500 REV  the first battery-electric light-duty pickup truck from the Ram Truck brand  makes its world debut today in a 60-second Big Game commercial. The standalone Ram Truck brand also announced today that customer reservations for the Ram 1500 REV are now open at RamREV.com.

"The Ram brand has redefined the pickup truck segment before and will once again with the all-new Ram 1500 REV," said Mike Koval Jr., Ram brand CEO  Stellantis. "We believe in bringing the right range of powertrain solutions to our customers, and the Ram 1500 REV will be the first in a lineup of electrified solutions that will add to our current award-winning truck lineup. We are on an exciting electrification journey that will see Ram push past the competition in areas customers care about the most: range, payload, towing and charge time."

Consumers can go to RamREV.com now to learn more about the all-new Ram 1500 REV, see newly released images, and secure their spot to pre-order a vehicle through the Rev Insider+ program. For a one-time $100 refundable fee, the program unlocks privileges that include a chance to reserve a place in line for pre-order and exclusive access to events, news and information about the Ram 1500 REV.

The Ram brand's commitment to offering a full portfolio of electrified solutions supports the Stellantis Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan to lead the way the world moves by delivering innovative, clean, safe and affordable mobility solutions.

Production of the all-new Ram 1500 REV begins next year.

Ram Truck BrandIn 2009, the Ram Truck brand launched as a stand-alone division, focused on meeting the demands of truck buyers and delivering benchmark-quality vehicles. With a full lineup of trucks, the Ram 1500, 2500/3500 Heavy Duty, 3500/4500/5500 Chassis Cab and ProMaster, the Ram brand builds trucks that get the hard work done and families where they need to go.

Ram continues to outperform the competition and sets the benchmarks for:

1,075 lb.-ft. of torque with Cummins Turbo Diesel

Towing capacity of 37,090 lbs. with Ram 3500

Segment first 1,000 lb.-ft of torque with Cummins Turbo Diesel

Payload of 7,680 lbs. with Ram 3500

Most luxurious: Ram Limited with real wood, real leather and 12-inch Uconnect touchscreen

Best ride and handling with exclusive link coil rear and auto-level air suspensions

Most interior space with Ram Mega Cab

The most cargo space available in any traditional full size cargo van

Most capable full-size off-road pickup  Ram Power Wagon

Ram 1500 TRX is the quickest, fastest and most powerful mass-produced pickup truck in the world

Most awarded light-duty truck in America

Highest owner loyalty of any half-ton pickup

The latest J.D. Power APEAL study, which rates the emotional bond between customers and their vehicles, named the 2022 Ram 1500 as the best vehicle in the large light-duty pickup category. This marks the third straight year Ram 1500 has received top honors.

The Ram 1500 lineup includes the Know & Go mobile app featuring an immersive experience for customers who want to learn more about their vehicles.

Ram is part of the portfolio of brands offered by leading global automaker and mobility provider Stellantis. For more information regarding Stellantis (NYSE: STLA), please visit www.stellantis.com.

Follow Ram and company news and video on:Company blog: http://blog.stellantisnorthamerica.comMedia website: http://media.stellantisnorthamerica.comRam Truck brand: www.ramtrucks.comFacebook: www.facebook.com/RamTrucks Instagram: www.instagram.com/ramtrucks Twitter: www.twitter.com/RamTrucks and @StellantisNAYouTube: www.youtube.com/RamTrucks, https://www.youtube.com/StellantisNA

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/all-new-all-electric-ram-1500-rev-to-debut-during-big-game-customer-reservations-now-open-301744691.html

SOURCE Stellantis
A jury has convicted a Niagara Falls man of first-degree manslaughter in connection with a fatal stabbing, Niagara County District Attorney Brian D. Seaman announced.

The jury reached the verdict against Brian W. Miskho, 33, after a 2 1/2-day day trial. He faces up to 25 years in prison when he returns for sentencing before Niagara County Court Judge John Ottaviano.

Prosecutors said Miskho stabbed Thomas Anderson, 49, of Niagara Falls, four times during an argument over a woman Dec. 15, 2020, near Anderson's home on 20th Street. Anderson was treated in Erie County Medical Center for his injuries and released, but then died two days later from his wounds.

The jury saw through Miskhos self-defense claim and saw this case for what it was, Seaman said. The defendant attacked and killed Mr. Anderson in an outburst of anger and jealousy. It was that simple.
(Tribune News Service)  A U.S. recovery effort on sea ice in Alaska continued Saturday after a fighter jet shot down an unidentified airborne object near the Canadian border.

Recovery operations continue today near Deadhorse, Alaska," U.S. Northern Command said in a statement. We have no further details at this time about the object, including its capabilities, purpose, or origin.

Personnel are adjusting to maintain safety in arctic weather conditions, including wind chill, snow and limited daylight, according to the statement.

A Sidewinder missile downed the object off northeastern Alaska on Friday after F-22s spotted it overnight, less than a week after fighter jets targeted an alleged Chinese surveillance balloon that had crossed the US and provoked a national uproar.

The unidentified object was about the size of a car and didnt have the ability to maneuver, the White House said. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said it was far smaller than the Chinese balloon downed off the coast of South Carolina last Saturday.

In Alaska, additional debris was retrieved after sea conditions on Friday allowed for the use of divers and underwater unmanned vehicle operations, according to Northern Command.

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The unbelievable blunder played a major role in identifying the criminals involved

Keane Mulready-Woods was 17 when he was killed and his body dismembered.   PA

A car used in the murder of teenager Keane Mulready-Woods was identified after a drive-off at a petrol station in Dublin in the aftermath of the killing.

The unbelievable blunder played a major role in identifying the criminals involved.

The Volvo was later found burnt out, with the 17-year-old Drogheda boys head and feet inside.

Details of the car had been entered on the garda system after the driver sped off from the petrol station without paying.

It was discovered in Ballybough, Dublin, on January 16, 2020. The teenager had been murdered days earlier by a crime gang.

A source said: This drive-off from the Finglas petrol station led us to be able to trace everything else, to track and map the crime and the suspects.

It is almost unbelievable that criminals in the process of disposing of body parts in one of the most shocking and gruesome murders would draw attention to themselves by not paying for their fuel.

The boys limbs were found in a Puma bag at a house in Coolock, Dublin, and his torso in Drogheda.

Keane Mulready-Woods was 17 when he was killed and his body dismembered.   PA

The chief suspect for the murder, hitman Robbie Lawlor, was shot dead in Belfast in April 2020.

On Friday, two men who drove the teenager to the house in Drogheda where he was murdered were jailed by the Special Criminal Court.

Paul Crosby (27), from Rathmullan Park, Drogheda, and Gerard Cruise (49), of Sherard Street, Dublin, admitted facilitating the murder of Mulready-Woods between January 11 and 13, 2020. Crosby was jailed for 10 years and Cruise for seven.

Crosby had met the teenager on the day he went missing, paid his taxi fare and took him to a car where Cruise drove them to the laneway at the back of the house in Rathmullan Park where the boy was killed.

Both men apologised for what had happened, with Cruise insisting he did not know the teen was to be murdered.
It is understood Poots messaged a friend after taking his seat, and they rang ahead and reported the incident to authorities

Edwin Poots says the matter is now for the police

Edwin Poots; and PSNI officers boarding the plane upon arrival in Belfast

Cops in Scotland have passed a file to prosecutors over an alleged hate crime in which up the Ra was shouted at former DUP leader Edwin Poots on a flight.

Police Scotland confirmed to this newspaper it had passed a file of evidence to the procurator fiscal, a form of Scottish magistrate, to consider a prosecution.

A spokesman said: A 33-year-old man is the subject of a report to the procurator fiscal following an alleged hate crime incident at Glasgow Airport.

In an earlier statement, Police Scotland said Mr Poots had been subjected to sectarian abuse on board.

The alleged offence took place on December 12 last year on an easyJet flight from Glasgow to Belfast International Airport.

Mr Poots, the shortest-serving DUP leader in history with just 21 days in post, reportedly contacted a friend after being verbally abused on the plane.

The person he contacted is reported to have arranged for the police to be waiting when the flight landed in Belfast, with the incident happening as he was boarding.

It is understood that as Mr Poots was making his way to his seat, a male passenger shouted Up the Ra at him.

Edwin Poots says the matter is now for the police

The former DUP leader made a complaint to the staff on board, and it is believed that the passenger was spoken to by a crew member.

In video footage circulated online, police officers can be seen on board the aircraft after it touches down at Belfast International Airport.

A male member of staff can be heard explaining to passengers the police have not been summoned by us, which is usually the case.

There has been an event that took place on board the aircraft which police are now dealing with, the staff member adds.

Speaking about the incident previously, Mr Poots said: A passenger engaged in verbal abuse, and obviously the police were there on arrival. This is a matter for the police now and for their investigation.

It is understood Mr Poots messaged a friend after taking his seat, and they rang ahead and reported the incident to authorities at Belfast International Airport.

Police waiting on the plane when it landed spoke to a passenger in question.

Mr Poots took the reins of the DUP after Arlene Foster quit in May 2021.

He narrowly defeated Sir Jeffrey Donaldson in a leadership contest that split the party into warring factions. But his tenure was beset by infighting which brought him down just three weeks later, with Mr Donaldson succeeding him.
We photographed Dubliner Craig Kelly outside his home in Walkinstown, Dublin, early on Saturday

Josh Conlon was 18 at the time of the attack   Collins Dublin

Craig Kelly took part in the second brutal attack on Lynsey Byrne   Gary Ashe

A thug jailed for five months over a nightmare attack  in which a woman had a kettle of boiling water thrown on her  was released from prison just hours after being sentenced.

We photographed Dubliner Craig Kelly outside his home in Walkinstown, Dublin, early on Saturday  four days after he was sentenced for assaulting Lyndsey Byrne with a stick before co-accused Paul Clarke threw a kettle of boiling water on her.

Sickeningly, Kelly  who has 109 previous convictions for offences including road traffic matters, drug offences and robbery  declined to acknowledge his guilt when confronted by the Sunday World.

Asked to comment about the case, he responded: Its all lies  but its nothing to do with me, buddy  youve got the wrong fella.

Despite Kellys denials, we can reveal he was released from prison on Tuesday evening  just hours after he was handed a five-month sentence by Judge Martin Nolan.

Kelly had already spent four and a half months in custody while awaiting trial  and because he automatically benefits from 25pc remission, his sentence had already expired on his return to custody.

Josh Conlon was 18 at the time of the attack   Collins Dublin

Paul Clarke was considered the main man in the brutal attack and was jailed for four years and three months.

Josh Conlon, who turned 18 on the day of the attack, and who boiled the kettle of water used by Clarke to scald Byrne, avoided a custodial sentence on account of his age.

The court heard the three men called to the apartment Lyndsey Byrne shared with her partner Emmet Black over the course of two days in November 2021.

Ms Byrne told gardai she was tortured by Paul Clarke (29) and thought she was going to die from the pain she endured after he poured a kettle and several cups of freshly boiled water over her during the two attacks.

Clarke was accompanied by Conlon (19) on the first day of the assault, and by Kelly (38) on the second day.

Clarke pleaded guilty to one count of assault causing harm to Lyndsey Byrne at the apartment she lived in at The Maltings, Watling Street, Dublin 8.

A second count of assault causing harm to Emmet Black was taken into consideration.

Conlon pleaded guilty to assault causing harm and Kelly pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of simple assault.

Craig Kelly took part in the second brutal attack on Lynsey Byrne   Gary Ashe

Garda Kerrie Sullivan said Clarke phoned Mr Black on the day in question, looking for a box of cannabis that Mr Black was supposed to be holding for him.

He then called to the couples apartment accompanied by Conlon and became angry when he learned Mr Black did not have the drugs.

Mr Black was ordered to come up with a sum of 7,000 to pay for the missing drugs.

He then left to try and get money from the Credit Union.

Clarke then ordered Ms Byrne to put her hands out on the table, before he repeatedly struck her with a broom handle  which she described as agony.

He told Conlon to boil a kettle of water and to add sugar to the kettle.

The sugar could not be found, but the kettle was boiled and the water was poured into a number of cups, which Clarke poured over Ms Byrnes hands and arms.

Ms Byrnes wrists were then bound with a phone charger, and a scarf was tied around her mouth before Clarke sat her down in the chair and hit her with the stick.

Some time later, Clarke phoned Mr Black and flew into a rage upon hearing he had not been able to get any money.

He ordered Mr Black to return to the apartment and Ms Byrne was taken into the bathroom and forced into the bath.

The court heard Mr Black was attacked upon his return to the apartment and Ms Byrne was ordered to clean up the blood and tend to his head wound.

Paul Clarke

The two men then left the apartment, with Clarke saying he would return the next day.

Around lunchtime on November 12, Clarke came back to the apartment accompanied by Kelly.

Another row ensued before Kelly hit Ms Byrne over the chest twice with a stick and Clarke poured a kettle of boiling water over her, hitting her shoulder and arms.

The court heard Ms Byrne was in absolute agony and her skin was blistering.

She said Clarke then told her: You think thats bad, wait until I skin you alive.

The men left shortly afterwards and Ms Byrne, who had called 999 before they arrived, ran out of the apartment and was met by two gardai.

She was taken to hospital and treated for second-degree burns and a suspected collapsed lung.

In her victim impact statement, Ms Byrne said it was the most traumatic and frightening thing to have ever happened to her and it changed her life forever.

She genuinely thought she was going to die from the pain, the court heard.
The State prosecutor must now decide whether he should face criminal charges. This decision is expected within weeks

Enoch Burke outside the entrance to Wilson's Hospital School in Co Westmeath. Picture by Gerry Mooney

Gardai have completed a criminal investigation into the alleged trespass by schoolteacher Enoch Burke at Wilsons Hospital School in Co Westmeath.

The State prosecutor must now decide whether he should face criminal charges. This decision is expected within weeks, according to a source.

We can reveal that gardai at Westmeath have now sent a file outlining alleged trespass to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

The State prosecutors office is expected to shortly inform investigating officers whether Mr Burke should be formally charged with a criminal offence.

In a statement to this newspaper, garda headquarters confirmed, without directly identifying the schoolteacher, that its investigation was complete and a file has been forwarded to the DPP.

The statement read: A male was arrested under the Public Order Act 1994 on Tuesday January 24, 2023, and taken to Mullingar garda station. He was subsequently released and a file has since been sent to the Office of the DPP.

Enoch Burke outside the entrance to Wilson's Hospital School in Co Westmeath. Picture by Gerry Mooney

As previously reported, should Mr Burke be charged with trespass, one of the conditions of his bail would stipulate that he is not permitted to return to Wilson's Hospital School.

According to a source: If he is charged, this would be a sure-fire way of stopping his daily appearance. Because he would be in breach of his bail conditions and gardai would have the power to remove him.

It is a matter for the DPP whether he faces criminal charges. What is most certainly in the best interests of the school and the childrens education is to not have Mr Burke presenting on a daily basis.

Mr Burke, an evangelical Christian, was suspended last August following incidents in which he clashed with school management over a request to call a transgender pupil by a new name and to use they/their pronouns in connection with the child.

Mr Burke has shown up almost every day since January 5. On January 24, gardai were called to the school and arrived in an unmarked car.

Mr Burke was arrested in the school courtyard after being denied entry to the building.

He taken in the back of the garda vehicle and brought to Mullingar garda station. He was later released without charge and returned to the school that same day.
He didnt hand over the money but the talk is there are a number of businessmen in the county who did hand over large sums to him in cash

A GAA star at the centre of an alleged 1 million fraud scandal is claimed to have cold-called a businessman in Northern Ireland seeking a 100,000 donation to fund a trip to the US for treatment for a rare cancer.

Its understood the businessman, who has close ties to the GAA across the border, subsequently contacted a businessman in the stars home county to seek his advice  but was told not to hand over a penny as scepticism was growing locally over his claims of ill-health.

A local source said yesterday that contact had been made by the player with this individual last November.

Essentially, he cold-called him, the source said yesterday.

And he wasnt the only businessman to receive such a call.

Another businessman in this county was contacted and the same sum in euros was requested.

He didnt hand over the money either but the talk locally is there are a number of businessmen in the county who did hand over large sums to him in cash.

The Sunday World understands that as well as leading business figures, the star also requested funds from at least one well known politician.

Sources said that on another occasion, the star offered to send a prospective beneficiary a copy of his medical records to bolster his claims of ill health.

Again, the monies sought by the GAA star were said to be in aid of funding medical treatment for a rare cancer, in this instance, thought to be melanoma in the United States.

Its understood a number of complaints have been made to An Garda Siochana in recent months.

The investigation is being co-ordinated by gardai in the eastern region but from a station outside the stars home county.

In recent weeks, investigators from the Garda Economic Crime Bureau have also been called in to assist as the investigations widens.

Among the allegations being investigated are claims the sporting figure exploited his popularity by tapping supporters and fans for cash.

Investigators have been told he allegedly asked for cash sums that ranged from several thousand euros to six figure sums to fund expensive treatment overseas.

Key to establishing if a fraud occurred will be examining the stars claims of ill health to determine whether the reason he gave for seeking the cash was genuine.

Secondly, officers will seek to establish whether any medical treatment took place and how the money raised by the star was sent.

News of the investigation into the stars affair has stunned the GAA community.

However, no details relating to the sporting figures identity can be revealed as the investigation is still in its early stages.
Murphy (63) is currently in jail for drug trafficking after pleading guilty to having 260k worth of drugs

Gardai investigating jailed former superintendent John Spud Murphys links to the Hutch organised crime gang have extended their probe to his business dealings in the capital.

Murphy (63) is currently in jail for drug trafficking after pleading guilty to having 260,000 worth of drugs at his home and in his car.

Before his conviction, he was known to provide security and dispute resolution services to a number of builders and business owners in Dublin in relation to properties and sites in the city, according to sources. These included disputes over tenancies and access.

Gardai are investigating whether the former senior officer invoked his alleged connections in the course of his business dealings in the city.

Detectives gathering information on his methods are understood to have interviewed a number of business owners about their dealings with Murphy, as well as payments made and to whom, according to sources. Murphy was taken from prison earlier this month and interviewed by the National Criminal Investigations Bureau.

The bureau is investigating whether the passed confidential garda information to Gerry The Monk Hutch.

Two serving officers were suspended from the force as part of the investigation, but they have not been charged with any offences. The investigation is continuing.

Murphy retired from An Garda Siochana in 2010 and celebrated with a function at the Aviva Stadium attended by several celebrities.

He came on to the garda radar after the Regency Hotel attack that resulted in the shooting of David Byrne and the subsequent murderous feud between the Kinahan and Hutch crime gangs.

The Sunday World has previously reported how Murphy was suspected of, at worst, leaking confidential garda information that could benefit the Hutch gang.

He was identified as a suspect following an internal investigation to trace leaks from the Pulse system.

Detectives searched Murphys house expecting to seize phones and electronic devices.

Instead, they found the drugs and 47,000 in cash. Officers later recovered CCTV footage in which he is seen collecting the bags of cannabis that were found at his home.

At his sentencing hearing, Murphy was portrayed as a good man who had fallen on financial hard times. He had racked up debts of 855,000 because of poor business decisions.

He had invested 300,000 in taxi plates, had a loan of 700,000, credit union loans of 14,000 and credit card debts of 12,000.

He borrowed 129,000 from friends, his son and his brother.

He was a functioning alcoholic who drank large amounts every day for as long as anyone could remember, the court was told. Drinking had clouded his judgment and brought him to this sorry pass.
Greater Buffalo-area college students studying communications, along with professional journalists seeking additional training, can apply for college and graduate school scholarships for the 2023-24 academic year.

The scholarships are awarded by the Greater Buffalo International Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.

Applicants must be residents of Western New York, Northwestern Pennsylvania or Southern Ontario attending accredited colleges in the U.S. or Canada that offer courses to enhance journalism training. Students residing outside the chapter area who attend colleges in Western New York are also eligible.

Evidence of competence in writing, broadcasting or related communications skills is desirable. So is an explanation of financial need. Applicants must include a brief statement outlining their motivation and offering evidence of a commitment to a career in journalism. Letters of recommendation from an instructor or supervisor in the students field of major interest must accompany the application.

To receive applications by mail, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to: Annemarie Franczyk, 858 Fillmore Ave., Buffalo, NY 14212. For questions, contact Franczyk at 716-878-5900 or amfranczyk@verizon.net. Applications must be postmarked by April 29.
During the searches, gardai seized quantities of cocaine, cannabis, MDMA, ketamine and LSD with a combined value of approximately 75,000.

Gardai in Galway have arrested two men after seizing 75,000 of drugs in multiple raids.

Officers from the Galway Divisional Drug Unit searched a number of homes in Ballinasloe and Oranmore on Saturday, February 11.

The searches form part of an ongoing investigation targeting the sale and supply of drugs in the Galway area.

During the searches, gardai seized quantities of cocaine, cannabis, MDMA, ketamine and LSD with a combined value of approximately 75,000.

Over 800 in cash was also seized. The drugs will be now analysed by forensic experts.

Two men aged in their 30s and 40) were arrested as part of the probe. Both are currently detained in Galway Garda Station, North Western Region Headquarters, under Section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act, 1996.

Investigations are ongoing.

Speaking last night, Chief Superintendent Gerard Roche, Galway Division, said, "These seizures demonstrate our commitment in tackling organised crime and drug dealers around the county.
Meanwhile, a convicted drug dealer, who labelled immigrants as filth that need to be put back in the airplanes and boats they came in on has objected to the Sunday World labelling him far-right.

Protesters caused chaos outside the RTE television studios on Saturday with up to 200 demonstrators blocking traffic in both directions and accusing some of the stations top stars of crimes against humanity.

There was a significant Garda presence inside the grounds at Donnybrook as the group protested outside the entrance against a range of topics, including the broadcasters coverage of the Covid pandemic and the governments immigration policies.

Many of the protesters waved the tricolour and held placards denouncing RTE as the virus, claiming Covid-19 was a scam and that Ireland is full.

Some held wanted posters with pictures of broadcasters, including Claire Byrne, Joe Duffy, and Ciara Kelly on display  accusing them of crimes against humanity for their coverage of the pandemic.

One held a placard branding Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald a traitor; another called on Childrens Minister Roderick OGorman to be sacked.

Many shared conspiracy theories, including that Covid was a deliberate cull of the people.

Garda at the protest

A number of speakers addressed the crowd, including Dr Anne McCloskey, who lost her job as a GP in Derry for spreading Covid mistruths. She hit out at the Government and the media and proclaimed that Ireland would rise again to loud cheers.

Watching McCloskey was prolific anti-vaxxer Dolores Webster, who sparked outrage during the pandemic by calling for fellow protesters to drag President Michael D Higgins from his residence to dance on him so there is nothing left of his head.

Ireland First leader Derek Blighe told the crowd that RTE would be defunded when Irish patriots are in power as protesters turned their attention to the studios.

When one driver approached the entrance of RTE he was surrounded by protesters, blocking him from entering and forcing him to reverse onto oncoming traffic.

Scum, scum, scum  hell is waiting for you, shouted one protester at the driver.

When one motorist got out of her car to ask the protesters to move. She was told to get the f*** back into your car.

Protesters swarms around a car at RTE studios

Meanwhile, a convicted drug dealer, who labelled immigrants as filth that need to be put back in the airplanes and boats they came in on has objected to the Sunday World labelling him far-right.

Scott Delaney, the son of notorious gangland killer Cotton Eye Joe Delaney, has also announced plans to set up his own security company, comprising of four cars patrolling Dublin 5 and Dublin 13, to protect Irish women and children from immigrants.

In a video shared on Telegram by British far-right Islamophobe Tommy Robinson, Delaney revealed plans for a new security firm to keep Irish women and children safe from immigrants.

And he also shared several debunked and false claims about immigrants raping women and men in Dublin in recent weeks.

Im setting up a security company. covering Ard na Greine, Rathvale, Millbrook, Donaghmede, Edenmore, Kilbarrack, Baldoyle, Clarehall and Clongriffin.

This is only for women so if anybody causes trouble in those area towards women, the(re) are 24-hour phone numbers to ring for four different cars.
The Taoiseach said migration is good for our country as it provides a diverse workforce, and enriches our culture

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the State may have to provide accommodation for an additional 30,000 to 40,000 asylum seekers and people seeking international protection this year.

Over 70,000 people sought refuge in Ireland across 2022, and Mr Varadkar said its going to be very difficult but the State will do the best we can to meet the challenge.

Earlier this week, Mr Varadkar said the States policy on migration should be fair, firm and hard, including on human traffickers who are exploiting migrants.

Speaking this lunchtime, the Taoiseach said migration is good for our country as it strengthens the economy by providing a very diverse workforce, while it also enriches our culture.

However, he said the Government must be firm in getting countries to accept their nationals back" in cases where they are refused asylum in Ireland.

We also need to have legal pathways to migration as well. Ireland is a country that you can come to as an economic migrant from outside the European Union. We issued 40,000 work permits last year. So, we do have legal pathways to migration, he said.

But we do need to be firm, I believe, with people whose applications are rejected... To say to people, that if you're going to come to Ireland, with a false story, or on false pretences, we will try to prevent you from entering in the first place and after that, we will make sure that your application is dealt with quickly.

"Due process is always required, of course it is, but we would aim to have applications dealt with within less than 12 weeks.

Last week the Childrens Minister Roderic OGorman put out a call for other Government departments to provide centres that could be used for temporary accommodation, however, it has been reported today that those offers have been less than forthcoming.

The Taoiseach said several departments have offered sites which will be available in "weeks", and "months" in some cases.

Mr Varadkar said a lot of the buildings need to be refurbished as they are not in good condition. He also confirmed that modular homes will start to become available from March, with 500 to 700 expected this year.

This week the Attorney General backed up the controversial Government stance on historic nursing home charges, and discontinuance of the disabled allowance for people entering State-run institutions.

Rossa Fanning SC concluded that the legal advice given to Government over lawsuits concerning charges levied for private nursing home care was sound, accurate and appropriate.

Mr Varadkar said its very possible that there could be a test case in the courts and if it does, Government will be sticking to its position.

Our position, just as it is now, sometimes people who have medical cards pay privately or feel forced to go privately, but the Government doesnt reimburse that. We only do it if its done through prior arrangement, he told RTEs This Week programme.

When asked if the Government has an ethical responsibility to the people who were impacted as a result of the policy, Mr Varadkar said its necessary to strike an appropriate balance between putting right the wrongs of the past and dealing with the needs of today and investing in the future.

I would like the focus to be on those people who need our help today. People who are disabled, who are old, who are children suffering poverty, not compensating people for things that happened 15 to 40 years ago and in many cases it would be their relatives, not them at all, that would benefit, he added.

Meanwhile, Mr Varadkar confirmed that the decisions on what cost-of-living measures will be extended will be made this week and said there will be no cliff edge.

He did not indicate which supports are likely to continue, however, he said increased social welfare payments are being looked at for those who need the most help.

We do believe that pensioners and people receiving social welfare payments, theyre the ones who are really struggling, he said.
Chanting and placard waving then commenced and insults were shouted between the opposing groups

A garda had to intervene in a clash between anti-immigration protesters and a pro-immigration counter-rally on the Bridge of Peace in Drogheda today.

Around 60 anti-immigration protestors had gathered on one side of the bridge in the Co Louth town at 2pm today to find a counter-protest of around 30 people had gathered on the opposite side.

Chanting and placard waving then commenced and insults were shouted between the opposing groups.

Cathal O Murchu of the Irish Freedom Party told the anti-immigration side that his party wanted a common sense policy towards immigration and the government to look after Irish citizens and not prioritise foreign people.

Come the next election we will get a landslide of candidates in here. Were going to be the new government, or at least the opposition, he added.

Prominent anti-immigration activist Malachy Steenson also addressed the gathering of protestors, repeating what he said at a rally in Dublin last week that the group had shifted the political ground in the country.

The simple fact is that we do not have the capacity to take in any more people. Weve 100,000 children waiting on medical health assessments.

Weve overcrowded schoolrooms. We have a huge shortage of houses. We are telling our own young people that they can be educated here and then they can get on a plane because they cant buy or rent somewhere to live, he added.

As he spoke, members of the pro-refugee counter rally on the other side of the bridge chanted: Say it loud, say it clear, refugees are welcome here, while members of the anti-refugee side shouted: Get them out back at them.

Mr Steenson also said that a major protest is being planned for Dublin city on St Patricks Day.

As the protest wound down a small number of anti-immigration protestors brought a large banner into the roadway and stopped the traffic on the bridge.

At this point one of the counter-protestors walked towards them and grabbed the banner before running away with it and trying to throw it over the bridge.

He was chased by anti-immigration protestors and a scuffle broke out at the railings of the bridge between members of both groups.

Gardai had been keeping a watch on the proceedings, and when the clash occurred, a garda on a motorcycle broke up the scuffle.

The anti-immigrant protestors eventually got their banner back and crossed back to the side of the bridge they had been protesting on.

Insults were exchanged between both sides and the situation became tense. More gardai arrived and observed both sides as the anti-immigration protestors moved across the bridge towards Drogheda town, standing at the roadside with their banners.

The protest lasted about an hour in total before both sides slowly dispersed.
The airline claimed the way in which the government used an estimated 485m generated from an EU scheme was a scandal

Ryanair said it was deeply troubling how EU funding to tackle emissions was being used to shore up unprofitable school bus routes as it launched an extraordinary attack on the Government.

In letters to the Department of the Environment, the airline claimed the way in which the government had used an estimated 485m generated from an EU scheme was a scandal.

In the astonishing attack, it accused the department of a fraudulent diversion of 76pc of the environmental funding to Bus Eireann.

The airline said the bus companys fleet was extremely emission intensive and claimed the funding was simply being used to prop up an unprofitable semi-state.

It also lambasted the department over their explanation of where the other 24pc in funding went after being told it had gone on Climate Finance.

In correspondence with the department early last year, Ryanairs Director of Sustainability and Finance Thomas Fowler said: This lack of transparency under a green minister [Eamon Ryan] is inexplicable and unacceptable.

In response, the department said that it did not accept the assertions made in the letter and that Ireland was fully complaint with its requirements.

It said funding the school transport scheme was an eligible category for expenditure and that it provided critical transport for almost 120,000 students, including 16,000 with special education needs.

In the absence of this scheme, most of these students would require transportation via private vehicle, thus leading to a significant increase in transport emissions.

In another letter to Minister Eamon Ryan last February, Ryanair said there had been an inexplicable failure by the department to provide a clear or transparent response to their concerns.

A letter said: Our concern is that these buses were operating unnecessarily leading to emission growth. Again, we call on you as minister to provide transparency on the actual emission reduction benefits from the use of these [emissions trading] revenues and clarity on how this is calculated.

Ryanair claimed it was farcical to say the scheme was not being used to prop up Bus Eireann, saying 25pc of the bus companys annual costs were covered by emissions funding.

In other correspondence to the department, the airline said Ireland was being unduly punished under the terms of the Emission Trading Scheme because it was an island on the periphery of Europe.

It said unlike most EU countries, Irish people had few alternatives to airline travel such as rail or road transport while long-haul airline carriers, despite being responsible for far greater emissions, were exempt from the taxes.

They said Ireland should be reinvesting some of the funds in air travel that would help reduce fuel consumption, CO2 emissions, and noise.

Ryanairs Thomas Fowler wrote: Investing in these new aircraft technologies is the most effective decarbonisation tool presently available to the industry here in Ireland.

Asked about the records, a spokesman for the Department of the Environment said Ryanair had been incorrect to term the emissions scheme a climate tax.

He said: It is a cornerstone of the EUs policy to combat climate change and a key tool for reducing greenhouse gasses cost effectively.

Aviation has been included in the [scheme] since 2012 and the European Commission has estimated that aviations participation in the scheme has contributed to almost 200 million tonnes of reductions of CO2 emissions over the past eight years.

The spokesman added that if the school transport scheme was not in place, there would be tens of thousands more cars on Irish roads each day.
The witness, who did not wish to share his account publicly, said he spotted the pair outside the church in St Michaels on Wyre and on a nearby bridge on January 26.

A member of the police search and rescue team waits at Shard Bridge for a boat to come down the River Wyre in Lancashire in the search for Nicola Bulley (Owen Humphreys/PA)   Owen Humphreys

Candles are lit around a photo of Nicola Bulley and her partner Paul Ansell on an altar at St Michaels Church in St Michaels on Wyre, Lancashire (PA)   Owen Humphreys

A witness has told police he saw two men acting suspiciously near the route that Nicola Bulley regularly walked her dog on the day before her disappearance, it has been claimed.

The witness, who did not wish to share his account publicly, said he spotted the pair outside the church in St Michaels on Wyre and on a nearby bridge on January 26.

A worker at a local garage said the witness gave information to police after officers asked for anyone who had been in the area around the time the mother-of-two was last seen to come forward, according to The Sun.

The paper reported that police had requested footage from St Michaels Garage last Thursday that covered the 24 hours before Ms Bulley disappeared.

Nicola Bulley   Lancashire Police

A garage worker, who did not wish to be named, said: Two smartly dressed officers came in following up, a man and a woman.

They wanted the CCTV from the day before Nicola vanished and to take statements of any activity we had seen from that day.

These officers were different to the ones in uniform, they seemed very assertive.

The worker reportedly said they knew the witness and were aware he had already gone to the police about what he saw at the local church.

But he said he wanted to make sure they were chasing this up so I asked the officers about it and they said they were following it up, they added.

The worker added: Whether them collecting the CCTV from the same day is connected, I dont know.

He told how the witness said he saw one of the men the next day near the bridge, which is at the start of the footpath which Ms Bulley used almost daily on walks with her dog Willow.

A member of the police search and rescue team waits at Shard Bridge for a boat to come down the River Wyre in Lancashire in the search for Nicola Bulley (Owen Humphreys/PA)   Owen Humphreys

The search for Ms Bulley enters its seventeenth day on Sunday. Lancashire Police said officers were keeping an open mind while continuing to appeal for information about the incident.

Police said earlier this week they had opened 500 lines of inquiry in the case and were looking to talk to more than 700 drivers seen in the local area around the time of Ms Bulleys disappearance.

The force is continuing to search the River Wyre towards the sea at Morecambe Bay, working on one hypothesis that the 45-year-old, from Inskip, could have fallen in. Police have discounted foul play and are treating the incident as a missing person inquiry.

Her partner, Paul Ansell said he wants to keep all options open about her disappearance, but his gut instinct tells him she is not in the river.
The gal pals moved in together after splitting with the boyfriends they met on the show

The girls were not too keen on the taste of Guinness.

Love Island stars Chloe Burrows and Millie Court have taken to social media to share behind the scenes of their quick trip to Dublin.

The pair, who met on the show in 2021, quickly became close friends and now live together after they both split with their boyfriends.

Chloe met Toby Aromolaran on the show and the pair moved in together while Millie won the dating show with Liam Reardon. They moved in together, but also later split.

Taking to the skies, the pair enjoyed prosecco aboard their flight before checking into The Mayson Hotel on North Wall Quay.

They then made their way into the city centre where they enjoyed a pint of Guinness.

The girls were not too keen on the taste of Guinness.

Chloe took a video of herself and Millie ready to hit the town and said: "Hello Dublin, we outside! I'm so excited."

The pair then went to a pub where they and tasted a pint of the black stuff,

Chloe said: "Cheers. It's not bad, but Millie replied: "It's not great."

The gal pals were planning on spending the weekend in Dublin, but their trip was cut short for an exciting opportunity.

They caught an early flight on Saturday morning to attend the 2023 BRIT awards.

Chloe and Toby were fan favourites following a dramatic get-together last summer, with many fans thinking they were in for the long run.

Last year, Chloe revealed how Toby had already popped the question but she said no.

Toby denied the claims on Instagram, saying I didnt propose lol.

A source told the Daily Mail at the time that the couple put everything into their relationship  but it just hasn't worked out between them.

Last December, after Millie and Liam called it quits, the Welshman opened up about his post-break-up struggles.

"A lot of you asked how I've been coping, he said in a candid post shared with Instagram followers.

"I'm doing good thank you to all that asked. It's been a difficult few months, with moving from my home in Essex to moving back to Wales and now back living back in Essex on my own.

"Break-ups can be very hard and being in the public eye just make it that extra bit more difficult to deal with especially when you have rumours etc coming out and people judging your character off something which isn't true, he added.

"But I've been down and when you're down you can either stay down or do what you can to pick yourself up, dust yourself off and move forward. And that's what I'm doing.

"Just want to say love to all you guys who follow and support me, especially over these past few months it means the world."
Its a brilliant time in the industry in general, especially since streamers came in, Gemma says

Smother star Gemma-Leah Devereux is reprising her role as Anna in the hit Irish noir drama.

The Dublin actor chats to Denise Smithabout everything from working with Hollywood A-listers to guilty pleasure Love Island and the pain of losing her beloved dog, Molly.

Just minutes before Magazine+joins a call withSmother star Gemma-Leah Devereux, the country is enjoying a record-breaking day for film with a staggering 14 Oscar nominations.

Perhaps its prophetic for the 32-year-old, who is already primed to go stratospheric. Within moments of speaking with the fiercely ambitious talent, its clear she has every intention of adding her name to the illustrious roster.

I just read the Oscar nominations there: Brendan, Baz, Paul  its insane, its a brilliant time to be Irish, exclaims the quick-talking Dubliner, stopping only to come up for air.

Gemma-Leah Devereux. Picture Andres Poveda

When I was younger, I always wanted to be an actor and people would say, Thats not really a career. I always said, Whatever. I am going to be an actor, thats what I am going to do.

Hailed for her memorable performance as Liza Minnelli in the acclaimed Judy, in which she starred alongside Renee Zellweger, the Tudors star also earned critical acclaim for her portrayal of Ruth Shine in docudrama Citizen Lane opposite Tom Vaughan-Lawlor.

Already amassing a stellar CV, the humble starlet insists theres more to come.

It takes a while to get where you want to get and I am still nowhere I want to be. Do you know what? I dont think I will ever be where I want to be. Like any career you are in, you are always striving for the next thing.

Gemma-Leah Devereux. Picture Andres Poveda   Andres Poveda

But its a real time in the industry where you can do anything you want, and anything can happen. And there are plenty more pinch-me moments for me to come.

On home shores, fans of the RTE/BBC noir thriller will know the blonde bombshell from Smother, where she plays Anna Ahern, who finds herself in the middle of a whodunnit murder mystery when her father is found dead after a family party.

In good company, Gemma-Leah was praised for her standout performance alongside the likes of Dervla Kirwan, Seana Kerslake and Stuart Graham.

With her fathers killer masterfully unveiled in the first series finale, the nail-biting drama has thrown up more plot twists than an Agatha Christie novel and the final series promises to be just as explosive.

I swear I am the worst person to be interviewed, she laughs.

I did an interview the other day and I said, Its the last season and the journalist was surprised and I panicked and thought after three years I have messed it up  I have given something away.

Season three is going to be incredible, viewers are in for a treat. I dont know how much more I can say but I will watch the first episode with my family; I have this thing where we make a big night of it and watch it together.

At the start of the first season we took bets on who killed Denis, so every year we have made it a big night of it.

Fictional deaths aside, there was real heartache on set when the adoring pet lover lost her treasured dog, Molly, during filming.

She died during season two on the second week of filming.

" She really was my sidekick, I brought her everywhere. We were only shooting a week and I knew on the Monday that she was really unwell and by the Friday I had to put her down, she recalls sadly.

Because everyone is so close on Smother everyone knew her and it was the best place for it to happen  everyone was so sweet.

"Out of all the sets Ive worked on, I am glad it happened on this set. It was devastating but you have to keep working.

Explaining the allure of complex and complicated characters, both fearless and tenacious when it comes to inhabiting her roles, Gemma-Leah refuses to be typecast.

All you can do is be attracted to characters that speak to you. Even with Anna, she was someone I had never played before.

I always want to push myself and do different roles that people might not necessarily think I am right for, and I go into them and then I change their minds; that is the path I am trying to carve out for myself.

Nowadays you can direct, you can write your own things and even on Smother season three, I was shadowing the director a bit because I would love to do something like that as well.

Earning rave reviews for her turn as a world-weary stand-up comedian who is diagnosed with cancer in 2020 film The Bright Side, the rising star equates her onscreen success at least partially to her real-life anonymity.

People were like, Oh my God, you shaved your head for a role but I love getting into other peoples skin. I thrive on it and it is creatively so brilliant for me  it is like therapy for me.

Gemma-Leah Devereux. Picture Andres Poveda

"When you have someone elses skin on, you can access so many things that maybe you wouldnt normally allow yourself to access.

If you start thinking about the camera and the people in the room looking at you and the fact that its going to be a film and people are going to see it everywhere, you can get pretty overloaded, so I dont, really.

I think I live incognito quite well, which I love because thats the best thing: keeping your private life private and people not really knowing you and then being able to play all these people onscreen.

I will go incognito for as long as I can, she continues.

I think keeping your private life private is very important, but I also think its for the craft  the more people get to know you, they can pigeonhole you. When people dont know you, you can slip into roles a lot easier.

Despite working alongside A-listers, including Bridget Jones herself and Love/Hate alumnus Tom, it was Dumbledore who caused the actress to fangirl.

I have worked with Michael Gambon and I completely fangirled  and literally, I didnt care. I was like, Oh my God, you are Dumbledore! I just love Harry Potter.Whenever Im feeling down, I put on Harry Potter.

Gemma-Leah Devereux

When it comes to downtime? I love knitting, tells Gemma-Leah. I love painting, but I am terrible at it, I go to the gym a lot for my head and I do a lot of sea swimming.

I always have a movie night once a week so I try watch an old movie.

I said I would try and read more too at the start of the year. I miss books because I read so many scripts  thats my detox, reading books.

Does that mean the actress isnt binge watching Love Island like the rest of the nation? Oh, I love Love Island. Im not dissing it! I watched it last year and I got sucked in, so I am staying away this year.

Im not on social media much. I think sometimes you are just looking at people and its not all real.

There was this famous couple that just got married and I was like, They are just amazing and they are so happy, and then all of a sudden they got divorced and I was like, What the f**k? They just got married! I think social media is great but you also have to take it with a pinch (of salt), that happy balance.

Looking to the future, it seems to only be a matter of time before she blazes a trail through Hollywood. If there is one surety, its that there are only bright things ahead for the remarkable Dubliner.

Its a brilliant time in the industry in general, especially since streamers came in, because there is just so much more being made, she smiles.

The opportunities are there because there are so many female-led shows happening now. Right now I am OK if I ever fail, because failure is part of success.

Smother season three is on 9.30pm on RTE One on Sundays
Eddie Rowley catches up with Inhaler as they get set to release their superb new album, Cuts & Bruises

He's Bonos son, but if Eli Hewsons dad was a bus driver, the band he fronts with his pals would still be one of the most exciting new groups to come out of Ireland in recent times.

Watching them in action at Dublins Olympia Theatre before Christmas, they were fully-fledged rock stars powered by the energy from a highly-charged young audience who probably couldnt care less that their favourite new band has a U2 connection.

The lads have also served their time on the live circuit, touring up and down UK and American motorways and highways old-style in the back of a van.

Oh, those were the days, Rob Keating laughs when Shuffle catches up with Inhaler as they get set to release their superb new album, Cuts & Bruises.

We travelled across America in a van in 2019 and that was probably one of our favourite tours that weve ever done because it was just the most stripped down.

And it was probably one of the smelliest tours that weve ever done as there were very few shower accesses on that trip.

But some of the greatest memories we have is those band journeys because you are experiencing everything for the first time and youre seeing America for the first time. It was like all the stories that you read about, or watched on documentaries growing up, finally coming true.

Inhalers Cuts & Bruises is out on Friday

Having met them at the start of their career, Inhaler, who will also support Harry Styles at Slane Castle this June 10, are a lot more seasoned these days. Can you tell by looking at our eyes, Eli says. Its funny, we were looking at some pictures of us only from a year ago and saying, I dont know who that person is anymore. We were definitely a lot more babyface this time last year.

Last year, Inhaler ticked a huge box when they played the iconic Glastonbury festival in the UK. That was the most nervous weve ever been for a gig in our lives because its Glastonbury, it carries a huge weight, so that was a nerve-racking gig, Eli says.

That whole experience on that weekend overall is something that well always think back on. We played Glastonbury on the Friday, we played our biggest ever Dublin show on the Saturday (Fairview Park), we supported Kings of Leon on the Sunday and we were kind of like, how is this our life now? How did we get to support a band we all grew up loving and admiring as musicians and songwriters, as well as playing Glastonbury? It was a real moment in our bands life, one of the pinnacles of our lives outside of just being musicians.

Inhaler have got a ferocious work ethic and Eli concedes that its partly fuelled by their belief that they have more to prove because of the U2 connection, or what he describes as the elephant in the room.

We are a very ambitious group, Eli tells me. I think in the beginning we wanted to work twice as hard as the next guy because of that whole connection, the elephant in the room and all that with our parents. We still have that, but I think its maybe not to do with that anymore now. I think its just that were all really ambitious. We really care about what we do. I think people maybe thought we were doing it as a hobby, but its a lifeline for us.

While Eli admits that a few tambourines were probably thrown in the making of their new album, Inhaler are a tight, grounded bunch.

You kind of think being in a band is go crazy, go out and drink loads, do all the rock star things, but were really not like that, he adds. People say to us, these are the best years of being in a band and we really just want to take it in.

THE new Inhaler album, Cuts & Bruises, is out next Friday.
Flooding and high water levels could be coming for people on the shores of Lake Taupo and near the Waikato River, and roadworks near Taupo are postponed until Tropical Cyclone Gabrielle has passed.

The significant rain forecast means Lake Taupo and Waikato River levels could reach record highs, according to Mercury Energy, which manages the Waikato Hydro System, including dams in the catchment.

Works underway to move the water through the river system and avoid flooding but high water levels had already impacted some properties, and caused concern, Mercury Energy portfolio manager Phil Gibson says.

With the ground already saturated from months of rain, there is potential for flooding and raised water levels in the Waikato River and its tributaries.

Our team are working hard to prepare for next week. Were moving as much water as we can out of the lake and through the river system, using the Taupo Control Gates and eight hydropower dams in the Waikato Hydro System, says Phil.

Mercury is also lowering the level of the hydro lakes behind mid-river dams to help reduce flooding downstream of Karapiro.

We are working with Waikato Regional Council as flood manager on an all-of-river approach to manage the flood ... but theres only so much we can do with the amount of water entering the system, says Phil.

Properties near the banks of Lake Taupo and other waterways might again be at risk from high water levels over the coming week.

Phil says varying water levels could lead to downstream impacts on low-lying land including some pathways and the Grantham St carpark in Hamilton.

Meanwhile, Tropical Cyclone Gabrielle has forced the postponement of major roadworks on State Highway 1 between Taupo and Turangi which were scheduled to start on Tuesday, February 14.

Its disruptive but also the most pragmatic decision given rain forecast for Monday and Tuesday, Waka Kotahi Waikato system manager Cara Lauder says.

The work will see the road closed between 9am and 2.30pm for two weeks.

Stop/go traffic management would operate between the hours of 7am and 9am, and again from 2:30pm until 7pm.

Cara says the team would be unable to start the re-build at Halletts Bay in wet weather.

We also have a drop-out near a section of road on State Highway 41, between Tokaanu and the turn-off to Omori and Kuratau.

"Currently this is under stop/go traffic management, and we are undertaking work to secure the site ahead of the wild weather," says Cara.

However, if this area is affected next week, we may not have a suitable detour route, and we will need to reconsider when we can complete the re-build.

Once this weather event has passed contractors will assess the network for damage, and we will then be able to confirm when we can commence work at sites such as Halletts Bay.
Joy Chukwu-Osazuwa is one of CBC's Black Changemakers for Atlantic Canada in 2023. The PhD candidate and mother of three has a passion for education and helping international students get in to universities in Canada, the United States and elsewhere. (Submitted by Joy Chukwu-Osazuwa - image credit)

Submitted by Joy Chukwu-Osazuwa

When Joy Chukwu-Osazuwa immigrated to Canada in 2018 to start studying a fully funded PhD in marine biology at Memorial University in St. John's, she says, everything felt like a struggle.

She was almost five months pregnant with her third child, in a new city and country where she didn't know anyone and was without her husband and two other children, ages one and two, who were back home in Nigeria.

Chukwu-Osazuwa, 34, said she was trying to adapt, find a place to live and get settled in without a car while experiencing a Canadian winter for the first time.

"Just the normal person moving all the way from my country to here is not even easy," she said.

After the birth of her baby, Chukwu-Osazuwa resumed school immediately.

"PhD research is thorough work, it's rigorous. It's not easy," she said. "It was hard, very hard."

Submitted by Joy Chukwu-Osazuwa

Chukwu-Osazuwa says she just took things one day at a time, and eventually the struggle got easier.

Now she's taking her experience as a newcomer to help other international students and immigrants adapt to Newfoundland and Labrador and to Canada, while helping others reach their dreams of studying abroad.

"Education changed my life," she said.

"I can't even imagine what my life would have been if not for the opportunity to come in here to study."

Chukwu-Osazuwa studied fisheries and aquaculture in Nigeria, and her doctoral work involves studying pathogens that affect fish in North America.

She's currently working on lumpfish to manage diseases that affect the aquaculture industry.

"I'm trying to develop a universal vaccine that is going to cater to all of the frequently occurring pathogens in this industry," she said.

She says it's the first time something like it has been done and there isn't a lot of already available data to guide her work.

"My work is very novel," she said, adding she hopes other fisheries researchers can build on what she's done to create a better vaccine.

Education consultant

Meanwhile, Chukwu-Osazuwa is also the director of strategy, growth and marketing with Skyned Consults, a Black-owned education technology company that helps students, primarily from Africa and some Asian countries, get into universities in Canada, the United States and United Kingdom.

Story continues

The company uses an artificial intelligence-powered platform that takes a student's profile and matches them to the schools and programs they're eligible to apply for, which saves time and helps people find the right fit.

"We have a team of regulated Canadian immigration consultants and immigration lawyers that we've also partnered with that are helping the student through with their visa application, making sure that they are doing it the right way," Chukwu-Osazuwa said.

Many people outside North America don't know about the education and scholarship opportunities available in Canada and the United States, she said, and African students sometimes get swindled when dealing with the wrong education and immigration consultants.

Submitted by Joy Chukwu-Osazuwa

Chukwu-Osazuwa said she's trying to ensure students have the smooth transition that she didn't have when she came to Canada five years ago.

"All of the problems that I went through with accommodation and all of that, I try, I make sure that they don't go through that," she said.

"Canada wants to bring in people who have skills, who have the experience to build the economy of the country," she said, adding that the company acts like a bridge between prospective students and schools. "It's a win-win for the person coming in and also for the country that you're coming into," she said.

Last year, she said, the company helped about 120 international students get into schools in Canada.

Social media star

Not only is Chukwu-Osazuwa a mother of three young children, a PhD candidate, working for an education tech company, but she's amassed a large social media following with advice for international students and newcomers.

On YouTube, Twitter and Instagram she covers topics for immigrants, including how to apply for a scholarship, how to access health insurance, and how to use a credit card.

Many people in Nigeria, for example, only use debit cards, not credit cards, she said.

"So if you've not travelled out of my country, you wouldn't know that you should get into the habit of  building your credit record, making sure you're being responsible about it," she said.

skynedconsults.com

Chukwu-Osazuwa says it's all about sharing meaningful and useful information with people.

"I try to simplify the whole immigration process, studying abroad, try to break it down into understandable pieces."

Chukwu-Osazuwa's online videos and online advice caught Chinwe Ihejirika's attention.

The pair have never met in person, but Ihejirika calls Chukwu-Osazuwa a "virtual acquaintance" who encouraged her to study in Canada.

"When I was planning to immigrate to Canada, she was instrumental," Ihejirika said.

"She gave me a lot of free resources and a lot of useful information that helped me to actually get what I wanted to do."

Ihejirika, who is also from Nigeria, has a master's of business administration from the University of Exeter in the U.K. and came to Canada to do a post-graduate diploma in human resource management at York University in Toronto.

She said people pay immigration consultants as much as $300 an hour to access the kind of information Chukwu-Osazuwa puts online for free.

That's why Ihejirika says she nominated Chukwu-Osazuwa to be one of CBC's Black Changemakers for Atlantic Canada  because she deserves to be commended for all her efforts.

"Education, like they say, opens the door to a lot of possibilities," said Ihejirika.

Chukwu-Osazuwa said she was excited to be named a Changemaker, even though she doesn't feel she's making much change. But, she said, she must be doing something right.

"Because when you're doing something you don't know that people are watching you and people really do appreciate the little work you're doing," Chukwu-Osazuwa said.

Submitted by Chinwe Ihejirika

Chukwu-Osazuwa hopes her education and doctoral studies will open doors for her in this province once she submits her PhD and graduates later this year.

"That's what my whole life has been about, fisheries, aquaculture, and I really want to get into the sector and be able to give my own contribution."

She said dreams of working for the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans and remaining in this province with her family, even though she sees a lot of international students eventually leave the province for work once they complete their studies.

"I'm really hoping that that would not be our story."

In the meantime, she said, she plans to keep helping newcomers and even wants to become an immigration consultant to help others reach for the sky.

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians  from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community  check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.

John Pike/CBC

Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador
The effects of Cyclone Gabrielle have already been widely felt, with more yet to come as the storm continues its path down the North Island later today and through tomorrow.

Tauranga City Council has activated its Emergency Operations Centre on Sunday due to heavy rain and strong wind warnings for the Bay of Plenty, and is actively monitoring the situation.

"Our staff and contractors are keeping a watchful eye on the situation and are ready to respond to any issue," says a council spokesperson.

The heavy rain and strong wind warnings are for the period from 9am Monday February 13 to 3pm,Tuesday February 14, because of Cyclone Gabrielle.



"If you live in low-lying areas prone to flooding, including the coast and harbourside, please take steps to protect yourself and your property as there is a risk of storm surge flooding and erosion."

Council staff are advising residents to be prepared to self-evacuate to family and friends if needed in the first instance.

"If any evacuation of people is required, please follow all instructions from Bay of Plenty Civil Defence. Emergency shelters will be activated if required, and details will be provided."

More information about how to get ready can be found on council's website: www.tauranga.govt.nz/community/civil-defence

"If you think any of your whanau, friends or neighbours might need help with some this, please get in touch and offer a helping hand."

Other important places to get information:

www.facebook.com/MetService for weather updates

www.facebook.com/BOPCivilDefence for emergency updates

www.facebook.com/NZTAWaikatoBoP for road closures and slips

Stay connected:

Listen to your local radio station

Shout-out to your neighbours on your local Facebook community noticeboard if you need any help.

If you need to report an issue, call Tauranga City Council contact centre 24/7 on 07 577 7000.

If life is in danger, call 111 immediately.

Schools

School boards and principals have been left to make the decision about whether to close on Monday.

Secretary of Education Iona Holsted provided written support to school boards, kura and early learning centres if they considered it was not safe for on-site teaching and learning and did decide to close.

Thames and Coromandel peninsula

Defence forces staff and water rescue craft have been brought into to parts of Thames-Coromandel which is expecting the storm will impact on a similar level to Bola.

Thousands of properties across Thames and Coromandel had power outages on Sunday night.

Red and orange rain warnings

Red heavy rain warnings have been issued for Northland, Auckland, Tairawhiti Gisborne north of Tolaga Bay, and Coromandel through until Tuesday. . The worst affected areas can expect 350-450mm of rain.

Orange rain warnings are also in place for Bay of Plenty, the rest of the east coast of the North Island, parts of the Marlborough including Kaikoura.

Northland declares state of emergency

Northland bore the brunt of the approaching storm on Sunday, with a state of emergency declared as Cape Reinga recorded 140km per hour winds and Kaitaia 90km per hour gusts. In Auckland, winds of up to 130km per hour were recorded at Whangaparaoa and in the Coromandel, Colville Channel recorded 148km per hour winds.

A red rain warning covers the region until midnight on Monday, with up to 200-300mm of rain expected over the region.

On Monday, MetService has the whole of the North Island on a severe weather warning for strong winds, with many centres under red and orange heavy rain warnings.

Head of Weather Communications Lisa Murray says extreme rain and wind were expected for many North Island regions. This would be accompanied by phenomenal seas along northern and eastern shores, and significant storm surge near, and slightly in advance of, the cyclones centre.

While the system has been downgraded from a tropical cyclone, this does not mean it has weakened in terms of impacts to New Zealand, she says. In fact, it is intensifying and spreading the strong wind and heavy rain across a wider area affecting the whole of the North Island in some way.



More than 15,000 households were without power as Cyclone Gabrielle tracks towards New Zealand.

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins visited the Waka Kotahi Auckland Transport Operations Centre on Sunday. He called for people to take the severe weather warnings seriously, follow local guidance, and said that lessons had been learnt from Januarys Auckland floods.

The Government was ready for anything that Cyclone Gabrielle could bring, he said.

Central and local government have been working very closely together to prepare for this event, and also to make sure that the early lessons that can be captured from our response of a week or two back can be incorporated into the planning for this one, says Hipkins.

Strong winds are expected to hit parts of Northland, Coromandel and Auckland including Great Barrier Island, the hardest with wind speeds of between 120-140km per hour.

On Sunday, strong winds also caused power outages to thousands across Northland, Waiheke Island, and Whangaparaoa. By 7pm on Sunday night, Vector was reporting 15,000 Auckland properties were without power.

In Northland, over 13,000 properties were without power by Sunday evening and Northpower has warned residents that it may not be restored for several days, with severe winds making it impossible for contractors to safely repair the lines.

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has also published advice for affected residents, telling them to eat food in the fridge first if the power goes out and to keep a supply of cash in case eftpos and ATM machines go down.

The Auckland Bridge was closed due to severe wind gusts and several flights in and out of Auckland were cancelled.

Kiwirail also cancelled all commuter rail services around Auckland from 8pm Sunday night until 3pm Monday afternoon at the latest to ensure the safety of staff and passengers.

Due to the late notice, rail replacement buses were unable to be organised, with commuters having to rely on regular scheduled buses.

Rail lines were also closed north of Marton until Monday 3pm, grinding all freight and passenger rail to a halt, including the Northern Explorer and the Te Huia service between Hamilton and Auckland.

Ferries around the Hauraki Gulf were cancelled too, including the Waiheke Island, Half Moon Bay, and Gulf Harbour services. Services such as Devonport, Birkenhead, and Bayswater were still running but under close observation.

Flights

Long-haul international departures from Auckland along with five long-haul international arrivals have been cancelled today  New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Singapore arrivals are still operating.

All turboprop flights to, from or through Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga and Taupo through to midday on Tuesday are cancelled, with Air New Zealands chief executive warning further cancellations were possible.

Waves of close to 11 metres were recorded near the Bay of Islands on Sunday with swells of up to 7 metres possible through to Tuesday morning.

North Islanders spent much of the weekend doing what they could to prepare ahead of the storm, including clearing gutters and drains and clearing away loose objects.

Aucklanders prepare for Cyclone Gabrielle, filling sandbags on Sunday before the worst of the storm hits. Photo: Ricky Wilson/Stuff.

Auckland Emergency Management has released a list of 24 shelters and civil defence centres where people can go in an emergency.
Fault crews are ready to respond once its safe to do so, following gale force winds from Cyclone Gabrielle that led to widespread power outages overnight on Powercos electricity network.

There were multiple power outages in the Thames-Coromandel and Hauraki regions from about 5.30pm Sunday as Gabrielle made landfall, Powerco Head of Network Operations Caz Haydon says.

There are currently more than 7,000 customers without power in Hauraki-Coromandel.

Gale force winds can cause trees and other debris to down power lines, with heavy rain having the potential to destabilise power poles in areas already sodden from recent storm events.

We do our very best to prepare for extreme weather events and respond quickly by having extra crews on the ground ready to make repairs and restore power to our customers.

We understand it's hard to be without power. The safety of our crews is paramount, however, and climbing ladders to fix equipment at the top of power poles is just too dangerous in the conditions that have been hitting Hauraki-Coromandel. Depending on road conditions there may also be delays in crews reaching fault sites to start work

It will take time for power to be restored. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work as quickly and safely as possible to get you reconnected," says Caz.

She urges people to stay well away from downed power lines.

Its incredibly important that if you come across downed power lines that you treat them as live at all times. Stay well clear and contact our 24/7 emergency line on 0800 27 27 27 or call 111.

High winds are predicted for all Powercos electricity network in the next day or two.

Customers wanting information about power cuts can go to Powercos power outage webpage www.powerco.co.nz/outages or can contact their electricity retailer.

Powerco is New Zealands second largest electricity utility and gas distribution utility with around 1.1m customers (across 446,000 connections) connected to its networks. Powercos electricity networks are in Western Bay of Plenty, Thames, Coromandel, Eastern and Southern Waikato, Taranaki, Whanganui, Rangitikei, Manawatu and the Wairarapa. Its gas pipeline networks are in Taranaki, Hutt Valley, Porirua, Wellington, Horowhenua, Manawatu and Hawkes Bay.
Everyone listen up  the Port of Tauranga National Jazz Festival is back this Easter for its 60th year, promising to be as fresh, funky and focused on fun for audiences of all ages as ever.

Some people come to our festival every year, others visit every few years  my advice is dont miss this Easters jazz festival, says organiser Marc Anderson. Get to this one  or youll seriously regret it.

The festival is celebrating six decades of jazz in Tauranga City from April 1-10 with a spectacular line-up of music, showcasing some of Australasias best jazz musicians, with something for everyone!

Things kicks off April 1 in Katikati with a street party. Then comes Unforgettable  the Nat King Cole story concert at 16th Ave Theatre on April 1-2 and on April 4-5. The 45th National Youth Jazz competition is April 4-6.

On April 6-9 is the Baycourt Concert Series  where 11 acts will serve up sounds for all musical tastes from classical jazz, swing, rhythm and blues, to acid jazz and heavy funk. If youve never been to a Baycourt Concert Series show before  pull it out of your bucket list and into reality by booking one now, says Marc. Theyre an unforgettable experience.

Concert Series line-up

This years series offers The Jac is Back by eight-piece ensemble The Jac; Rodger plays Rodger  marking the Rodger Fox Big Bands 50th anniversary; The New Caledonia psychedelic rock band; Shirazz and Scott Harrisons Piping Hot Dixie gig; The Michal Martyniuk Trio with Dixon Nacey; Allana Goldsmith and composer pianist Mark Baynes perform their album E Rere Ra; The 60th anniversary Gala celebrating the best BOP jazz artists from 1963-2023; the Tauranga Big Band Showcase; the Blue Train Reunion; Sassy and the Blue Riders; and soul and grooves meets galactic funk Black Comet.

Jazz in te Reo Maori

Allana Goldsmith (Ngati Porou/Ngai Tai) has attended the festival since the age of 17 and always wanted to perform on-stage  her most recent jazz festival gig, in 2019, sold out. This time Allana will perform original material from her and Mark Baynes new album, E Rere Ra, in te Reo Maori.

Allana appreciates the chance to be able to bring original music and branch out into things people arent so used to; into music people dont realise could be in another language.

I enjoy pushing the boundaries of what people are used to hearing and letting them discover jazz sounds great in te Reo Maori. Its about a bit of education with the audience but mainly people having open ears to music in general.

Piping Hot Dixie. Photo: Supplied.

Drummer Stan Bicknell, who lives in Papamoa but plays for big names worldwide, will be home at Easter to play drums for Black Comet and The New Caledonia in the Baycourt Concert Series.

He thinks some of this years acts will offer fresh flavours for audiences to absorb and add to the festivals vibe. I think its an awesome move to bring in some fresh sounds.

I know from the community I live in that people talk about the jazz festival in very high regard...being the 60th year, and with so much history to the festival, adding new energy has to be handled with respect. Its an exciting move and Im super-honoured to be part of it.

Downtown Carnival

On Easter weekend, the two-day Downtown Carnival is on April 8-9 with musicians performing outside and amid bars and restaurants along The Strand, Wharf St and Red Square.

Jazz at the Mount returns Easter Monday, April 10, with an 11am Vintage Car Parade on Maunganui Rd, then a display at Coronation Park.

For a full programme of events and ticket purchase, visit: ticketek.co.nz Or jazz.org.nz
More Information

State Question 820

This measure creates a state law legalizing recreational use marijuana for persons 21 or older. Marijuana use and possession remain crimes under federal law. The export of marijuana from Oklahoma is prohibited. The law will have a fiscal impact on the State. The Oklahoma Tax Commission will collect a 15% excise tax on recreational use sales, above applicable sales taxes. Excise tax revenues will fund implementation of the law, with any surplus revenues going to public school programs to address substance abuse and improve student retention (30%), the General Revenue und (30%), drug addiction treatment programs (20%), courts (10%), and local governments (10%). The law limits certain marijuana-related conduct and establishes quantity limits, safety standards, restrictions, and penalties for violations. A local government may prohibit or restrict recreational marijuana use on the property of the local government and regulate the time, place, and manner of the operation of marijuana businesses within its boundaries. However, a local government may not limit the number of, or completely prohibit, such businesses. Persons who occupy, own, or control private property may prohibit or regulate marijuana-related conduct. except that a lease agreement may not prohibit a tenant from lawfully possessing and consuming marijuana by means other than smoking. The law does not affect an employer's ability to restrict employee marijuana use. For the first two years, marijuana business licenses are available only to existing licensees in operation one year or more. The law does not affect the rights of medical marijuana patients or licensees. The law requires resentencing, reversing, modifying, and expunging certain prior marijuana-related judgments and sentences unless the State proves an unreasonable risk to a person. The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority is authorized to administer and enforce the law.

Shall the proposal be approved?

For the proposal- YES

Against the proposal- NO
Anyone who walks into Newville First Church of God on a Friday morning will find themselves face-to-face with a well-oiled machine.

Well, actually, theyll find themselves at Paw Packs weekly food packing event, which, after several years of operation, functions just as well.

Paw Packs began in 2016, providing meals to children at Newville Elementary School in the Big Spring School District over weekends and holiday breaks, according to the organizations website. During the 2016-17 school year, the program expanded to all three of the districts elementary schools. Now, children from two years old through Big Spring High School seniors can receive free meals for weekends, breaks and summer vacations when district families sign up.

Every Friday morning, a team of Paw Packs volunteers works with members of a local church or organization to bag food items. Bags are delivered to each of the districts schools and distributed to students at the end of the day. Bags are also picked up by parents at Newville First Church of God between 10 a.m. and noon.

Giant Company representatives joined in the meal bag assembly Friday morning and presented a $5,000 check to Paw Packs, supporting one weekend of meals for students and their families.

We actually saw it [Paw Packs] in the Pennlive Wish List and they really focused on supporting students at Big Spring School District, and were focused on eliminating hunger, Giant Community Relations Specialist Ashley Mahaffey said. So it just made sense for us to give back to that.

The wish list outlines specific needs of central Pennsylvania nonprofits.

Paw Packs food coordinator Pat Wilhide and her husband, Larry, have been involved with the program since it began.

Parents are appreciative of the help, she said. We often hear comments like You dont know how much this helps.

Jessica Winesickle, Big Springs social worker, said at Big Spring School Boards Feb. 6 meeting that every school in the district has seen an increase in the number of students who qualify for the districts free and reduced lunch program since 2015. At Big Spring High School, the percentage of qualifying students jumped from 28% in 2015 to 42% in 2022, she said.

Paw Packs receives food and monetary donations from local churches, businesses, organizations and individuals, Wilhide said.

Food drives and other fundraisers also support the program.

Just before Christmas, students at Mount Rock Elementary collected boxes of cereal for us as a community service project, Wilhide said. The timing was great because cereal was not available from our usual source at that time.

Bags contain items such as cereal, shelf stable milk, juice, protein items, soup, pasta, fruits, vegetables and snacks, she said. Bags picked up by parents include more perishable items like bread and eggs, packaged for families rather than individuals.

Wilhide said Giant has donated items like oranges and hams to Paw Packs in the past and expressed confidence in an on-going partnership with the company.

Hopefully, well continue our partnership with them since theyre focused on feeding the community and so are we, Mahaffey said.

Paw Packs has also partnered with Community Aid and the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank, Wilhide said.

The community has been amazing in providing support for our program, she said. Without the support of all these groups, we would not be able to operate. We are appreciative of each person who has in some way supported our efforts to see that children in our community do not go hungry.

Big Spring offers several programs to meet student needs. These include Operation Bulldog, which works to identify and reduce barriers that hinder equity within district; Rachels Closet, a shop at the middle school that allows any student to freely take or donate clothing or hygiene items as needed; and Big Spring Marketplace, which provides free food and hygiene items at the high school for any students who wishes to take them.

PHOTOS: PAW Packs volunteers and Giant Company representatives bag food donations
The Taos News delivered to your Taos County address every week for a full year! We offer our lowest mail rates to zip codes in the county. Click Here to See if you Qualify. Plan includes unlimited website access and e-edition print replica online. Your auto pay plan will be conveniently renewed at the end of the subscription period. You may cancel at anytime.
PAW Packs began in 2016 to provide food for Big Spring School District students and families over weekends, holiday breaks and summer vacations.

Each Friday, volunteers bag food items to be taken to schools or picked up by district families.

Giant Company representatives presented a $5,000 donation to PAW Packs and helped bag more than 200 meal boxes Friday morning at Newville First Church of God in Newville.

The donation will provide one month of free weekend meals for Big Spring School District families.
sri_tesla BHPian



Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 872 Thanked: 4,372 Times

Chandigarh to pause registration of non-electric 2-wheelers from Feb 10 to Mar 31



Since the registration of non-electric two-wheelers has already been achieved for the current financial year, their registration is required to be immediately stopped in order to implement the provisions of EV Policy and in the interest of greener Chandigarh, it was further stated. Thus, it was decided to stop the registration of non-electric two-wheelers on or after February 10.



It is for the information of the general public that non-electric two-wheelers sold on or after 10.02.2023 shall not be registered by the office of Registering & Licensing Authority, UT, Chandigarh, in the current financial year, that is, till 31.3.2023 in pursuance of Electric Vehicle Policy 2022, it was stated. The registration for non-electric two-wheelers will resume from April 1, 2023, and will be done as per permissible limits for FY 2023-24.



Targets set by administration:

According to the policy, in the first year, the minimum achievable target is 35% for e-two-wheelers and e-three-wheelers, 20% for goods e-three-wheelers and e-four-wheelers. For personal e-cars the target this year (first year) is set at 10%, while for e-buses it is 40% and for e-cars commercial it is 20%.



In the second year, that is, 2023, the minimum achievable target of e-two-wheelers and e-three-wheelers, that is, passenger autos, the target is 70% each, while that of goods e-three-wheelers and e-four-wheelers is 40% each. For e-cars for personal use the target increases to 20%, while for e-buses it increases to 50% in the second year.



Similarly, in year three, four and five, the target for e-two-wheelers and e-three-wheelers, that is, passenger autos, it is 100% which means from 2024 onwards, the registrations of fuel-based two-wheelers and autos will be completely stopped, while for personal e-cars it is 30%, 40% and 50% for 2024, 2025 and 2026 respectively. For e-buses too, the target set is 100% by the fifth year which means the registrations of all fuel-based buses will be entirely stopped.



Source and more details:

https://indianexpress.com/article/ci...eb-10-8432952/



Chandigarh is the first state or UT to implement such limits for registration in the country. Beijing has had such strict limits and quotas for ICE vehicles for many years to control pollution levels. I believe such measures will be adopted by more and more cities and states in the future as pollution levels are at dangerous levels all over the country throughout the year.



Mods,

I started this thread in the Electric cars section as these policy changes apply to all types of electric vehicles (2-wheelers, 3-wheelers, cars, and buses). In a major decision taken on Wednesday evening, the Chandigarh administration announced it would  with effect from February 10  cease the registration of two-wheelers which are non-electric. The Chandigarh administration had in September notified the Electric Vehicle (EV) Policy 2022. As per the policy, for the first year, reduction of 10% in four-wheelers and 35% in two-wheelers compared to preceding year has been aimed by way of capping their registration in the city.Since the registration of non-electric two-wheelers has already been achieved for the current financial year, their registration is required to be immediately stopped in order to implement the provisions of EV Policy and in the interest of greener Chandigarh, it was further stated. Thus, it was decided to stop the registration of non-electric two-wheelers on or after February 10.It is for the information of the general public that non-electric two-wheelers sold on or after 10.02.2023 shall not be registered by the office of Registering & Licensing Authority, UT, Chandigarh, in the current financial year, that is, till 31.3.2023 in pursuance of Electric Vehicle Policy 2022, it was stated. The registration for non-electric two-wheelers will resume from April 1, 2023, and will be done as per permissible limits for FY 2023-24.According to the policy, in the first year, the minimum achievable target is 35% for e-two-wheelers and e-three-wheelers, 20% for goods e-three-wheelers and e-four-wheelers. For personal e-cars the target this year (first year) is set at 10%, while for e-buses it is 40% and for e-cars commercial it is 20%.In the second year, that is, 2023, the minimum achievable target of e-two-wheelers and e-three-wheelers, that is, passenger autos, the target is 70% each, while that of goods e-three-wheelers and e-four-wheelers is 40% each. For e-cars for personal use the target increases to 20%, while for e-buses it increases to 50% in the second year.Similarly, in year three, four and five, the target for e-two-wheelers and e-three-wheelers, that is, passenger autos, it is 100% which means from 2024 onwards, the registrations of fuel-based two-wheelers and autos will be completely stopped, while for personal e-cars it is 30%, 40% and 50% for 2024, 2025 and 2026 respectively. For e-buses too, the target set is 100% by the fifth year which means the registrations of all fuel-based buses will be entirely stopped.Chandigarh is the first state or UT to implement such limits for registration in the country. Beijing has had such strict limits and quotas for ICE vehicles for many years to control pollution levels. I believe such measures will be adopted by more and more cities and states in the future as pollution levels are at dangerous levels all over the country throughout the year.Mods,I started this thread in the Electric cars section as these policy changes apply to all types of electric vehicles (2-wheelers, 3-wheelers, cars, and buses).
Australian patients are paying more to see their general practitioner (GP). According to reports, the federal government's failure to increase the Medicare rebate has resulted in an increase in out-of-pocket gap fees.

Even the health minister is now not sugarcoating the situation. According to Mark Butler, Medicare is in the "worst shape it's been in its 40-year history," and the Australian health service is in a "truly parlous state."

The medical community has quickly criticized the government's lack of urgency, citing a 3.6 percentage point drop in bulk billing in the last quarter, resulting in delayed visits, consultations with different doctors, or a complete halt to visiting altogether.

Doctor Michael Mrozinski has been talking with the people who follow him on TikTok about these issues with Australian Medicare.

Educating Patients Through TikTok

As first reported by News.com.au, Doctor Michael Mrozinski, a TikTok-famous general practitioner in Melbourne, has taken to the social media platform to explain the reasons for the increase in out-of-pocket gap fees.

He explains that in Australia, there are three types of GP practices: fully privatized practices, mixed billing practices, and fully bulk-billed clinics. The latter has existed since the inception of Medicare when the rebate was only $20.

Read Also: New Miniature Pacemaker Approved for Patients' Use; Here's Why It's Safer Than Other Models

Here are some more of Doctor Mrozinski's insights on TikTok:

Most doctors try to schedule four consultations per hour to minimize costs. Since GP offices are not supported by the government, each patient's rebate must cover all operating expenses, such as rent, staff, insurance, electricity, internet, and IT. The Medicare rebate was frozen in 2013 as it had not kept up with the rising costs of operating a doctor's office.

Because of this grim reality, graduates are less likely to pursue careers as doctors. According to the ABC, only 16% of medical graduates choose to become GPs, contributing to a shortage that is only expected to worsen.

According to Dr. Mrozinski, the Medicare rebate should now be around $60, while the Australian Medical Association (AMA) believes it should be closer to $80. The government has only raised it to $39, causing patients' out-of-pocket gap fees to rise.

More from the TikTok Doc

Although paying a fee at the doctor's office may worry some patients, Dr. Mrozinski explains that they will get more than half of it back with the rebate. According to him, operating a general practitioner clinic requires adequate funding to cover all expenses, just like running any other kind of business.

Medical groups have expressed concern over the decline of bulk billing, saying that after a decade of underfunding, Medicare is "on life support." Doctors and patients are at odds with one another as a result of the government's lack of action on raising the Medicare rebate, and there are concerns that the healthcare system may revert to its pre-Medicare state, where access to care was only available to those who could afford it.

Stay posted here at Tech Times.

Related Article: Scientists Develop a New Diagnostic Test Technology That Can Detect Bacterial and Viral Infections Faster

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Google has received several complaints regarding a flaw that has upset the device's users. The volume buttons on the Google Pixel 7 Pro are reportedly easily detached, which may be inconvenient and even damaging to the smartphone.

Notably, this model is a top-selling smartphone that has been praised for its design, speed, and camera. It is concerning that a brand's flagship smartphone is experiencing this type of problem.

According to Gizmochina's report, the company has not issued a statement about this matter.

Falling Volume Buttons

There were claims of the button popping off after only a few weeks of usage and claims of it breaking off months later. The button has fallen off multiple times while the phone was in the user's pocket, resulting in either broken hardware or a frustratingly inaccessible phone.

Android Central's Nick Sutrich was the first to notice the problem when he used his Pixel 7 Pro to make a public post about it. Sutrich made the awful discovery when he took his Pixel 7 Pro out of his pocket and saw that the volume dial was in the off position.

Affected Pixel 7 Pro Users

As per the report's investigation, Google employees informed some customers that the problem was not covered by the warranty. The explanation given by the staff seems to be that users "mishandled" their phones.

Nonetheless, Google assured Sutrich that its staff is well aware of the issue and will be in contact with him shortly. More and more people are complaining over Google Pixel 7 Pro's flaws, so maybe that will motivate them to find a solution.

It is apparent that many people using the Google Pixel 7 Pro are affected by a design flaw involving the volume buttons. Some consumers were able to fix the problem by simply reattaching the control, while others were required to send their handsets in for repair.

Customers have expressed significant frustration about the Google Pixel 7 Pro's volume button, which has a tendency to come loose over time. The vulnerability may not impact all devices, but consumers should nonetheless be made aware of it so they may take any necessary safety measures.

Users should use care while holding their gadgets and monitor the volume button closely until Google releases an update to fix the problem.

See Also: Google Pixel 4A News: Probably No Android 14 Update?

Gadget's Previous Issue

Unfortunately, this is not the first time Pixel 7 Pro owners have experienced an issue. In an October 2022 news article, the brand-new Pixel 7 Pro has a major battery-draining problem due to its display.

In comparison to the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, the Pixel 7 Pro display drains battery life by almost 50% more.

This problem tends to become more apparent in low brightness. At its highest settings, it may significantly drain the battery life of such a premium smartphone.

See Also: Google Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Pro to Include Android 14 Safety Feature

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A federal court in Brooklyn sentenced an American-Iranian citizen to 30 months in prison for smuggling prohibited technology into Iran using front firms based in the UAE.

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) released a statement explaining the verdict, PCMag reported. DOJ said that Kambiz Attar Kashani, 44, had plotted to unlawfully transfer US commodities and technology to end clients in Iran, including the Iranian Central Bank.

Illegal Export

The DOJ claims that between 2019 and 2021, Kashani and his associates used two shell corporations in the UAE to acquire electronic goods and technology from US companies on behalf of clients, including the Central Bank of Iran.

As far as the DOJ is concerned, the said bank organization has provided material assistance to designated terrorist groups in the Middle East.

Six power supplies, two licenses to a proprietary computer software program, a number of fixed attenuators, two subscriptions to operating software, and a number of storage systems were among the technologies and items supplied illegally.

Assistant FBI Director of Counterintelligence Division Alan E. Kohler Jr. made a comment on the sentencing: "This is a sobering reminder that illegally exporting material is not an abstract economic concern - it is a crime with a direct impact on the safety of the American people."

The Verdict

Kashani's plan to export US technology to Iran undermined US foreign policy and national security objectives and required a severe term of jail to discourage others, said US Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York.

According to the DOJ, "Kashani and his co-conspirators intentionally concealed from the US companies that they intended to send the items to Iran, falsely claiming that the UAE companies would be the ultimate end users. By providing the Central Bank of Iran and other end users in Iran with sophisticated, top-tier US electronic equipment and software, Kashani and his co-conspirators enabled the Iranian banking system to operate more efficiently, effectively and securely."

Read Also: US Aims to Prevent Iran From Delivering Drones to Support Russia's War Efforts

Tech Services to Iran

In 1984, the US government officially recognized Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism.

However, after months of protests following the death of Mahsa Amini the US government has eased restrictions on US technology companies offering their services to Iranians. Amini was a young woman who had been detained at a police station for not wearing the hijab in conformity with federal standards.

Read Also: Russia and Iran State-Linked Hackers Are Increasingly Attacking Politicians, Journalists - UK Cybersecurity Center Alleges

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Facts about Turkiye, Syria quake: Death toll tops 23,000, int'l teams continue rescue efforts

Xinhua) 10:34, February 12, 2023

Rescuers transfer a survivor in Gaziantep, Trkiye, Feb. 10, 2023. Massive earthquakes rocked southern Trkiye and northern Syria on Monday. The death toll from Monday's devastating earthquakes has climbed to 20,213 in Trkiye, while another 80,052 injuries were reported in the country, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced late Friday. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

ANKARA/DAMASCUS, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- The following are the latest facts about quake-hit Trkiye and Syria.

-- COMBINED CASUALTIES

Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced late Friday that the country's death toll from Monday's earthquakes has climbed to 20,213, bringing the total fatalities with neighboring Syria to over 23,000, with tens of thousands injured.

-- RESCUE EFFORTS

On Friday, following a three-hour effort, a woman, the fourth survivor saved by Chinese rescuers, was pulled out to safety from the rubble of collapsed buildings over 96 hours after the earthquake.

Some 130 international urban search-and-rescue teams are working in the earthquake-impacted area of Trkiye. Another 57 international search-and-rescue teams are on their way, said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

The UN World Food Programme has delivered urgently needed food aid to 115,000 people in Trkiye and Syria in the first four days since the earthquake struck, he said.

An 82-member Chinese rescue team arrived at Trkiye's Adana Sakirpasa Airport on Wednesday morning, carrying over 20 tons of equipment for rescue, communication and medical purposes, and four rescue dogs.

-- PROBLEMS &RESPONSE

The UN Refugee Agency had a preliminary estimate that as many as 5.3 million people in Syria may have been left homeless by the earthquake.

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) President Mirjana Spoljaric said on Friday Syrians' resilience to cope with the aftermath of the massive earthquakes is "diminished drastically" after more than 10 years of crisis in Syria.

The U.S. latest move to ease the sanctions imposed on Syria to support earthquake relief efforts is "misleading and aims to give a false humanitarian impression," the Syrian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday.

On Thursday, the U.S. Treasury Department issued a so-called six-month sanctions exemption for Syria-bound humanitarian aid, saying the U.S. sanctions in Syria "will not stand in the way" of life-saving efforts.

Rescuers transfer a survivor in Gaziantep, Trkiye, Feb. 10, 2023. Massive earthquakes rocked southern Trkiye and northern Syria on Monday. The death toll from Monday's devastating earthquakes has climbed to 20,213 in Trkiye, while another 80,052 injuries were reported in the country, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced late Friday. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

Rescuers transfer a survivor in Gaziantep, Trkiye, Feb. 10, 2023. Massive earthquakes rocked southern Trkiye and northern Syria on Monday. The death toll from Monday's devastating earthquakes has climbed to 20,213 in Trkiye, while another 80,052 injuries were reported in the country, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced late Friday. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

Rescuers transfer a survivor in Gaziantep, Trkiye, Feb. 10, 2023. Massive earthquakes rocked southern Trkiye and northern Syria on Monday. The death toll from Monday's devastating earthquakes has climbed to 20,213 in Trkiye, while another 80,052 injuries were reported in the country, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced late Friday. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

Rescuers transfer a survivor in Gaziantep, Trkiye, Feb. 10, 2023. Massive earthquakes rocked southern Trkiye and northern Syria on Monday. The death toll from Monday's devastating earthquakes has climbed to 20,213 in Trkiye, while another 80,052 injuries were reported in the country, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced late Friday. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

Rescuers transfer a survivor in Gaziantep, Trkiye, Feb. 10, 2023. Massive earthquakes rocked southern Trkiye and northern Syria on Monday. The death toll from Monday's devastating earthquakes has climbed to 20,213 in Trkiye, while another 80,052 injuries were reported in the country, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced late Friday. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

Rescuers transfer a survivor in Gaziantep, Trkiye, Feb. 10, 2023. Massive earthquakes rocked southern Trkiye and northern Syria on Monday. The death toll from Monday's devastating earthquakes has climbed to 20,213 in Trkiye, while another 80,052 injuries were reported in the country, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced late Friday. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

Rescuers transfer a survivor in Gaziantep, Trkiye, Feb. 10, 2023. Massive earthquakes rocked southern Trkiye and northern Syria on Monday. The death toll from Monday's devastating earthquakes has climbed to 20,213 in Trkiye, while another 80,052 injuries were reported in the country, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced late Friday. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

(Web editor: Xian Jiangnan, Sheng Chuyi)
A severe Tesla crash in Gainesville, Florida, has been ruled out as a driver's error.

(Photo : Photo by MARK RALSTON/AFP via Getty Images)

A Tesla car arrives at a service center after the company indicated it would be closing showrooms and in the future selling its cars online, in Los Angeles, California on March 4, 2019.

The recent EV accident, which happened on July 2022, led to the death of two people; Mary Lou and Karl Seelandt.

Because of the unfortunate deaths of the couple, the Seelandt family decided to hire Morgan and Morgan to file a wrongful death lawsuit.

But, before filing the legal action against Tesla, the family wanted to wait for the results of the police investigation.

Finally, their questions have been answered by the local authorities.

Severe Tesla Crash in Florida Not EV's Fault?

According to Driver Tesla Canada's latest report, the Florida Highway Patrol was able to confirm the cause of the accident.

(Photo : Photo by KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images)

Ben Rich charges his Tesla vehicle at a super charging station in Parsippany, New Jersey on May 06, 2021. - With more electrical models soon hitting showrooms, the focus will shift to consumer willingness to pivot to electric cars at a time when conventional gas stations remain familiar and ubiquitous.

Also Read: [VIRAL] Tesla Steering Wheel Detaches While Driving; Owner Disappointed With Automaker's Response

"It's been a while since this investigation started, and it's a very thorough and in-depth investigation," said Lt. Patrick Riordan.

He added that the woman, Mary Lou, accidentally pressed on the accelerator as they were approaching the ramp to the rest area.

Going at 60 mph, their 2015 Tesla Model S crashed into a curb and then a truck trailer.

As of press time, the Seelandt family hasn't shared any statement regarding the result.

But, since local authorities already announced that it was the driver's error that caused the accident, they would likely cancel their planned lawsuit against Tesla.

What to Do During Accidental Acceleration

The death of Mary Lou and Karl Seelandt is very unfortunate.

Accidental accelerations in any place can definitely lead to serious injuries (even deaths).

If ever you experience this situation while driving, Washington Injury Law explained what you need to do:

If you are driving a manual EV, the best thing you can do is put your gear in neutral. If it's automatic, then put the gear in park mode.

Always keep your hands on the hand breaks. This will allow you to activate it ASAP in case of accidental accelerations.

Turn off your engine and press the brake pedal ASAP if you accidentally kicked the accelerator.

In other news, Tesla's average used EV price dropped by 26%.

We also reported about the fake 2016 Tesla FSD promotional video, which was confirmed by the autopilot director.

For more news updates about Tesla and other EVs, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.

Related Article: NTSB Report Claims Autopilot is Not the Culprit in 2021 Tesla Crash Despite No People Found in Driver's Seat

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Tensions are so high between management at Charlottesvilles premier animal shelter and current and former employees that workers have already decided a law firms investigation into reported animal neglect and widespread mismanagement will be meaningless.

Its going to absolutely be biased, according to Teddi Schrock, who said she has worked with the Charlottesville-Albemarle Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals since 1984, serving as a volunteer, helping with rummage sells, working with the Pets and People program and once sittings on its board.

Itll be biased, said Hannah Meanor, a former animal care worker at the shelter. Meanor added that she couldnt understand why a high-powered law firm such as McGuireWoods had been hired by a local animal shelter.

McGuireWoods, which started in Charlottesville but is now an international operation, is best known for its work in product liability, class actions and mass torts, health care, technology, white-collar criminal litigation and commercial disputes.

Stacey Jackson, who said she worked at the SPCAs front desk for just shy of two years before she was fired for what she considers unfair charges, called the news that the SPCA had hired McGuireWoods a kick in the gut.

She said she isnt expecting any investigation the firm conducts will be impartial.

Schrock, Meanor and Jackson and roughly 40 others gathered on Saturday afternoon outside the local SPCAs headquarters on Berkmar Drive for the second protest there in a little more than two weeks. The demonstrators have been drawing attention to what they claim are horrendous conditions at the shelter.

Their ire has largely been directed at the organizations leader Angie Gunter, whom the SPCAs board continues to back despite the outcry.

Gunter has directed all inquiries to the board, and the board has said it will not comment while the investigation is ongoing.

Now, many current and former employees and volunteers are calling on the city of Charlottesville and Albemarle County to launch an investigation of their own.

I believe they should, Meanor said. The city and the county, they have a lot to look after, but this affects so much: It affects health, it affects families, it affects pets.

The city and the county, Meanor and others said, have more than that at stake. Both governments also support the SPCA financially, giving hundreds of thousands of dollars to the organization.

Protesters on Saturday wondered how the SPCA board was financing its work with McGuireWoods and if city or county money was going toward the investigation.

Saturdays was the second such demonstration the shelter has seen in less than a month and far larger than the dozen or so that turned out for the first on Jan. 27, which convened later in the evening and in much colder temperatures.

The protests have been organized by a group of current and former staff members and volunteers calling itself CASPCA Concerns, which published a letter on Jan. 17 directed at the SPCAs board alleging misconduct and mismanagement at the shelter. That misconduct and mismanagement have translated into animal neglect bordering on abuse, said protesters on Saturday.

Photos published online show dogs in pens full of urine and feces, living in crates the group said are stored in the SPCAs basement and facilities that appear to be unclean, unkempt and dangerous to the animals living there.

The letter specifically calls out Gunter, who has been in charge since 2017.

Ms. Gunters management style is demeaning, divisive, and punitive. She creates a culture of fear among her staff and volunteers, the letter reads.

That letter now has 103 signatures from current and former employees and volunteers.

The SPCAs board has declined to comment since the investigation was announced.

Because this matter involves personnel issues, we are prohibited from discussing it further until this process is complete, a statement from the board sent to The Daily Progress reads.

Protesters on Saturday said its the response they have come to expect.

They made themselves pretty inaccessible, said Jackson.

Were not comfortable with the board at this point, said Sarah Lloyd, who has been volunteering at the shelter since 2019. The board has not communicated with us at all. We got one email from them at the very beginning. Everything else we hear through the press.

The local SPCA brought in roughly $3.4 million in contributions and grants in 2020, according to the most recent tax records available to the public.

Protesters on Saturday said that they think that Gunter and the board believe those contributions and grants are directly correlated with the number of adoptions and live releases the SPCA can report.

The SPCA announced earlier this year it had achieved a record number in both in 2022.

Adoptions were arranged for 3,803 pets last year, the highest number in the organizations history, according to a Jan. 12 post on the groups Facebook page. The same post said that it achieved new highs in both its canine and feline live release rates, at 99% and 98% last year, respectively. A live release rate, or placement, refers to the number of all pets who are adopted, rescued, transferred to another shelter or returned to their owners after being lost.

Protesters said those record-breaking numbers were accomplished by moving as many animals as possible through the shelter, regardless of their health or age, and despite the shelters limited resources, space and staff.

You could see the numbers game when you were on the clock, said Meanor.

Overcrowding of animals drove former employee Katie Roache to quit, she said.

Roache estimated the SPCA accepted well over 100 dogs that were transferred to the shelter during the hurricanes that hit the Gulf Coast over the past year.

The thing that was the final straw for me was the overtransfer of animals in from Texas that had been exposed to distemper virus, she said. We werent equipped for that.  The only response I heard from them was that we werent working fast enough.

We didnt have enough kennel space, Meanor said. We had pets everywhere: in bathrooms, in offices, in the basement.

Meanor said employees and staff members were deeply concerned the disease was being spread from the transferred dogs to local animals that were being kept in the shelter.

By most accounts on Saturday, the problems at Charlottesvilles SPCA have been going on for as long as five years. There havent been protests until now, they said, because they have been afraid  for themselves and the animals.

We dont want this to affect the animals in any way, Roache said. Thats what they use to keep us from speaking out.

Lloyd, who continues to volunteer at the shelter and was walking dogs at the SPCA on Saturday morning, said many like her are worried Gunter or the board will retaliate against them for speaking out.

I volunteer almost every day from two to four hours walking dogs, she said. I have an active foster with the SPCA that Im actually trying to adopt right now. This is the first time Ive come out because of that. I am still afraid of retaliation.

But the consensus among protesters on Saturday was enough is enough.

Ive seen a lot of animals die here, Meanor said. It was hard. We watched a lot of bad things happen.

Protesters said they still encourage people to support the local SPCA, to give, to volunteer, to adopt and foster.

I hope people can separate what were doing from caring for the animals, said Roache. The animals do still need them to come and volunteer and foster and adopt.
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Its been a bloody winter in Charlottesville, which has seen multiple shootings and deaths since the start of the year. But police are not the solution, according to the local chapter of Showing Up for Racial Justice.

The group gathered at the Freedom of Speech Wall in downtown Charlottesville on Saturday afternoon, offering up crafting supplies, serving up sweet treats and envisioning a world without police.

We wanted to create a Valentines-themed event that would focus on the aspects of community that can create alternatives to policing, said event co-organizer Anna, who declined to provide a last name.

Were an abolitionist group, said Ben Doherty, seated near a cops suck-labeled bucket of Dum Dums suckers while penning a message on a red-rimmed card.

The two are part of SURJ, a national network dedicated to getting white people to confront white supremacy. The Charlottesville areas local chapter has opposed evictions, called for an end to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and, now with this event, fostered a conversation on police violence.

That conversation comes in the wake of the release of a videotape last month of police attacking 29-year-old Memphis resident Tyre Nichols, who later died from his injuries.

People in Charlottesville and Albemarle County, where gun violence has taken nine lives and injured 18 others since September, are looking for answers. But there isnt a list of solutions that includes police, according to several of those in attendance on Saturday.

They just show up after crimes, said Maria Rincon, who attended the event. They dont prevent anything from happening. And then they lock people up as if thats going to solve anything.

When we defund police, Rincon continued, we can invest in our communities: in education, in transportation, in public goods, in a safety social net, in housing people so they dont have to live on the streets. So were really talking about envisioning an incredible future.

SURJ is dedicated to fighting white supremacy, defined less as individual acts of bigotry and more as what the group sees as an entrenched system that concentrates money and power in the hands of white people.

As she scrubbed the Freedom of Speech Wall so the group could add its own messages to the community chalkboard, attendee Laura Sirgany said that her interactions with police have been negative.

An ex refused to return my child and was making violent threats, and the police when contacted said, Thats a domestic situation, and we dont get involved, said Sirgany. Im very close to a person who was in a similar situation, and that situation ended in murder.

Defunding police can be a controversial topic, and co-organizer Anna said that one man flipped a middle finger at the group while walking past the SURJ event.

A block away on Market Street, a man climbing aboard a city bus voiced his own opinion on the police.

Defunding them is just taking away from our safety, said Carl Lee Thomas. Let them figure it out. It might take 10 years, it might take 20.

When asked if the violence in Memphis had changed his opinion on the matter, Thomas said no.

Thats not because of our Charlottesville, Virginia, police department, Thomas answered. Thats Memphis, Tennessee.

As SURJs abolition envisioning session closed on the mall, the group left behind a wall littered with hopeful messages, including Loving and supporting each other and More $ 4 public education.

Anna said the event was just trying to get people to talk.

Getting a community conversation is our goal.
The temperatures are rising in Virginia, which means the chance of getting bit by a tick and contracting Lyme disease is also on the rise.

There isnt currently a vaccine for Lyme disease, Grace Royster with Pediatric Research of Charlottesville told The Daily Progress. But her organization is trying to change that.

There are roughly 30,000 cases of Lyme disease reported in the U.S. every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Children between the ages of 5 and 15, who are more likely to play outdoors in the grasses where Lyme-carrying ticks live, are also more likely to get bit, the CDC says.

Lyme disease typically causes fever, fatigue and rash. If left untreated, though, it can spread to a persons heart, lungs and nervous system. While rare, the disease can be fatal. Roughly a dozen people have died worldwide since 1985 from the heart condition called Lyme carditis that the disease can produce.

Royster is helping coordinate a study with pharmaceutical giant Pfizer to develop a vaccine.

Pediatric Research of Charlottesvilles study will last two years.

Theyre looking at whether the vaccine is safe, Royster said.

It consists of four shots and six visits to the clinic, she said.

While already in its third phase, Pediatric Associates of Charlottesville is looking for at least 35 more children between the ages of five and 17 to participate in its study.

Those interested in enrolling their children can email Royster at grace@proc211.com.
Livingston Parish sheriff's deputies stand Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023, outside a home on Austin Drive northeast of Watson. A man in the home had shot at deputies 10 a.m. Saturday as they tried to serve an arrest warrant. No one was injured but the man, Rocky Lecamus, 39, of Denham Springs, barricaded himself in the home, deputies said. Negotiators tried to convince Lecamus to come out but he fatally shot himself.
Nestled in a hangar in Sydneys south-west, engineers are trying to solve one of the aviation industrys biggest problems: how do you reduce the carbon pollution produced by planes? The answer may lie in the electrification of aircraft. And while it may sound like fantasy, companies across the globe are competing in a race to make it commercially viable.

If the global aviation industry was a country, it would be one of the worlds top 10 polluters and is responsible for about 2.5 per cent of the worlds carbon emissions. But about 80 per cent of aviations emissions come from flights of more than 1500 kilometres. This is roughly the distance from Brisbane to Melbourne, and although thats not a particularly long flight in this country, its beyond what existing electric batteries can manage.

Sydney Seaplanes Aaron Shaw says the company aims to get an electric plane in the sky by 2025. Credit: Steven Siewert

Transport is the second-biggest greenhouse gas-emitting sector in Australia, with aviation forming about 12 per cent of those emissions, although vehicles on roads remain the biggest emitter. But unlike cars, developing electric aircraft is not necessarily a quick fix to the industrys emissions problems. Making matters more complex is that whats appropriate for larger air carriers isnt going to work on the smaller ones  this means its up to companies to get creative.

Despite the constraints, many in the industry are still banking on electrification to deliver a quieter, cleaner way to fly short distances. The countrys smallest domestic carrier, Regional Express, has partnered with Sydney Seaplanes, and others, to form Dovetail Electric Aviation  a company based at a hangar near Sydneys Bankstown Airport that is racing to develop electric motors in Australia to service routes shorter than 500 kilometres.
Changes are coming to local public health responses in light of last month's announcement from the Biden Administration that COVID-19-related emergency declarations will end May 11.

The first pandemic-prompted state of emergency declarations came in 2020, giving the federal government the ability to waive or modify requirements for Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance and other programs.

With the ending of these temporary waivers and flexibilities, access to vaccines and COVID-19 testing is changing in the mid-Willamette Valley.

Vaccines will still be available, but not everyone will have the same access to free testing and vaccines, local public health officials say.

Vaccines and testing

Given the intent to end the national emergency, vaccines and testing, here's what Linn County Public Health Administrator Todd Noble anticipates will happen:

Medicaid users will have access to free vaccines treatments and tests.

Medicare users will have access to free vaccines but may have to do copays for antiviral treatments.

Private insurance users may not be able access free testing and free vaccines and may have to do copays for antivirals.

But these changes won't happen soon, in terms of access, state epidemiologist Dean Sidelinger said in a Thursday, Feb. 9 media briefing.

The end of the federal emergency is not a single act, and things arent going to change overnight, Sidelinger said.

The federal government has a large number of free tests and vaccines. When they are exhausted, there will be a time when they will need to be purchased.

While vaccines would be covered through Medicare and Medicaid, private insurance coverage may vary, he said. He encouraged those with private insurance to start looking into their coverage.

Additionally, it may be a good idea to use insurance now to avoid costs later for tests later, Sidelinger said. For example, get available home tests; insurance can cover eight tests per month for individuals, he added.

Right now, testing is available widely, using benefits now can reduce the costs later on, he said.

Sidelinger acknowledged the concern that the changes will lead to lower vaccination and testing rates given the ending of the emergency declarations, Sidelinger said.

Systems remain in place, and we will continue to monitor access to see if we need to change course, he said.

Linn County

In Linn County, local public health agencies are paring staff. Four contact tracers will no longer be a part of Linn County Public Health by summer, Noble said.

The contact tracers had been hired spring of 2020, he said, and they knew that their positions were always temporary, that funding would eventually sunset.

He added that many other counties had stopped contact tracing altogether, but Linn County had continued to trace schools and long-term health care facilities. Tracing will continue through the summer, he said.

Noble agrees that those who have private insurance probably wont be able to get free COVID-19 testing when the state of emergency expires. But the county has thousands of tests on hand for those who need it, available inside the Linn County Health Administration Office at 315 SW Fourth Ave.

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The department was in a waiting game for Oregon Health Authoritys guidance on potentially bridging any gaps in light of declarations ending, Noble said.

Ideally, he would like the community to continue to have access to free tests, he said. Identifying which variant is circulating in the community is important to receiving the proper care, he said.

But he isnt concerned about the changes at the federal level.

Theres been a substantial campaign for vaccine, and we arent seeing the numbers we saw before. Hospitalizations are down. We are in another phase, and we probably don't need to be in the emergency phase, he said.

When asked if the change in the pandemic response would discourage people from getting tested or booster vaccinations, Noble said that that is already happening in the community. The demand for vaccines and tests is lower, he said.

About 66% of people are fully vaccinated in Linn County, according to Oregon Health Authoritys COVID-19 dashboard.

Statewide, about 78% of Oregonians 18 and older are fully vaccinated. Those numbers mostly reflect urban centers, including the populous Portland metropolitan area, where vaccination rates are sometimes 20 to 40% higher than in rural counties.

Noble believes Linn County is ready to respond, should hospitalization rates and death counts rise again.

Before the pandemic, there was no personal protective equipment, and now the county has the resources, including PPE and the ability to roll out mass vaccination clinics, he said.

Oregon was one of the worst funded public health states in the county, and I hope that there is a lesson here," Noble said. "Being prepared is an important step.

Benton County

Benton County is also in a waiting game with the Oregon Health Authority for the next steps.

In regard to goals of the public health department, there will be a broadening of focus to a wider range of health topics that also includes COVID-19 rather than a specific focus on COVID-19, according to April Holland, Public Health administrator of Benton County.

We continue to leverage funding to keep on key staff who have been essential during this response, including communications and outbreak investigation teams, Holland said via email.

Benton County has shifted from using federal dollars for its COVID-19 response in January and since has tapped general Oregon Health Authority Public Health funding as the primary source for the response.

Another aspect to be affected by the removal of an emergency response: increased food aid through SNAP benefits.

The countys health department is aware of the end of extended food-related aid with the termination of the U.S. emergency response to the coronavirus pandemic, Holland said at a Feb 7 Benton County Commissioners meeting.

We are doing everything we can to address this very alarming end to supplemental benefits, she said.

When asked about access to vaccines and testing, Holland said that planning is still underway at the state and local level for what COVID-19 testing and vaccination will look like after the federal emergency has ended but that the county is working with OHA through the details.

Benton County will continue to leverage and maximize available resources to ensure that vulnerable community members continue to have access to COVID-19 vaccines, tests, and treatments, she said via email.

The county remains one of the most-vaccinated in Oregon.

Nearly 80% of Benton County residents had completed a course of coronavirus vaccines by Feb. 4, according to state data. Another some 6% had at least one dose.

Mandates lift

Hospitals and health care settings may soon be going mask-less, if low hospitalization trends continue, the state's Sidelinger said.

Overall, hospitalizations in Oregon have decreased significantly, Sidelinger said. Although there has been an uptick in COVID-19 cases, RSV cases and seasonal influenza are on a decline.

COVID-19 test positivity has increased in the last two weeks. However, COVID-19-related hospitalizations have been stable following a steady decline late December, he said.

The cause of the increase in cases is thought to be the XBB.1.5 variant deemed kraken." The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicts hospitalizations to remain flat for the month of February, he added.

As we move through this new phase of the pandemic, please know we are reexamining all pandemic-related policies in place, including masking in health care, he said.

Sidelinger concluded the meeting on Thursday empowering individuals with risk factors for severe illness to prepare for COVID-19 exposure and possible infection, using resources and information to inform their steps to protect themselves and their family.
Neurosurgeon Charlie Teo has lashed out at the disciplinary procedures against him over allegations of unsatisfactory professional conduct, saying it was driven by enemies and business rivals jealous of his superior skills.

The controversial neurosurgeon made the claims in a podcast with businessman and former host of Celebrity Apprentice Australia, Mark Bouris, days out from a disciplinary hearing that begins in Sydney on Monday.

Neurosurgeon Charlie Teo outside his Pagewood house. Credit: Rhett Wyman

Its got nothing to do with fairness, whats right or wrong. Its all got to do with peoples agendas. And the agenda is to destroy Charlie Teo, he said.

I know that Ive got this skill  I take out tumours that no one else can take out. And all the surgeons around the world that watch me are just absolutely amazed by it. So when I operate in other countries, I get four or five or 10 or 20 neurosurgeons watching it, and they just are blown away by it.
This month, the TGA announced a change to current regulations allowing some psychiatrists to prescribe MDMA and psilocybin under limited circumstances as of July this year. This change will make Australia the first country to recognise these once-vilified substances as medications, allowing their use outside of clinical trials.

The announcement was met with surprise internationally, as the TGA had signalled that it would reject the application only three months ago, and jubilation from those who have lobbied hard for this.

Psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, has been approved for treatment-resistant depression. Credit: Getty

On the surface, the rationale is clear. Australia (and much of the world) is experiencing a mental health crisis, with increasing numbers seeking help for mental distress. Many people cant access evidence-based care, and some who can access care dont get better with standard treatments.

Both psilocybin (the psychoactive substance in magic mushrooms) and MDMA (also known as ecstasy) are better known as recreational drugs. However, a growing body of research suggests that in carefully selected adults, in controlled settings, and combined with psychotherapy as part of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, both are relatively safe and may produce rapid improvements in people with post-traumatic stress disorder (in the case of MDMA) and treatment-resistant depression (for psilocybin).
A prominent doctor banned from practising cosmetic surgery after eight of his patients ended up in hospital is facing a spate of charges for lockdown breaches and civil court claims for personal injury.

Cosmetic surgeon Dr Reza Ahmadi, who previously consulted at upmarket Cosmos Clinic in Hawthorn, is facing legal action by Mornington Peninsula woman Taylor over a Brazilian butt lift that she claims left her with fat necrosis, scarring and disfigurement.

Dr Reza Ahmadi, who was a cosmetic surgeon at Cosmos Clinic on Hawthorn, in a social media post.

The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald can also reveal that Hawthorn Day Surgery Pty Ltd, which trades as Cosmos Cosmetic Day Surgery Melbourne, and Ahmadi together have been charged with more than 100 offences over allegedly performing surgeries during lockdown in breach of chief health officer directions.

The clinic, at the centre of the cosmetic cowboys scandal that sparked calls for a royal commission, has been suspended from offering surgical services, anaesthesia and liposuction in Victoria. The Health Department started investigating the clinic last October.
Emergency warnings urging residents to flee are being issued as bushfires rage on the Western Downs, north-west of Brisbane.

Residents are being urged to leave immediately as a fast-moving fire at Myall Park and Hookswood near the town of Miles put properties under threat.

The warning to people between Leichhardt Highway, Gearys Road, Greens Road and Ryalls Road was issued just after 2.15pm by emergency services.

A fast-moving fire is travelling Warramoo Road and is expected to impact Ryalls Road within the coming hours, Queensland Fire and Emergency Services said on Monday afternoon.
The cost of travel has soared during the COVID-19 pandemic, but crowds in a small South Gippsland town enjoyed a trip to Italy on Sunday without the jetlag or airfares.

Mirboo Norths Italian Festa was a dazzling display of la dolce vita for thousands of visitors to streets rich with the aroma of garlic, the sight of margherita pizzas being eaten and the sound of 1960s Euro-pop.

Traditional Italian live performances were among the attractions in Mirboo North on Sunday. Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui

Everyone from toddlers to 90-year-olds had a bella giornata (beautiful day) at the free event on a fine day in the towns Baromi Park, 150 kilometres south-east of Melbourne. It was an Italophiles dream come true.

You could take selfies with Roman soldier role-players, watch grape-stomping and a spaghetti-eating competition, and admire vintage Alfa Romeo cars.
Thousands of asylum seekers who have been on temporary protection visas for up to a decade will finally be able to become permanent residents in Australia under changes federal Labor will announce on Monday.

About 19,000 people will be eligible to apply for a permanent resolution of status visa which, if granted, will give them the same rights to access social security payments, the NDIS and higher education assistance in line with all other permanent residents.

Immigration Minister Andrew Giles said thousands of TPV and SHEV holders had to endure 10 years of uncertainty. Credit: Steven Siewert

The majority of the 19,000 refugees who will be able to become permanent residents come from Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Myanmar and Sri Lanka. Another 1500 people are having their initial asylum application assessed while 5000 people are having their applications reviewed by the courts. These groups could also be eligible for the resolution of status visa.

People who are granted a resolution of status visa will be able to eventually become Australian citizens once they meet the requirements, and they will then be able to sponsor family members to come to Australia.
Treasurer Cameron Dick has taken a subtle swipe at Deputy Premier Steven Miles while trying to distance himself from his colleagues heavily criticised outburst at the courts over the granting of bail to 13 young offenders.

Miles has been accused by the states peak legal body of undermining faith in the justice system amid growing concern about both his governments and the oppositions politicised approach to youth crime.

Treasurer Cameron Dick and Deputy Premier Steven Miles (front) have given differing responses to a Townsville judges decisions last week. Credit: Matt Dennien

After the decisions of a Townsville magistrate on Thursday to grant bail to the 13 offenders, Miles described the move as a media stunt and suggested the city was being held to ransom by rogue courts and rogue justices.

But speaking to reporters on Sunday, Dick  a senior figure in Labors Right faction  sought to distance himself from Miles comments by striking a more carefully chosen tone to that of the deputy premier, who leads the dominant Left faction.
Water Minister Harriet Shing says development on floodplains is a key area of review in Melbourne Waters inquiry into last years record-breaking Maribyrnong River flood, despite the water authority already ruling out reviewing broad planning matters.

At the same time, more evidence has emerged of how widespread the flood damage was after the Maribyrnong River in Melbournes inner west rose to about four metres above its usual height in mid-October.

Brotherhood Books in Kensington lost 21,000 books when its warehouse flooded last October. Credit: Brotherhood Books

While hundreds of homes were inundated in Maribyrnong, Avondale Heights and Ascot Vale in the biggest flood on the river since 1916, more evidence has emerged of the damage floodwater caused homes and businesses in Kensington.

Among them was Brotherhood Books, a Brotherhood of St Laurence social enterprise that sells second-hand titles to raise money for the charity, and aims to keep books out of landfill.
Dandenong Greens councillor Rhonda Garad acknowledged that there was a generational divide within the Greens, but said it was not a bad thing. Loading I am really happy that we have people that care so passionately about issues; I think that makes us stronger, she said. Allegiance to a party is one thing, but allegiance to your own values is surely more important. Garad said the Greens was a broad church and could accommodate a range of views. Its a good thing that we have a generational divide because it means that we have young people coming through, she said.

She said she understood the reasons that had caused Thorpe, Stone and Conlan to walk away. Conlan said there had been an overwhelmingly positive response to his decision to leave the Greens, particularly from First Nations party members. Merri-Bek councillor James Conlan quit the Greens in solidarity with Thorpe. Credit: Justin McManus Its about how the party treats marginalised groups, especially First Nations women, he said. If they actually speak their minds, then there is a lot of squashing of those voices that happens if they dont speak, talk and walk like a white politician. Conlan said recent constitutional changes to the Greens had centralised power and the party had a lot of work to do to become more inclusive.

When you centralise power like that, it tends to go towards, you know, a wealthier, older demographic, at the expense of the younger membership, he said. Loading Greens party leaders declined to comment on any divide, instead emphasising the strong growth of the party. I know this week has been tough for many Green supporters, but we are still in a really strong position in Victoria and federally, in balance of power and with record presence in parliament, federal leader Adam Bandt said. Victorian Greens leader Samantha Ratnam said while it was always sad when someone left the party, the Greens were focused on solving societys big issues.

When youre a large and growing party with this many elected representatives, there is always going to be movement, she said. Greens founder Bob Brown said the defections from the party were just a symptom of its growth. [Greens] now represent more than 10 per cent of the population and with that always comes the ups and downs of politics, he said. I dont think its generational. Instead of one or two representatives, youve got dozens or scores of representatives as there are now in Victoria. Its inevitable that there will be people come and go from the party ranks, for whatever reason. Brown said Thorpe had prioritised her activism.

I am an environmental activist and when you go into politics, it becomes difficult to make that choice to be a political representative as against a political activist, he said. Loading Whatever the cause of the Greens resignations, they have exposed fault lines within the party. While most Greens support the Voice to parliament, the partys First Nations Network, known as the Blak Greens, have declared solidarity with Thorpe in rejecting being forced into the racist Constitution by the so-called sovereign Australian government. Zareh Ghazarian, senior lecturer in politics at Monash University, said the turmoil showed some fragility within the Greens as an organisation.

The challenge for the Greens is to maintain a sense of cohesion because, of course, every member is so crucial to a minor party, he said. Conlan said he planned to work constructively with the Merri-Bek Greens where he could, but would use his independent position to champion issues he cared about. Stone declined to comment, but Yarra socialist councillor Stephen Jolly said the council was wide open with the Greens losing its majority, now holding only three positions. It is a bit messier now than it used to be, Jolly said. Three issues  housing, planning and climate change  open up an opportunity for the real left to outflank the Greens. Jolly said the generational divide that was impacting the Greens benefitted parties like the Socialists.
Buenos Aires, Argentina: Argentine officials are expressing concern over the large number of pregnant Russian women who have recently entered the country to give birth as a way to obtain an Argentine passport, claiming three Russian spies who were recently detained in Slovenia were citizens of the South American country.

A general view of the office building where two alleged Russian spies held their office, in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Credit: AP

Immigration authorities forbade six pregnant Russian women from entering Argentina this week  three on Wednesday and three on Thursday  saying they had falsely claimed to be tourists, Florencia Carignano, the national director for migration, told a local news channel.

At least some of the women have launched legal proceedings to be able to enter the country and a judge gave a green light to a habeas corpus petition on Friday to allow the six women to provisionally enter Argentina.

These women who didnt commit a crime, who didnt break any migratory law, are being illegally deprived of their freedom, Christian Rubilar, who represents three of the six women detained at the Ezeiza International Airport outside Buenos Aires, said before the judges decision.
Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images/TNS

An application to change ones party enrollment for any primary election in 2023 must be received by the board of elections no later than Tuesday, according to the state Board of Elections.
19-Year-Old Man Charged Over Protest Outside Merseyside Migrant Hotel

A burnt out police van after a demonstration outside the Suites Hotel in Knowsley, Merseyside, England, on Feb. 10, 2023. (Peter Powell/PA Media)

A man has been charged with violent disorder and assault after a protest outside a hotel housing asylum seekers turned violent.

Jarad Skeete, 19, of Irwell Close, Aigburth, Liverpool, was among 15 people arrested amid the demonstration outside the Suites Hotel in Knowsley on Friday evening, Merseyside Police said.

Skeete has been accused of violent disorder and assault by beating an emergency services worker. He has been remanded in custody and will appear at Wirral Adult Remand Court on Monday.

The remaining 14 people who were arrested12 men and two women who are mainly from the Knowsley areahave been conditionally bailed pending the outcome of police inquiries.

The protest took place after video was circulated on social media showing a man with a foreign accent allegedly making inappropriate remarks to a 15-year-old local girl.

Merseyside police said the protest was initially peaceful before a separate group of people turned up to make trouble. A police van was burnt and three people received minor injuries.

Police outside the Suites Hotel in Knowsley, Merseyside, England, on Feb. 11, 2023. (Peter Powell/PA Media)

Police Van Burnt

At around 6:30 p.m. on Friday, a protest and a counter-protest were staged at the Suites Hotel on Ribblers Lane in Prescot, Knowsley. The hotel has been used by the Home Office to house asylum seekers since January 2022.

Police said a number of people who were not part of the original protest group turned up shortly after.

And it is clear that they were only interested in causing trouble through violence and intimidation without any thought, or care, for other members of the public, or our officers, Merseyside police said in a statement on Saturday.

Missiles including lit fireworks were thrown at officers and one of our police vans was attacked by offenders, using hammers before setting it on fire, the statement said, adding that one officer and two members of the public received slight injuries.

Chief Constable Serena Kennedy, said the group that turned up later were intent on using a planned protest to carry out violent and despicable behaviour.

They turned up armed with hammers and fireworks to cause as much trouble as they could and their actions could have resulted in members of the public and police officers being seriously injured, or worse, she said.

Misinformation

Kennedy said the violent protest took place after rumours and misinformation being circulated on social media following an incident earlier in the week, referring to a video that showed a 15-year-old girl being approached by a man with broken English around nearby Kirkby Leisure Centre on Feb. 6.

The video appeared to be discreetly filmed by the girl and didnt show the faces of those involved. The man said he was 25 while the girl said she was 15.

Its unclear whether the man was an asylum seeker or whether he lived at the hotel.

Following the incident, some Twitter accounts which shared the video claimed migrants were allegedly molesting and grooming children.

Kennedy said the Kirkby incident was reported to the police by members of the public but no victim was initially identified.

She also said following enquiries, a man in his 20s was arrested on Feb. 9 in another part of the country on suspicion of a public order offence, and he was released with no further action under the advice of the Crown Prosecution Service.

I want to make it absolutely clear that this is very much an ongoing investigation, and we would urge anyone who witnessed this incident, or who has any information, which could help us bring the offender to justice, to come forward, she said.

Social media speculation, misinformation, and rumour can actually damage the outcome of investigations and cause unnecessary fear and consequent behaviour, so I would continue to ask people to be mindful of the damage that such actions can cause, she said.

Condemnations

Home Secretary Suella Braverman on Saturday condemned the disorder, adding alleged behaviour of some asylum seekers is never an excuse for violence.

She wrote on Twitter: I condemn the appalling disorder in Knowsley last night. The alleged behaviour of some asylum seekers is never an excuse for violence and intimidation. Thank you to @MerseyPolice officers for keeping everyone safe.

But the opposition Labour Party accused the government of creating a toxic mix of anti-migrant rhetoric and poor service provision.

Describing the protest as absolutely horrendous, shadow levelling up secretary Lisa Nandy said: There are a small number of far right activists who whip up hate and hostility in this country, we all need to speak with one voice when we say that we utterly condemn them.

Nandy described the governments decisions to contract out asylum services, forgo consultation with communities, and place refugees in unsuitable accommodation as a recipe for disaster.

Development minister Andrew Mitchell also said that the violence was totally unjustifiable.

He told the BBC: We live in a country where peaceful protest is part of our way of life and I strongly support that. But violence in the way that we saw on Friday night is completely unacceptable, and the government condemn it absolutely.

He rejected suggestions that the government had helped stir up anti-migrant sentiment, adding that it has housed thousands and thousands of Ukrainian refugees along with people from Hong Kong and Afghanistan.

This is an unprecedented time in terms of Britain helping people who are caught in desperate jeopardy, he said.

We have a duty to welcome these peopleoften they are caught in desperate jeopardy, but equally we have a duty to house them appropriately and to work with local people.

The Home Office is trying very hard now to stop the excessive use of hotels and find different ways of placing them in appropriate places in the community. And that is something that the Home Office will achieve.

PA Media contributed to this report.
3 Hospitalized After Traffic Collision in Oak Park

SAN DIEGOThree people were hospitalized Feb. 12 after two vehicles collided in Oak Park, a fire official said.

The crash happened at 10:51 a.m. Sunday in the 3100 block of Chollas Road when the driver of a black Volkswagen SUV was traveling southbound with a child, according to OnScene TV.

The driver of a red Nissan was heading northbound with her grandchild when she allegedly crossed into the opposite lane and the two vehicles collided.

Three people were rushed to Paradise Valley Hospital and treated for minor injuries, said Battalion Chief Jeff Mitchell of the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.

Traffic was blocked in both directions for about an hour after the collision. Police were investigating the crash.
Australian University Faces Legal Action for Allegedly Underpaying Staff

General view of signage for the University of Melbourne in Melbourne, Nov. 17, 2020. (AAP Image/James Ross)

An Australian University is facing further legal action over allegedly underpaying casual staff and making false or misleading records.

The Fair Work Ombudsman announced on Feb. 10 that it had commenced legal action against The University of Melbourne over what the watchdog describes as serious contraventions of the Fair Work Act. The Ombudsman alleges the university breached the Act when it failed to pay 14 casual staff at the hourly rates required under its enterprise agreement.

The Ombudsman alleges that between February 2017 and December 2019, 14 casual staff at the universitys Faculty of Arts were paid for marking work based on benchmarks rather than being paid according to their enterprise agreements.

Some alleged benchmark criteria for payment included marking work at a rate of 4000 works per hour, and at another school, one hour per student.

The total debt allegedly underpaid to the 14 casual University staff is over $154,000 (US$106,000), ranging between $927 (US$640) and $30,140 (US$20,820) for each individual.

Following the benchmarks set by the university, the casual staff had to allegedly enter their hours worked into the Universitys human resources information system rather than the actual hours they worked.

This led to the Fair Work Ombudsman alleging that the University of Melbourne was failing to record all hours worked by the casual staff, with some managers within the Faculty knowing about records being made and kept by the University to be false or misleading.

Contraventions Against Fair Work Act

The Fair Work Ombudsman alleges the University of Melbourne authorised the contraventions because of a corporate culture around the use of marking benchmarks.

A number of senior leaders in the Faculty allegedly knew about the benchmarking practices that would result in staff members not being paid for the time they spent marking, despite concerns about benchmarking being raised in April 2016, February 2017, and on multiple occasions in 2018 and 2019.

The breach of its enterprise agreements was a serious contravention of the Fair Work Act from Sept. 15, 2017, said the ombudsman.

With maximum penalties for serious contraventions being 10 times higher than penalties that would apply otherwise. Fair Work Ombudsman Sandra Parker said the Federal Court viewed the university sector as one of the regulators top priorities.

Allegations of universities underpaying their employees by systematically failing to follow their own enterprise agreements are of great concern. It is important that where we find alleged serious contraventions we take employers to court and seek penalties to deter non-compliance, Parker said.

Universities, like all employers, should have proactive measures in place to ensure they are meeting workplace laws and paying employees correctly for all hours worked. If employers become aware of concerns their employees may be being underpaid, they must promptly seek advice and rectify any compliance issues discovered.

Melbourne University now faces penalties of up to $630,000 (US$435,000) per serious contravention and up to $63,000 (US$43,500) per breach for the other allegations.

It illustrates how the insecure workforce approach of the university systematically results in exploitation and illegality, said Joo-Cheong Tham, the Victorian division assistant secretary of National Tertiary Education Union, reported AAP.

The Federal Court in Melbourne has yet to set a date for the directions hearing.

Previous Enterprise Agreement Breach Still Ongoing

The Fair Work Ombudsman launched a separate ongoing legal action against the University of Melbourne on Aug. 11 2022, for allegedly threatening to cut the work of two casual staff.

The University of Melbourne allegedly coerced and took adverse action on two casual staff who sought to be paid extra for working extra hours.

The regulator alleges the university threatened to not re-employ the two casual staff with the intent to coerce them to not have workplace rights and claim payment for the extra hours of work.

We treat allegations of employers taking action to stop or prevent employees from claiming their lawful entitlements very seriously. Adverse action and coercion directly undermine workplace laws and the ability of employees to exercise their lawful rights, said Fair Work Ombudsman Sandra Parker.

Employers should have proactive measures in place to ensure they are meeting workplace laws. If employers become aware of concerns their employees may be being underpaid, the only appropriate response is to check that they are paying their employees correctly and promptly rectify any compliance issues discovered.

Back Paying 15,000 University Staff

After analysing 3.2 million payslip records between 2013 and 2021, the University of Melbourne announced on Nov. 2, 2022, that about 15,000 current and former casual staff were found to be underpaid $22 million (US$15 million).

Following the analysis conducted by Deloitte, the university said it will pay $22 million to the underpaid staff under the Wage Remediation Program.

The average payments are at $1,476 (US$1,018) per back pay, including superannuation and interest.

From the review, the most common incorrect payment was for the casual minimum engagement period at 59 percent of payments, and for the weekend and public holiday overtime at 29 percent of payments.

The University of Melbourne Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Duncan Maskell, said: We apologise to any past or present employees who have not been paid correctly for work they performed.

The university said it continues to monitor for issues with improved auditing processes to identify potential payment errors as well as implementing changes to its systems for recording and payment of time and attendance.

In an emailed statement to The Epoch Times, a spokesperson for The University of Melbourne said they have received notice of the commencement of legal proceedings by the regulator in relation to a historical issue of underpaying casual staff in a faculty.

The University will not be providing further public comment on these proceedings while they are before the Courts, said the spokesperson.

The University has publicly acknowledged and apologised to past and current employees who had been paid less than they were due for work that they had performed.
BBC Chairman Made Significant Errors of Judgement Over Boris Johnsons Loan, MPs Say

BBC Chair Richard Sharp made significant errors of judgement when failing to declare his role in the facilitation of a loan to the then Prime Minister Boris Johnson, a Parliamentary committee has said.

Sharp is under investigation over potential conflicts of interests after allegations emerged that he had helped secure an 800,000 ($987,000) loan guarantee for former Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

The former Goldman Sachs banker was named as the preferred candidate for the BBC job in January 2021 and the Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS) Committee of the House of Commons backed his appointment.

But in a strongly-worded report published on Feb. 12, the committee said that Sharp did not declare to MPs his role in facilitating the loan when he was applying for the job of BBC chairman.

The committee said his omissions constitute a breach of the standards expected of individuals applying for prominent public appointments.

Richard Sharps decisions, firstly to become involved in the facilitation of a loan to the then-prime minister while at the same time applying for a job that was in that same persons gift, and then to fail to disclose this material relationship, were significant errors of judgment, which undermine confidence in the public appointments process and could deter qualified individuals from applying for such posts, the MPs said.

The committee concluded: Mr. Sharp should consider the impact his omissions will have on trust in him, the BBC, and the public appointments process.

Pedestrians walk past a BBC logo at Broadcasting House in London, Jan. 29, 2020. (Reuters/Henry Nicholls/File Photo)

Loan Allegations

The Sunday Times reported on Jan. 22 that Sharp, a Tory donor and BBC chair candidate at the time, was involved in talks about financing Johnson when the then-prime minister found himself in financial difficulty in late 2020, shortly before Sharp was appointed chair of the public broadcaster.

According to the report, Sharp got involved in November 2020 after his friend Sam Blyth, a multi-millionaire Canadian businessman who is also a distant cousin of Johnson, floated the idea of acting as Johnsons guarantor.

The report said Sharp in December 2020 introduced Blyth to Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service Simon Case and spoke to the prime minister.

In a follow-up report published on Jan. 29, The Sunday Times alleged that Johnson was warned by officials on Dec. 22, 2020, to stop discussing his financial arrangements with Sharp, who was due to be named for the BBC role in the following month.

The paper quoted advice issued by Case, which stated, Given the imminent announcement of Richard Sharp as the new BBC chair, it is important that you no longer ask his advice about your personal financial matters.

Highly Unsatisfactory

Sharp has insisted that he did not arrange the loan and did not give Johnson any financial advice, but admitted introducing Blyth to the Cabinet Office.

A spokesman for the former prime minister also said Sharp has never given any financial advice to Boris Johnson, nor has Mr. Johnson sought any financial advice from him.

But the DCMS committee said there was an unresolved issue as to why Case believed Sharp had been giving financial advice to Johnson.

Mr. Sharp denied that he had ever given financial advice to the then-prime minister but was unable to account for the decision by the Cabinet Office to issue a note to the prime minister advising him not to seek further financial advice from Mr. Sharp given his impending appointment as chair of the BBC, said the MPs, who called on the Cabinet Office to clear up the confusion.

Acting chairman of the DCMS Committee Damian Green said: The public appointments process can only work effectively if everyone is open and transparent, yet Richard Sharp chose not to tell either the appointment panel or our committee about his involvement in the facilitation of a loan to Boris Johnson.

Such a significant error of judgment meant we were not in the full possession of the facts when we were required to rule on his suitability for the role of BBC chair.

Cronyism

A spokesman for Sharp said the BBC chairman apologises for failing to inform the committee of the loan.

But he said: Mr. Sharp believed he had dealt with the issue by proactively briefing the Cabinet Secretary that he was applying for the role of BBC chair, and therefore beyond connecting Mr. Blyth with Mr. Case, he recused himself from the matter.

At that meeting, and subsequently, it was not suggested by the Cabinet Office that the act of connecting Mr. Blyth with Mr. Case was something that should be declared, and it was explicitly agreed that by not being party to the matter going forward he would be excluded from any conflict.

Labours shadow culture secretary Lucy Powell said: This is a damming report which makes the BBC chairs position increasingly untenable because it throws into serious doubt the impartiality and independence that is so fundamental to trust in the BBC.

The Conservatives cronyism is dragging down the BBC when we should be building it up as a cornerstone of our creative economy.

PA Media contributed to this report.
Bolsonaro Mulls Return to Brazil in Coming Weeks

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro speaks during a "Power of the People Rally" at Trump National Doral resort in Miami on Feb. 3, 2023. (Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images)

MEXICO CITYFormer Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro said on Saturday he plans to return to Brazil in the coming weeks, after having spent more than a month in the United States.

Bolsonaro flew to Florida two days before Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was sworn in as the new president on Jan. 1, and later applied for a six-month tourist visa to continue his stay in the United States.

There is no place like home  We know Brazil is a fantastic country, Bolsonaro told a gathering of Brazilians in Boca Raton, a video posted online by broadcaster CNN showed.

I also want to return to Brazil. I intend to return to Brazil in the coming weeks.

A swift return to Brazil could pose risks for Bolsonaro, who is accused of instigating a violent election denial movement in his home country.

Brazils Supreme Court has agreed to open an investigation into Bolsonaro for allegedly encouraging protests that ended in the storming of government buildings by his supporters in Brasilia.

His plans to return were put in question after his lawyer told Reuters last month the former president would like to enjoy being a tourist in the United States for a few months before deciding what his next step will be.
British-Iranians Speak of Climate of Fear From Regimes UK Outposts

Demonstrators at Trafalgar Square in London on Jan. 8, 2023. The protest against the Islamic Republic in Iran followed the death of Mahsa Amini. (Aaron Chown/PA)

Under constant fearthats how some Iranians describe life living in Britain today.

That fear, they say, does not come from the country they now live in, but from the harsh Middle Eastern regime they were born into.

Despite being about 4,000 kilometres away, Irans repressive establishment has sinister tentacles that reach as far as the UK.

Earlier this month, Parliament heard how Irans armed forces were not only behind 10 kidnap and death plots on British soil but also the execution of British-Iranian dual national Alireza Akbari.

Akbari, an Iranian former deputy defence minister, was arrested in 2019 and accused of espionage for MI6 related to past nuclear talks between Iran and western nations, according to reports.

BBC Persian stated at the time that Akbari denied the charge, and said he was tortured and forced to confess on camera to crimes he did not commit.

His execution not only shocked Iran and the UK but also heightened the fears of British-Iranians who have been outspoken against its regime.

Whoever is trying to be the voice of people in Iran, complaining about the violation of human rights in Iran, his regime goes after them, Elha Kani-Zabihi, a British-Iranian scholar, told The Epoch Times.

And usually, its the main members from the main opposition, which is the MEK.

Theyre one of the coalition in the National Council of Resistance of Iran, the main opposition and the enemy of this regime.

And they have lost quite a lot of members, being attacked outside Iran, in Europe, in Turkey, she said.

We have been campaigning for now three years, for the Iranian Embassy to be closed in London.

The duty governments really should cut down all the ties with this regime, send the ambassadors back to Iran.

Intimidated and Harassed

The Epoch Times spoke to three London-based British-Iranians who say they fear for their safety in the UK after speaking out against the Iranian government.

Kamrana pseudonymis a business owner in his 50s who has attended a number of street protests calling for the Islamic Republic of Iran to be overthrown.

His family fled the country when he was just eight years old, and since then, they have lived under a climate of fear that has intensified in recent times.

Ive been brought up in a family that does not believe in the Islamic Republic of Iran in any way, he said.

We were all quite loyal to the previous regime, the monarchy and, you know, we want to free run a secular Iran and thats what our main aim is.

So when there are protests in London, I go. And there you are intimidated, harassed, and feel like you are under constant surveillance.

They take our pictures, they even flew a drone to film us.

In person, they look at you and they say, were gonna get you. I dont even know who that person is, but theyre taking pictures of you. Its pretty much fear.

When asked if he believed those threatening him were linked to the regime, Kamran replied: 100 percent.

He added: Me and my children fear we are in danger.

It is sad that, from our point of view, that Im a British-citizen and I came to a country thats supposed to be free and democratic. But I see story after story about how this regime is opening charity centres, Islamic centres.

Theyve got their tentacles in the United Kingdom. And it seems the UK government is just totally blind to this.

Rezaalso a pseudonymis a man in his 40s who has lived in the UK since 2020.

He too fled Iran as a child, growing up in a refugee camp in Europe before his family settled on the continent.

When I came to the UK to study, I was not actually active at all, he told The Epoch Times.

I was not fighting against the regime, but that changed over time.

There was a tipping point with the protests starting last year, because what I saw (happening in Iran) was just unacceptable with my values.

Arresting girls and women for not wearing the clothes that they deem appropriate, and then beating girls to death, raping girls as a means of punishment or oppression or injecting fear.

Ive got three daughters and I just could not sit back and not do anything.

So thats when we started going to the demonstrations, being very active on social media, although I have to censor myself.

All my activities are in disguise, not under my real name because even here in this country, I fear for the safety of myself and my family.

He added: You cannot express, although its not illegal. Were just merely expressing our political views and its all within the legal framework of our country.

But I still cannot speak freely.

I have been to demonstrations, my picture has been taken. I will not be able to go back to Iran because they will arrest me, thats for sure.

If youre born in Iran, which I am, you are, by default, considered Iranian, not British or French, or which other second citizenship that you hold. So, they will arrest me, and God knows what they do.

I could be executed for what they consider an enemy of God. If youre going against the regime, they say youre going against God and you can be executed.

Three British-Iranians speak to The Epoch Times in central London on Feb. 9, 2023. They say they are living in fear of the Iranian regimes influence in the UK. (Patricia Devlin/The Epoch Times)

Vicious Trolling

In her 50s Leilanot her real namehas been living in the UK for many years.

She works in education and has been the target of vicious trolling attacks and street abuse for taking part in demonstrations.

Ive had a lot of hate messages coming through Instagram, some of them pretty awful, she told The Epoch Times.

Ive been accused of being an Israeli spy along with aggressive abuse.

I dont have a massive social platform. I organised a well known protest in London which was publicised, I didnt want my name in there for fear of what could happen.

I do feel that now that theyve got people around that, I dont know how small a person they will get rid of.

She added: When Ive been outside the Iranian embassy, Ive been intimidated by the police asking me why Im taking photos of just outside the Iranian embassy.

So you know, you very much feel that the police are on their side rather than on ours.

I think there is more fear in this country now of seeming anti-Islamic. And I think that is whats holding people back because theyre just so fearful of how its going to be seen. This whole political correctness.

Im sorry, Ive had enough of it personally. I just think weve lost the freedom of thought, freedom of speech, freedom of expression.

Terrorist State

Last month, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly revealed that over 300 individuals and entities had been sanctioned by the UK over Irans violent crackdown on protestors.

In January, the Guardian reported that the UK and European Union were expected to coordinate moves to brand the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation.

Catherine Perez-Shakdam, a research fellow with the Henry Jackson Society, said the UK, and the world, need to do more to tackle the abuses of the Iranian regime.

What has been described, happens all the time and it is not even quite a lot, its systematic.

The way that the regime function, they are very well aware that even though a lot of people have moved to the U.S. or the UK, they still have family members living in Iran, because obviously, not everyone is always able to leave.

So that means that they will target anyone in your family, even extended family.

For Iranians when they speak out, or if they decide to become a lot more active and vocal against the regime, theres always this in their mind, thinking, Im putting my family in danger in a very direct way, where people are getting picked up by the regime, and thrown in jail.

She added: I think that we need to understand that Iran is actually a terrorist state, that we need to deal with it the same way that weve done with ISIS, the caliphate, that its exactly the same kind of terror, that were dealing with, the same kind of ideology.

That theyre committing the same crimes. But for some reason, theres a disconnect, where, because were so used to thinking of Iran as a country, we dont understand that this country has been hijacked by terrorists and that they are abiding by the rules of terror.

And they are exporting this terrorism outside and they actually created outposts in the UK.

So step number one would be to raise awareness and actually understand what were dealing with and to do it systematically to actually look at it with fresh eyes and say, we got it wrong, we misunderstood.

We need to understand that the only way to stop their advances is actually to become a lot more assertive in our rejection of the Islamic Republic on the basis that its a terrorist state, not just a country, were not dealing with a normal nation state.

The Epoch Times contacted the Iranian Embassy for comment.

PA contributed to this report
The Canadian defense minister gives a briefing at 7:00 p.m. ET on Feb. 11 on the shooting down of an unidentified flying object in Canadian airspace Saturday. As a joint operation with Canada, a U.S. plane carried out the task. This flying object is the third to be shot down in the past five days in the North American continent.

The Epoch Times will livestream the event.
China Builds for South Polar Nuclear Strikes

A Long March 5B rocket lifts off from the Wenchang launch site on China's southern Hainan island on May 5, 2020. Another variant of the Long March rocket was used to get China's hypersonic missile into orbit in July 2021. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)

Commentary

When China tested its fractional orbital bombardment system (FOBS) nuclear delivery weapon in July 2021 and August 2021, it said nothing about its plans for developing this weapon.

First produced by the former Soviet Union in the late 1960s to better evade the U.S. early warning radar, Chinas FOBS can do that but could also evolve into a potent space weapon.

Two recent Chinese revelations may indicate that China intends to build a robust FOBS capability that could include various liquid- and solid-fueled launchers, large and small warhead dispensing buses, and exploitation of launch opportunities from multiple axes on the globe.

Early in the U.S.Soviet intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) competition, the Soviets decided that they needed to evade early U.S. and Canadian ballistic missile early warning (BMEW) radar that, despite the curvature of the Earth over the Arctic, could provide useful warning of Soviet ICBMs that could fly at altitudes of more than 1,000 miles over their ballistic arcs.

But in the mid to late 1960s, Soviet designers such as Sergei Korolev and Mikhail Yangel had developed ICBMs that would place a warhead bus into low Earth orbit (125 to 300 miles), but go the opposite direction and strike U.S. targets with southern approaches not defended by BMEW radar. The bus would then use thrusters to decelerate to allow strikes with nuclear warheads.

For its July 2021 and August 2021 test flights, China used a 1980s vintage workhorse satellite-lofting China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) Long March-2C space launch vehicle but equipped with a new final stage bus that also circled the Earth on a South Polar trajectory over Antarctica.

Its very likely that the Chinese FOBS bus decelerated before launching a hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV) warhead at a target in China. HGVs are maneuverable and can exploit long and low trajectories to sneak up on a target.

Older, reliable liquid-fuel launchers such as the Long March-2C can loft warhead-dispensing FOBS buses that can circle the Earth for months before a conflict. This gives the Chinese regime the option of multi-axis, devastating nuclear first strikes or surprise nonnuclear attacks against targets on land or at sea.

But Chinese rocket companies such as CASC and the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC), in addition to new private space launch vehicle (SLV) companies, offer great potential for developing more mobile solid-fuel FOBS platforms.

A security guard stands next to models of Chinese rockets on display in Beijing on Sept. 24, 2013. The Chinese regime is testing weapons that could soon endanger satellites in all orbits. (Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images)

These range from the massive CASIC solid fuel Kuaizhou-31, which can loft 70-ton payloads into orbit, to the smaller CASC Jielong-3based on the DF-41 ICBMwhich can loft 1.5 tons to a 300-mile orbit.

The Jielong-3 has been used to launch surveillance satellites of the new Hong Kong Aerospace Technology Group (HKATG), which on Jan. 9 announced, with Djiboutis President Ismail Omar Guelleh, their initialing of a $1 billion deal to build a space launch facility with up to seven space launch platforms by 2028. This would be Chinas first foreign-deployed space launch base.

But just to be sure the world didnt conclude that Djibouti would be allowing China to launch nuclear weapons, on the very same day, the authoritarian Guelleh government signed the U.N. Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

Now China doesnt adhere to this treaty, and even as a private company, HKATG would have to obey Chinese civil-military fusion regulations that would oblige it to follow Chinese government and military orders.

As it has never before conducted space launches, perhaps HKATG will rely heavily on help from the Peoples Liberation Army Strategic Support Force, which controls Chinas five other space launch bases and the Peoples Liberation Armys (PLAs) manned and unmanned space assets and is likely the lead PLA service for space warfareperhaps to include bombing the Earth from space.

Since 2017, China has maintained naval and air facilities in Djibouti, stationing about 2,000 troops there, armed with the potent ZTL-11 wheeled tank; the United States maintains more than 4,000 troops nearby in Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti.

Its unlikely that increasingly China-dependent Guelleh will raise a real fuss if Beijing wants to launch civilian Jielong-3 SLVs that are covertly armed with a FOBS bus that could carry at least one hypersonic glide vehicle weapon.

From Djibouti, a South Polar trajectory over Antarctica sets up a FOBS bus for strikes against U.S. bases in Alaska or U.S. ICBM bases in North Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming.

That Chinas FOBS buses have the most accurate guidance information will now be better ensured by Beijings second revelation, made in a Feb. 2 article in the Chinese publication China Space News, that CASIC will build a space tracking and control (STC) facility at Chinas Zhongshan Research Station in Antarctica.

The United States, Norway, and Germany also maintain STC facilities in Antarctica. Still, they dont have FOBS weapons as China does, and the CASIC STC in Antarctica is also likely to be directly controlled by the Strategic Support Force (SSF).

Chinas Zhongshan STC likely wont just be helping guide FOBS strikes against the United States; its also ideally placed to support SSF-controlled expansion of Chinas manned presence on the moon.

The Zhongshan STC will also help the SSF to conduct space warfare. In a Feb. 19, 2021, article, Chinese state-run media outlet Xinhua reported that Chinese researchers had installed a fluorescence doppler lidar system at Zhongshan for atmospheric research; lidar is laser radar.

Many of the low Earth orbit surveillance satellites of the United States, the UK, France, Japan, and Taiwan are polar orbiters that pass over Antarctica multiple times per day.

Theres a good chance that since 2021, Chinas research lidar at Zhongshan has grown largerinto the kind of laser weapon that the regime began using about 20 years ago to harass and damage U.S. satellites.

As the ozone is much thinner over Antarctica, a laser weapon based there will be able to do much more damage to overhead satellites, which also tend to fly closer to the Earth over the poles.

All of this points to the necessity for the United States to consider the rapid development of its own FOBS weapons to deter the Chinese regime, which, for decades, has rejected all arms control approaches that would limit its nuclear weapons.

It also points to the need for the United States to engage Australia and New Zealand to consider how the ANZUS (AustraliaNew ZealandUnited States) allies can better ensure that they can stop Chinese military usage of Antarctica, either by non-kinetic or kinetic means.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
China Raises Upper Age Limits for Military Reservists Amid Increased Tension Over Taiwan Strait

The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers assembling during military training on the Pamir Mountains in Kashgar, northwestern China's Xinjiang region on Jan. 4, 2021. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)

The Chinese communist regimes military new Reserve Personnel Law will be implemented on March 1. It will raise the age limits for various ranks in the reserve forces, a move analysts say reflects the regimes intention to invade Taiwan.

Under the regimes decades-old Military Service Law, the service age of reserve soldiers was set at 18 to 35 years old.

The new law has raised the maximum service age for reserve command management and professional technical officers to 60 years old, replacing the tiered age limits of 60, 55, and 50 years old in the old reserve service law.

The maximum service age for professional technical lieutenants has been raised to 50, and for command management lieutenant officers, 45, instead of the current tiered limits of 45, 40, and 35.

Chinas Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers march next to the entrance to the Forbidden City (L) in Beijing on May 22, 2020. (Nicolas Asfouri/AFP via Getty Images)

There was also an overall raise in age limits for reserve service members. The maximum service age for reserve sergeants was revised to 55 for first class sergeants and sergeant majors; 45 for corporals, sergeants, and second sergeants; and 30 for reserve soldiers.

In its Military Service Law, implemented by the CCP years ago, the service age of reserve soldiers was 18 to 35 years old, and can be appropriately extended according to needs. After the CCP revised the Military Service Law in 2021, the maximum age for reserve soldiers to serve was changed to in accordance with other relevant laws and regulations.

Readiness for War

Wang He, a U.S.-based China affairs observer, told The Epoch Times on Feb. 9 that the key point is why Chinas ruling Communist Party (CCP) put out the policy now.

He said that with the current tension in the Taiwan Strait, the CCP introduced the new military reserve law, on the one hand, to deter the United States, and on the other hand, it is indeed preparing for war to invade Taiwan.

In general, it creates a momentum to exert pressure on the United States, and cooperates with the CCPs general strategy of defeating Taiwan without fighting. However, the question of whether to have a war or not is very delicate, but it has well prepared for war.

A Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force WZ-7 high-altitude reconnaissance drone is seen a day before the 13th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai in southern Chinas Guangdong Province on Sept. 27, 2021. (Noel Celis/AFP via Getty Images)

Su Tze-yun, director of the Institute for National Defense and Security Research of Taiwan, told The Epoch Times on Feb. 9 that the reserve force belongs to the national defense mobilization mechanism within the CCP. Its part of the national combat readiness and the fighting force. Certainly, it can be viewed that if CCP decides to attack Taiwan in the future, it will be mobilized.

Su added that the CCP has a huge military, and if it launches an attack, this mobilization force is only a supplementary means. On the contrary, for the defensive side, mobilization is one of the main means.

Ning Haizhong and Luo Ya contributed to this report.
In the past, when Chinese people wondered about the meaning of life, they looked to the Confucian classics or brought their questions to monasteries and temples.

But this tradition has been decimated, a result of the Communist Partys decadeslong campaign to eradicate traditional beliefs and replace them with Marxist-Lenninist ideologies of materialism and atheism. Nowadays, many in China have rejected traditional values and turned their focus on seeking personal gain, grounded in an absolute belief in materialism and science.

But for the real truth we are seeking, its hard to find it from science, said Li Mianying, a Chinese philosopher and entrepreneur who recently moved to the United States.

The pursuit of science and technology has pushed human beings to the brink of destruction, he said. Modern science has resulted in the rejection of traditional beliefs and moral values, Li added. As science and technology develop, we may destroy ourselves before the destruction of the earth.

So where can people find the purpose of life? The Chinese immigrant found insight from a recent article, How Humankind Came To Be by Mr. Li Hongzhi, the founder of the traditional spiritual discipline Falun Gong. The article was released as a message for the Lunar New Year last month.

[The article] is not only meaningful to Chinese culture, but also to the entire humanity, said Li Mianying, who has no relation to the article author.

Why did Marx insist on the essence of the world being material and deny the spiritual world? Its not an issue of science or philosophy. Marx wanted to use [materialism] to deny compassion, spirituality, and God, Li explained.

Decades of communist campaigns left many with little respect for the divine. People now go to temples to pray for money, rather than contemplate their mistakes with a sincere and respectful heart toward Buddha. The inner meaning of religion has been changed, Li said.

Because of this, the introduction of Falun Gong in China in 1992 represented a very important turning point for the country, according to Li, and helped bring about a renaissance of Chinese culture and civilization.

Supporters of the Falun Gong spiritual exercise take part in a march in Hong Kong on April 27, 2019. (Dale de la Rey/AFP via Getty Images)

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is rooted in traditional Chinese belief systems that involve moral improvement leading to spiritual enlightenment. Composed of gentle, meditative exercises along with moral teachings based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance, the practice quickly attracted people from all backgrounds, from rural villagers to college professors.

By 1999, seven years after the discipline was first spread, there were an estimated 70 to 100 million people practicing across the country.

While Li Mianying didnt take up the practice, the Chinese expatriate said he is now reading Falun Gongs books, as was amazed by Mr. Lis insight into the universe.

The Meaning of Lifes Hardships

Tammy, a Hongkonger and mother now living in Toronto, often saw hundreds of Falun Gong practitioners marching through the streets of the thriving East Asian metropolis.

Tammy knew they were calling for an end to the ongoing persecution happening in the mainland. In 1999, then-Chinese leader Jiang Zemin, who deemed Falun Gongs booming popularity as a threat to the Partys control, ordered a severe campaign to eradicate the discipline, resulting in millions of adherents being thrown into detention, where they are brainwashed, tortured, or even killed for their organs.

But the persecution didnt reach Hong Konga former British colony that once enjoyed freedoms and autonomy unseen in the mainlandwhere people are free to practice Falun Gong.

A parade led by Falun Gongs Tianguo marching band in Hong Kong on May 10, 2015. (The Epoch Times)

While Tammy often saw adherents peacefully protesting the persecution in Hong Kong, said she didnt understand what the practice was about until last year when she settled in Canada and was personally introduced to a Falun Gong practitioner, who was the parent of her sons classmate.

After reading the article by Falun Gongs founder, Tammy, who is not an adherent of the practice, said Mr. Lis essay solved many puzzles she has sought to answer.

Why are there hardships in human life? Its because people are made to temper themselves through the experience and thus they can elevate, Tammy said, explaining her understanding of the essay.

The mother of a 6-year-old boy spoke to The Epoch Times using only her first name, for fear of retribution from the communist regime.

In the article, Mr. Li said that the universe goes through the process of formation, stasis, degeneration, and destruction, just as human beings experience birth, aging, illness, and death, and that the human world is currently at the last period of the destruction phase.

Mr. Lis illustration of the universe strongly resonated with Tammy who experienced how the Chinese Communist Party in recent years turned Hong Kong into just another mainland city. In 2019, during months of massive pro-democracy protests, Tammy observed police officers beat, and fire rubber bullets and tear gas at unarmed demonstrators under Beijings directives.

Riot police charge as they fire tear gas on a street to disperse protesters in Hong Kong on Nov.11, 2019. (Anthony Kwan/Getty Images)

Such bloody scenes saddened her. [I thought] police were supposed to uphold justice, Tammy said. Thats why I was so disappointed. I even felt that righteousness seemed to be destroyed.

But Tammy was able to find hope in Mr. Lis essay, saying she felt relieved after learning the deeper reasons behind human suffering.

Everything is arranged by the divine beings. By going through hardships, we can accumulate virtue and elevate ourselves through spiritual practice, thus leaving the lowly human level, she said.

Humankinds Only Yearning

Mr. Lis explanation of the reasons behind winning or losing in life also left an impression on Huang Yong-he, the owner of a traditional Chinese medicine clinic in Taiwans Tainan city.

In the past, Huang often wondered where his wisdom came from. At the age of 13, when he graduated from primary school, Huang started to help his father, an accomplished traditional Chinese medicine practitioner, to take care of the clinic.

The first step was to learn hundreds of medicinal plants and herbs, an extremely difficult task. But Huang took to it like a duck to water. He felt as though the names and effects of the many different herbs gelled with his brain, as so was able to memorize the information much faster than others.

Talents are also a kind of blessings and virtues that were built up in previous lives, Huang said, referring to Mr. Lis explanation in the essay of the cause of a persons wealth and fortune.

Huang Yong-he makes a plaster with herbs. (The Epoch Times)

Looking back on his life, Huang realized that divine beings have taken care of him for a very long time. The patients of his clinic, Huang said, may also have been arranged by Heaven.

Huang was glad that he kept doing good deeds and helped others during the past decades. While he didnt expect rewards, Huang said he enjoyed the sense of accomplishment. I used to think lifes meaning was about working hard, enjoying fulfillment, making money, and preparing for retirement, Huang said.

After reading Mr. Lis article, I really believe that no matter how great the wealth and influence we have in this world, whats the use if we cant re-ascend to Heaven?

In this secular world, humankind suffers, atones for their sins while helping others and accumulating blessings and virtue. But building these up is not our purpose. Returning to heaven is our only yearning!

Luo Ya, Yang Xinwen, and Yu Yuan contributed to this report.
Cousin of Emmett Till Sues to Compel Sheriff to Arrest White Woman, 88, Whose 1955 Interaction With Boy Preceded His Lynching

A cousin of Emmett Till, the young black boy lynched in 1955 for approaching a white woman in Mississippi, filed suit in federal court demanding that a recently discovered arrest warrant from the era be served on the woman.

Till, a 14-year-old black boy from Chicago, was visiting relatives in Mississippi in 1955 when he was brutally killed.

Accounts of the events differ, but witnesses said Till whistled at a white woman, now known as Carolyn Bryant Donham, at a store. Donham testified at trial that Till grabbed and threatened her. After the alleged whistling incident, which violated the unspoken social code of the day in the Jim Crow South, Donhams then-husband, Roy Bryant and J.W. Milan, both now deceased, abducted Till, torturing and killing him before throwing his body into the Tallahatchie River. Bryant and Milan were acquitted of murder by an all-white jury but later confessed to the crime in a Look magazine interview.

The killing in the early days of the Civil Rights Era served as a catalyst for action, helping the nascent civil rights movement gain steam. Tills mother insisted on an open-casket funeral to show her sons badly mutilated body to the world and draw attention to the barbaric nature of his racially motivated murder.

In June 2022, researchers discovered an unserved arrest warrant at the Leflore County, Mississippi, courthouse targeting Donham, who was identified in it as Mrs. Roy Bryant.

Tills cousin, Priscilla Sterling, filed the new legal complaint (pdf) on Feb. 7 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi. Leflore County Sheriff Ricky Banks is named as the sole defendant in the legal action.

Sterling wants the court to order the sheriff to serve the warrant on Donham and grant an order enjoining Defendant from the racially selective enforcement of law.

But for Carolyn Bryant falsely claiming to her husband that Emmett Till assaulted her, Emmett would not have been murdered. It was Carolyn Bryants lie that sent Roy Bryant and J.W. Milan into a rage, which resulted in the mutilation of Emmett Tills body into a [sic] unrecognizable condition, according to the complaint.

We are using the available means at our disposal to try to achieve justice on behalf of the Till family, Sterlings attorney Trent Walker of Jackson, Mississippi, told The Associated Press on Feb. 10. The Epoch Times reached out to Walker for comment but had not received a response as of press time.

Even if the warrant ends up being served on Donham, it is unclear what would happen next.

Donham, now 88, lives in Kentucky. She suffers from cancer, is legally blind, and is receiving end-of-life hospice care in a small apartment she shares with her son, according to The Daily Mail UK.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) concluded an investigation into the Till killing in December 2021 without recommending any new charges be brought. A 2017 book quoted Donham saying she lied when she said that Till whistled at her, grabbed her, and made sexual advances toward her, but the department said Donham told the FBI that she never took back the accusations against Till.

In August 2022, a grand jury in Leflore County refused to indict Donham on kidnapping and manslaughter charges. In an unpublished memoir obtained by the AP the month before, Donham claimed that her husband and Milan brought Till to her late at night so she could identify him. She claimed she tried to help Till by saying it wasnt him but that Till stepped forward and acknowledged he was the individual they were looking for. A grand jury in the state in 2007 also failed to issue new indictments in the case.

The DOJ had carried out a separate investigation in the Till case in 2004, which led to an exhumation of his body the following year. In 2007, then-President George W. Bush signed the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act into law. The statute allows cold cases involving suspected violent crimes committed against black Americans before 1970 to be reopened.

The Epoch Times reached out to the office of Sheriff Banks for comment but had not received a reply as of press time.
Three Denver bars were taken over by a 'bar crawl' by 100-plus Taylor Swift fans as they participated in a silent disco bar hopping event Saturday. The event was organized by MTN KDS, a social group based in Denver that brings people together with various activities.

The crawl had been in the works for some time, according to MTN KDS founder Jeffery Bowman.

"I've been wanting to do a Taylor Swift themed bar crawl for a long time, and got a lot of requests," Bowman said. "I thought it would be fun to do a half silent-disco and half out-loud bar crawl for a more unique experience."

A silent disco sees every participant get a pair of headphones where they can listen to music as they mingle with other fans and move from bar to bar. In this case, listeners had two channels to switch between, each playing a different album, according to Bowman.

The social group organizes activities like hikes, ski trips, happy hours and park gatherings, Bowman said. The gatherings help people make friends and "just have a good time in the Denver area," according to Bowman.

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Because the crawl made use of a silent disco, bars more easily accommodated the 130 participants, as there was no need to make use of the bar's sound systems. The crawl began at Jackson's LODO, with participants choosing between "Speak Now" and "Fearless," before heading to Hayters and finishing at Scruffy Murphy's bar. Other albums in the rotation were "Red" and "1989."

The crawl started at about 1 p.m. Saturday and finished around 5:30 p.m. According to Bowman, it was a resounding success.

"Everyone raved about the experience and the fun atmosphere," he said. "Plus Taylor Swift liked our TikTok video, which is pretty cool!"

The TikTok, posted by MTN Kids Saturday evening, has received almost 43,000 likes and over 677,000 views. Commenters have requested another similarly themed get-together, which was hinted at in replies MTN KDS made.

Bowman said conditions for the crawl were perfect and that he couldn't ask for better weather for the crawl. Though the high of 60 degrees did not crack the 73 degree record high, it was well above the "normal" high of 45 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.
Explosion in San Francisco Neighborhood Caused by Drug Factory, Police Department Says

SAN FRANCISCOThe explosion at a residence on 1700 Block of 22nd Avenue on Feb. 9 was caused by an active illegal narcotics manufacturing lab in that house, according to the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD).

The SFPD arrested 53-year-old male suspect Darron Price of San Francisco on Feb. 10.

The suspect was booked into San Francisco County Jail and will face felony charges of involuntary manslaughter, manufacturing narcotics, and two counts of child endangerment, the SFPD revealed in a press release late at night on Feb. 10.

The explosion occurred just before 9:20 a.m. on Feb. 9. It claimed the life of a woman in the building and badly injured another person. Two firefighters suffered minor injuries while putting out the fire.

Investigators from the SFPD/SFFD Arson Task Force, SFPD Narcotics were able to extract possible narcotics manufacturing equipment.

KTVU reported that what looked like cylindrical gas tanks and blue barrels were retrieved from the site of the explosion, and these tanks caused a hazardous material scare in Daly City while they were being transported for further analysis. The police evidence crew heard a hissing sound and had to stop the truck and wait for a hazmat crew to respond, according to KTVU.

Although fire officials did not reveal what the substance was, according to KTVUs report, some noted that the large tanks resembled closed-loop extraction systems, which use carbon dioxide and lab-grade butane or propane to extract highly purified cannabis products.

Both butane and propane are highly vaporable and highly flammable substances.

The SFPD said the death of the victim, which occurred on a premise where narcotics were being manufactured, is still under investigation.

Anyone with information is asked to call the SFPDs 24-hour Tip Line at (415)575-4444 or text a tip to TIP411 and begin the text message with SFPD.
FAA Alert: Area Around Super Bowl to Be Restricted by Fighter Jets

Four upgraded U.S.-made F-16 V fighters are seen in a file photo. (Sam Yeh/AFP via Getty Images)

The North American Aerospace Defense Command, also known as NORAD, will be conducting routine operations over the airspace in Phoenix during Super Bowl LVII, while the Federal Aviation Administration confirmed it will impose a temporary flight restriction over the area.

Pilots should anticipate a Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) in the Phoenix area on Sunday, February 12, 2023, according to the FAA in a recent news release. Typical TFRs limit the availability of certain operations, including glider operations, flight training, and unmanned aerial system (UAS) operations. Specific procedures described on this website and/or contained in an associated Notices To Air Missions (NOTAMs) may be revised or unavailable at the time of the event, and access to some airports may be restricted. Pilots are encouraged to check NOTAMs frequently to confirm they have the most current information.

A number of different airports around the Phoenix and Glendale areas have been subject to special restrictions, including local and municipal airports, the FAA release shows.

In an earlier release, the FAA said it expects the TFR will be active from 3:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. local time on Sunday, adding that it will entail a 10-nautical-mile inner core along with a 30-nautical-mile outer ring.

And FAA Western Regional Administrator Erik W. Amend told local media this weekend that temporary flight restrictions will take effect in both downtown Phoenix and Glendale, Arizona, this weekend. For example, drones are no longer allowed to be used from Thursday until Sunday night, when the Super Bowl is slated to conclude, he said.

We want to encourage everyone to leave their drones at home, Amend told the AZMirror.

An FBI official told the outlet that people should be advised not to fly drones anywhere in the restricted airspace. You will be caught. We have methods to identify who you are, FBI special agent Daniel Mayo said.

A spokesperson for NORAD told the Arizona Mirror that F-16 fighter jets will be patrolling the skies around Phoenix to intercept any aircraft that goes into the restricted airspace. The spokesperson said that there will be a number of different aircraft flying over the area, including advanced warning aircraft and tankers.

NORAD has been implementing security measures in the skies over Super Bowl-related airspace since 2002, according to the Military Times.

The activities and coordination we are conducting for the Super Bowl is what NORAD does year round to defend the air space of Canada and the U.S. from airborne threats, said former NORAD commander Gen. Terrence OShaughnessy said in a news release.

Recent Activity

The routine Super Bowl activity comes as the FAA confirmed that a portion of Montanas airspace was restricted on Saturday after an unidentified object was shot down over North America.

The FAA closed some airspace in Montana to support Department of Defense activities, the FAA said on Saturday night in a statement to multiple news outlets. And NORAD stated it had detected a radar anomaly and sent fighter aircraft to investigate the area.

The flight restriction was lifted a short while later, officials said.

Earlier Saturday, an American F-22 fighter jet shot down an unidentified cylindrical object over Canada, the second time such an object was shot down. U.S. officials have not disclosed what the object was or who was operating it.

Days before that, the U.S. shot down a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that had traveled over the United States. Much of the balloon was recovered, and officials confirmed it had the capacity to monitor U.S. communications.

The White House issued a statement on Saturday about the Canada incidents, saying that President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have agreed to continue close coordination to defend our airspace.

The leaders discussed the importance of recovering the object in order to determine more details on its purpose or origin, the statement said.
Federal Court Urged to Reverse FDA Approval of Abortion Pill

A group of national medical associations and doctors urged a federal court on Feb. 10 to order a federal regulator to reverse its two-decade-old approval of Mifepristone, a drug used for medication abortions that critics say endangers women who use it.

The abortion pill has become a focus of legal efforts by the pro-life movement since the Supreme Court overturned the 49-year-old Roe v. Wade precedent in June 2022, returning the regulation of abortion to the states, several of which have since banned or restricted abortions.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) temporarily lifted a requirement that women obtain the drug in person, allowing it to be mailed to consumers directly and purchased at pharmacies. The FDA, which has said Mifepristone is safe to use as late as the 10-week mark during a pregnancy, said in December 2021 it would make the policy change permanent.

Before that, the FDA in 2016 extended the permissible gestational age of the baby for which a girl or woman may take chemical abortion drugsfrom 7 weeks gestation to 10 weeks gestationwhich increased the mothers risk of complications, according to the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which is representing the plaintiffs.

The agency also has loosened policies governing the use of the abortion pill, such as altering the dosage and route of administration for the drugs, reducing the number of required in-person doctor visits to one from three, expanding who could prescribe and administer abortion drugs beyond medical doctors, and getting rid of the requirement for abortionists to report non-fatal complications from abortion drugs, ADF said.

The legal filing came in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, a lawsuit that was initiated in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas on Nov. 28, 2022.

In the legal action, the ADF is representing the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American College of Pediatricians, the Christian Medical and Dental Associations, and four physicians.

The FDA needs to be held responsible for its bad decisions, according to Erik Baptist, senior counsel for the ADF.

By illegally approving dangerous chemical abortion drugs, FDA officials put women and girls in harms way, and now its high time they were held accountable for their reckless actions, Baptist said in a statement that ADF provided to The Epoch Times.

Science was the FDAs first victim. Women and girls were soon to follow. We urge the court to listen to the doctors we represent who are seeking to protect women from the documented dangers of chemical abortion drugs.

Most Commonly Used Abortion Pill

The Mifepristone abortion pill is the most common means used to end pregnancies in the United States, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). A November 2022 CDC report said about 51 percent of abortions in 2020 were carried out using the pill at or before the ninth week of pregnancy. Pill abortions rose 22 percent from 2019 to 2020.

The FDA has harmed women and girls by approving chemical abortion drugs and removing commonsense safeguards, and in the process created countless victims of this dangerous drug regimen, according to the brief (pdf) that ADF filed in the lawsuit on Feb. 10.

The FDA has admitted  the agency never required or relied on a single study that evaluated the safety and effectiveness of these drugs under real-world conditions.

Without these vital studies, the harms that these drugs inflict on women are a heartbreaking, yet unsurprising, reality. The FDA also effectively conceded that its actions violated the plain letter of its regulations and federal laws.

The FDA previously told U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a Trump appointee, that taking Mifepristone off the market would drive those who want abortions to obtain riskier, more invasive solutions such as surgical abortions, The Epoch Times reported.

The public interest would be dramatically harmed by effectively withdrawing from the marketplace a safe and effective drug that has lawfully been on the market for twenty-two years, the agency said in a brief.

States recently filed briefs with the court on both sides of the issue.

Blocking access to this safe and effective medication is a dangerous attack on reproductive freedom and public health, said New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, on behalf of 22 Democratic attorneys general. Decades of medical and clinical research have proven that medication abortion is safe. Despite these facts and its widespread use, we know this is not a debate about science.

Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch, a Republican, countered on behalf of 22 Republican attorneys general, saying that Mifepristone is too easy to access.

The serious nature of the FDAs unlawful actions, and the agencys decision to invite lawbreaking by private parties and government actors across the country, favors broad relief. The FDA and the [Biden] Administration as a whole have no intention to respect the Constitution, the Supreme Court, or the democratic process when it comes to abortion, Fitch said.

FDA officials didnt respond by press time to a request by The Epoch Times for comment.

Naveen Athrappully contributed to this article.
NYC Workers Fired Over Refusing Vaccines Must Reapply for Jobs: Mayor

Thousands of protesters against the NYC vaccine mandates march along Brooklyn bridge into Manhattan, New York, on Oct. 26 (Sarah Lu/The Epoch Times)

New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Feb. 10 defended the firing of city employees who refused to comply with the now-sunsetting COVID-19 vaccine mandate, arguing that it just wasnt right for them to decline to get the jab.

Appearing on Caribbean Power Jam Radios The Reset Show, Adams was asked about the fate of the nearly 2,000 public employees who lost their jobs because of the vaccine requirement. The mayor responded that they will have to reapply for those jobs just like everyone else.

They can reapply for their jobs, Adams told host J.R. Giddings, noting that most city employees ended up taking the vaccine despite initial unwillingness.

More than 96 percent of city workers and more than 80 percent of residents have been vaccinated against COVID-19, according to city hall, which cited the high vaccination rates as the reason for the jabs not being optional.

If we didnt have that vaccine and we didnt have those mandates, we would have lost so many more lives, Adams said. And so New York has stepped up. They said, We dont want to do it. I dont want to get injected. I dont want to do this. This is new. But they stepped up anyway.

New Yorkers are known to resent being ordered to do things, Adams noted, but their culture in the face of the pandemic has shifted away from the mindset of resisting control to one of accepting government mandates.

No New Yorker wants anyone telling them anything, he said. Thats just who we are. We dont want to be mandated. We dont want anyone to tell us to put on a mask. Thats just who we are. So that was a cultural shift in our mindset to say, Were fighting this dangerous virus.'

As for New Yorkers who rejected the cultural shift and remained unvaccinated all this time, Adams said what they have been doing just wasnt right.

And so, those who made the determination that No, I still want to come into a work environment and Im not going to be vaccinated; No, I want to still ride the trains; I want to do whatever I want. That just wasnt right, the mayor said. They made a decision and the law was on our side that said we could mandate, and so they were removed.

Adams indicated that the city might at some point have to once again roll out public health mandates and fire employees who fail to comply.

Now that were seeing a normalization of COVID, there may be another time that were going to have to do mandates again because these viruses are not going away, he told the radio show host.

The mayors comments come while fired unvaccinated city workers continue to fight in court against what they see as unfair dismissal.

In October 2022, a Staten Island judge ordered that New York City workers who were terminated 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, ruling that the citys public health department overstepped its authority when issuing the mandate.

Meanwhile, in January, a state Supreme Court judge struck down a statewide vaccine mandate that was imposed on health care workers, declaring those requirements as null, void, and of no effect.

In true Orwellian fashion, the Respondents acknowledge then-current COVID-19 shots do not prevent transmission, New York Supreme Court Judge Gerard Neri wrote in the court opinion.
Former College Student Pleads Guilty to Deadly Sword Attack

HARTFORD, Conn.A former University of Connecticut student pleaded guilty to murder and other charges Wednesday for killing a man and severely wounding another with a sword in 2020one of two deadly attacks that led to a six-day manhunt in several states that ended with his capture in Maryland.

Peter Manfredonia, 26, from Newtown, Connecticut, agreed to a 55-year prison sentence during a hearing at Rockville Superior Court. Sentencing was set for April 20. He also is expected to plead guilty in connection with the second attack next week in state court in Milford, his lawyer said.

Manfredonia answered questions from the judge about the plea agreement during the hearing, but did not say anything else. He pleaded guilty to murder, assault, and home invasion.

States Attorney Matthew Gedansky said the victims and their families in both cases supported the plea bargain, which was the result of months of discussions.

It was a global resolution plea agreement between everybodya lot of discussion between the two states attorneys, the families of the victims  and the two judges, Gedansky said in a phone interview.

Manfredonias lawyer, Michael Dolan, called the plea agreement a fair resolution based on the evidence and seriousness of the charges. He said Manfredonia will plead guilty in the second case on Feb. 16 and receive another 55-year sentence, to run concurrently with the sentence in the other case.

Police and prosecutors said Manfredonia killed Ted DeMers, 62, and seriously wounded an 80-year-old man who lost several fingers and part of his ear in a Samurai sword attack in Willington on May 22, 2020.

Its not clear why Manfredonia attacked the men. But an acquaintance of Manfredonias lived near DeMers home and told police she stopped seeing him recently.

After the sword attack, police said Manfredonia broke into another mans house in Willington and held him hostage for about 24 hours before taking off with his truck and firearms. The man later told police that Manfredonia told him he just flipped.

Two days later, Manfredonia went to the Derby home of a high school friend, Nicholas Eisele, 23, and fatally shot him, authorities said. Manfredonia then forced Eiseles girlfriend into her car and fled the state, police said.

After Manfredonia let the woman go near Columbia, New Jersey, investigators tracked him to Pennsylvania, where police said he took an Uber to a Walmart in East Stroudsburg. Authorities searched the area but didnt find him. A man fitting his description was later spotted near Scranton, Pennsylvania, prompting another search there.

Police believe Manfredonia stole a car and abandoned it in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, before taking another Uber to Hagerstown, Maryland, where he was captured without incident when police spotted him near a truck stop.

Dolan, Manfredonias lawyer, said Manfredonia was having mental health problems at the time and it was difficult for him to get help during the first months of the coronavirus pandemic.

His mental health issues werent being addressed and unfortunately he had a psychotic episode, Dolan told The Associated Press Wednesday.

By Dave Collins
Ground Zero: In Turkeys Quake-Ravaged Kahramanmaras, There Are Tales of Griefand Joy

Turkish rescue workers carry Kamil Can Agdas to an ambulance after they pulled him out from a collapsed building five days after the earthquake, in Kahramanmaras, southern Turkey, on Feb. 11, 2023. (Ismail Coskun/IHA via AP Photo)

KAHRAMANMARAS, TurkeyMore than a week after Kahramanmaras became the epicenter of back-to-back earthquakes measuring 7.7 and 7.6 on the Richter scale, the scope of destruction in the southern Turkish province almost defies belief.

In central Kahramanmaras, entire neighborhoods have been flattened as a result of the Feb. 7 earthquakes. Dazed survivors congregate near mountains of rubble that were once multistory buildings, anxiously awaiting news of missing friends and family members.

My daughter-in-law and grandchild were both killed in the first quake, an elderly woman, who declined to give her name, told The Epoch Times. Now Im waiting for them to find my brother and nephew.

Pointing at a towering heap of wreckage, she asked, How could anyone survive that?

The twin quakes caused varying degrees of devastation in nine other provinces of southern Turkey, where a three-month state of emergency has since been imposed.

On Feb. 14, Turkeys official death toll stood at 31,974, with tens of thousands more reportedly injured. Both numbersespecially the firstare expected to rise even further as more bodies are pulled from the rubble. Syrias official death toll stood at 5,800, taking to total number of deaths from the disaster to 37,774.

A woman sits on the rubble of a destroyed building in Kahramanmaras, southern Turkey, a day after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck the countrys southeast, on Feb. 7, 2023. (Adem Altan/AFP via Getty Images)

Every Family Is Coping With Tragedy

Speaking with residents of central Kahramanmaras, one finds that virtually everyone has a harrowing story to tell.

I lost my mother, father, sister, and brother-in-law, along with their three children, when their building collapsed, Serife Durna, a local resident and mother of two, told The Epoch Times.

The only one to survive was my 1-year-old niece, she said, tearfully showing the little girls picture on her mobile phone. For us, shes like a miracle.

Durnas building is still standing, but shes unable to stay there amid fears of more tremors. She is currently staying at Kahramanmaras University, where she works as a lecturer, along with hundreds of others who have been rendered homeless.

Standing at her side, Durnas brother, who rushed from the capital city of Ankara after the quakes, said: The scope of destruction is unbelievable. Every family here is coping with its own tragedy.

According to Turkeys Environment Ministry, more than 41,500 buildings have been either destroyed or irreparably damaged by of the initial quakes and thousands of aftershocks that have continued to shake the region.

On Feb. 9, the southern provinces of Gaziantep and Elazig were both rattled again by a 4.4-magnitude tremor. The following day, a 4.2-magnitude aftershock reportedly shook Kahramanmaras, bringing down another three buildings.

But since the citys tall buildings have long been abandoned, no one was hurt.

Rescue workers try to rescue a 15-year-old girl trapped under the rubble, in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake in Kahramanmaras, Turkey, on Feb. 10, 2023. (@fire  Internationaler Katastrophenschutz/Handout via Reuters)

Occasional Joy Amid Devastation

An overwhelming sense of grief, which hangs over the city like a funeral pall, is occasionally punctuated by joyous tidings. On the evening of Feb. 10, the Turkish authorities announced that 67 people in quake-affected areas had been rescued over the previous 24 hours.

In Kahramanmaras, too, where the devastation is worst, survivors were still being found, thanks largely to the tireless efforts of rescue workers. On Feb. 9, a 1-year-old baby was pulled out alive from beneath the debris of a fallen building.

The following day, there was more good news, despite the passage of four days since the quakes and nighttime temperatures that frequently fell below freezing.

A short time ago, we heard someone shouting for help from under the rubble, the head of a rescue team from Turkeys Hayrat aid foundation told The Epoch Times.

She was trapped on the third floor of a collapsed building, with one of her legs stuck under a fallen column, the rescue worker, who did not give his name, said.

We managed to pull her out after lifting the column. Her name is Ayse; shes 18 years old. Shes now in stable condition and receiving treatment.

A view of the damage as the search for survivors continues, in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake in Kahramanmaras, Turkey, on Feb. 10, 2023. (Stoyan Nenov/Reuters)

An International Effort

Since the twin quakes struck on Feb. 7, volunteers from all over the world have flown to Turkey to assist ongoing search-and-rescue efforts.

A 104-member team from El Salvador, which arrived in the country on Feb. 8, worked around the clock in 10-hour shifts in the Sazibey district of Kahramanmaras.

As of Feb. 11, the team had found only dead bodies among the wreckage, but they still entertained hopes of finding survivors.

Our sniffer dogs and thermal cameras indicate that there are still people alive in there, team member Wilson Ernesto, 50, told The Epoch Times.

Ernesto, who works as a firefighter in El Salvador, also assisted rescue efforts in Haiti, which was devastated by a 7-magnitude quake in 2010 that killed an estimated 220,000 people.

Our country suffers frequent earthquakes, so we feel empathy for others when it happens to them, he said. Thats why we came.

Other volunteer search-and-rescue experts currently working in Kahramanmaras have come from as far afield as France, South Korea, Romania, Israel, and Australia.

Aerial photo shows the destruction in Kahramanmaras, southern Turkey, on Feb. 8, 2023. (Ahmet Akpolat/DIA via AP)

Turkeys Worst Natural Disaster in a Century

The mounting death toll has now surpassed that of a 7.6-magnitude earthquake that struck northwestern Turkey in 1999 and left more than 17,000 dead. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has described this weeks twin quakes as the countrys biggest natural disaster in a century.

Throughout history, the geographical area that is now modern-day Turkeywhich sits astride two major fault lineshas been prone to seismic activity. In 1939, more than 32,000 people were killed when a massive earthquake struck the countrys central Erzincan Province.

The Feb. 7 quakes were felt as far away as Cyprus, Lebanon, and Egypt. But the only other country to suffer comparable damage was Syria, which shares a 565-mile border with Turkey.

According to Syrian sources, more than 3,100 people were killed by the quakes in the countrys northern Idlib, Aleppo, Hama, Latakia, and Raqqa provinces.

In the meantime, survivors in Turkeys Kahramanmaras Province are struggling to come to terms with their grief.

After suffering such loss, I thought I was going to lose my mind, Durna said. But somehow well find the strength to bear all this pain.

Ive begun to feel peace.  I know I did my best for my family. Now I have nothing more to lose.
Hearing of BC Doctor Who Spoke Out Against COVID Protocols Postponed by Regulatory College

The first doctor in British Columbia to face a disciplinary hearing in front of the provinces College of Physicians and Surgeons related to COVID-19 protocol has had his review postponed.

Dr. Charles Hoffe from Lytton, B.C., was scheduled to begin his 10-day hearing before a college discipline committee panel on Feb. 13, but his lawyer, who spent several weeks in hospital recently, had applied multiple times to postpone the hearing so he could prepare. After a case conference on Feb. 7 and 8, the panel notified Hoffe and his lawyer of the adjournment on Feb. 9. A new date for his hearing has not yet been publicly announced.

Hoffe says hes relieved.

We initially asked for this adjournment seven and a half weeks ago, but the college was so reluctant to give it that theyve literally approved it four days before the trial starts, he told The Epoch Times.

Clearly, they have done this with great reluctance. But you know, time and truth go hand in hand, and with every passing week, more and more scientific evidence validates everything they have accused me of, showing they are wrong. So they clearly need to drop all of these absurd charges against me and all of the other doctors, and they need to go back to [being] the guardians of medical ethics, which is what theyre supposed to be.

In a citation issued to Hoffe in February 2022, the college alleged he contravened standards imposed under the Health Professions Act, including but not limited to the Canadian Medical Associations Code of Ethics and Professionalism by publishing statements on social media and other digital platforms that were misleading, incorrect or inflammatory about vaccinations, treatments, and public measure relating to COVID-19.

The citation listed three examples, with more left unnamed. Hoffe is accused of recommending ivermectin as a treatment for COVID and where to get it without a prescription; saying COVID vaccines can cause harm including neurological injuries, female infertility, and even death not recognized by public health; and expressing that vaccinated people can cause harm to those who remain vaccine free.

Support

Many of Hoffes supporters wrote to the college in recent weeks to show their opposition to any disciplinary action against Hoffe.

Former police officer Ivan DeSilva used to work with the college when he was a detective with the Vancouver Police Departments Sex Crimes and Child Abuse units, handling many of their investigations.

DeSilva now hosts his A Biblical Frame podcast. He has interviewed Hoffe on his podcast, having previously met him, and as a supporter he wrote a letter to the college speaking to Hoffes professionalism and integrity.

He says the college now operates with a different mandate than when he was with the Vancouver Police Department.

When I wrote this letter, I basically said there was a time when I worked with the college and their investigative body and saw how they did their investigations, DeSilva said in an interview. I developed respect for them, and it is out of that sense of high regard for them that Im surprised that theyre taking this approach with Dr. Hoffe because it doesnt seem to gel with the college I knew.

Now he says he wonders whether the college has become another political tool of the government.

DeSilva says the recent passing of Bill 36, the Health Professions and Occupations Act, suggests to him the B.C. government is looking to replace medical professionals in the provinces colleges with government bureaucrats, which could compromise their integrity.

The Epoch Times reached out to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia but did not receive a reply.

Controversy

Hoffe created controversy in April 2021 when he wrote an open letter to B.C. Provincial Health Officer Bonnie Henry describing the severe adverse events some of his patients were experiencing after receiving the COVID vaccines, and asking whether the province should reconsider the rollout.

In our small community of Lytton, BC, we have one person dead, and three people who look as though they will be permanently disabled, following their first dose of the Moderna vaccine. The age of those affected ranges from 38 to 82 years of age, he wrote.

Before writing the letter, Hoffe had been censored from communicating with other doctors about side effects and the person he was told to direct all of his questions to at Interior Health ignored his repeated requests to address his concerns, he says. He was banned from working in provincial hospitals and all of his submissions of vaccine adverse events were overturned and deemed to be coincidence.

Former Newfoundland and Labrador premier Brian Peckford also wrote to the college in support of Hoffe and highlighted its lack of adherence to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, a document he helped create.

I urge you to abandon your present course and permit Dr. Hoffe to continue his excellent medical practice providing care in freedom, valuing the right of the person and in practicing the principle of doing no harm, Peckford wrote.

May I remind you of the Charter provision of life, liberty and security of the person. This is in Canadas most important document, our Constitution.

The Epoch Times contacted the B.C. Ministry of Health asking about oversight of the college and whether provisions in Bill 36 were designed to provide additional protections to the college or its members, but did not receive a response by press time.
Unidentified Cylindrical Object in Canadian Airspace Shot Down by NORAD Team: Trudeau

A U.S. plane in a joint operation with Canada has shot down an unidentified object detected in Canadian airspace on the order of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Trudeau posted about the decisive action on Twitter on Saturday: I ordered the take down of an unidentified object that violated Canadian airspace. @NORADCommand shot down the object over the Yukon.

Canadian and U.S. aircraft were scrambled, and a U.S. F-22 successfully fired at the object, he said.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) had posted on Twitter shortly before Trudeaus announcement that it had detected the object flying at high altitude over Canada.

NORAD is a binational military command that oversees aerospace warning, aerospace control, and maritime warning for North America. It answers to the heads of state of both the United States and Canada.

Trudeau said that he and Biden had discussed taking down the object, and thanked NORAD for keeping watch over North America.

I spoke with President Biden this afternoon. Canadian Forces will now recover and analyze the wreckage of the object. Thank you to NORAD for keeping the watch over North America.  Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) February 11, 2023

The object was shot down over the Yukon in northwest Canada, which borders Alaska. Canadian Forces will now be working to recover the wreckage for analysis, Trudeau and Defense Minister Anita Anand said.

The small cylindrical object, smaller than the Chinese spy balloon was downed at 40,000 feet (12,200 meters) at 3:41 p.m. local time, Anand said.

Both Canadian and U.S. aircraft were involved in the takedown operation, but Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said the object was shot down using an AIM 9X missile by a U.S. F-22, the same type of plane that took down the Chinese balloon last week after it was allowed to fly over the whole continental United States.

According to the U.S. State Department, the balloon of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)which was inspected by a U-2 spy plane at high altitudewas just one of many already deployed by Beijing to spy on over 40 countries across five continents.

In response to the airspace intrusion, the Biden administration has since blacklisted six China-based entitiesfive companies and one research institutelinked to the CCPs aerospace and technology companies. The restrictions will make it harder for the companies and one research institute to obtain American technology exports.

The U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security said the six entities were being targeted for their support to Chinas military modernization efforts, specifically the Peoples Liberation Armys (PLA) aerospace programs including airships and balloons.

The PLA is utilizing High Altitude Balloons (HAB) for intelligence and reconnaissance activities, it said.

The six entities are Beijing Nanjiang Aerospace Technology Co., China Electronics Technology Group Corporation 48th Research Institute, Dongguan Lingkong Remote Sensing Technology Co., Eagles Men Aviation Science and Technology Group Co., Guangzhou Tian-Hai-Xiang Aviation Technology Co., and Shanxi Eagles Men Aviation Science and Technology Group Co.

NORAD did not comment on what the unidentified object over Canada could be.

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), said in a statement: As operations continue off of Alaskas north coast to recover the debris from the object shot down yesterday, I also greatly appreciate all of the Air Guardsmen from the Rescue Triad who are engaged in those critical efforts, which are taking place in harsh conditions and terrain.

It is those difficult operations that will allow us to determine what these objects are and who is violating our sovereignty.

The shooting was the third such incident over North America after the CCP admitted to the intrusion of its surveillance balloon in early February. The original of the latest flying object is still unknown.

Just a day earlier, the United States also shot down a second object, yet to be identified, flying over Alaska.

While U.S. authorities have said that the object did not appear to be a balloon like the earlier incident, it was flying in a way that posed a threat to the safety of civilian flights, which sparked the takedown order.

I join my fellow delegation members in expecting answers from our military leaders for how unidentified objects have been able to infiltrate our airspace in recent weeks  The Defense Department must thoroughly investigate and close this gap in our domain awareness. Continued violations of sovereign American airspace cannot be allowed, Rep. Mary Sattler Peltola (D-Alaska) said in a statement.

Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) said in a statement that the U.S. military is working to eliminate this unprecedented challenge.

U.S. lawmakers and China current affairs commentators have said they believe the timing of the CCPs spy balloon to be linked with the now-canceled diplomatic visit with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.
Ryan and Colin Pyle bike to Inner Mongolia, bunking down for a night in a yurt village before visiting one of Chinas largest wind farms. Then, heading away from the idyllic grassland and rolling green hills, they strike the worlds largest traffic jam.
Metro to Sydneys New Aerotropolis Now a Step Closer

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet addresses the media in relation to poker machines in Sydney, Australia, on Feb. 6, 2023. (AAP Image/Bianca De Marchi)

A major extension of Sydneys metro rail project is on track, including the link to the citys new airport.

While always part of the New South Wales governments vision, the metro connection with the western Sydney aerotropolis is now a step closer to reality following the successful completion of other key sections of the network.

The government announced on Sunday it would undertake final business cases for four routesTallawong to St Marys, Westmead to the aerotropolis, Bankstown to Glenfield via Liverpool, and Macarthur to the aerotropolis.

The process will help direct government spending and determine which line needs to be started first.

With Western Sydney International Airport due to open in 2026, the airport metro is being jointly-funded and delivered by the federal and state governments.

Premier Dominic Perrottet said in total the extension would add around 100 kilometres of track in Sydneys west to the ongoing Metro project.

Sydney Metro is Australias biggest public transport project and is already re-shaping this city and transforming how we move around, he said.

These new lines will complete the missing links in the metro network in the west and connect our city like never before in what will be a major win for the people of western Sydney.

Infrastructure, cities and active transport minister Rob Stokes said the aerotropolis residential and business hub was turning paddocks into a thriving city around the future airport.

Our ambition is to complete the Metro network that we started when we first came to government, he said.

By starting this work now, were putting the aerotropolis on a strong footing to be one of the most accessible cities in Australia for people on bikes, cars, planes or trainsconnected to a new airport, active transport network and world-class metros and motorways.

Opposition leader Chris Minns said existing metro projects were already billions of dollars over budget, adding his party would release its own public transport plan for Western Sydney before the election.

Many of the projects that were started by former premier Gladys Berejiklian are now wildly off the rails effectively, he said.

Now, Mr Perrottet is talking about the next iteration but he hasnt explained how and why the costs associated with Metro West and Southwest Metro have exploded.

At the start of this month, the final track was laid connecting the new Sydney Metro City and Southwest line with the existing North West line at Chatswood, which Perrottet described as a milestone.

Services from Chatswood to Sydenham are scheduled to commence in 2024, then on to Bankstown the following year.
A suspect in a stabbing incident was taken into custody by Kansas law enforcement in the early morning hours of Feb. 12, near Lawrence, Kansas, the Douglas County Sheriff's Office reported in a press release Sunday.

The suspect, identified as Michael Sharpe, 42, left the scene in the victims car. An arrest warrant was obtained, with current charges of 1st-degree assault/domestic violence related.

Through the investigation, detectives were able to determine that he may be in the Lawrence, Kansas area, the agency said.

Early Sunday morning the suspect was contacted by the Kansas State Patrol and taken into custody without incident.

"We are extremely grateful to the Kansas State Patrol for their diligence in apprehending this suspect, Sheriff Weekly said. To our detectives, who worked non-stop on this case, they are the best in the business. If you hurt people in Douglas County, we will track you down and bring you to justice.

A mugshot of Sharpe is not available at this time and this is still an ongoing investigation with more information being released when available.
Michael Taube: After Torys Resignation, What Will the New Mayor of Torontos Agenda Ultimately Be?

Commentary

Politics can be a cruel master at times. Some politicians have had periods of fiery success resembling a mighty phoenix. Others have watched the flames fizzle out in a slow burnand, in some cases, the most dramatic fashion imaginable.

The latter is what happened to Toronto Mayor John Torys career in the blink of an eye.

He had easily won his third consecutive mayoral term last November. No significant political opponents ran against him. A majority of Toronto voters were content with his policies and keeping him in power. Left-leaning city councillors had been able to work successfully with their left-leaning conservative (or Red Tory) mayor. If he finished what he claimed was his final term in office, he would become the longest-serving Toronto mayor in history.

Torys position seemed secure. Then it all came crashing down.

On Feb. 10, the Toronto Star put out a bombshell story that the 68-year-old Tory had had an affair with an unnamed 31-year-old former staffer during the COVID-19 pandemic. Theres no specific law in Ontario that prohibits workplace romances, even between bosses and staffers. Nevertheless, the Toronto city councils code of conduct specifically states members should perform their duties and arrange their private affairs in a manner that promotes public confidence and bears close public scrutiny.

Tory has been married to his wife, Barbara, for over 40 years. Hes always promoted himself as a family man. Yet, he had done something that was wrong, immoral, and off-brand to the nth degree. As an experienced politician, he knew this would be impossible to recover from.

Tory acknowledged he had made a serious error in judgment and resigned within an hour of the storys release. He apologized to his wife, children, and the people of Toronto at a hastily arranged press conference. It has been the job of a lifetime, he said, and while I have let them and my family down in this instance, I have nonetheless been deeply honoured by the opportunity to serve the people of this wonderful city and I believe that I did some good for the city, that I did make a positive difference for the city that I truly love particularly during the pandemic.

What happens now?

Jennifer McKelvie, Torontos deputy mayor, will replace Tory as per the City of Toronto Act. Councillors will meet to declare the mayors position vacant, and have up to 60 days to pass a bylaw and declare a byelection. Prospective candidates will then be given between 30-60 days to file nomination papers, and election day will occur within 45 days.

McKelvie, and whoever becomes the next full-time mayor of Toronto, will have many difficult things on his or her plate to deal with.

The city isnt as safe as it used to be. Toronto Police Services public safety portal noted the city experienced a significant 17.8 percent increase in major crimes in 2022. This includes assaults (9.8 percent), robberies (28.5 percent), and auto thefts (44.2 percent).

Homelessness is a growing concern. There were 110 people who died in Torontos homeless shelters last year, a number that a formerly homeless person told the CBC was mind-bogglingly high. It also led to spikes in people living on Torontos streets, getting involved in crime, doing drugsand, in some cases, perishing from these activities.

Transit is a mess. Tory spent an estimated $8 billion on his still-unfinished SmartTrack plan for transit. He spearheaded a proposed $53-million subsidy increase in this years municipal budget for the Toronto Transit Commission, bringing the total subsidy to nearly $1 billion. Regardless, TTC fees for passengers will hike up another 10 cents.

Torontos economy has declined, too. A staggering 2022 budget shortfall of $703 million due to COVID-19 spending is the reason why. In a December 2022 press release, Tory announced a motion supported by city council urging the Government of Canada to honour its election campaign commitment and join the Province of Ontario in supporting the City of Torontos 2022 COVID-19 budget shortfall.

Another major problem is on the horizon, too. Most of the likely mayoral candidates in the byelection will either be centre-left or far left. Torys ideas and policies havent been consistently conservative, but they were largely pro-business and satisfactory to Toronto-based Tories and Liberals. His replacement could potentially end up being far worse for the citys already-weakened political health and economic well-being.

The provincial government does have the right to intervene, modify the rules, and appoint a new mayor. Whether Ontario Premier Doug Ford will do this remains to be seen.

One unexpected resignation has led to a domino effect of forthcoming headaches in Torontos municipal arena. The masters cruel laugh was heard far and wide, indeed.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Michigan Woman Accused of Fatal Hit-and-Run Flees to Thailand: Authorities

Police tape is stretched across a street in a file photo. (Mark Makela/Getty Images)

OAKLAND TOWNSHIP, Mich.Authorities believe a Michigan woman fled to Thailand to avoid the consequences of a hit-and-run crash that killed a suburban Detroit college student on New Years Day.

Tubtim Sue Howson, 57, was charged Monday with a federal crime related to her sudden one-way flight to Bangkok on Jan. 3.

Benjamin Kable, 22, was struck while walking before dawn on an Oakland County road on Jan. 1. The Michigan State University student, who was home for the holidays, died at the scene.

A state charge of failing to stop at a serious accident was filed on Feb. 2.

Howson, a United States citizen, is originally from Thailand and allegedly told a close associate after the crash that she thought she killed somebody and she was going back to Thailand, FBI agent Matthew Schuff said in a court filing.

When encouraged to turn herself in to police, Howson allegedly stated, no cops, no cops, Schuff said.

The United States and Thailand have an extradition treaty.

I call on the Thai government to extradite her so we can hold her accountable for her actions involving this young mans tragic death, Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard said.
Niger Says at Least 10 Soldiers Killed in Insurgent Ambush

NIAMEYAt least 10 Nigerien soldiers were killed in an ambush, and more than a dozen others were injured by armed assailants near the West African Sahel nations border with neighboring Mali, Nigers defense minister said in a statement on Saturday.

Around 16 people are missing following the attack on Friday evening in Banibangou near Mali, Alkassoum Indattou said in a statement, adding that air force support forced the insurgents to flee across the border into Mali.

Niger, alongside neighbors Mali and Burkina Faso are struggling to quell terrorists linked to al-Qaeda and ISIS terrorist groups who carry out raids, and control swathes of territories in the vast Sahel region.
Object Over Yukon Shot Down Because It Posed Threat to Civilian Aircraft, Trudeau Says

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks to the media in Ottawa before boarding a flight to the Yukon on Feb. 12, 2023. (The Canadian Press/ Patrick Doyle)

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Feb. 12 that the unidentified cylindrical object detected in northern Canadian airspace and shot down yesterday represented a threat to aircraft.

Trudeau said the object entered unlawfully Canadian airspace and represented a reasonable threat to civilian aircraft. He said he gave the order, to take it down, and recovery teams are on the ground, looking to find and analyze the object.

The prime minister said he had spoken with U.S. President Joe Biden yesterday and confirmed together that we will continue to do everything necessary to protect the sovereignty of our shared North American airspace, but also to do everything necessary to keep our citizens safe.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), a joint venture between the United States and Canada to provide air defence for both countries, dispatched two F-22 jets from a military base in Anchorage, Alaska, and shot down the object over Yukon with an AIM 9X missile.

Canadian and U.S. aircraft were scrambled, and an American F-22 successfully shot down the object, Trudeau told reporters on the morning of Feb. 12 prior to leaving on a pre-planned trip to Whitehorse, Yukon.

This is the third instance this month where unidentified objects over North American airspace have been shot down, but this is the first one downed over Canadian airspace.

A balloon alleged to be a Chinese high-altitude surveillance balloon was shot down on Feb. 4 over water off the coast of South Carolina. Debris landed approximately 6 miles off the coast in water about 47 feet deep, near Myrtle Beach. The U.S. State Department indicated on Feb. 9 that the balloon was part of a fleet of alleged Chinese spy balloons launched to surveil more than 40 countries across five continents, reported The Washington Post.

A second unidentified high-altitude object, said to be the size of a small car, was shot down on Feb. 10 by a U.S. F-22 aircraft off the coast of Alaska, reported the U.S. Department of Defence. U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Feb. 10 that it was much smaller than the first downed balloon and did not have a significant payload.

The third object was identified flying over Canadian airspace on the afternoon of Feb. 11 and shot down at 3:41 p.m. ET, flying at about 40,000 feet north of Whitehorse, according to Canadian Defence Minister Anita Anand.

Shot Down

Anand said that this was the first time that a NORAD operation has downed an aerial object.

Anand said the object posed a reasonable threat to the safety of civilian flight and the object was taken down approximately 100 miles from the Canada-United States border over Canadian territory in central Yukon.

We have no further details about the object at this time, other than it appears to be a small cylindrical object, and smaller than the one that was downed off the coast of [South] Carolina, Anand said.

Today is a historic day. Canada and the United States will continue to work together through the binational command of NORAD to defend our two nations. And I will recognize again the importance of this extremely close relationship that we have with the United States, she said.

Major Olivier Gallant, a spokesperson for NORAD, said on Feb. 11 that while we cannot discuss specifics related to these activities at this time, please note that NORAD conducts sustained, dispersed operations in the defence of North America through one or all three NORAD regions.

Gallant also said that military aircraft are currently operating from Alaska and Canada in support of (NORAD) activities.

U.S. news reports indicated the object was first spotted by NORAD on the evening of Feb. 10 over Alaskan airspace.

Two F-22 aircraft from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, monitored the object over U.S. airspace with the assistance of Alaska Air National Guard refuelling aircraft, tracking it closely and taking time to characterize the nature of the object, Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, said in a statement.

A Feb. 11 Twitter update from U.S. Northern Command of NORAD indicated recovery operations are continuing near Deadhorse, Alaska, to retrieve the second object shot down over U.S. airspace. Activities are occurring on sea ice and efforts are being hampered by sea ice and Arctic weather conditions, including wind chill, snow, and limited daylight.

The Canadian Press and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Parents Rein In Rogue Sex Education in Michigan Schools

Kindsey Nelson (L) and Monica Yatooma at a parental rights meeting in St. Clari Shores, Mich. on Oct. 14, 2022. (Courtesy of Monica Yatooma)

LEXINGTON, MichiganLong-standing Michigan laws have become a new weapon for a group of aspiring education reformers seeking to guard school children in the state against what they call illegal hyper-sexualization and other woke teachings.

Activists concerned about what they were seeing in the states public schools recently formed a non-profit, non-partisan organization they call the Great Schools Initiative (GSI). They aim to help parents keep children from being exposed to teachings about gender change, sexual practices, and other concepts that they believe are harmful.

Co-founder Monica Yatooma, who has no children in a public school, became alarmed when she heard friends speak of things happening at their childrens public schools. Shocking news updates also caught her attention. It sounded like an effort to indoctrinate children in her communitys public schools about sexuality.

Yatooma began researching the websites of school districts in her state, where she saw evidence of programs espousing the teachings of critical race theory (CRT) and the hyper-sexualization of students through exposure to gender ideology, she said. Thats where GSI came from.

Michigan parental rights activist Monica Yatooma. (Courtesy of Monica Yatooma)

Now, she and others are using the groups efforts to help parents statewide.

Our goal is to bring back orthodox education and to improve our schools, the groups co-founder Nathan Pawl told The Epoch Times. Our immediate mission is to protect the safety and privacy of every student and to restore parental control over what their child is being taught in school.

Human sexuality is a highly sensitive subject, Pawl said. It often implicates family structure, religion, and the maturity levels, both physically and spiritually, of school children.

Uninvolved parents have let their schools run unchecked for years in the realm of sex education, he said.

Digging for Solutions

As GSI activists began investigating, they uncovered significant problems in numerous districts.

Group members began attending school board meetings more regularly, hearing stories from other parents, and researching state laws looking for solutions, Pawl said.

We discovered that Michigan has very strong and wise statutes on the books dealing with sex education and parental rights dating back to the mid-1970s.

GSI researchers found that Michigan law does not mandate that schools teach sex education, with the exception of lessons on HIV and AIDS. If sex-ed is taught, it cannot be a requirement for graduation.

These laws do not prohibit the existence of LGBTQ students, nor do they prohibit a school from teaching about a wide range of sex education topics, Pawl said.

Rather, these laws wisely restrict sex education to specific courses and class sections, with an approved curriculum, to be taught by an instructor qualified to teach sex education, GSI wrote in a blog posted on its website.

An illustration encouraging children to think of gender as a spectrum was distributed by Gorham High School in Maine. (Courtesy of a student who asked to be identified as HB)

GSI members realized that under existing Michigan law, parents must be notified before a sex-ed course is presented to their children. They have a right to preview lesson content and materials and to observe the instruction at reasonable, agreed-upon times.

The laws also say that parents have the right to opt out of the class without penalty or negative ramifications to the student, such as loss of credit. An opt-out can be accomplished by filing a written notice with the school.

But most parents are unaware of these provisions in the law, GSI members said.

Michigan law solidifies the role of the family, especially parents, and allows them to decide what pace to set for their children with regard to learning about human sexuality, Yatooma said. The statutes assert the necessary parental control that parents have. A parent always knows the child best.

Its important, she said, to protect the innocence of all of our children for as long as possible and set common-sense standards and boundaries to protect their safety and privacy.

In their digging, GSI members also realized that the Michigan statutes mandate that any school district desiring to create or change a sex-education program must form a sex education advisory board tasked with reviewing proposed plans, setting goals and objectives, and providing community input to the school board. And at least once every two years, the board must report to parents on the status of the programs goals and objectives.

Boards are to be comprised of pupils, parents, educators, local clergy, and community health professionals. At least half of the members must have children enrolled in a school in the district. Without such a board, a school district may not teach sex education, Michigan law says.

GSI now is encouraging parents and others to see if their local school districts have a sex education advisory board in place, verify its makeup, and check to be sure its doing what the law requires.

Parents Unaware of Their Rights

Many Michigan parents are not aware of the power they already have under existing state law to withdraw their children from lessons, activities, discussions, books, videos, and other materials they find inappropriate, Pawl said.

GSI aims to inform and educate parents, but also take impactful actions, he said.

The group has teamed up with the Thomas More Society to draft the Michigan Parental Education Opt-Out Form. The Thomas More Society is a non-profit, national, public-interest law firm providing pro bono legal services to individuals or groups fighting to restore respect in law for life, family, and religious liberty and to preserve democracy through election integrity efforts.

The four-page opt-out form theyve created, which is free online, leaves school administrators with little wiggle room to dismiss parental opt-out requests on technicalitiessomething some school districts have already attempted to do, Pawl said.

We have provided a comprehensive list of dozens of examples of situations, topics, and items that parents may reasonably find objectionable, Pawl said.

The list includes distribution of birth control and providing references to abortion clinics; gender ideology and gender modification surgery information; sexual attraction; teachings or discussions on sensual topics; non-grammatical use of pronouns inconsistent with biology; display and distribution of LGBT materials, books, and flags; and the furnishing of clothing for cross-dressing.

Rogue Sex Education

The GSI form addresses both the approved sex-education class and the informal instruction involving sexuality that goes on throughout the school day during the time allotted for other subjects, Pawl said.

GSI considers such informal instruction rogue, because it hasnt been reviewed and recommended by a sex education advisory board and approved by the local school board.

Also considered rogue sex ed are class chats about sexuality with teachers not certified to teach sex education and the injection of gender identity and sexual orientation into lessons and activities outside the confines and structure of an approved sex education class.

Schools have allowed and encouraged sex education to be permeated into much more than the few classes listed on the schools opt-out form, reads a statement on GSIs website.

Thats why the new form created by GSI activists with the help of Thomas More Society lawyers is so needed, members told The Epoch Times.

In just a few days more than 200 parents used the GSI opt-out form, and about 10 school districts have accepted it, Yatooma said.

State Education Officials Respond

The Michigan Department of Education (MDE) issued a memo on Feb. 2 to provide guidance to local school superintendents on how to handle the flurry of parents opting their children out of sex education.

The MDE position is that the statutory parental opt-out option applies only to board-approved sex education classes.

These requirements are specific to sex education classes within a health course or unit  and should not be construed to apply to classes or course content outside that scope.

Policies and procedures for excusing a student from participating in courses and content areas other than the sex education classes within a health education program, such as an English or Social Studies course, are not provided for in  state law, the memo reads, in part.

Such policies are to be determined at the local district level, subject to any relevant state and federal conditions, the MDE memo says.

In rebuttal, Pawl cited former Michigan Attorney General Frank Kelleys Opinion 5881 issued on April 21, 1981, which he believes supports GSIs position.

Kelley opined that Michigan law prohibits a board of education of a school district from including any sex education instruction in any class or course that students are required to take.

Also, in support of GSIs position, Pawl referred to the portion of the MDE memo, which states, By law, sex education classes must be taught by a person qualified to teach health education.

It is clear, Pawl said, that a teacher that is not certified in sex education has no business infusing a math or social studies class with information pertaining to gender or sexual orientation. It is illegal.

A statement on GSIs website characterizes these situations as violations of privacy and a safety issue when teachers, counselors, or administrators have conversations or solicit private information through polls, quizzes, and other communications about human sexuality  This would include promotion of any and all sexual ideologies.

Pawl contends that state law requires that this type of activity be confined to sex education advisory board-reviewed and school board-approved sex education classes only.

In contrast, the MDE memo advises school administrators that activities and materials outside of the approved sex-education instructional program, such as communications, library holdings, surveys, after-school programs, and student-led non-curricular clubs  would not be subject to the sex education excusal provisions specified in statute.

Laws Being Ignored or Circumvented

GSI alleges that, for a number of reasonsincluding ignorancestate laws on sex education are being ignored by some schools, and intentionally skirted by others.

As evidence, Pawl cites an MDE informational video about a suburban Detroit 5th- and 6th-grade language arts and social studies teacher.

The instructor announces in the video that every year on the first day of school he reads aloud to his class the book I Am Jazz: The Real-Life Experience of a Transgender Child by LGBT activist Jazz Jennings.

A book bin in the classroom overflows with other LGBT titles.

The teacheralso chairperson of his schools Diversity Committee and a former Michigan Teacher of the Yearsays he uses the reading to show his students that they can be comfortable talking about LGBT issues with him whenever and wherever they need to.

The video shows his classroom door covered with LGBT pride signs, stickers, and emblems. The teacher points out the rainbow-hued gay pride flag and transgender flag on display as tools that he says he uses to stimulate discussion and help create a safe and inclusive space for all students.

GSI members object to that.

Nobody can display a Playboy flag in the classroom and claim it is a benign symbol and conversation starter, Pawl said. Flags are a tool that represents something and that begs questions.

Another Michigan Department of Education video shows a consultant advising teachers not to risk outing students by organizing LGBT club meetings for after school, when parents will be picking up their children.

Instead, the consultant suggests, teachers should hold such club meetings at lunch hour.

Teachers are told to avoid club names that suggest an obvious LGBT theme, in favor of more innocuous names, such as Diversity Club or Spectrum or Social Support Club, according to the video.

In another MDE instructional video, psychologist Amorie Robinson, known locally as Dr. Kofi Adoma, instructs teachers on how to handle things like gender identity, name changes, and personal pronouns.

Gender fluidity is a normal process, Robinson says, and should be addressed with children aged 35 through something she calls psycho-ed. She advises teachers to employ a psycho-ed approach at school-wide events, such as Coming Out Day and Gay History Month.

Forcing Their Agenda on Students

A reasonable person cannot help but conclude that the LGBT agenda in our schools is being driven on purpose by the Michigan Department of Education with help from well-funded national non-profit organizations, Pawl said.

It is evident that teachers and administrators are being taught how to cloak their activities, and, in some cases, actively circumvent the law in order to force their agenda on students. This comes at a time when so many parents tell us of the atrocious academic proficiency of their schools.

Erick G. Kaardal, special counsel for the Thomas More Society. (Courtesy of Erick G. Kaardal)

GSI wants to cooperate with school boards, administrators, and teachers to improve policies to provide the safety, privacy, and parental control which Michigan families deserve, Erick G. Kaardal, special counsel for the Thomas More Society, told The Epoch Times.

GSI hopes that most of the issues can be resolved through the parental complaint administrative process without litigation, he said, but added that litigation remains an option for GSI, if that doesnt work.

The Michigan Parent Alliance for Safe Schools, an LGBT rights advocacy group, did not respond to a request for comment.

GSI also will help families file complaints, the groups members told The Epoch Times.

Those children are not the states property, Yatooma said.

The system is trying to form the thoughts and mindset of the next generation. They are forcing a subset of ideologies about sex and race on these vulnerable young minds that most of their parents do not agree with.
Pick-Your-Own Adventure as Sunflower Season Blooms in Australia

The eastern states of Australia will turn yellow throughout February and March, the typical sunflower season. (Antonino Visalli/Unsplash)

In the middle of the drought, Jenny Jenners husband bought her a bunch of sunflowers from the supermarket.

The Queensland farmer put them in a vase on her kitchen bench, where she admired their thick manes of bright yellow petals and big round faces.

As the Jenners started running out of water during the historic dry spell, this sweet and simple marital gesture changed their luck.

I thought these will be easy to grow,' Jenner said.

Now one million sunflowers are waiting to burst into bloom on their farm at Kalbar, in the Scenic Rim region, replacing the acres of lucerne they used to grow.

The 22-acre sunflower crop is a few metres from their back door, a constant happy presence.

Theyre just like people: theres some tall ones, some short ones, skinny ones, fat ones, some that are just special.

Youd think that because theres a million theyre all exactly the same, but theyre not.

The couple is hosting the third Kalbar Sunflower Festival over three days from March 10, an idea inspired by other farmers frustrations at tourists trampling through their crops to take photos.

Seeing an opportunity, the Jenners built walking tracks through their field allowing festival-goers to pose for photos, get lost in a sunflower maze and dine and dance through the towering stalks.

Theyre a really happy flower. Ive never seen anybody leave without a smile on their face, Jenner said.

The eastern states of Australia will turn yellow throughout February and March, the typical sunflower season. Major commercial crops grow in Queensland and NSW, though farms are springing to life in Victoria and Western Australia too.

According to the Australian Sunflower Association, which represents growers, the flowers were grown for oil and margarine throughout the 1970s, before moving towards monounsaturated oil varieties as consumers became more health-conscious.

The association says there is a growing market here and in Asia for bird seed, livestock feed, confectionary, oils and spreads.

For Victorian farmer Laiken Britt, growing sunflowers is a way to do her own thing on the familys dairy, cattle and sheep operation at Dunnstown, near Ballarat.

We have four boys, so I said Im sick of doing all this boy stuff, lets grow something for me, Ms Britt said.

While some locals laughed at her for growing sunflowers in a climate too cool to harvest the seeds, Ms Britt decided to open the crop to visitors, charging $2 per stem.

Her pick-your-own business attracts huge crowds every season, often mothers and daughters holidaying together, couples celebrating weddings or births and families forging new traditions in a field of flowers.

Its the best job you could ever think of, she said.

My husband is the blokiest bloke you can imagine and hell be down there frolicking around, helping the old ladies cut their flowers.

It feels like a community. Theyre real enthusiasts, those sunflower lovers.
Few virtues are as important in the profession of law enforcement as honesty.

The Wyandotte Police Department (WPD) in Michigan made this point crystal clear when they announced that one furry, four-legged officer in their ranks was guilty of stealing! And from a fellow officer no less.

The WPD took to Facebook to air the matter with the public, for, as the saying goes, sunlight is the best disinfectant for purging corruption. Well let the posts tell the story, though well mention that this particular officer was recently let off the hook!

Our readers may determine for themselves if justice was served.

A mugshot of Officer Ice, whose investigation for stealing was pending until later retracted. (Courtesy of Wyandotte Police Department  Michigan)

On Jan. 12, the WDP stated solemnly:

It saddens me to report that a current officer of the Wyandotte Police Department is under investigation for stealing!

The incident happened two days ago at the station. Ofc. Barwig was eating lunch in the breakroom when he was called to assist with a person in the WPD jail. He quickly jumped into service, leaving his half eaten lunch on the table. A short while later Barwig and another officer returned to the breakroom only to find Ofc. Ice leisurely strolling out of the room licking his chops. Barwigs entire lunch was gone.disappeared, vanished!

Ofc. Ice has invoked his fifth amendment right to remain silent and quite frankly is not cooperating with the investigation. He has a history of rummaging through trash cans that are within his reach. There have been several other accusations of him taking food right from coworkers hands as they walk by.

WPD will consider our Facebook followers opinions on how to proceed with this investigation.

Then, in a post on January 18, the Department updated on officer Ices situation:

(Left) Officer Ice is awarded lunch as compensation for the wrongful accusation. (Right) Sandwiches were also served for the officers of the Wyandotte Police Department. (Courtesy of Wyandotte Police Department  Michigan)

Dozens of attorneys have offered to defend Ofc Ice pro- o!

We have been threatened with massive protests if we move forward with our investigation and/or charges.

Plus the overall public just doesnt believe he is guilty. No video has been produced.

That being said Ofc Ice will not face any internal discipline or criminal charges.

Matter of fact one of his local supporters, Lunch Wyandotte, dropped him off a custom made sandwich today because they felt like he wasnt being fed enough. Side note, they threw the officers a tray of sammies too!

The public has spoken.

Spoken indeed! It turns out, many in the public agree with the decision not to investigate Officer Ice. Some even aired their opinions in the comments section of the WPDs Facebook post. Here is a sampling of what they had to say.

Expressing lucid legal understanding, Mat Vanella wrote: Possession is 9/10th of the law. Case dismissed. Defamation case and belly rubs compensation awarded.

Pete Bovee shared another theory: Sounds like entrapment to me. The case should be thrown out.

Meanwhile, Paul Raupp, clearly swayed by the defendants adorable mugshot, wrote: Innocent until proven guilty. Besides that, look at that face. He couldnt of done it.

An actual lawyer, apparently, Paul Youngs offered to defend the K9: Justice for Ice! Ill defend pro bono!

There is little doubt the pun was unequivocally intended.

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
An enjoyable World War II dramedy

1969 | PG-13 | 2h 19m | Comedy, Drama, War

World War II had reached a feverish pitch in 1943 as Axis forces continued to lose ground to the Allies. By the summer, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini had been deposed and much of Italy celebrated the removal of Il Duce. However serious these global events may have been, director Stanley Kramer was able to make a mostly lighthearted comedy set during that tumultuous perioda film about wine, dancing (and stumbling), and the survival of an entire villagein his 1969 film The Secret of Santa Vittoria.

The quaint, hilly Italian village of Santa Vittoria learns about the good news of Mussolinis departure when one of their own, young Fabio (Giancarlo Giannini), announces it on the piazza. One of Fabios friends, the village idiot and raging alcoholic Bombolini (Anthony Quinn), attempts to celebrate at home with some of his boozing buddies, including Fabio and another chum, Babbaluche (Renato Rascel).

However, Bombolinis fiery wife Rosa (Anna Magnani) has had it with their drunken antics and kicks all of them out of the house. This causes Bombolini to spiral out of control. He promptly gets completely hammered and somehow ends up on the balcony of a water tower, on which he paints a message praising Mussolini.

In a hilarious (yet somewhat sad) scene, Fabio talks drunken Bombolini out of jumping from the balcony in angst. After painting over the message, the two men manage to climb back down the tower and Bombolini is inadvertently hailed as a hero. The village doesnt know that he is the one who originally scrawled the pro-Mussolini graffiti on the tower.

Because of his sudden rise in popularity, Bombolini quickly replaces the villages pro-fascist mayor. As he begins to pull himself out of his state of inebriation and settle into his position as the new mayor, Fabio returns with another urgent announcement: The German army that occupies Italy is expanding out into the countryside and confiscating whatever valuables it can find. For a place such as Santa Vittoria, the annexation of its sole valuable resourceits exemplary winecould spell doom for its economy and wipe the village out.

Self-aware enough to know that hes not the brightest bulb of the bunch and desperate for any ideas on how to avert such a calamitous disaster, Bombolini consults a wounded officer of the Italian army named Tufa (Sergio Franchi). Together, they devise a plan to move the villages one-million-plus bottles of wine to an ancient Roman cave in the area and disguise it in the hopes that the Germans cant find its treasures.

However, in order to safely transport all the bottles of vino, the villagers must form a huge human line and hand each bottle of wine to one another, one by one. They also cleverly leave behind some of the wine bottles in the villages massive cellar in an effort to fool the Germans into believing thats all they have.

The villagers manage to hide the main bulk of their wine inventory in the Roman cave just before the arrival of a detachment of German soldiers led by Capt. Von Prum (Hardy Kruger).

What transpires from here is a highly entertaining game of cat and mouse between Von Prum, who suspects that the village is hiding a wine stash somewhere, and the bumbling Bombolini.

Capt. Von Prum (Hardy Kruger, L) matches wits with Bombolini (Anthony Quinn), in The Secret of Santa Vittoria. (United Artists)

Three Performances

This films premise is an interesting one, pitting a bunch of rural Italian country bumpkins and their clownish leader against a regiment of the German army and its clever commanding officer. Quinns exaggerated hand gestures and facial expressions complement his character well, and the actors unique brand of goofy humor elicits many a laugh. Kruger is likewise convincing as a shrewd German army officer who is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery.

But what surprised me was the sadly underutilized talents of Anna Magnani. She had already won an Oscar for Best Actress for her role in 1955s The Rose Tattoo. Magnani was an intensely radiant woman who imbued the characters she played with a gravitas that most actresses can only dream of. I could have watched her and Quinn go back and forth for most of the movie and been completely satisfied; they have great chemistry in their brief scenes together.

Rosa, played by the incredible actress Anna Magnani, in The Secret of Santa Vittoria. (United Artists)

As it is, The Secret of Santa Vittoria is a lengthy (in a good way), fun, and mostly funny drama that features memorable characters, an intriguing plot, and the ever-gorgeous natural scenery of the Italian countryside.

You can watch this film on Vudu.

The Secret of Santa Vittoria

Director: Stanley Kramer

Starring: Anthony Quinn, Anna Magnani, Virna Lisi

MPAA Rating: PG-13

Running Time: 2 hours, 19 minutes

Release Date: Oct. 29, 1969

Rated: 3.5 stars out of 5
Roseanne Barr Returns to Stand-Up Comedy, Vows to Be More Offensive Than Ever

Almost five years after her fall from grace after a 2 a.m. post on Twitter that sent shockwaves through the nation, Roseanne Barr has returned to the comedy scene with a stand up special called Cancel this!

On last Fridays episode of Tucker Carlson Tonight, Roseanne said she wished to have her say after being totally cancelled in 2018, and use the opportunity to talk about cancel culture, which she deems horrible and fascist.

Another prime target of her show will be the Biden administration: Jokes are a great way to, you know, scorn power, she said. And my jokes are so great. Theyre the most offensive.

In 2018, Barr was fired from her N 1 show over a tweet in which she stated that former Obama advisor Valerie Jarrett was what would have resulted if the muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby.

Barr was accused of racism and her network, ABC, immediately cancelled her show. Viacom, Hulu, and others pulled the sitcom from their networks entirely, including the old episodes from its first run in the 80s and 90s.

Roseanne immediately apologized to Jarret and all Americans on Twitter, but later wrote on Twitter to her fans: Hey guys, dont defend me, its sweet of you 2 try, but  losing my show is 0 compared 2 being labelled a racist over one tweetthat I regret even more.

It was a witch-burning. They denied me the right to apologize. Oh my God, they just hated me so badly, Roseanne told The Los Angeles Times. During the initial call with ABCs executives, she told them she had always been under the impression that Jarrett was white. I said I would go on my show and explain it. They wouldnt let me. They decided I was a liar in my apology.

In a tearful podcast with Rabbi Shmuley Boteach in June 2018, Barr reiterated that she was unaware of Jarretts racial heritage. She insisted that her anger towards Jarrett came from personal opposition to the Obama administrations policies on Israel and Jewish issues, rather than from racial bias. Barr blamed her insensitive tweet in part on the prescription drug Ambien, understanding that it did not excuse her actions. I am willing to accept whatever consequences this brings because I know Ive done wrong, she said.

At the time, Barr had developed a habit of using Twitter to spout crass and angry comments. In 2015, she called Haaretzs Rogel Alpher a privileged fat skinhead. In 2016, she called Hillary Clinton an anti-Semite and her top aide Huma Abedin a filthy Nazi whore. But Barr stopped using Twitter a while ago. Thats been a great thing for me, to be off that, she told the LA Times.

Roseanne Barrs special airs Monday, Feb. 13, on Fox Nation.

From NTD
Schumer: US Believes Objects Shot Down Over Past Few Days Were Balloons

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) speaks at a press conference at the U.S. Capitol Building on Dec. 7, 2022. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said U.S. officials believe that two objects that were shot down over U.S. and Canadian territory late last week were balloons.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told ABC Newss This Week that the administration believes that the objects were much smaller than the Chinese spy balloon that was taken down near the South Carolina coast earlier this month.

Schumer, responding to a question about whether the objects were balloons, said, They believe they were, yes. But much smaller than the first one.

The United States shot down an object flying in Alaskan airspace on Feb. 10, and another was shot down by a U.S. fighter jet in Canadian airspace a day later, officials have confirmed. Details about the nature of the objects, including what country was operating them, havent been disclosed yet.

Schumer told ABC early on Feb. 12 that both objects were flying at about 40,000 feet, which officials have said would pose a risk to commercial flights. The suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that transited over much of the United States this month was flying at a much higher altitude.

Were [going to] probably be able to piece together this whole surveillance balloon, Schumer told the media outlet. And know exactly whats going on. So thats a huge coup for the United States.

Separately, Schumer asserted that the shooting down of the suspected Chinese surveillance balloon last week was a net negative for the Chinese regime. The regime may have to end its balloon program, he said.

I think the Chinese were humiliated, the senator said during the interview. I think the Chinese were caught lying. I think its a real step back for them.

Schumer noted that theyre not just doing the United States  this is a crew of balloons. We saw one in South America. He was referring to a balloon that was spotted over Colombia and Venezuela earlier this month, later confirmed by Chinese Communist Party officials.

Meanwhile, a third object was shot down in as many days, this one over Lake Huron on Feb. 12, after Schumer had spoken to ABC.

Incident

For the object over Canada that was shot down, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Feb. 11 that he ordered it taken down. Trudeau said an American F-22 successfully fired at the object over the Yukon Territory, located adjacent to Alaska.

U.S. F-22 stealth jets as seen in a file photo. (Sr Master Sgt ThomasMenegiun/DOD)

I spoke with President [Joe] Biden this afternoon. Canadian Forces will now recover and analyze the wreckage of the object, he wrote. Thank you to NORAD for keeping the watch over North America.

And NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, confirmed in a statement that a high-altitude airborne object was located over northern Canada this weekend. Based in Colorado, NORAD is jointly operated by the United States and Canada.

Military aircraft are currently operating from Alaska and Canada in support of North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) activities, the NORAD statement reads. NORAD confirms that we have positively identified a high-altitude airborne object over Northern Canada.

While we cannot discuss specifics related to these activities at this time, please note that NORAD conducts sustained, dispersed operations in the defense of North America through one or all three NORAD regions.

Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand told a press conference in Ottawa that the object, flying at about 40,000 feet, had been shot down at 3:41 p.m. EST, approximately 100 miles from the U.S.Canada border in the central Yukon. A recovery operation was underway involving the Canadian Armed Forces and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

U.S. fighter jets have now shot out of the sky four objects in the airspace above the United States and Canada in eight days, a stunning development thats raising questions on just what, exactly, is hovering overhead and who has sent them.

Anand said she shouldnt speculate on whether the object shot down over Canada came from China.

We are continuing to do the analysis on the object, and we will make sure that analysis is thorough, she said, according to The Associated Press. It would not be prudent for me to speculate on the origins of the object at this time.

In another incident, NORAD said that it, U.S. Northern Command, and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration shut down a portion of Montanas airspace for a short period of time on Feb. 11 because NORAD detected a radar anomaly and sent jets to investigate, although no object or objects were located.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Among the many things I dont like to do in my crotchety old age is compliment the young people at 9news.

But kudos to Kyle Clark and team for refusing an exclusive interview with Gov. Jared Polis after his State of the State address on condition they also interview only Polis handpicked sycophants. It would have been even better if they published a list of all the other media outlets that agreed to his journalistic blackmail and took the exclusive interview.

Kyles reporting partner, Marshall Zelinger, has been on a jihad that Colorados media should have been on since 2007 regarding crony, energy monopoly utilities and whats been making them wealthy on the backs of their captive customers. Why should these questions have been asked back in 2007? Remember the ol mantra: elections have consequences.

That was after Colorado elected Bill Ritter as governor and his white whale was transferring Colorado to an economically unsustainable, feel-good energy system  the one we are now just starting to pay for in earnest. Just look at your energy bill.

Before then the private energy monopolies and their captive customers had a grand bargain. The bargain was simple. The monopolies were guaranteed a profit no matter what they did.

They provided energy, they got a guaranteed profit. They went out on a business lunch, got a guaranteed profit. They passed wind, got a guaranteed profit.

In exchange, the Public Utilities Commission was to rule over those private monopolies making sure they provided the least cost energy to their captive customers. And all those companies, including the largest one, Xcel Energy, had to prove to there was absolutely, positively no other way to provide power for less cost.

If you remember we were lied to and told renewable energy would save money because the wind and sun are free.

Oh, that parts true. But converting wind and sun to energy is insanely, madly, prohibitively expensive.

In 2007, under the direction of Ritters newly appointed PUC and its chair Ron Binz (who proudly exclaimed there will never be another new coal plant built in Colorado, even though carbon sequestration now means coal plants can be carbon neutral at very low costs) the PUC changed its mission from lowest cost to a fluffy feel-good mission of environmental and social values at reasonable cost, whatever the hell any of that means.

In other words, they removed the guardrails that protected customers so utility monopolies can do what evil monopolies do, run roughshod over their hostages.

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The monopolies changed their business model. They now can make many times more profit.

Read the following over and over until you understand your energy bill: Companies like Xcel are no longer in the energy business; they are in the building stuff business, and triple charging their hostage customers for it.

Starting with Ritter, through John Hickenlooper and Polis and all their evermore left-leaning legislatures and activist appointees, Xcel has funded and partnered with green organizations to lobby for cascading green laws, mandates and regulations.

Thanks to a rubberstamping PUC that no longer demands lowest cost from energy providers, your energy bills arent paying for energy. Youre mostly paying for building crap.

Case in point is the Comanche power plant down by Pueblo. Xcel takes out a mortgage to pay for it, passes that cost on to its customers.

Then they decide it needs to be rebuilt into the cleanest coal-fired power plant on the planet. So, they take out a second mortgage to refit it. The PUC rubber stamps it. Customers pay for two mortgages for the same power. This power plant is scheduled to be decommissioned in 2070. Thats 50 years from now!

So, of course, Xcel is now going to close it in a couple of years and replace it with more stuff like windmills.

Thats a third mortgage to pay for the windmills which, of course, the PUC rubber stamped. Well, the wind doesnt blow all the time, so it must take out another mortgage to build backup gas generators and power lines for that too. Yadda, yadda, yadda.

Congratulations, hostage customers. You are now paying multiple mortgages for the exact same bit of electricity and thats just one of many, many scams. Its taken the mainstream media 16 years to ask questions. Ask faster! Maybe voters will think about the consequences.

Jon Caldara is president of the Independence Institute in Denver and hosts The Devils Advocate with Jon Caldara on Colorado Public Television Channel 12. His column appears Sundays in Colorado Politics.
Victor Cuevas and Dawn Clark attended Shen Yun Performing Arts at the California Center for the Arts, on Feb. 11, 2023. (Tina Deng/The Epoch Times)

ESCONDIDO, Calif.Caught between busy schedules and a pandemic, caseworker Victor Cuevas and senior accountant Dawn Clark waited for years before they got the opportunity to see Shen Yun. Finally, on Feb. 11, they attended the companys evening performance at the California Center for the Arts.

The two agreed that it was very exciting to learn about a culture that was unknown to them and that Shen Yun Performing Arts was a magical experience. Ms. Clark was especially touched by the spiritual aspects of the performance.

We all have different spiritual beliefs but with common goals, she said. I hope everyone in the audience [can] take away from it to help them become better people.

Once known as the Land of the Divine, the Chinese people believed that their civilization was a gift from the heavens. For 5,000 years, Chinas culture was built on the values and virtues inspired by the spiritual teachings of Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism.

However, after the Chinese Communist Partys violent takeover in 1949, Chinas traditional culture went through decades of systematic destruction.

Based in New York, Shen Yun was established in 2006 by leading Chinese artists who dreamt of bringing back this lost culture. Their mission is to present to the world, through dance and music, the beauty of China before communism.

Prior to fleeing to the United States, many of these artists had suffered persecution at the hands of the Communist Party. Currently, Shen Yun is banned by the regime from performing in China.

Mr. Cuevas said this was something he really didnt know about. They express it very artistically. We are sheltered from whats really going on [in China.] Its very interesting to [be able to] see it here.

Ms. Clark added that the stories of these Shen Yun artists were truly inspiring.

Its eye-opening because what we see on TV isnt always portrayed correctly. So, it was really great to see an unbiased performance that really makes us think.

Ms. Clark said Shen Yun was doing a wonderful job in terms of reviving traditional culture and bringing awareness to the situation in China.

Its a good start. We cant support something that we dont know. So, I think the performance opens our horizon and let us know what is going on [in China] and how we can help, she said.

[Shen Yun] is an amazing, eye-opening experience that everybody should experience. I would bring [my grandchildren here] in a heartbeat, Ms. Clark continued. Whether its the music, the dancing, or the storylineI think everyone can take something away from it.

Reporting by Tina Deng and Jennifer Tseng.

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yuns inception in 2006.
Almost 50 Air Travellers Arrested Over Bad Behaviour Over Australias Summer Holidays: AFP

Virgin Australia wide-body aircrafts are seen parked in the Brisbane Airport in Brisbane, Australia, on Aug. 5, 2020. (Albert Perez/Getty Images)

Dozens of travellers behaving badly during the holiday season were arrested and charged for a variety of offences including assault and drug possession.

The Australian Federal Police charged almost 50 passengers with 69 offences at major airports during the 2022/2023 Christmas and school holiday travel period as part of a nationwide crackdown on disruptive behaviour in the air and on the ground.

A 78-year-old woman accused of biting a flight attendant onboard a plane from New Zealand last month was among 49 travellers charged in separate incidents across the country.

Others include a 41-year-old man who allegedly downed 700ml of duty-free scotch on an international flight to Sydney before verbally abusing airline staff.

A 47-year-old man is among 24 people slapped with infringement notices during the same holiday period after his alleged disorderly behaviour caused a disruption on board a flight that was forced to turn back to Sydney on Jan. 10.

The number of incidents almost doubled this holiday season after the COVID-19 pandemic halted travel across the globe.

The AFP charged 28 people with 49 offences during the same period of the 2021-22 summer school holidays. Another 16 people were issued with infringement notices for a range of incidents including intoxication, smoking on planes and traffic offences around the airport.

AFP Commander Geoff Turner said the spike in incidents was concerning.

In recent months we have seen thousands more passengers travelling through airports across Australia, as state and international borders reopened after the easing of COVID-19 travel restrictions, Turner said.

The AFP was more than prepared to manage the expected spike in passenger numbers, with increased patrols resulting in teams responding to a range of incidents to assist the travelling public across the country.

Known as operation Sleigh, the crackdown was sparked after the AFP responded to about 20,000 incidents at AFP-protected airports across Australia last year.

The AFP charged more than 360 people with about 520 offences at airports during 2022.
US Military Recovery of Unidentified Object Downed Over Alaska Faces Severe Conditions

The U.S. recovery effort of an object that was shot down over Alaska last week faces severe weather conditions, according to weather forecasts.

The object was shot down on Feb. 10 by an F-22 fighter jet near Deadhorse, Alaska, located near the Canadian border, the U.S. Northern Command said.

Recovery operations continue today near Deadhorse, Alaska, U.S. Northern Command said in a statement to news outlets Saturday. We have no further details at this time about the object, including its capabilities, purpose, or origin.

Sea conditions on Feb. 10 permitted dive and underwater unmanned vehicle (UUV) activities and the retrieval of additional debris from the sea floor, Northern Command told Reuters. The public may see U.S. Navy vessels moving to and from the site as they conduct offload and resupply activities.

As of Sunday morning, temperatures in Deadhorse were -22 degrees Fahrenheit with 15 mph winds, bringing temperatures down even further. Deadhorse is located near Prudhoe Bay, which is part of the Arctic Ocean within the Arctic Circle.

By Sunday night, temperatures are expected to hit -34 degrees with 510 mph winds.

The unidentified object was approximately the size of a car and had no ability to maneuver, said National Security Council spokesman John Kirby in a Friday news conference. Kirby noted that the object was smaller than the Chinese surveillance balloon that was shot down a week earlier near South Carolina.

The Pentagon has said a significant amount of the balloon had already been recovered or located, suggesting American officials may soon have more information about any Chinese espionage capabilities aboard.

The Pentagon said NORAD initially detected the object over Alaska on Friday.

U.S. fighter jets from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, monitored the object as it crossed over into Canadian airspace, where Canadian CF-18 and CP-140 aircraft joined the formation, officials said.

A U.S. F-22 shot down the object in Canadian territory, using an AIM 9X missile following close co-ordination between U.S. and Canadian authorities, Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder also said in a statement.

Meanwhile, U.S. fighter jets shot down another object over the Yukon Territory, Canada, located adjacent to Alaska, on Saturday. Few details were provided about that object, too.

Few Details So Far

During the news conference, Kirby said he could not offer many details about the objectincluding whether it was a balloon or not.

Im not going to speak for the Pentagon. I can tell you the President doesnt regret the way that we handled the first balloon, Kirby said. First of all, apples and oranges here in terms of size. As I said, this was the size of a small car and it was over very sparsely populated area. But, more critically, it was over water when we ordered this down, as we did the last one, he continued.

Kirby added that the expected the debris field for the object appears to be much much smaller than the Chinese surveillance balloon. The balloon traversed much of the United States, while officials later said it traveled near several U.S. military bases.

The Alaska balloon entered into U.S. airspace on February 9th, we sent up aircraft to assess what it was, the decision was made it posed a reasonable threat to civilian air traffic, the president gave the order to take it down, and we took it down, Ryder also said alongside Kirby.

The balloon was traveling to the northeast before it was taken down, Ryder said.

Reuters contributed to this report.
Want to Be Healthy and Happy? Get Married

Studies have found correlations between a good marriage and early detection of illness and better overall health

Although marriage remains the most common family form, it has been declining for decades as Canadians increasingly live together outside of marriage or live alone. (Shutterstock)

Commentary

Marriage proposals on Valentines Day used to be a thing. Today, not so much. These days, many Canadians tell pollsters they think marriage is nice, but not necessary. Although marriage remains the most common family form, it has been declining for decades as Canadians increasingly live together outside of marriage or live alone. Is marriage still relevant?

Frankly, all Canadians would be better off if we recovered a healthier view of marriage. Its more than just a piece of paper, or an expression of love. Marriage has personal and societal benefits we easily forget amid the Valentines Day glitz.

Decades of social science research point to a connection between marriage and better health and wellness, economic advantage, and happiness. As Cardus has reported, studies have found correlations between a good marriage and early detection of illness, faster physical recovery, and better overall health.

Marriage also has a strong connection to having kids. A recent report found that not having a suitable partner was one of the top five factors preventing Canadian women from having kids. (The same report found half of women were having fewer children than they wouldve likedbut thats another story.)

Research suggests kids with married parents tend to do better in school and skip class less. Those same kids are more likely to be read to and are more likely to graduate than kids with one parent. They also tend to experience fewer behavioural issues.

In short, the decline in the marriage rate has implications for health, education, and fertility.

Of course, marriage isnt for everyone, and good people come from all sorts of families. Take Barack Obama, who grew up in a lone-parent home and ascended to the highest position of power in the United States. But as his secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, wrote in her 2006 book It Takes a Village, Every society requires a critical mass of families that fit the traditional ideal, both to meet the needs of most children and to serve as a model for other adults who are raising children in difficult settings.

So why is marriage on the decline even as social science points to a marriage advantage? One insight comes from the fact that people are marrying at later ages than in the past. Marriage used to be the starting point for building a life with another person. Consider that married student residences were once common on university campuses. Today, young adults are marrying later, often building financial security, living together, and sometimes having kids before tying the knot. When marriage is a destination rather than a starting point, fewer folks reach it.

Likely the way we talk about marriage also matters. In an era where we value individualism and autonomy, the idea of committing to one person for life may induce anxiety. Yet commitment is what makes marriage so potent.

Former first lady Michelle Obama understood this. In a conversation on RevoltTV, she spoke of a challenging 10-year period in her marriage when her children were young. We dont talk about how much work is required and how hard it is even when you are madly in love with the person, even when everything works out right. The give-and-take in marriage requires commitment.

The meaning of marriage is grander than just our own happiness. In marriage, we voluntarily constrain ourselves for the good of the whole family. Marriage combines the romantic aspects of partnership with economic co-operation and often parenthood within a permanent bond. In a pluralistic society like Canada, we can respect the variety of family forms we see while acknowledging the benefits of marriage.

Also, lets be honest about that rosy, red glow of Valentines Day. For those who are single or dating, it can be a stressful day. Single folks may feel more alone. Dating couples need to figure out how to mark the day. For married couples, the saccharine gloss of Valentines Day ignores the hard work required to maintain a committed relationship.

This Valentines Day, lets consider that while matrimony isnt for everyone, we can appreciate that the marriage commitment is still relevant. Marriage matters. For everybody.

 Troy Media

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
HARTFORD, Conn.Craig Clausen, former senior vice president at JP Morgan and other major banks, is among the many Shen Yun Performing Arts audience members this year who felt they finally attained a long-awaited experience.

Ive wanted to see this for a long, long time, said Mr. Clausen, who attended the Shen Yun matinee on Feb. 11 with his wife at The Bushnell  The William H. Mortensen Hall in Hartford, Connecticut. The couple had moved from Long Island to the Constitution State, and when they saw that Shen Yun was coming to the Bushnell, we couldnt wait to see it.

New York-based Shen Yun is the worlds top classical Chinese dance company and has in the past decade become a global sensation. The artists aim to revive 5,000 years of Chinese civilization with music and dance

The dancing was fabulous. The choreography was excellent. The singing was gorgeous. And the stories were fun to listen to and watch, Mr. Clausen said.

The performance was as uplifting as it was beautiful, Mr. Clausen said.

Theres a lot of messages in the show. There is a lot of history. It was spot on. It was very good. Well done, very well done, he said. He shared that messages he thought were in the stories were of a spiritual nature, which the couple appreciated, being people of faith themselves.

Ancient China was once known by names such as the Celestial Empire and the Land of the Divine, its culture was believed to be divinely inspired. As theatergoers glean from the two-and-a-half hours production, the ancient Chinese held a reverence toward the divine, all across thousands of years of dynasties, and across its 50-some ethnic minority groups.

Mr. Clausen was all smiles after the performance. Now Ive seen it, and I feel good about it, he said. Given the opportunity to share his thoughts on Shen Yun, he wanted to say, I would tell them, keep it up and keep going for years on and seriously, you know, dont stop. And make sure its all around the country, [so] everybody can see it.

Reporting by Weiyong Zhu.

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yuns inception in 2006.
We Will Uphold Moral and Historic Commitment to Hongkongers, Said UK Home Office

The British Home Office recently announced that since the launch of the British National (Overseas) (BNO) visa scheme in 2020, more than 140,000 Hongkongers have been able to live and work in the UK.

Robert Jenrick, British Home Office Minister, praised the Hongkongers who migrated to Britain for contributing to the local community and economy, and he was honored for them to choose Britain as their home.

We continue to take action to uphold our moral and historic commitment to the people of Hong Kong, and I feel particularly proud when I hear the stories and witness the incredible contributions Hongkongers are already making to our local communities and our economy, said Jenrick.

From working for the NHS (National Health Service) to volunteering to help those fleeing Afghanistan and Ukraine, to teaching at our schools to working in the private sector, using all their entrepreneurial talents to power our economy forwards, many Hongkongers have said living in Britain is like coming home and we are so honored to have so many brilliant people choosing to make our great nation their home, he said.

I look forward to welcoming more eligible Hongkongers over the next few years, added Jenrick.

Many Hongkongers who moved to the UK expressed gratitude for the acceptance of the British government and its people. They also vowed to do their best to integrate into society and contribute to Britain.

Hongkongers in Birmingham

The UK has been the most popular migration destination for Hongkongers. Birmingham is the largest city outside of London, where most Hongkongers chose to settle beside London town.

According to the data of British National Statistics, about 2,656 Hongkongers are living in Birmingham by March 21, 2021. It topped the first place as the most populated area of Hongkongers.

Although Hongkongers in Britain have been trying hard to integrate into the British community, a survey with 822 valid respondents found that 30 percent of Hongkongers had not adapted to British life, and 18.5 percent were in dire need of support in terms of living expenses.

Recently, our reporter interviewed several Hongkongers working in Birmingham, and some said that local companies would hire people of different races to achieve racial integration. They said that Hongkongers are skilled and welcomed by local companies.

Some Hongkongers expressed that migration is never an easy task. Ethnic minorities having to leave their home and start again from the ground up is a hurdle-filled journey. Some of the essential concerns from Hongkongers are how they can blend in the society, find work and understand British history and culture.

The praise from the Home Office may encourage Hongkongers to work harder for their contribution to Britain.
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) to promptly seek authorisation from the ICC Chamber to commence an investigation into the situation in Nigeria in relation to the growing cases of pre-election violence, which if not addressed may escalate and lead to post-election violence in the country.

The petition dated 11 February, 2023 was sent to Mr Karim Khan, QC, Prosecutor, ICC.

The organization urged Mr Khan to urgently send the ICC legal team to Nigeria to promote free and fair elections in the country, and gather potential proof of election-related violence before, during and after the general elections.

The petition followed reports of election-related violence in several states including Lagos, Rivers, and Kaduna states. Over 4,000 cases of violent attacks and 11,000 fatalities were reported across the country between 1 January 2022 and 3 February 2023 alone.

In the petition signed by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organization said: These cases reflect the gravest election-related crimes in several states ahead of the general elections.

SERAP said, Based on these cases and other similar cases and trends of election violence, we believe that opening an investigation into the situation in Nigeria will be in the interests of justice.

The petition, read in part: SERAP urges you to seek authorisation from the ICC Chamber to commence an investigation into the situation in Nigeria in relation to election-related violence that may be committed during and after the elections scheduled for February and March 2023.

SERAP also urges you to identify the suspected perpetrators of election-related violence and those individuals who bear the greatest responsibility for encouraging or facilitating these crimes, and to ensure their effective prosecution by the ICC.

These are not isolated acts, but part of growing cases of election violence, thus constituting crimes against humanity.

Seeking authorisation from the ICC Chamber to commence an investigation in relation to election-related violence that may be committed after the general elections is consistent with Article 53(1)(a) of the Rome Statute which allows investigation into a crime which has been or is being committed.

SERAP notes that the Prosecutor has consistently relied on the provisions of Article 15 of the Rome Statute and Regulation 49 of the ICC to investigate cases of election-related violence in other countries, including Cote d'Ivoire and Kenya.

The requested investigation is neither frivolous nor politically motivated. Cases of election-related violence are rarely investigated by the Nigerian authorities. Nigerian authorities are unwilling or unable genuinely to carry out the investigation or prosecution.

As a result, suspected perpetrators and those who encourage or facilitate their crimes continue to enjoy impunity. Victims continue to be denied access to justice and effective remedies.

The escalating cases of election-related violence in Nigeria meet the requirements of the Rome Statute and provide reasonable basis for you to promptly commence an investigation, particularly given the gravity of these cases and the interests of victims.

The test of reasonable basis to believe is the lowest evidential standard provided by the Rome Statute. Thus, the information available to the Prosecutor to make a request for investigation is not expected to be comprehensive or conclusive.

It is necessary to ensure that any request for authorisation covers investigation into ongoing and continuing election-related crimes during and after the elections, especially given the volatile political environment in the country and the entrenched impunity for these crimes.

The incidents of election-related violence strike at the integrity of the democratic process in the country, and undermine the right of Nigerians to participate in their own government.

Victims have been let down when it has come to the prevention and prosecution of these offences, largely because they are regarded as an accepted concomitant of elections in the country.

The available information provides a reasonable basis to believe that crimes against humanity under Article 7 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court are being committed and may be committed across the country ahead of the elections.

Nigeria is a state party to the Rome Statute and deposited its instrument of ratification on 27 September 2001.

According to our information, opposition supporters are routinely targeted, attacked, beaten and ill-treated and subjected to other physical abuse. Violent attacks against political opponents or persons perceived to support the political opponents continue to be reported.

According to the Nigeria Election Violence Tracker by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) and the Centre for Democracy & Development (CDD), there were over 4,000 cases of violent attacks and 11,000 fatalities between 1 January 2022 and 3 February 2023 alone.

State governors continue to suppress campaigns by opposition parties within their states, and fail to ensure the security and public safety of opposition candidates, members and supporters.

These cases followed other growing reports of election-related intimidation, harassment and violence in several parts of the country including Abia, Lagos, Imo, Kaduna, Kano and Rivers states.

Nigeria has a long history of election-related violence. Dozens of people were killed during the 2019 general election. In 2011, hundreds of people were killed in post-election violence.

Under Article 15(1) of the Rome Statute, the Prosecutor may initiate investigations proprio motu on the basis of information on crimes that are within the jurisdiction of the Court.

In accordance with Article 15(3) of the Statute, if the Prosecutor concludes that there is a reasonable basis to proceed with an investigation, he shall submit a request for authorisation for an investigation, together with any supporting material that has been collected.

Under Article 7(1) of the Statute, a crime against humanity involves any of the specified acts that are listed when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack.

Similarly, pursuant to Regulation 49 of the Regulations of the Court, the Prosecutor can provide information to the Chamber on the basis of information by non-governmental organisations and the media.

Kolawole Oluwadare

SERAP Deputy Director

12/2/2023

Lagos, Nigeria

Emails: [email protected] ; [email protected]

Twitter: @SERAPNigeria

Website: www.serap-nigeria.org

For more information or to request an interview, please contact us on: +234816053720 2
China's adjustment of COVID-19 response to boost global growth in 2023: Goldman Sachs

Xinhua) 10:35, February 12, 2023

NEW YORK, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- China's adjustment of its COVID-19 pandemic response will not only speed up its own economic recovery, but also boost global economic growth, said a report issued by Goldman Sachs Research on Friday.

"Our economists now forecast China's GDP (gross domestic product) to grow by 6.5 percent in 2023 on a Q4/Q4 basis," up from the previous forecast of 5.5 percent made at the end of last November, according to the report.

On top of that, global GDP could be raised by 1 percent by the end of 2023 due to China's adjustment, it said.

"The global growth backdrop has brightened," Goldman economists Joseph Briggs and Devesh Kodnani were quoted as saying by the report. The two economists have viewed "the more rapid pace of China's reopening along with a waning drag from global financial conditions and lower European gas prices" as good news for the world.

China's adjustment will impact global growth through "three direct channels," including increased domestic demand in China, and higher demand for international travel and commodities from China, said the report.

Domestic demand in China in 2023 is likely to increase by up to 5 percent, and the return in goods demand could provide a moderate boost of around 0.4 percent to GDP in most Asia-Pacific economies, it said, adding that a normalization in travel patterns should lead China's travel trade deficit to increase and boost foreign GDP. The report also said China's recovery will likely boost commodities demand and prices.

Briggs and Kodnani "anticipate the broader spillover effects from Chinese growth -- including more favorable global financial conditions and increased trade with other countries -- to be larger," it added.

(Web editor: Xian Jiangnan, Sheng Chuyi)
Q: Who was the only U.S. vice president from Alabama?

A: Although born in North Carolina, William Rufus King (1786-1853) had represented Alabama in the U.S. Senate for nearly 30 years when he and his presidential running mate, Franklin Pierce, won the 1852 election.

King was the first senator to gain a major partys nomination for the vice presidency, but also gained the dark distinction of becoming the only vice president to die before getting to exercise that positions responsibilities.

According to an article on the U.S. Senate website, King was at the time the second longest-serving senator in history when he received his partys vice presidential nomination on June 5, 1852.

In those days, the Senate elected a president pro tempore to serve only during the absence of the vice president, the article says. King had been a frequent choice as president pro tempore. His Senate colleagues considered the warm-hearted and even-tempered King to be an excellent presiding officer. They saw him as a man of sound judgment and rich experience who could be stern when public interests or his personal honor required it, the article says. At a time when the vice presidents only significant duty was to preside over the Senate, King seemed to be the ideal man for the job.

Deteriorating health kept King from returning to the Senate Chamber in his new role.

Describing himself as looking like a skeleton, the vice president-elect traveled to Cuba to seek a cure for his tuberculosis, the article says. There, by special act of Congress, he took his oath as the nations unlucky 13th vice president. After several weeks, King returned to his home in Alabama, where he died just five weeks into his term and without ever reaching the nations capital.
Phuket and Krabi the stars in new Czech movie

PHUKET: Thailands Phuket and Krabi have been featured in a new Czech film called Ostrov (The Island), which premiered on Feb 1, in Prague.

culturetourism

By The Phuket News

Sunday 12 February 2023, 09:14AM

Photo: NNT

According to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), the film showcases the countrys Visit Thailand Year 2023: Amazing New Chapters campaign and its experience-based tourism.

Its premiere was attended by various media representatives, actors, artists, and cultural figures, including the Ambassador of Thailand to the Czech Republic, reports NNT.

Ostrov, which opened in 180 cinemas in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, was directed and written by Rudolf Havlik and stars Jiri Langmajer and Jana Plodkova.

The film is an adventure comedy about a vacation that takes a turn when the two end up on a deserted island. 97% of the film was shot in Phuket and Krabi, making it the first Czech film production to be filmed almost entirely in Thailand.

Jana Plodkova spoke highly of her time in Thailand, saying she was captivated by the country, its people, culture, and nature.

Lead actor Jiri Langmajer also posted pictures and videos of his experiences in Thailand on his Instagram account, which has over 200,000 followers, further exposing the country as a holiday destination.

A movie trailer can be viewed at the following link: https://youtu.be/3SkPR3LXHIc
Phuket Opinion: Take the win

PHUKET: Has anyone noticed how willing the central government has suddenly become in publicly announcing action taken against corrupt police, immigration and other officials in the incessant stream of cases in recent weeks that have highlighted just how deep, widespread and rampant corruption really is throughout the country? And the powers that be are still not doing it for the publics benefit.

opinioncorruptionpoliceimmigration

By The Phuket News

Sunday 12 February 2023, 09:00AM

The image used by state news agency NNT when reporting that Thailand is now ranked 101st out of 180 countries in the Corruption Perceptions Index by Transparency International.

The cases run the gamut from two police generals operating an illegal online gambling operation to more than 100 officers under investigation for their role in illegally issuing visas to Chinese crime-lord minions. Not to mention the shakedown against a Taiwanese actress exposed only after she dared police to go public with the so-called video evidence they claimed they had proving her claims were false, with that shakedown bested only a week later by a police officer extorting B60,000 from a foreign tourist for possession of an e-cigarette in Pattaya  as if that is the worst that city can offer. Check the news for more examples.

Of course at this stage all this is at least it is the appearance of taking action against corrupt law enforcement and other officials. What actually happens to those under investigation, and any punishment handed down, remains to be seen.

The pretense is nigh laughable, as if the high-profile media coverage of the good cops taking action is in any way an improvement on the status quo, like pretending no other officers had any idea these antics were going on, for years. There is also no guarantee that the officers replacing those now under investigation are doing any different, and while the spotlight is on a handful of systemic corrupt practices now under investigation, no one is taking a good, hard look at any other underhanded operations still going on. In the current situation, that serves only one group of people.

Probably the best example of how appalling the attempts are to be seen to be doing the right thing is the two police generals now wanted for their macau888.com online gambling operation. If no action is taken, Chuvit Kamolvisit, a former massage parlour tycoon, will make information about the police generals and the operation public.

Yes, the actual action by the government in this case is nothing more than firefighting to prevent more damage being done that the current regime cannot control. The situation is that bad  and as can be seen by the lack of reaction among the general public, no one is actually surprised by any of this.

What will be hilarious  or miserably sad, depending on your bent  is waiting for this sudden awareness and motivation to take action to be sold as a political point-scoring when canvassing finally begins for the national election later this year. Again, as if people will not notice that the extent of corruption evident right now blossomed during the years of reign of the current government. Apparently voters will simply not notice.

In all this, any attempt to straighten out at least some corrupt practices is to be taken as a good sign, even if it is because there is very little good officials can do than recognise what is being evidenced in public. For now, we should just take the win.

After all, according to the latest Corruption Perceptions Index by Transparency International, right now Thailand is on par with Albania, Panama, Serbia and Kazakhstan. If we keep at it, Thailand might finally catch up to the more-ethical likes of Kosovo, Ethiopia and Vietnam.
PLTO hold talks with non-Phuket-based green plate taxi operators

PHUKET: Officials from the Phuket Land Transport Office (PLTO) have confirmed that talks have taken place with a group representing legally registered taxi drivers and tour operators from Bangkok and other provinces that have been banned from working on the island.

transport

By The Phuket News

Sunday 12 February 2023, 11:00AM

PLTO chief Adcha Buachan and Pol. Col. Jirasak Siemsak, Deputy Commander of the Phuket Provincial Police, met with representatives from the group on Thursday (Feb 9) to discuss solutions to the existing problem that has seen green plate taxi operators from outside Phuket face challenges, including arrest and being banned.

Mr Adcha revealed that the talks, held at PLTO offices, focused on how green plate cars registered outside Phuket may be able to operate here legally, adding that the aim was to find a satisfactory outcome for all involved.

He confirmed that the number of vehicles registered outside of Phuket but operating here was not especially high but that the PLTO would evaluate ways to allow them to operate here without contravening existing laws.

Mr Adcha also stated that any additional specific documents and evidence supporting the groups claims would need to be submitted to the PLTO to assist the overall evaluation process within one month from Thursdays meeting, adding that the sooner these materials could be provided the better.

The respresentatives complained that police had specifically set up check points at various places across the island and that arrests had been made although they were unclear as to why they were being targeted as the law was unclear. They further added that PLTO officers have been unable to clearly identify which law the taxi drivers had broken.

This resulted in the group handing a formal request to Seri Ruam Thai Party representative Anantarak Phethin at Saphan Hin on Wednesday calling on party leader Pol Gen (Rtd) Sereepisuth Temeeyaves to help resolve the issue.

Mr Sereepisuth, a former Commissioner of the Royal Thai Police, is also currently Chairman of the House Anti-Corruption and Misconduct Committee.
Premier League leaders Arsenal held, Spurs thrashed

FOOTBALL: Arsenal stumbled again as the Premier League leaders were held to a 1-1 draw by Brentford, while Tottenhams top four hopes were dented by an embarrassing 4-1 defeat at Leicester yesterday (Feb 11).

FootballPremier-League

By AFP

Sunday 12 February 2023, 12:00PM

Taking a fall: Brentfords Ivan Toney fouls Arsenals William Saliba during yesterdays 1-1 draw at The Emirates Stadium. Photo: AFP

Mikel Artetas side could have moved eight points clear of second-placed Manchester City with a victory at the Emirates Stadium.

But Arsenal could not hold on to the lead given to them by Leandro Trossards first goal for the club in his fifth appearance since his January move from Brighton.

Ivan Toney scored Brentfords equaliser to leave Arsenal without a win in their last three games in all competitions following defeats at Manchester City in the FA Cup and Everton in the league.

The Gunners still control their destiny as they chase a first Premier League title since 2004, but champions City can move to within three points if they beat Aston Villa today.

Arsenal host City on Wednesday in a clash that will go a long way to deciding the title race.

Belgium forward Trossard came off the bench to make the breakthrough for Arsenal in the 66th minute.

Bukayo Saka floated his cross to the far post and Trossard was on hand to net with a clinical finish, his first goal for either Arsenal or Brighton since October.

But Brentford drew level eight minutes later when Toney headed into an empty net, leaving Arteta fuming that VAR failed to disallow the goal for offside against Ethan Pinnock.

I just looked back and it is offside, yes, Arteta said. Its too late, the goal was allowed and we dropped two points.

Tottenham boss Antonio Conte was back at the helm after missing last weekends 1-0 win against Manchester City following gallbladder surgery, but his fifth-placed side were humiliated at the King Power Stadium.

Rodrigo Bentancur put Tottenham ahead in the 14th minute, meeting Ben Daviess flick with a close-range finish that survived a VAR check for offside.

But Nampalys Mendy levelled in the 23rd minute and two minutes later James Maddison produced a composed low finish.

Kelechi Iheanacho scored Leicesters third in first-half stoppage time with a curler into the bottom corner and Harvey Barnes completed the rout in the 81st minute.

To be consistent is a long process, its a mental process, you have to be better mentally and better with the approach. After we scored the goal, something changed, Tottenham assistant manager Cristian Stellini said.

We struggled a lot and we are disappointed for that. In the team something has to change, not individually. Its about the desire.

Chelsea frustrated

Graham Potter admitted Chelsea are still a work in progress after their winless Premier League run extended to three games as Joao Felixs first goal for the Blues was cancelled out by Emerson in a 1-1 draw at West Ham.

Potters expensively assembled side once again failed to live up to their price tags as the pressure mounted on the Blues boss.

Portugal forward Felix put Chelsea ahead in his second appearance for the club, only for Italy defender Emerson to haunt his former team with an equaliser before half-time.

Ninth-placed Chelsea have won just one of their past eight games in all competitions and are 10 points adrift of the Premier Leagues top four.

They are a good group and we are excited with the team and the potential but it is still a work in progress, Potter said.

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe was frustrated by his former club as second bottom Bournemouth earned a 1-1 draw at Dean Court.

Marcos Senesis 30th minute tap-in put Bournemouth ahead before Miguel Almiron swept home fourth-placed Newcastles equaliser in first-half stoppage time.

Ten-man Wolves boosted their bid to avoid relegation with a 2-1 win at bottom of the table Southampton.

Trailing to Carlos Alcarazs opener, Wolves had Mario Lemina sent off in the first half, but hit back thanks to Jan Bednareks own goal and Joao Gomess late strike.

Crystal Palace drew 1-1 with Brighton and Fulham beat Nottingham Forest 2-0.


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Forty-five years after arriving in Los Angeles, David Trans world-famous Sriracha chili sauce brand has made him the only chili sauce billionaire in the U.S.

In 1979, David Tran, then 34, left Vietnam for the US. He settled in Los Angeles, California in early 1980. He set up a business, Huy Fong, which makes Sriracha hot sauce, a condiment he created following a recipe originally from Thailand.

Over 40 years later, Sriracha has been seen on the TV series Survivor, at the International Space Station and on dining tables worldwide, according to Forbes.

David Tran, Vietnamese-American chili sauce billionaire. Photo by Reuters

Its bottles, with their rooster logo and green squeeze cap, are used by 10% of U.S. families, according to market research firm NPD.

The sauce ranks third in the US$1.5 billion US hot sauce market behind Tabasco, owned by the McIlhenny family, and Franks RedHot, part of spice giant McCormick & Co.

Today Huy Fong is worth $1 billion, based on estimated sales of $131 million in 2020, according to research firm IBISWorld. That makes Tran, 77, who owns the company, Americas only hot sauce billionaire.

And while some of Srirachas competitors have been snapped up in recent years --McCormick purchased Mexican hot sauce brand Cholula for $800 million in 2020 -- Tran has no plans to sell.

He intends to pass the business on to his two children -- William, 47 and Yassie, 41 -- both of whom work for the company.

Sriracha has survived a lawsuit over its factorys smell and, most recently, a climate-related shortage of chilis last year that forced Huy Fong to temporarily halt production, causing retail sales to spike as consumers stocked up.

"I want to continue to make a good quality product...and not think about making more profits," Tran told Forbes.

Roots

Tran was born in the southern province of Soc Trang in 1945. His father was a merchant and his mother was a housewife.

At age 16, with only an elementary school education, Tran moved to Saigon, now known as Ho Chi Minh City, to work at a chemical store.

He married his wife, Ada, and then worked with his older brother growing chilis on a plot of land they owned northeast of Saigon.

By 1979, many of the Tran familys friends were leaving Vietnam. "I had enough money saved to buy our way out," he said.

To limit potential losses, Tran split the family into four groups: One group went to Indonesia, another to Hong Kong. A third went to Malaysia, and a fourth to the Philippines.

Tran traveled on a freighter, the Huy Fong. "I landed the first week of January in 1980," New York Times quoted him as saying. "By February, I was making sauce."

Tran started selling Sriracha out of a blue van. By 1987, demand had grown so much that he moved Huy Fong to a 232-square-meter building in Rosemead, in eastern Los Angeles.

Tran did not anticipate the popularity of his take on sriracha. He believed the sauce to be good. He liked to tell people that all he did was grind peppers, add garlic and bottle it.

He figured that immigrants of Vietnamese ancestry would stock his sriracha at pho shops. He hoped that the occasional American consumer might squirt it on hot dogs and hamburgers.

But with the companys rapid growth came new challenges. In 2013, the city of Irwindale sued Huy Fong over the chili odors emanating from the companys factory, claiming it was a "public nuisance."

Usually press shy, Tran fought back by opening up the factory to public tours and letting the outside world in.

"One of the things that makes Tran so fascinating is his reluctance to tell his story," said Griffin Hammond, a documentary filmmaker who created a 2013 documentary on Sriracha. "All he cares about is running his business very well."

By May 2014, the city had dropped its lawsuit. Srirachas runaway success has also led to counterfeiters.

Another challenge came in 2017, when Huy Fongs relationship with Underwood Ranches, its exclusive supplier of chilis since 1988, collapsed and led to a legal battle.

Huy Fong initially sued Underwood in August that year, claiming that Underwood had not repaid an overpayment of $1.4 million from the previous growing season.

Underwood counter-sued, alleging that Huy Fong had breached its contract and that Huy Fong had set up a new entity in 2016 to source chilis from other growers.

The court fight went on until 2021, when a California appellate court ordered Huy Fong to pay Underwood $23 million in damages.

Even now with multiple growers in California, New Mexico and Mexico, the company, which reportedly goes through 50,000 tons of chilis a year, is reliant on a strong harvest in the spring chili growing season to ensure it has enough peppers to produce its hot sauces.

Disaster struck in the spring of 2022 when weather conditions led to a poor harvest and a "severe shortage" of chilis, forcing Huy Fong to temporarily stop production.

That shortage appears to have passed, and Huy Fong has returned to its usual pace of churning out 18,000 bottles of Sriracha an hour.

The company also makes two other hot sauces. Its sambal oelek is based on an Indonesian recipe that uses only chili, salt and vinegar. And its chili garlic sauce is similar but adds garlic.

Tran has always used the same ingredients in Sriracha since he first started selling it in 1980: chili, sugar, salt, garlic and vinegar. Over more than 40 years, that has been a recipe for success, turning Huy Fong from a tiny start-up to a billion-dollar business.

"I could use less expensive ingredients or promote my products to make more money," says Tran. "But no, my goal is always to try to make a rich mans hot sauce at a poor mans price."
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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Conservative superstar Ben Shapiro revealed on Thursday that he had a discussion with podcast king Joe Rogan after the latter repeated an age-old antisemitic trope about Jews and money as he defended Rep. Ilhan Omars blatant antisemitism.

Rogan stuck up for Omar, saying that her comment about US support for Israel being all about the Benjamins wasnt antisemitic at all.

Shes talking about money, Rogan said. Thats not an anti-Semitic comment, I dont think that is. The idea that Jewish people are not into money is ridiculous. Thats like saying Italians arent into pizza.

Shapiro discussed this comment while responding to a caller on The Ben Shapiro Show on Thursday who asked about the difference between jokes and malicious antisemitism.

So I think jokes are different than it  than, you know, actual honest observations. I did talk with Joe a little bit about this yesterday and he was saying what I sort of suggested he was saying yesterday, which is Everybody likes money and Jews are good with it.

That is a very different thing than I think how it came out on the air when Joe was talking about it, Shapiro said. I will say that there is a difference between making stereotypical comments and having a stereotypical worldview.

When you talk about full damaging racism or anti-Semitism, it is actions that are tied to a full-scale worldview that are truly damaging, Shapiro explained. Now, there can be prominent people who say things that then tie into that worldview or give credence to that worldview unintentionally by saying things. And thats a problem. But the bigger problem is the worldview itself.

So to take an example, if you make a stereotypical comment about Black people in a joke to a friend, is that good? No, its not good. Its ugly and its bad and you shouldnt do it. Does that make you a racist for the rest of your life? No. It means you did a bad thing. It means you said a bad, racist thing, Shapiro said.

Does it mean that you even buy into a full scale racist worldview? No! And I think weve lost all nuance in this discussion. Its true of anti-Semitism too. If somebody makes a Jewish joke, is that the same thing as somebody buying into a broad scale program with regard to Jewish conspiracy theory? he asked.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)




In a small coal-mining town on Ukraines eastern front line, a fight for strategic superiority is being waged in a battlefield steeped with symbolism as the one-year anniversary of Russias invasion nears.

The town of Vuhledar  meaning gift of coal  has emerged as a critical hot spot in the fight for Donetsk province that would give both sides, the Ukrainian forces who hold the urban center, and the Russians positioned in the suburbs, a tactical upper hand in the greater battle for the Donbas region.

Located on an elevated plane that is one of the few high-terrain spots in the area, its capture would be an important step for Russia to disrupt Ukrainian supply lines. Securing Vuhledar would give Ukraine a potential launching pad for future counter-offensives south.

Then there is the symbolic weight: Vuhledar is close to the administrative border of Donetsk province, and winning it would play into Russias greater aim of controlling the region as a whole.

The center of gravity of the Russian military effort is in Donetsk, and Vuhledar is basically the southern flank of that, said Gustav Gressel, a senior policy fellow with the European Council on Foreign Relations Berlin office.

The grinding fight to win the area has cost Russia manpower and weapons, as Ukrainians continue to hold up defensive lines. Russia sends battalion-sized scout groups to probe Ukrainian lines and shoot artillery toward their positions with an eye to pushing north toward the critical N15 highway, a key supply route.

In remarks this week, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Russian troops were advancing with success in Vuhledar. Meanwhile, a British defense intelligence briefing said Russias aim was to capture unoccupied areas of Ukrainian-held Donetsk but it was unlikely to build up the forces required to change the outcome of the war.

Vuhledars pre-war population of 14,000 has dwindled to about 300. The majority of the towns residents worked in the coal mine and nearby factories before the war.

Olha Kyseliova, who was recently evacuated, worked in a brick factory before the fighting upended her life.

Russian forces ramped up attacks beginning on Jan. 24, residents said. That day, a missile tore through Kyseliovas nine-story building. She was sheltering in the basement with her three children and emerged to find a gaping hole through the roof of her third-floor apartment.

That was the moment she decided she had to leave her hometown. I cried the entire way out, I didnt want to leave, she said.

Three Ukrainian brigades are positioned in Vuhledar and on the outskirts of the town. The Associated Press spoke to five commanders in units from all three, who provided only their first names in keeping with Ukraines military policy. Russias 155 Marine infantry troops are positioned just four kilometers (two miles) away in Vuhledars suburbs.

For both sides, the town is tactically important.

Its one of the main logistics points of the Donbas region, and also one of the main points of elevation, said Maksym, the deputy commander of a Ukrainian marine infantry battalion. By capturing Vuhledar, Russians can easily occupy the entire Donetsk region.

Seizing Vuhledar would enable Russia to push forward and threaten Ukrainian supply lines feeding into the fierce Marinka front line to the north, said Gressel of the European Council on Foreign Relations. For Ukraine, Vuhledar would be a launching pad for future counter-offensives toward Mariupol and Berdiansk.

From their perch in the town, Ukrainian forces can see into Russian lines and have so far been able to repel Russian attempts to encircle Vuhledar. Columns of Russian tanks and armored vehicles transporting infantrymen continuously assault and attempt to break Ukrainian defenses. Aviation, rockets and artillery target the town.

But with our fighters and anti-tank equipment their attempts have not been successful, said Maksym, the Ukrainian deputy commander. The situation is strained, but controlled.

Similar to other front lines along the east, the Russians are losing scores of infantrymen in an attempt to tire and weaken Ukrainian defensive lines. Serhii, the commander of a Ukrainian intelligence unit, said he saw Russian soldiers sent straight through fields mined by the Ukrainians following Russias capture of the village of Pavlivka, south of Vuhledar, in November.

They de-mine our fields by using their own people, he said.

Ukrainian commanders said some of their units are suffering from dire ammunition shortages.

That view was not shared across brigades, suggesting some are better supplied than others. Taras, the commander of a mortar unit, said his forces were suffering very serious shortages. Faced with orders to target an enemy position, he said, I have just two or three rounds of ammunition to do it. Its nothing.

Two commanders of a brigade inside Vuhledar reported the Russians hurled gas-laden projectiles that caused severe disorientation for hours, and burning of the throat and skin. Higher-ranking commanders did not comment on the type of gas used and said an investigation was ongoing.

They are probing and testing us across the eastern front line, including in Vuhledar, said Oleksandr, a commander who was recently rotated out of the town. They are trying to find our points of weakness.

For now, Russias activities around Vuhledar are not operationally significant, said Kateryna Stepanenko, a Russia analyst with the U.S.-based think tank Institute for the Study of War. More combat power is required to execute breakthroughs that would achieve the stated aim of the Russian invasion  the capture of the entire Donetsk province.

Even in the event of victory in Vuhledar, Russia would still need a lot of combat power to push north. Three months after capturing the village of Pavlivka in November, Russian forces have yet to make breakthroughs in Vuhledar, which is only four kilometers  a six-minute drive  away.

Its not operationally significant because Russians will still have to fight for more territory to make a meaningful disruption of Ukrainian ground lines of communication to western Donetsk, Stepanenko said. Vuhledar is just one settlement on their way, where they are already suffering significant losses and where they already seem to have suffered losses in the area before.

Meanwhile, the last of Vuhledars residents said they are staying put.

Oleksandra Havrylko, police press officer for the Donetsk region, pleads with those who remain to leave the devastated area. Most spend their days hiding in basements, coming out when there are lulls in fighting to charge phones and gather supplies in the towns points of refuge, called invincibility centers.

All but one of the towns children have been evacuated. The father of a 15-year-old, the last remaining minor in the town, refuses to part with his son or leave the area, she said.

There are people in the city who dont want to be evacuated, we tried many times, she said. Most have never ventured far from their hometown.

(AP)




The Capitol riot trial for Proud Boys leaders promised to be a historic showcase for some of the most compelling evidence of an alleged plot by far-right extremists to halt the transfer of presidential power after the 2020 election.

One month into the trial, there have been plenty of fireworks, but mostly when the jury wasnt in the courtroom.

Lawyers representing the five Proud Boys charged with seditious conspiracy have repeatedly sparred with U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly during breaks in testimony. At least 10 times, those lawyers have argued in vain for him to declare a mistrial.

The judge regularly admonishes lawyers for interrupting him and has threatened to hold them in contempt if it continues. Two defense lawyers at one point floated the idea of withdrawing from the case if Kelly did not rule in their favor on evidentiary matters.

The barrage of bickering has bogged down the proceedings in the federal courthouse, where the Capitol can be seen in the distance from some windows. One recent day in court, defense lawyer Norm Pattis compared the trial to visiting Gilligans Island, the title and setting of the 1960s-era sitcom about a shipwrecked boats crew and passengers.

It was supposed to be a three-hour tour, and people were stranded together for an infinite period while they worked out their interpersonal difficulties, Pattis quipped.

The tension in the courtroom reflects the high stakes for the Justice Department and the defendants. Its one of the most serious cases to emerge from the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, and former Proud Boys national chairman Enrique Tarrio is perhaps the highest profile person to be charged so far in the assault.

The Proud Boys face up to 20 years in prison if convicted of seditious conspiracy. Acquittals on the rarely used charge  which strikes at the heart of what prosecutors say happened that day  would be a setback in the governments Jan. 6 investigation, which continues to grow two years later.

Tarrio and four lieutenants are accused of participating in a weekslong plot to keep Democrat Joe Biden out of the White House after he defeated then-President Donald Trump in the 2020 election. Prosecutors say it culminated with Proud Boys mounting a coordinated assault on the Capitol alongside hundreds of other Trump supporters.

Defense lawyers say theres no evidence that the Proud Boys plotted to attack the Capitol and stop Congress from certifying the Electoral College vote on Jan. 6. The lawyers claim prosecutors are mischaracterizing bellicose online banter as a violent plot. They tried unsuccessfully to move the trial out of Washington, arguing that there was no way their clients could get a fair trial in front of a District of Columbia jury.

The Proud Boys trial is on a pace to last several weeks longer than last years landmark trial for Oath Keepers group leaders and members, who were charged in a separate Jan. 6 case.

In November, a jury convicted Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and another leader of seditious conspiracy after three days of jury selection, 26 days of testimony and two days of closing arguments. A separate trial involving members of the Oath Keepers  who face a slew of charges, but not seditious conspiracy  also got underway this month.

Jury selection for the Proud Boys case lasted 12 days. After the trials opening statements on Jan. 12, jurors have heard 16 days of testimony through Friday. Prosecutors are expected to rest their case in late February or early March before the defense team begins presenting testimony.

A dozen of the first 14 prosecution witnesses in the Proud Boys trial have been FBI agents and other law enforcement officials. Jurors also have heard testimony from a former Proud Boys member who cut a plea deal with prosecutors and a British documentary filmmaker who was embedded with the Proud Boys on Jan. 6.

Jurors are often kept waiting in the wings while defense lawyers challenge the admissibility of evidence. In one such exchange, Pattis urged Kelly to reconsider a ruling allowing prosecutors to introduce posts from the social media platform Parler.

Were offering you a lifeline here because we think you erred, Pattis told the judge.

Well, Im offering you the lifeline of obeying my order, Kelly responded.

Kelly has frequently scolded defense lawyers for interrupting and talking over him, warning that he could find them in contempt. At one point, lawyer Nicholas Smith interrupted the judge while the judge was chastising him for an earlier interruption.

One of Tarrios lawyers asked for a mistrial after a witness said that Tarrio had burned a Black Lives Matter banner at a protest in Washington during a December 2020 demonstration by Trump supporters.

Tarrio was arrested two days before the Jan. 6 riot, charged with vandalizing the banner and ordered to leave the city. Kelly ruled that prosecutors could discuss the vandalism, but not specific details about the banner. Prosecutors allege Tarrio remained in command of the Proud Boys on the ground on Jan. 6 even though he wasnt there.

Carmen Hernandez, a lawyer for Proud Boys chapter leader Zachary Rehl, has repeatedly moved for mistrials, including when she accused a prosecutor of using inflammatory and misleading allegations in his opening statement. Hernandez asked for a mistrial after jurors saw violent videos of Proud Boys street fighting at rallies before Jan. 6.

It wouldnt be a day in this trial without a mistrial motion, said Kelly, who denied her request.

At least one juror may have sent a signal about the sluggish pace of the trial.

J. Daniel Hull, one of Biggs lawyers, told the judge on Jan. 19 that he saw a juror nodding off that morning. In response, the judge told lawyers that focusing their presentations might help that issue.

The rancor started before the jury was even sworn in.

A day before the trial started, Hernandez said she felt compelled to withdraw from the case if the judge allowed prosecutors to show a particular video as evidence. Smith, who represents Proud Boys chapter leader Ethan Nordean, followed up with a similar comment about withdrawing if the judge didnt rule in his favor on an evidentiary matter.

Pattis, a Connecticut-based lawyer who represents Proud Boys organizer Joe Biggs, was briefly sidelined from the case after a judge in his home state suspended his license to practice law for six months. The decision stemmed from Pattis handling of confidential documents during his representation of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones in a civil lawsuit. Kelly allowed Pattis to rejoin the trial after opening statements once an appeals court postponed his suspension.

The judge didnt bring jurors into court on Feb. 6 so the lawyers could argue about the relevance of messages that Proud Boys posted on the Telegram platform. Pattis warned that the Telegram evidence alone could add two weeks to the trial if were not careful.

I jokingly told my office I hope to be home by Easter today at the rate things are going, Pattis added.

(AP)




Pedro Yudel Bruzon was looking for someone in the U.S. to support his effort to seek asylum when he landed on a Facebook page filled with posts demanding up to $10,000 for a financial sponsor.

Its part of an underground market thats emerged since the Biden administration announced it would accept 30,000 immigrants each month arriving by air from Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua and Haiti. Applicants for the humanitarian parole program need someone in the U.S., often a friend or relative, to promise to provide financial support for at least two years.

Bruzon, who lives in Cuba, doesnt know anyone who can do that, so he searched online. But he also doesnt have the money to pay for a sponsor and isnt sure the offers  or those making them  are real. He worries about being exploited or falling prey to a scam.

They call it humanitarian parole, but it has nothing to do with being humanitarian, said Bruzon, who said he struggles to feed himself and his mother with what he makes as a 33-year-old Havana security guard. Everyone wants money, even people in the same family.

Its unclear how many people in the United States may have charged migrants to sponsor them, but Facebook groups with names like Sponsors U.S. carry dozens of posts offering and seeking financial supporters.

Several immigration attorneys said they could find no specific law prohibiting people from charging money to sponsor beneficiaries.

As long as everything is accurate on the form and there are no fraudulent statements it may be legal, said lawyer Taylor Levy, who long worked along the border around El Paso, Texas. But what worries me are the risks in terms of being trafficked and exploited. If lying is involved, it could be fraud.

Also, she noted, it seems counterintuitive to pay someone to promise to provide financial support.

Attorney Leon Fresco, a former top aide to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, said charging to be a sponsor is a gray area and the U.S. should send a forceful message against the practice.

Kennji Kizuka, an attorney and director of asylum policy for the International Rescue Committee, which resettles newcomers in the United States, said this type of thing happens with every new U.S. program benefitting migrants.

It looks like some are just going to take peoples money and the people are going to get nothing in return, Kizuka said.

Levy said such exploitation surrounding a similar U.S. program for Ukrainians prompted the government to publish an online guide about how to spot and protect against human-trafficking schemes.

One common scheme with immigration programs is known as notario fraud and involves people who call themselves notarios publicos charging large sums. In Latin America, the term refers to attorneys with special credentials, leading lead migrants to believe they are lawyers who can provide legal advice. In the U.S., notaries public are merely empowered to witness the signing of legal documents and issue oaths.

In another scheme, someone poses as a U.S. official asking for money. The U.S. government notes: We do not accept Western Union, MoneyGram, PayPal, or gift cards as payment for immigration fees.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services warns about potential scams with the humanitarian parole program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans that was rolled out last month and notes online that the program is free.

Fulfilling our humanitarian mission while upholding the integrity of the immigration system is a top priority for USCIS, the agency said in response to questions about the potential for exploitation. It says the agency carefully vets every prospective supporter through a series of fraud- and security-based screening measures.

Additionally, USCIS thoroughly reviews each reported case of fraud or misconduct and may refer those cases to federal law enforcement for additional investigation, the statement said.

The agency did not address whether any application has been rejected because of concerns that potential sponsors might be requesting money.

The Department of Homeland Security says 1,700 humanitarian parole applications were accepted as of Jan. 25 from Cubans, Haitians and Nicaraguans, plus an undisclosed number of Venezuelans. A Texas-led lawsuit seeks to stop the program, which could allow 360,000 people a year to enter the U.S. legally.

One Facebook post advertising paid sponsorships led to a person who identified himself as an American citizen living in Pensacola, Florida. Told he was communicating with a journalist, the person refused to talk on the phone and would only text.

The person told The Associated Press he had sponsored a Cuban uncle and aunt for $10,000 each. He refused to provide contact information for those relatives, then stopped responding to questions.

Another would-be sponsor said via Facebook messenger that they charge $2,000 per person, which includes a sponsorship fee, document processing and an airline ticket. Requests for more information were answered with a phone number from the Dominican Republic that rang unanswered.

A man who posted seeking a sponsor told the AP that he was disturbed by some offers.

Its very easy to trick a desperate person and there are an abundance of them here, the man, who identified himself as Pedro Manuel Carmenate, of Havana, said. You just have to tell the people what they want to hear.

Of course, not all sponsors charge a fee. A new initiative called Welcome.US aims to match Americans to migrants without supporters. Also, nonprofit organizations are trying to spread accurate information about the program.

Sarah Ivory, executive director of the nonprofit USAHello that provides online information in multiple languages, said the proliferation of offers for paid sponsorship is deeply troubling and frustratingly predictable, reflected in hundreds of queries to the group.

Many report that they barely have the money to feed themselves, much less pay to get a passport or arrange a sponsor, Ivory said.

Such desperation is reflected on social media.

Im looking for a sponsor for two people please, my husband is in a wheelchair, reads a post from someone who says she lives in Havana. I will give my house with everything inside and Ill pay $4,000 for each person sponsored.

(AP)




The subpoena to former Vice President Mike Pence is a milestone moment in an ongoing Justice Department special counsel investigation. But it doesnt guarantee hes going to be testifying before a grand jury anytime soon.

Pence is the latest official in former President Donald Trumps administration to be subpoenaed as part of the investigation into efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, but the push for Pences testimony is unique because hes the highest-ranking official known to have been summoned.

The subpoena, the most aggressive step to date taken by special counsel Jack Smith, sets the stage for a potential dispute over executive privilege, creating a dynamic that could test  or at least delay  the Justice Departments ability to get from Pence the testimony it believes it needs.

Representatives for Pence have not said publicly whether he intends to comply with the subpoena or will instead look to try to limit his grand jury appearance or avoid it altogether. Trump, for his part, has not said whether he plans to assert executive privilege to prevent Pences cooperation. But some legal experts say he faces significant hurdles in succeeding if he tried to do so.

This will be fairly straightforward because the Department of Justice will be able to make a very compelling showing for the testimony, said W. Neil Eggleston, a former White House counsel in the Obama administration.

Spokespeople for Pence and Smith declined to comment on the subpoena, which a person familiar with the matter said followed back-and-forth negotiations between the two sides. A lawyer for the former vice president did not return emails seeking comment. Pence has been represented by veteran attorney Emmet Flood, who over decades in Washington has navigated other high-profile political figures through executive privilege disputes.

Pences interest to investigators is obvious. Despite having only a ceremonial role in overseeing the election, Pence was hectored for weeks by Trump to help him stay in power, with the president falsely insisting that Pence could simply reject the results and send them back to the battleground states he contested.

Some of the Trump loyalists who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 as Pence was presiding over the counting of electoral votes chanted  Hang Mike Pence! as the vice president was steered to safety.

Since then, Pence, who is considering launching a 2024 presidential bid against Trump, has distanced himself from the former president, saying last year that President Trump is wrong and that I had no right to overturn the election.

Despite that criticism, Pence opted against testifying voluntarily before the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection and was never subpoenaed to appear. Whether he views cooperation with the grand jury differently is unclear, as is whether he and his lawyers will try to avoid being forced to discuss private conversations with Trump.

In the event he does ultimately testify, a subpoena might give him a degree of political cover, helping him avoid further alienating Trump supporters he may need for his own election bid by allowing him to say that he was compelled to cooperate rather than did so voluntarily.

If he does not wish to comply, he may look for Trump to intervene by invoking executive privilege, a doctrine meant to protect the confidentiality of the Oval Office decision-making process. Such an action could result in closed-door arguments before the D.C. courts chief federal judge, Beryl Howell.

Even then, though, the prospects for success is uncertain at best, in part because the privilege is not absolute and courts have held it can be overcome if the evidence being sought is deemed necessary for a criminal trial or a grand jury proceeding.

The Supreme Court made that clear in a 1974 decision that forced President Richard Nixon to turn over damning Oval Office recordings, saying using the principle to withhold evidence that is demonstrably relevant in a criminal trial would cut deeply into the guarantee of due process of law and gravely impair the basic function of the court.

Trump has also been unsuccessful in asserting executive privilege in instances where the current Biden administration disagrees. For instance, the Biden White House repeatedly rejected Trump efforts to use executive privilege to prevent the National Archives and Records Administration from producing presidential records about Jan. 6 to the House committee. The Supreme Court in January 2022 also rebuffed Trumps efforts to withhold the documents.

Other Trump administration officials have already testified before the grand jury, including former White House counsel Pat Cipollone and his top deputy as well as Pences own chief of staff, Marc Short.

Former Trump administration national security adviser Robert OBrien has also been subpoenaed by the special counsel as part of the Jan. 6 investigation and a separate probe into the presence of classified documents at Trumps Florida estate, according to a person familiar with the matter who insisted on anonymity to discuss the action.

Its a little uncomfortable that that evidence is being sought from his vice president. But the law has not generally differentiated among people in a White House, Eggleston said.

Other potential complicating factors include the fact that the episodes investigators presumably want to question Pence about  such as Trumps efforts to influence counting of the votes  dont concern conventional presidential duties likes the ones typically thought to be shielded by executive privilege, said Daniel Farber, a presidential powers expert and Berkeley Law professor.

He also wrote in detail about many of those episodes in a book published last year, So Help Me God. That includes descriptions of a Trump pressure campaign aimed at getting Pence to reject the election results, as well as numerous conversations ahead of Jan. 6, when Pence says he told Trump that he did not believe he had the power to do what Trump wanted.

I think there are arguments that Pence can make or the Trump could make, Farber said. And of course, you can never 100% predict what the courts will do. But it doesnt seem like an especially strong argument.

(AP)




Lawyers for former President Donald Trump have in recent months voluntarily turned over to federal investigators additional papers marked as classified as well as a laptop belonging to a Trump aide, a person familiar with the situation said Friday night.

The legal team also provided an empty folder with classified markings, according to the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press to discuss an ongoing investigation. It was not immediately clear what material was supposed to have been in the folder.

A Justice Department special counsel has been investigating the retention by Trump of hundreds of documents marked as classified at his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago. FBI agents who served a search warrant at the property in August recovered roughly 100 classified documents, including records classified at the top-secret level. A federal grand jury has been hearing evidence in the case for months. Prosecutors are investigating whether Trump willfully hoarded the material and whether he or anyone else sought to obstruct their probe, court filings show.

ABC News first reported the discovery of the additional documents.

The person familiar with the matter said a handful of pages with classified markings were found during a search weeks ago at the Mar-a-Lago complex that was supervised by the Trump legal team, and were promptly provided to the Justice Department. The documents were found in a box containing thousands of pages, the person said. The Trump legal team had enlisted investigators to search for any other classified documents that had not yet been recovered by the government.

Separately on Friday, the FBI searched the Indiana home of former Vice President Mike Pence and found an additional document with classified markings, following the discovery by his lawyers last month of sensitive documents. FBI officials have also searched the Delaware homes of President Joe Biden after his lawyers found documents with classified markings at his former office in Washington and at his Wilmington property.

(AP)
Vietnamese exporters should beware that China is tightening quality control at its borders, said the head of the Provisional Vietnamese Business Association in China.

At a forum promoting trade in agricultural products and food between Vietnam and China on Friday, Tra My, the associations president, said if a batch of Vietnamese goods does not have a valid phytosanitary certificate or is not registered, it will be returned or destroyed by the Chinese side.

If products are contaminated with soil, aphids or ants, they will also be returned. She said this could be a problem because some Vietnamese exporters still pay more attention to quantity than quality.

Many Vietnamese farmers and businesses remain passive towards approaching potential Chinese partners for direct sales. Instead, they still rely on intermediaries, including traders.

At the forum, Bui Thi Hai, director of Haiyang Trading and Production Company in the central province of Binh Thuan, suggested that the Vietnamese and Chinese governments should negotiate a deal on the export of frozen durian from Vietnam to China via official quota.

Le Thanh Hoa, deputy director of the Department of Agricultural Product Processing and Market Development at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said Vietnam has a lot of products that China needs, and local enterprises should maker greater efforts to fully tap the northern neighbors massive market.

Last year Vietnam exported various products totaling more than US$53 billion to the world market, including over $14 billion to China, which spent over $260 billion importing goods from many countries.

Vietnam also signed with China protocols on exporting Vietnamese durian, jackfruit, sweet potato and birds nest to the Chinese market through official quotas.

This year Vietnam is negotiating with China to do the same with pomelo, avocado, custard apple, plum, cardamom and pineapple.

"The ministry is finalizing documents to continue signing with the Chinese side protocols on exporting more agricultural products via official quota," Hoa said.

Huynh Tan Dat, deputy director of the ministrys Plant Protection Department, said the department is negotiating with its Chinese counterpart protocols on exporting fresh fruits  including watermelon, dragon fruit, mango, longan, litchi and rambutan  to China through official quota.

The department is guiding the temporary export of chili and passion fruit to China, he added.




A U.S. military fighter jet shot down an unknown object flying off the remote northern coast of Alaska on Friday on orders from President Joe Biden, White House officials said.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the object was downed because it was flying at about 40,000 feet (13,000 meters) and posed a reasonable threat to the safety of civilian flights, not because of any knowledge that it was engaged in surveillance. Asked about the objects downing, Biden on Friday said only that It was a success.

KIRBY: Out of an abundance of caution, and at the recommendation of the Pentagon, President Biden ordered the military to down the object and they did and it came inside our territorial waters and those waters right now are frozen.pic.twitter.com/ZsN49PLXUF  Breaking911 (@Breaking911) February 10, 2023

KIRBY: "We're calling this an object because that's the best description we have right now. We do not know who owns it. [] We dont know if its state-owned. We dont understand the full purpose."pic.twitter.com/fubWFiHtI7  Breaking911 (@Breaking911) February 10, 2023

PENTAGON: High-altitude object shot down over Alaska is not similar in size or shape to Chinese spy balloon pic.twitter.com/yXq5tw0r6p  Breaking911 (@Breaking911) February 10, 2023

Commercial airliners and private jets can fly as high as 45,000 feet (13,700 meters).

Kirby described the object as roughly the size of a small car, much smaller than the massive suspected Chinese spy balloon downed by Air Force fighter jets Saturday off the coast of South Carolina after it transited over sensitive military sites across the continental U.S.

The twin downings in such close succession are extraordinary, and reflect heightened concerns over Chinas surveillance program and public pressure on Biden to take a tough stand against it. Still, there were few answers about the unknown object downed Friday and the White House drew distinctions between the two episodes. Officials couldnt say if the latest object contained any surveillance equipment, where it came from or what purpose it had.

The Pentagon on Friday declined to provide a more precise description of the object, only saying that U.S. pilots who flew up to observe it determined it didnt appear to be manned. Officials said the object was far smaller than last weeks balloon, did not appear to be maneuverable and was traveling at a much lower altitude.

Kirby maintained that Biden, based on the advice of the Pentagon, believed it posed enough of a concern to shoot it out of the sky  primarily because of the potential risk to civilian aircraft.

Were going to remain vigilant about our airspace, Kirby said. The president takes his obligations to protect our national security interests as paramount.

The president was briefed on the presence of the object Thursday evening after two fighter jets surveilled it.

Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, told reporters Friday that an F-22 fighter aircraft based at Alaskas Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson shot down the object using an AIM-9X short-range air-to-air missile, the same type used to take down the balloon nearly a week ago.

The object flew over one of the most desolate places on the nation. Few towns dot Alaskas North Slope, with the two apparently closest communities  Deadhorse and Kaktovik  combining for about 300 people. The Prudhoe Bay oil field on the North Slope is the largest such field in the United States.

Unlike the suspected spy balloon, which was downed to live feeds and got U.S. residents looking up to the skies, its likely few people saw this object given the blistering frigid conditions of northern Alaska this time of the year, since there are few people outside for a prolonged period of time.

Ahead of the the shoot-down, the Federal Aviation Administration restricted flights over a roughly 10-square mile (26-square kilometer) area within U.S. airspace off Alaskas Bullen Point, the site of a disused U.S. Air Force radar station on the Beaufort Sea about 130 miles (210 kilometers) from the Canadian border, inside the Arctic Circle.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a tweet Friday that he had been briefed and supported the decision. Our military and intelligence services will always work together, he said.

The object fell onto frozen waters and officials expected they could recover debris faster than from last weeks massive balloon. Ryder said the object was traveling northeast when it was shot down. He said several U.S. military helicopters have gone out to begin the recovery effort.

Later Friday, the Pentagon said: Recovery is happening in a mix of ice and snow. Units located in Alaska under the direction of U.S. Northern Command, along with the Alaska National Guard, are involved in the response.

The unknown object was shot down in an area with harsh weather conditions and about six and a half hours of daylight at this time of year. Daytime temperatures Friday were about minus 17 degrees Fahrenheit (27 degrees Celsius).

After the object was detected Thursday, NORAD  North American Aerospace Defense Command sent F-35s to observe it, a U.S. official said, adding that the military queried U.S. government agencies to make sure it did not belong to any of them, and had confidence it was not a U.S. government or military asset. The official was not authorized to speak publicly about sensitive national security matters and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Because it was much smaller than the suspected Chinese spy balloon, there were fewer safety concerns about downing it over land, so the decision was made to shoot it down when it was possible. That happened over water.

The mystery around what exactly the flying object was lingered late into Friday night. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a statement saying it was not a National Weather Service balloon.

They do not hover, said NOAA spokesperson Scott Smullen.

The development came almost a week after the U.S. shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the Carolina coast after it traversed sensitive military sites across North America. China insisted the flyover was an accident involving a civilian craft and threatened repercussions.

Biden issued the order but had wanted the balloon downed even earlier. He was advised that the best time for the operation would be when it was over water. Military officials determined that bringing it down over land from an altitude of 60,000 feet would pose an undue risk to people on the ground.

The balloon was part of a large surveillance program that China has been conducting for several years, the Pentagon has said. The U.S. has said Chinese balloons have flown over dozens of countries across five continents in recent years, and it learned more about the balloon program after closely monitoring the one shot down near South Carolina.

China responded that it reserved the right to take further actions and criticized the U.S. for an obvious overreaction and a serious violation of international practice.

(AP)




New York state officials said they will allow COVID-19-related masking requirements for staff and visitors in hospitals and other health care facilities to lapse on Sunday.

Acting Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said that while the pandemic is not over, we are moving to a transition.

As we do, and with safe and effective vaccines, treatments, and more, we are able to lift the states masking requirement in health care settings, McDonald said in a statement.

The decision announced Thursday comes as governments continue to relax rules enacted during the most intense days of the pandemic.

Earlier this week New York City announced it would no longer require COVID-19 vaccinations for police, firefighters, teachers and other municipal employees.

The statewide number of COVID-19 hospitalizations has been steadily dropping this year and as of Thursday stood at 2,176.

Health officials advised hospitals, nursing homes, treatment centers and other facilities to enact their own masking rules in accordance with guidance form the Centers for Disease Control.

(AP)




Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Saturday that on his order a U.S. warplane shot down an unidentified object that was flying high over northern Canada, acting a day after U.S. planes took similar action over Alaska.

Shortly before Trueaus tweet, the North American Aerospace Defense Command said it had detected an object flying at high altitude over Canada. NORAD gave no further information, including when the object was first spotted or what it is.

A spokesman, Maj. Olivier Gallant, said both Canadian and U.S. warplanes operating as part of NORAD had been deployed.

On Twitter, Trudeau then announced: I ordered the take down of an unidentified object that violated Canadian airspace. @NORADCommand shot down the object over the Yukon. Canadian and U.S. aircraft were scrambled, and a U.S. F-22 successfully fired at the object.

I ordered the take down of an unidentified object that violated Canadian airspace. @NORADCommand shot down the object over the Yukon. Canadian and U.S. aircraft were scrambled, and a U.S. F-22 successfully fired at the object.  Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) February 11, 2023

The object was the third known to have violated North American airspace in the past two weeks.

In a second tweet, Trudeau said: I spoke with President Biden this afternoon. Canadian Forces will now recover and analyze the wreckage of the object. Thank you to NORAD for keeping the watch over North America.

A suspected Chinese spy balloon spent nearly a week flying through Canada and U.S. airspace before it was shot down by U.S. warplanes off South Carolina last Sunday.

The U.S. military shot down a second object in Alaskan airspace Friday, though authorities have not provided details on what it was.

According to U.S. Northern Command, recovery operations continued Saturday both near Deadhorse, Alaska, and off South Carolina.

In a statement, the Northern Command said there were no new details on what the object was that a U.S. fighter jet shot down over Alaska. It said the Alaska Command and the Alaska National Guard, along with the FBI and local law enforcement, were conducting search and recovery.

Arctic weather conditions, including wind chill, snow, and limited daylight, are a factor in this operation, and personnel will adjust recovery operations to maintain safety, the statment said. Recovery activities are occurring on sea ice.

It added that the Navy continued survey and recovery activities on the ocean floor off South Carolina, and the Coast Guard was providing security. Additional debris was pulled out Friday, and additional operations will continue as weather permits, the statement said.

(AP)




Conservative commentator Sean Hannity sidestepped an easy question about lightning rod Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene  just minutes after he interviewed her on his Fox News show.

After the segment with the congresswoman, Hannity was joined by Geraldo Rivera and former Trump advisor Stephen Miller, where they discussed Bidens State of the Union address and Sarah Sanders GOP rebuttal to it.

Rivera juxtaposed Sanders remarks that the dividing line in America is no longer between right or left. the choice is between normal or crazy, by asking whether Greene is normal or crazy.

Well Sean, the first thing Id like to start with is a question our friend, Governor Sanders  the hit of the night  said the world is now divided its not Republican/Democrat right/left, red/blue anymore, Rivera said. Its normal and crazy, normal/crazy. So, Im gonna ask you, Sean. Which side of that divide  normal/crazy  is Marjorie Taylor Greene? Is she the new normal? Because if she is, the Republicans are not gonna win any more elections.

I will answer, Hannity replied, but then deflected to talking about Democrats.

The Green New Deal radical socialists are absolutely insane and theres such thing as a moderate Democrat that exists in Washington or seemingly around the country, Hannity said. So, yeah. I would say theyre all crazy, those people that are making policy that stopped building the wall, that stop domestic energy production, those people that believe in defunding, dismantling the police. Those people are crazy, yes, insane, out of their mind.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)




President Joe Biden is getting a new communications director at the White House as he inches closer to an expected re-election campaign.

The administration tapped a veteran of the Obama-Biden years to lead the team, Ben LaBolt. He will replace Kate Bedingfield, who had said in July that she was leaving the White House but stuck around and will now go by the end of the month.

The communications director leads the White Houses strategy on messaging policies and goals and generally works behind the scenes. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre remains in her public-facing position.

Bedingfield is expected to be key in Bidens likely re-election campaign as a consultant, according to a person familiar with the presidents plans who was not authorized to speak publicly about them and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Biden hasnt said officially that hes running for re-election, but has said its his intention to do so.

Bedingfields departure is the latest for the administration, which saw little turnover during Bidens first two years. Jen Psaki left as White House press secretary in May. Ron Klain announced his departure as chief of staff just a few weeks ago. Since then, Brian Deese, a top Biden aide on the economy, said he would leave, and Labor Secretary Marty Walsh is also expected to do so.

Bedingfield was Bidens communications director when he was vice president and served as his deputy campaign manager during his 2020 presidential run.

Since my time as Vice President, Kate has been a loyal and trusted adviser, through thick and thin, Biden said in a statement. The country is better off as a result of her hard work and Im so grateful to her  and to her husband and two young children  for giving so much. Ben has big shoes to fill.

LaBolt worked on communications for Ketanji Brown Jackson, who was Bidens pick for the Supreme Court, and the first Black woman to have the job. LaBolt also worked in communications for Democrats in both the House and Senate.

LaBolt will be the first openly gay White House communications director, the White House said.

(AP)




Shortly after the murderous terror attack in Ramot on Erev Shabbos, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir instructed the police to begin preparing for Operation Protective Wall 2 in East Jerusalem.

After Ben-Gvir held a meeting at the Jerusalem District Police headquarters in the wake of the attack, his office stated that the operation will already be launched on Sunday to deal with the nests of terrorism in East Jerusalem.

The purpose of the operation is to fight and root out terrorism, to reach the terrorists homes and stop them before they arrive to carry out attacks, the statement said.

However, shortly after Ben-Gvirs announcement, a senior political official rejected his words and emphasized that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will make a decision on an operation in Jerusalem only after consultation with the entire security establishment and after an orderly discussion has taken place in the political-security cabinet.

Decisions on Operation Protective Wall 2 are not made by the statement of this or that minister on some sidewalk, the official said. Ben-Gvirs statement was not known to us.

The official added that a preliminary investigation shows that the terrorist is mentally ill and was released from a psychiatric hospital only days before the attack. He added that Netanyahus position is that there is no reason to take collective punishment measures against the Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem in response to the attack, especially since Israel is hoping to calm the area ahead of Ramadan and Passover.

There are operational steps that can and should be taken even in the face of a single threat but this should be carried out in a balanced way, the official said. There is a broad public in East Jerusalem that does not commit terrorist attacks. We want all Israeli citizens to be able to enjoy the freedom of worship during Ramadan and Passover.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)




Police forces from the Jerusalem district, Border Guard officers, and IDF soldiers operated overnight Motzei Shabbos in the A-Tur neighborhood of east Jerusalem, sealing off the family home of the Ramot terrorist.

A statement from Israel Police said: The house of the terrorists parents, where he lived in the past and where his two brothers who were arrested live now, was seized by police and security forces after it was evacuated and its contents evacuated. Tonight, the sealing of all the openings of the house was carried out after receiving the required approvals and in accordance with the sealing order and confiscation of the house.

In the hours after the attack, the terrorists relatives and family members were arrested and interrogated about their involvement and knowledge of the attack.

The terrorists two brothers were brought to the Jerusalem Magistrates Court on Motzei Shabbos and the court approved the extension of their detention.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)




While some Republicans blame the COVID-19 vaccine or wokeness for the Armys recruiting woes, the military service says the bigger hurdles are more traditional ones: Young people dont want to die or get injured, deal with the stress of Army life and put their lives on hold.

They just dont see the Army as something thats relevant, said Maj. Gen. Alex Fink, head of Army marketing. They see us as revered, but not relevant, in their lives.

Addressing those longtime issues has taken on greater urgency as the Army tries to recover from its worst recruiting year in decades, a situation aggravated by the tight jobs market. The Army is offering new programs, advertising and enticements in an effort to change perceptions and reverse the decline.

One incentive gives recruiters bonuses of up to $4,500 per quarter if they exceed their baseline enlistment requirement. A pilot program allows young enlisted soldiers  those in the three lower ranks  to get a promotion if they refer someone who enlists and goes to basic training. Only one promotion per soldier is allowed.

The Army fell about 15,000 soldiers, or 25%, short of its 60,000 recruitment goal last year, when all the branches struggled to meet recruiting goals.

Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said the Army has set a difficult goal for this year: aiming to bring in 65,000 recruits, which would be 20,000 more than in 2022. Its difficult to predict how it will go, she said, adding that recruiters need to do all they can to surpass last years numbers.

I would say it is a stretch goal, she said.

Wormuth said she and Gen. James McConville, the Armys chief of staff, believed they needed to set a big goal.

I think we are seeing some forward momentum. But It is still too early to tell where we will likely land at the end of this fiscal year. I know we will do better than we did last year, she said.

Guiding the Armys efforts are surveys intended to help pinpoint why young people dismiss the Army as a career.

Those surveys were conducted over four months last spring and summer. They involved about 600 respondents, ages 16 to 28, per month. The Army discussed the general findings with The Associated Press but declined to provide detailed methodology, saying the surveys were done by a private research contractor and that licensing agreements limited the public release of some data collection details.

Officials said that based on the surveys, young people simply do not see the Army as a safe place or good career path, and believe they would have to put their lives and careers on hold if they enlisted.

Army leaders said very few say they are deterred from enlisting due to wokeness. In fact, concerns about discrimination against women and minorities is seen as a bigger issue, along with a more general distrust of the military.

Wokeness is a slang term that originally described attentiveness to issues of racial and social justice. Some people and groups, especially conservatives, now use it in a derogatory sense implying what they see as overreactions.

Republicans in Congress, including Rep. Jim Banks, chairman of the House Armed Services subcommittee on military personnel, have pledged to target wokeness this year. Banks, R-Ind., has said exposing and dismantling the Biden administrations woke agenda that is driving down military recruitment and retention will be a top priority for him this year. His spokesman, Buckley Carlson, said combating wokeness at the Defense Department will be a key issue for the congressman.

Banks and others have complained about the Pentagons efforts to target extremism in the military, provide courses in critical race theory and other efforts to expand diversity. They say focusing on partisan issues pushed by the left takes away from the Pentagons core missions, weakens the military and turns off recruits.

But the Army says that on average, only 5% of the respondents in the surveys listed wokeness as an issue, compared with 13% who say they believe that women and minorities will face discrimination and not get the same opportunities.

Wormuth said the survey data is a tool to assuage the concerns that some may have, whether influencers or members of Congress, about wokeness or the vaccine mandate  which is now rescinded  and show they are not, by any means, primary drivers of the recruiting challenges were experiencing.

She said the information from the surveys also provides insight on how the Army needs to better explain its benefits.

Fink, the Armys marketing head, said the top three reasons young people cite for rejecting military enlistment are the same across all the services: fear of death, worries about post-traumatic stress disorder and leaving friends and family  in that order. He said the Army wanted a better understanding of any additional barriers to service, beyond those top three.

By a significant margin, he said, the most common response beyond Nos. 1-3 was, I will be putting my life on hold. That was cited by more than 1 in 5 people surveyed.

Many young people do not know anyone in the Army and are unfamiliar with the jobs or benefits it offers. Fink said trust in government institutions, including the military, has declined, particularly among this group.

They just dont perceive the Army as being in touch with the modern, everyday culture that theyre used to, he said.

Fink said about 10% in the surveys say they do not trust military leadership, based on the way recent events or missions have been handled. That could include the Afghanistan withdrawal or use of the military during racial unrest and protests in the United States.

Other reasons get much smaller mentions. They include concerns about living conditions on military bases, getting assigned to unwanted jobs, the coronavirus vaccine and the wokeness issue.

In some cases, those reasons vary by region. But Fink said the wokeness issue was pretty consistent  between 4% and 5% across the nation, without much variance by gender or ethnicity.

(AP)




Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi will meet with his counterpart Xi Jinping during his three-day trip in China starting Tuesday, as the two U.S. rivals seek further cooperation.

Chinas Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying made the announcement Sunday, saying Raisis visit was at Xis invitation.

Raisi will meet with Xi and their delegations will sign cooperation documents, according to Irans state news agency IRNA. Meeting with Iranian and Chinese business leaders and Iranian expatriates in China is also part of his itinerary, the report added.

Raisis visit is expected to deepen ties between the two political and economic partners that are opposed to the U.S.-led Western domination of international affairs.

The two leaders met last September in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, when Xi underscored Chinas support for Iran.

In December, Raisi pledged to remain committed to deepening the strategic partnership during a meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Hu Chunhua in Tehran.

China is a major buyer of Iranian oil and an important source of investment in the Mideast country. In 2021, Iran and China signed a 25-year strategic cooperation agreement that covered major economic activities from oil and mining to industry, transportation and agriculture.

Both countries have had tense relations with the United States and have sought to project themselves as a counterweight to American power alongside Russia.

Washington has accused Iran of selling hundreds of attack drones to Russia for its war in Ukraine and has sanctioned executives of an Iranian drone manufacturer. At that same time, ties between Moscow and Beijing have grown stronger.

Iran on Saturday celebrated the 44th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution amid nationwide anti-government protests and heightened tensions with the West.

(AP)




Six days after earthquakes in Syria and Turkey killed tens of thousands, sorrow and disbelief are turning to anger and tension over a sense that there has been an ineffective, unfair and disproportionate response to the historic disaster.

Many in Turkey express frustration that rescue operations have proceeded painfully slowly, and that valuable time has been lost during the narrow window for finding people alive beneath the rubble.

Others, particularly in the southern Hatay province near the Syrian border, say Turkeys government was late in delivering assistance to the hardest-hit region for what they suspect are both political and religious reasons.

In Adiyaman, in southeastern Turkey, Elif Busra Ozturk waited outside the wreckage of a building on Saturday where her uncle and aunt were trapped and believed dead, and where the bodies of two of her cousins already had been found.

For three days, I waited outside for help. No one came. There were so few rescue teams that they could only intervene in places they were sure there were people alive, she said.

At the same complex, Abdullah Tas, 66, said he had been sleeping inside a car near the building where his son, daughter-in-law and four grandchildren were buried. He said that rescuers had first arrived four days after the earthquake struck. The Associated Press could not independently verify his claim.

What good is that for the people under the debris? he asked.

The sentiment that not enough is being done to free peoples buried family members has taken hold in other parts of the earthquake zone as well. In the ancient city of Antakya, a crush of onlookers stood behind police tape Saturday to watch as bulldozers clawed at a high-rise luxury apartment building that had toppled onto its side.

Over 1,000 residents had been in the 12-story building when the quake struck, according to relatives who watched the recovery effort. They said hundreds were still inside but complained the effort to free them had been slow and not serious.

This is an atrocity, I dont know what to say, said Bediha Kanmaz, 60. The bodies of his son and 7-month-old grandson had been pulled from the building  still locked in an embrace  and his daughter-in-law was still inside.

We open body bags to see if theyre ours, were checking if theyre our children. Were even checking the ones that are torn to pieces, she said of herself and other grief-stricken family members.

Kanmaz blamed Turkeys government for the slow response, and accused the national rescue service of failing to do enough to recover people alive.

She and others in Antakya expressed the belief that the presence of a large minority of Alevis  an Anatolian Islamic community that differs from Sunni and Shia Islam and Alawites in Syria  had made them a low priority for the government. Traditionally, few Alevis vote for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogans ruling party. There was no evidence, however, that the region was overlooked for sectarian reasons.

Erdogan said Wednesday post-quake efforts were ongoing across the 10 affected provinces and dismissed allegations of no help from state institutions like the military as lies, fake slander. He has acknowledged shortcomings. Officials said rescue efforts in Hatay were initially complicated by the destruction of the local airports runway and bad road conditions.

Anger over the extent of the destruction, however, is not limited to individuals. Turkish authorities have been detaining or issuing detention warrants for dozens of people allegedly involved in the construction of buildings that collapsed, and the justice minister has vowed to punish anyone responsible.

Kanmaz blamed negligence on the part of the developer of the apartment building where her family had been killed.

If I could wrap my hands around the contractors neck, I would tear him to shreds, she said.

That contractor, who oversaw the construction of the 250-unit building, was detained at Istanbul Airport on Friday before boarding a flight out of the country, Turkeys official Anadolu news agency reported. On Saturday, he was formally arrested. His lawyer suggested the public was looking for a scapegoat.

In multiethnic southern Turkey, other tensions are rising. Some expressed frustration that Syrian refugees who have lived in the region after fleeing a devastating civil war are burdening the sparse welfare system and competing for resources with Turkish people.

There are many poor people in Hatay but they dont offer us any welfare, they give it to the Syrians. They give so much to the Syrians, Kanmaz said. There are more Syrians than Turks here.

There were signs Saturday that the tensions could be boiling over.

Two German aid groups and the Austrian Armed Forces temporarily interrupted their rescue work in the Hatay region citing the tense situation and fear for the safety of their staff. They resumed work after the Turkish army secured the area, the Austrian defense ministry spokesman tweeted.

There is increasing tension between different groups in Turkey, Lt. Col. Pierre Kugelweis of the Austrian Armed Forces told the APA news agency. Shots have reportedly been fired.

German news agency dpa reported that Steven Berger, chief of operations of the aid group I.S.A.R. Germany, said that it can be seen that grief is slowly giving way to anger in Turkeys quake-struck regions.

For Kanmaz, it is both grief and anger.

Im angry. Life is over, she said. We live for our children; what matters most to us is our children. We exist if they exist. Now we are over. Everything you see here is over.

(AP)
Any Vietnamese person that wants to gamble in a casino must show monthly earnings of at least VND10 million (US$424), the Finance Ministry proposed to the government.

The income cap proposal is stated in a draft amendment to a decree, which was issued by the government in 2017 to regulate the operation of casinos in Vietnam.

The proof of income must include the monthly payroll report or a document issued by the employer to indicate the monthly earnings certified by the employer for the last three months from the date of entering the casino; the monthly income certificate; and bank records.

In addition, gamblers could also use their bank savings book or online savings account, or records of their deposits at a bank for one year or more that prove the person can generate monthly interest of VND10 million as income proof, the ministry suggested.

Casinos must keep records of players' income for five years.

There are currently nine casino projects in the country that are allowed to operate. They are located in the provinces of Quang Ninh, Hai Phong, Lao Cai, Quang Nam, Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Da Nang City and Phu Quoc Island City off the southern Kien Giang Province.

Among these, the casino on Phu Quoc Island is the only place in the country where Vietnamese can play on the condition that they must be 21 years old and older.




The United States believes the unidentified objects shot down by American fighter jets over Canada and Alaska were balloons, though smaller than the China balloon downed over the Atlantic Ocean last weekend, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Sunday.

Schumer, D-N.Y., told ABCs This Week that he was briefed on Saturday night by President Joe Bidens national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, after the incident hours earlier over the Yukon. On Friday, an object roughly the size of a small car was downed over remote Alaska, according to the White House.

Asked whether those two recent objects were balloons, Schumer said, They believe they were, yes, but much smaller than the first one.

The government has said the first balloon was about the size of three school buses. It was shot down Feb. 4 off the South Carolina coast after it had traversed the United States. The Biden administration said it was used for surveillance. China claims it was on a meteorological research mission.

Schumer said teams were recovering debris from the objects and would work to determine where they came from. The ones downed on Friday and Saturday were smaller and flying at a lower altitudes of about 40,000 feet, within the airspace occupied by commercial flights, compared with about 60,000 feet for the first one.

The bottom line is until a few months ago we didnt know about these balloons, Schumer said. It is wild that we didnt know.  Now they are learning a lot more. And the military and the intelligence are focused like a laser on first gathering and accumulating the information, then coming up with a comprehensive analysis.

(AP0




Russian forces over the weekend continued to shell Ukrainian cities amid a grinding push to seize more land in the east of the country, with Ukrainian officials saying that Moscow is having trouble launching its much-anticipated large-scale offensive there.

One person was killed and one more was wounded on Sunday morning by the shelling of Nikopol, a city in the southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region, Gov. Serhii Lysak reported. The shelling damaged four residential buildings, a vocational school and a water treatment facility.

In Kharkiv, Ukraines second largest city, one person was wounded after three Russian S-300 missiles hit infrastructure facilities overnight, regional Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said. The Russian military said they hit armored vehicle assembly workshops at the Malyshev machinery plant in the city.

Ukrainian forces also downed five drones  four Shahed killer drones and one Orlan-10 reconnaissance drone  over the partially occupied Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions on Saturday evening, Kyivs military reported.

Overall, Russian forces carried out 12 missile and 32 air strikes in Ukraine over the past 24 hours, as well as over 90 rounds of shelling from multiple rocket launchers, Ukraines General Staff reported in its daily update.

The attacks come as Russian forces push to take over more land in the eastern industrial heartland of Donbas, comprised of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Ukrainian and Western officials have warned that Russia could launch a new, broad offensive there to try to turn the tide of the conflict as the war approaches the one-year mark.

But Ukrainian officials say that Moscow is having trouble mounting such an offensive.

They are having big problems with a big offensive, Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraines National Security and Defense Council, told Ukrainian television on Saturday night.

They have begun their offensive, theyre just not saying they have, and our troops are repelling it very powerfully. The offensive that they planned is already gradually underway. But (it is) not the offensive they were counting on, Danilov said.

A U.S.-based think tank noted that it is also Russias pro-Kremlin military bloggers who question Moscows ability to launch a broad offensive in Ukraine. They continue to appear demoralized at the Kremlins prospects for executing a major offensive, the Institute for the Study of War said in its latest report.

Earlier this week the owner of the Russian Wagner Group private military contractor actively involved in the fighting in Ukraine said that the war could drag on for years.

Yevgeny Prigozhin said in a video interview released late Friday that it could take 18 months to two years for Russia to fully secure control of Donbas. He added that the war could go on for three years if Moscow decides to capture broader territories east of the Dnieper River.

The statement from Prigozhin, a millionaire who has close links to Russian President Vladimir Putin and was dubbed Putins chef for his lucrative Kremlin catering contracts, marked a recognition of the difficulties that the Kremlin has faced in the campaign, which it initially expected to wrap up within weeks when Russian troops invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24.

Russia suffered a series of humiliating setbacks in the fall when the Ukrainian military launched successful counteroffensives to reclaim broad swaths of territory in the east and the south.

On Sunday, Prigozhin said that Wagner fighters have taken over the Krasna Hora settlement north of Bakhmut, a strategic city at the epicenter of the fighting in recent months.

(AP)
Millions of households that do not use mains gas for their heating can claim a one-off refund of 200 as part of an Alternative Fuel Payment (AFP) scheme from this month.

The handout is to ensure that all homes benefit from the support announced by the Government last autumn to combat the soaring cost of energy.

Households that get their energy from the mains are currently benefiting from a price cap designed to keep the average energy bill at 2,500 a year. From April it is going to rise to 3,000.

Refund: Households that get their energy from the mains are currently benefiting from a price cap designed to keep the average energy bill at 2,500 a year

But an estimated two million homes are 'off-grid' and not hooked up to mains gas.

They use domestic heating oil, liquid petroleum gas or alternative fuels such as a biomass boiler fuelled by wood pellets, to heat their home instead. These households are eligible for the 200 AFP payment.

It is not means-tested so people on all incomes will get the support. However, it is not as generous as the typical yearly saving of 900 enjoyed by households that receive mains gas.

Many eligible homes will hopefully receive the money automatically through their existing electricity supplier as a credit on to their bill this month. But you should still keep a sharp eye on your bills in the coming weeks to make sure the money owed has arrived.

Others, typically those who do not have an electricity account or use oil from a tank despite living in an area served by mains gas, must apply to get this payment.

For further details visit the official Gov.uk website and tap in 'alternative fuel payment'.

Applicants will have to provide their contact and bank details so the money can be paid into their account.

However, households are being warned not to provide these details to anyone who gets in contact to ask for them out of the blue.

There are a number of scams around from fraudsters purporting to be from an energy firm or bank and then asking for bank details to make energy payments.
Ensuring households always have access to electricity to light and heat their homes is the responsibility of National Grid. It's a Herculean task that is becoming more difficult, especially at times of great demand when cold snaps bite and with Russia's continued disruptive influence in the energy market.

Early this year, several energy suppliers encouraged customers to join a National Grid initiative where they were paid for reducing their usage at specific times. The idea was to ward off the threat of blackouts.

It seems the scheme  the jazzily named Demand Flexibility Service  was an overall success and will become a regular feature although some participants complained irritably that the cash rewards could be counted in pence, rather than pounds.

Investment opportunity: There is a need to build a network of storage facilities that allows National Grid to regulate the amount of electricity in the system at any one point in time

But, crucially, this service is not the solution to keeping the country's lights burning.

Of far more importance is the building of a network of storage facilities that in effect allows National Grid to regulate the amount of electricity in the system at any one point in time. The units top up supply during high demand while storing it when demand is more subdued.

These storage units  not particularly aesthetic and at their crudest looking like shipping containers dumped in the middle of a field  have taken on greater importance with the move (both in the UK and worldwide) towards renewable energy such as solar and wind.

While the supply of nuclear power and that of energy generated from coal-fired power stations is reliable, renewable energy isn't. When the sun doesn't shine and the wind drops, solar panels and giant wind turbines generate little energy.

Equally, when the sun burns brightly and the wind is blowing like a gale, they overdeliver. Storage facilities iron out this supply inconsistency, delivering electricity to National Grid when it is needed and tucking it away for another day when not.

Major energy storage players in the UK include Highview Power.

A few days ago, it published research by consultancy firm Stonehaven which revealed that wind power sufficient to supply 1.2 million homes a day was wasted over a four-month period (October to January this year) because of insufficient facilities to store surplus energy generated when the weather is blowy or the sun shines.

Rupert Pearce, chief executive, said: 'Renewable energy storage is essential to powering a cleaner, cheaper, always-on Britain.

'By capturing and storing excess renewable energy  which is now the UK's cheapest, most secure and most abundant form of fuel  we can power Britain's homes and businesses with renewable green energy, taking millions of tons of carbon out of the atmosphere and ending a culture of reliance on expensive foreign imports.'

While Highview Power is a pioneer in this field, a number of stock market-listed investment trusts are also stepping into the breach by funding the building of new energy storage units.

This is resulting in investment opportunities for those who would like to diversify their sources of dividend income  while indirectly supporting the move towards the elimination of greenhouse gas emissions.

Investment trusts batting in this space include Gore Street Energy Storage, Gresham House Energy Storage and Harmony Energy Income.

A few days ago, I had a long chat with Alex O'Cinneide, chief executive of Gore Street Capital, the private equity company that manages Gore Street Energy Storage.

The trust has storage assets worth 527 million in its portfolio  located in the UK, Ireland and overseas. The units it owns can store electricity at scale. They are rented out to the likes of National Grid which can use them to either receive surplus energy or deliver extra electricity when the grid is under pressure.

The income that the trust generates is split three ways. It is used to pay management fees; a chunk is put aside to fund the construction of more storage facilities; and the rest (the bit you may be interested in) is used to pay dividends to shareholders.

The trust's dividend record is steady. In the three full financial years it has negotiated so far, it has paid an annual dividend of 7pence a share. With shares trading at around 1.09, this means a healthy dividend equivalent to around 6.4 per cent a year.

As the trust's assets increase in value, O'Cinneide says there is every chance that the dividend payments could also rise. Capital return is of secondary importance.

Echoing Rupert Pearce's words, O'Cinneide told me: 'Without storage, we can't rely upon more renewable energy to light our homes and power UK-based industries. It means relying upon gas imports from terrible regimes.'

Coincidentally, Gresham House Energy Storage has also paid annual dividends of 7pence a share, although its shares look rather expensive compared to the value of the trust's underlying assets. Harmony Energy Income only launched late last year.

These trusts are not without risk. There can be significant delays between storage units being built and then connected to the grid. Building costs  including key components such as lithium batteries  are also rising. Greater reliance on nuclear energy could also upset the apple cart.

But these storage units will play an increasingly important part in our country's energy infrastructure (as well as elsewhere in the world). Income seekers should run the rule over them.

Better, I would say, than earning a dividend from BP.

Pleas to rate really grate

It seriously grates when financial organisations ask me to rate their customer service before they have delivered an ounce of it.

It happened 12 days ago when I reported a Heathrow savings bond scam to the Financial Conduct Authority through the online channel it asks consumers to use. I wrote about the fraudulent bonds a week ago.

Rather than act on the information I had already sent, its response (two days later) was to email asking for more details. It then asked me to complete a survey rating my experience  stating it would help to improve its future service.

How can I rate a 'service' when none has been given? Rather than getting consumers to fill in questionnaires so it can proclaim its service is wunderbar, the FCA should be devoting all its energies to catching fraudsters.

When it comes to fraud, procrastination on behalf of the regulator can cost consumers serious money.

Beware these cash machine crooks

Cash machines continue to attract criminals, intent on stealing our card details through techniques such as skimming (capturing your PIN) and trapping (nicking your card).

Of all the card machines I use  when at work, home or on my travels  one set of two ATMs is more prone to crime than any other: the NatWest cash machines located outside its branch on Kensington High Street in West London.

I have been a victim of skimming on at least two occasions when using these machines. I've even complained to the bank, only to be told they are not particularly targeted by criminals.

Of course I should trust my instincts, but nine days ago I stupidly used one of the machines to withdraw some cash. When I opted for cash, out spewed 10 (without me choosing how much I wanted) and then my debit card. All hugely suspicious. When I looked at the adjoining ATM, someone had scribbled a note: 'Do not use, police contacted.'

I rang my bank straightaway and the card was cancelled before any fraud was committed. But it has left me without a debit card  and access to cash  while a replacement is issued.

I won't be using the machines again, that's for sure. Lesson learnt. Have you fallen victim to cash machine fraud? Do let me know by emailing: jeff.prestridge@mailonsunday.co.uk.
Tony Hetherington is Financial Mail on Sunday's ace investigator, fighting readers corners, revealing the truth that lies behind closed doors and winning victories for those who have been left out-of-pocket. Find out how to contact him below.

Ms C.W. writes: In 2020, I came into some money which I decided to save for my future. Art is a hobby of mine, and I came across Smith & Partner's website and made an enquiry.

I received a call from it and was told that if I made a purchase, the company would store the artwork and update me regularly on financial progress.

I was told I could sell at any time, which would take about two weeks.

Tony Hetherington replies: You told me that what Smith & Partner claimed in its sales pitch was not what happened in practice. You bought two prints for a total of 3,000, and were told later that they showed a modest increase in value.

Refunds: Luke Sparkes of Smith & Partner, which sells artworks such as this 5,950 piece by Chloe McCarrick

You knew that after one year, the art company's terms and conditions meant you would get a demand for 150 in storage fees which would strip away most of your paper profit, so you asked Smith & Partner to sell.

And this is where you say things went badly wrong. You have told me that the salesman stopped replying to your emails and did not answer when you phoned. Eventually, you say you were told that the market was flooded and it was not a good time to sell.

But you did not give up. You found someone else at Smith & Partner who would talk to you. You explained you were pregnant and needed the money. He told you the previous salesman had been fired, and that your prints were showing a profit of 15 per cent.

The prints could be auctioned in the first few months of this year, but to be eligible, you had to invest another 1,000 to 2,000 within 24 hours.

You say that you asked for written evidence that your artwork would definitely be in the auction, but the new salesman protested that he had never been asked for such a thing before, and that Smith & Partner would not provide any written guarantee.

You then refused to hand over any more money, and like the earlier salesman, this one broke off contact too.

You gave me copies of paperwork proving you had bought the prints and paid for them, and at my request you signed a legally binding letter of authority authorising Smith & Partner to discuss your complaint and produce any records I requested.

I gave the authorisation to Luke Sparkes, the owner of Smith & Partner in London. I asked whether it was true his company had dumped you because you refused to part with more money.

And because his salesmen claim so much over the phone, and put so little in writing, I asked for copies of all recorded phone calls.

What happened next was fascinating. Just 48 hours after I questioned Sparkes, you emailed me, saying: 'I wish to fully withdraw and retract each and every allegation I have made against Mr Sparkes and Smith & Partner Limited. I further hereby revoke with immediate effect the signed Letter of Authority which I gave to you previously.'

Gone was the friendly tone of all your earlier 'Hi Tony' messages, asking for help. Instead there was legal wording, ending with: 'I shall not make any further comment about this matter.'

In a nutshell, you were repaid. And you are not the only client of Smith & Partner who has been offered a refund in a bid by Sparkes to silence The Mail on Sunday. Sparkes refused to answer any questions or produce any recordings, telling me: 'The matter raised by Ms C.W. is now the subject of a signed settlement agreement.'

I spent more than a month helping another of Sparkes' investors who told me: 'I invested over 300,000 with Smith & Partner. They won't sell my art. You want my story.' She provided me with a mass of evidence.

'You are a godsend,' she told me. Then she was offered up to 15,000 by Sparkes, followed by monthly payments for the next four years, if she would send me an email  which she did  with exactly the same wording withdrawing every allegation she made.

Another investor complained he was told more than once his prints would be sold on condition he first bought even more.

After gathering evidence, on February 1, I put two pages of questions to Sparkes, backed by the investor's signed authority. And by February 2, the investor had been offered his money back to withdraw his complaint, with exactly the same email to me as the others.

And this is not the record holder. Just over a week ago, a Smith & Partner investor contacted me at 3.22pm. I replied at 3.38pm, asking for more details. The investor told Sparkes he was in touch with me, and at 4.39pm I received an identically worded email withdrawing everything he had told me. The whole episode lasted just over an hour. Money talks, but it also buys silence.

WE'RE WATCHING YOU Today's report about art investment business Smith & Partner Limited is the third we have published in the past couple of months. The company's owner Luke Sparkes has complained through his lawyers to my editor. One of his complaints is that he says investors are not misled by being told that profits are promised. His terms and conditions, which are sent to investors after they have paid for their purchase, explain that 'any product may decrease in value at any time after they have been purchased from us'. However, Smith & Partner advertises: 'Our bespoke approach ensures growth and stability from the outset.' In a nutshell, say one thing to hook a buyer, and then the exact opposite in the small print. Sparkes also complained that I was wrong to draw attention to the collapse of a similar company he ran, Sovereign Antique Collections Limited. He claimed he quit as director in December 2014, more than five years before the business became insolvent. False. It filed for liquidation in October 2015, ten months after he left, with debts put at more than 100,000. And he was unhappy that I reported how he had falsely advertised that his business was regulated by the genuine and respectable Fine Art Trade Guild, when the truth is that his company was thrown out of the organisation for repeated misconduct. Sparkes' lawyers did not deny that his company was expelled, but said he had already stopped claiming membership before my first report was published. False again. Sparkes was still using the Guild's name and logo in his advertising  not just when our first report appeared, or our second report, but even on the day his lawyers sent their complaint. Buyers beware.

If you believe you are the victim of financial wrongdoing, write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, 9 Derry Street, London W8 5HY or email tony.hetherington@mailonsunday.co.uk. Because of the high volume of enquiries, personal replies cannot be given. Please send only copies of original documents, which we regret cannot be returned.
British Gas owner Centrica is set to post record annual profits of around 3 billion this week.

The huge profit haul, which comes after a row over debt collectors breaking into the homes of hard-up customers to install pre-payment meters by force, will provoke a fresh round of accusations of profiteering by energy firms.

The stunning profit figure for 2022 will be released when the company unveils its full-year results on Thursday. Millions of British Gas customers, along with those of other providers, have been struggling to pay their energy bills as prices have soared due to the war in Ukraine.

Hot topic: British Gas owner Centrica is set to post record annual profits of around 3 billion

Chief executive Chris O'Shea is likely to make another apology for the debt collectors barging into people's homes when he presents the results. He has already publicly apologised.

O'Shea is likely to come under pressure to scale back a potential multi-million pound pay and incentive package. He is in line for a salary and bonus bonanza of up to 4.26 million, linked to Centrica's performance.

The gas chief, who lives in a 1.5 million home in Reading, last year gave up a bonus of more than 1 million for 2021 because of the 'hardships faced by our customers'. However, the company's pay committee said at the time that if he was entitled to a bonus for 2022 they intended to hand it out, saying it is 'unsustainable' for him to carry on sacrificing rewards.

In 2021, Centrica made 761 million profit. It has already revealed it made 1.34 billion in the first half of 2022. Other energy firms, including Shell and BP, have reported bumper results so far this year.

Centrica, which still has a large number of small shareholders, will also hike its dividend and launch a fresh share buyback  just three months after the 250 million bonanza announced in November.

But the profit figures will inevitably create a storm as many families are grappling to pay their energy bills amid a cost-of-living crisis that has engulfed the UK.

Tory MP Alexander Stafford, who is a member of the Commons' Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee, said: 'It's absolutely disgraceful that Centrica are making massive profits on the backs of invading people's homes and forcing people into further poverty.'

Centrica is the largest electricity and gas supplier to British homes and serves more than ten million customers.

It has benefited from soaring energy prices following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, leading to accusations of profiteering.

The company has seen particularly strong performances from its North Sea production and energy trading arms, as well as its 20 per cent ownership of Britain's five nuclear power stations.

It is now poised to pay a whopping 1 billion into the Treasury's coffers. That is more than oil giant Shell which last week revealed it will only pay 110 million in UK windfall tax for 2022.

But it is less than BP which will pay 1.8 billion. Centrica has been hit by two windfall taxes over the past year as Ministers try to tax 'excess' profits generated by oil and gas producers, as well as low-carbon electricity generators.

Serious questions remain over the future of Centrica's Rough storage facility off the Yorkshire coast which partly reopened in October after significant engineering upgrades over the summer.

The move was a major boost for the UK this winter but the site is still running at only a fifth of its previous capacity. As a result, Britain could leave itself vulnerable to gas shortages and high energy prices next winter because of the failure of the Government and Centrica to reach agreement on expanding the Rough facility.

The Mail on Sunday has learned the site requires 1 billion investment. Centrica had been willing to cough up 500 million and hoped the Government would make up the other half.

However, talks between the Government and Centrica over the new funding have collapsed in recent weeks and Centrica has warned that it will not be able to expand the capacity in time for next winter.

Sources said that the discussions had become increasingly heated and acrimonious, adding that the Government had walked away.

Simon Francis, co-ordinator of End Fuel Poverty, said the profit haul was 'obscene'.

Friends of the Earth climate campaigner Jamie Peters said people would be 'outraged' at the profit haul. 'Government action is needed to fix an energy system that only seems to benefit the few,' he said.
'Links': Darktrace boss Poppy Gustafsson

The family of technology tycoon Mike Lynch has quietly slashed its stake in Darktrace by selling shares worth an estimated 100 million.

Lynch's wife Angela Bacares, who owns most of the couple's stake, has cut her holding in the cybersecurity giant by over a third in the past year. The most recent share sale came last month, leaving her with just 7 per cent.

Lynch, once dubbed 'Britain's Bill Gates', is on the brink of being handed to the American authorities to face criminal fraud charges related to the $11 billion (9 billion) sale of his software firm Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard in 2011.

It follows a damning High Court judgment last year when he and his finance director were found to have duped the US company into overpaying for Autonomy.

Lynch told The Mail on Sunday last month that efforts to extradite him to the US are an 'affront to the sovereignty of British courts'. He also appeared to dismiss the furore over alleged fraud, claiming that no money went missing.

Lynch was one of Darktrace's original backers when it was founded in Cambridge ten years ago. He and his wife remain two of the firm's largest shareholders, holding a combined 11.25 per cent.

Darktrace has been hit by blistering criticism from short-seller Quintessential Capital Management.

The US-based hedge fund  run by Israeli former special forces paratrooper Gabriel Grego  said last month that Darktrace may have 'overstated' profits and held links to offshore 'shell companies' manned by 'individuals with ties to organised crime, money-laundering and fraud'.

Darktrace says it has full confidence in its accounting and financial statements. Lynch's links to Darktrace have caused issues for chief executive Poppy Gustafsson. The FTSE 250 firm was accused by Quintessential of being 'led or strongly influenced' by those linked to the Autonomy debacle.

Shares in Darktrace have fallen by 40 per cent over the past year and it is now valued at 1.7 billion. Bacares and Lynch were both contacted for comment.
Collector: Paul Gambaccini saved money from his paper round to fund his love of comics

Radio and TV presenter Paul Gambaccini has been a familiar figure on TV and radio since he joined the BBC in the early 1970s. But his first job was as a paperboy, which was how he financed his comic book habit.

The Great Gambo tells Dan Moore he's received all sorts of personal gifts over the years  including a set of bedsheets from Sir Paul McCartney.

The veteran broadcaster, 73, lives with husband Christopher Sherwood near London's South Bank and has an apartment in New York.

What did your parents teach you about money?

They taught me nothing about money. But a school friend named Nancy said her father never bought anything he couldn't afford and never went into debt because he'd lived through the Depression and seen the suffering it caused. I've never forgotten that. When you reach my age, you've been through economic ups and downs. They're often beyond your control, and it's best not to be in debt when one of these surprise downs comes along. So, thank you, Nancy.

What was your first job?

I was a paperboy in Connecticut. Most of my customers lived in a trailer park, but some were in fancy suburban homes. The biggest tippers were the people in the caravans. They had no money so whatever they had they shared. That was their ethic.

Working the paper route was how I financed my comic book habit. It was at the time when most of the superheroes that populate the films today were invented. I was fanatical about these characters, and wrote so many letters to the editor that they introduced a character named after me. This was Paul Gambi, tailor to the DC supervillains. The most recent appearance I've seen of him was in the latest Batman movie.

Have you ever been paid silly money?

Once I did a corn chip commercial for American television and I got $12,000 for ten minutes, which wasn't bad.

Have you ever been given a gift from someone famous that you treasure?

I've been given nice, personal gifts, but none as extravagant as those that were passing hands after The Beatles album Sgt Pepper was released and albums started selling in eight-digit figures and the money rolled in. Back then, people were receiving race horses, that kind of thing. Well, I didn't get a race horse  and I didn't want a race horse. But, I was happy to get a set of bed sheets for my wedding in 2012, from Paul McCartney.

What was the best year of your financial life?

For some reason it was 2008, but I'm not sure why that was as nothing stands out. Once my career got going, I always made sure to have three balls in the air, so that if one job went down, then I'd still be earning enough to get by. So, I'd have Radio 1, 2 or 4, plus television, Classic FM and writing books.

What is the most expensive thing you bought for fun?

A publisher's set of the original Mad comics. They belonged to William Gaines, of EC Comics, and he saved a dozen issues of every comic he ever published. When he was old, he sold them and I bought a set of the original 23 issues of Mad for $40,000.

I've since sold them at a profit. Once I'd had them for a few years there was nothing left to do but sell or eat them.

They're too valuable to read, and anyway, the joy of collecting is greater than the joy of possessing.

Crazy price: Gambaccini bought a set of Mad comics for $40,000

What have been your best and worst money decisions?

I've never been interested in stocks and bonds. So, I've been blessed to have avoided any calamitous money decisions. My best was to invest in property. I bought my first in 1979 and sold my latest last year for three times what I paid for it in 2000. I also own a flat in New York, so I can catch up with my family.

I mentioned the DC comics. Well, many of the early issues that feature my letters are now worth thousands of dollars, although not because of my letters! But my collection has gained a lot in value.

I've been collecting since I was 11, when I had no thought of the value, so collecting comic books has been a good decision.

What is the little luxury you treat yourself to?

I do a crossword puzzle, either from The New York Times or New Yorker. Sadly, I just don't have enough time to do both in one day.

Do you donate money to charity?

Yes, I have been involved in various charities throughout my career.

I helped raise several hundred thousand pounds for Amnesty International by assembling a bill of artistes for a show at the London Palladium.

Incidentally, the line-up included Kate Bush and David Gilmour singing Running Up That Hill, a clip of which recently went viral on YouTube.

To be alive in your time you must respond to your time, and in my time that was Aids. So, I became an early patron of the Terrence Higgins Trust, and I've been involved with it ever since.

What is your number one financial priority?

Not to be morbid, but I wanted to make sure I could provide for my husband and family members, which I have been able to do.
Brazen 'car cannibal' thieves are terrorising motorists in a British city, stripping parked vehicles for parts, traumatising owners.

A crimewave has gripped Birmingham city centre, with a 'professional' gang of criminals running rampant, ripping cars to pieces in Digbeth.

In January alone, nine separate cars were targeted in the city centre district- with the BBC reporting a further three having taken place last year.

Among the victims included a nurse who was working on a nightshift and a music-lover whose car was ripped apart while she attended a concert.

Now motorists have been coming forward in their droves, with some demanding action to clampdown on the spate of vehicle crime blighting Birmingham.

A woman was left 'devastated' after so-called car cannibals stripped the bumper, bonnet and lights from her Citroen C1 in just two hours while she was at a gig

Business owner Paul Hampton and his partner Jacqui Heeley were rudely awoken just before 5am yesterday when his neighbour told them to 'take a look at their car'

One of the victims, Charaya White, described how the ordeal had brought on a panic attack when she discovered parts of her Citroen C1 had been scavenged at the New Canal Street car park in May 2022.

Speaking to the BBC, Ms White said: 'Initially I thought my car had been hit by someone in the car park.

'I literally just broke down... I just went into a state of shock.'

Ms White came forward after hearing the story of Rebecca Scotland, last month, who described how her Citroen C1 had been left undriveable after parts were professionally removed in the same car park.

The 27-year-old had been to see Nina Nesbitt at the O2 Academy with partner Tony Lincoln when the vandals struck, smashing the passenger window so they could open the bonnet and leaving her number plate behind.

She said: 'I just broke down, I've never been so distressed in my life. That was the first time I'd driven to Birmingham and I was quite pleased I had done the drive.

'It looked like it had been done very professionally, nothing had been snapped and they knew what they were doing.

'I'm traumatised by it. I will always be worried about leaving my car now, even on my own front doorstep. It's left me shaken and feeling violated.'

Now Rebecca is warning others to be careful after hearing of similar cases in the city

Rebecca Scotland said her car was left undriveable after parts were professionally removed as she left it in a Birmingham car park

Nurse Samantha Rose was another victim of the thieves, who targeted her car at 2am on January 30 as she worked a night shift at Barberry Mental Health Centre.

To add to her misery, police told her they cant investigate unless there is clear CCTV of the crime as it happened.

I am a nurse and I have been on nights all week  this was my first night back,' she told the Metro.

I called the police as soon as it happened but the only correspondence I have had is a text message saying that unless I had clear CCTV footage then the case would be logged and closed.

I am just so gutted, I cannot believe people would do this. My neighbours vehicle was stripped on Thursday night, and his dads car was broken into on Friday night  all in Water Mill Close.

I fully understand the police have more serious crimes to attend to, but maybe if they came out when called they would have a better chance of catching the people doing this.

Car cannibalism often sees thieves breaking in through a window to remove the bonnet, bumper and headlights  leaving the engine exposed.

In December, thieves managed to write off a 16,500 Mercedes after ripping off its doors, bonnet, boot, wheels and seats while the car's owners slept in their home just feet away,

Business owner Paul Hampton, 56, and his partner Jacqui Heeley, 54, were woken at 5am after a neighbour told them to 'take a look at their car', parked outside their home in West Bromwich, West Midlands.

Mr Hampton with his car, now written off by their insurance company following the 14,000 worth of damage

Mr Hampton was stunned to see his 2018 C-Class AMG was stripped bare when he looked out the window of his home this morning at 5am yesterday

Thinking it had been 'smashed up' Mr Hampton was stunned when he discovered that his 2018 C-Class AMG had been methodically stripped bare for parts by thieves.

The safe company owner, whose car was fitted with a tracker to avoid theft, found both driver and passenger doors missing, along with both front seats and all four wheels, leaving the car stood on bricks.

Mr Hampton said: 'When I stepped outside the front door, I just couldn't believe what I was seeing. They hadn't damaged any panels, it's just been stripped bare.

'These are professionals and appear to work in teams of five or six to cut the time down.

'Each person has their own job. They didn't just cut the wires in the doors, they unclipped the connectors to avoid damaging it. They've left the remaining parts in perfect condition.

'They didn't leave any fingerprints because they'd worn latex gloves and it probably didn't take them long to get everything off as they're not your average car thieves.

'We've spoken to some mechanic friends and they believe they wanted the bumper and lights because there's a sensor inside them which makes them worth 1,000.

'They must have been disturbed before that happened though because they only managed to get the registration plates off. More could have been taken.'

Mr Hampton and Ms Heeley have had the two-door coupe since April 2018 on hire purchase and it was due to be worth 16,500 at the end of March 2021.

However, the damage done is worth at least 14,000 leaving the car written off by their insurance company.

The Mercedes was left standing on bricks after thieves stripped off all four wheels along with the doors, bonnet, boot, wheels and seats

Mr Hampton said: 'This is my fifth Mercedes, I've had them for the last 15 years. I've never had anything like this happen before.

'It almost puts me off getting another one. I'd be better just having a 500 banger on the drive for them to steal.

'I just want people to be aware this is happening. I could have done things like put the car around the back of the house but I think they'd have still done what they did.'

The BBC investigation revealed other victims who had been hit by the thieves.

Meg Matthews, 21, from Stourbridge, had her Vauxhall Corsa stripped in October 2022 while it was parked in the New Canal Street car park.

Ms Matthews said: 'I sat down and shut my door, I heard glass shatter, looked to the side of me and my window was completely smashed,' Ms Matthews said.

'That's when I looked forward and realised my bonnet was missing.'

She added she was 'terrified' after discovering the theft and said she 'couldn't move'.

'I was then stuck in my car for at least half an hour until my friend could actually come and get me,' she said.

Another motorist called Caleb, who is a student from Coventry, also reportedly fell victim to car cannibals in the same car park, who stripped his partner's Toyota Yaris while he attended a concert nearby in November.

West Midlands Police said an 18-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of theft in January, but bailed with conditions while inquires continue.

A spokesperson for the force told the BBC said: 'We've stepped up patrols around car parks in Digbeth after a number of vehicles have been stripped of parts.

'We received nine reports during January and we know the inconvenience and frustration this causes for car owners.'
Japanese coast guard ship the Kojima docks in Da Nang in July, 2013. Photo by VnExpress/Nguyen Dong

The Tokyo Regional Commands Settsu patrol ship will visit Vietnams central hub of Da Nang on Monday morning.

According to the coastal citys Department of Information and Communications, the Settsus crew will pay a courtesy visit to the city on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Japan.

Crew members will engage in exchanges and training with soldiers and officers of the 2nd Regional Coast Guard, which manages the waters off Vietnams central coast, to enhance coordination between the Japan Coast Guard and the Vietnam Coast Guard.

Settsu is tasked with patrolling mainly against pirates and other armed criminals.

It has 52 crew members, captained by Colonel Satoshi Niwa.

The Japan Coast Guard sent its first vessel to Vietnam for a friendly visit in June 2012, and has maintained such visits annually ever since.

In 2019, the Vietnam Coast Guard sent its first ship to the Japanese Coast Guard in Yokohama City.

The Vietnam Coast Guard and the Japan Coast Guard are both members of the Information Sharing Center Against Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP).

The two sides have established contact points to exchange information. Prior to its trip to Da Nang, Settsu has been patrolling the waters of Southeast Asia.
When Nguyen Minh Nguyet used a dating app for the first time, she didn't think the Frenchman she spontaneously messaged would end up being her soul mate.

Nguyet is a 32-year-old woman from Hanoi who works as a business development manager for a multinational corporation.

In early 2020, a friend insisted Nguyet try a dating app. At first, the single mother and workaholic said no, but then her friend convinced her to give it a go by assuring her that she could just delete and forget the app if she didn't like it.

But once Nguyet started connecting with people by swiping right, suddenly the career-focused woman was exposed to a whole new world of interesting possibilities outside the familiarity of her work and home life.

Nguyen Minh Nguyet and Florian Casagrande pose for a wedding photo. Photo courtesy of Nguyet

Nguyet soon matched with a Frenchman who was visiting Vietnam at the time. The French tourist's hotel was coincidentally located on a street she used to live on. So she recommended that the traveler, named Florian Casagrande, try some nearby restaurants she knew were delicious.

Nguyet says that after only a few exchanges, she could tell she was interacting with a polite and decent man. For the next few days, Nguyet and Casagrande spent nearly all their free time texting.

While getting to know Florian online, Nguyet found out he was a psychologist. And she was already comfortable sharing some of the more personal and private details of her life.

"You remind me of a psychiatrist who used to treat me," she told him.

As a therapist himself, of course the Frenchman's interest was immediately piqued. He wanted to understand more about Nguyet and what shed been though.

Casagrande quickly learned that Nguyet was no stranger to the pain of crushing loss.

Her father was diagnosed with brain cancer when she was 22 years old, and he passed just three short months later. Nguyet became depressed after the unexpected death, and she had to stop working as a result. To give her a fresh start, her family sent her to school abroad.

Nguyet says shes better now after years of therapy with a psychiatrist, however she still has occasional dreams about her late father that leave her in tears.

"Just as Easterners put their faith in Buddha, I have faith that God will always watch over the souls of the departed so the living can find some serenity and have peace of mind," Casagrande told his new romantic interest.

But her fathers death wasnt the only source of trauma, pain and struggle.

Opening even more to her new suitor about socially taboo parts of her life, Nguyet told 37-year-old Casagrande that shed been betrayed in the past. When shed gotten pregnant some years earlier, the father disappeared and she gave birth and raised a child alone while also taking care of her mother and supporting her financially.

Spinsters with children are still often frowned upon in Vietnam, but Casagrande didnt judge Nguyet at all.

The pairs text-message courtship continued to deepen with ever more profound conversations.

Nguyets demanding job often had her up at 2 a.m. stressfully finishing a report for her boss, but late-night texts from Casagrande helped her press on.

Casagrande encouraged Nguyet to treat her workaholic-ism in order to be there for her daughter.

According to Nguyet, she fell in love with Casagrande after only a few days of these candid and revealing text conversations.

But Casagrandes holiday was ending and had a ticket back to France. With pain in their chests, the pair decided to meet in person before his flight home March 11, 2020. They wanted to at least say goodbye and maybe "see you again soon."

But fate, in its mysterious and utterly reliable way, intervened on their behalf.

On March 6, 2020, Nguyet returned late from work but was unable to enter her alley because a woman in her neighborhood had contracted Covid and the entire section of town had been cordoned off, with all residents ordered to quarantine.

Concerned for Nguyet, Casagrande invited her to stay with him in Hoi An. Meanwhile, Nguyet's mother and child had already flown to Australia to stay with a relative during the outbreak's early stages.

Nguyet was "stunned" when she first saw the psychiatrist, who was two meters tall, at a restaurant in Hoi An. He, on the other hand, thought she was "petite and lovely."

Nguyet eventually went back to Hanoi when her neighborhood opened after the local quarantine was lifted.

But Casagrande didnt go back home to France due to the pandemic, which was ravaging parts of Europe. Official international travel restrictions in both Asia and Europe  and across most of the world  had made flying home seem impossible.

So instead, Casagrande went to Hanoi to be with Nguyet. However, on his first day in town he came down with a persistent and crippling case of bad food poisoning.

The tender care Nguyet gave Casagrande while he was bed ridden moved him intensely in the best way.

When the first wave of the pandemic ended, Casagrande flew back to France. But he and Nguyet stayed in touch every day and continued to share the intimate details of their lives with each other comfortably.

Then the global lockdowns were lifted briefly, and the lovers planned to meet again.

But destiny wasnt going to make it that easy. The second wave of the pandemic closed international borders again before the couple could plan a rendezvous.

Luckily, both Nguyet and Casagrande were able to work from home during the long lockdown, which gave them time and space to continue chatting and exploring each others personal world, inside and out.

Nguyet was inspired by Casagrande to found a Facebook support group for unmarried women, which to date has given hope and inspiration to almost 5,400 people struggling through the same troubles she had come to overcome.

Nguyet says that the sisterhood of the groups members helped her let go of her guilt and shame and made her truly proud for the first time: proud to be a single mother and proud to have taken control of her own life.

From courtship to commitment

Finally, nearly a year and a half after an overworked single mom and a French backpacker bravely took the risk of reaching out to each other, Casagrande proposed marriage.

But Nguyet said no!

She says that despite her sororal groups support, she was not over the injury of her first marriage, the trauma of which still tainted her still-healing broken heart. She says she was too afraid of getting hurt again.

But now Casagrande was hurting. Respecting the dignity of her own decision, he gave her the time and space she needed to make up her mind about the future of their relationship.

Eventually Nguyet flew to France to see Casagrande in the winter to discuss their future. They both acknowledged that they thought similarly and rarely argued with one another. But in a nutshell, the major obstacle was that one of them had to make the sacrifice of leaving their country.

Nguyet had worked hard to establish a successful career in Vietnam, where she earned a comfortable living. She was used to city life and spending generously.

Casagrande already know how he felt. He said he wanted to continue the relationship but had no intention of moving to Vietnam. He said he wanted to stay in France and work to provide for her and her child. And their children, if they were so lucky.

Nguyet was eventually ready to compromise. She then made the most important life changing decision one can make. She told Casagrande that shed be willing to try to move to France, but only if hed agree to have a traditional wedding in Vietnam first.

Nguyet and Casagrande during their wedding ceremony in Vietnam in November 2022. Photo courtesy of Nguyet

Casagrande knew a good deal when he saw one and immediately agreed. The love birds then held a Hanoi wedding ceremony and party in November last year. They described the event as a "fairytale."

Walking Nguyet down the aisle was her former South Korean boss and mentor, who she had not seen for six years. He flew all the way from Bangladesh to stand in for her late father and give her hand in marriage to her new husband.

Droves of friends and family members who had helped Nguyet out over her years of single parenting packed the wedding hall.

But the only person that was happier than the bride and groom on the wedding day was An, Nguyet's daughter. She finally had the stepdad shed always wanted.

After the wedding, Nguyet changed the couples plan and with her grooms blessing stayed in Vietnam with An for several more months so her daughter could at least finish her school year.

Then after Ans graduation, when both newlyweds and their child were finally back in France starting their real family life, Casagrande's guidance helped Nguyet land a series of job offers almost immediately. She admits now that it was far less difficult than shed imagined.

Her fluency in four languages and background in engineering made her a viable, if not ideal, European job candidate.

She was approached by a European engineering firm, but turned down the offer because the position required frequent international. Then she landed a position as a business development manager for a locally-based multinational corporation.

Nguyet now says that after her first heartbreak and the years of lovesickness that followed, she thought shed never experience a real true love story again. But now Casagrande and her know more than almost anyone: sometimes there are happy endings.
Irish premier Leo Varadkar has said there are difficulties with some countries that will not take their own nationals back if they have been refused asylum.

The Taoiseach has come in for criticism from groups planning an anti-racism demonstration next weekend for saying that the EU needed to secure its borders and that Ireland should be fair and firm and hard on aspects of migration.

It comes after EU leaders met in Brussels last week to discuss how to respond to an increase in migration from outside Europe.

Mr Varadkar said on Sunday that Europe should be hard on criminal gangs that traffic people into the European Union and into Ireland.

These are the people who create the fake IDs and tell migrants to destroy them so they cant get caught  (its) one of the reasons why people are told to destroy the documents, because they are fake, in some cases, he told RTE Radio.

And these are people who put people in rafts in the Mediterranean, in the Aegean, hoping theyll be picked up and not really caring if they die.

And these are people who tell vulnerable people all around the world, that the streets of Europe are paved with gold and take their money to bring them to Europe and we are, as a country and as a European Union, going to have to be harder on trafficking.

In response to an increase in irregular migration, he said there needed to be a focus on returning migrants who had been refused asylum-seeker status.

We were discussing how we can work together as a European Union, one, to strengthen the external borders of the European Union, and two to also focus on returns because there are a number of countries that were running into difficulties with that wont take their own nationals back when their applications for protection have been refused.

And thats thats not right, thats not fair.

A country should take their own citizens back.

The number of deportation orders that are actually affected is quite small, and often that is down to the fact that weve difficulty getting countries to accept their own nationals back and thats a big problem, he said.

Ireland accepted 70,000 Ukrainian nationals and received a further 13,000 asylum-seeker applications last year.

Mr Varadkar suggested that a further 30-40,000 could arrive this year, and accepted that its going to be very difficult to provide accommodation to all those who require it.

Several calls for accommodation have been made to departments in recent months by Minister for Equality Roderic OGorman, and Higher Education Minister Simon Harris has said that student accommodation could be used during the summer as it was last year.

Mr Harris also said that the Department of Justice has met representatives of 19 airlines regarding travel documents, and that 964 fines of 1,500 euro were issued to airlines last year for people boarding planes without the correct documents.

This is a compassionate country, but we also have rules and those rules are applied, he said on The Week In Politics.

The Taoiseach said: We need to be fair to people who need our protection, were not going to turn anyone away.

Weve accepted tens of thousands of people in the last year and provided them with shelter and accommodation, education for their kids, healthcare, education, opportunities to work.

And we also need to have legal pathways to migration as well.

Ireland is a country that you can come to as an economic migrant from outside the European Union.

We issued 40,000 work permits last year, so we do have legal pathways to migration.

But we do need to be firm, I believe, with people whose applications are rejected.

And we need to say to people that if youre going to come to Ireland with a false story or on false pretences, we will try to prevent you from entering in first place, and after that we will make sure that your application is dealt with quickly.

He added: I think people in Ireland understand that migration has been a good thing for our country.

But they also want to know that migration is going to be properly managed, that there are controls, and I want to give people that reassurance that there is.

I would say this very clearly, that migration is something that I think is a good thing for our country.

It strengthens our economy.

If you look at our public services, our health service, for example, wouldnt function without people coming from overseas, and also it enriches our culture.
Tax season is upon us and with it comes the ever-present threat of fraud. Canadians should be wary of scammers posing as Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) employees who will trick their victims into sending them money or providing personal information that can be used to take over a bank account.
As early as next week, Germany will start training Ukrainian soldiers to use and maintain the Leopard 2 main battle tank.

That's according to the Spiegel media outlet, an Ukrinform correspondent report.

"The Bundeswehr will start training Ukrainian crews on the Leopard 2 main battle tank next week. According to Spiegel, the Air Force has already brought the first groups of Ukrainian soldiers with military vehicles from Poland to Germany in the past few days. In the middle of next week, Leopard training will start at the Munster military training area in Lower Saxony, where Ukrainian units are already being trained on the Marder infantry fighting vehicle," the article reads.

According to the report, the Bundeswehr is planning a kind of turbo course for the Ukrainian soldiers, some of whom have come directly from the front line near the city of Bakhmut.

"In just six to eight weeks, they should learn the basics of operating the complex weapon system and interaction with Leopard battle tanks. The use of the Marder infantry fighting vehicle should also be practiced," Spiegel said.

Due to the lack of time, only the basics can be taught, whereas a full-fledged training program takes several years.

"If everything goes according to plan, the trained soldiers should return to the front lines in Ukraine together with the Leopard battle tanks by the end of March," Spiegel wrote.

Earlier reports said that Western partners had reached an agreement on the transfer of main battle tanks to Ukraine.
Mercenaries from Russias Wagner Group are working with Serbian paramilitaries to smuggle weapons and unmarked military uniforms into Kosovo.

The relevant statement was made by President of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani in an interview with The Telegraph, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

According to Osmani, the alleged preparations by Serbia bear parallels to Russias annexation of Crimea in 2014, when Russian soldiers wearing uniforms stripped of any insignia, dubbed little green men, prepared the way for the peninsulas seizure.

They bring in weapons and uniforms but they are not formally part of the Serbian army. Serbia wants to achieve its aims without it being called a military operation, Osmani told.

In her words, the secret operation is designed to lay the groundwork for a potential hybrid attack by Serbia to grab Kosovan territory.

If you look at what Putin did in 2014 it is a complete copy cat, it is the same playbook. Initially, he instrumentalised Russians who lived there, then he was creating all kinds of false flag operations and then he sent in these paramilitary groups, Osmani noted.

The President of Kosovo emphasized that Belgrade continues to stroke tensions in the region, in cooperation with Russias Wagner Group, which recently began advertising for Serbian recruits for the Ukraine war.

There is clear evidence that Serb paramilitary groups have been planning and organizing this with Wagner. How many were at the border or inside Kosovo territory, thats an issue that is still being investigated, Osmani added.

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In 2016, Kobe Bryant of the Lakers scored 60 points in his final game, wrapping up 20 years in the NBA. See more sports moments from this date:
BURLEY, Idaho  A local woman was sentenced to prison for two years fixed and two years indeterminate after taking her then 4-year-old granddaughter out of state without permission.

Elizabeth Rose Crofts of Burley was charged in November 2021 after police issued an Amber Alert regarding the child.

Along with the prison sentence, Cassia County District Judge Michael Tribe placed Crofts in the states retained jurisdiction program for one year, according to court records.

The program, also referred to as a rider, means she will be incarcerated at an Idaho Department of Correction prison but will receive treatment and access to programs, and will remain under the judges jurisdiction.

If she successfully completes the rider program she will go back before the judge and could be placed on probation.

Under a plea deal with the Cassia County Prosecutors Office, Croft pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree kidnapping using a North Carolina vs. Alford plea and a second count of second-degree kidnapping was dismissed.

An Alford plea means she did not admit to all the elements of the charge but the state may have had enough evidence to convict her.

The child was found in Elko, Nevada, days after her mother reported her missing and the Amber Alert was issued.

Crofts was at a casino when she was arrested.

The childs mother told police that Crofts had picked up the child in the morning to take her to school, but the girl never arrived at the school.

The childs mother then went to a motel where Crofts was staying and found Crofts had checked out of the room.
London, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 13th Feb, 2023 ) :The body responsible for refereeing in the Premier League admitted on Sunday that Brentford's equalising goal in a 1-1 draw at Premier League leaders Arsenal was not properly checked for offside by the VAR officials.

The Gunners dropped what could be two huge points in the title race when Ivan Toney headed in after a scramble inside the Arsenal area.

A lengthy VAR check took place after the goal to examine whether Ethan Pinnock was offside and interfering with play earlier in the move.

But VAR officials then missed the fact Christian Norgaard was in an offside position when he hooked the ball across for Toney to equalise.

Brentford's goal was not the only controversy of a bad Saturday for officiating in the Premier League.

Brighton had a goal wrongly ruled out in their 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace.

Pervis Estupinan's strike was disallowed after a VAR review deemed the Ecuadorian to be offside.

However, the lines drawn by the VAR official to determine the offside used the wrong Palace defender with Marc Guehi stood behind James Tomkins.

"PGMOL can confirm its Chief Refereeing Officer Howard Webb has contacted both Arsenal and Brighton & Hove Albion to acknowledge and explain the significant errors in the VAR process in their respective Premier League fixtures on Saturday," said a statement issued by PGMOL.

"Both incidents, which were due to human error and related to the analysis of offside situations, are being thoroughly reviewed by PGMOL." A spokesman for Brighton said the Seagulls were "hugely disappointed by the error" but had accepted the PGMOL's apology.

Those two incidents were far from the only controversial calls over the weekend.

Chelsea were somehow denied a late penalty in a 1-1 draw at West Ham when Tomas Soucek handled Conor Gallagher's shot inside the box.

"I thought it was a good save," said Chelsea boss Graham Potter. "I didn't know Tomas could get down that easily and save like that. But it's not for me to say about VAR."
Houston, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 12th Feb, 2023 ) :With his hat, big belt buckle and cowboy boots, Ly looks the part of a Texan and even speaks with a twang. He's served in the US Navy but on Saturday, he was doing battle on a different front -- against a proposed law that would bar Chinese citizens from owning property in Texas.

About 300 protesters marched through Houston's Chinatown on Saturday, shouting "Stop Chinese hate" and "Texas is our home." Demonstrators wearing a Chinese dragon costume marched alongside, and others pounded and clanged drums and cymbals.

Their ire is aimed at a proposal by Republican state Senator Lois Kolkhorst that would bar Chinese, Russian, North Korean and Iranian citizens or businesses from purchasing property in the state.

"I'm a veteran of the United States Navy. I feel that there are many patriots in the military... Some of them probably have the same last name as me. And they cannot... buy any house or land or property in Texas (under this bill). That doesn't make any sense," said Ly, 23, who declined to give his full name.

He said he had just obtained US citizenship a few days earlier.

"This law here is discrimination against one people simply because where (they are) from. We are all created equal," said Nancy Zhao, a 50-year-old accountant.

The distress of people like Zhao and Ly comes as tensions mount between the US and China over a host of issues, including the status of Taiwan and the intrusion earlier this month of a Chinese balloon into US airspace.

After the balloon drifted across the country, President Joe Biden ordered the military to shoot it down, and it fell into the Atlantic Ocean off South Carolina on February 4. The Pentagon called it a surveillance airship.

Proponents of the Texas bill say it is needed for national security, and Kolkhorst says it will not affect legal residents, or green card holders.

But ironclad legal protections are not written clearly into the bill as it stands now, experts say, and issues such as how it would affect dual nationals (those who are citizens of the United States and another country, like China) are either not addressed or ambiguous, leading immigrants to fear the worst.

"I worked 18 years," said Frank Win, a 31-year-old scientist. "I paid my tax. You know, I'm working hard. And we just had a little boy last July. So we're thinking about buying a new house for him.""But now this bill came out, it's suddenly like, all my American dreams have been smashed."
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his wife at the welcome ceremony in Brunei (Photo: VNA)

Talking with the press about the outcomes of the visits, Minister Son said they were the first visits to the Southeast Asian countries by the Vietnamese PM since the 13th National Party Congress and the COVID-19 outbreak. It was also the first visit to Singapore by the PM after nearly five years and the first to Brunei after nearly 16 years.

The visit also took place at a time when Vietnam and Singapore are celebrating the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties, the 10th anniversary of bilateral strategic partnership this year. Vietnam and Brunei also marked the 30th anniversary of their diplomatic ties last year.

Son said the visits achieved comprehensive, practical and specific results. The Vietnamese PM engaged in over 30 activities during three days, notably talks and meetings with the two countries leaders, leading corporate executives and representatives of the Vietnamese communities.

According to him, Singaporean and Brunei leaders agreed to keep consolidating strategic political trust with Vietnam via facilitating high-level visits and effective implementation of bilateral cooperation mechanisms and important cooperation agreements.

A number of cooperation documents between Vietnam and the two countries were signed, including those in economy, trade, investment, maritime, youth, consular affairs, research and training activities.

PM Pham Minh Chinh witnesses the exchange of cooperation documents between Vietnamese and Singaporean firms at Vietnam-Singapore business forum (Photo: VNA)

In Singapore, a highlight was the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on Vietnam-Singapore Digital Economy  Green Economy, laying a foundation for bilateral cooperation in digital economy, circular economy, green economy, clean energy and climate change response.

For the first time, Vietnam and Brunei signed an Action Programme on the implementation of Vietnam-Brunei comprehensive partnership for the 2023-2027 period.

Practical results during the visits have not only deepened collaboration between Vietnam and the two countries in traditional fields such as politics, economy, national defence-security, education-training, oil and gas, tourism, people-to-people exchange but also created a framework for new cooperation areas.

While attending forums with Singaporean and Brunei enterprises, PM Chinh affirmed Vietnams strong commitments to maintaining political and macro-economic stability, and facilitating new cooperation realms. Participants also vowed to do long-term business and expand their operations in Vietnam.

Leaders of the three nations shared aspirations for a united and cohesive ASEAN and a Southeast Asian region of peace, stability and prosperity. They promised to work closely together to maintain the blocs solidarity and central role amid the complicated developments in the region and the world at present, as well as to contribute to peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world, Son added./.
MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 12th February, 2023) UK defense industry officials are discussing with their Ukrainian counterparts plans for the production of British weapons in Ukraine, which would mark the deepening of Kiev's ties with both London and NATO, The Telegraph newspaper reported on Sunday.

UK executives traveled to Ukraine with a view of creating joint ventures there that would produce weapons and vehicles locally under license, the report said.

In addition, the newspaper reported that other European defense companies are also negotiating with Kiev on the issue, and that UK companies do not want to lose to French and German competitors.

A British executive said there is a race to put the UK "at the front of the queue," The Telegraph said.

Ukraine used to produce some types of Israeli and US small arms, such as rifles, under license, and adapted some of its tanks to incorporate Israeli electronics, the newspaper added.

According to The Telegraph, Kiev would like to produce Western-designed artillery, vehicles and weapons itself rather than buy them.

Since the beginning of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine, Western countries have been supplying Ukraine with various types of weapon systems, including air defense missiles, multiple launch rocket systems, tanks, self-propelled artillery and anti-aircraft guns.
WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 12th February, 2023) The Pentagon has confirmed that the unidentified object that was flying over northern Canada has been shot down, following close coordination between US and Canadian authorities, including at the level of defense ministers.

On Saturday, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said in a statement to Sputnik that it was tracking "a high-altitude airborne object" over northern Canada. Later in the day, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that the unidentified object was shot down by a US F-22 aircraft over the Yukon after he ordered the take down. Trudeau said that he discussed the incident with US President Joe Biden.

"Following a call between the Prime Minister of Canada and the President of the United States, President Biden authorized U.S. fighter aircraft assigned to North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) to work with Canada to take down a high-altitude airborne object over northern Canada today," Pentagon Press Secretary Brig.

Gen. Pat Ryder said in a Saturday statement.

According to the release, NORAD first detected the object over Alaska late on Friday evening and it was monitored by two F-22 aircraft over US airspace.

"Monitoring continued today as the object crossed into Canadian airspace, with Canadian CF-18 and CP-140 aircraft joining the formation to further assess the object. A U.S. F-22 shot down the object in Canadian territory using an AIM 9X missile following close coordination between U.S. and Canadian authorities, to include a call today between (US) Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and (Canadian) Minister of Defence Anita Anand," Ryder said.

The Pentagon spokesperson added that the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) will work closely with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) as Canada works on analyzing the wreckage to get more information about the object.
MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 12th February, 2023) Saudi Arabia would like to join the BRICS club of five emerging economies and become a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), Russian Ambassador to Riyadh Sergei Kozlov said in an interview with Sputnik on Sunday.

"As part of diversifying its foreign policy, Saudi Arabia is interested in joining such authoritative international associations as the SCO and BRICS," the ambassador said.

Saudi partners have voiced corresponding ideas in contacts with the Russian side, Kozlov added.

"The issue of partnership in the SCO dialogue is under active consideration, while the possible membership of Saudi Arabia in the BRICS is currently being considered conceptually," the diplomat said.

Riyadh's desire to become an integrated part of these multilateral structures, primarily the SCO, has a good prospect, according to Kozlov.

In September 2022, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, noted the growing role of the SCO in international affairs and expressed the Kingdom's readiness to actively participate in the organization's activities.
WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 13th February, 2023) The US military is tracking an object flying above Lake Huron near the Canadian border, US Representative of Michigan, Elissa Slotkin, said on Sunday.

"Just got a call from (Department of Defense)  our military has an extremely close eye on the object above Lake Huron," Slotkin said on Twitter.

She added that that more details "about what this was" would be available "in the coming days."

Earlier on Sunday, the US authorities temporarily closed the airspace over Lake Michigan to ensure the safety of air traffic in the area during unspecified operations of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).
Turkey is targeting 134 contractors and others for alleged shoddy and illegal construction methods even as rescuers retrieve more bodies from collapsed buildings after a pair of earthquakes last week killed more than 33,000 people and injured another 92,000.

Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag has vowed to punish anyone responsible for the collapse of thousands of buildings as the quakes last Monday devastated large portions of southeastern Turkey and northern Syria. He said Sunday that to date three people had been arrested pending trial, seven people detained and seven others barred from leaving the country.

Even as authorities assessed responsibility for the collapsed buildings, thousands of rescue workers, against long odds, continued their search for survivors, and a handful of people were found alive. Thermal cameras were used to probe the piles of concrete and metal, while rescuers demanded silence so that they could hear any voices of the trapped.

A pregnant woman was rescued Sunday 157 hours after the quakes in the hard-hit province of Hatay, state-broadcaster TRT said.



HaberTurk television broadcast the live rescue of a 6-year-old boy removed from the debris of his home in Adiyaman. The child was wrapped in a space blanket and put into an ambulance. An exhausted rescuer removed his surgical mask and took deep breaths as a group of women could be heard crying in joy.

Prosecutors have begun gathering samples of buildings for evidence of the materials that were used in their construction. The quakes were powerful, but victims and technical experts are blaming bad construction  and lax enforcement of building codes  for worsening the devastation.

Two contractors reportedly attempting to leave the country for Georgia were detained by authorities Sunday at Istanbul Airport. The contractors were held responsible for the alleged shoddy construction of several collapsed buildings in Adiyaman, the private DHA news agency and other media reported.



One of the arrested contractors, Yavuz Karakus, told reporters, "My conscience is clear. I built 44 buildings. Four of them were demolished. I did everything according to the rules," DHA reported.



Two more people were arrested in Gaziantep province suspected of having cut down columns to make extra room in a building that collapsed, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.



A day earlier, Turkey's Justice Ministry announced the planned establishment of "Earthquake Crimes Investigation" bureaus. The bureaus would gather evidence, identify contractors and others behind the construction of the collapsed buildings to determine if violations occurred. Turkey has building codes, but they are rarely enforced.

Eyup Muhcu, president of the Chamber of Architects of Turkey, told The Associated Press that many of the buildings that fell were built with inferior materials and methods, without regard for Turkeys construction codes.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday that the earthquake was the disaster of the century.

David Alexander, a professor of emergency planning at University College London told the AP, This is a disaster caused by shoddy construction, not by an earthquake.

Suzan van der Lee, a seismologist and professor at Northwestern University, told VOA Turkish's Ozlem Tinaz, Earthquakes like this are going to happen... we just don't know when. So, the best thing to do is to be as prepared as possible, buildings that are as safe as possible and know exactly what to do when you feel the ground shake.

The VOA Turkish Service contributed to this report, which includes some information from The Associated Press.
Rescuers continued to pull out survivors Saturday, five days after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake shook Turkey and Syria.

Some rescue operations in Turkey were stopped amid reports of nearby looting.

More than 28,000 people have died in Turkey and Syria, officials say, and millions more have been left homeless.

Martin Griffiths, United Nations aid chief, said he expects the death toll to double.

Syrias northwestern rebel-held region was the countrys hardest hit area.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday that the earthquake was the disaster of the century.

In Turkey, rescue operations were conducted amid a massive amount of rubble produced by fallen buildings.

Turkey began arresting scores of contractors Saturday whom officials believe are responsible for the shoddy construction of buildings that collapsed during and after the earthquake.

This is a disaster caused by shoddy construction, not by an earthquake, David Alexander, a professor of emergency planning at University College London told The Associated Press.

Eyup Muhcu, president of the Chamber of Architects of Turkey, told AP that many of the buildings that fell were built with inferior materials and methods, without regard for Turkeys construction codes.

Suzan van der Lee, a seismologist and professor at Northwestern University, told VOA Turkish's Ozlem Tinaz, Earthquakes like this are going to happen ... we just don't know when. So, the best thing to do is to be as prepared as possible, buildings that are as safe as possible and know exactly what to do when you feel the ground shake.

The VOA Turkish Service contributed to this report, which includes some information from The Associated Press.
Since his ouster from power in a parliamentary vote of no-confidence last April, Pakistans former Prime Minister Imran Khan has had a public falling out with the military, despite previously enjoying a close relationship with the countrys most powerful institution.

He accuses then-army chief Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa of conspiring with his political opponents to remove him from office with help from the United States  allegations that Washington, the Pakistani military, and the government have repeatedly denied.

Khan calls the two political dynasties of Pakistan  the Sharifs and Bhuttos that are leading the 13-party alliance currently ruling  crooked and accuses them of embezzling millions of dollars, but his administration failed to successfully prosecute charges of corruption against them.



In a wide-ranging interview with VOA Islamabad Correspondent Sarah Zaman, Khan, who was prime minister from 2018 to 2022, said it was the security forces negligence that allowed the Pakistani Taliban, or TTP, to resume its activities. He expressed hope that the military would stop interfering in politics and would build good relations with Washington  despite accusing it of conspiring in his ouster.

This transcript has been edited for clarity and brevity.

VOA: Your relationship with the Pakistani military has evolved within a very short period. When you were in power, you and the military appeared to be on the same page. You not only accused the top brass of conspiring in your ouster, but also that the military didn't give you enough room to govern and was calling the shots. What kind of a relationship do you think the military should have with the civilian government and with any political party?

Imran Khan, former Pakistan prime minister: Well, first let me just define what you mean by the military. Military [in Pakistan] means one man, the army chief. So, the whole policy of military vis-a-vis their dealing with the civilian government depends on the personality of one man. The positive side during our relationship with Gen. [Qamar Javed] Bajwa, rather than the military, we were on the same page, which meant that we had the organized strength of Pakistan army to help us  and we worked together, and you know, Pakistan was considered one of the success stories of the COVID-19. Now, the problem was that Gen. Bajwa favored some of the biggest crooks in this country, and he did not think corruption was a big problem, and he wanted us to work with them. What that meant [was] giving them immunity from their corruption cases.

He had a very close relationship with Shehbaz Sharif, the current prime minister. And, for some reason, he conspired, and this regime change took place.

VOA: He rejects those allegations. But, if you come back to power, what makes you think things will be different? That the army that has consistently played a huge role in Pakistan would back off?

Khan: The leading principle of the balance [of power] is that the elected government that has the responsibility, which people have mandated through their vote, must also have the authority. You cannot separate responsibility and authority. So, if the authority lies with the army chief, [but] responsibility lies with the prime minister, no management system works.

VOA: But do you believe it could be different next time? And if you don't believe so, why do you want to run for reelection?

Khan: It can be because Pakistan is evolving all the time, and I'm sure amongst the new military leadership there is a realization that this experiment of regime change has gone wrong. Pakistans economy has gone into a tailspin, we are facing the worst crisis in our history, the economic crisis, but not just that, the governance crisis, and there's no way to get out of this. The only way is that we have a paradigm shift with [how] Pakistan has been run.

VOA: You've been agitating for elections for almost 10 months now, but you've also said that you don't believe the next elections are going to be free and fair. Will you accept the results if your party does not win a majority?

Khan: They have completely destroyed the credibility as an impartial election commission. So, there wont be free and fair elections, but there will be elections.

VOA: Will you accept the results if your party does not win a majority whenever the general elections happen?

Khan: That's premature to say. How can I say right now the extent of rigging theyll do. There was a local government election in [the southern province] Sindh, all the political parties rejected the local government election, all of them there will be rigging but the extent? I cant say right now.

VOA: Let's talk foreign policy. Do you believe the Afghan Taliban government is friendly to Pakistan?

Khan: Well firstly, whatever government is in Afghanistan, Pakistan must have a good relationship with them. I tried my best with the Ghani government  because our interest is that having a good relationship with the government in Kabul means that we have a 2,500-kilometer border with them. Which means that if there are problems of terrorism, then they will help us.

VOA: But so far, even the Pakistani government says it's not getting the help from the Afghan Taliban to fight terrorism the way it would have liked.

Khan: You know, what is disturbing is that our foreign minister, he's spent almost all his time out of Pakistan, but he's not paid one visit to Afghanistan.

I'm not saying it's going to be easy, but do we want a repeat of what happened to Pakistan from 2005 onwards to 2015, where Pakistan was going under, suffering from terrorism all along the Afghan border? I think we are not in a position to have another war on terror. And the only way is to somehow get Kabul to work with us so that we can jointly deal with this issue.

VOA: One of the reasons that terrorism has spiked in Pakistan is because, according to the National Counterterrorism Authority, the time that was taken for negotiations with TTP was used by that group to reorganize. Those talks started when you were in power. Do you stand by your decision to greenlight those talks?

Khan: Well firstly, what were the choices [the] Pakistani government faced once the Taliban took over and they decided the TTP, and we're talking about 30, [30,000] to 40,000 people, you know, the families included, once they decided to send them back to Pakistan? Should we have just lined them up and shot them, or should we have tried to work with them to resettle them?

We had a meeting, and the idea was that the resettlement had to be done with the concurrence of the politicians of all along the border, the FATA [tribal] region, and along with the security forces, plus, the TTP. But that never happened because our government left and once our government was removed, the new government took its eye off the ball.

Meanwhile, this threat grew and it's possible that they regrouped, but then where were the Pakistani security forces? Where were intelligence agencies? Could they not see them [re]grouping? So, the problem is, how could we be held responsible for their negligence?

VOA: Throughout last year, at rallies, your narrative was the U.S. conspired with your political opponents to remove you from office [a claim the Biden administration has denied]. If you come back to power, what kind of challenges do you see in repairing your relationship with Washington?

Khan: Well, firstly, international relationships should not be based on personal egos. They should be based on the interest of the people of your country. The people of Pakistan, their interest is that we have [a] good relationship with the U.S. U.S. being a superpower and our biggest trading partner. Pakistan exports more to the U.S. than any other country.

Whatever happened, now as things unfold, it wasn't the U.S. who told Pakistan [to oust me]. It was unfortunately, from what evidence has come up, Gen. Bajwa who somehow managed to tell the Americans that I was anti-American. And so, it [the plan to oust me] wasn't imported from there. It was exported from here to there.

VOA: Do you still believe the U.S. played a role in removing you from office?

Khan: Well, the cipher is a reality. It was an official meeting [that] initiated [conversation on] both sides, between Donald Lu, the Undersecretary of State for South Asia, and the Pakistan ambassador, and this was brought to the National Security Council and cabinet.

Having said that, it's in the past, we have to move on. It's in the interest of Pakistan to have good relations with the U.S. and that's what we intend to do.

VOA: In your interview with The New Yorker, you were asked about your stance on human rights and Chinas treatment of its Uyghur Muslims. In the past, first your position was, this is not happening. Later on, you said that you would rather discuss [this issue with China] in private. But [in the interview] you said that you didn't essentially call China out for its abuse of the Uyghurs because it could cost Pakistan a lot, because Pakistan relies very heavily on China. Does that mean that you speak for Palestinians or for Kashmiris, because there are no serious political consequences for Pakistan? Is this how a country should manage its moral positions?

Khan: Remember, the prime minister of a country, his main responsibility is his own people. So, you do not want to make moral statements about other countries, which would affect the lives of your population. I'd give you an example. We were told to take [a] position on [Russias war in] Ukraine. We decided to stay neutral. India decided to stay neutral, biggest strategic partner of the U.S. Why? Because India sensibly thought about its own people. It got oil from Russia at 40 percent discount. So, by actually taking sides, you can actually affect the lives of your own people.

My responsibility as a prime minister was the 220 million people of my own country, and it's exactly what the Western countries do, they don't take positions when it hurts their economic interest. Kashmir  the United Nations Security Council has passed resolutions on Kashmir, a disputed territory. India took over Kashmir unilaterally. No response from the Western countries because it is a strategic partner. So, countries like us who have large populations that are hovering around the poverty line, we at least do not have the luxury of making moral statements.
Greece's foreign minister visited Turkey on Sunday in a show of support after the country was hit by a devastating earthquake last Monday, despite a longstanding rivalry between the two NATO countries.

Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias was met with a warm embrace by his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu, according to footage on state-run ERT TV, before they boarded helicopters to quake-hit regions.

His arrival marks the first visit by a European minister to Turkey since the earthquake.

"I would like to convey to the Turkish leadership and the Turkish people the warmest condolences of the Mitsotakis government and the entire Greek people for the losses after the two devastating earthquakes," Dendias said during a press conference with Cavusoglu in Antakya, referring to Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

"This is showing the solidarity of Greek people with Turkey and the Turkish population. Greece was one of the first countries to call and propose help to Turkey after the earthquake," Cavusoglu added.

'Dialogue'

Greece and Turkey have a history of rivalry going back centuries, but it has been exacerbated by territorial and energy disputes  and more recently by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's bombastic threats of invasion.

But the two neighbors, which lie on seismic fault lines, also have a tradition of helping each other in natural disasters.

Cavusoglu recalled mutual aid when quakes struck Turkey and Greece in 1999, when he said at the time that "We don't have to wait for another earthquake for developing our relations."

"I said this as a simple citizen back then, but I think the same today as Turkey's foreign minister," he said. "I hope we will make efforts for finding a solution to our disagreements with dialogue in a sincere way."

Dendias also said that "We do not need to wait for natural disasters to improve our relations", while adding that Greece's effort to help Turkey would continue.

The Greek government has so far sent 80 tons of medical and first aid equipment as well as rescuers that along with other European rescuers have saved 205 people, Dendias said.
At the MoU signing ceremony in Singapore (Photo: VNA)

A highlight during the visits was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on partnership on digital economy and green economy with Singapore, and an Action Programme on the implementation of Vietnam-Brunei comprehensive partnership for the 2023-2027 period.

During three days in both nations, PM Chinh engaged in over 30 different activities, stressing that the tightening of relations is demand of each nation, for their people, and for peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world.

During their talks and meetings with the Vietnamese PM, Singaporean and Brunei leaders vowed to keep consolidating political trust with Vietnam via the exchange of high-level delegations and effective implementation of bilateral cooperation mechanisms and important cooperation agreements.

PM Pham Minh Chinh (L) and Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong (Photo: VNA)

While attending receptions, economic forums or discussions with enterprises, PM Chinh affirmed that Vietnam welcomes and creates favourable conditions for Singaporean and Brunei firms to expand operations in the country, especially in digital transformation, green energy, sci-tech and innovation.

Leaders of Singapore and Brunei also promised to create conditions for the Vietnamese communities living there to get fair treatment and make contributions to the host countries.

Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah welcomes PM Pham Minh Chinh for talks (Photo: VNA)

They vowed to enhance cooperation to maintain ASEANs solidarity and central role amid the complicated developments in the region and the world at present./.
In a small coal-mining town on Ukraine's eastern front line, a fight for strategic superiority is being waged in a battlefield steeped with symbolism as the one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion nears.

The town of Vuhledar, meaning "gift of coal," has emerged as a critical hot spot in the fight for the Donetsk province that would give both sides  the Ukrainian forces who hold the urban center, and the Russians positioned in the suburbs  a tactical upper hand in the greater battle for the Donbas region.

Located on an elevated plane that is one of the few high-terrain spots in the area, its capture would be an important step in Russias plans to disrupt Ukrainian supply lines. Securing Vuhledar would give Ukraine a potential launching pad for future counter-offensives south.

Then there is the symbolic weight: Vuhledar is close to the administrative border of the Donetsk province, and winning it would play into Russia's greater aim of controlling the region as a whole.

"The center of gravity of the Russian military effort is in Donetsk, and Vuhledar is basically the southern flank of that," said Gustav Gressel, a senior policy fellow with the European Council on Foreign Relation's Berlin office.

Population drops from 14,000 to about 300

The grinding fight to win the area has cost Russia manpower and weapons, as Ukrainians continue to hold up defensive lines. Russia sends battalion-sized scout groups to probe Ukrainian lines and shoot artillery toward their positions with an eye to pushing north toward the critical N15 highway, a key supply route.

In remarks this week, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Russian troops were advancing "with success" in Vuhledar. Meanwhile, a British defense intelligence briefing said Russia's aim was to capture unoccupied areas of Ukrainian-held Donetsk, but it was unlikely to build up the forces required to change the outcome of the war.

Vuhledar's pre-war population of 14,000 has dwindled to about 300. The majority of the town's residents worked in the coal mine and nearby factories before the war.

Olha Kyseliova, who was recently evacuated, worked in a brick factory before the fighting upended her life.

Russian forces ramped up attacks beginning on January 24, residents said. That day, a missile tore through Kyseliova's nine-story building. She was sheltering in the basement with her three children and emerged to find a gaping hole through the roof of her third-floor apartment.

That was the moment she decided she had to leave her hometown.

"I cried the entire way out, I didn't want to leave," she said.

Town tactically important

Three Ukrainian brigades are positioned in Vuhledar and on the outskirts of the town. The Associated Press spoke to five commanders in units from all three, who provided only their first names in keeping with Ukraine's military policy. Russia's 155 Marine infantry troops are positioned just 4 kilometers away in Vuhledar's suburbs.

For both sides, the town is tactically important.

"It's one of the main logistics points of the Donbas region, and also one of the main points of elevation," said Maksym, the deputy commander of a Ukrainian marine infantry battalion. "By capturing Vuhledar, Russians can easily occupy the entire Donetsk region."

Seizing Vuhledar would enable Russia to push forward and threaten Ukrainian supply lines feeding into the fierce Marinka front line to the north, said Gressel of the European Council on Foreign Relations. For Ukraine, Vuhledar would be a launching pad for future counter-offensives toward Mariupol and Berdiansk.

From their perch in the town, Ukrainian forces can see into Russian lines and have so far been able to repel Russian attempts to encircle Vuhledar. Columns of Russian tanks and armored vehicles transporting infantrymen continuously assault and attempt to break Ukrainian defenses. Aviation, rockets and artillery target the town.

"But with our fighters and anti-tank equipment their attempts have not been successful," said Maksym, the Ukrainian deputy commander. "The situation is strained but controlled."

Russians losing infantry to mines

Similar to other front lines along the east, the Russians are losing scores of infantrymen in an attempt to tire and weaken Ukrainian defensive lines. Serhii, the commander of a Ukrainian intelligence unit, said he saw Russian soldiers sent straight through fields mined by the Ukrainians following Russia's capture of the village of Pavlivka, south of Vuhledar, in November.

"They de-mine our fields by using their own people," he said.

Ukrainian commanders said some of their units are suffering from dire ammunition shortages.

That view was not shared across brigades, suggesting some are better supplied than others. Taras, the commander of a mortar unit, said his forces were suffering very serious shortages. Faced with orders to target an enemy position, he said, "I have just two or three rounds of ammunition to do it. It's nothing."

Two commanders of a brigade inside Vuhledar reported the Russians hurled gas-laden projectiles that caused severe disorientation for hours and burning of the throat and skin. Higher-ranking commanders did not comment on the type of gas used and said an investigation was ongoing.

"They are probing and testing us across the eastern front line, including in Vuhledar," said Oleksandr, a commander who was recently rotated out of the town. "They are trying to find our points of weakness."

For now, Russia's activities around Vuhledar are not "operationally significant," said Kateryna Stepanenko, a Russia analyst with the U.S.-based think tank Institute for the Study of War. More combat power is required to execute breakthroughs that would achieve the stated aim of the Russian invasion  the capture of the entire Donetsk province.

Even in the event of victory in Vuhledar, Russia would still need a lot of combat power to push north. Three months after capturing the village of Pavlivka in November, Russian forces have yet to make breakthroughs in Vuhledar, which is only 4 kilometers  a six-minute drive  away.
Malawi has dropped criminal charges against Anti-Corruption Bureau Director-General Martha Chizuma in connection with leaked audio in which she apparently complained that some officials were frustrating her fight against corruption.

Director of Public Prosecutions Masauko Chamkakala said in a statement that he has discontinued the criminal case against Chizuma in line with the Malawi Constitution and to ensure that the functions of the Anti-Corruption Bureau are not impeded.

Chizuma was facing two counts of criminal defamation after two top officials she mentioned in a leaked audio as among those hindering her investigations sued her.

The lawsuits led the government to suspend Chizuma until the court case is concluded.

The withdrawal of charges comes a few days after the United States and other international donors accused Malawi of fighting anti-corruption champions instead of corruption.

In a statement Wednesday, the U.S. Embassy in Lilongwe condemned what it called harassment of Chizuma.

It also said the Malawi government was waging a campaign of intimidation against the country's anti-corruption chief.

But the Malawi government denied those accusations.

Chizumas lawyer, Martha Kaukonde, told VOA that she has taken the news of withdrawal of charges with a pinch of salt, as similar past announcements never materialized.

As you recall, the same pronouncements were made by the minister of justice a month ago and then nothing changed. We wrote to the minister but there was no formal withdrawal. So we are just waiting for a formal withdrawal, she said.

However, Chamkakala said he has advised the secretary to the president and cabinet, Colleen Zamba, to reconsider her decision to suspend Chizuma.

In the meantime, lawyers the government hired this week to challenge an injunction against the suspension of Chizuma say they have withdrawn their appeal, which had been expected to be heard Monday.
At least 11 people, mostly civilians, were killed in a central Syria attack blamed on the Islamic State group, a war monitor said Sunday.

The IS group "attacked about 75 people on Saturday while they were collecting truffles in the Palmyra area, in the eastern countryside of Homs", the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The attack killed "10 civilians, including a woman, and a member of the [Syrian] regime forces," it said, adding that others remain missing.

Syria's state news agency SANA reported the attack but gave a lower death toll, saying IS "terrorists" fired machine guns and killed four civilians, including a woman.

Ten others were wounded in the attack, some "critically", the news agency added.

After the jihadists lost their last scraps of territory following a military onslaught backed by a US-led coalition in March 2019, IS remnants in Syria mostly retreated into desert hideouts in the country's east.

They have since used such hideouts to ambush Kurdish-led forces and Syrian government troops while continuing to mount attacks in Iraq.

Many people, including women and children, have been targeted in recent years while truffle hunting in central, northeastern and eastern areas of Syria.

In April 2021, the extremist group launched a similar attack, abducting 19 people, mostly civilians, in the eastern countryside of the central city of Hama.

Syrian and Russian helicopters continue to launch air strikes targeting IS desert hideouts.

The Syrian conflict, which was triggered by the suppression of pro-democracy demonstrations, has claimed around 500,000 lives and displaced around half the country's pre-war population.
The NATO alliance confirmed Sunday that its long-serving chief would leave office in October, launching a new round of speculation about his successor.

Diplomats in Brussels say there is no consensus as to who should replace former Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg as the Western alliance's top civilian official.

Some allies were considering a plan to extend his already 9-year-old term to oversee NATO's response to the crisis unleashed by Russia's war against Ukraine.

But on Sunday, shortly after Stoltenberg returned from high-level meetings in Washington, his spokeswoman confirmed that he would leave office later this year.

"The mandate of Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has been extended three times and he has served for a total of almost nine years," spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said. "The secretary-general's term comes to an end in October of this year and he has no intention to seek another extension of his mandate."

The 63-year-old's decision to go will shine a light on the race among senior European officials to replace him, with governments already discreetly floating candidates in news media leaks.

The secretary-general has always been a European, even if in practice Washington has the decisive vote on his  or maybe, this time, on her  nomination.

And although the daily job is one of coordination and seeking consensus among the 30 allies, the choice itself will be seen as symbolic of NATO's direction.

The last time Stoltenberg's future was in question  in February 2022, when he was named future head of the Norwegian central bank, only later to withdraw  speculation focused on women.

For seven decades the alliance has been headed by a series of Western European men, and many observers thought it was time that a woman and or an easterner take charge.

The last four NATO chiefs were seemingly picked as an anti-clockwise tour of the North Sea coast, a Briton being succeeded by a Dutchman followed by a Dane and now a Norwegian.

Meanwhile, the alliance's strategic focus has shifted to the eastern flank, where newer alliance members on the Baltic and Black Sea coasts face off against an aggressive Russia.

Poland and the Baltic nations now see their longstanding warnings about Moscow as justified, and they have led calls to arm and support Ukraine against the invasion.

This has led to calls for NATO to appoint a figure like Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte or her Estonian counterpart, Kaja Kallas.

Both have long taken tough a diplomatic line with Russia, which recommends them to more hawkish allies, but may count against them in some capitals.

Some argue that appointing a Balt would be seen as too provocative toward Russia, pushing the allies  who already arm and fund Kyiv's forces  closer to direct conflict with Moscow.

More cynical observers, including some NATO officials, suggest that Kallas has proved too successful an advocate of the eastern position, triggering resentment in western capitals.

So, if not a hawkish Balt, then who?

No official candidacies have been announced, but diplomats in Brussels suggested that the Netherlands would tout its defense minister, Kajsa Ollongren.

Britain, meanwhile, has already provided three secretaries general over the alliance's history, and traditionally likes to see itself as a bridge between Europe and the U.S.

Britain's defense secretary, Ben Wallace, is often cited as a possible candidate, but that might not go down well with the 21 NATO allies who are also members of the European Union.

Britain, especially under former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, won friends in Ukraine as an early and vocal backer of its defense, but Brexit damaged London's ties with many EU capitals.

This leaves NATO's southern flank, with figures like Italy's 75-year-old former prime minister, Mario Draghi, and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis reportedly in the frame.

And a final wild card: What if NATO picked a non-European secretary-general for the first time, and plumped for a Canadian like Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland?

"There is no consensus," one senior NATO official acknowledged, amid suggestions that U.S. President Joe Biden's White House has yet to give the succession much thought.

Stoltenberg took office at NATO's Brussels headquarters October 1, 2014, and has overseen the Western alliance through several international crises.

The last NATO personnel and U.S. forces left Afghanistan in August 2021, shortly before the capital Kabul fell to victorious Taliban forces, who revived their Islamist regime.

Stoltenberg also oversaw NATO's response to Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing war, the most brutal on European soil since the 1940s.

He has been a respected secretary-general and in particular a bridge between the European allies and Washington under former U.S. President Donald Trump, a frequent NATO critic.
Moldovas former interior minister, Dorin Recean, is expected to be approved as the countrys new prime minister by parliament as soon as this week, following the February 10 resignation of Natalia Gavrilita.

Moldovan President Maia Sandu nominated Recean to the post after Gavrilita stepped down after a year-and-a-half in office. Recean is Sandus defense and security adviser.

Recean, 48, who served as interior minister from 2012 to 2015, will have 15 days to form a new government to present to parliament for a confidence vote. Moldovas ruling party, the Party of Action and Solidarity, has a 63 percent majority of parliamentary seats.

The deputy speaker of the parliament, Mihai Popsoi, told VOA that Moldovas leadership would like to have a transition that is as smooth as possible, given the security situation in the region.

Artur Maja, the secretary general of the PAS, said the change in the government had been planned for a long time.

It is a planned and controlled transition from a pro-European government to another, Maja told VOA. The main objectives of the new government are strengthening the security sector, reviving the economy, and building resilience in the face of the brutal war of Russia against Ukraine.

The new team, he said, led by the Recean will continue to focus on the EU accession, necessary reforms on the national level, and our countrys increased contribution to the regional security.

Iulian Groza, executive director of the Moldova-based Institute for European Policies and Reforms, said, Last year, there were several discussions not only with the public but across the political spectrum about the need to re-energizing the government.

Gavrilita's government has done a tremendous job in terms of managing the crisis that Moldova was hit with, the economic and energy crisis, and of course, the impact of the Russian war against Ukraine. The government managed to start some systemic reforms, Groza told VOA; however, he emphasized the changes were needed, and the Moldovan leadership was looking for the right time to go ahead with the replacement.

President Sandu thanked former Prime Minister Gavrilita on Friday for her "enormous sacrifice and efforts to lead the country in a time of so many crises."

She added, "I know we need unity and a lot of work to get through the difficult period we are facing. The difficulties of 2022 postponed some of our plans, but they did not stop us.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February of last year had a tremendous impact on Moldova. Gavrilita said that no one expected her government "would have to manage so many crises caused by Russian aggression in Ukraine."

"I took over the government with an anti-corruption, pro-development and pro-European mandate," Gavrilita said. "We were immediately faced with energy blackmail, and those who did this hoped we would give in."

A member of the Moldovan parliament, Sinchevici Eugeniu, told VOA that the change in the Moldovan government Friday reflects the need for fresh defense measures in the country.

"We need to put a big focus on security in our government, which was one of the factors that motivated us to change the government," Eugeniu said, pointing to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's recent comments on state-owned Russian news network TASS that the actions of Western nations could soon turn Moldova into the "next Ukraine."

The country is focused on maintaining order internally, especially at a time when Russia is trying to destabilize Moldova, Eugeniu said.

He added that Russia can destabilize situation from inside. They have a lot of Russian agents undercover as representatives of different, especially pro-Russian political structures in Moldova, and they are now putting a lot of money for the destabilization from inside.

Recean told his colleagues that as prime minister, his main focus would be to introduce order and discipline in Moldovas institutions, breathe new life into the economy, and ensure peace and stability.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine, the Moldovan pro-Western leadership has been working to establish closer ties with its Western partners. Last June, Moldova, a former Soviet republic of about 2.6 million people, was granted European Union candidate status on the same day as Ukraine.

Ukraine's ability to defend itself is particularly important for Moldova. As long as Ukraine stands strong, we stand with them, and we want to encourage other countries to help Ukraine as much as possible, said Eugeniu.
Residents of New Zealand's biggest city were urged Sunday to prepare for the impact of a storm that buffeted Australia's Norfolk Island overnight.

Gabrielle, downgraded to a sub-tropical low-pressure system from a Category 2 cyclone, passed over Norfolk Island, with its "most destructive winds" missing the island, the Australian outpost's emergency management authority said.

The focus shifts to New Zealand, 1,460 kilometers south, where the nation's weather forecaster warned of the storm's impact starting Sunday. Last month the largest city, Auckland, was hit by record rainfall that sparked floods and killed four people.

The city of 1.6 million was in line for a "full trifecta" of heavy rain, strong winds and storm surges, said Georgina Griffith, a spokeswoman for the forecaster, MetService.

"Don't be fooled if you're not affected until Tuesday," she told reporters.

Wind and rain were "starting to spread across NZ from the north," with a 133 kph wind gust reported overnight on the country's North Island, MetService said.

Auckland Emergency Management warned the city was likely to be hit by strong winds Sunday night, with gusts of up to 140 kph or higher starting Monday.

Several flights canceled

With Gabrielle closing in, Air New Zealand said it was canceling multiple long-haul international fights on Monday, as well as Tasman and Pacific Island flights, and domestic services in and out of Auckland.

Mayor Wayne Brown's office urged residents to prepare for the storm by taking steps such as tying down loose outdoor items and ensuring houses were clear of debris.

The storm was on track to lie off Cape Reinga at the North Island's north end on Sunday afternoon after moving away from Norfolk Island, MetService said.

Cleanup on Norfolk

On Norfolk Island, which covers just more than 34 square km in the Pacific Ocean between New Caledonia and New Zealand, authorities said they were clearing debris and trees from roads and restoring power knocked out in the storm.

"There is still considerable cleanup to be undertaken and it may take a while for services such as power to be restored," Emergency Management Norfolk Island said.

Its roughly 2,000 residents, some descended from British sailors who mutinied on the HMS Bounty in the 18th century, had been "extremely fortunate" with the passage of the cyclone, the agency said, as winds eased and an all-clear was issued.
An Israeli settler shot and killed a Palestinian in the northern West Bank Saturday, Palestinian health officials said, while an 8-year-old child died of injuries suffered a day before in a car-ramming attack in Jerusalem.

As night fell, warning sirens sounded in southern Israel when Palestinian militants fired a rocket from the Gaza Strip that was intercepted by Israeli aerial defenses, the Israeli military said. There was no immediate statement from Hamas, the Islamic militant group that rules Gaza.

Saturday's events were the latest escalation in months of surging violence in Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank.

In the northern West Bank, near Salfit, a farming village of olive groves, video footage showed Israeli settlers racing down the hills and tearing into the town. As Palestinians poured into the streets to see what was going on, an Israeli settler opened fire, killing a 27-year-old villager, said Ghassan Douglas, a Palestinian official who monitors Israeli settlements in the Nablus region. The settlers dispersed when the Israeli military arrived, he said.

The Palestinian Health Ministry identified the villager who was killed as Methqal Rayan and said he was shot in the head. Video shared by the village council shows the settlers firing at least 10 gunshots toward the residents.

Douglas said that the northern West Bank has seen an intense wave of settler violence in recent days. On Friday, he said, just after the car-ramming attack in Jerusalem that killed three Israelis, settlers similarly streamed into the village and stole several sheep from a farmer. Settlers attacked and wounded Palestinians who tried to defend the farmer, he said.

Israeli police opened an investigation into the shooting of the Palestinian, the military said. It said Israeli security forces de-escalated the situation after the Palestinian was taken to the hospital.

In Jerusalem, Asher Menahem Paley, 8, died a day after a Palestinian man rammed a car into a bus stop in an Israeli settlement in the eastern half of the contested capital, which Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war. Shaare Zedek Hospital in Jerusalem announced his death Saturday. His 6-year-old brother was killed in the car-ramming, along with a man in his 20s.

After the attack, Israel's new hardline government vowed a harsh response. Almost immediately, Israeli police arrested and interrogated the relatives of the suspected assailant, 32-year-old Hussein Qaraqa from the gritty east Jerusalem neighborhood of Issawiya.

Qaraqas family said he was born in Jerusalem but has family in Bethlehem. His uncle, 63-year-old Adnan Qaraqa in Bethlehem, told The Associated Press that his nephew had been diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder.

Qaraqa said Hussein's mental problems started in 2008, when he was arrested for the first of several minor offenses. He alleged that Israeli interrogators badly beat Hussein in detention, from which he emerged irrevocably changed.

A few years later, Hussein fell from a crane at a construction site, his uncle said, sustaining a severe injury that worsened his mental condition. Hussein bounced between psychiatric wards for years, Qaraqa added, and was released from a hospital just two days before plowing into the crowded bus stop Friday.

The West Bank has been on edge since Israel stepped up raids in the territory last spring, following a series of deadly Palestinian attacks inside Israel.

Nearly 150 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank and east Jerusalem in 2022, making it the deadliest year in those territories since 2004, according to leading Israeli rights group BTselem. Last year, 30 people were killed in Palestinian attacks on Israelis.

The pace of death has quickened this year. So far, 45 Palestinians have been killed, according to a count by The Associated Press. Palestinians have killed 10 people on the Israeli side during that time.
Condemnation of the Islamic Republic's violent suppression of freedom drew together eight noted Iranian dissidents who gathered to determine how they could more effectively advance their quest to counter what they see as a brutal government marking 44 years of rule after the 1979 Islamic revolution in the country.

The prominent exiles converged Friday at Georgetown University in Washington for a forum, "The Future of the Iranian Democracy Movement," and each offered a pointed message about how to proceed.

Iran has been shaken by nationwide unrest after the death in September of a young Iranian Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, after she was detained by authorities allegedly for failure to follow a stringent Islamic dress code for women.

The unrest is perhaps the strongest challenge to the Islamic Republic since the revolution.

"The Islamic Republic has survived because of our differences, and we should put our differences aside until we come to the polling booth," Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi said in a video message.

Melanne Verveer kicked off the forum by referring to Iranian protests of the government  and the prominent role of women in it  with the slogan "Women. Life. Freedom." The executive director of Georgetown University's Institute for Women, Peace and Security condemned the Islamic Republic's violent actions and its suppression of freedom of expression.

Iranian American human rights activist and VOA Persian TV host Masih Alinejad expressed hope that an agreement on the opposition's principles could be forged by the end of 2023.

"We must agree on principles based on the declaration of human rights, on eliminating discrimination, and principles that every Iranian can see themselves in, and that depict the end of oppression," she said.

Hamed Esmaeilion, one of the founders of The Association of Families of Flight PS752 Victims, in his remarks, emphasized the "four main demands of the revolution" -- freedom, due process, social justice, and environmental justice.

Esmaeilion, whose wife and daughter were killed in the crash of the Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 that was shot down shortly after takeoff in Tehran in January 2022, told France 24 in early January that the protests that followed Aminis death have united Iranians in seeking freedom and justice.

Abdullah Mohtadi, secretary-general of the Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan, said Kurdistan was not intimidated on the day of Aminis death, but instead rose up.

Despite the Islamic Republic's propaganda over the past decades, he said, Kurdistan has become a symbol of Iranian solidarity in these protests. He stressed that all Iranians should remain united.

Everyone wants to eliminate discrimination, he continued, and to create a future Iran of diversity and plurality, Iranians must stand together today.

While noting that the Islamic Republic is a common enemy of all Iranians, he ended his remarks with the slogan: Women. Life. Freedom.

In response to a question from a VOA reporter concerning any basis for agreement among leaders of the diaspora, Iran's exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi cited their constant exchange of ideas. While, he said, they may not agree on everything, the important thing is that the exchange continues.

Pahlavi stressed that the cooperation of political forces inside and outside Iran is necessary. At this point, he said, all the focus should be on pressuring the Islamic Republic to collapse.

The forum participants and audience closed the proceedings with a minute of silence to honor the victims of the Islamic Republics violent oppression.

So far, 528 people, including 71 children and adolescents, have been killed, nearly 20,000 arrested, including 179 children and adolescents, and 112 faced fatal charges, according to the Iran Human Rights Activists News Organization.



Some information from Reuters was used in this report.
Russias war against Ukraine could continue indefinitely, predicted the leader of the Russian paramilitary organization, Wagner Group. In a video interview, Yevgeny Prigozhin said late Friday that it could take 18 months to two years for Russia to take full control of Ukraines eastern industrial heartland of Donbas.



Prigozhin then noted the war could extend for three years if Moscow decides to capture broader territories east of the Dnipro River. He made these comments as the first anniversary of Russias invasion of Ukraine is looming.

The British Defense Ministry said Saturday that data from the Russian Federal Penal Service suggested a drop-off in the rate of prisoner recruitment by the paramilitary group since December 2022. It said news of the harsh realities of service in Wagner in Ukraine has probably filtered through to inmates and reduced the number of volunteers."



The British ministry also said Russia is now facing a difficult choice of whether to continue to deplete its forces, scale back objectives, or conduct a further form of mobilization.

The General Staff of Ukraines Armed Forces reported Saturday that Moscow is strengthening its grouping of troops near Lyman and Bakhmut in the eastern Donetsk Oblast, and Russian forces are continuing to focus their key efforts on offensive operations in the directions of Kupiansk, Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka, and Novopavlivsk in Ukraine's east and northeast.



'A mixed picture'



In a briefing Friday at the Center for a New American Security, Celeste Wallander, the assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, said Russia's military overall "is a mixed picture." She said as Russia continues to suffer losses in Ukraine, it is also applying lessons learned tactically, operationally, and somewhat strategically to adapt.

"We're seeing some of those play out in how Russia's conducting, for example, the operations right now in Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine," she said.

Wallander emphasized that Russia has "a deep bench of personnel" it can draw upon, and she said the Russian Federation "will remain a militarily capable adversary that we have to right size our plans, our operations and our capabilities to cope with."



She expressed confidence that "Russia will not achieve its strategic or even its operational objectives, and we are confident that the Ukrainian armed forces are up to the task of defending its country."

The White House announced on Friday that U.S. President Joe Biden will travel to Poland on February 20 to meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda and Eastern European allies.

Coming just before the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Biden's visit "will make it very clear that the United States will continue to stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes," said John Kirby, spokesperson for the White House National Security Council.

The announcement came after Russia's heavy shelling Friday, which targeted civilians and civilian infrastructure and caused new power outages.

Additional weaponry

The attacks on Ukraine Friday renewed calls for more weapons aid to Ukraine. European Council President Charles Michel said the missile barrage constituted war crimes.

Western countries that have provided Ukraine with arms have so far refused to send fighter jets or long-range weapons capable of striking deep inside Russia. In an interview with Ani Chkhikvadze of VOA's Georgian Service, senior presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said that negotiations are underway "not only on long-range weapons but also about aviation and not only for fighter jets."

Ukraine needs attack aircraft to provide support for armored vehicles on the ground, Podolyak added.

"The attack aircraft that can just destroy defensive echelons of the Russian Federation with fire and then [help] our armored vehicles and manpower do the work, [on the ground]," Podolyak said, adding that these discussions may take weeks.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday he heard from several European Union leaders at the EU summit that they were ready to provide aircraft, hinting at what would be one of the biggest shifts yet in Western support for Ukraine.

However, Poland's President Andrzej Duda expressed doubt Saturday about whether his country would be able to supply Ukraine with the fighter jets Zelenskyy says are needed to win the war with Russia. Speaking exclusively to BBC, Duda said sending F-16 aircraft would be a "very serious decision" that is "not easy to take."

Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas announced Saturday that the first batch of L-70 anti-aircraft guns and ammunition has arrived in Ukraine, while Slovakian Prime Minister Eduard Heger announced Friday that Slovakia can start talks on delivering MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine.

In an interview with VOA on Friday, Kirby said Washington has "prioritized air defense whether it's short-, medium- or long-range" and it will continue to do so.



Kirby did not answer, though, whether the U.S. will provide fighter jets to Ukraine.

Contributors to this report include VOA Eastern Europe Bureau Chief Myroslava Gongadze in Kyiv, Ukraine; VOA National Security Correspondent Jeff Seldin in Washington; VOA United Nations Correspondent Margaret Besheer in New York; and Ani Chkhikvadze of VOA's Georgian Service. Some information came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
An uncrewed Russian supply ship docked at the International Space Station has lost cabin pressure, the Russian space corporation reported Saturday, saying the incident doesn't pose any danger to the station's crew.

Roscosmos said the hatch between the station and the Progress MS-21 had been locked so the loss of pressure didn't affect the orbiting outpost.

"The temperature and pressure on board the station are within norms and there is no danger to health and safety of the crew," it said in a statement.

The space corporation didn't say what may have caused the cargo ship to lose pressure.

Roscosmos noted that the cargo ship had already been loaded with waste before its scheduled disposal. The craft is set to be undocked from the station and deorbit to burn in the atmosphere Feb. 18.

The announcement came shortly after a new Russian cargo ship docked smoothly at the station Saturday. The Progress MS-22 delivered almost 3 tons of food, water and fuel along with scientific equipment for the crew.

Roscosmos said that the loss of pressure in the Progress MS-21 didn't affect the docking of the new cargo ship and "will have no impact on the future station program."

The depressurization of the cargo craft follows an incident in December with the Soyuz crew capsule, which was hit by a tiny meteoroid that left a small hole in the exterior radiator and sent coolant spewing into space.

Russian cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin, and NASA astronaut Frank Rubio were supposed to use the capsule to return to Earth in March, but Russian space officials decided that higher temperatures resulting from the coolant leak could make it dangerous to use.

They decided to launch a new Soyuz capsule February 20 so the crew would have a lifeboat in the event of an emergency. But since it will travel in automatic mode to expedite the launch, a replacement crew will now have to wait until late summer or fall when another capsule is ready. It means that Prokopyev, Petelin and Rubio will have to stay several extra months at the station, possibly pushing their mission to close to a year.

NASA took part in all the discussions and agreed with the plan.

Besides Prokopyev, Petelin and Rubio, the space station is home to NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, Russian Anna Kikina, and Japan's Koichi Wakata. The four rode up on a SpaceX capsule last October.
We Are China

China's disaster relief supplies arrive at Istanbul Airport in Turkiye

CGTN) 10:41, February 12, 2023

The first batch of disaster relief supplies from the Chinese government to Turkiye arrives at Istanbul International Airport, Turkiye, February 11, 2023. (Photo/CMG)

The disaster relief supplies from the Chinese government to Turkiye arrived at Istanbul International Airport on Saturday afternoon local time.

The first batch of 40,000 blankets, weighing 84 tonnes, left Shanghai Pudong Airport at 6:30 a.m. Beijing Time.

Other supplies, which include tents, electrocardiograph machines, ultrasonic diagnostics, medical transport vehicles, and manual hospital beds, will be flown to Turkiye in the coming days.

(Web editor: Xian Jiangnan, Sheng Chuyi)
PM Pham Minh Chinh (R) and Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah (Photo: VNA)

Sultan Bolkiah affirmed that Brunei always treasures and wishes to keep developing its partnership with Vietnam, especially in economy, trade, investment, education and agriculture.

PM Chinh, for his part, conveyed the Vietnamese leaders regards to the Brunei Sultan and royal family. He underlined Vietnams consistent policy of valuing the development of comprehensive partnership with Brunei.

He expressed his belief that Brunei will soon realise the Brunei Vision 2035 (Wawasan Brunei 2035), becoming an economy with dynamic and sustainable development.

Both leaders spoke highly of the effective development of bilateral comprehensive partnership in various areas, from politics, national defence-security to economy, trade, investment, maritime cooperation, energy and education-training. In particular, two-way trade soared by 134% annually to 725.8 million USD last year.

In the near future, both sides will continue facilitating all-level visits, effectively implement the ministerial-level Bilateral Cooperation Committee and important cooperation agreements, especially the Action Plan on the implementation of Vietnam-Brunei comprehensive partnership for the 2023-2027 period, which was signed on the occasion.

They pledged to boost trade growth in a more diverse and balanced direction, consider the possibility of establishing a joint venture on the exploitation, cultivation and processing of aquatic products, as well as seek opportunities in new cooperation areas such as digital economy, circular economy and climate change response.

PM Chinh suggested Brunei create favourable conditions for Vietnamese goods to enter the country, particularly rice and farm produce meeting Halal standards. He also committed all possible support for Brunei enterprises to do business in Vietnam.

He also proposed increased coordination to connect the two economies together to build them into independent and self-reliant economies that widely and effectively integrate into the world.

Host and guest vowed to enhance collaboration in other important realms such as national defence-security and maritime activities, including maintaining the effectiveness of the hotline to support fisheries activities and share information on law enforcement at sea. They will also boost ties in education-training, tourism and connectivity as well as increase the frequency of direct commercial flights.

On regional and global issues, they promised to continue with close coordination at regional and global forums, maintain solidarity and uphold the central role of ASEAN.

They reaffirmed the importance of peace, stability, safety, security and freedom of navigation in the East Sea; jointly maintain ASEAN's solidarity and common stance on the East Sea issue, and strive for progress in negotiating a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).

On the occasion, PM Chinh invited the Brunei Sultan and Queen to visit Vietnam at an appropriate time. The host accepted his invitation with pleasure and wished to visit Vietnam soon.

Concluding the talks, the leaders witnessed the signing and exchange of the Action Plan on the implementation of Vietnam-Brunei comprehensive partnership for the 2023-2027 period and a diplomatic note on visa waiver for diplomatic and official passport holders between Vietnam and Brunei./.
A border gate between long-feuding Turkey and Armenia has been opened for the first time in 35 years to allow in aid for victims of the devastating earthquakes in southern Turkey, according to the state-owned Anadolu news agency and a diplomat.

Turkey's special envoy for Armenia, Serdar Kilic, tweeted photos of trucks passing through the Alican checkpoint at the Turkish side of the Aras River separating the two countries.

"I will always remember the generous aid sent by the people of Armenia to help alleviate the sufferings of our people in the earthquake-stricken region in Turkey," Kilic said, thanking Armenian officials.

Anadolu said the crossing was last used to send aid from the Turkish Red Crescent to earthquake-hit Armenia in 1988.

Last year, Turkish and Armenian leaders met informally at a European summit, following a meeting by their foreign ministers, in an effort to mend decades of animosity.

Ankara has not had diplomatic or commercial ties with Armenia since the 1990s. They are at odds primarily over the 1.5 million people Armenia says were killed in 1915 by the Ottoman Empire, the predecessor to modern Turkey.

Armenia says this constitutes genocide.

Turkey accepts that many Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire were killed in clashes with Ottoman forces during World War I but contests the figures and denies it was systematic.
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Activists in Uganda are crying foul in light of the governments decision to close the United Nations human rights office in the country. Halima Athumani reports from Kampala, Uganda.
The British defense ministry said Sunday that over the past two weeks, Russia has likely suffered its highest rate of casualties since the first week of its invasion of Ukraine nearly a year ago.

The ministrys observation is based on Ukrainian data that Russia averaged 824 casualties a day over the last week, more than four times the average reported for June and July. The ministry said the statistics are based on likely accurate Ukrainian data.

The increase in Russian casualties, the ministry said, is likely due to several factors, including lack of trained personnel, coordination and resources at the front.

The U.K. intelligence update, posted on Twitter, also said Ukraine continues to experience a high attrition rate.

During his nightly video address Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised workers efforts to restore power systems damaged by drone and missile attacks by Russia on Friday.



Zelenskyy said most people had not had to face too many outages on Saturday and Sunday.



"The very fact that ... after a massive missile strike this week, we can have such peaceful energy days proves the professionalism of our energy workers," he said, according to Reuters. "We have to realize: this is not yet a decisive victory on the energy front. Unfortunately, there may be new terrorist attacks from Russia. There may be new restrictions if there is further destruction or growth in consumption."



Zelenskyy said scheduled energy outages would once again be in place when the working week started on Monday, Reuters reported.

Ongoing attacks



Meanwhile, Russia continued its bombardment of Ukraine over the weekend, shelling cities while trying to take more land in the eastern region of the country.



One person was killed and another wounded in the attack on Nikopol, a city in the southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region, Governor Serhii Lysak reported. The Russian attack damaged four residential buildings, a vocational school and a water treatment facility.



In Kharkiv, Ukraines second-largest city, one person was injured after three Russian S-300 missiles hit infrastructure facilities overnight, regional Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said. The Russian military said it hit armored vehicle assembly workshops at the Malyshev machinery plant in the city.



Ukraines military said it shot down five Russian drones over the partially occupied Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions Saturday night.



Despite the new Russian attacks, Ukraines military said Russian forces are having trouble mounting a wide offensive as the war nears the February 24 anniversary.



"They are having big problems with a big offensive," Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, told Ukrainian television Saturday night.



"They have begun their offensive, they're just not saying they have, and our troops are repelling it very powerfully. The offensive that they planned is already gradually under way. But (it is) not the offensive they were counting on," Danilov said.



'Harsh realities' for Wagner group



Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the Russian paramilitary organization, the Wagner Group, predicted in a video interview Friday that Russias war against Ukraine could continue indefinitely. Prigozhin said it could take 18 months to two years for Russia to take full control of the Donbas region, Ukraines eastern industrial heartland.



Prigozhin said the war could then extend for three years if Moscow decides to attempt to capture broader territories east of the Dnieper River.



The British defense ministry said Saturday that data from the Russian Federal Penal Service suggested a drop-off in the rate of prisoner recruitment by the paramilitary group since December. It said news of the harsh realities of service in Wagner in Ukraine has probably filtered through to inmates and reduced the number of volunteers."



The British ministry also said Russia is now facing a difficult choice of whether to continue to deplete its forces, scale back objectives, or conduct a further form of mobilization.



The General Staff of Ukraines Armed Forces reported Saturday that Moscow is strengthening its grouping of troops near Lyman and Bakhmut in the eastern Donetsk oblast, and Russian forces are continuing to focus their key efforts on offensive operations in the directions of Kupiansk, Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka, and Novopavlovsk in Ukraine's east and northeast.



VOA's Eastern Europe Bureau Chief Myroslava Gongadze in Kyiv, Ukraine, VOA's National Security Correspondent Jeff Seldin in Washington and Ani Chkhikvadze of VOAs Georgian Service contributed to this report. Some information came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
Earthquake aid from government-held parts of Syria into opposition-controlled territory has been held up by "approval issues" with one hardline group, a United Nations spokesperson said on Sunday.

The hostilities that criss-cross Syria, shattered by nearly 12 years of conflict, are an added challenge for aid workers trying to reach the northern regions affected by Monday's earthquake, which killed at least 29,000 peoplein Turkey and Syriaand flatted swathes of towns and cities.

Of the 3,500 deaths so far reported in Syria the bulk occurred in the northwest, in territory largely held by Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.

The area has received little assistance as front lines with the government are sealed off and only a single border crossing links it to Turkey to the north. The Syrian government last week said it was willing to send aid to the northern zone.

A Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) source who was not authorized to talk to the media told Reuters the group would not allow shipments from government-held parts of Syria and that aid would be coming in from Turkey.

"We won't allow the regime to take advantage of the situation to show they are helping," the source said.

A spokesperson for the U.N.'s humanitarian aid office told Reuters "there are issues with approval" by the group, which the U.N. and the United States classify as a terrorist organization, without giving further information.

A U.N. spokesperson in Damascus declined to comment, saying the U.N. "continues to work with relevant parties to have access to the area.

Earlier on Sunday U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths said people of north-east Syria had been failed and "rightly feel abandoned." "

The HTS media office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

An aid convoy from Syria's Kurdish-led northeastern region carrying fuel and other aid was also turned back on Thursday from the northwest, where Turkey-backed rebels reign.

But Turkey said last week it may be willing to open a direct border crossing with government-held zones in Syria, as ties begin to thaw more than a decade after Ankara cut of diplomatic ties with Damascus over the conflict.

The United Nations is also hoping to ramp up cross-border operations by opening an additional two border points between Turkey and opposition-held Syria for aid deliveries, spokesperson Jens Laerke told Reuters.

U.N. aid chief Griffiths"is working the phones very hard on that front on the diplomatic front, speaking to everyone to unlock more border crossings," Laerke said.

Griffiths would brief the U.N. Security Council on Monday and hoped to use a "water-tight argument" about urgent needs to overcome historic resistance from Russia - a key ally of Damascus - to the cross-border aid operation.

Russia has pushed for more cross-line deliveries but Laerke said "that in terms of volume and frequency of aid, the cross-border operation is the main show."

The European Union's envoy to Syria on Sunday urged authorities in Damascus to "engage in good faith" with aid workers to get help to those in need.

"It is important to allow unimpeded access for aid to arrive in all areas where it is needed," Dan Stoenescu told Reuters.

"Entering a fake blame game is not constructive and does not help us deliver aid to those in so much need and distress in a more timely manner. On the contrary," he added.
U.S. fighter jets shot downed two more objects flying over the United States and Canadian territories over the weekend. Although a comprehensive analysis of the debris will be needed, a top Democratic senator said they are now believed to be balloons similar to a Chinese one downed a week ago. VOAs Veronica Balderas Iglesias reports.
LATAKIA, SYRIA  Ibrahim Zakaria lost track of time drifting into and out of consciousness while trapped for nearly five days in the rubble of his home following the massive earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria this week.

The 23-year-old cellphone shop worker from the Syrian town of Jableh survived on dirty drips of water and eventually lost hope that hed be saved.

"I said 'I am dead, and it will be impossible for me to live again,'" Zakaria, who was rescued Friday night, told The Associated Press from his hospital bed Saturday in the coastal city of Latakia where his 60-year-old mother, Duha Nurallah, was also recovering.

Five days after two powerful earthquakes hours apart caused thousands of buildings to collapse, killing more than 28,000 people and leaving millions homeless, rescuers were still pulling unlikely survivors from the ruins  one of them just 7-months-old.

Although each rescue elicited hugs and shouts of Allahu akbar!  God is great!  from the weary men and women working tirelessly in the freezing temperatures to save lives, they were the exception in a region blanketed by grief, desperation and mounting frustration.

SEE ALSO:

More than a dozen survivors were rescued Saturday, including a family in Kahramanmaras, the Turkish city closest to the epicenter of Mondays quake. Crews there helped 12-year-old Nehir Naz Narli to safety before going back for her parents.

In Gaziantep province, which borders Syria, a family of five was rescued from a demolished building in the city of Nurdagi and a man and his 3-year-old daughter were pulled from debris in the town of Islahiye, television network HaberTurk reported. A 7-year-old girl was also rescued in Hatay province.

In Elbistan, a district in Kahramanmaras province, 20-year-old Melisa Ulku and another person were saved from the rubble 132 hours after the quake struck. Before she was brought to safety, police asked onlookers not to cheer or clap so as not to interfere with nearby rescue efforts.

Turkish TV station NTV reported that a 44-year-old man in Iskenderun, in Hatay province, was rescued 138 hours into his ordeal. Crying rescuers called it a miracle, with one saying they weren't expecting to find anyone alive but as they were digging, they saw his eyes and he said his name.

In the same province, NTV also reported that a baby boy named Hamza was found alive in Antakya 140 hours after the quake. Some details of his rescue, including how he survived so long, weren't immediately clear.
Kate Bartlett

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA  A rash of killings across Africa has renewed focus on the risks facing those working to expose wrongdoing.

The killings of two journalists in Cameroon and a respected human rights defender in Eswatini, along with the suspicious death of a well-known editor in Rwanda have raised questions about whether justice will be done.

The cases also underscored the dangers of impunity  with such incidents sending an unsettling message to government critics and the free press.

There can be no doubt that when journalists are killed with impunity there is a chilling effect. Its trite, but murder is the ultimate form of censorship, Angela Quintal, head of the Africa program at the Committee to Protect Journalists, told VOA.

The lack of consequences for those who kill or harm journalists obviously also emboldens others who believe they too can get away with it or allows those who threaten journalists to continue to do so, she said.

In the case of Martinez Zogo, the Cameroonian journalist was forced into a car, having in vain sought help from a police station during the kidnapping. He was heard shouting Help me, they want to kill me, according to reports.

His body was found a few days later, naked and badly mutilated.

The media watchdog Reporters Without Borders said that Zogos fingers were cut off, his arms and legs were broken in several places, and a steel rod was rammed into his anus.

FILE - Journalists pay their respect to their colleague Martinez Zogo, who was found dead after being abducted, in Yaounde, Cameroon, Jan. 23, 2023.

Two weeks later, Ola Bebe, a radio host and priest, was found dead close to his home in the capital.

The killings prompted a U.N. Human Rights spokesperson to call on authorities to take all necessary measures to create an enabling environment for journalists to work without fear of reprisal.

The Cameroon cases were not isolated.

On Jan. 21, an outspoken critic of Africas last absolute monarchy, Eswatini lawyer and columnist Thulani Maseko, was shot dead through the window of his home.

He had been a constant thorn in the side of the government of Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, and had been jailed for more than a year in 2014.

Amnesty Internationals Southern Africa spokesperson Robert Shivambu told VOA at the time that Maseko's death had sent a chilling message to pro-democracy activists and could signify an escalation in attacks against those who are openly seeking political reforms.

On Jan. 18, John Williams Ntwali, editor of Rwandas Chronicles newspaper, died when a speeding car hit the motorcycle he was traveling on.

The death of a journalist who had frequently faced threats in relation to his work raised questions among media watchdogs about whether it was really an accident.

Human Rights Watch noted that prior to his death, Ntwali had told a friend that hed survived a number of staged incidents in Kigali, and a fellow Rwandan journalist told VOA that the night before he died, Ntwali had seemed anxious.

All three countries have poor records on RSFs Press Freedom Index, with Rwanda placing 136, Cameroon 118 and Eswatini 131 out of 180 countries where 1 denotes the best conditions.

Still, authorities in each case have vowed to investigate.

This week, a Rwandan court identified the driver of the vehicle that hit Ntwali as Moise Emmanuel Bagirishya. A court convicted Bagirishya of involuntary manslaughter and fined him $920.

However, the trial was not open to the public and Bagirishya was not present for the sentencing.

CPJs Quintal says that the lack of transparency merely feeds into the suspicions that all is not what it seems.

We cannot say for sure that it was indeed an accident until there are more facts and questions answered, she said.

Michela Wrong, a British journalist and author of a book on Rwanda, Do Not Disturb. The story of a political murder and a regime gone bad, told VOA the country had a track record of political assassination.

FILE - In this June 4, 2014 photo, lawyer Thulani Maseko, appears in court in the traditional animal skin garb of a Zulu warrior, in Mbabane, Eswatini.

"People die in road accidents in Africa every day, but Rwanda isn't like any other African state, she said. This is a country with a track record of extrajudicial killings, mysterious disappearances and arbitrary arrests involving journalists, opposition party members and human rights activists.

Crucially, John Williams Ntwali told friends that he was receiving death threats, lived in constant fear, and had been repeatedly ordered to report to police headquarters. In that context, his death is highly suspicious, Wrong said.

In the case of Maseko, many rights groups have intimated the government could have been connected to the killing. His death came just hours after the king, Mswati III, spoke against activists challenging his rule.

Government officials have angrily denied such claims.

Despite promising a swift investigation, no arrests have yet been made.

Eswatini government spokesperson Alpheous Nxumalo told VOA that authorities were investigating numerous crimes, and that no one case is above the other.

He added that Masekos murder is indeed taken seriously but not in isolation from other cases.

In Cameroon however, multiple arrests have been made in the killing of Zogo, including Justin Danwe, deputy head of Cameroons General Directorate for External Investigations.

Danwe, who confessed to participating in the kidnapping and murder, implicated other senior officials.

VOA sent an email to the Justice Ministry requesting comment but as of publication had not heard back.

More arrests came Monday, as police detained businessman Jean-Pierre Amougou Belinga and two of his associates.

In his reporting for Amplitude FM, Zogo had alleged that Belinga was involved in a public embezzlement scheme.

CPJs Quintal acknowledged the high-profile arrests as a welcoming sign, but she said as yet, no one has been charged and very little has been made public.

There are leaks from certain quarters, but there is a lot of smoke and mirrors and misinformation and even disinformation, she said.

Given the reality of Cameroon today where there is a power struggle between elites with an ailing President [Paul] Biya who has been in power for 40 years, we are watching to see how things play out and whether there will indeed be justice for Martinez Zogo, she said.
OTTAWA, ONTARIO 

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Saturday that on his order a U.S. fighter jet shot down an "unidentified object" that was flying high over Canadas Yukon Territory, acting a day after the U.S. took similar action over Alaska.

North American Aerospace Defense Command, the combined U.S.-Canada organization that provides shared defense of airspace over the two nations, detected the object flying at a high altitude Friday evening over Alaska, U.S. officials said.

Two F-22 aircraft from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, monitored the object over U.S. airspace with the assistance of Alaska Air National Guard refueling aircraft, tracking it closely and taking time to characterize the nature of the object, according to a statement from Pentagon Press Secretary, Brigadier General Pet Ryder.

The object crossed into Canadian airspace on Saturday.

The U.S. and Canada continued to monitor the object in Canadian airspace, with Canadian CF-18 and CP-140 aircraft joining the formation to further assess the object, Ryders statement said.

Trudeau spoke with President Joe Biden, who also ordered the object to be shot down. Canadian and U.S. jets operating as part of NORAD were scrambled, and it was a U.S. jet that shot down the object using an AIM 9X missile.

Later Saturday night in the U.S., the Federal Aviation Administration closed some Montana airspace.

The FAA confirmed to VOA News that airspace over Montana was closed to civilian aircraft for several hours on Saturday evening to support Department of Defense activities. Montana Congressman Matt Rosendale said an object was spotted and the DOD will resume efforts to observe and ground the object in the morning.

The airspace was later reopened, an FAA spokesman said.

U.S. F-22 fighter jets have now taken down three objects in the airspace above the U.S. and Canada over seven days, a stunning development that is raising questions about what is hovering overhead and who has sent them.

At least one of the objects downed was believed to be a spy balloon from China, but the other two have not yet been publicly identified. While Trudeau described the object Saturday as "unidentified," a NORAD spokesman, Major Olivier Gallant, said the military had determined what it was but would not reveal details.

Trudeau said Canadian forces would recover the wreckage for study. The Yukon is westernmost Canadian territory and the among the least populated part of Canada.

Just about a day earlier, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said an object roughly the size of a small car was shot out of the skies above remote Alaska. Officials couldn't say if it contained any surveillance equipment, where it came from, or what purpose it had.

Kirby said it was shot down because it was flying at an altitude of about 13,000 meters and posed a "reasonable threat" to the safety of civilian flights, not because of any knowledge that it was engaged in surveillance.

According to U.S. Northern Command, recovery operations continued Saturday on sea ice near Deadhorse, Alaska.

In a statement, the Northern Command said there were no new details on what the object was. It said the Alaska Command and the Alaska National Guard, along with the FBI and local law enforcement, were conducting search and recovery.

"Arctic weather conditions, including wind chill, snow, and limited daylight, are a factor in this operation, and personnel will adjust recovery operations to maintain safety," the statement said.

On February 4, U.S. officials shot down a large white balloon off the coast of South Carolina.

The Pentagon has said the balloon was part of a large surveillance program that China has been conducting for "several years." The U.S. has said Chinese balloons have flown over dozens of countries across five continents in recent years, and it learned more about the balloon program after closely monitoring the one shot down near South Carolina.

China responded that it reserved the right to "take further actions" and criticized the U.S. for "an obvious overreaction and a serious violation of international practice."

The Navy continued survey and recovery activities on the ocean floor off South Carolina, and the U.S. Coast Guard was providing security. Additional debris was pulled out Friday, and additional operations will continue as weather permits, Northern Command said.
Turkey is targeting 134 contractors and others for alleged shoddy and illegal construction methods even as rescuers retrieve more bodies from collapsed buildings after a pair of earthquakes last week killed more than 33,000 people and injured another 92,000.

Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag has vowed to punish anyone responsible for the collapse of thousands of buildings as the quakes last Monday devastated large portions of southeastern Turkey and northern Syria. He said Sunday that to date three people had been arrested pending trial, seven people detained and seven others barred from leaving the country.

SEE ALSO:

Even as authorities assessed responsibility for the collapsed buildings, thousands of rescue workers, against long odds, continued their search for survivors, and a handful of people were found alive. Thermal cameras were used to probe the piles of concrete and metal, while rescuers demanded silence so that they could hear any voices of the trapped.

A pregnant woman was rescued Sunday 157 hours after the quakes in the hard-hit province of Hatay, state-broadcaster TRT said.



HaberTurk television broadcast the live rescue of a 6-year-old boy removed from the debris of his home in Adiyaman. The child was wrapped in a space blanket and put into an ambulance. An exhausted rescuer removed his surgical mask and took deep breaths as a group of women could be heard crying in joy.

Prosecutors have begun gathering samples of buildings for evidence of the materials that were used in their construction. The quakes were powerful, but victims and technical experts are blaming bad construction  and lax enforcement of building codes  for worsening the devastation.

Two contractors reportedly attempting to leave the country for Georgia were detained by authorities Sunday at Istanbul Airport. The contractors were held responsible for the alleged shoddy construction of several collapsed buildings in Adiyaman, the private DHA news agency and other media reported.



One of the arrested contractors, Yavuz Karakus, told reporters, "My conscience is clear. I built 44 buildings. Four of them were demolished. I did everything according to the rules," DHA reported.



Two more people were arrested in Gaziantep province suspected of having cut down columns to make extra room in a building that collapsed, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.



A day earlier, Turkey's Justice Ministry announced the planned establishment of "Earthquake Crimes Investigation" bureaus. The bureaus would gather evidence, identify contractors and others behind the construction of the collapsed buildings to determine if violations occurred. Turkey has building codes, but they are rarely enforced.

Eyup Muhcu, president of the Chamber of Architects of Turkey, told The Associated Press that many of the buildings that fell were built with inferior materials and methods, without regard for Turkeys construction codes.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday that the earthquake was the disaster of the century.

David Alexander, a professor of emergency planning at University College London told the AP, This is a disaster caused by shoddy construction, not by an earthquake.

Suzan van der Lee, a seismologist and professor at Northwestern University, told VOA Turkish's Ozlem Tinaz, Earthquakes like this are going to happen... we just don't know when. So, the best thing to do is to be as prepared as possible, buildings that are as safe as possible and know exactly what to do when you feel the ground shake.

The VOA Turkish Service contributed to this report, which includes some information from The Associated Press.
At the event (Photo: VNA)

The head of the Vietnamese mission, Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang, affirmed that Vietnam always values special friendship, mutual trust and loyalty with Cuba.

He expressed his belief that Cuba will successfully assume this role and continue protecting the interests of developing countries, and that the two countries' missions will continue maintaining close and effective coordination at the UN forums.

Ambassador Pedro Luis Predoso Cuesta, head of the Permanent Mission of Cuba to the UN, stressed that the two countries will continue offering mutual support on issues of shared concern.

Founded in 1964, the G77 and China groups 134 members, including developing countries with a view to promoting collective economic interests and strengthening the capacity of member states in economic and sustainable development issues within the UN and South-South cooperation frameworks.

Vietnam is one of the 77 founding members of the group. Cuba was elected as Chair of the Group and undertook this role from January 2023./.
If Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid or Giannis Antetokounmpo is the MVP, the NBA will give the award to a foreign-born player for the fifth straight year.
An ABC director has resigned from her position on the board over a lengthy dispute about an alleged conflict of interest, forcing the federal government to replace two positions at the national broadcaster in a matter of months.

Fiona Balfour, a former chief information officer at Qantas and Telstra, has stepped down from her position on the board after less than two years following an arm wrestle with ABC chairperson Ita Buttrose over a perceived conflict with her directorship at a Telstra affiliated company.

Fiona Balfour was appointed to the ABC Board last May.

Balfour joined the ABC board last May with former News Corp and Foxtel boss Peter Tonagh, and former Seven executive and Australia Post board member Mario DOrazio. She began facing calls to resign last September over a potential conflict linked to her recent appointment on the board of Telstra subsidiary, Digicel.

This masthead is not suggesting Balfour was in breach of her board duties, simply that Buttrose, who was taught boardroom tactics in her time working for billionaire Kerry Packer, was asking for her removal because of what she said was a perceived conflict.
Vietnamese police on duty in Turkey (Photo courtesy of the delegation)

According to the ministrys police department of fire prevention, fighting and rescue, the delegation arrived in the Istanbul international airport on February 10. Due to difficulties in traveling and having to transport 15 tonnes of equipment for rescue work, they were divided into two groups to reach the site where their services are needed.

On February 11, they began working at the rubble of a building in Adiyaman where the local authorities said 15 people are trapped.

Related inspection and planning activities are thoroughly conducted given extremely difficult conditions, as the temperature drops to minus 6 degrees Celsius and collapsed buildings continue to fall, said a representative of the team.

The group left Vietnam for Turkey on February 9, marking the first time Vietnam has sent a delegation on an international search and rescue mission to a disaster site far away from its territory./.
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 Dame Hermione Lee has built a formidable reputation writing biographies of great women writers, including Elizabeth Bowen, Virginia Woolf, Edith Wharton and Penelope Fitzgerald. For her, biography is both autopsy and portrait  dissecting the author to offer the most precise possible story of a life, yet also giving life back to the subject, putting warmth and colour and feeling into the likeness. She describes her subjects to date as safely dead  and therefore not able to answer back. So what happens when asked to write a biography of someone very much alive  Sir Tom Stoppard, arguably Britains most acclaimed living playwright? Theatregoers have seen his work on-stage for more than half a century, from the breakthrough Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 1966, to his current New York triumph, Leopoldstadt. Alongside his successful plays Stoppard has written a novel and numerous stage and screen adaptions, including the Academy Award-winning Shakespeare in Love. Later in life Stoppard has become known also for an extraordinary life story  a Jewish family that left Czechoslovakia ahead of the Nazis, found brief sanctuary in Singapore before the Japanese arrived, and then suffered separation, the death of the father, and an unexpected chance for a new life in Britain. Dame Hermiones biography of Stoppard, published in 2020, has been called rigorous and affectionate. The portrait is perhaps best captured in a quote from fellow playwright Simon Gray. It is actually one of Toms achievements, Gray says, that one envies him nothing, except perhaps his looks, his talents, his money and his luck. Playwright Tom Stoppard in 1967. Credit:Getty Images On brief leave in London, on a grey winter afternoon in Notting Hill, I caught up with Dame Hermione and Sir Tom to talk about the biography. A film crew hovered nearby, capturing the conversation for the forthcoming Adelaide Writers Festival. Dame Hermione recalled an assignment that began in 2014, when she and Sir Tom agreed to co-operate on an authorised life.

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Well, I was a very guarded person  and still am, he says, and was quite guarded about having a biographer. But one or two biographers had, as it were, threatened and I knew Hermione ... I thought, well, Im going to have my life written. Id much rather it were written by her. Yet his caution remained for some time. Sir Tom did not immediately reveal the journals he kept at various points in his life  and an extraordinary cache of letters written to Marta Beckova, his mother. My mother had kept a lot of letters from me, Sir Tom recalls. I was a dutiful letter-writing son from boarding school onwards. First of all, I just thought my reputation would never survive my schoolchild letters. But finally I just stopped caring and I asked my secretary  to read them and say, is there anything in here that matters? And she got part of the way in before I decided, to hell with it. Clockwise from top left: Gary Oldman and Tim Roth in the film version of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead; Hugo Weaving and Linda Cropper in a local production of Arcadia; Joseph Fiennes and Gwyneth Paltrow in Shakespeare in Love; Judith McGrath and Julie Forsyth in After Magritte. Credit: Dame Hermione says: For a biographer to have this kind of look at this kind of access is quite extraordinary. Sir Tom had started writing weekly from 1948 and finished in 1996, the year Marta died. Of course, youre not telling her everything because shes your mother, he notes. But you clearly wanted her to feel she knew what you do. The biography took six years to write. Dame Hermione, a distinguished literary scholar, traced the work and its interaction with the life, from the early comedy success to plays engaging with the fate of artists in the Eastern Bloc such as Rock n Roll, infidelity among the theatrical class in The Real Thing, and plays of ideas  around chaos theory in Arcadia and consciousness in The Hard Problem.

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Then, late in his career, several long and ambitious works  The Invention of Love in 1997, about the classicist and poet A.E. Housman, the 2002 trilogy The Coast of Utopia about Russian revolutionaries in the 19th century, and Leopoldstadt, his 2020 examination of a Jewish family and the Holocaust. Sadly, none of these later works have been staged in Australia. Logistics conspire against local productions. Leopoldstadt requires 41 actors, a large stage, and a director and cast able to convey simultaneously multiple overlapping generations, from the intellectual ferment of late 19th century Vienna to the horrors of the Nazi era. The play is a remarkable late work  the author was approaching 84 when it debuted. It has proved an extraordinary hit in New York, with long waiting lists for tickets and numerous accolades, including several Olivier Awards. Brandon Uranowitz, Aaron Shuf and David Krumholtz in the Broadway production of Leopoldstadt. Credit:Joan Marcus At the heart of critical discussion has been speculation about the young boy who walks on stage in the closing minutes, set in 1955. This character was whisked away from danger just before the Nazis seized Austria, and returns remade as a smug English patriot, seemly oblivious to the loss of his wider family. Amid the wreckage of the Holocaust, he is told that remembering matters  if you live without history, you throw no shadow. Is this Sir Tom writing about himself, the boy who only learnt later in life the full fate of his extended family? Dame Hermione sat in on preparations for Leopoldstadt, and as she watched the play take shape she realised there was something deeply autobiographical about the moment. Sir Tom denied it when asked.

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No, its about a Viennese mathematician, for Gods sake, he told her. But she was not fooled. When the cast reached the end of the first full run-through, there was not a dry eye in the rehearsal room, she recalls. And the author asked the cast is it alright for me to cry at my own play? Loading Sir Tom is clearly moved as he recalls the moment. Did I say that? he asks, already knowing the moment. We close with a quote from the legendary producer  and Sir Toms close friend  Mike Nicols, who describes Stoppard as that most rare creature: a writer who is happy. Sir Tom smiles at the memory. Its a nice thing to have said about one. But I honestly think Ive had my fair or unfair share of miserable times and anxieties. He suggests that everyone is a combination of a very happy person and a very anxious person. We are all a bit of both. Dame Hermione interviewed many of Sir Toms friends and colleagues for the biography and says a number identified with him because they felt a kind of darkness, or sorrow, in his character.

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Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Got it Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size This story is part of the February 12 edition of Sunday Life. See all 14 stories . Ask yourself the question, What is love? and theres a good chance, once youve listed the fun stuff, youll arrive at the word sacrifice. Following your heart for love can mean sacrifice, from small things like eating your partners preferred takeaway to much bigger sacrifices such as moving to a different country, says clinical psychologist Helen Robertson. Sacrifices demonstrate our care for our partner and can even make us feel good about ourselves. Theres plenty you can do to show your partner how much you love them  and its not just the big gestures, as showcased by the couples below, that count. Robertson says such actions as making your partner a cup of tea, respecting their opinion and making decisions together are the small links in the larger chain of lifelong love. I chose my husband over old family ties Emily Anderson, 35, a business owner, and Mark Anderson, 41, a sales rep, became a couple after a one-night stand led to pregnancy. They married in 2012. Emily and Mark Anderson: Our love story might not have started in the most traditional way, but were still crazy about each other. Id just come out of a two-year relationship when I met Mark in a Darwin nightclub in 2008 and ended up going home with him. It was an unusual move for me, but there was something about Mark that seemed right; he felt like someone I could trust. He took my number the following morning but I didnt really think Id stumbled onto anything life-changing  until I discovered I was pregnant.

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I knew almost straight away that I wanted to keep the baby, but Mark was in shock and needed another week or two to gather his thoughts. The more we got together to talk about the baby and what his or her future would look like, the more Mark and I realised we enjoyed hanging out together. Loading As the months rolled by and my belly grew, we became a couple. My father, who I lived with at the time, was less than thrilled about Mark being in my life. I moved out of Dads house and into Marks before the birth of our son. Dad didnt talk to me again for at least a year after that. Mark and I were married in a registry office in 2012, and like any other couple weve weathered our ups and downs. The first few years of parenthood were tough  we were broke, still getting to know each other and didnt really know what we were doing. Were doing babyhood all over again now [the couples second child is two], but this time were different people. So much about marriage and partnership is about love and commitment, but its also about making sacrifices and putting your partner first. When I decided to start my skincare business, Emily Luise Skin, Mark was, and continues to be, behind me 110 per cent. He liquidated his own company to help fund mine, and even sold his dream car, which had taken him years to pay off, to raise capital in order to help my career flourish. In turn, I  after years of his difficult behaviour  cut my father out of our lives, choosing Mark and our familys happiness over traditions and bloodlines. Our love story might not have started in the most traditional way, but were still crazy about each other.

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I converted to Judaism before we got married Jo Saunders, 48, converted to Orthodox Judaism once her relationship with Jeremy Saunders, 53, became serious. Theyve been married for 25 years. Jo and Jeremy Saunders on their wedding day. Jo converted to Orthodox Judaism to be with him. Jeremy and I met through a dating agency in 1992  a time when you were shown a hardcover book of photos and matched according to your interests. I was only 18 at the time and enjoyed meeting people so I agreed to meet him. As it turned out, we were complete opposites; I was into clubbing and Jeremy was into pubs and bands, and he was confident and I was shy, but I could see right away that he was considerate, kind and gentle. We fell for each other hard and fast. I didnt know Jeremy was Jewish until I was invited to a Friday night family dinner. Once our relationship became serious, his parents asked if I would consider converting to Judaism and shared how important it was to them. I was quite upset and annoyed at Jeremy for pursuing a relationship with me, but after three months of deep thinking I knew there wasnt anything I wouldnt do in order to create a life with him. I loved the values his family represented and enjoyed community connection, so I wanted to be a part of something I could feel connected to. By the time I said yes, I wasnt doing it for anyone other than myself.

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The first decade or so of our marriage was traditional in the sense that we focused on raising a family but now the children are older and we have more time for each other, we go out of our way to make things fun. Initially, my parents and friends struggled with my decision but navigating that was simple compared with what the conversion entailed. Converting to Judaism is like doing a degree; it took me three years and within that time I had weekly lessons with the rabbis wife to learn about traditions. And  in the spirit of in for a penny, in for a pound  I went to night classes at TAFE to learn Hebrew. At times the process was disheartening  I was rejected twice before I was accepted  but Jeremy was incredibly supportive. I received my conversion certificate in 1997 and we married six months later. The first decade or so of our marriage was traditional in the sense that we focused on raising a family, but now the children are older [they are 23, 21 and 16] and we have more time for each other, we go out of our way to make things fun. Weve done a stand-up comedy program together, completed triathlons and obstacle courses, cycled three-and-a-half hours to go skydiving then cycled home, and we love visiting op shops together. I make Jeremy join me in trying on the most ridiculous outfits we can find so we can laugh at each other. Lifes too short to not have fun with the one you love. I moved my whole life across the globe A few weeks into her holiday, British national Julie Telford fell in love with Asher Telford. The couple, now 41 and 44 respectively, have been married since 2010. Julie Telford moved from Britain to Australia to marry Asher. Close to 20 years on, theres no doubt in my mind that the move was worth it. I left my home in Hull, northern England, in 2004 believing I would travel around Australia and then return to settle into adult life; I certainly didnt expect it to be essentially a one-way ticket.

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Three weeks into my trip, I met Asher, a skipper on a tourist boat called Tongarra in Airlie Beach, and it was that love at first sight moment you see in the movies. I thought he was ridiculously good-looking, funny and adventurous. We made eyes at each other the whole day and pretty soon we were joined at the hip. We moved in together right away and the holiday Id planned was long forgotten. Ash made it clear from the start that he never wanted to live anywhere else, so a move to England was out of the question. I didnt mind  I loved Australia from the get-go and I was crazy about Ash  but walking away from my life was difficult to get my head around at first. Loading Obtaining a visa as Ashs de facto was a nightmare but moving across the globe for someone also puts your relationship under pressure. I was homesick and felt torn between wanting to be with my family and being with the love of my life. Of course, sometimes I couldnt help but wonder, What if, after all of this, we dont work out? Telling my parents I wasnt ever coming back home was hard. They were worried it was a fling and that we wouldnt work out but after Dad flew out, saw where I was living and met Ash for himself, he changed his tune. He said Id be crazy to ever leave Australia  or Ash. We married in 2010 and today were the parents of three boys, aged 10, eight and four. Close to 20 years on, theres no doubt in my mind that the move was worth it. A year after we married, we bought Tongarra and became business partners. Now, with young children and multiple businesses [the couple run three tour companies] were obviously at a different stage of our lives. Our goal is to return to the young love period when our children are a little older. I dont know that any relationship is perfect every day, but no matter whats happening, Ash still makes me laugh and laugh. Hes a fantastic father and a brilliant businessman, but Im proudest to be able to say hes still my best friend.
KB: Absolutely. It has always been for me, my idea of a sacred place. Fitz: And yet, the $500 million building program currently underway to expand it has been bitterly criticised, including the accusation that it is being turned into a kind of war Disneyland. KB: [Scathingly.] That is laughable. I have been to Disneyland, and it will be nothing like that. The purpose of the War Memorial is to honour, commemorate and recognise the service of the people who have defended the country. And this transformation of the War Memorial will help us to ensure that it is done better than ever. After it is completed, those who have been familiar with the memorial in the past will see that the spirit is there, just displayed better. Fitz: Which brings us to the coming display of Frontier Wars, the idea that if we are to have an institution to honour those who fought for Australia, it must include the people of the First Nations who fought against the white colonisers. KB: Yes, the memorial has become the portrayal of the experience of Australians at war. So if we do not have an understanding of the conflict during colonial times prior to Federation, its not complete. The thing I hope the Frontier Wars display can give the Aboriginal people is the dignity of resistance. That has been important in the collective respect for Native Americans. We now know much more about the massacres. We know much less about a number of very successful guerrilla campaigns that kept the whites at bay in a number of places, and the superb Aboriginal generalship. The War Memorial is the most effective venue to display that.

Fitz: Would a display likely include details of, say, the Myall Creek Massacre in 1838, where 11 stockmen killed 28 Aboriginal women, children and babies? KB: Thats not a matter for me. All those matters will be questions that will be between the curators of the Frontier War and the Aboriginal advisory committee. We might have views, we might have advice, but the council does not supervise that. Fitz: One person on your War Memorial Council is Tony Abbott. In my biography of you, I only ever record you saying one unkind thing in parliament, and it was response to Abbotts interjections. How do you get on with him these days? Then Australian prime minister Tony Abbott with US President Barack Obama in the Oval Office in 2014. Credit: Andrew Meares KB: [Laughs.] Very well! I found him good to work with when he was PM and I was the ambassador to the United States. I remember being nervous for his first meeting with President Obama, as in many ways Tony was the Obama opposite. For every view that Obama held, Tony Abbott held the opposite. So I stayed up all night writing essentially weasel words that Abbott could work from in their meeting in the Oval Office, to prevent what I thought might be a very vigorous exchange. I showed him, and he said, lightly, Dont worry about that stuff. Forget that.

Fitz: The scene is set! KB: And we go to the Oval Office, which is filled with important American officials, a sign that they are ready for Abbott. Obama begins, and he is tremendously erudite and graceful, but you can see in his remarks: hook, hook, hook. Theyre waiting for him. And then Obama turns to Abbott and says, Well, Tony, before we start discussing the substance of these issues, is there anything youd like to say? Abbott replies, Thank you, Barack. Look, most people come here, and they want something from the US. We dont want anything. Or they have a complaint about something that the United States is doing  but I dont have any complaints. Were perfectly happy with the direction of policy. So, Ive not come here to ask for anything or to make a complaint. But I want you to know one thing, Barack. We think that you are about to get into a lot of trouble in the Middle East. And I want you to know that when you do, were going to be with you in numbers. The air went out of the room. Nobody ever talks to the US president like that! But Barack smiled. Could you sit there and complain about somebody who has just said that to you? So, it was quite a quiet meeting, and we went on to a convivial lunch. Loading Fitz: Abbott once said to me that one of the few regrets of his life was not having served in the Australian military, and you once said something very similar to me over lunch. Do you feel like that now? KB: Yes, I do. Yet I also feel deeply privileged in regard to holding the chairmanship of the War Memorial, but more so in regard to being minister for defence for a fairly long time as things turned out, and was able to bring in changes that I am proud of. It was in that role that I got the very deepest appreciation of what service in the Australian armed forces means and what our people do.

Fitz: When I did your biography, I always remember, right at the end, you giving me the quote which I felt explained the north star you steered by, in all of your portfolios. You said as a trained historian, I know that to peoples of small numbers populating large land masses and surrounded by cultures alien to them, the logic of history is very cruel. I dont accept that Australia will necessarily be like that. But we have choices. And it is the choices we make now that will determine whether Australia will survive in 2050. We are 25 years on from those remarks. How are we travelling now? Will Australia, as we know it, survive in 2050? Loading KB: (Flatly, quickly.) Im much more worried. I think back then we had a well-constructed defence policy that was tailored to a level of threat that was slightly above the actual level of threat that existed. And our capabilities were determined by two things: by dealing with that low-level threat as we saw it. And by providing an expansion base for when our warning time of great threat  then set at about 15 years  disappeared. Now the warning time itself has disappeared. Unlike when I had that conversation with you, we face no warning time. And that is daunting and challenging. Fitz: Why no warning time now? KB: Because the capability that exists in the region at this moment and its state of readiness [means the enemy] could launch a damaging attack immediately. In my day they could only nibble.

Fitz: Thanks, as ever, for your time. Quote Of the Week Politics is brutal. I saw its impact on people, and I live with that impact still. I tried to support Alan through the most stressful of times. I hope he seeks the help he needs for his health, and more time with his family. I wish him peace. - Rachelle Miller, on her former partner and boss, Alan Tudge, announcing his resignation from federal parliament. Joke of the week A guy said to God: God, is it true that to you a billion years is like a second? God said yes. The guy said: God, is it true that to you a billion dollars is like a penny? God said yes. The guy said: God, can I have a penny? God said, Sure, just a second.
An Iranian-Australian human rights protester who has been hospitalised with serious injuries claims an Australian Federal Police officer assaulted him while peacefully protesting outside the Iranian embassy in Canberra.

Hamid Sotounzadeh was handcuffed and detained by police while protesting outside the embassy on Thursday morning and was found lying concussed by fellow protesters.

Hamid Sotounzadeh is in hospital with broken ribs and fractured vertebrae.

He was taken to Canberra Hospital where he was found to have three broken ribs as well as fractured vertebrae in his neck and back. He is expected to remain in hospital for several more days.

Sotounzadeh, who served in the Australian Army for 14 years, has travelled from Melbourne to Canberra for the past 16 weeks to protest outside the Iranian embassy as an act of resistance against the regimes brutal crackdown on pro-democracy and womens rights activists.
He said the ordeal had caused extreme duress, stress and anxiety both emotional and financial for my beautiful wife Saff and her salt of the earth father, who has had emergency heart surgery due to the stress of it all. As you know, I have no, absolutely no, previous criminal history whatsoever, either here in Aus, or anywhere in the world, and the current allegations are non-violent in nature, he wrote in the letter, seen by this masthead. However, I was confined, mysteriously and unprecedentedly, as an Extreme High Risk Restricted inmate even though I have no suspicions of external/political interference! Duggan has been imprisoned in NSW for more than 100 days. Credit: Monique Lovick Australia, the US and Britain have launched a crackdown on former military pilots being recruited by China, with Duggans arrest coming days after the British government revealed 30 retired RAF pilots had taken large sums of money from the Chinese military.

In the letter, Duggan said both the AFP and Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus office had confirmed that he was not considered to be a risk, sparking his lawyers to suggest there had been foreign interference in the case. I have been locked away in maximum security segregated conditions, with extreme and restricted access to my legal team and family with hardly any reasonable way to defend myself, Duggan said. It is very frustrating to hear on TV news total inaccuracies and falsehoods and being unable to defend myself!! Foreign interference Four months into his imprisonment, it is still unclear who decided that Duggan posed a serious security risk inside jail, resulting in him being shackled when he is moved by prison guards within the prison.

Corrective Services NSW approved the classification of Duggan as a high-risk prisoner, but his lawyer Dennis Miralis said it would have likely done that on another agencys recommendation. Loading Miralis said he was pursuing whether there had been any foreign interference in that designation, in a way that is not in accordance with the law, which suggests that he suspects that the request came from the US. He said his correspondence with Dreyfus office suggested they did not hold any concerns that his client posed a security risk, and there was no evidence that the AFP made the recommendation. We have directly asked the Commissioner for Corrective Services to deny whether or not in fact theres been any foreign interference in this decision-making, he said.

Were still fighting to get access to the underlying documents that went into the designation. Weve been told that secrecy provisions will not allow us to get access to that material. Miralis said the classification was typically given to convicted terrorists and other offenders who had been convicted of extremely violent crimes such as murder. He said a psychologist had examined his client and found that the conditions he had been placed under in prison were inhumane and had caused a significant impact on his mental health. The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security was investigating Duggans treatment, his lawyer said. The AFP, Corrective Services, the federal Attorney-Generals Department and the US Department of Justice all declined to say who recommended that Duggan be classified as a high-risk prisoner.

A Corrective Services NSW spokesperson said it takes great care to determine appropriate security classifications and placements for inmates to maintain the safety and security of our prisons. Offenders are moved securely as per their designated classification, the spokesperson said. Saffrine says the six children have been unable to see their father since he was arrested in October. Credit: Monique Lovick Duggans wife, Saffrine, said his children have been unable to see their father and she has only visited him twice in prison since he was arrested on a provisional warrant from the US. She said he isnt allowed outside his prison cell, so he has befriended a bird that visits him each day, and who he feeds with bread from his dinner rations.

Letters sent are detained for long periods of time for no reason  they only contain handwritten notes [from the children] telling him how much they love and miss him, she said. Loading Im struggling trying to keep the family afloat and help Dan get through this awful situation. In the week leading up to Christmas, she said her father  a farmer on whose property they live  suffered severe heart trauma and needed to be air-lifted for emergency surgery in Sydney  all a direct result of the extreme emotional stress that has been placed on him and the entire family. Love at first sight

Saffrine Duggan was an up-and-coming photographer when she met an American with a thick Boston accent at an events industry function in 2011. By then, Duggan had been in Australia for nine years and had separated from his previous wife. He was at the function promoting his new career as a motivational speaker as well as his joy flight business. It was almost love at first sight, Saffrine, 48, tells this masthead in written responses via email. Almost, because I couldnt quite believe he was that good! She says the trust between them grew quickly and they soon started a family. She says she has always admired how her husband always considers others opinions and never walks past someone in need without trying to help. Thats the person I fell in love with, she says.

In 2010, Duggan began working as a subcontractor for South African company Test Flying Academy of South Africa, which is now subject to a threat alert warning issued by the British Ministry of Defence. Loading According to his US indictment, between January 11, 2011 and July 6, 2012, Duggan received 12 payments, totalling about $116,000, which were listed as personal development training. The 2017 indictment, unsealed in the District of Columbia courts, alleges Duggan and eight other unnamed co-conspirators were involved in providing military services to Chinese pilots. It also reveals the US State Department emailed Duggan as early as 2008 to tell him he needed to apply for written authorisation to provide military training to a foreign air force.

All of the alleged offences occurred before Duggan renounced his US citizenship and became an Australian citizen in late 2012. The couple then moved to China in 2013, where Saffrine says her husband worked as a broad-based aviation consultant as well as helping to source aviation equipment and provide advice to Chinas aviation industry. They married in 2017. When the pandemic hit, Saffrine and the six children returned to Australia, but Duggan remained in China, separated from the family for 2 years. After returning on September 1, 2022, he was arrested less than two months later on October 21, shortly after dropping off the children at school.

Could go all the way to the High Court Duggans legal team is for now focused on fighting the legality of the extradition request, rather than refuting the factual assertions made by US authorities. Australian National University international law professor Donald Rothwell said one of the ways they could do this is by proving the crimes he is accused of in the US arent offences in Australia. Double criminality is essential in all extradition matters, Rothwell said. It requires that the alleged crimes are ones mutually recognised in the requesting state and the requested state. The alleged crimes do not need to be exact duplicates in terms of the various elements of the offence and potential penalties. But they must bear similar core elements of the offence and potential penalties.
Peter Dutton has told the Liberal Partys Victorian division that he wants a woman preselected to replace outgoing shadow minister Alan Tudge, as he announces a frontbench reshuffle.

Dutton will announce on Sunday that opposition communications spokeswoman Sarah Henderson will take over from Tudge in the education portfolio, while former immigration minister David Coleman will be promoted to the frontbench to take over communications.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has told the Liberal Partys Victorian division that he wants a woman preslected in Aston. Credit: Rhett Wyman

Tudges decision to quit politics will trigger a byelection in the coming months in his seat of Aston, in Melbournes outer-east  and Dutton said he expected the party to preselect a woman.

Ive been very clear in my discussions with key figures in the division that I expect we will preselect a female candidate in Aston, Dutton said in a statement. I havent spoken with anyone who disagrees with my position.
Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry warned against the serious repercussions of the continued escalations in the Palestinian territories on security and stability in the region as well as on the chances of a two-state state solution, a statement by the ministry said on Tuesday.

Shoukrys remarks came during a meeting in Cairo with the European Union Special Representative (EUSR) for the Middle East Peace Process Sven Koopmans.

On Monday, Koopmans mandate as EUSR was extended for two years until February 2025.

Shoukry discussed with Koopmans efforts to "calm the situation between the Palestinians and Israelis" as well as strategies to revive the peace process among other topics, said Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zeid in a statement.

The foreign minister reviewed the recent developments in the Palestinian territories and the increasing pace of violence that threatens to send the situation spiraling out of control.

Shoukry also affirmed Cairo's stance in emphasising the necessity of calming the on-ground situation.

This echoed his previous statements in last week's press conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the country's keenness to maintain the "stability, security and development of the region."

Moreover, Shoukry emphasised the importance of Israel's cessation of unilateral measures that would fuel the Palestinians' frustration, Abu Zeid said.

The foreign minister added that stopping such actions would have a direct impact on creating the appropriate climate for resuming negotiations to reach a comprehensive and fair peace on the basis of the two-state solution.

Israeli warplanes struck Gaza early Thursday, drawing retaliatory rocket fire from Palestinian militants, as violence flared.

Thursdays attack on the Gaza strip came after events in the West Bank where a deadly raid on the Jenin refugee camp occurred in late January that killed 10 Palestinians, after which a Palestinian gunman opened fire outside an East Jerusalem synagogue the next day, killing at least seven and wounding several people.

Tuesdays meeting comes a week after Egypts Chief of the General Intelligence Service (GIS) Abbas Kamel and his Jordanian counterpart Ahmed Hosni conveyed a message of support from their presidents for the Palestinian issue in a meeting with President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah.

On Saturday, Egypt warned of the severe dangers of the ongoing escalation between the Palestinian and Israeli sides, calling for the exercising of maximum restraint and an end to aggression and provocative measures.

In a statement issued by the foreign ministry at the time, Egypt also warned against slipping into a vicious cycle of violence that worsens the political and humanitarian situation and undermines efforts to achieve calm and ruins all chances of reviving the peace process.

Egypt's President El-Sisi also underlined in late January, during a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the country's constant stance on the need to reach a comprehensive and fair solution that guarantees the rights of the Palestinian people according to international standards in a manner that solves the conflict to allow peace, stability, cooperation and growth.

In turn the US secretary said to El-Sisi that Washington relies on close coordination with the Egyptian presidency to restore stability and achieve calm between the Palestinian and Israeli side

During Tuesdays meeting, Shoukry also emphasised the important role that international partners can play, especially the European Union, to end current tensions, cease the violations and attacks on Palestinians and encourage the two parties to return to negotiations.

On his side, Koopmans affirmed the European Union's keenness to consult and cooperate with Egypt about the tense situation in the Palestinian territories as well as discuss the opportunities to encourage the Palestinian and Israeli sides to return to negotiations through offering new and creative proposals and visions, the spokesperson reported.

Koopman said that the EU takes into account Egypt's pivotal role in this context.

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Allentown, PA (18103)

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Mainly cloudy and much cooler than we've been (but still not bad for April) with some occasional showers or an afternoon t-storm, but not a washout. .

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Reading, PA (19601)

Today

Mainly cloudy and much cooler than we've been (but still not bad for April) with some occasional showers or an afternoon t-storm, but not a washout. .

Tonight

Mainly cloudy with a lingering shower in the evening, then some patchy fog or drizzle late.
While celebrating International Greek Language Day in Cairo in front of students from the two countries, Greek diplomatic and cultural figures emphasised the linguistic ties that have bound their country with Egypt and others from antiquity onward.

Under the title "The Greek Language in the Greek Campus," the Greek Embassy in Egypt, together with the Greek Cultural Centre and the Greek Schools in Cairo, organised a celebration on 9 February at the Greek Campus of the American University in Cairo.

The celebration aimed to highlight the international character of the Greek language throughout the ages.

Among the speakers were Ambassador of Greece to Egypt Nikolaos Papageorgiou and the Director of the Greek Cultural Centre in Cairo Christos Papadopoulos. The Secretary-General for Greeks Abroad and Public Diplomacy Ioannis Chrysoulakis and the Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Andreas Katsaniotis also participated, giving online speeches.

The Greek language, which is the mother of languages and the foundation of modern civilisation, is the mother and nurturer of pure reason, philosophy and poetry. After all, that has been fully expounded by the renowned Greek poet, Odysseas Elytis who said: One must not forget that, over the course of twenty-five centuries, there has not been one without poetry being written in Greek, said Chrysoulakis.

For us Greeks far and wide, the Greek language is even more; it is our identity, our roots, our intangible cultural heritage, the embrace of mother Greece to her children and our point of reference in every corner of the world and our unbreakable bond with the Homeland, Chrysoulakis added.

The street had its own story, someone wrote it on the wall with paint... says the well-known song of the Egyptian-Greek composer Manos Loizos in lyrics by Kostoulas Mitropoulos. The same is the case with the Greek language in Egypt, which is written in various ways from the depths of the centuries until today, not only on walls but also on floors, antiquities, modern buildings, stones and rocks, which are sometimes carved with art and graffiti, carved into limestone rocks of the desert or written with paint on ancient tombs as evidence of presence, pointed Papadopoulos.

He also emphasised that scattered traces of the Greek Language certify the presence of the Greeks in space and time. We can find examples in Cairo, Alexandria, Siwa oasis and Minya.

Prominent professors from Al-Azhar, Cairo, and Ain Shams universities also attended the event, highlighting the aspects of teaching the Greek language in Egypt.

Furthermore, a presentation of video clips designed by the Greek school students was also presented during the celebration along with selections of Greek songs, in addition to poems recited by the Greek school students and Egyptian university students.

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Columbus Area Historical Society

1973

Ken Falkinhams algebra classes sponsored a bridge building contest to test the strengths of various angles and different construction models to see which bridge could hold up the most weight.

Mrs. Don Lee was named the chairman of the Heart Fund fundraiser for the Elba Township.

1983

An ordinance merging the citys Park Board and Recreation Committee under the auspices of the Public Works Department was passed by the City Council. The action dissolved the Park Association and board, formerly comprised of Columbus Fire Department personnel, with the Board of Public Works placed in charge of necessary maintenance.

The Columbus Community Hospitals Auxiliary donated $3,000 in gifts to the hospital. Included in the gift was equipment for the Anesthesia unit.

1993

St. Jeromes School celebrated Catholic Schools Week. Second grade students were pictured showing off their hats during Hat Day.

Parkview II residents expressed their opposition to proposed assessments for curb, gutter, paving, and storm sewer in the subdivision based on a cost per linear foot. Some residents asked that the assessments be per lot and have the city pick up more of the costs.

2003

Fall River band director Jeff Mroz began forming small rock bands soon after he began teaching in 1971. Suzie Linder, Abby Green, Nick Eggert, and Drew Carlson made up the current Fall River Rock Band.

The Rev. Susan Quigley was ordained at Bethel Lutheran Church in Madison, and was called to be associate pastor at Faith Lutheran Church.

Visit www.columbuswiareahistory.com or follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/columbuswiareahistory or email info@columbuswiareahistory.com to reach us.

The Columbus WI Area Historical Society is looking for a new home for its museum. If anyone has ideas on where to locate, please contact the society.
Actions by Egypt to increase the private sectors role in the countrys economy are critical for its economic growth and job creation, the Secretary General of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group Vincent O. Nmehielle told Ahram Online.

Ahram Online interviewed Nmehielle during his visit to Egypt last week as the head of AfDBs 58th annual meetings preparatory mission.

This years meetings are slated to be hosted by Egypt in Sharm El-Sheikh on 22-26 May.

Egypt is one of the largest countries that has benefitted from private sector related loans the bank extends, he added.

As of 27 April 2022, AfDBs active commitments in Egypt amount to $834.9 million, comprising 24 operations.

This includes 17 sovereign operations, accounting for nearly 73 percent of the active commitments, while the remaining seven operations are non-sovereign operations accounting for about 27 percent.

The portfolio covers sovereign and non-sovereign power (54.5 percent), water and sanitation (23.6 percent), transport (13.7 percent), agriculture and irrigation (4.9 percent), finance (1.9 percent), social protection (0.5 percent) and multi-sector (capacity-building grants) (0.9 percent).

AfDBs annual meetings bring together finance ministers from the bank groups eighty-one regional and non-regional member countries, and it is attended by central bank governors, key private sector leaders, academics and development partners to discuss the most recent challenges the continent is facing and explore the best solutions to deal with.

Up to 4,000 participants are expected to attend the 2023 annual meetings that are set to be held at the Sharm El Sheikh International Conference Centre.

We have no doubt that 2023s annual meetings will be a successful round based on the significant progress made during the preparation process. I am happy with the speed with which the beautification works of the city of Sharm El-Sheikh have been accomplished since the bank groups first preparatory mission in September 2022, Nmehielle told Ahram Online.

During the interview, Nmehielle said that the AfDBs country strategy for Egypt, which extends through 2026, mainly aims at strengthening Egypts competitiveness to support a robust private sector as a key engine of the countrys economic growth, besides building resilience to achieve food and water security and energy efficiency.

Under Egypts State Ownership Policy document, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly revealed last week the list of 32 state-owned companies that represent investment opportunities for the private sector, either through establishing partnerships with government or through offering minor stakes in the Egyptian Exchange.

The document came into effect earlier in February.

The document lays out Egypts plan to raise the private sector share in the national economic activity to 65 percent, up from the current 30 percent, over the coming three years.

Moreover, Egypt has pledged to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), under the new $3 billion loan deal, to boost the role of the private sector in growth in parallel with reducing the size of the states footprint in the economy, levelling the playing field between public and private institutions, and strengthening governance and the business climate to support export-driven and private sector-led growth.

Through this pledge, Egypt seeks to close the financing gap estimated at $17 billion over the programmes four years.

The harsh economic challenges the continent, including Egypt, is facing due to several factors starting with climate change threats, down to the COVID-19 pandemics existing implications and recently the Russian war on Ukraine will be on the meetings discussions table in May. The bank group and the stakeholders will also explore how they can engage in order to address these challenges in the member states. This round will focus chiefly on the role the private sector can play amid the ongoing challenging time and also its role in climate financing. Mobilising private sector financing for climate and green growth in Africa is one of the key themes that will be touched upon during the anticipated meetings. Loans cannot do that alone, Nmehielle explained.

According to the AfDB, Egypt is highly vulnerable to climate change due to its mostly arid climate. In addition, most climate projections point to a worsening of this vulnerability during this century due to a forecast increase in climate risks and impacts, such as extreme weather (heat, floods), lower average yearly rainfall, and increased sea level and salt water intrusion, including in parts of the Nile Delta, which is the breadbasket of the country.

The most sensitive sectors in terms of climate change are health, water and agriculture, and that is where adaptation and mitigation efforts should concentrate, according to the bank.

During the interview, Nmehielle stressed that the upcoming meetings are a significant chance for Egypt to showcase the investments opportunities that could be tapped by the private sector representatives and investors who are planning to attend.

He also added that the event is a platform for Egypt, as well as other African countries, to demonstrate the challenges they are facing in a bid to figure out the most appropriate solutions and avenues to cope with them.

Since the onset of the war in Ukraine in March, about $25 billion of indirect investments have fled the local market; the financing gap has increased to $17 billion; the Egyptian pound has lost over 100 percent of its value and the countrys economic growth is expected to recede to three percent, down from over six percent, by end of the current FY2022/2023.

Ahram Online also discussed with Nmehielle the role the AfDB will play in bridging the financing gap over the upcoming four years.

According to the IMF, Egypt pledged to secure $300 million from the AfDB out of the total financing gap.

In this respect, Vincent affirmed the AfDBs support to the Egyptian economy, yet, he said that bank has not received any requests from Egypt in this regard.

Once the government files its request, the matter will be submitted to the banks board of directors to make up its decision, he explained.

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Britain and the United States provided the Saudi-led coalition with the weapons used in hundreds of attacks on civilians in Yemen between January 2021 and the end of February 2022, according to a recent report by Oxfam.

Martin Butcher, Oxfams Policy Advisor on Arms and Conflict, said that the Saudi-led coalition were responsible for at least 87 civilian deaths and 136 injuries, 19 attacks on healthcare facilities and 293 attacks that forced people to flee their homes39 percent of all attacks causing displacement. Our analysis shows there is a pattern of violence against civilians, and all sides in this conflict have not done enough to protect civilian life, which they are obligated to do under International Humanitarian Law.

He added, The intensity of these attacks would not have been possible without a ready supply of arms. That is why its vital the UK government and others must immediately stop the arms sales that are fueling war in Yemen.

Houthi detention center destroyed by Saudi-led airstrikes that killed at least 60 people in Dhamar province, southwestern Yemen, in September 2019. [AP Photo/Hani Mohammed, File]

The Oxfam report came just days before the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) launched a lawsuit aimed at ending the British governments multi-billion pound arms sales, including Typhoon fighter jets, missiles and bombs, as well as ongoing maintenance and support, for use in the Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates (UAE)-led war in Yemen.

The UK governments own rules, adopted in 2014 when it signed the Arms Trade Treaty, prohibit arms sales where there is a clear risk that a weapon might be used in a serious violation of International Humanitarian Law (IHL). Despite the overwhelming evidence that the coalition has repeatedly breached IHL, the government has continued to promote and protect weapons sales. According to CAAT, the UK has supplied arms worth over 23 billion to Saudi Arabia, when open licences are taken into account, several times the official figures provided by the government, since the war in Yemen began in April 2015.

UK special forces are believed to have played a role in the war, while the British military maintains the Saudi warplanes that attack Yemen and provide intelligence support for the coalition.

The British government has persistently rejected calls from the United Nations and other international bodies for a ban on arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE. It boasts of being the second largest exporter of defence items worldwide, after the US, based on the value of orders or contracts signed, with more than half by value going to the Middle East.

The venal Saudi monarchy, which routinely assassinates its opponents, tortures, imprisons and beheads oppositionists and dissidents, and the repressive UAE provide the major props for Britains defence industryone of its few remaining manufacturing sectors. They serve as key custodians of Britains geostrategic interests in the energy-rich region and as allies in the Washington-led campaign to isolate Iran and its regional allies in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen, as part of broader preparations for war with Russia and China, with which Tehran has forged close relations.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunaks government is intent on maintaining the barbaric House of Sauds control over the Arabian Peninsula. It is suppressing any information that Riyadh or its backers are committing war crimes and avoiding accusations that the UK is violating its own rules against supplying arms.

In June 2019, a Court of Appeal ruling, following legal action by CAAT, concluded that the Governments decision-making process for granting export licences was irrational and therefore unlawful. It forced the government to stop issuing export licences for weapons that could be used in the war in Yemen pending a review of how these weapons had been used and to ensure that future arms sales complied with the governments own rules and procedures.

But in July 2020, then Trade Secretary Liz Truss resumed arms sales, claiming any violations of IHL were only isolated incidents. Since then, the British government has licensed at least 2.2 billion additional weapons sales to the coalition, while cutting its 2021-22 aid to Yemen by more than half.

CAATs latest case in the High Court challenges the governments claims that there were only a small number of IHL violations by coalition forces that did not form part of a pattern, citing overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Even if there were only isolated incidents of violations, this could still involve a clear risk of further violations.

For the last eight years, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been waging war in Yemen, the Middle Easts most impoverished nation, condemned as near genocidal by rights organisations and charities, against rebels that overthrew the hated Saudi-imposed government. At the end of 2021, the UN estimated that the protracted onslaught had claimed the lives of 377,000 Yemenis, 150,000 as a direct result of the war and the rest through a lack of food or access to healthcare, as well as by the lack of basic infrastructure to provide these services.

Some 4.3 million people have been displaced, while horrific social and economic conditions, including a cholera outbreak that has raged since 2016 and the pandemic, have prevented people from returning to their homes. The war has destroyed much of Yemens public health system, leaving only 50 percent of health facilities operational, with most of these barely functioning due to damaged infrastructure and lack of healthcare workers. Last years heavy seasonal rain, windstorms, landslides, and flooding added to the catastrophic conditions, causing deaths and injuries that affected more than 210,000 people.

More than 21.5 million Yemenis are in need of assistance and 17.3 million are suffering from acute hunger, including over two million children with acute malnutrition.

Despite a six-month-long ceasefire and a significant drop in fatalities, the slaughter has continued, with at least 643 Yemeni civilians killed in 2022, including at least 102 children and 27 women, of over 3,000 casualties recorded, according to data published by the Yemen-based Eye for Humanity Centre for Rights and Development. The destruction of over 14,300 homes, 12 hospitals, 64 schools, and 22 power stations has added to the suffering.

The British government has refused Freedom of Information requests from the website Middle East Eye for the release of documents surrounding its arms sales to Riyadh between October 1 and 15, 2016. A Saudi-led coalitions air strike on a crowded funeral hall in Sanaa killed more than 140 people and injured over 500 on October 8, 2016, an attack UN monitors found violated international humanitarian law. It rejected the requests after lengthy delays, firstly citing exemptions for policy-making decisions and decisions prejudicial to the UKs foreign and commercial interests and, when that was shown to be incorrect, then claiming it would be too costly to retrieve the documents.

The governments refusal to provide the information testifies to the widespread and deep hostility of the British public to the governments arming of the coalition.

The British government supports some of the most barbaric and repressive regimes on the planet. Its continued supply of arms to the Saudi-led war on Yemen explodes its claims to promote human rights and democracy on the international arena, including the torrent of hypocrisy seeking to justify NATOs military intervention against Russia in Ukraine.

In the eyes of the imperialist powers in London and Washington and their regional proxies, flagrant violations of IHL and the ensuing humanitarian crisis engulfing Yemen, as well as Somalia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria, are just collateral damage in the struggle for domination over the energy rich-Middle East. Providing a stark warning of the implications of the ever-expanding war in Ukraine, this underscores the crucial importance of students and young people taking up the fight to build an international anti-war movement.
Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi will head to the UAE on Sunday, leading a high-level delegation to take part in the World Government Summit (WGS) 2023 that will kick off in Dubai on Monday.

Egypt will take part as a guest of honour at the two-day WGS, which will be held under the slogan Shaping Future Governments.

During discussion panels, El-Sisi will explain the strategies and priorities of the Egyptian government at the economic and development levels, Presidential Spokesman Ahmed Fahmy said.

Egypt's participation in this edition is the biggest ever, the spokesman said, adding that this reflects the distinguished relations binding Egypt with the UAE.

El-Sisi's itinerary includes bilateral meetings with prominent participants at the summit.

Formed by a team of experts in 2013, the WGS event is held annually in Dubai to act as a platform for government officials and thought leaders.

It also acts as a platform for business leaders and the private sector on government policies, and for discussing technology innovation and a host of other topics.

The summit will witness the participation of 20 presidents, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Senegalese President and Chairperson of the African Union Macky Sall, Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benitez, and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

The WGSs 2023 edition will also convene over 250 ministers, more than 10,000 government officials, thought leaders and global experts around the world, and over 80 international, regional and governmental organisations, according to Emirati Minister of Cabinet Affairs and Chairman of the WGS Organisation Mohammad bin Abdullah Al-Gergawi.

The summit will feature prominent business leaders from the private sector, according to previous remarks by Al-Gergawi.

Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres and President of the World Bank David Malpass will deliver speeches during the summit.

The International Atomic Energy Agency and the International Labour Organisation will be also participating.

A total of 300 speakers from thought leaders, global experts and decision makers worldwide will participate in the summit to share visions and discuss ideas and strategies towards the future, according to Emirates News Agency (WAM).

The summit will also include high-level ministerial meetings, including a meeting between the Arab finance ministers and another meeting between Arab youth ministers.

It will see many bilateral agreements and meetings with the aim of securing an opportunity for decision-makers worldwide to exchange visions on future governments.

The dialogue sessions during the WGS will be divided into six main themes: accelerating development and governance, future of societies and healthcare, exploring the frontiers, governing economic resilience and connectivity, global city design and sustainability and prioritising learning and work.

The WGS will present seven global awards in appreciation of government ministers, representatives of the private sector, innovators and creators, who have exceptionally contributed to providing a better society for humanity.

The awards include the Edge of Government Award; the Best Minister Award; the World Data Visualisation Prize; the M-Gov Award and Shaping Future Governments: Global Universities Challenge, WAM noted.

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"This figure depends on the birth rate," said Tawfik, adding that "if each family got two children only, we would reach 142 million, but if families got more we are expected to reach 157 million." Tawfik also said that Upper Egypt and border governorates are the highest in birth rates."Most of the birth control campaigns focus on Cairo and Delta governorates. As a result, we have high birth rates in Upper Egypt and border governorates," said Tawfik.

Tawfik's remarks came on the sidelines of a Sunday meeting held by parliament's Health Committee. The meeting was devoted to discussing the dangers of overpopulation in Egypt.

"Some countries - like China, Singapore and Vietnam - passed laws to control the runaway growth of their population, but it is quite difficult to do the same in Egypt as this policy needs strict measures that will make it difficult for people here to follow or accept," said Tawfik, adding that "as a result and depending on the current high birth rates, Egypt's population is expected to hit a record of 205 million by the year 2100, up from 21 million in 1951, 104 million in 2022 and 124 million in 2030".

He also said that the remarkable improvement in health conditions in Egypt has led to a decline in death rates. "This is another reason that contributed to population growth in Egypt," said Tawfik, indicating that "twenty years ago the rate was 32 deaths for every thousand citizens, but now it is six for every thousand citizens, and in 2100 it is expected to be 10 deaths only for each 10 thousand citizens."

Tawfik said a number of 22 institutions are involved in controlling population growth in Egypt. "But all of them, including the National Population Council, is working on a voluntary basis," he said, adding that if we are serious about controlling the runaway growth of population in Egypt, "we have to translate this into policies to be implemented on the ground as soon as possible."

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Egypts President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi arrived in Abu Dhabi on Sunday where he was received by his Emirati counterpart Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan at the airport, the Egyptian Presidency said.

El-Sisi and bin Zayed held talks during a short break at El-Shatti palace where they discussed bilateral relations between Egypt and the Emirates as well as the latest developments in the region.

During their meeting, the Egyptian president offered his condolences to Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed on the passing of his mother-in-law Sheikha Maryam Al-Falasi.

The meeting was attended by high level Emirati officials, most importantly Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed, National Security Adviser.

El-Sisi is currently heading Egypts official delegation to the World Government Summit (WGS) 2023 in Dubai from 13-15 February. Egypt will take part as a guest of honour at the two-day WGS.

The summit this year is held under the slogan Shaping Future Governments.

During discussion panels, El-Sisi will explain the strategies and priorities of the Egyptian government at the economic and development levels, Presidential Spokesman Ahmed Fahmy said earlier.

Egypt's participation in this edition is the biggest ever, the spokesman said, adding that this reflects the distinguished relations binding Egypt to the UAE.

Formed by a team of experts in 2013, the WGS event is held annually in Dubai to act as a platform for government officials and thought leaders.

It also acts as a platform for business leaders and the private sector on government policies, and for discussing technology innovation and a host of other topics.

The summit will witness the participation of 20 presidents, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Senegalese President and Chairperson of the African Union Macky Sall, Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benitez, and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

The WGSs 2023 edition will also convene over 250 ministers, more than 10,000 government officials, thought leaders and global experts around the world, and over 80 international, regional and governmental organisations, according to Emirati Minister of Cabinet Affairs and Chairman of the WGS Organisation Mohammad bin Abdullah Al-Gergawi

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A Cairo criminal court put five Muslim Brotherhood figures on the states terror list for a five-year period, Egypts official gazette revealed on Sunday.

According to the court's ruling, five fugitive members of the MB have been placed on the terror list for five years. The five members are prominent MB preacher Wagdy Ghoneim and MB youth figures Abdel-Rahman Ezz and Ahmed El-Mogheir as well as Reda El-Sawy and Hany Sayid.

Courts in Egypt have already given rulings in absentia -- including a death sentence in 2017 -- against Wagdy Ghoneim for inciting hatred and encouraging the murdering of policemen.

Egypt demanded Interpol to arrest him along with other MB figures, including MB youth figure Ahmed El-Mogheir, in 2017.

Ghoneim had residences in both Qatar and Turkey for years, but it is unclear where he resides currently.

He has faced several lawsuits and trials in Egypt since 2012 over statements considered offensive to women and Christians.

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What mattered most at UFC 284 at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia? Here are a few post-fight musings 

5. Loma Lookboonmee levels up

Perhaps the most surprising outcome of the UFC 284 prelims came in the strawweight fight between [autotag]Loma Lookboonmee[/autotag] and Elise Reed.

Lookboonmee (8-3 MMA, 5-2 UFC) is a noted Thai striker, and had never finished a fight in the UFC. Not only did she put Reed away inside the distance, but she did it with a submission, which was a +1400 betting prop.

It was a huge moment from Lookboonmee to prove to her opponents that she offers more than just dangerous striking. Going forward, everyone is going to be forced to be weary of just more than just the striking dimension, and thats going to do wonders for her going forward.

[vertical-gallery id=2615910]

4. Jack Della Maddalena continues to roll

[vertical-gallery id=2615926]

[autotag]Jack Della Maddalena[/autotag] continued the hot start to his UFC tenure when he picked up yet another first-round finish, this time against Randy Brown in their featured welterweight bout.

After knocking out his first three opponents inside the opening round, Maddalena (14-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) proved hes got more than just hands when he submitted Brown inside the first frame. Of course, it was indeed the power in his punches that floored Brown and set up the rear-naked choke, but the fact Maddalena had the wherewithal to seamlessly switch to the choke instead of punching goes to show hes got some well-rounded instincts.

The welterweight division is one of the deepest in the sport, and Maddalena has a ton of hard fights ahead if he wants to climb to the very top. However, what hes done so far is nothing short of impressive, and a very promising sign for his potential.

His post-fight callout of Vicente Luque was quite perfect, and Id love to see it happen. Luque has shared the octagon with some of the best 170-pound fighters the UFC has to offer, and if Maddalena could pass that test  and especially with another early finish  we cant put a cap on what hes capable of in this division.

Story continues

3. Yair Rodriguez shines to claim interim gold

[autotag]Yair Rodriguez[/autotag] delivered one of the most complete performances of his career against Josh Emmett to claim the interim featherweight title, and it now seems hes ready to fulfill the potential people have seen in him since early in his UFC career.

Its not controversial to say Rodriguezs (15-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) path in the UFC has been rocky. Hes dealt with injuries, spats with the UFC brass and more as hes tried to navigate his way to the top. And though hes still not quite there with the interim belt rather than the undisputed one, hes finally reached the level his supporters hope to see him at.

Not only did Rodriguez show off his dynamic striking game to bloody Emmett on the feet, but he finished the job with a triangle choke for his first submission result in the octagon. Hes a multi-layered threat in that cage, and every single one of his fights is a must-watch.

He wont be able to complete a significant legacy without unifying those titles, though, and making that happen will be far from easy. Hes got an all-time great fighter waiting for him, but if he can get the job done, well have to reassess the entire spectrum of Rodriguezs career.

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2. Alexander Volkanovski deserves praise in defeat

Before we get to the praise for [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag], for which there is plenty, we must take some time to give a nod of respect to [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] and his commendable pursuit of greatness by moving up in weight to challenge for a second belt.

With a dominant reign in the featherweight division ongoing, Volkanovski (25-2 MMA, 12-1 UFC) couldve easily stayed in his lane and stacked up the title defenses for a good while. Instead, he decided to challenge himself and try to become just the fifth simultaneous two-division champion in company history.

He fell short in a unanimous decision loss, but he has zero to be ashamed of. Volkanovski pushed Makhachev harder and further than anyone else has inside the octagon, and he was right on the cusp of getting it done. He had some brilliant moments and had Makhachev in serious trouble in the final round, but he wasnt able to secure the win.

The result is devastating in the sense that Volkanovski came just shy of his goal, and saw his remarkable 22-fight winning streak brought to an end for his first defeat since May 2013. Despite that, youd be hard pressed to find a single person with any credibility attached to their name giving Volkanovski much flack for the loss.

In fact, Volkanovskis stock seemed to rise with his performance. He showed hes very much capable of competing with the champion from a weight class above, and his No. 1 pound-for-pound ranking coming into the fight was more than justified.

Volkanovski dared to be great when he couldve been more risk-averse and protected his position, and thats a mindset many people should take inspiration from. Theres no reward without risk, and although he might not have got the reward this time, the risk was still worth it. Hes still a champion, and his meeting with Rodriguez will be a big-time fight, and certainly a fascinating one.

[vertical-gallery id=2615930]

1. Islam Makhachev deserved the win and the No. 1 spot

Listen, no one wouldve relished Volkanovski getting the decision nod in the main event more than me. I was the only person on the MMA Junkie staff to go with The Great to win, so there wouldve been some nice bragging rights had it happened.

But even with that slight bias in trying to look smart, I cant come away from watching that fight live from cageside and claim Makhachev (24-1 MMA, 13-1 UFC) lost, or Volkanovski was robbed. Yes, Volkanovskis strong close to the fight where he landed a knockdown and big ground-and-pound was certainly the most definitive moment of the contest, but that got him the round, not the entire fight.

From my view, Makhachev won Round 1, Round 2 and Round 4 and was the rightful victor. He showed some very solid striking, and a level of defensive and offensive grappling that few in the sport possess. Hes an absolute beast, and if you dont think this five-round battle where he was tested to his very limit is going to make him better going forward, youre kidding yourself.

In all honesty, this mightve been the best chance for him to lose anytime soon. Im hard pressed to pick a lightweight contender, be it Charles Oliveira, Dustin Poirier, Beneil Dariush or anyone else, who is going to give Makhachev a harder fight than Volkanovski did, and thats a pretty scary sign.

Makhachev boldly claimed at the post-fight press conference that hes the best fighter in the world, and at least for today, Im inclined to agree. He deserves that No. 1 pound-for-pound spot, and someone is going to need the performance a lifetime to take it away from him.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkies event hub for UFC 284.

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Story originally appeared on MMA Junkie
Heartbreaking. 90 Day Fiance star Avery Mills revealed husband Omar Albakkour tragically lost five family members, including three young children, in the devastating Turkey-Syria earthquake.

What we originally thought was only four now became five deaths. Three of the five victims were very young children, the 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days alum, 23, shared alongside carousel photos of three children sweetly smiling with their parents. Our heart is hurting as well as so many other families in Turkey and Syria. May Allah ease the pain.

The devastating 7.9 magnitude earthquake, which struck Turkey and Syria on February 6, has claimed more than 33,000 lives across the two countries. The natural disaster caused thousands of buildings to collapse, leaving millions of people homeless and rescuers pulling survivors from the ruins in freezing temperature conditions.

Omar and Avery made their debut on season 3 of 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days, which premiered in August 2019. Avery, an Ohio native who had previously converted to Islam, met Omar while browsing a Muslim dating app. While she initially didnt realize the settings were set internationally, she quickly fell for the dentist even though he lived in Syria.

Since Omars country was in the midst of a civil war, the couple decided to meet for the first time in Beirut, Lebanon. The TLC series followed Avery, who was accompanied by her mother, and Omar as they met and tied the knot during the trip.

90 Day Fiance Omar Avery

Following their time on the show, the couple lived together in Dubai before Omars visa was approved and the couple moved to Washington, New Jersey. The 90 Day Fiance alums recently celebrated four years of marriage this month.

In less than two weeks it will officially be four years of marriage. Our love then, although pure and true, doesnt compare to the love we share now. We know each other's likes and dislikes and we both are the type to put each other above ourselves, therefore, I take care of you, and you take care of me, Avery wrote in a tribute post dedicated to her husband in January 2023. Four years down my love may Allah bless us with many MANY more in Sha Allah. With all the things we have accomplished in the past four years, I can only imagine what the next four will bring.
It's that time of year again! Every Sunday night, TLC viewers look forward to new episodes of its hit reality show, 90 Day Fiance. But with Super Bowl LVII falling on Sunday, February 12, 2023, will the network air a new episode of season 4 of the spinoff 90 Day Fiance: The Other Way during the football game? Keep scrolling below for TLCs schedule and find out if 90 Day Fiance: The Other Way is on tonight during the 2023 Super Bowl!

Is '90 Day Fiance' on Tonight?

Unfortunately, TLC fans, a new episode of 90 Day Fiance: The Other Way will not air tonight (Sunday, February 12, 2023) during Super Bowl LVII. For decades, many networks choose not to air new episodes of their TV shows on Super Bowl Sunday to avoid competing with viewership.

When Does '90 Day Fiance' Come Back on TLC?

No need to worry, because 90 Day Fiance: The Other Way will only be on a one-week hiatus! After taking one week off, the show will come back on Sunday, February 19 at 8 p.m. ET.

What Is TLCs Schedule Tonight?

The network will be airing a marathon of its hit series 1000-Lb. Sisters instead of 90 Day Fiance: The Other Way during the 2023 Super Bowl.

What Happened on '90 Day Fiance: The Other Way' Season 4 So Far? Recap

There have only been two episodes that airs so far on season 4 of the 90 Day Fiance spinoff. The show's premise flips the original on its head: instead of Americans bringing their significant others to the United States on K-1 visas, the Americans are leaving everything behind in the United States to move to another country to be with their partners.

90 Day Fiance's Kris Defends Plan to Marry Girlfriend Jeymi 9 Days After Moving to Colombia

Kris is gearing up to head to Colombia to meet her online girlfriend, Jeymi, in person for the first time. The couple is scheduled to get married just days after Kris arrives, which means they will only have a few days to sort out their issues which stems from Jeymi's affair when she cheated on Kris during a rough patch in their relationship.

Gabriel is also moving to Colombia to be with his online girlfriend, Isabel, but there are two issues: Gabe is known for rushing head first into relationships and not necessarily picking the right ones while Isabel's parents don't know that Gabe is transgender and they may not accept their relationship.

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Jen is packing up to head to India to be with her partner, Rishi. The couple met while Jen was in his native country on a trip and they quickly got engaged. However, they will face the obstacle of earning his family's blessing, as they had planned to set up an arranged marriage for Rishi.

Returning to the franchise are 90 Day Fiance: Love In Paradise season 2 stars Daniele Gates and Yohan Geronimo. Daniele is leaving behind her teaching job and life in New York City to enjoy "island time" in Yohan's native Dominican Republic. However, she is keeping a big secret from her husband: while he thinks she already started the spousal visa process to bring him to the United States, she has no plans of doing so because she wants to live full-time in the D.R.

Fans were just introduced to Nicole and Mahmoud on the February 5 episode. Nicole met Mahmoud while she was on a trip to his native Egypt. The couple had a whirlwind romance and got married on her second trip to Egypt. However, they experienced issues as they fought over their cultural differences. After 11 months of marriage, Nicole told Mahmoud she wanted a divorce and returned to America.

However, she started to miss her husband and is planning to move back to Egypt fully. Unfortunately, the issues that existed in Nicole and Mahmoud's marriage are still present and fans will have to tune in to see if they can make it work.
The binational organisation protecting US and Canadian airspace has shot down another high-altitude airborne object over northern Canada, one day after another similar object was observed and downed near Alaskan waters, and a week after the US military brought down a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon off the South Carolina coast.

An American F-22 Raptor fighter jet shot down the object on Saturday, according to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The Pentagon said that the object was first observed in Alaska the night before, and military officials closely tracked it.

I ordered the take down of an unidentified object that violated Canadian airspace, he announced. [North American Aerospace Defense Command] shot down the object over the Yukon. Canadian and US aircraft were scrambled, and a US F-22 successfully fired at the object.

Mr Trudeau also said he spoke with President Joe Biden on the matter. Canadian military will begin a recovery operation and investigation, according to the prime minister.

Earlier on Saturday, Norad had positively identified a high-altitude airborne object over Northern Canada, according to a statement from the US militarys Northern Command and Norad.

While we cannot discuss specifics related to these activities at this time, please note that Norad conducts sustained, dispersed operations in the defence of North America through one or all three Norad regions, Norad announced.

The object shot down was small and cyndrical flying at 40,000 feet and posed a reasonable threat to civilian aircraft, according to Canadas Defence Minister Anita Anand.

It was 100 miles from the US-Canada border in Canadian territory in central Yukon.

To our knowledge, this is the first instance of Norad downing an object in Canadian airspace, and the importance of this moment should not be underestimated, Ms Anand said during a Saturday evening briefing.

We detected this object together and we defeated this together, she added.

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Pentagon press secretary Brigadier General Pat Ryder said in a statement on Saturday evening that President Biden authoritsed the F-22 to work with Canada to take down the craft  which was first observed over Alaska on Friday night.

Two F-22 aircraft from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska monitored the object over US airspace with the assistance of Alaska Air National Guard refueling aircraft, tracking it closely and taking time to characterize the nature of the object, Mr Ryder said.

That monitoring continued into Saturday as the object crossed in Canadian airspace.

The latest incident marks the third intrusion into North American airspace within a week, after President Biden ordered US military to take down what officials described as a small car-sized airborne object on 10 February and after a suspected Chinese surveillance craft was shot down over the Atlantic Ocean on 4 February.

A statement from US Northern Command on Saturday afternoon did not provide any additional details about the recovery mission in Alaska or the object itself, including its capabilities, purpose, or origin.

Military officials and the White House have not speculated publicly; officials reported that the object was hovering above Alaskan waters at roughly 40,000 feet, posing a reasonable threat to civilian aircraft.

It remains unclear whether the incidents are connected.

Chinese officials, meanwhile, have rejected claims from the Pentagon that the balloon belongs to military fleet of similar aircraft for what the US and Nato have characterised as a global surveillance programme. China insists that the balloon was a civilian weather research vessel that drifted off course.

But declassified reporting from the US Department of State found that the equipment from the Chinese balloon was clearly for intelligence surveillance and inconsistent with the equipment onboard weather balloons.

The balloon was equipped with antennas that were likely capable of collecting and geo-locating communications, while solar panels on board were large enough to power multiple active intelligence collection sensors, according to the agency.

The balloon  roughly the size of three buses traveleing above the US at 60,000 feet  was first spotted by the government off the coast of Alaska on 28 January.

President Biden had ordered the military to shoot it down as soon as safely possible, though military officials  believing there was no imminent physical threat from the balloon  advised to wait until it was over water where it didnt endanger anything below and could be more easily recovered. The waters off South Carolinas coast are roughly 50-feet deep.

A key part of the calculus for this operation was the ability to salvage, understand and exploit the capabilities of the balloon, Melissa Dalton, the assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense and hemispheric affairs, told a Senate panel investigating the incident.

She told the committee on Thursday that shooting it down over Alaska could have brought it down into ice cover or waters that are thousands of feet deep and in temperatures that would have made recovery and salvage very dangerous, she told the committee.

Speaking alongside US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington DC this week, Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg said the latest balloon incident confirms a pattern of Chinese behaviour using different types of intelligence and surveillance platforms around the world.

Mr Stoltenberg said world leaders face a constant risk of Chinese intelligence that challenges officials to step up what we do to protect ourselves.

We need to react in a prudent, responsible and vigilant way, he said. It also highlights that security is not regional.

Chinese authorities also have accused members of Congress of engaging with political manipulation and hype after the House of Representatives issued a rare, unanimously and swiftly passed resolution this week to condemn Chinas balloon surveillance program as a brazen violation of US sovereignty.

Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers have scrutinised the intrusion of Chinese espionage operations in the US as military officials briefed members of Congress in closed-door hearings about the scale and scope of Chinas surveillence programme.

Recovery operations in Alaska continued on Saturday near Deadhorse, Alaska and in the Atlantic Ocean, where the military and federal law enforcement has deployed an unmanned underwater veheicle to comb the sea floor for to collect critical components from the massive balloon.

Arctic weather conditions, including wind chill, snow, and limited daylight, are a factor in this operation, and personnel will adjust recovery operations to maintain safety, US Northern Command reported on the progress of the Alaska mission. Recovery activities are occurring on sea ice.

The object over Alaskan waters appeared to have been quickly brought down on Friday with an F-22 fighter jet firing an advanced AIM-9X Sidewinder missile at the object. A fleet of US military search-and-rescue aircraft and helicopters are assisting in the operation.
On Monday, Ashley Aytek of Barnstable was frantically reaching out to her relatives in Turkey after two devastating earthquakes have left over 23,000 people dead in southern Turkey and northwest Syria.

Ashley's husband's family lives in Diyarbakir, a city about 150 miles from the epicenter. Her husband is Umut Aytek.

"It didn't seem like someone would be able to answer me quickly, but luckily one of my husband's cousins was able to reply that everyone in the family was safe," Ashley Aytek said Friday. "They are all crammed in one building together for now, but at least they are all safe. All the videos and photos we've seen on the news are gut-wrenching for us now."

Barnstable residents Ashley Aytek, 28, (center, seated) and Umut Aytek, (left of Ashley Aytek) with their family in Diyarbakir during a trip to Turkey. Ashley Aytek has been living on the Cape all her life and Umut moved to Cape Cod in 2019.

A friend of the Aytek family, who also lives on Cape Cod, has family in Iskenderun, close to the epicenter. According to Ashley Aytek, his family is sleeping in cars due to a lack of shelters and the terrible cold, and no one has yet come to rescue them.

"The situation is horrible at the moment, and any help or assistance we can provide can go a long way for them," said Aytek, a pharmacist at the Cape Cod Hospital.

100 years of earthquakes: Turkey, Syria disaster could be among this century's worst

According to a statement by the U.S. Department of State, since Monday, the U.S. Embassy and Consulate teams, USAID's Disaster Assistance and Response Team have been working in the region. In addition, $85 million in urgent humanitarian assistance was announced by the State Department on Thursday.

Several global donation efforts are making their way into the devastated regions. According to the American Red Cross, those interested can send donations of blankets, tents, sleeping bags, pocket warmers, winter clothing, and over-the-counter medications for flu, cold, and painkillers to the Turkish Embassy and Turkish Consulates across the U.S. by mail or through in-person drop-off.

10-day-old baby boy, mother rescued from rubble days after earthquake hit Turkey, Syria

For those who want to donate, here are options:

Turkish Consulate General in Boston is accepting "in-kind donations" between 9 a.m. and 10 p.m. at its office at 31 Saint James Ave in Boston. According to the official Facebook statement, they started transporting the supplies via Turkish Airlines on Thursday. Larger, bulkier supplies should be brought to the Freerange Market at 325 Rivers Edge Drive in Medford. Contact/Emergency phone line: (857) 207-9284; consulate.boston@mfa.gov.tr

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The New England Turkish Student Association (NETSA), a Boston-based nonprofit, is accepting donations. "NETSA supports the collective effort of Turkish Philanthropy Funds - TPF to help ease the devastating effect of earthquakes in the South-Southeast Regions of Turkiye," the organization's website states. Boston University, Harvard College, Northeastern University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Tufts University, UMASS Amherst & Lowell University, and other regional universities are affiliated with NETSA. For donation: https://www.newenglandtsa.org/turkiye-earthquake-relief

U.S. Department of State Overseas Citizens Services Office provides services to find U.S. citizens missing in Turkey and Syria. The American Red Cross recommends contacting the department immediately for assistance. Information: 1-888-407-4747; https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/emergencies/locate-loved-one-abroad.html

The American Red Cross is currently accepting donations. For those interested in helping people affected explicitly by recent international earthquakes, the Red Cross asked that they write "Turkiye (Turkey) earthquake" in the memo line of a check and mail it with a completed donation form to the address on the form or to their local Red Cross chapter. Information: https://www.redcross.org/about-us/news-and-events/news/2023/red-crescent-teams-responding-to-earthquake-in-turkey-and-syria.html

Keep connected with the Cape. Download our free app.

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Worried family from Cape Cod makes contact in Turkey after earthquake
An international team of codebreakers said Wednesday they have found and deciphered the long-lost secret letters of 16th-century monarch Mary, Queen of Scots, one of the most argued-over figures in British history.

The long-rumored missing letters, which were found mislabeled in the digital archive of a French library, were hailed by excited historians as the most significant discovery about the Scottish queen in a century.

Mary Stuart, who was Catholic, wrote the coded letters from 1578 to 1584 while she was imprisoned in England due to the perceived threat she posed to her Protestant cousin Queen Elizabeth I.

Mary was beheaded in 1587 after being found guilty of plotting to assassinate Elizabeth I, marking the end of a dramatic life since portrayed in numerous movies and books.

Mary, Queen of Scots, 1580, (1910). / Credit: Photo by The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images

But Mary was far from the minds of the three codebreakers who discovered more than 50 of her letters containing around 50,000 never-before-seen words.

They are members of the DECRYPT project, an international, cross-disciplinary team scouring the world's archives to find coded historical documents to decipher.

The trio were trawling through the digitized archive of France's national library, known as the BnF, when they stumbled onto enciphered documents labelled as being from Italy in the first half of the 16th century.

"If someone wanted to look for Mary Stuart material in the BnF, that's the last place they would go," said French computer scientist and cryptographer George Lasry, the lead author of a new study in the journal Cryptologia.

Lasry told AFP that deciphering the code "was like peeling an onion," for the trio, which also includes German music professor Norbert Biermann and Japanese physicist Satoshi Tomokiyo.

Lasry told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland it was a "fairly complex" process that took about two months, with more than one option for every letter of the alphabet.

"We were expecting Italian because that is what the catalogue said, but then we started to see some French words - 'ma liberte' (my freedom) - and sentences no-one would write if they were free," he said.

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"So we knew it was someone in captivity, and some of the language was in feminine form, so it was a woman. She also wrote 'mon fils' - my son - so it was a woman in captivity with a son.

"We thought 'this is too crazy', it can't be Mary Stuart. But then we saw the word 'Walsingham' and we knew Francis Walsingham was the spymaster of Queen Elizabeth I, so we concluded it was from Mary. It was very difficult to believe at the start so it was a very exciting moment," Lasry said.

Some historians believe it was Walsingham who later "entrapped" Mary in 1586 into supporting the foiled Babington Plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I, Lasry said.

Eight of the 57 letters found by the codebreakers were already in Britain's archives because Walsingham had a spy in the French embassy from mid-1583, Lasry said.

Most of Mary's letters are addressed to Michel de Castelnau Mauvissiere, the French ambassador to England and a supporter of Mary.

Mary was "too smart" to mention any assassination plot in the newly unearthed letters, Lasry said.

Instead the letters show her diplomatically pleading her case, gossiping, complaining of illnesses and perceived antagonists, and expressing distress when her son, King James VI of Scotland, was abducted.

Lasry said he could not help but feel empathy for the queen "because it's a tragedy -- you know she's going to be executed."

"A literary and historical sensation"

Historians praised both the code breaking and historical research of the trio, expressing keenness to get stuck into the letters.

"This discovery is a literary and historical sensation," said John Guy, a British historian who wrote a Mary Stuart biography on which a 2018 film starring Saoirse Ronan was based.

"Fabulous! This is the most important new find on Mary, Queen of Scots for 100 years," Guy said in a statement.

Steven Reid, a Scottish history expert at Glasgow University, said it was "the largest discovery of new Marian evidence in the modern era."

He told AFP it would likely alter existing biographies of Mary's life, adding that the cipher could help produce more accurate versions of her other coded letters.

Nadine Akkerman, a professor of early modern literature at Leiden University in the Netherlands, said that for historians it was "like uncovering buried treasure."

Some of Mary's letters are still believed to be missing, with the researchers saying a physical inspection of the BnF's undigitized stock of original documents could be next.

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In 1790, then-President George Washington wrote a letter to the Hebrew Congregation of Newport, RI in which he shared his vision for building a nation that embraced people of all faith traditions. Washington insisted that no tradition, including Protestant Christianity, had a privileged status in America. Instead he wrote that all possess alike liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship, assuring the congregation that the government would give bigotry no sanction, and to persecution no assistance.

Paul Brandeis Raushenbush

Sharon Harris-Ewing

Two and a quarter centuries after Washington wrote these words, we continue to fight for the vision he cast as our democracy faces a serious threat posed by the insidious claims and power hungry goals of Christian nationalism.

Christian nationalism is a new name for an old and dangerous ideology that conflates American identity with religious identity. Unwilling to acknowledge that America was always meant to be a country that respects people of all beliefs, adherents of Christian nationalism believe they enjoy special favor from God, and are guided by the belief that America is a nation for and by Christians. Deeply entangled with strains of authoritarianism, white supremacy, and xenophobia, the ideology privileges the religious claims of the few above the vast majority of religious and non-religious Americans who believe in church-state separation and democracy for and by the people -- ALL the people.

In recent years, far-right activists and politicians have worked to bring Christian nationalism into the mainstream. The most salient manifestation was the attack on our nations Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, where many of the insurrectionists waved Christian banners and wooden crosses after holding impromptu prayer sessions in Jesus name, aiming to undermine our democracy and the will of the people.

Florida has, unfortunately, become among the most fertile grounds for the spread of Christian nationalism, with statewide and local officials making increasingly overt appeals to Christian nationalist voters. Ahead of the midterm elections, Governor Ron DeSantis released an ad in which he cast himself as a fighter sent by God. From championing book banning of any literature mentioning LGBTQ+ characters or themes, prohibiting the African American Studies AP Course, to orchestrating legislative attacks on LGBTQ+ youth like the Dont Say Gay bill, DeSantis has gradually transformed his state into a laboratory for some of the policies most avidly supported by Christian nationalists.

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According to Florida teachers, state officials are even inserting Christian nationalist ideology into public school curricula. The state recently held training seminars where teachers who attended said they were imparted with very strong Christian fundamentalist interpretations of American history, including denials that our Founding Fathers ever sought a separation between church and state.

The Christian nationalist movement is also invading local politics, including in Southwest Florida. A newly elected Christian nationalist on the Collier County School Board, representing the ideologys quest for power and control, has advocated for bringing back physical abuse in school, using corporal punishment on kids with disabilities, and stripping away rights from LGBTQ+ students.

In Sarasota County, the founder of the conspiracy-laden ReAwaken America Tour Michael Flynn has formed a Christian nationalist training ground, which one former educator described as an aspiring infrastructure to further the attack on American democracy.

However, as in times past when Christian nationalism has tried to infect American politics, the broad public is rising up and offering a way forward towards a truly welcoming and inclusive nation for all. Interfaith Alliance has continued to sound the alarm on the pernicious influence of Christian nationalism, including at a Capitol Hill briefing ahead of the midterms. However, the efforts of the grassroots in communities nationwide will be decisive.

This Wednesday, Feb. 15, Interfaith Alliance, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State and the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Greater Naples will join together for a lecture on this very topic for the 20th anniversary year of the Progressive Voices Series. Interfaith Alliance is seeking to add a Southwest Florida affiliate to our organization and wed love to have individuals from all faiths and none join us in defending democracy and advocating for true religious freedom.

By using faith as a bridge, not a bludgeon, we have a shared opportunity to cast our own vision of religion in America that reflects that of George Washington so many years ago, ensuring all people are treated with dignity and equality under the law, no matter their background or belief.

Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush, a Baptist minister, is president and CEO of Interfaith Alliance, a national organization championing an inclusive vision of religious freedom. Rev. Dr. Sharon Harris-Ewing is a UCC minister and resident of Naples.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Combating Christian nationalism to protect democracy
The Tin-Aye family outside their new home on South Ninth Street in Sheboygan.

SHEBOYGAN - Habitat for Humanity Lakeside dedicated a new home on South Ninth Street in Sheboygan to the Tin-Aye family on Jan. 31.

Community members gathered at the freshy completed Habitat home to celebrate another familys transition to homeownership.

The home marks Habitat for Humanity Lakesides 48th affordable home built in the community.

According to a news release, the Tin-Aye family came to the United States as refugees, looking for a safe place to call home. With the help of Sheboygan residents, they found Habitat for Humanity Lakeside, and soon began their journey to becoming homeowners.

Now a family of five, the Tin-Ayes are able to make memories in a safe, permanent home, with an affordable mortgage.

The family completed more than 500 sweat equity hours to build their home and prepare for the new responsibility.

Learn more about Habitat for Humanitys path to homeownership at HabitatLakeside.com.

Welcome to your weekly dose.

Here is more news from throughout Sheboygan County in your weekly dose.

 Help for the Homeless Hygiene Drive kicks off: The Family Radio Networks 31st annual Help for the Homeless Hygiene Drive, which runs Feb. 12-March 5, will be collecting personal hygiene and cleaning products for 100 Wisconsin crisis agencies in 19 Wisconsin communities.

More than 900 area businesses, churches and schools participate annually, hosting collection boxes in-house and donating more than $500,000 worth of supplies to their local crisis programs.

All donations, including financial support, remain in the communities where they come from.

The following organizations in Sheboygan County will benefit: Catholic Charities, Lakeshore CAP, Love INC, Safe Harbor, Sheboygan County Interfaith, Sheboygan County Warming Shelter, St. Vincent de Paul, The Production Farm, and The Salvation Army Central and West Central Wisconsin.

The goal of the drive is to supply a years worth of products to each agency.

$4.8 million worth of hygiene items have been donated through the event to date. People can request a collection box by calling 800-236-9364.

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Supplies can be donated at Festival Foods and Walgreens as well as at select workplaces, churches and schools. Financial donations can be made online at TheFamily.net.

 CASA seeks donations for My Stuff, My Bag: The Wisconsin Court Appointed Special Advocates Association is seeking businesses, churches and other groups to host a My Stuff, My Bag collection drive.

Established in 2019, My Stuff, My Bag gives suitcases filled with comfort items and toiletries to abused and neglected children in foster care and child welfare systems, free of charge.

Wisconsin CASA is asking for public support of these children in April, which is national Child Abuse Prevention Month.

Each suitcase is filled with items such as a pillow, pajamas, toiletries and a book for the child to call their own.

Most-needed items include underwear for boys and girls of all ages and sizes.

Anyone interested in hosting a drive can email msmb@wisconsin-casa.org or visit wisconsin-casa.org, where monetary donations can be made.

Local CASA programs serve these 13 counties in Wisconsin: Barron, Brown, Columbia, Dane, La Crosse, Manitowoc, Milwaukee, Monroe, Outagamie, Rock, Sheboygan, St. Croix and Vernon.

 Sheboygan Police Department Citizen Academy application deadline is Feb. 28: The Sheboygan Police Department is accepting applications for its 27th annual Citizen Academy. The program starts March 14 and concludes May 23.

According to a news release, the Citizen Academy will provide citizens a chance to gain knowledge and a better understanding of the vision, values, goals and operations of the Sheboygan Police Department.

Classes will be 6-9 p.m. Tuesdays. Applicants must be 18 or older and have no felony convictions. Background checks will be conducted.

Deadline to apply is Feb. 28.

For more details or to apply, go to https://sheboyganpolice.com/community/citizen-police-academy/ or call the department at 920-459-3333.

 Sheboygan Tractor Supply Company store to host backyard poultry event Feb. 18: The Sheboygan Tractor Supply Company store will host a backyard poultry event Feb. 18, providing customers with the chance to learn how to care for and manage an at-home flock.

The event runs 10 a.m.-2 p.m. and will feature expert event partners to provide customers with guidance.

In addition to the main event, customers will have the chance to participate in games.

The event is open to the public and will take place at 3650 County Highway A. For more information, contact Sheboygan Tractor Supply at 920-803-0120.

What to expect in 2023

Plans have been submitted to the city of Sheboygan for a Popeyes fast-food chicken restaurant at 3207 S. Business Drive.

Streetwise reporter Alex Garner shares the big developments to expect on the Sheboygan County business scene in 2023 in her look ahead. Click here for the full article.

And local government/watchdog reporter Maya Hilty shares a roundup of public developments to expect in 2023. Click here to read that report.

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Cropped image of the cover of the Dec. 19, 2020, Sheboygan Press.

The Sheboygan Press won six second-place awards, one third-place award and one honorable mention award in the most recent Wisconsin Newspaper Association Foundation Better Newspaper Contest for 2021. Read more about the awards and follow links to the award-winning content by clicking here.

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Contact Brandon Reid at 920-686-2984 or breid@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @breidHTRNews.

This article originally appeared on Sheboygan Press: Sheboygan Habitat for Humanity Lakeside dedicates 48th home
Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye

Ever since Jeremy Renners serious snowplow accident back in January, the actor has been sharing updates of hope and recovery. He's currently on a mission to gain his strength back and seems to be doing his best to let fans know he's doing well. Renner is currently home from the hospital and seems to be making progress. And in his most recent social media post, the Avengers alum shared a message about something that "brings hope" to him as he continues to get better.

Despite breaking over 30 bones due to the accident, Jeremy Renner is on the mend. The accident left the actor in critical condition, but he's now starting his rehabilitation process at his residence. The Mayor of Kingstown star shared his most recent hopeful and touching post to his Instagram story, and it's a nice summation of what the little things can do for a person. You can see his story below:

Jeremy Renner Instagram

While anyone would be happy to see a pathway to their house plowed through a mountain of snow, this seems to be particularly symbolic for the actor. The accident certainly was a traumatic occurrence and the recovery journey will be long and difficult, yet there is a path forward. Many of the 52-year-old's friends have sent their own messages of hope, wishing him a speedy recovery. This includes Chris Evans, who recently joked with the actor on social media, and the exchange proved that the Clint Barton actor's sense of humor is still intact. He seems to maintain his strong will and infallible spirit, so Im sure his superhero strength will carry him through.

On New Years Day, the Marvel actor got into a snowplow accident in Reno, Nevada as he was helping a family member get out a stuck vehicle in three feet of snow. Jeremy Renner was airlifted to a nearby hospital, where he was admitted to the ICU and went into surgery the following day. After becoming stable, he started his recovery journey in earnest. Reports indicate that the ordeal was very serious, and it may be a while before Renner gets back to work. All the while, fans have been sending their well wishes.

Before the accident, the star had been receiving buzz for his leading role in the hit series Mayor of Kingstown , which is produced by Yellowstone's Taylor Sheridan. He also reprised his role as Clint Barton in the Disney+ series Hawkeye alongside Hailee Steinfeld. In addition, there are many rumors about him possibly returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe for Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. This return to form is all wishful thinking at this point and, at this point, we'd be best just to gather those same feelings of hope and optimism that the actor has and aim it squarely in his direction.

You can catch Jeremy Renner on Mayor of Kingstown, which is currently streaming for Paramount+ subscribers. In addition, fans of Renner can revisit his iconic performances as Hawkeye by streaming the Avengers films, which are all available with a Disney+ subscription. For more information about other television projects headed to streaming in the near future, be sure to consult CinemaBlend's 2023 TV schedule.
China joins multinational naval drills in Pakistan, contributing to safeguarding sea lines, CPEC

Global Times) 10:46, February 12, 2023

The AMAN-23 multinational maritime exercise hosted by the Pakistan Navy kicks off on February 10, 2023 in Karachi, Pakistan. The PNS Taimur, a Type 054A/P guided missile frigate China built for Pakistan, is moored next to the opening ceremony venue. (Photo: Liu Xuanzun/GT)

China, together with host Pakistan and more than 50 participating countries, kicked off the AMAN-23 multinational maritime exercise in Karachi on Friday. The drills are expected to enhance the participants' interoperability against instabilities and threats in the Indian Ocean region and safeguard vital international sea lines of communication and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

A grand opening ceremony for the five-day AMAN-23 exercise was held on Friday morning at the Pakistan Navy Dockyard, in front of the PNS Taimur, a Type 054A/P guided missile frigate that China built for Pakistan. Honor guards raised the participating countries' national flags, while balloons and pigeons representing peace were released into the skies.

Under the motto "Together for Peace", this is the eighth edition of the AMAN exercises since 2007. It is divided into two phases: harbor and sea.

The harbor phase involves seminars, operational discussions, and professional demonstrations among other preparations, and the sea phase includes tactical maneuvers, anti-piracy, counterterrorism, search and rescue, live-fire shooting as well as air defense exercises, and will be followed by an international fleet review.

AMAN is a message of peace and of being together with our friends and partners from all over the world, including China, Vice Admiral Ovais Ahmed Bilgrami, Commander of the Pakistan Fleet, told the Global Times on the sidelines at the opening ceremony.

"We want to build mutual capacities and mutual understandings so that we can all work together to ensure peace and security at sea," he said.

"China has been our greatest friend. There's no doubt that whatever the future holds for us at sea, it would not be possible without China. The China and Pakistan friendship is going to prosper further at sea," said Commodore Sohail Ahmed Azmie, Commander of the Auxiliary and Mine Squadron of the Pakistan Navy.

He told the Global Times at the event that the Pakistan Navy has been operating with the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, and in the future, this trend is going to be enhanced.

The participating vessel from China is the Nanning, a Type 052D guided missile destroyer that is part of the PLA Navy's 43rd escort task force to the Gulf of Aden and waters off Somalia, which set out from a naval port in Zhanjiang, South China's Guangdong Province on January 10.

It is the Nanning's first time participating in such a mission. The domestically developed warship has received an upgraded propulsion system among many other modifications, the PLA Navy said in a press release at the time.

The Nanning arrived at Karachi on Thursday, and was met with a warm welcome from the host country.

Admiral M Amjad Khan Niazi, Chief of the Naval Staff of the Pakistan Navy, told the Global Times in an exclusive interview prior to the exercise that there are a number of non-traditional threats that prevail in the wider Indian Ocean region such as terrorism, piracy, drug smuggling, and arms trafficking. The vastness of the oceans makes the maritime arena an attractive avenue for illegal activities, and no country has the capability to singlehandedly counter these challenges.

The exercise is conducted with the aim of developing synergy between participating naval units to tackle maritime security challenges by enhancing interoperability between regional and extra-regional navies at different levels of technological prowess, he said.

As a maritime nation, Pakistan has substantial stakes in keeping its seas safe and secure, including the operationalization of the CPEC project and the global energy highway, the Global Times learned at the exercise.

The first edition of the Pakistan International Maritime Expo and Conference (PIMEC) was also launched on Friday in Karachi, concurrently with the AMAM-23 exercise.

Initiated by the Pakistan Navy, PIMEC aims to showcase the potential of Pakistan's maritime sector and draw attention to the contribution that the maritime industry can make to the development of the blue economy.

(Web editor: Xian Jiangnan, Sheng Chuyi)
Tens of thousands of Israelis took to the street in several cities across the country Saturday, protesting judicial overhaul plans by Benjamin Netanyahu's government.

Critics say measures introduced by the new hard-line government would weaken the Supreme Court, limit judicial oversight and grant more power to politicians. Protesters say that would undermine democracy.

The rift over the power of courts is deepening as the government is set to introduce some of the legislations in parliament Monday amid calls for partial strikes by businesses and professional groups.

For the sixth week, protesters pressed on with large rallies, with the main one in the central city of Tel Aviv and several smaller gatherings in other cities.

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More than 100 people stood in protest Saturday on the sidewalk outside Southeast Technical College.

They were waving signs against legislation that would significantly limit gender-affirming healthcare for transgender youth and looking for support from passing cars shortly before a Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce Legislative Coffee meeting took place at the campus.

HB 1080, which would ban doctors from prescribing puberty blockers, hormone therapy and preformingany surgery that artificially constructs tissue having the appearance of genitalia differing from the minors sex [assigned at birth] including metoidioplasty, phalloplasty and vaginoplasty, passed the South Dakota Senate on Friday. It already passed the House of Representatives a week before and is now headed to Gov. Kristi Noem's desk for signing, something she has signaled approval for ahead of time.

More:Ban on gender-affirming care for transgender children heads to Noem's desk for signing

Inside the legislative coffee meeting, nine lawmakers from across Sioux Falls answered questions on various taxes, election integrity bills and childcare, but did not answer questions about HB 1080 after a rule was made at the beginning of the discussion that questions would not be asked about legislation already passed.

Many from the protest joined the group inside the auditorium to hear from their elected representatives. Signs were laid up against the wall in the entry way, since the poster boards were not allowed inside. One person in the auditorium was told to put their sign down, after Sen. Jim Stalzer, R-Sioux Falls, pointed it out.

Though no Republican lawmaker spoke to the matter, three Democrat lawmakers, Rep. Linda Duba, Rep. Erin Healy and Rep. Kameron Nelson, made time in their closing speeches to acknowledge the ban.

'My daughter wasn't born in the wrong body'

Susan Williams, the director of The Transformation Project, said she was glad to see so many people out in support of the state's transgender community as they're going through "some challenging times."

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District 10 Representative Kameron Nelson also thanked many of the protestors before heading into the meeting, where he said he hoped the bill would be a topic of discussion.

More:How limited access to mental health support in South Dakota keeps this 16-year-old in limbo

Anna Neuberger was one of the people protesting, holding a sign reading, "My daughter wasn't born in the wrong body. Just in a society afraid of what it doesn't understand!"

Neuberger had spoken with the Argus previously about how limited access to mental health support has kept her transgender daughter Willow in a "revolving door" of medical facilities.

"You see how much of this affects mental health?" she said of HB 1080, adding she wasn't sure how to break the news of the pending law to 17-year-old Willow, who'd been hoping to get hormone therapy when she gets out of the treatment center she's currently staying in.

People stand outside the Hub at Southeast Technical College in Sioux Falls to protest the passage of HB 1080, which would severely limit gender affirming health care for transgender children, on Saturday, Feb. 11.

Cassandra Nixon, holding a sign that read "NO to HB 1080" said "trans people are real and we need to stop this hateful rhetoric."

'I'm very sorry'

Near the end of the 90-minute legislative coffee session, Duba, Healy and Nelson acknowledged the people who came to protest HB 1080.

"I am here for you. I will always support you. I am very proud of our community, and I am very sorry about the passage of 1080," Healy said.

Healy had said she learned from many lawmakers that they didn't want to vote on the bill, but did so anyway.

"I think that shows the stronghold of extremist organizations that exist in our state," she said, encouraging people to vote for candidates who represented their values.

Nelson, who gave an impassioned speech on the floor of the House of Representatives against HB 1080 on Feb. 2, said he had concerns about the dire consequences the legislation would have. He has been asked by residents if they should leave the state because of the bill, he said.

Rep. Kameron Nelson, D-Sioux Falls, speaks on HB 1080 that would limit gender affirming care for transgender children in Pierre on Thursday, Feb. 2.

He said as much as he wants to tell them the direction the state is going isn't safe for people in the LGBTQ2S+ community, he's actually encouraging people to stay and to move to the state, to move to Sioux Falls.

"Come here, move here. Stay here, visit here. And let's make South Dakota one of the queerist states in the country," he said.

Ashanti Benjamin, 18, said it was nice the three Democrats had acknowledged the vote, but thought the Republicans on the panel should have also said something, especially after one lawmaker, Rep. Brian Mulder, R-Sioux Falls, stepped out earlier during the session. The reason remains unclear, and Mulder later returned to the room for the end of the event.

"That kind of makes me think that their side of the party is a little uncomfortable talking about the topic, but they're not uncomfortable making decisions on children's bodies," she said.

Anna Zafft, 22, was upset a majority of the Legislature voted for HB 1080 and would rather stay "in the good old boy's club" after Healy's comments.

"They don't want to go out of the social norm, so they vote yes on it to just fit in and to not be outcasted by the other legislators, which is ridiculous, because if they really cared about us, they would hold our interest in their heart and actually listen to us and vote the way that they want to," Zafft said.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: More than 100 people protest in Sioux Falls about ban on gender-affirming care
The film, based on the famous anti-war novel, has enjoyed success beyond its director and casts expectations (Reiner Bajo/Netflix/Getty/The Independent)

In an Oscar season defined by its surprises, from the bizarre, celebrity-led campaign to earn Andrea Riseborough a Best Actress nomination, to Normal Peoples Paul Mescal getting a nod aged 26, the biggest has been the rise of a movie no one cared about a few months ago. Netflixs All Quiet on the Western Front was released in October to little fanfare. It felt like one of those random original films to appear on a typical Friday morning with no real stars and (it seemed) few corporate expectations. Cut to today, though, and it has more Bafta nominations than any other film this year (14). At the Oscars, it has a total of nine  second only to the 11 for Everything Everywhere All at Once.

All Quiet on the Western Front represents Netflixs best chance of winning its first Best Picture Oscar since 2018s Roma. Its a prize the streamer covets deeply, having thrown everything at the wall in recent years: from humouring Martin Scorseses three-and-a-half-hour-long The Irishman to enlisting the help of critics favourites Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson in Marriage Story. Just this year, millions of dollars were pumped into the marketing campaigns of movies you saw (such as Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery) and movies you definitely didnt (White Noise, we hardly knew ye). Even those involved in All Quiet cant quite believe whats happened. I really dont really understand whats going on at the moment, Felix Kammerer, the movies baffled leading man, tells me over Zoom from his home in Vienna. To see something that I hoped would work out fine now taking this path is just unbelievable.

Based on Erich Maria Remarques famed 1928 anti-war novel of the same name, All Quiet on the Western Front follows Paul Baumer (Kammerer), a young German soldier brimming with naivety. So eager to join his schoolmates in battle, he lies about receiving his parents consent, marching blindly into the hellscape of the Western Front. The events of the movie begin in 1917 when Germany is taking a battering from the Allies, whove been reinforced by swathes of American soldiers. The propaganda-driven illusion of an imminent German victory implodes almost instantly, and Paul is faced with the untold horrors of trench warfare.

The best-selling German novel of all time, the book has sold 20 million copies worldwide, despite the Nazis quickly banning the text. They, unsurprisingly, called it anti-war propaganda and burnt thousands of copies while they were at it, forcing Remarque to flee the country to save his life. Huge pressure, director Edward Berger tells me over Zoom about adapting the seminal text. Aside from him, most of that pressure fell on Kammerer, who had never worked on a film before. The 27-year-old theatre actor was discovered by All Quiets producer, whod been convinced by his wife to see him act at the prestigious Burgtheater in Vienna. He offered him an audition on the spot. He carries the movie like a heavy bag, Berger says of his lead actor. Its a job you have to do and thats the way Felix comports himself.

Kammerers shattering performance as Paul is another reason why All Quiet was such a hit with critics. He has a singularly striking face  thin but bright, with huge eyes  that feels tailor-made for a war drama. Its a fresh canvas for mud, blood and s*** from the battlefield. To prepare for the role he ran 10km with a weighted vest every day for six months. He also delved into the archives of the British Library, pouring over 2,500 letters written by soldiers from the front. He even watched interviews with murderers to try and grapple with the emotions that killing someone might invoke.

Its also a huge production for an actor making his silver screen debut. The $20m (16.6m) budget makes it one of the biggest movies to ever come out of Germany. To stand in this 30-acre field with two and a half thousand extras... You suddenly feel what the movie is going to be, Kammerer says. As a theatre veteran, the actor was unprepared to film scenes out of chronological order. He therefore devised a uniquely unglamorous strategy to help him keep track of Pauls journey, one few actors would be prepared to reveal: an Excel spreadsheet.

Germans are always sceptical of ambition. Whenever you try something a little bit different than the norm, they get worried

Edward Berger

It looks like a tax return form, he says, smiling. He attempts to find a physical copy of the sheet, rifling through carefully organised scripts and scrapbooks, all of which are crammed with Post-It notes. In Kammerers spreadsheet, every moment in the film is divided into one of three categories, each tied to a singular emotion: Fear of Death, Will to Kill, Pulse. Only once in the film did all three categories reach their peak simultaneously, he says. It left such a mark on him that he even remembers its number: Scene 95. It sees Paul experiencing acute remorse after stabbing a French soldier. In vain, he attempts to save him. We watch in agony as the man slowly dies gracelessly in the mud, with Pauls tears falling on him.

Academy voters will be all too aware that scenes such as this have taken on a new resonance due to the war in Ukraine, which coincided with the films release last year. The pictures from Ukraine look exactly like pictures from the First World War, Kammerer says. Its the same mud, the same trenches And thats absolutely devastating.

Edward Berger and Felix Kammerer at an awards event for All Quiet on the Western Front in December (Getty Images for Netflix)

The film was given a two-week run in select theatres before moving on to Netflix on 28 October, where it remained in the sites Global Top 10 Films for 11 weeks. Its success is also a testament to English-speaking audiences growing receptiveness to non-English speaking media  Netflixs Squid Game and Bong Joon-hos 2020 Best Picture winner Parasite being two obvious examples. It doesnt make any sense to make this movie in English, Berger says. Its a German novel in the German language and it should be told by a group of German filmmakers in our language.

Indeed, All Quiet has already been done in English, twice. Once in Lewis Milestones Best Picture-winning 1930 movie, and again by Delbert Mann as a television film in 1979, which won a Golden Globe. As a German, Berger says his expertise in the subject matter is the main reason he decided to remake the movie. Germany, unfortunately, does have a background of starting two World Wars, he says. Thats something inherited. We can put this DNA into the movie.

Despite staying mostly faithful to the text, Bergers adaptation introduced new characters, omitted old ones and added new subplots. Thats largely why German critics were not quite as effusive as those abroad. Like several other national outlets, Munich-based broadsheet Suddeutsche Zeitung suggested that the books reputation had been abused to create Oscar-bait. One-hundred and forty-eight minutes of blockbuster-compatible war kitsch is being slapped with a title that is internationally known and guarantees prestige and good sales. Maybe even an Oscar, the newspapers film critic seethed. Berger has little time for such detractors. Germans are always sceptical of ambition, is his retort. Whenever you try something a little bit different than the norm, they get worried.

Soldiers go to battle in All Quiet on the Western Front (Reiner Bajo/Netflix)

At the 95th Academy Awards on 12 March, All Quiet is in with a real shot to make history as Netflixs first Best Picture winner. When I mention this possibility to Kammerer, a lurking Netflix publicist hastily reminds me that the service hasnt been completely unsuccessful with Oscar so far: Roma won in three categories, including Best Director for Alfonso Cuaron. But their latest contender faces stiff competition from Everything Everywhere All at Once, Martin McDonaghs The Banshees of Inisherin, and Steven Spielbergs The Fabelmans. Whatever the outcome may be, Kammerer refuses to be drawn on his films chances: Im there to just be absolutely grateful and happy and astonished  what would you even do with nine Oscars, anyway?

Im sure Netflix could think of something.

All Quiet on the Western Front is streaming now on Netflix and can be watched at select cinemas
A North Carolina man that federal officials charged with conducting drug deals in Athens faces substantial time in prison following his conviction Thursday in U.S. District Court in Athens.

Nathaniel Hilliard III, 37, of Raleigh, N.C., was convicted of possessing a firearm by a convicted felon, three counts of distributing heroin and failing to appear in court.

U.S. District Court Judge Ashley Royal will sentence Hilliard at a later date, but he faces up to 60 years on the heroin convictions alone, according to a document from the Middle District U.S. Attorneys Office.

Late-night attack:Athens man sentenced to 63 years for late-night attack on UGA student

Excessive force:Athens-Clarke agrees to settle excessive-force federal suit for $237,500

According to the documents, in May 2016 Hilliard sold a .38-caliber pistol and several quantities of heroin to a confidential informant for the FBI at the Rolling Ridge Apartments in Athens. The buys were captured on video, agents said.

Hilliard has prior convictions of conspiring to commit robbery and assault by strangulation in North Carolina, according to federal agents.

In April 2022, Hillard was living in North Carolina and was advised to appear in court in Athens, but he was uncooperative and did not appear for a meeting with a probation officer or for the court hearing, according to the document.

Among those assisting the FBI were the Middle Georgia Safe Streets Gang Task Force, Northeast Georgia Regional Drug Task Force and Athens-Clarke police Gang Unit.

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: N.C. man faces prison time for heroin conviction in Athens court
The Refuge, a rehabilitation center focused on treating survivors of sex trafficking, announced Friday it will soon reopen after nearly a year of being shuttered over accusations of sex crimes against children.

The facility, located in Bastrop County, closed its doors in March 2022 after allegations of widespread sex trafficking of several of the foster girls surfaced, drawing immediate lawmaker response and hearings. After several investigations last year, The Refuge was cleared of criminal wrongdoing.

After receiving its license back last month, the Refuge is hiring staff and plans to start housing sex trafficking survivors at its facility again in the spring.

Brooke Crowder, founder and CEO of the Refuge, said in a statement Friday that "rather than look backward at false allegations and other issues that led to a year of lost care for traumatized girls and near bankruptcy for our organization, we intend to emphasize the lessons learned from the process, work cooperatively with our state agency partners and keep our eyes trained on the future."

Previously: Texas foster care monitors challenge Texas Rangers' report on The Refuge

When did the accusations against the Refuge first surface?

The series of events leading to the suspension of the Refuges license began in January 2022, when the facility alerted the Texas Department of Public Safety that two underaged girls had accused a caregiver of persuading them to create child pornography with a cell phone.

The girls told officials that the worker, who was fired from the Refuge, had convinced them to take the photographs in exchange for narcotics and tobacco. A Bastrop County grand jury in September declined to indict the female worker on several charges, including delivery of a controlled substance, sexual assault, possession of child pornography and sex trafficking.

It was just four weeks after the first incident that the Refuge reported another incident where two different girls had run away. But the Refuge explained in a statement Friday that "when material inaccuracies in the initial report conflated these separate incidents and alleged that nine employees had sex trafficked seven children, state and federal officials reacted by launching multiple simultaneous investigations and removing girls from the Refuge."

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When was the Refuge cleared of wrongdoing?

In March 2022, the Refuge was shuttered and, by October, DPS Director Steven McCraw informed Gov. Greg Abbott in a letter that Texas Rangers, the investigative arm of the DPS, found "no evidence that any of the residents at the Refuge shelter have ever been sexually abused or trafficked while at the shelter."

However, court monitors  watchdogs tasked by a judge with overseeing improvements in the Texas foster care system  contended that they found holes in the Texas Rangers investigation, saying that one girl had not been interviewed at the time of the report.

While Texas Rangers insisted they found no additional evidence of sexual abuse, sexual exploitation or human trafficking at the Refuge, the watchdogs and the state Department of Family and Protective Services disagreed.

On December 8, the Texas Senate Special Committee on Child Protective Services published a report reiterating the findings of DPS and Colonel McCraw that there was no evidence of wrongdoing, The Refuge said in its press release Friday.

Organizations like ours that are entrusted with the care of our states most vulnerable children should be held to high standards and we are grateful that the investigations and hearings of the past year have revealed our adherence to them in regard to the allegations that were made, Brooke Crowder, founder and CEO of The Refuge, said in a statement Friday.

She continued that: We hope that our experience has shed light on the challenges of working with victims of complex trauma and the unique nuances of managing the multi-agency collaboration needed to bring about meaningful change.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: The Refuge set to reopen for survivors of sex trafficking
Brody Alexander, a guide with Ice Fish Green Bay and Alexander's Sport Fishing, holds a 30.5-inch-long, 11.65-pound walleye caught moments before by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel outdoors editor Paul Smith while ice fishing on Rileys Bay, part of Green Bay in Door County.

STURGEON BAY - The waters of Rileys Bay had already been good to us last Thursday morning.

By 9 a.m. not only had our group landed several lake whitefish, the target species for the outing, but the sheltered nook on the eastern shore of Green Bay held 15 inches of solid ice, an anomaly on the Great Lakes this winter.

The hard surface allowed us to use UTV's to safely get to fishing shacks set about 1 mile out on Rileys Bay by Alexander's Sport Fishing and Ice Fish Green Bay.

Open water was visible to the northwest.

But at least for the day we were secure in this protected corner of Green Bay, the 1,600-square-mile lobe of Lake Michigan that spans from northeastern Wisconsin to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

Fishing guide Brody Alexander, 19, of Green Bay joined me in one shack, while his colleague Eli Hank of Sturgeon Bay and 12 other anglers from Michigan and Wisconsin were scattered in nearby shanties and on the open ice.

Green Bay an outstanding multi-species fishery

As you likely know, over the last 15 years an outstanding ice fishery for whitefish has developed on Green Bay. The tasty native fish, once thought of only as part of the commercial harvest, has emerged as a valued sport fish.

Brody's father, Bret Alexander, helped refine tactics and pioneer the sport fishery for whitefish. It now draws thousands of anglers each winter to Brown and Door counties.

But it's only one part of Green Bay's tremendous multi-species fishery, which also features muskellunge, smallmouth bass, northern pike, yellow perch and, what many consider the marquee fish, walleye.

Brody and I fished in holes on opposite sides of the shanty and talked about the opportunities and challenges of fishing in the bay, season by season, especially during a time of poor ice. The water was 27 feet deep; we used a "trio rig" with a jig tipped with a soft plastic tail on the bottom and two single hooks each baited with a wax worm spaced one and two feet above.

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Each of us used a flasher, an electronic unit that allows anglers to see their baits and fish in the water below.

At 9:30 a large mark appeared on my flasher that helped put the fishery in perspective.

'Big walleye. Really big.'

I felt a nudge on the line and lifted hard in an attempted hook-set. Nothing. As I let the baits settle back toward bottom the flasher again lit up, signaling a fish. This time as I jigged the line went taut. A second swing connected.

With all due respect to whitefish, from the first seconds it was clear this fish was a "horse of a different color."

It stayed toward the bottom for at least a minute, straining the 4-foot-long graphite spinning rod. When it came up a few feet it then descended, taking out drag.

This was one of those rare angling occasions when it was clear - the fish was in control.

Brody hopped over and pulled the transducer out of the hole to make landing the fish easier. He also peered down the hole to try to get a glimpse at the fish.

We speculated on what it might be, rattling off the many great sport fish in these waters, including burbot. After another couple minutes, it was 5 feet below the hole.

It turned and showed its broad, brown flank and white-tipped tail.

"Yep, big walleye," Brody said. "Really big."

A minute later I was able to turn its head up the hole and Brody expertly reached down and, without touching its gills, lifted it above the ice.

It was a large female, its abdomen bulging with eggs; it fit through the 8-inch-diameter hole, but with very little room to spare.

Brody quickly removed the jig then held the fish in the water so it could breath while Eli and I gathered a digital scale and a measuring stick.

The catch had stolen the spotlight from the whitefish and put it on what many consider the shining star of the fishery.

Green Bay's walleye population recovers after suffering from pollution and overexploitation

Over the last 25 years or so, the bay's walleye populations have increased and earned the area a reputation as one of the nation's top walleye fisheries.

It wasn't always so. In fact walleye stocks in southern Green Bay were decimated during the early to mid-1900s by habitat destruction, pollution, invasive species and over-exploitation.

Following water quality improvements in the early 1970s, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources began to stock fry and fingerling fish to rehabilitate the walleye population. The stocking provided a kick-start for natural reproduction in the bay.

It was so successful that stocking was discontinued in Green Bay and the Fox River in 1984 and in the Sturgeon Bay area in 2012.

Four decades ago, if I wanted a world-class walleye fishing experience in the Midwest my go-to destination was the western basin of Lake Erie. But that required about seven hours of driving each way and usually ate up a long weekend.

Now I and legions of other Wisconsin-based anglers opt to go to Green Bay; the waters feature very good numbers of walleyes and the chance to catch trophies, too.

Green Bay's total catch of walleyes during the 2021 open water season was highest on record

And the cherry on top is all fish are naturally reproduced.

To gauge the bay's walleye population, the DNR conducts several annual assessments.

It starts with a spring electrofishing survey on the Lower Fox River to collect information on the age and size structure of adult fish gathered to spawn near the De Pere dam.

Then in fall the agency conducts electrofishing surveys in a broader area, including the Fox River and lower Green Bay, to assess year class strength of adult and young-of-the-year walleyes.

And to gain an understanding of catch and harvest rates, it conducts creel surveys of ice and open water anglers for much of the year.

The total catch of walleyes during the 2021 open water season on Green Bay was estimated at 318,101 fish, highest on record since creel surveys started in 1986 and 43% higher than the estimated average annual total catch from 2013-19.

Of those walleyes caught in 2021, anglers kept 153,054 fish, also a record since 1986 and 61% higher than the 2013-19 average. The DNR attributed the increases in catch and harvest of walleyes over the last 20 years to increases in the adult walleye population and consistent recruitment.

"This is a great fishery, especially when you consider we're not stocking fish and the natural reproduction continues to support it," said Dave Boyarski, DNR fisheries supervisor in Sturgeon Bay.

Boyarski said the bay now features the two strongest year classes (2013 and 2018) documented in fall electrofishing surveys since 1993. The 2018 fish are now making up much of the catch.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel outdoors editor Paul Smith releases a 30.5-inch-long walleye he caught Feb. 9 while ice fishing near Sturgeon Bay.

The future for walleye in Green Bay

The additional harvest and pressure on the fishery in recent years has caused concern among some anglers about the long-term sustainability of the bay's walleye population and led to calls for more restrictive regulations, including a reduced daily bag limit.

That's understandable. True conservationists want to protect resources.

In this case, it's not clear if more protection is needed, Boyarski said.

But the DNR is proposing a study to help inform future management decisions. Similar to work done on the Winnebago System, it would involve a walleye tagging and reward system to better understand exploitation rates on adult fish.

Smith:Attentive angler and fisheries sleuthing tell tale of first silver carp documented in Wisconsin River

Smith:Sturgeon spearing season on tap for Winnebago System

Walleyes For Tomorrow, the Wisconsin-based conservation organization, is considering offering its help to fund the proposed 5-year study.

I support the proposal and hope it gets implemented in the near future.

The bay's outstanding walleye fishery deserves the best, science-based management available.

In the meantime anglers can assist by practicing selective harvest.

After we assembled the equipment, the big walleye on Rileys Bay measured 30.5 inches and weighed 11.65 pounds. We snapped a few photos and got her back in the water. After 15 seconds to adjust, she wagged her tail strongly and swam out of sight.

Here's hoping she is able to lay those eggs and many survive, augmenting another year class of walleyes on Green Bay, a star fishery and symbol of what's possible when we clean up the environment and use smart science-based management to give native species a chance to recover.

Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Green Bay grows naturally into one of nation's star walleye fisheries
A onetime University of Iowa physician whose lawsuit resulted in a Supreme Court ruling limiting public access to disciplinary records has resolved separate claims against his former employer.

Dr. Domenico Calcaterra was investigated by the Iowa Board of Medicine on allegations of unprofessional conduct, including that he shoved another physician during surgery in 2010. The board brought a disciplinary case against Calcaterra in 2013, and in accordance with its practice at the time, issued a news release summarizing the charges.

Calcaterra, who now practices in Florida, eventually settled the board's case and paid a $5,000 fine. But he also sued the board, claiming that it had violated state law when it publicized the allegations. The case went to the Iowa Supreme Court, which in 2021 agreed that, under the plain language of the state statute, "investigative information cannot be released to the public prior to a final decision in a disciplinary proceeding."

From 2014:Former I.C. surgeon fined for workplace misconduct

Calcaterra, also brought claims against the Iowa Board of Regents and University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics, where he worked until 2012, alleging that the university breached its former contract with him by providing information to prospective employers related to the board allegations that, he claimed, cost him employment opportunities in other states. On Monday, the Iowa State Appeal Board approved a settlement under which the state will pay Calcaterra $55,000 to resolve the suit.

An attorney for Calcaterra confirmed the settlement but declined to comment further.

Also on Monday, the appeal board approved a settlement of $312,500 to another former UI Hospitals & Clinics employee, Courtney Mace Davis, who before her 2019 termination was acting director for the department responsible for cleaning, packaging and sterilizing medical instruments used by the hospital.

Davis claimed in her lawsuit she was underpaid and excluded from meetings and decision making because of her gender, and fired in retaliation for reports of bias and unsafe practices.

William Morris covers courts for the Des Moines Register. He can be contacted at wrmorris2@registermedia.com, 715-573-8166 or on Twitter at @DMRMorris.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: University of Iowa settles with former doctor after Supreme Court case
(iStock)

A TikTok content creator who split up with her boyfriend of three years just days before they were due to film a romantic getaway for TikTok, went viral on the platform as she documented the aftermath of their break-up in real-time.

24-year-old Cassidy Joy Watson, who went by the username @caesthetically, had signed a contract with her then-boyfriend to go on a romantic holiday to Hawaii, where they would record promotional content for their social media channels.

Explaining how she dealt with the situation, Watson posted a video to TikTok caption: When you and your boyfriend of three years break up but you already signed a contract to create content at a resort together, which was paired with a sped-up version of SZAs song Kill Bill.

Watson, a TikTok creator who had about 380,000 followers at the time, went viral on the platform, after receiving more than 5.8 million views.

The content creator told Insider that people love to see people in love, but making your relationship publicly available puts a lot of eyes on it, and that attention comes with pitfalls, she revealed.

After Watson shared details of her breakup, she found that people were hooked on her story. She started sharing real-time updates on the situation with her followers, as she and her ex-boyfriend decided to go on the holiday anyway.

In one now-deleted video, Insider reports she said in a voiceover: Unlike my ex, the hotel really went out of their way to make me feel special  the best part of this trip was definitely the breakfast at their coconut Club Lounge. They had delicious food and, much like the turn my relationship took, a full 180-degree view of Waikiki.

I spent most of this vacation just taking in these breathtaking views and exercising self-control, she reportedly said.

Watson told the publication she wanted to give a raw explanation of the breakup, unlike other influencer couples who she says dont share the messy parts of their relationships on social media.

All the cute stuff that you see in videos, theyre really just snippets of our relationship, and, at the end of the day, were both adults and were communicative with each other, and I dont mind sharing the messy parts of my life online too, Watson said.

The content creator has now deactivated her TikTok account, but stitches and screen recordings of her viral breakup explanation remain on the platform.
newgate horse

ARCADIA, Calif.  One of trainer Bob Bafferts promising 3-year-old colts is off the Kentucky Derby trail.

Newgate will be out of training for at least two months after being diagnosed with a minor hock issue. The hock is an area on the back of a horses leg involving a series of joints and bones.

His prognosis to return is excellent, Tom Ryan of SF Racing, part of the colts ownership group, posted on social media. We look forward to seeing him back this summer.

Newgate won the Robert B. Lewis Stakes by a neck at Santa Anita last week. He was second in the Sham Stakes on Jan. 8.

Newgate had been ineligible to earn any Kentucky Derby qualifying points because Baffert has been suspended for two years by Churchill Downs Inc. The penalty, which ends after this years Derby, stems from Medina Spirits medication violation after the colt won the 2021 Derby and was later disqualified. Baffert is challenging the ban in federal court.

The setback for Newgate is also a blow to jockey Frankie Dettori, who is retiring after this years Breeders Cup in November. He came to Santa Anita to ride this winter to boost his chances of having a mount in the Kentucky Derby on May 6.

Dettori finished sixth aboard China Visit in the 2000 derby, his only time riding in the race.

Bob Bafferts Newgate off Kentucky Derby trail originally appeared on NBCSports.com
A Moscow police officer stands guard in his vehicle, Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022, at the home where four University of Idaho students were found dead on Nov. 13, in Moscow, Idaho. Associated Press/Ted S. Warren

Suspect Bryan Kohberger was investigated by his university shortly before the Idaho killings.

Washington State University was reportedly investigating his behavior toward female students.

Ultimately, Kohberger was fired from his role as a teaching assistant, The New York Times reported.

Just weeks before four University of Idaho students were stabbed to death last year, the suspect in their murders was investigated by his university for his behavior toward female students, The New York Times reported.

Bryan Kohberger, a 28-year-old former PhD student, is charged with the murder of Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Madison Mogen, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20. The students were killed on Nov. 13, 2022, less than two weeks after Kohberger met with faculty members to discuss issues with his behavior and performance, according to the Times.

Ultimately, Washington State University's criminal justice department opted in December to fire Kohberger as a teaching assistant, the newspaper reported.

Among the faculty members' reported concerns was Kohberger's conduct toward women. According to the Times, multiple female students complained that Kohberger made them feel uncomfortable. On one occasion, Kohberger was accused of following a female student to her car, two people familiar with the situation told the Times.

A lawyer for Kohberger didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

A representative for Washington State University confirmed to Insider that Kohberger had been appointed as a teaching assistant at the school during the fall 2022 semester.

He "does not currently have a teaching assistantship and he is not currently enrolled at WSU," said Phil Weiler, vice president of University Marketing and Communications at Washington State University.

Weiler declined to provide specific information about Kohberger's teaching assistant role, citing the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which "prevents universities from discussing student records," he said.

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Kohberger ultimately was fired not because of his conduct around female students, but because of his failure to meet the "norms of professional behavior" with faculty members and his poor performance as a teaching assistant, the Times reported.

Kohberger had been studying for a PhD in criminology at WSU.

A criminology student named Emilie previously told Insider that she thought Kohberger was diffcult to work with while he served as her TA, Insider's Haven Orecchio-Egresitz and Nate Schweber reported.

At one point, Insider reported, he appeared to have become uninterested in grading assignments from his students.

"Afterward he didn't grade at all," Emilie said. "He was not a great T.A."

He is due to appear in court for a preliminary hearing in June.

Read the original article on Insider
Rabbi Michael Ross

What are your first signs of spring each year?

Next week, the Guardians pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training. For some, its spotting the first crocus or daffodil. In Washington, DC, its the famous blooming of the cherry blossom trees. Similarly, in Israel, its the blooming of the almond blossoms about this time of year.

This past Monday, as we witnessed the full moon, Jews celebrated a minor holiday called Tu Bishvat. This Hebrew phrase translates to the 15th day of the month of Shevat. This date marks the New Year for the Trees, and it is best understood as a type of Jewish Earth Day.

Last week, I was on a rabbinic retreat in the hills of my childhood hometown of Los Angeles. Typically, this time of year, the hills of L.A., especially during times of drought, are brown and the creek beds are dry. Last week, after the tremendous early January rains, the hills of L.A. were green and lush. The creek beds were running with rainwater. A few flowers were beginning to form and preparing to bud.

It was a special delight to witness this new burst of early spring in my hometown.

For the past few years, here in Northeast Ohio, I have been spending time riding my bike developing a deeper relationship with nature. At my synagogue in Hudson, I have spoken about our need to deepen our relationship with nature: first to fall in love, and then to deepen that love by making loving commitments to take care of nature.

During our Tu Bishvat holiday celebrations last weekend, I talked about how many of the foods we are at our ritual seder meal were symbolic of the land of Israel. Our final taste of the seder was maple syrup from Ohio. This is the time of year when the sap begins to rise from our maple trees.

A few years ago, my family went to a large all-you-eat pancake breakfast in Geauga during Presidents weekend. The ranchers there taught us about harvesting the maple sap and transforming it into syrup. They also said that each year the maple season grows shorter and shorter. The maple syrup season may come to an end soon if winters continue to get milder and milder.

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Lets act before its too late. Lets become responsible for the health of this loving relationship we have with nature. Its up to us. We have waited too long. Much of these climate changes are irreversible, but the looming disasters can be stalled and perhaps halted if we act decisively.

This year, as you witness the first signs of spring, make new commitments to nature to deepen your relationship. Lets find clear, concrete steps to help the environment that we often take for granted. Our children are bearing witness. We are burdening them with cleaning up our mess. Its time to step up.

It can feel daunting to make these commitments. There is so much to do. The rabbis of the Talmud realized that the weight of this burden can feel overwhelming. They teach that we are not obligated to finish the work, rather we are obligated to do what we can.

Rabbi Michael Ross is the Rabbi at Temple Beth Shalom in Hudson and the Senior Jewish Educator at Kent State Hillel. He also teaches in the Jewish Studies department at Kent State.

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Voices of Faith: Make a commitment to nature as spring arrives
Greece's foreign minister visited Turkey on Sunday in a show of support after the country was hit by a devastating earthquake last Monday, despite a longstanding rivalry between the two NATO countries.

Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias was met with a warm embrace by his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu, according to footage on state-run ERT TV, before they boarded helicopters to quake-hit regions.

His arrival marks the first visit by a European minister to Turkey since the earthquake.

"I would like to convey to the Turkish leadership and the Turkish people the warmest condolences of the Mitsotakis government and the entire Greek people for the losses after the two devastating earthquakes", Dendias said during a press conference with Cavusoglu in Antakya, referring to Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

"This is showing the solidarity of Greek people with Turkey and the Turkish population. Greece was one of the first countries to call and propose help to Turkey after the earthquake," Cavusoglu added.

"Dialogue"

Greece and Turkey have a history of rivalry going back centuries, but it has been exacerbated by territorial and energy disputes -- and more recently by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's bombastic threats of invasion.

But the two neighbours, which lie on seismic fault lines, also have a tradition of helping each other in natural disasters.

Cavusoglu recalled mutual aid when quakes struck Turkey and Greece in 1999, when he said at the time that "We don't have to wait for another earthquake for developing our relations".

"I said this as a simple citizen back then, but I think the same today as Turkey's foreign minister," he said. "I hope we will make efforts for finding a solution to our disagreements with dialogue in a sincere way."

Dendias also said that "We do not need to wait for natural disasters to improve our relations", while adding that Greece's effort to help Turkey would continue.

The Greek government has so far sent 80 tonnes of medical and first aid equipment as well as rescuers who along with other European rescuers have saved 205 people, Dendias said.

"Greece will do everything it can to support Turkey at this difficult time, either bilaterally or within the EU," he said.

The Greek rescue mission will be departing from Turkey and returning to Greece on Sunday, the Athens News Agency reported, as the search-and-rescue operations enter the fifth and final stage, in which digging machines start to take over and rescuers gradually depart.

The Greek mission arrived in Turkey on February 7 and managed to find five people alive in the rubble, as well as recovering the bodies of another five people.

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More than 150 people gathered outside of the Potter County Courthouse Saturday afternoon to protest an anti-abortion group that is seeking to block the usage of mifepristone, a drug used in medicated abortions.

Mifepristone has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the past two decades to end a pregnancy up through the 10-week gestation period. A lawsuit brought by a group called the Alliance for Hippocratic medicine and filed by the group Alliance Defending Freedom claims that the process of the FDA approving drugs used for medical abortions was unlawful and should therefore be ruled invalid.

Supporters of the Women's March stand outside of the Potter County Courthouse Saturday during a protest in downtown Amarillo.

A Women's March participant stands outside the Potter County Courthouse Saturday during a protest in downtown Amarillo.

Members of the Women's March walk the streets of downtown Amarillo Saturday to protest a lawsuit that would lead to a potential ban on abortion medications.

Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Texas appointed by former president Donald Trump, is expected to rule on the case in the coming weeks. The protest group has argued that the plaintiffs in the suit filed in this district due to much of his opposition to Roe vs. Wade and Kacsmaryk's rulings against the LGBTQIA+ community.

If Kacsmaryk rules in favor of the plaintiffs opposing the drugs usage, access to medical abortion throughout the country would be at risk of being abolished. Overturning an FDA approval of the drug is almost unheard of in the federal courts and would likely be appealed by the Biden Administration to the Fifth Circuit Court in New Orleans.

The protest was hosted by the Womens March, a group committed to womens empowerment and rights. Saturdays protest was led by Rachel OLeary Carmona, executive director of the Womens March. She spoke about the purpose of the rally and the call to action.

We are showing up here today to make our voices heard about the concern that we have about the upcoming court decision in the North Texas District that could ban the drug mifepristone for medical abortion," OLeary Carmona said.

Tamika Middleton, managing director of the Women's March, leads the crowd in a chant Saturday outside of the Potter County Courthouse in downtown Amarillo.

Protesters gathered outside of the Potter County Courthouse Saturday in downtown Amarillo to protest a lawsuit to ban abortion medications.

Protesters from the Women's March walk through the streets of downtown Amarillo near the Potter County Courthouse on Saturday to protest a lawsuit to ban abortion medications.

Members of the Women's March gather outside of the Potter County Courthouse Saturday to protest a lawsuit filed in Amarillo that would ban abortion medications.

Asked how she felt about the people who are trying to take away womens rights to have an abortion in all cases, OLeary Carmona said that it was disconcerting that people want to control womens bodies and personal decisions.

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They are a very small and vocal minority that are out of touch with the American people, OLeary Carmona said. "There have been six ballot initiatives since the Dobbs decision, and reproductive freedom has been protected in all of them. They are entitled to their opinions and freedom of speech, but the fact of the matter is that they are out of touch with the will of most Americans.

She said that she felt that the case moving forward has no basis in facts.

Many women have needed access to abortion care for many different reasons; they want to be able to make their own responsible medical decisions, OLeary Carmona said. We have a group of religious extremists trying to force their values on everyone, which is very anti-American and undemocratic. This stands against everything this country was founded on.

OLeary Carmona said that marches like this are important to show the power of the people to speak up for their rights and that, at some point in time, the courts need to realize that they serve the people of the country and their rights.

We need to have the political courage to use the power of our voices and votes to put people in place to get rid of activist judges such as this that are not making decisions based on the law, OLeary Carmona said.

Protesters gather for the Women's March at the Potter County Courthouse in Amarillo to rally against the upcoming lawsuit seeking to outlaw a drug used in medicated abortions Saturday afternoon.

Protesters take to the street in Amarillo as they rally against the upcoming lawsuit seeking to outlaw mifepristone, the drug used in medicated abortions, Saturday afternoon.

Rachel O'Leary Carmona, executive director of the Women's March, speaks first at the Potter County Courthouse in Amarillo during a protest against the upcoming lawsuit seeking to outlaw mifepristone, a drug used in medicated abortions, Saturday afternoon.

Protesters gather Saturday afternoon for the Women's March at the Potter County Courthouse in Amarillo ahead of a lawsuit seeking to outlaw mifepristone that was filed in Amarillo.

Women's March protesters take to the streets in Amarillo as they rally against the upcoming lawsuit seeking to outlaw mifepristone on Saturday afternoon.

Protesters, both for and against abortion, gather in Amarillo as they support or protest the upcoming lawsuit to be held in the J. Marvin Jones Federal Building and Mary Lou Robinson United States Courthouse seeking to outlaw mifepristone, a drug used in medicated abortions, Saturday afternoon.

Amanda Chavez Barnes tells her story at the Women's March on the steps of the Potter County Courthouse in Amarillo during a protest against the upcoming lawsuit seeking to outlaw mifepristone Saturday afternoon.

She also said that if these politicians feel that they are serving the will of the people, they should put it to a vote among the people of the states and see what the result is.

They will not put it on the ballot in Texas because they know they will lose, so they try to get friendly judges to take away womens reproductive rights, she said. "This is why they choose venues like this to push their anti-woman and anti-American agenda."

According to the Associated Press, on Friday, a group of 22 Democratic-led states weighed in, saying the consequences of reversing the approval could be nothing short of catastrophic." A similar-sized group of Republican states also filed briefs supporting the reversal, saying the ability to order pills by mail undermines their laws banning abortion.

An August poll from The Texas Politics Project revealed that only about 12% of Texans think abortion should be illegal in all cases, filed online at https://texaspolitics.utexas.edu/set/availability-abortion-august-2022 . A bill on abortion is unlikely to move forward in the heavy Republican-controlled Texas Legislature with the processes in place.

Among those at the rally was Amanda Chavis Barnes from Atlanta, Georgia, who spoke about her experience using mifepristone during a failed pregnancy.

I never thought I would feel a need to share my story because it is such a common story for people that suffer a miscarriage, Barnes said. One of the options you have when this happens is to take this drug. It is really about having control over our bodies and control if, when, how and where we give birth or, in my case, a miscarriage. Some people want to make this medication inaccessible to us. They are spreading lies and fear about this drug. Studies have shown that this drug is safer than Tylenol. In many countries, this has been available over the counter for decades."

Protesters gather for the Women's March at the Potter County Courthouse in Amarillo as they protest the upcoming lawsuit seeking to outlaw mifepristone, the drug used in medicated abortions, Saturday afternoon.

Supporters gather Saturday for a counterprotest at the J. Marvin Jones Federal Building and Mary Lou Robinson United States Courthouse in Amarillo to show they are in favor of the upcoming lawsuit seeking to outlaw an abortion medication.

Pro-abortion protesters walk past the J. Marvin Jones Federal Building and Mary Lou Robinson Unites States Courthouse in Amarillo as they protest the upcoming lawsuit seeking to outlaw mifepristone, the drug used in medicated abortions, Saturday afternoon.

Claudia Stravato, of the Unitarian Universalist Association, speaks at the Women's March on the steps of the Potter County Courthouse in Amarillo as they protest the upcoming lawsuit seeking to outlaw mifepristone, the drug used in medicated abortions Saturday afternoon.

Sheila Katz, of the National Council of Jewish Women, speaks at the Women's March on the steps of the Potter County Courthouse in Amarillo as they protest the upcoming lawsuit seeking to outlaw mifepristone, the drug used in medicated abortions Saturday afternoon.

She said the push to ban this medication is based on falsehoods and an affront to womens rights.

Barnes said that in her pregnancy, the embryo was not developing and had no chance of approaching viability. Without the drug, she said that she would have to wait around to start cramping for the embryo to pass out of her body, with no control of when or where that would happen. She said that the medication gave her the ability to have comfort, safety and peace in her own home rather than wait for it to happen. She said that the pregnancy was not unwanted but had no hope of producing a child.

The elimination of this drug, Barnes contends, just creates more health risks and dangers for women.

We are not going to back down and go back to allow our rights to be taken away without a fight," Barnes added.

Mark Lee Dickson, the director of Right to Life East Texas, addresses a pro-life rally Saturday in downtown Amarillo.

A counterprotest for anti-abortion group for Right to Life gathers across the street from the Potter County Courthouse in downtown Amarillo ahead of the Women's March protest Saturday.

An opposition group held a counterprotest before the Womens March led by Mark Lee Dickson, the director of Right to Life East Texas. He said that his event was to rally against the aggressive abortion agenda. Dickson said that his pro-life organization stands for the rights of all people from conception to natural death.

We are out here today to stand for life, Dickson said. We heard there was this Womens March; we have been praying for Judge Kaczmarek and this case. This is an important case that affects all of America. We have to do our part to stand up to the horrible acts of abortion."

Dickson said that Roe vs. Wade was not the end of the abortion battle with it still happening all across the country.

Asked if his group opposed abortion in all cases including rape and underage minors, Dickson unequivocally said yes.

Counterprotesters gather Saturday at the J. Marvin Jones Federal Building and Mary Lou Robinson United States Courthouse in Amarillo.

James Schulte was among those gathered for a counterprotest Saturday at the J. Marvin Jones Federal Building and Mary Lou Robinson United States Courthouse in Amarillo to show support for the upcoming lawsuit seeking to outlaw an abortion medication.

Mark Lee Dickson, director of Right to Life East Texas, talks to supporters as they gather Saturday for a counterprotest at the J. Marvin Jones Federal Building and Mary Lou Robinson United States Courthouse in Amarillo.

We believe that abortion hurts women and ends the life of their children, and we stand against that, Dickson said. All life is precious. People in this group may have been conceived through rape, and we do not want them to think that their life is any less valuable than ours."

Dickson went on to say that the high suicide rate in America results from people feeling like their lives are less than others. When asked what he would say to the family and underage victim of rape, Dickson emphasized that abortion is not a viable solution.

We are here to say that every single person, no matter how they are conceived, are made in the image of God and have worth and value, Dickson said. Rape is a horrible thing, and we should stand in opposition to rape. We need to make sure that the rapist faces justice. The unborn child should not get the death penalty for the sin of the father. Although its a horrible situation for the mother of the child that was conceived in rape, having that mother get an abortion is adding pain upon pain. She is going to have to carry that loss of a child for the rest of her life.

The group he represents opposes abortion at any point of pregnancy through any means. Dickson said he is against birth control and Plan B but is not pushing for a ban on these things from coast to coast.

Citing the Comstock Law of 1873, Dickson said that he felt that this law still applied to the abortion debate, especially with the mailing of abortion paraphernalia and pills. The Comstock law was enforced across the country until 1965 when Griswold vs. Connecticut found the part of the law unconstitutional in pertaining to restricting access to birth control due to interfering with a womans right to privacy. This case and its finding that the First and 14th Amendments were violated were cited by many as contributing to the Roe vs. Wade Decision in 1973.

The lawsuit filed in Amarillo says at one point that "longstanding federal law provides that '[e]very article or thing designed, adapted, or intended for producing abortion  [i]s declared to be nonmailable matter and shall not be conveyed in the mails or delivered from any post office or by any letter carrier.'"

We do not believe that abortion helps women; abortion hurts women, Dickson added. Who are we to push an idea that some human beings lives are worth less than others?"

With the uncertainty of the case, the organizers of the Womens March said that they expect that there will be other marches to support the cause of womens reproductive freedom.

We need to understand that whats happening in Amarillo right now will impact everybody in every state, because abortion is not the only reason to use mifepristone, OLeary Carmona said. "It can be used in cases of miscarriage and other diagnoses that affect women. The stakes are too high not to make our voices heard.

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Womens group protests Amarillo judge in medical abortion case
It's been a busy few months for fashion designer Diego Binetti.

A native of Argentina who spent part of his childhood in Boca Raton, Bonetti is overseeing his two women's fashion boutiques in Sag Harbor, New York, and Palm Beach, participating in New York Fashion Week, which runs through Wednesday, and coordinating trunk shows at The Colony.

He also is putting together a pop-up show that will debut March 1 at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington.

Related:Women's fashion brand Serenella opens for second season on Worth Avenue

"There's a lot going on," said Binetti, who splits his time between New York City and Palm Beach. "It's incredible. We do everything here in Palm Beach. It's not just running a business, but we create the collection and we produce it."

Binetti, who studied fashion at the Miami International University of Art and Design and at the Institute of Marangoni in Milan, Italy, spent more than a decade working for fashion houses around the world.

He also served as the creative director for the New York City-based fashion brand Jill Stuart before launching his first women's fashion line, the Binetti Collection, in 2001.

A sister collection, LOVE Binetti, followed in 2011. The brand, which is available online and in stores, caters to the modern woman with a cosmopolitan edge, Binetti said. The brand includes dresses, jumpsuits, tops and sweaters, skirts, outerwear and accessories.

"Our line is for a very well-traveled woman that has a very nomad heart with a city-slicker vibe," Binetti said.

Binetti introduced his line to Palm Beach shoppers in 2022, two years after opening his first boutique at 8 Main St. in Sag Harbor, N.Y.

Sarah Wetenhall, owner and president of The Colony, invited Binetti to hold a trunk show at the iconic hotel after she visited his New York store.

"She's a big fan of of the brand," Binetti said. "She invited us last year to start doing trunk shows. She's a big fan of bringing different brands into The Colony."

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Binetti held three trunk shows at The Colony last spring before returning to New York for the summer.

But he and his team were eager to return to the island, and they began looking for a seasonal location there.

They found one at The Paramount Building, where Binetti signed a six-month lease with an option to extend.

LOVE Binetti opened in a 700-square-foot space in November, and the response has been "phenomenal," Binetti said.

"It's incredible, to the point where we've exploded," he said. "It has grown at an incredible dimension."

Binetti's lease is up at the end of April, but he's leaning toward extending it.

"I think we'll stay, most likely," he said. "My parents are getting older, and I grew up in Florida. We have a presence in The Hamptons, and having a presence in Palm Beach is a continuation of where my customers are going.

"They come and they see me, and they're happy to see I opened a store on Palm Beach. It's exciting. A lot of my customers who see me in The Hamptons now see me here. I'm following my customers and reaching a new group of customers who never knew about the brand."

Binetti is particularly excited about opening a pop-up location at the Winter Equestrian Festival.

The elite show-jumping competition, which began Jan. 4 and runs through April 2, is the largest and longest-running circuit in horse sport.

"I was never expecting something like this to fall into my lap," Binetti said. "And now look at us."

LOVE Binetti is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 139 N. County Road. For information, visit www.diegobinetti.com.

Jodie Wagner is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at jwagner@pbdailynews.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Designer Diego Binetti opens seasonal Palm Beach boutique
Airline Tells Violinist to Pack His Stradivarius In Cargo Hold

A Polish musician was kicked off a commercial airline flight because he refused to stow his $5.3 million Stradivarius violin in the planes cargo hold.

Violinist Janusz Wawrowski said in a post to Facebook he had to take a bus from Vilnius, Lithuania, to Warsaw, Poland, when a representative for LOT Airlines told him his 300-year-old Antonio Stradivari violin was too big to carry on board the one-hour flight.

The ground service presented me with two options: to put the instrument in the cargo hold or to stay behind in Vilnius, Wawrowski wrote in the post.

Wawrowski, who is a lecturer at Warsaws Chopin University of Music, said he had traveled on LOT Airlines in the past but this was the first time he had encountered resistance. He said he was returning from a performance in Lithuania when local airport staff told him his violin exceeded the maximum dimensions for carry-on luggage, something he said is untrue. He described the attitude of the employees as unpleasant and said airline personnel had no appreciation of the historical value of the instrument later or the need for its safekeeping.

The LOT lady said that we will see if they get destroyed in the hold (literally), Wawrowski wrote.

A representative for LOT Polish Airlines told Lithuanian public media LRT that an employee on the ground had made a mistake in not permitting Wawrowski to bring the violin onboard.

In this particular case, an inexperienced LOT Polish Airlines handler made an incorrect decision on the basis that the violin case did not comply with the so-called baggage allowance, a spokesperson said in a statement. We deeply regret this situation. We will refund the unused part of the ticket and will do our utmost to prevent a recurrence in the future.

Here is Janusz Wawrowski performing on his Stradivarius violin.
As President Joe Biden marks two years in office  the halfway point of his presidency  a new poll shows that while he might handily beat Donald Trump in a rematch of the 2020 election, he would lose if he faced Ron DeSantis in 2024.

While Mr Biden has yet to announce what his intentions are for 2024, amid swirling controversy regarding classified documents. A number of the papers were discovered at an office once used by Mr Biden after his time as vice president and among other items stored in a garage at his home in Wilmington, Delaware.

Republicans have pounced on the find comparing it to the large trove of documents found at former president Trumps home in Florida and are demanding action. The White House has responded by saying the GOP has zero credibility on the issue. At a press gathering with the Dutch prime minister, Mr Biden avoided answering any questions relating to the matter.

Further, the White House has called on Kevin McCarthy to reveal the deals he made with conservatives to become Speaker, with the first real test of his leadership looming later this week as the US approaches the debt ceiling limit.

Biden dodges questions on classified documents

20:00 , Oliver O'Connell

President Joe Biden ignored shouted questions from reporters regarding the discovery of classified documents at his Delaware home and at a think tanks office he once used after his time as vice president.

As White House staff led the press out of the Oval Office following a photo spray with Prime Minister Mark Rutte of the Netherlands, Mr Biden sat in silence appearing to smirk as reporters asked about the investigation into the papers.

President Joe Biden meets with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte in the Oval Office (AP)

(AP)

Watch: Steph Curry commends VP Harris for being a Warriors fan and representing Bay Area in DC

22:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Steph Curry commends VP Harris for being a Warriors fan and for "representing Oakland, representing the Bay Area the way we do every time we step foot on the court. What you're able to do here in DC, it means the world." pic.twitter.com/ipjxicxRBb  Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 17, 2023

Biden to survey devastated areas of California as extreme weather subsides

21:39 , Oliver O'Connell

Story continues

President Joe Biden will travel to Californias central coast Thursday to visit areas that have been devastated by extreme weather.

The White House said in a statement Monday that the president would visit with first responders and state and local officials, survey recovery efforts and assess what additional federal support is needed.

The presidents trip was announced as the ninth atmospheric river in a three-week series of major winter storms was churning through California.

Read on:

Biden to visit devastated areas of California on Thursday

Voices: Will Bidens rising approval rating sink after classified documents headache?

21:20 , Oliver O'Connell

Will Bidens rising approval rating sink after classified documents headache?

White House defends document disclosure delay

21:00 , Oliver O'Connell

The White House brushed aside criticism Tuesday of its fragmented disclosures about the discovery of classified documents and official records at President Joe Bidens home and former office, saying it may withhold information to protect the Justice Departments investigation.

Ian Sams, a spokesperson for the White House counsels office, told reporters that the White House was releasing information as it deemed it appropriate. Responding to criticism of the piecemeal disclosures, Sams said the White House was trying to be mindful of the risk in sharing information thats not complete.

Read on:

White House defends its delayed, limited document disclosure

Goldman schools Jordan over dumb questions about FBI and Biden classified documents

20:50 , Oliver O'Connell

When Ohio Republican Rep Jim Jordan tried drawing attention to alleged disparities between how former President Donald Trump was treated over his trove of classified documents versus how President Joe Biden has been, he might not have thought he was about to be schooled at the hand of new Democrat rep and Trump impeachment officer, Daniel Goldman.

Mr Jordan asked on Twittter: Why was President Trumps home raided but not President Bidens? Why did the FBI take pictures of President Trumps so-called classified documents but not President Bidens?

He added: Americans are tired of the double standard.

Mr Goldman, who represents downtown Manhattan and northern parts of Brooklyn, responded: 1) because Trump obstructed justice by failing to comply with a subpoena. Biden volunteered all docs. 2) Its standard procedure for the FBI to photograph everything they find during a search warrant.

He added: In the future, feel free to reach out to me directly with your questions.

Mr Goldman didnt stop there. In a follow-up tweet, he wrote: And before you investigate the FBI to obstruct their investigations into you and others, you might want to brush up on the FBI Manual of Investigative Operations and Guidelines (MIOG) so you dont ask any more dumb questions.

Ouch.

And before you investigate the FBI to obstruct their investigations into you and others, you might want to brush up on the FBI Manual of Investigative Operations and Guidelines (MIOG) so you dont ask any more dumb questions.  Daniel Goldman (@danielsgoldman) January 17, 2023

Biden condemns fiscally demented congressional GOP

20:40 , Oliver O'Connell

President Joe Biden has pledged to strike down a fiscally demented tax agenda from House Republicans, which would strip funding to and ultimately abolish the federal tax agency, explode the deficit by tens of billions and shift the nations tax burdens on lower-income Americans.

In remarks spanning civil rights and wealth inequality on Martin Luther King Jr Day, the president condemned the new Republican House majority and its recently passed legislation to revoke new Internal Revenue Service funding aimed at boosting compliance against tax cheats.

The president pledged to veto such legislation, which is guaranteed to fail in a Democratic-controlled Senate.

Alex Woodward reports.

Biden condemns fiscally demented congressional Republicans for IRS and tax agenda

Golden State Warriors attend White House press briefing

20:20 , Oliver O'Connell

Golden State Warriors Steph Curry and Coach Steve Kerr joining the Whote House briefing today. pic.twitter.com/7ZeUBTbS2T  Eugene Daniels (@EugeneDaniels2) January 17, 2023

CNN anchor confronts GOP lawmaker for only caring about Biden and not Trump classified documents

19:50 , Oliver O'Connell

Rep James Comer was asked by CNNs Jake Tapper on Sunday whether he and other Republicans were holding Joe Biden to a double standard after refusing to criticise former president Donald Trump for his stash of classified material at Mar-a-Lago.

The question came as the GOP, including Mr Comer, have vowed to investigate whether Mr Biden mishandled classified materials as they take power in the House. Mr Comer is set to lead at least some of that effort as the incoming chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, the Houses main investigative body.

John Bowden has the story.

GOP lawmaker confronted on CNN over statements about Trumps classified documents

McCarthy accuses Biden of hypocrisy over classified documents

19:40 , Oliver O'Connell

Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy accused President Joe Biden of hypocrisy over the classified documents found at his home and former office when he criticised former president Donald Trump for a similar misdeed.

The White House has in turn accused Republicans of hypocrisy for dismissing Mr Trumps handling of classified papers last year and only demanding action when it was Mr Biden at fault.

Watch Mr McCarthys comments below via C-Span.

.@SpeakerMcCarthy (R-CA) on Biden and Trump documents probes: "It's not a fair process when you equalize this out, and that is what is wrong with the system." https://t.co/wY8OFxGe89 pic.twitter.com/FZ8vlO1aDZ  CSPAN (@cspan) January 17, 2023

GOP demands for logs of visitors at Biden homes... but they dont exist

19:20 , Oliver O'Connell

Republicans who are demanding to see visitor logs from President Joe Bidens Wilmington, Delaware home will be disappointed to learn that no such logs exist because none have ever been kept.

On Sunday, House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer sent a letter to White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain asking for the White House to turn over records of who has visited the Wilmington residence where Mr Biden has spent most weekends since taking office in January 2021.

Andrew Feinberg reports from Washington, DC.

GOP demands for logs of visitors at Biden homes wont be met because they dont exist

White House response on classified documents find

18:50 , Oliver O'Connell

The president takes this seriously and he believes in handling it the right way. And thats because he believes deeply in the rule of law. Were also providing the public with information about this matter, as its appropriate.

"But the very nature of being cooperative with an ongoing investigation means that we need to let that investigation play out and to try to be respectful of facts as they come to light through that investigation."

Adding, "But the very nature of being cooperative with an ongoing investigation means that we need to let that investigation play out and to try to be respectful of facts as they come to light through that investigation." https://t.co/imKWclxOUl  Kelly O'Donnell (@KellyO) January 17, 2023

Watch: Biden hosts Dutch prime minister

18:35 , Oliver O'Connell

President Joe Biden is hosting Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte in the Oval Office today. Mr Biden wants to persuade the Netherlands to further limit Chinas access to advanced semiconductors with export restrictions.

Tuesdays wide-ranging talks are also expected to cover the countries efforts to thwart Russias ongoing invasion of Ukraine and an upcoming democracy summit, according to the White House.

President Biden meets with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte (@MinPres) in the Oval Office. https://t.co/3PmbdvpVgk pic.twitter.com/sg04IPT628  CSPAN (@cspan) January 17, 2023

Bidens remarks honouring MLK revive demands to protect voting rights

18:21 , Oliver O'Connell

A lot can happen in a year.

One year ago in Atlanta, President Joe Biden warned how history has treated the architects of voter suppression and the opponents of landmark civil rights laws as state lawmakers mulled a wave of antidemocratic legislation taking aim at the right to vote.

One year later, not a single piece of critical federal legislation that he championed  including the renewal of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which was to be named in honour of the late civil rights leader John Lewis  passed in Congress. The new Republican-controlled House of Representatives and a paper-thin Democratic majority in the Senate are unlikely to revisit them.

Alex Woodward reports.

Bidens MLK remarks revive demands to protect voting rights after defeat in Congress
CHANDAN KHANNA - Getty Images

The U.S. military shot down a high-altitude object over Alaska airspace on Friday afternoon.

The object was roughly the size of a small car, compared to the much bigger Chinese spy balloon that the U.S. shot down last weekend.

The object was flying at an altitude of 40,000 feet.

Updated 4:00 p.m. ET: On Friday afternoon, the U.S. military shot down another unauthorized high-altitude object that was flying over Alaska airspace, National Security Council official John Kirby told reporters at the White House.

It was the second time in six days that the U.S. military eliminated a mysterious object, after an F-22 shot down a Chinese spy balloon last Saturday.

Kirby said President Joe Biden gave the OK to shoot down the fast-moving object, which hasnt yet been identified as a balloon, after the U.S. Department of Defense tracked it over the last 24 hours. The object was flying at an altitude of 40,000 feet and posed a reasonable threat to the safety of civilian flight, Kirby said. Out of an abundance of caution, and at the recommendation of the Pentagon, President Biden ordered the military to down the object, and they did.

National Security Councils John Kirby confirms a second unauthorized high-altitude object has been shot down over U.S. territory:



President Biden ordered the military to down the object. And they did  within the last hour. pic.twitter.com/1hX5hFhOWG  The Recount (@therecount) February 10, 2023

Kirby said the high-altitude object, which officials confirmed was unmanned, came inside our territorial waters and those waters right now are frozen. According to Kirby, fighter aircraft from the U.S. Northern Command took down the mysterious object between 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. ET.

Kirby said this object was much, much smaller than the Chinese spy balloon the U.S. military shot down last Saturday, but there are no indications as to whether or not it contained surveillance equipment. The way it was described to me, Kirby said, was roughly the size of a small car as opposed to a payload that was two or three buses sizes. He continued: No significant payload.

Story continues

Its unclear who owned or sent the object, U.S. officials said, via the New York Times.

We will continue to update this story as more information develops.

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Dr. Michael Forbes, chief academic officer for Akron Children's Hospital, speaks to members of the Akron Urban League on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in Fairlawn.

People need to reach out and look for the helpers in their lives and also be the helpers in others' lives, Dr. Michael Forbes said on Monday morning during a speech honoring Martin Luther King Jr.

Forbes is the chief academic officer and a pediatric critical care specialist at Akron Childrens Hospital. He also is the former chair of pediatrics and president of the medical staff.

But as one of 10 children born in Jamaica and raised in New York City, Forbes journey to becoming a doctor was not a straight one.

I was a bona fide knucklehead, Forbes told the crowd at the Akron Urban Leagues annual Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast.

RSV in Greater Akron:Here's what you need to know about a surge locally and nationwide

Forbes said he loved to read and write when he was younger. But he distinctly remembers a seventh grade teacher rejecting a long book report that he wrote, saying he must have plagiarized it.

Today, I understand that it was systemic racism that affected her lens, that somehow this Black seventh grader could not possibly have written that, Forbes said. That bothers me to this day. I know its not gone. I know there are young, gifted Black and brown children who are writing, who are doing their best, whose value is being discounted due to systemic racism.

Dr. Michael Forbes goes from wrong gang crowd to Akron Youth Violence Task Force

Somewhere between elementary school and high school, Forbes said, he got with the wrong crowd when he realized he didnt have to go to school. He joined a gang.

For those who are wondering, yep, I was stopped by police, and no, I do not have a record. And no, I never killed anybody. And yes, I did spend a night in jail, but that was not until college, he said.

But in the gang, he became very acquainted with death. He knew what it meant to lose a friend and your buddies say you have to go and retaliate.

Forbes said he accepted an invitation by Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan to serve on the Mayors Youth Violence Task Force a few years ago.

Story continues

I know the minds of young adolescent males who are easily bored," he said.

Forbes said he believes as a pediatrician, that there is no such thing as a lazy child. Theyre bored, and if you find out what makes them click, you will have a genius on your hands.

A photograph of Martin Luther King Jr. appears to watch over members of the Akron Urban League as they gather for their Martin Luther King Jr. Day Breakfast Monday in Fairlawn.

But those youth  and Forbes  needed helpers along the way.

Look for the helpers. It gives us hope, he said.

Forbes, who is also an ordained minister, said his successes werent by luck.

Forbes talked about his high school counselor who saw potential in Forbes, even though he failed every class in 10th grade. He graduated in the bottom half of his class from high school.

He had to leave the gang, which is not an easy thing to do, Forbes said.

I found myself fighting my friends to leave the gang. Thats a life lesson for a teenager. Whos your friend? Whos your real friend?

Forbes became a Christian and also found his way to a special program at the University of Pittsburgh for students like him who may have potential, but were at the bottom half of the class.

Forbes said he began to see and learn from Black faculty  something he had never had before.

By sophomore year, Forbes money and scholarships were tapped out. He had a 3.8 grade-point average but didnt have money to continue to pay for school. But another helper came along  the first Black chancellor at the University of Pittsburgh  who paid for Forbes' tuition for the semester.

Forbes said he also counts his wife of 35 years, Dr. Yolanda Moore-Forbes, and a friend and colleague at NEOMED who helped him reach a goal of being named to the national medical honor society as a graduate student, among his helpers.

Dont go it alone

Forbes encouraged the crowd to not go it alone.

I challenge you that if we are going to make a difference for Akron and Northeast Ohio when it comes to equity and inclusivity and be able to really celebrate the incredible range of human diversity that's here in this area, we have to recognize that we cannot do this alone, he said.

When I think about Dr. King and the things that exhausted him, the thing that kept him up at night, for us here today in 2023 in Akron, in Northeast Ohio, how are we dreaming?

As you dream, I want you to hold on to this truth that life is in fact unfair. But we do not have to do this by ourselves. If you choose to do it by yourself then maybe one of the reasons is the need to forgive.

Someone once said to me that unforgiveness is like a poison pill that you eat and wish the other person would die. Think about that, Forbes said.

We have a unique opportunity as we look into the future, into 2025 and 2030, to do something absolutely extraordinary. That is to unify this community to address community empowerment, economic empowerment, educational empowerment.

"Youre going to see things you dont like and youre going to meet people that are the exact opposite. Thats really OK. When you clash, lets clash about the things that matter and be able to do things that will transform our community.

Forbes said he has learned the power of forgiveness.

Dr. Michael Forbes, chief academic officer for Akron Children's Hospital, delivers the keynotes speech Monday at the Akron Urban Leagues annual Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast.

I would encourage you all. Its going to continue to happen. There will be betrayal, there will be disappointments, there will be all of those things that weve talked about. But by the power of the Almighty God and grace, learn to forgive. Because it is the prerequisite to service.

When we learn to forgive, we learn to trust again and we learn to hope.

Beacon Journal staff reporter Betty Lin-Fisher can be reached at 330-996-3724 or blinfisher@thebeaconjournal.com.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Former gang member who became Akron doctor shares story on MLK Day
Nathan Jones insists he is the right man for the job at Southampton (PA)

Nathan Jones has made a bizarre defence of his position as Southampton manager by suggesting his past life choices show he can overcome the challenge at St Marys Stadium.

Jones is under pressure at Saints after earning only one Premier League win from seven games since taking charge of the team, and they currently sit at the bottom of the table.

Reflecting on his playing career, Jones suggested his decision to eschew an easy life in Wales and broaden his horizons shows he is fit to save Southampton from trouble.

I think every situation is unique, he said. But look, I went to Luton, I was homesick when I went to Luton when I was a player. The manager David Pleat left, my next move was then to go to Spain [joining Liga 2 club Badajoz].

I enjoy a challenge, I want to be the best version of me. I could have stayed in a mining community, been a PE teacher and had a nice life, married a nice Welsh girl, beautiful. But I didnt. I want to test myself on every level. And thats nothing against Welsh women.

Jones, who was appointed by the struggling south-coast club in November, did take full responsibility for the relegation-threatened clubs dire performances in the Premier League, days after he said he had not put his stamp on the team and pandered to his players.

After Saints lost 3-0 at Brentford last weekend, Jones said in a post-match interview that he had compromised on his style of management due to fan pressure, which did little to improve his popularity among the Southampton faithful.

I have made decisions here and I live and die by those decisions. I accept responsibility for every single thing Ive always done as a manager, Jones said ahead of Saturdays home game against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

I can assure everyone we work hard and do good work on the training ground. The only thing is I cant back that up with results.

I just want results to turn and then youll see that good work were doing. I genuinely think I can turn things around, but we need results quickly.

Story continues

After the Brentford defeat, Jones had claimed he was statistically one of Europes best managers when he was at Luton Town but that he may have got carried away while dealing with Premier League players.

I like to give certain people autonomy. I am not a dictator, I am open, Jones said on Thursday while explaining his methods.

We ask for the players opinion and then have a debrief based on that. Its a good process and one Ive always done. Ive improved players in the past with that process.

Additional reporting by Reuters
Rowena Hennigan's daughter in Spain. Courtesy of Rowena Hennigan

Rowena Hennigan says she left Ireland because the weather affected her daughter's chronic illness.

She says her family takes every opportunity to experience activities and education as they travel.

Here's Hennigan's story, as told to Kimanzi Constable.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Rowena Hennigan. It has been edited for length and clarity.

My daughter was diagnosed with chronic childhood asthma and was extremely chronically ill at 9 months old. We had 18 months of very little sleep as we tried various medical interventions in Dublin.

The doctors suggested that getting her to a dry climate would help, as the weather in Dublin was making her sicker.

We have European passports, so we could go to many European countries, but we looked for a dry climate; we looked at Italy, Germany, and Spain. My husband is a software engineer, and his company had a remote office in Zaragoza, Spain, so we decided to settle there in 2016.

We had 2 years' worth of savings to make the move, and we sold items for extra cash

We sold all our furniture on secondhand sites, and we sold the things we knew we couldn't ship. We made about $4,000 selling our material possessions in Dublin.

We found an Airbnb in Zaragoza that we booked for one year  they gave us a long-term rate. While in Spain, our daughter improved, and we had access to better healthcare.

In Ireland, we were paying 300 euros for a one-hour consultation, and we had to wait months for an appointment with a specialist in child respiratory health on the east coast. Within six weeks of living in Spain, we had access to a consultant in the public-health system, and it was free.

In 2018 we committed to never buying a place anywhere

We don't want a mortgage, because we love to travel.

After the Airbnb we initially booked, we found a cheaper apartment in Zaragoza.

We took our first family trip to Indonesia for six weeks in 2019. We traveled to Vietnam, Singapore, and Malaysia that year.

Story continues

During COVID, there was a window when travel within Spain was open. We spent the summer at the beach in a city southwest of Barcelona  a beautiful area called Tarragona.

Our daughter goes to school in Spain, but we top up her education

We're happy that our daughter is becoming bilingual. Since there's a four-month holiday in the Spanish school system, we add activities and learning when we travel. She's gotten to experience different cultures and learn lessons only travel can teach.

What's nice is that we've built an international network of friends. We use Facebook groups and local meetups to meet other traveling families. We do different activities with them and found out about various childcare options through them.

We spent seven weeks in Portugal for our daughter to attend a fantastic English education program called Boundless Life for nomad families. It has three locations in Europe.

We worked on her English reading and linguistic skills because she's schooled in Spanish.

We plan to stay in Spain and travel for four months every year. We have a travel checklist, but we always ensure our daughter can be entertained and educated in the places we choose.

Traveling so often has helped my daughter become independent. We have some rituals we do as a family that help her adapt to new places, but she loves traveling, and she's open to change.

Read the original article on Insider
House lawmakers joined together once again on Wednesday to unveil a resolution in support of Iranian protesters, but this time did so in a way that signaled a serious sharpening of the US Congress tone towards the government in Tehran.

A resolution unveiled the morning after Joe Biden addressed a joint session of the House and Senate for his State of the Union would once again declare the US Congress support for a democratic government in Iran while also including language implicitly calling on the USs European allies to cut ties with Tehran by closing consulates and calling diplomats back to their home country.

The call for such aggressive action is significant for one reason: The bipartisan nature of the event, where the legislation was released. According to a source familiar with its crafting, the new House resolution has more original cosponsors than any previous Iran-related resolution to pass the lower chamber.

Though it has no practical effects, the legislation signals one thing: The US Congress is quickly approaching a consensus, at least between the conservative right and moderate Democratic left, on the issue of Iran. Progressives seem almost totally absent from the conversation: There have been few, if any, public calls from the left wing of the Democratic Party for a renewed effort to return Iran to compliance with the 2015 nuclear agreement signed under Barack Obamas administration.

Calls for an alternative to the maximum pressure campaign employed by the Trump administration and continued, to some extent, by the Biden administration are few and far between. And even some of the House and Senates most prominent progressives are derided as downright disinterested on issues of Iran policy by some advocates who find themselves partnering with the right and conservative Democrats out of necessity.

Wednesdays announcement marks the second House resolution aimed at supporting Iranian protesters  and, by extension, delegitimising Tehrans government  that the 118th Congress has pursued in less than two months.

Story continues

Protests have continued for months across Iran following the death last year of a young woman, Mahsa Amini, in police custody. She was detained and severely beaten after being accused of improperly wearing a head covering.

In addition to frequent condemnations of the Iranian government and statements of support for the demonstrations, the Biden administration has also responded with a number of rounds of sanctions targeting security officials responsible for crackdowns against protesters.

Officials in the White House including Mr Biden have said that talks centred around resuming the 2015 nuclear accord are stalled, but it remains unclear what the administrations new strategy is for preventing Irans government from developing a deliverable nuclear weapon.
The UN denounced Sunday a failure to get desperately needed aid to war-torn regions of Syria, while warning that the death toll of nearly 30,000 from an earthquake that also devastated Turkey could at least double.

A UN convoy with supplies for northwest Syria arrived via Turkey, but the agency's relief chief Martin Griffiths said much more was needed for millions whose homes were destroyed.

"We have so far failed the people in northwest Syria. They rightly feel abandoned. Looking for international help that hasn't arrived," Griffiths said on Twitter.

"My duty and our obligation is to correct this failure as fast as we can."

Aid has been slow to arrive in Syria, where years of conflict have ravaged the healthcare system, and parts of the country remain under the control of rebels battling the government of President Bashar al-Assad, which is under Western sanctions.

The UN convoy of ten trucks crossed into northwest Syria via the Bab al-Hawa border crossing, according to an AFP correspondent, carrying shelter kits including plastic sheeting, ropes and screws and nails, as well as blankets, mattresses and carpets.

Tens of thousands of rescue workers continued to scour flattened neighbourhoods in freezing weather that has deepened the misery of millions now in desperate need of aid.

But security concerns prompted the suspension of some operations, and dozens of people have been arrested for looting or trying to defraud victims in the aftermath of the quake in Turkey, according to state media.

26 million people affected

Miraculous tales of survival still emerged, though experts caution that hopes for finding people alive in the devastation dim with each passing day.

A seven-month-old baby named Hamza was rescued in southern Hatay province more than 140 hours after the quake, while Esma Sultan, 13, was also saved in Gaziantep, state media reported.

At the Vatican, Pope Francis called for "concrete support" for the quake victims, urging people to "think what we can do to help them."

The United Nations has warned that at least 870,000 people urgently need hot meals across Turkey and Syria. In Syria alone, up to 5.3 million people may have been made homeless.

Almost 26 million people have been affected by the earthquake, the World Health Organization (WHO) said as it appealed Saturday for $42.8 million to cope with immediate health needs after dozens of hospitals were damaged.

Turkey's disaster agency said more than 32,000 people from Turkish organisations are working on search-and-rescue efforts, along with 8,294 international rescuers.

But, in many areas, rescue teams said they lacked sensors and other advanced search equipment, meaning they were often reduced to carefully digging through destroyed buildings with shovels or only their hands.

"If we had this kind of equipment, we would have saved hundreds of lives, if not more," said Alaa Moubarak, head of civil defence in Jableh, northwest Syria.

Anger grows

Damascus said it had approved the delivery of humanitarian assistance to quake-hit areas outside its control in Idlib province and a convoy was expected to leave on Sunday, though the delivery was later postponed without explanation.

The transport ministry said 62 aid planes had landed in Syria this week with more on the way in coming days, in particular from Saudi Arabia.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged the Security Council to authorise the opening of new cross-border aid points between Turkey and Syria, with a meeting to discuss Syria possible in the coming days.

Greece's Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias pledged further support as he met with his Turkish counterpart in quake-hit Antakya, putting aside the longstanding rivalry between the two NATO members.

"We do not need to wait for natural disasters to improve our relations," Dendias said.

But after days of grief and anguish, anger in Turkey has been growing over the poor quality of buildings as well as the government's response to the country's worst disaster in nearly a century.

Officials say 12,141 buildings were either destroyed or seriously damaged in the earthquake.

Turkish police reportedly detained 12 people on Saturday, including contractors, over collapsed buildings in the southeastern provinces of Gaziantep and Sanliurfa.

Officials and medics said 24,617 people had died in Turkey and 3,574 in Syria. The confirmed total now stands at 28,191.

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Learn how a resort in the Dominican Republic got one travel writer to truly disconnect and relax.

Courtesy of Alison Fox

Im not good at relaxing.

In fact, I never have been. Thats why I couldnt quite believe where the time had gone when I left the spa at the Finest Punta Cana. I was so relaxed, I had spent more than three hours without even realizing it.

Thats the resorts goal, of course, to lull you into a state of complete bliss  with hydrotherapy rituals, aromatherapy massages, and indulgence at every turn. But rarely does it actually work for me.

The all-inclusive resort opened in late 2021 as one of the newest properties in The Excellence Collection, welcoming both families and adults to the shores of the Dominican Republic. The hotel practically functions as three properties in one with both kid-friendly areas (including an impressive kids' club complete with a mini water park) and adults-only pools and restaurants.

It was my first-ever stay at an all-inclusive hotel, and I wasnt sure what to expect. But within moments of arriving, I was snacking on complimentary Oreos from the minibar, looking out at the pool and the ocean beyond, and deciding which restaurant to try first.

Courtesy of Alison Fox

I was staying in the hotels adults-only side, the Excellence Club, which included its own check-in area, exclusive club-only restaurants, and a pool that tended to be quieter than the kid-friendly one on the other side.

On my first day there, I walked the length of the property in the way youd explore a city if you had too little time. I checked out each pool, each food truck, and each beach palapa. I mapped out a plan in my head. By the second day, I had forgotten my plan existed.

Instead, I found myself lying at the beach as a gentle breeze washed over me, listening to the waves crest and crash. I took a dip in the warm water before lazily making my way back up the buttery sand to the plush beach chair and basking in the pleasantly warm sun.

Hours later, I traded in the beach for the pool, a long stretch of deep blue surrounded by rows of palm trees and white modern architecture with contrasting black trim. I was suddenly faced with the (not so hard) decision of what to get from the swim-up bar: coconut water or a strawberry daiquiri.

Story continues

Of course, the beauty of an all-inclusive meant there wasnt really a choice at all. And so I learned a crucial lesson: one of the best ways to relax was to simply indulge.

And one of the ultimate indulgences is a day at the Finests spa. The One Spa takes relaxation seriously  Domingo Aznar, the vice president of sales and marketing for The Excellence Collection, told me it was designed to deepen our connection with the mind, body, and soul.

Alison Fox

They take it so seriously, in fact, theres a multi-step hydrotherapy circuit. First, I stepped into the sauna, allowing the heat to settle into my skin, before alternating between hot and cold  drenching myself under an ice bucket, sitting in the intense heat of the steam room, plunging into frigid water.

One hydrotherapy session  complete with a relaxing scalp massage  is included in each Excellence Club and Finest Club room, and its worth every minute. Then, to really take it to the next level, I headed upstairs for a stop in the aromatherapy room and a citrus-scented massage.

That evening I got dressed up, swapping my flip flops for heels, and headed out to dinner at Le Petit Plaisir, the hotels adults-only French restaurant. I sampled a deconstructed potato salad with dijon sauce and dug into a rich chickpea cassoulet before ordering a slice of apple tarte tatin.

Courtesy of Alison Fox

By my last day, I had the all-inclusive thing down: I ordered two breakfasts (the open-face molletes were too good not to) and then took full advantage of the gazpacho bar at lunch, topped off with some warm rice pudding and a few cookies for good measure.

I finally learned to relax and treat myself. And as I headed back to the hustle of New York, I hoped to take that lesson with me.

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Read the original article on Travel & Leisure.
London Stone (1916-1990) was known as The Candy Man for giving away sweets at Akron General.

London Stone made Akron a better place in small ways.

His kindness was sincere. His generosity was legendary.

The Candy Man, as he was known, gave away lollipops, cash and food to people who needed a little boost. With a friendly smile and a sweet gesture, he spread a little cheer around town. He cared  and it showed.

His story began 600 miles away on a farm near Decatur, Alabama, where James and Willie Stones son was born July 5, 1916.

Local history: Akron landmarks in Black history

My dad was in the Army and was being sent overseas to London just before I was born, Stone once said. He told my mother that if the baby was a boy to name him London, and if a girl, to name her London.

Well, that settled it.

One of 10 siblings, London began working at a young age. The kids toiled from dawn to dusk on the farm. Their formal education was minimal.

Our school in Alabama only lasted a few months each year and then it was back to the farm, Stone recalled.

A pivotal moment occurred March 21, 1932, when the skies turned dark and a series of tornadoes swept Alabama. The violent storms killed 315 people, injured 1,874 and destroyed hundreds of buildings.

Stone, who was 15, volunteered to search the debris for victims. He pulled people from the ruins of homes and carried them on the back of a mule.

Since then, Ive always had a feeling of wanting to help people, he told the Beacon Journal in 1973.

London Stone had a smile for all he met.

Migration from Alabama to Ohio

He didnt plan to move to Ohio. In the late 1930s, he visited a cousin who had migrated to Akron for work at a rubber company. They traveled to New York to see the Yankees win the World Series and then returned to Akron.

Stone decided to take a job as a pinsetter at Goodyears bowling lanes.

He kept thinking about Leola Oden, the beauty he left behind in Alabama. It soon became apparent that he couldnt live without her.

I married my childhood sweetheart, he said. We were born one farm apart.

They wed March 24, 1940, in Etowah County, Alabama, and Stone brought his bride to Akron, although he wasnt sure if they would stay in Ohio.

Story continues

I was all set to go back to Alabama when I heard the news.

The Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor. The United States was at war.

Stone was transferred Feb. 5, 1942, to the chemical plant at Goodyear Aircraft en route to a nearly 40-career in maintenance at the Akron company.

Generosity on display at Goodyear

His friendly, thoughtful personality stood out. If co-workers forgot their lunches, he bought them meals. If people needed cash, he gave them loans, not overly concerned about whether they would repay him.

Raised on hard labor, Stone was not content to work one job, often taking two or three at a time. He cleaned furnaces, cooked food, hauled trash, mowed lawns  anything to stay busy.

His interest in public safety, no doubt stirred by the Alabama tornadoes, led him to a job at Acme Safety Products, which provided first-aid supplies, helmets, goggles, respirators and other safety equipment. He worked there for 21 years until the business closed in the late 1960s.

Local history:Hello, Mr. President! Akron rolled out red carpet for Liberian leader

Stone took safety training at the American Red Cross and volunteered as a nurse and first-aid provider at Greater Bethel Baptist Church.

After Acme, he landed a maintenance job at Akron General Hospital, now known as Cleveland Clinic Akron General.

I was attracted to General because it seemed to be the friendliest among the hospitals, he explained.

He was friendly right back. Stone would fill a bag with candy and take it to work, visiting every hospital floor and offering sweets to those he saw.

The Candy Man spread cheer

Stones trademark was Tootsie Pops, the lollipop with a Tootsie Roll center, whose flavors came in orange, cherry, chocolate, grape and raspberry.

Co-workers began calling him the Lollipop Man or, more commonly, the Candy Man, probably influenced by Sammy Davis Jr.s smash hit from the movie Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.

But Stone didnt stop there.

Sometimes when he met a new mother in the maternity ward, he handed her a dollar bill and said: This is for you to start your babys savings account.

The maintenance worker also liked to treat the hospitals new employees to meals. Hed invite them in groups to a restaurant and then pick up the tab, or if he couldnt attend, hed contact the proprietors ahead of time and charge the bill to his account.

They come to the hospital and dedicate their lives to others, Stone told the Beacon Journal. Its up to us older people to show that were behind them.

When people asked how he was doing, he always had a positive attitude.

Im doing super, hed respond.

Or maybe: Im doing great.

He distributed candy like he worked at a five-and-dime store. How many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop? The world may never know, but Stone advanced a lot of research.

The Beacon Journal published this illustration of London Stone for a 1973 article. The artist was Joe Grace.

He was most proud of his six children: Pauline, London Jr., Tommie, Brenda, Gloria and Loretta.

Although he had minimal schooling, he highly valued education and made sure that each one of his kids graduated from college.

I never tell them what to do, he said. I just ask them to let me tell them how I see things.

Akron loses a kind friend

Stone retired from Goodyear in 1984 and General in 1985, but continued to work odd jobs.

When the accident happened in 1990, it was a complete shock.

Stone and another man were trying to unload a riding mower from a pickup truck when it slipped off a ramp Aug. 20 at a Copley home. The heavy equipment pinned Stone to the ground. Its running engine caught fire.

The Candy Man was seriously burned. Paramedics rushed Stone to the burn unit at Akron Childrens Hospital, even following his directions on a shortcut to get there faster. He signed himself in before collapsing.

Over the next two weeks, hundreds of people flooded the hospital to visit Stone. Flowers and cards filled the room. You just know that somebody brought candy.

Stone told his wife, Leola, not to worry because he was saved. He told her to tell everyone that he was sorry he couldnt do his jobs. His family remained at his bedside, prayed and said goodbye.

London Stone, a husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, died Sept. 4, 1990, at age 74. He was buried at Mount Peace Cemetery.

Akron lost a sweet, kind friend.

As the song goes: Who can take a sunrise? Sprinkle it with dew. Cover it with chocolate and a miracle or two. The Candy Man.

Mark J. Price can be reached at mprice@thebeaconjournal.com.

Good Samaritan London Stone is buried at Mount Peace Cemetery in Akron.

Local history:101 trailblazers who achieved famous firsts in Akron Black history

Local history:Akron educator Willa Beatrice Player was a trailblazer for women

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: London Stone cheered people up as Akrons Candy Man
Image via Getty/Roslan Rahman

A man from Singapore has filed a $2.3 million lawsuit against a woman who he said caused him trauma when she apparently friend-zoned him, The Washington Post reports.

The man in the case has been identified as drone racing executive K. Kawshigan, who filed the lawsuit after she rejected his advances and prompted sustained trauma and reductions in his earning capacity. The woman is contesting the defamation suit, which will be heard in Singapores High Court next week, and previously alleged he filed the suit for an ulterior purpose in an effort to get her to comply with his demands to, among other things, resume communications with him.

Kawshigan filed a separate case in Singapores Magistrate Court last month, but it was struck down due to an alleged abuse of process. The womans lawyers have said that Kawshigan was ordered to pay her legal costs in that case, in which he sought approximately $17,000. He said that she breached an offer she made to him offering room for him to share inspiration, struggle, and achievements and meeting up based on mutual availability, beyond coffee settings.

In a statement on the matter, womens rights and gender equality advocacy group Aware Singapore blasted the lawsuit. Women do not owe men their time or attention, much less their friendship, love, sexual activity or emotional labor, read the statement. Attempting to demand or coerce these things, via legal means or otherwise, can constitute harassment.

According to the suit, Kawshigan met the woman for the first time in 2016 and they got along fine until September 2020 when they became misaligned about how they saw their relationship. While she saw him as a friend, Kawshigan apparently considered ehr to be his closest friend. When she asked to see him less, he got upset and did not react well. He threatened legal action just a month later, citing emotional distress. She initially agreed to go to counseling sessions with him, but ultimately Kawshigan was unable to accept her reasons for not wanting any relationship or association with him.

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Singapore Management University associate professor of law Siyuan Chen has argued theres probably no merits to the claims Kawshigan has made.

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They even got tattoos together. Is true love dead?

Megan Fox moved on from her marriage to Brian Austin Green with Machine Gun Kellyand now she's moving on from her rebound, too.

After getting together in early 2020, the pair appears to have split as of Feb. 12, 2023, deleting photos of one another from their Instagram accounts, including a video of MGK (real name Colson Baker) proposing to her in 2022.

Let's take a deep-dive into Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly's relationship to see how they went from co-stars to offscreen partners, why she thought their love was karmic and about the tattoos they got together that they may well regret now.

Who is Megan Fox's ex-boyfriend Machine Gun Kelly?

MGK was born on April 22, 1990, in Houston, Texas. His parents were missionaries, moving around with their son frequently until finally putting down some roots in Denver, Colorado. MGK's said that he found solace in rap records and started rapping himself in 2007. In 2010, he signed with Bad Boy Records; since then, he's enjoyed the most chart success with his collaborative singles, including "Bad Things" featuring singer Camila Cabello and "My Ex's Best Friend" with Blackbear. His most recent LP, September's Tickets to My Downfall, was also his first to debut at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart. Along the way, MGK's gotten embroiled in a few notorious, public feuds with other rappers, including Eminem and G-Eazy.

In 2014, Kelly made the leap to professional acting with a role in Beyond the Lights, a romantic drama starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw as an up-and-coming musical artist. You may also recognize MGK from movies like Bird Box, Nerve and The King of Staten Island, which starred his IRL buddy, Pete Davidson.

Like Fox, Kelly's also a parent! As a teenager, MGK was in a relationship with Emma Cannon and they welcomed a daughter, Casie Colson Baker, in July 2009.

Related: Everything You Need to Know About Channing Tatum as a Father

Besides Cannon, MGK was also previously linked to Amber Rose, model Sommer Ray and Halsey.

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How old is Megan Fox?

Fox turned 36 in May 2022, while MGK celebrated his 32st birthday the month before. This four-year age difference seems to be a big problem for some people, according to Fox, who's said that the "patriarchy" tries to apply sexist double standards to their steamy relationship. She rightly ranted during a July 2021 interview with InStyle, "The fact that he's four years younger than me, and people want to act like I'm dating a younger man. He's 31, and I'm 35." (However, she also admitted that they're a bit of an odd couple when she added, "Granted, he's lived like he's 19 his whole life, but he isn't 19.")

"No one would blink twice if George Clooney was dating someone four years younger," she continued. "Four years? Go f**k yourself. We would have been in high school together. That's so ridiculous that women are treated that way ... [I'm] very surprised by how archaic some of the mindsets still are in some people."

When did Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly meet?

LOS ANGELES CA - SEPTEMBER 24: Machine Gun Kelly and Megan Fox are seen leaving a restaurant on September 24, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by iamKevinWong.com/MEGA/GC Images) MEGA/Getty Images

Fox and MGK first met in March 2020 on the Puerto Rico set of their July 2021 crime thriller, Midnight in the Switchgrass, which also starred Bruce Willis. Filming lasted all of a week before it had to be shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but reportedly resumed in late June 2020.

When did Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly start dating?

Exactly how and when Fox and MGK made the leap to more-than-friends is a little unclear. During that Midnight in the Switchgrass production hiatus, Fox and Kelly were spotted together on several occasions in L.A. In May 2020, a source told E! News, "Megan has been working on a movie with Machine Gun Kelly and gotten close to him. They are hooking up and have been for a little while. She has something going on with Machine Gun Kelly that she is excited about. The movie will be starting up again soon and they are happy to get back to work and continue being together."

Later that month, Fox's ex-husband, Brian Austin Green, confirmed that he and Fox had been separated since 2019but also insisted that Fox and Kelly were strictly platonic. "She met this guy, Colson, on set... I've never met him... Megan and I have talked about him," Green said on an episode of his podcast ... With Brian Austin Green. "They're just friends at this point... I don't want people to think her or he are villains or that I was a victim in any way."

Also that month, MGK's music video for "Bloody Valentine" was released and starred Fox as his onscreen love interest, who apparently enjoys torturing him!

Related: All About Megan Fox's Kids

In the wake of the handsy (and footsie!) music video, MGK seemed to publicly confirmed that they'd become a couple. On June 15, 2020, he referenced "Bloody Valentine"'s lyrics by tweeting, "i'm calling you girlfriend, what the f---' life imitated art on that one."

That same month, a source told E! News about Fox's feelings for Kelly, "She has only been with Brian for many years and this is very different. She's into it."

On July 29, 2020, the couple made their relationship Instagram official in a since-deleted post when MGK shared a black-and-white selfie of the two of them along with the caption, "Waited for eternity to find you again."

Since then, the couple has revealed what they did on their first date. According to British GQ:

"For their first real date, MGK picked Fox up in a 1974 Cadillac convertible and they listened to Ella Fitzgerald. He drove her to a canyons edge where he had a friend waiting with a picnic set up on a blanket and a sea of roses. Then they drove down Sunset Boulevard to the Roxy Theatre, which was closed. We went to the roof and played pop punk and made out, [MGK] recalls.'"

What does Machine Gun Kelly say about Megan Fox?

LOS ANGELES, CA - MAY 23: 2021 BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS -- Pictured: (l-r) Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly arrive to the 2021 Billboard Music Awards held at the Microsoft Theater on May 23, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. -- (Photo by Todd Williamson/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images) Todd Williamson/NBC/Getty Images

Machine Gun Kelly wouldn't stop gushing about Megan Fox when they were together.

"Our first kiss, she wouldnt kiss me. We just put our lips right in front of each other and breathed each others breath and then she just left," MGK told British GQ in October 2021.

MGK has also publicly shared his adoration for Fox's feet. (To be fair, he's apparently off-handedly mentioned that he might have an actual foot fetish in the past.)

"For personal reasons, 'Bloody Valentine' might now be my favorite video," he told Teen Vogue. "It's no secret I think feet are beautiful, and I think Megan has the most beautiful feet that exist."

Beyond his love for her toes, MGK confessed on The Howard Stern Show, "I didn't know what [love] was until me and her made eye contact. That's when I was like, 'Whoa.' That was my first experience with being open to love and stuff like that. I definitely wasn't set up to believe that that's something that could ever exist."

He has cited Fox as a key influence on Tickets to My Downfall, which arrived about four or so months after they started dating.

"Tickets is essentially my diary, because I did fall in love during the making of this record, and I did become a better person. It's interesting," he told NME. "I think the universe caught onto me wanting to make a change. It was like: 'Maybe we won't make this a reality; maybe we'll make this ironic.' Instead of the downfall, go ahead and have the biggest rise of your f---ing life."

He also publicly credited Fox with "taking him out of the fast lane" in an interview with Nylon.

"Finding someone that can take you out of the fast lane and make sure that you're safe, because at any minute you can crashI love that it can evolve into that," he explained.

But wait, there's more! Kelly continued to gush about Fox in her July 2021 InStyle profile. "I just want people to understand this is real... She is unlike any person I have ever met in my life," he told the outlet. "I don't think people get the opportunity to believe in real, great love, and that's what we have together." (Aww!)

What has Megan Fox said about Machine Gun Kelly?

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 12: (L-R) Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly attend the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards at Barclays Center on September 12, 2021 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/MTV VMAs 2021/Getty Images for MTV/ ViacomCBS) Kevin Mazur/MTV VMAs 2021/Getty Images

One of the first things Fox said publicly about MGK came on Instagram when she wrote alongside a photo of him, "Achingly Beautiful Boy... My heart is yours." But she's gushed about him plenty of times aside from what she's said on social media.

In October 2021, Fox rhapsodized to British GQ that meeting MGK was "like meeting your own souls reflection. I recognize so much of myself in him, and vice versa, and that locked-up part of me that I had put away. Id always felt like there was that thing missing, that Id given up on, that youre always seeking. But then you meet the person that completes that for you and youre like, 'Oh, this is what my heart was searching for.' Thats what that beacon was this whole time.

The month before that, Fox claimed their love was written in the stars. "I think part of [our connection] comes naturally because our relationship is so karmic that our spirit, our souls, are so intertwined on that higher plane, a lot of it is handled for us by our ancestors and the spirits and energies that are watching over us," she told CR Fashion Book.

Earlier in 2021, while promoting Midnight in the Switchgrass, the couple sat down with director Randall Emmett and his wife Lala Kent for an episode of their podcast, Give Them Lala ... With Randall. Fox expressed that at the movie's initial table read, she felt it in her gut that she and MGK had a connection.

"I was like, 'Who's going to play this role?' And he was like, 'Oh, we just got Machine Gun Kelly.' And immediately, I was like, 'Uh oh,'" Fox said. "I knew. I could feel that some wild s**t was going to happen to me from that meeting, but I wasn't yet sure what. I just felt it like, deep in my solar plexus that something was going to come from that."

Fox also added that she considers MGK to be her "twin flame," which she says is a soul that has "ascended to a high enough level that it can be split into two different bodies at the same time."

"We're actually two halves of the same soul," she explained in the episode. "I said that to him almost immediately, because I felt it right away."

Then, when MGK appeared on the cover of Nylon, Fox chimed in, saying, "Loving him is like being in love with a tsunami or a forest fire. The intensity of merging with him is just overwhelming, and the threat it poses is so powerful but so beautiful that you have no choice to surrender with reverence and with gratitude."

Of their first meeting, Fox also said, "I looked into his eyes [and] I felt the most pristine, most gentle, most pure spirit. My heart shattered immediately and I just knew that I was f**ked."

Are Machine Gun Kelly and Megan Fox engaged?

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 05: (L-R) Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly attend the 65th GRAMMY Awards on February 05, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy) Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

They were, but probably aren't anymore.

Fox and MGK made a bit of a spectacle over her engagement ring, with Machine Gun Kelly writing in a since-deleted Instagram video of the proposal, "I know tradition is one ring, but i designed it with Stephen Webster to be two: the emerald (her birth stone) and the diamond (my birth stone) set on two magnetic bands of thorns that draw together as two halves of the same soul forming the obscure heart that is our love. 1-11-2022 ."

Do Megan Fox and MGK have a kid?

Nope, although both of them are surely plenty busy in the parenting department: While Fox is a mom to the three boys she shares with ex-husband Green, Kelly's daughter Casie Colson Baker was born in July 2009. They've hinted that Fox had a miscarriage during their relationship.

Next up, a timeline of Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn's relationship.
2018s sleeper hit, Searching, showed you could create an effective edge-of-your-seat mystery thriller told exclusively through the use of the screens that dominate our daily lives in this century. It starred John Cho as a father whose 16-year-old daughter disappears, leading him to use all the tools of the internet to try and trace her steps in order to find her. Its follow-up, Missing, actually improves on that idea with a different story and set of characters, taking it several leaps further in creating a corker of a suspense picture that looks like what a filmmaking master such as Hitchcock might have made had he been an IT genius too.

Watching Searching, which was directed and cowritten (with Sev Ohanian) by Aneesh Chaganty, I kept thinking how the real stars of the piece were the film editors who had to put together a puzzle of images in order to create a coherent story. It makes sense then that the writing/directing reins of Missing have been handed to those two Searching editors, Will Merrick and Nicholas D. Johnson. They have not just stayed true to the spirit of the franchise they helped bring to life, they have taken it to a new level.

More from Deadline

At its heart, this is really an old-fashioned detective story dressed up for contemporary audiences who will entirely relate to the idea of a movie told solely from the POV of screens, whether on our phones, our computers, our security cameras, our television sets, our watches, and all sorts of technological devices with screens on them that are spying on us 24/7. It is big brother in the extreme, and the ultra clever conceit of this franchise is as novel as they come, even employing a TV series in the midst of it all called Unfiction that cleverly mirrors the real tale as it unfolds..

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The key plot is centered on June (Storm Reid), a young woman who discovers her mother Grace (Nia Long) has gone missing on a vacation trip to Colombia with her new boyfriend, Kevin, after meeting him on an online dating service.

When she cant be contacted by normal means, June starts to panic, and slowly using the tools of her computer and other devices uncovers some uncomfortable truths, not only about Kevin after hacking into his emails and texts, but also her mother herself, who may not be exactly who she thought she was. The plotting gets very complex, as details of Junes life are also revealed in flashbacks, as we see she lost her father James (Tim Griffin) at a very early age, and then was brought up by single mom Grace.

Along the way, she enlists the help of her moms best friend, Heather (Amy Landecker), her BFF Veena (Megan Suri), and a Colombian man she befriends on the net named Javi (Joaquim de Almeida) who becomes integral to tracking down the couple when the search points directly to some specific tourist haunts in Colombia.

Later, as desperation kicks in, she hooks up with FBI agent Park (Daniel Henney), with the missing American woman becoming fodder for the feds, as well as pundits on the internet, when the story goes viral.

To say more, or add any spoilers, would be critical malpractice, so I will leave it at that, except to say the visual style and crackerjack editing by the new cutting team of Austin Keeling and Arielle Zakowski, not to mention a plausibly crafted screenplay and fine acting, really all add up to make this a highly entertaining thriller for a generation addicted to their devices.

It helps to have such an appealing lead in Reid, who carries the film handily, aided by the always fine Long (also seen this week in Netflixs You People). Leung, who keeps us guessing whether he is a good or bad guy, and Griffin, who shows real range as her dad. de Almeida is a strong presence as well in his few scenes. Producers are Ohanian, Chaganty, and Natalie Qasabian. Timur Bekmambetov returns as an Executive Producer.

Sony Pictures releases the Stage 6 Films and Screen Gems production on Friday.

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We recently asked the BuzzFeed Community to tell us about an unsolved mystery they just can't stop thinking about. Here are the mysteries they shared that will haunt you for days, months, and years to come...

Warning: Graphic content ahead, viewer discretion advised.

1. The death of Elisa Lam

"She was only a few months older than me so it was unnerving hearing someone my age died but the yow is still a mystery. There's no way she died by suicide, I believe she was murdered." beckichino CBS / Via youtube.com

What happened:

Lam was a 21-year-old Canadian student whose body was inexplicably found inside a water tank on top of the Cecil Hotel in Los Angeles after other guests complained about flooding and water pressure issues. Lam, who had been staying at the hotel, was reported missing 19 days earlier and was last seen on a surveillance tape inside an elevator in the hotel.

2. The death of Mitrice Richardson

"The Mitrice Richardson case is terrifying. She was showing signs of a mental health episode, was released from jail after midnight without her wallet, phone, or any way to get home, and her remains were found by park rangers 2.5 miles from the sheriff's station almost a year later. A cause of death was never determined; her family suspects foul play, but the sheriff's department insists there's no evidence." losfrangeles Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

What happened:

Richardson was a 24-year-old recent Cal State Fullerton grad who went missing on Sept. 17, 2019. Richardson was last seen allegedly leaving a sheriff's station in Malibu. (Earlier, she had been detained by sheriff's deputies after a restaurant manager made a citizen's arrest complaint.) Eleven months went by before her body was inadvertently found by park rangers in August 2010 in Malibu Canyon.

3. The disappearance of Cherrie Mahan

"She was the first person ever to ever be featured on those 'Have you seen me?' fliers. She went to the same school district as me. She got off the bus and was never seen again. In high school, some of my teachers who also grew up there would reveal they had been friends with her and still wondered what happened. Someone in the area has got to know something and I honestly just want someone to finally speak up because the family deserves closure." monikap6 CBS Pittsburgh / Via youtube.com

What happened:

Eight-year-old Mahan was living in rural Pennsylvania when she disappeared after getting off a school bus not far from her home on Feb. 22, 1985. Although a suspect vehicle was sighted and many leads pursued, Mahan was never found and declared legally dead in November 1998.

4. The disappearance of Michelle Pulsifer

"Three-year-old Michelle disappeared, her mom and stepdad abruptly moved across the country a few days later, and they repeatedly changed their story. Michelle was never seen again  alive or dead." losfrangeles Robert Lachman / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

What happened:

Pulsifer disappeared in July 1969. In 2004, Pulsifer's mother, Donna, and her boyfriend, Michael, were arrested and charged with the young girl's murder. Michael claimed they found Michelle dead in her bedroom and buried her thereafter. However, Michelle's remains were never found. Michael died in 2005 before he could testify in the case and Donna was released after a mistrial and lack of evidence.

5. The disappearance of Michael Negrete

"He was up until 4 a.m. playing video games in his dorm with a friend, left his dorm room to go congratulate him once the game ended, and was last seen going back to his room. When his roommates woke up around 9 that morning, he was gone and his keys, wallet, shoes, and clothes were still in his room. The only lead the police have is multiple students allegedly seeing an unknown man on the floor of his dorm room the night he disappeared. But that man has never been identified and this sighting cant be confirmed. He didnt have a car on campus, and had no history of depression or drug and/or alcohol abuse. His disappearance was later categorized as a homicide but there have just been no leads since." jkxoxo Al Seib / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

What happened:

Eighteen-year-old UCLA student Michael Negete disappeared early in the morning on Dec. 10, 1999. Although it was initially categorized as a missing persons case, according to police, it eventually turned into a homicide investigation. He has not been found.

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6. The Phillip Island murder mystery

"Who killed Beth Barnard? Where is Vivienne Cameron? Is she dead, too? What really happened that night? What is Fergus Cameron not telling us? I have so many questions and will probably never find out, but I've never been more perplexed about an unsolved crime." purplepeopleeater21 60 Minutes Australia / Via youtube.com

What happened:

In September 1986, 23-year-old Beth Barnard was found brutally murdered on Phillip Island in Australia  her body was found with an "A" carved into her chest. Beth was allegedly having an affair with a man named Fergus Cameron. Not long after, Fergus's wife Vivienne disappeared and has not been seen since.

7. The lead masks case

"Its rather unknown, but essentially two men were found facedown in the woods by a little boy flying a kite. They were dressed in suits, raincoats, and had glasses made of lead, and there were no signs of trauma. They also had water bottles, two wet towels, and carried a rather cryptic note. The note read, '16:30 be at the specified location. 18:30 ingest capsules, after the effect protect metals await signal mask.' There was no cause of death ruled. To this day, no one knows what they were doing or how they died. Theories range from foul play to UFOs." aroace_fromouterspace Investigation Discovery / Via youtube.com

What happened:

Manoel Pereira da Cruz and Miguel Jose Viana were Brazilian electronic technicians whose bodies were found on Aug. 20, 1966 in Rio de Janeiro. They had apparently been planning something secret and told their families just a few days earlier that they were going to buy electronic materials for work. However, after their bodies were discovered, no cause of death was determined by authorities, as there were no clear injuries, no toxic substances found, and their internal organs were too badly decomposed by the time the autopsy happened.

8. The death of Katherine Korzilius

"She was walking home after picking up the mail from a local mailbox and then was found dead. Her parents (Nancy and Paul) had been driving home one way, whilst Katherine was walking home the other. The first theory was that Katherine was struck by a hit-and-run driver, but that was ruled out by the Medical Examiner. Several people have had their own theories as to what happened. Some say that it was one of the neighbors, others say it was a child molester, and others have said that it was a deranged Bon Jovi fan (Paul was Jon Bon Jovi's manager at the time) who was looking for a ransom. There has never been any conclusive proof of what happened on that day and perhaps there never will be. Jon wrote a song as a tribute to Katherine on his 1997 solo album Destination Anywhere called "August 7, 4:15." dannymazda1 Unsolved Mysteries / Via youtube.com

What happened:

Katherine Korzilius was a 6-year-old girl living in Elder Circle, Texas when she was found dead on Aug. 7, 1996, just minutes from her home. In fact, she had only been missing for 15 minutes between the time she was last seen and when she was found lying on the street. According to the medical examiner, the injuries she sustained could have been the "result of either jumping from a moving vehicle, being thrown from a moving vehicle, or falling from a moving vehicle." However, her cause of death remains a mystery.

9. The Isdal woman case

"I am a true crime buff and the case I will never shake is the Isdal Woman. An unidentified woman was found in a remote park in Norway in 1970. Shed gone to great lengths to conceal her identity and there are a ton of theories as to who she was and why she was killed  military spy, art thief, woman with a stalker. I think about this one all the time. My all-time favorite podcast, 'Death in Ice Valley,' details the case beautifully." kminfl Bumbimpensinee / Getty Images/iStockphoto

What happened:

"The Isdal woman" is a made-up name that was assigned to an unidentified woman whose burned body was discovered in a remote part of Norway's Isdalen valley on Nov. 29, 1970. Although many clues were found by authorities, her identity and mysterious death remain unsolved.

10. The disappearance of Kirsa Jensen

"She disappeared in Napier, New Zealand in 1983  before I was born. However, when I was a teen I read the book her mum wrote and the case has fascinated me since." emmaw4fc539148 RNZ / Via youtube.com

What happened:

Fourteen-year-old Jensen was living in Napier, New Zealand when she disappeared on Sept. 2, 1983 while riding her horse. Although her horse was found tethered near the Tutaekuri River, no trace of Jensen was found. The case remains open.

11. The disappearance of DeOrr Kunz

"A little boy from Idaho. Went missing on a family camping tripso mom and dad say. Some swear he was never there, some think hes buried up there somewhere. The image of this sweet boys face is burned into my memory and I pray he gets justice someday." mymushy KTVB / Via youtube.com

What happened:

DeOrr Kunz was just 2 years old when he disappeared on July 10, 2015 while visiting a campground with his parents, Jessica Mitchell and Vernal DeOrr Kunz. Although several private investigators have worked on the case, no solid evidence as to what may have happened has been found. Mitchell and Kunz were named suspects in January 2016 but were never arrested or charged.

12. The disappearance of Brandon Swanson

"If I remember correctly he went out at night and his car broke down in the middle of nowhere so he called his dad to come and find him. Eventually, during the call he yelled out, 'Oh shit!' and that was the last time anyone ever heard from him." idk_man_idk HLN / Via youtube.com

What happened:

Swanson was a 19-year-old college student in Marshall, Minnesota last seen leaving a friends house on May 14, 2008. After apparently driving into a ditch, he called his parents to pick him up. However, even after talking to him several times on the way, they were never able to find him. His car was later found abandoned in a ditch with the car doors open and keys missing, roughly 25 miles from where he had said he was.

13. The disappearance of Brian Shaffer

"How can a person disappear from a bar without being caught on surveillance footage? He was caught on CCTV entering the bar, but never exiting it. The police combed through the footage and accounted for everyone except him, and there were no other exits to the bar. He went in and never came out." n48656c421 WBNS / Via youtube.com

What happened:

Medical student Brian Shaffer was last seen in Ohio, on CCTV, going up an escalator to a popular campus bar. But the video never showed him leaving. Foul play has still not been ruled out.

14. The killing of JonBenet Ramsey

"We are about the same age and I remember being so confused as to why my parents were following her story so much on 20/20 and Dateline. Then when I watched stuff about her as an adult there's just too much stuff that went wrong and so much stuff that didn't make any sense." lunal4a41c49e2 ABC News / Via youtube.com

What happened:

JonBenet Ramsey was a 6-year-old girl who was killed in her family's home in Boulder, Colorado on Dec. 25 or 26, 1996. Her death was attributed to a skull fracture from a blow to the head and strangulation by a garrote that was found around her neck. The case became a media circus, largely in part because Ramsey was a child beauty pageant contestant and it received constant coverage from around the world. It is still considered a cold case.

15. The disappearance of Jennifer Kesse

"Jennifer appears to have left her apartment with clothes out and a messy bathroom, and just is never seen again. Her car turns up a few days later in another apartment complex and security footage reveals a man walking away from it, but 2006 security footage was not great, and the suspect's face is covered in every single shot. And what makes the whole case even more heartbreaking is that her family and friends jumped on the case and are still actively trying to solve it. kimberlyh4cbccf3a0 Fox 35 Orlando / Via youtube.com

What happened:

Kesse, 24, was living in Orlando, Florida when she went missing on Jan. 23, 2006. She was last seen leaving work around 6 p.m. and then spoke to her father on the drive home. She also talked on the phone with her boyfriend later. Kesse did not arrive at work the next day. The family is still getting leads today.

16. The disappearance of Jodi Huisentruit

"Jodi was a news reporter who overslept for work. Her colleague calls and wakes her and she says she will be there shortly. Jodi rushes through her morning routine and rushes to her car. She is ambushed by her car and abducted. Left behind at the scene is a variety of her personal items and a bent car key." kimberlyh4cbccf3a0 Star Tribune via Getty Images

What happened:

Huisentruit was a news anchor in Mason City, Iowa who disappeared on June 27, 1995 on the way to work. There were apparently signs of a struggle outside of her apartment, so it was presumed she was abducted. Although there were thousands of tips and interviews conducted, Huisentruit was not found and declared legally dead in 2001.

17. D.B. Cooper

"Happened in the state I grew up in, and its just wild. They have found some of the money, but the guy was never definitively identified." strangerthanitseems Bettmann / Bettmann Archive

What happened:

D.B. Cooper is the pseudonym of an unidentified man who hijacked a plane on Nov. 24, 1971. After the hijacker demanded four parachutes and $200,000, the flight landed in Seattle. There, the flight's passengers were exchanged for the ransom money and parachutes. The flight then took off again and headed for Mexico City. But somewhere between Seattle and Reno, the hijacker jumped out of the plane with a parachute and the money. The hijacker has not been found to this day. However, there are many theories about who he was. (Side note: The highjacker bought his plane ticket under the name "Dan Cooper," and after a misunderstanding, people/the media thought it was "D.B. Cooper" and the wrong fake name has stuck ever since.)

18. The disappearance of Asha Degree

"Why did she leave the house in the middle of the night? Was she meeting someone? Was it someone the family knew? So many questions..." emilyh4a400c793 WCNC / Via youtube.com

What happened:

Nine-year-old Degree was living in Shelby, North Carolina when she went missing on Feb. 14, 2000. She left her home early that morning, sometime between 2:30 a.m. and 6:30 a.m., and walked along a nearby highway where several motorists reportedly saw her. Apparently, one person went back to check on her and said she'd disappeared into the woods. There is still a $45,000 award being offered for any information that may lead to finding her.

19. Finally, Malaysia Airlines Flight 370

"I watched a documentary and they have SO many tools that they should have found it. SO much evidence and information about the whereabouts of the plane yet they still cant find it! They only found I think like three pieces of the plane that were confirmed to be part of that flight." lumpyflamingo Handout / Getty Images

What happened:

On March 8, 2014, Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared while flying from Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia to Beijing Capital International Airport with 239 people on board. The flight was lost on air traffic control radar but picked up by military radar, hundreds of miles off course from the planned flight path. The flight never arrived at its destination. Although various pieces of plane debris have been found in the years since, most of it is unconfirmed to have actually belonged to MH370.

Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
According to a Harris Poll conducted in early 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had a public disapproval rating among Americans of almost 75%, roughly the same as Fidel Castro, (at the time) the communist leader of Cuba.

Aaron Lake

Dr. King was a man who had committed his entire life to serving and fighting for human rights for all people. Yet, he was only as popular a tyrannical, malevolent, communist despot. How could this be? It could happen to you.

History has revealed that those in the upper echelon of American government leveraged their powers and influence to stalk, malign and even set up Dr. King in an attempt to discredit him and persuade the American people that the man, not the cause, was unjust.

Insecure and weak men the likes of the J. Edgar Hoover, those in the CIA, radical white supremacists and even some marginal-fringe negro groups, implemented a hateful, meanspirited and evil campaign to thwart a man and a movement that would advance our nation and the world to realize the dream of diversity and inclusion for all. It could happen to you.

Not only did those anti-American-way deeds lead to the death of arguably the most significant leader since Jesus Christ, they prevented millions of potentially outstanding public and community servants from entering into the arena of service. When asked why they dont get involved with organizations that could change their community a number of young people site the potential disruption their involvement could mean to their private lives. It could happen to you.

Due to ubiquitous and intractable social media platforms, it no longer takes the whole of the American government to decimate the lives of well intentioned, patriotic citizens endeavoring to make a positive difference. All it takes is the cowardly, evil imaginations of a foe, former friend or ex anything with a phone, camera or keyboard.

Those who have selfish and narcissistic agendas which are only shallow coverings for their insecurity and lack of accomplishments, hide behind any communication device they can afford wielding a key stroke like a machete and a video post like an AK-47. The malignant result of this kind of hate not only endangers lives it preempts the progress of society as a whole. It could happen to you.

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What happened to Dr. King could happen to you. You could become the greatest agent for change and improvement that the world has ever seen. But only if you get involved.

Aaron Lake is assistant pastor at Greater Grace Church in Muncie, Ind.

This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Reflections on MLK: This could happen to you
Image via Getty/Jon Kopaloff

Amanda Bynes is about to take a trip down memory lane.

According to Variety, the 36-year-old actress will participate in an All That reunion at 90s Con, marking her first public appearance since her conservatorship ended in March of last year. The decade-themed event will take place from March 17-19 in Hartford, Connecticut, where Bynes will join a panel discussion along with her former Nickelodeon castmates Lori Beth Denberg, Danny Tamberelli, and Kel Mitchell.

Im really excited to reunite with my cast mates and meet the fans at 90s Con! Bynes said in a statement.

After appearing in numerous TV commercials and stage productions, Bynes secured a leading role in All That in 1996. She would go on star in some of the series most popular sketches, such as Ask Ashley, Penelope Taynt, Judge Trudy, and Amandas Jacuzzi. Bynes quickly became a fan favorite, and secured her own sketch comedy show in 1999.

Bynes went on to star in films like Big Fat Liar, What a Girl Wants, Shes the Man, and Easy A. She experienced a string of mental health issues in the early 2010s, prompting her parents to petition for a conservatorship. Bynes mother became her official conservator in 2014 and held that role until last year, when a judge ruled Bynes was mentally capable of managing her own life.

Variety reports 90s Con will mark the largest All That cast reunion since its conclusion. The sketch comedy show premiered in 1994 and wrapped up in 2000. It was relaunched in 2002 and revived nearly two decades later in 2019. The latest revival aired its final episode in late 2020.

Last year, I had a blast at 90s Con promoting my book and new single Blessed Mode, Kel said. What better way to return than with the All That gangincluding Amanda Bynes.

Other celebrities who will appear at 90s Con include AJ McLean and Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys, Steve Burns of Blues Clues, Thora Birch of Hocus Pocus, as well as Elizabeth Berkley, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, and Mario Lopez of Saved by the Bell.

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As retailer Bed, Bath & Beyond closes store in its fight to stave off bankruptcy, Rhode Island's two stories will stay open for now.

On Tuesday, the company announced 149 additional stores it will close this year. That comes about a week after it had announced another 87 stores that will close.

The Bed, Bath & Beyond stores in Warwick and Middletown are not on either list of closings announced so far.

Stores in Massachusetts are on the closure list

But that doesn't mean Rhode Island shoppers are off the hook completely: the store in North Attleboro, in a popular stretch of retail outlets close to the Ocean State's Blackstone Valley, is on the list announced Tuesday. That follows a few months after the store in Seekonk, only a hundred yards from East Providence, held its going-out-of-business sale.

The chain, under a couple of different brands in addition to flagship Bed, Bath & Beyond, had a high of 1,552 stores in 2017, according to CNN. This year, it plans to reduce the number of stores from 760 down to about 360, according to the cable network.

In total, the company is reducing the number of Bed Bath & Beyond stores from 760 to about 360, with the company keeping its most profitable stores open in key markets. At its peak in 2017, the storied brand had 1,552 stores open.

More:Reports that discount retailer Ames is making a comeback are probably a hoax. Here's why

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Are Bed Bath & Beyond stores closing in RI and Massachusetts?
Louisiana US Senator Bill Cassidy joined Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) in pressing Chinese fast fashion company SHEIN for answers and calling for increased transparency following reports that its products are made with cotton from Chinese slave labor.

The letter comes after a Bloomberg report in November 2022, noting that laboratory testing from garments shipped to the US revealed cotton made in Chinas Xinjiang region.

Federal officials banned the import of cotton from the region after reports of what the State Department called "horrific abuses" against the Uyghur people.

We are concerned that American consumers may be inadvertently purchasing apparel made in-part with cotton grown, picked, and processed using forced labor, wrote the senators.

Senator Bill Cassidy photographed on April 12, 2022, at the Hilton Shreveport Hotel.

Xinjiangs cotton lint production provides for over 85 percent of Chinas total cotton production and 20 percent of global output, continued the senators. Considering SHEINs large, decentralized network of suppliers, we are concerned that cotton fibers harvested in Xinjiang with forced labor may have entered SHEINs supply chains.

The senators are seeking more information to understand SHEINs ties to Chinese supply chains in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Cassidy, senators want to know if SHEIN is using slave labor
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi will visit China for a three-day trip starting Tuesday at the invitation of his counterpart, Xi Jinping.

China's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying made the announcement on Sunday. She did not elaborate on Raisi's itinerary.

The two leaders met last September in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, when Xi underscored China's support for Iran.

In December, Raisi pledged to remain committed to deepening the strategic partnership during a meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Hu Chunhua in Tehran.

China is a major buyer of Iranian oil and an important source of investment in the Mideast country. In 2021, Iran and China signed a 25-year strategic cooperation agreement that covered major economic activities from oil and mining to industry, transportation and agriculture.

Both countries have had tense relations with the United States and have sought to project themselves as a counterweight to American power alongside Russia.

Washington has accused Iran of selling hundreds of attack drones to Russia for its war in Ukraine and has sanctioned executives of an Iranian drone manufacturer. At that same time, ties between Moscow and Beijing have grown stronger.

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The First Avenue Bridge in Barstow, California is one of several bridges across the nation, associated with the name Barstow, which dealt or are presently dealing with structural challenges.

The U.S. arm of a Stockholm, Sweden-based construction giant announced it secured a $30 million contract from the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority to lead the long-awaited replacement of Barstow's decrepit First Avenue Bridge.

Skanska USA, a unit of Swedish construction firm Skanska AB, expects to break ground this month and work into 2024 on the multi-million dollar gig to build a full-on replacement for the existing two-lane bridge, according to a company spokesperson.

The project carries high stakes with a mix of federal, state, county and local funding.

The bridge was built in the 1930s, and serves as a critical access point to Barstow's northern region and runs directly above a massive BNSF Railway Co. intermodal yard.

California authorities dubbed the current bridge, "structurally deficient." Its replacement was supposed to begin years ago, but the bridge has instead been sustained by incremental, ultimately temporary repairs due to delays in federal grant money meant to cover the vast majority of project costs.

The funding logjam was resolved last year with an agreement between the city and the county for Barstow taxpayers to foot $3.2 million more than previously expected on the final bill for the bridge replacement. The latest engineer's estimate for total construction costs when the new bridge is up and running has been pinned at more than $62 million.

The project was escalated last year when Barstow had to shutter the existing bridge twice: From Jan. 12 to Feb. 4 after a head-on car crash damaged the structure; then again from Feb. 19 to March 16 after a single-car crash caused more damage, and declared an emergency to fast-track repairs.

A groundbreaking event will be held at 10 a.m. Jan. 26 in Barstow's historic Harvey House to ceremonially launch the project.

Initial work to prepare the project for launch began earlier this month with the county transport authority, City of Barstow and Caltrans installing construction signs and clearing the project corridor, according to a county press release. The construction phase is expected to last roughly 18 months.

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The existing structure will be replaced with a new two-lane bridge containing eight-foot shoulders and an eight-foot sidewalk that meets modern safety standards and can accommodate all legal truck and permit vehicles, a Skanska spokesperson stated in an email.

Other aspects of the work that Skanska will do under its $30 million contract, include:

"Construction of new 7-span post-tensioned concrete box girder bridge over 17 BNSF tracks"

"Realignment of North 1st Avenue"

"Demolition of the existing 29-span steel truss and steel / timber girder bridge across the BNSF railyard"

"Utility relocation, drainage improvements and lighting improvements"

This isn't Skanska's first contract tied to the run-down state of First Avenue Bridge.

Barstow City Council voted March 7, to skip the competitive bidding process when it declared a local emergency over the bridge's state in order to award an up to $233,000 contract to Skanska USA Civil West California District Inc. for temporary repairs of the existing bridge.

"We look forward to working with the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority, and its many other transportation partners, to replace Barstows North 1st Avenue Bridge," stated Mike Aparicio, executive vice president of Skanska USA Civils West Coast operations. "We are proud to be the team chosen in this first big step toward building a new structural and functional standard needed as (Barstow) continues to grow."

Charlie McGee covers Californias High Desert for the Daily Press, focusing on the city of Barstow and its surrounding communities. He is also a Report for America corps member with The GroundTruth Project, an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization dedicated to supporting the next generation of journalists in the U.S. and around the world. McGee may be reached at 760-955-5341 or cmcgee@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @bycharliemcgee.

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Swedish firm gets $30M county contract to build new Barstow bridge
Legislators including Democratic state Rep. Javier Martinez of Albuquerque, the nominee for House speaker, outline public spending priorities amid a windfall in state government income, at a news conference Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023, in Santa Fe, N.M. Leading New Mexico legislators recommended a billion-dollar increase Thursday in annual state spending to expand preschool access and increase mandatory classroom instruction time at K-12 public schools.

SANTA FE - New Mexico legislators prepared to tap a multibillion-dollar budget surplus as they take on daunting challenges of surging gun violence, lagging student achievement in schools and low workforce participation, at the start of a 60-day legislative session Tuesday.

Concerns about politically motivated violence loomed over the proceedings as police on Monday arrested a failed Republican candidate in connection with a series of shootings targeting the homes of Democratic lawmakers in Albuquerque.

State Rep. Javier Martinez of Albuquerque, the Democratic nominee for House Speaker whose home was targeted by gunfire in December, said the arrest was a relief and that the shootings represent a frightening attack on the democratic process.

"Anyone who takes the plunge to participate in our democracy, to get into the process, should never have to encounter that type of violence and have that kind of fear," Martinez said. "There are a lot of things that can happen when rhetoric gets out of hand."

GOP Senate Minority Leader Greg Baca of Belen condemned an attack that "has no part in our community, or our state." No one was injured in the shootings.

The legislative session in Santa Fe starts with an agenda-setting State of the State speech from Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham near the outset of her second term in office.

The Democratic-dominated state Legislature is anticipating a $3.6 billion budget surplus as it crafts a spending plan for the coming fiscal year. Leading legislators want to expand preschool access, lengthen annual instructional time at public schools, increase public salaries and provide at least $1 billion in tax relief and rebates.

Surging gun violence in Albuquerque and concerns about mass shootings nationwide have spawning proposals for enhanced criminal sentencing and new gun control measures. New bills would ban large-capacity ammunition magazines and apply felony sanctions to ensure guns can't be accessed by children.

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Democratic Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth of Santa Fe says he'll sponsor a bill that bans firearms at all polling locations in response to the fears and frustrations of election workers.

Lujan Grisham staked her reelection heavily on her support for preserving widespread access to abortion as a foundation of women's rights and democracy, in the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision last year that overturned Roe v. Wade and left legalization up to the states. Leading Democratic legislators hope to send her a bill that would prohibit restrictions on abortion by local governments and shield patients and abortion doctors from harassment by out-of-state interests.

New Mexico also is grappling with the aftermath of catastrophic 2022 wildfires linked to climate change and drought.

State legislators want to make the state more resilient to climate-related disasters by speeding up the delivery of federal disaster aid and allow small water districts to band together as they rebuild from wildfires. Lujan Grisham hopes to fund the first New Mexico-based corps of elite smokejumper firefighters to ensure a rapid response to future fires.

Environmentalists are renewing efforts to enshrine rights to clean air and water into the state Constitution, while Democratic state Rep. Patricia Lundstrom of Gallup is courting investments in hydrogen-fuel production as a transition away from the burning of fossil fuels in transportation and industry.

State government income is forecast to reach new heights  $12 billion in revenue during the fiscal year that runs from July 2023 though June 2024. That's about $3.6 billion in excess of current annual spending commitments.

The governor and leading legislators are proposing a pay raise for state workers and public school educators of at least 4%. Taxpayers would pay for educators' individual health care premiums under a proposal from the governor.

State Rep. Raymundo Lara of Chamberino on Tuesday signaled support among House Democrats for the proposal to underwrite health care insurance for teachers.

Beyond government, Democratic legislators want to provide automatic future increases to the statewide $12-per-hour minimum wage.

Lawmakers also hope to sock away billions of dollars into specialized trust funds, and use future investment earnings to underwrite programs ranging from smoking-cessation to highway construction and medical school teaching.

It's an investment strategy that has helped sustain public schools in New Mexico for generations through a $26 billion trust, partially sustained by income from oil- and gas-production leases on state trust land.

Legislators in the Republican minority are emphasizing support for greater competition among K-12 schools and wider options for students, while expanding public funding to private and parochial schools.

Morgan Lee is a reporter for the Associated Press.

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This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Violence looms over New Mexico Legislature as work begins
Thanks to the experts at Capital Area District Library, here is a curated list of titles to celebrate Black History Month. If you don't find a book here that piques your interest, ask a librarian at your local CADL branch for more choices. There are so many, narrowing it to 20 is tough.

Fiction

In the Upper Country by Kai Thomas

In the Upper Country by Kai Thomas

Lensinda is called to tell the story of an older escaped slave who has just killed a slave catcher at her home in 1845 Canada, but instead of a straight interview, the pair begin an exchange of tales that weave their personal stories together.

The Last Dreamwalker by Rita Woods

The Last Dreamwalker by Rita Woods

After her mothers death, Layla finds shes inherited a Gullah-Geechee island off of South Carolina along with a terrifying power that has passed down through generations of her Gullah ancestors.

Moonrise Over New Jessup by Jamila Minnicks

Moonrise Over New Jessup by Jamila Minnicks

Alice Taylor settles and finds love in the all-Black town of New Jessup, Alabama, where the community is rebelling against calls for integration in favor of Black self-determinism at the beginning of the civil rights movement.

My Government Means to Kill Me by Rasheed Newson

My Government Means To Kill Me by Rasheed Newson

A queer coming-of-age story in which a young, gay Black man navigates the social and political upheaval of New York City in the 1980s and during the worst of the AIDS epidemic.

A Quiet Teacher by Adam Oyebanji

A Quiet Teacher by Adam Oyebanji

A murder at an elite Pittsburgh academy threatens the carefully constructed identity and security of a language teacher. This is le Carre meets Christie with well-placed societal commentary.

Adult Non-Fiction

Driving the Green Book: A Road Trip Through the Living History of Black Resistance by Alvin Hall with Karl Weber

Driving the Green Book: A Road Trip Through the Living History of Black Resistance by Alvin Hall

Broadcaster Alvin Hall takes readers from New York to New Orleans on the path of the Negro Motorist Green Book  visiting motels, restaurants, and historical and cultural landmarks while telling stories of Black resistance, community and hope.

Half-American: The Epic Story of African Americans Fighting World War II at Home and Abroad by Matthew F. Delmont

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Half-American: The Epic Story of African Americans Fighting World War II at Home and Abroad by Matthew F. Delmont

Dartmouth history professor Matthew Delmont tells the story of the over 1 million Black Americans who served in combat and support capacities in World War II, courageously fighting for their country and enduring racial discrimination.

Illustrated Black History: Honoring the Iconic and the Unseen by George McCalman with April Reynolds

"Illustrated Black History: Honoring the Iconic and the Unseen" by George McCalman

This vibrant work by artist George McCalman features painted portraits and essays of 145 Black Americans from the realms of science, politics, business, medicine, and the arts.

Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom by Ilyon Woo

Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom by Ilyon Woo

Ilyon Woo tells the story of the self-emancipation of Ellen and William Craft, an enslaved couple who, after disguising themselves  Ellen as a disabled white male slave owner, and William as her slave  flee Georgia in 1848 to begin a long journey to freedom.

Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto by Tricia Hersey

Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto by Tricia Hersey

The founder of the Nap Ministry emphasizes the importance of rest and resistance to grind culture in a call to action with the goal of a future where rest is exalted  and is a divine human right.

Children's books

A Song For The Unsung: Bayard Rustin, The Man Behind the 1963 March on Washington by Carole Boston Weatherford & Rob Sanders

"A Song for the Unsung: Bayard Rustin, the Man Behind the 1963 March on Washington" by Carole Boston Weatherford and Rob Sanders

Bayard Rustin, a gay man with a beautiful singing voice was essential in orchestrating the 1963 March on Washington and this biography picture book celebrates his impact through mixed-media illustrations.

Freewater by Amina Luqman-Dawson

Freewater by Amina Luqman-Dawson

History fans will revel in this chapter book detailing a swamp community of individuals fleeing enslavement from a fictional plantation in the South. Luqman-Dawson won the 2023 Newbery Medal for this remarkably well researched title.

Holding Her Own: The Exceptional Life of Jackie Ormes by Traci N. Todd

Holding Her Own: The Exceptional Life of Jackie Ormes by Traci N. Todd

This picture book biography about Jackie Ormes, acknowledged to be the first Black woman cartoonist featured in newspapers, sheds light about her success and passion for graphic arts.

Just Like Jesse Owens by Andrew Young

Just Like Jesse Owens by Andrew Young

Andrew Young, a former congressman, mayor, and ambassador to the United Nations, eloquently describes the lasting effect Jesse Owens 1936 Olympic gold medal wins had on his commitment to be the best I could be in this picture book inspired by a family story.

Rock, Rosetta, Rock! Roll, Rosetta, Roll! by Tonya Bolden

Rock, Rosetta, Rock! Roll, Rosetta, Roll! by Tonya Bolden

Often referred to as the godmother of rock and roll, Rosetta Tharpe is celebrated with vibrant paintings in this picture book biography that captures Ms. Tharpes sparkling and bold personality.

Teen books

And We Rise: The Civil Rights Movement in Poems by Erica Martin

And We Rise: The Civil Rights Movement in Poems by Erica Martin

This visually stunning compilation of short poems guides the reader through events from the past, while using free verse and occasional archival photos to bring Black history alive.

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents: Adapted for Young Readers by Isabel Wilkerson

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents: Adapted for Young Readers by Isabel Wilkerson

A young adult adaptation from a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, this nonfiction work examines caste systems and social hierarchies while exploring how a more inclusive society will advance equality for all.

The Davenports by Krystal Marquis

The Davenports by Krystal Marquis

Historical fiction romance readers will enjoy this novel set in Chicago that follows a sibling group of teens from a wealthy family dealing with questions of classism, gender norms, and racism in 1910.

Victory. Stand!: Raising My Fist For Justice by Tommie Smith

Victory. Stand!: Raising My Fist For Justice by Tommie Smith

In this powerful graphic novel memoir, bronze and gold medalist Tommie Smith tells the incredible story of what led him to raise his fist at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico. Like so many athletes who came after him, he epitomizes courage and points to an awe-inspiring commitment to racial justice.

We Are the Scribes by Randi Pink

We Are the Scribes by Randi Pink

In this teen novel, a Black writer is riled by present day turmoil involving violence and politics. When she begins receiving letters in cursive from none other than Harriet Jacobs, author of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, healing flows and strength grows.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Black History Month book recommendations from CADL
The State Department is urging U.S. citizens to reconsider or even avoid travel to parts of Mexico  including Jalisco state, home to top queer destination Puerto Vallarta  over increased crime and kidnappings in the region. As travelers make plans for spring break, the federal departments Bureau of Consular Affairs has issued multiple advisories over the ongoing violence in Mexico.

Cartel violence erupted in Culiacan in early January after authorities arrested Ovidio Guzman, a leader of the Sinaloa drug cartel and son of imprisoned drug lord Joaquin El Chapo Guzman.

Rather than issue a nationwide risk assessment for Mexico, the department reviewed each state, issuing its strongest warning, for Colima, Guerrero, Michoacan, Sinaloa, Tamaulipas, and Zacatecas over crime concerns.

Urging U.S. citizens not to travel to those Mexican states, the Bureau of Consular Affairs cited recent shootings between rival gangs that have injured or killed bystanders, as well as kidnappings targeting tourists and green card holders.

Officials advise U.S. citizens to reconsider travel to Baja California, Chihuahua, Durango, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Morelos, and Sonora due to crime and kidnapping.

Regarding Jalisco, which is home to popular LGBTQ+ destinations Puerto Vallarta, Guadalajara, and Riviera Nayarit, the advisory notes, Violent crime and gang activity are common in parts of Jalisco state. In Guadalajara, territorial battles between criminal groups take place in tourist areas. Shooting incidents between criminal groups have injured or killed innocent bystanders. U.S. citizens and [legal permanent residents] have been victims of kidnapping.

At least some of the increased violence in tourism hotspots can be traced to the appetites of the travelers themselves: demand for drugs has brought competing cartels to the region.

In January, Orange County public defender Elliot Blair died under suspicious circumstances while vacationing in Rosarito in Baja California. His family believes the 33-year-old was murdered, but local authorities have called his death an accident.

U.S. officials advise increased caution when traveling to an additional 17 Mexican states, including Quintana Roo, home to the popular tourist destination, Cancun. Clashes in that state between Uber and Cabify drivers and taxi unions, have turned violent and injured U.S. tourists.
In the past three weeks, policymakers had their worlds rocked by generative artificial intelligence. The problem is that they dont know it  yet.

First, a team of researchers demonstrated that Open AIs Chat GPT3 can pass the stringent United States Medical Licensing Exam. Days later, Chat GPT 3 passed a bar exam. Finally, Chat GPT3 passed the prestigious Wharton Business Schools rigorous core examination.

The Wharton researcher writes, OpenAIs Chat GPT3 has shown a remarkable ability to automate some of the skills of highly compensated knowledge workers in general and specifically the knowledge workers in the jobs held by MBA graduates including analysts, managers, and consultants.

This picture taken on January 23, 2023 in Toulouse, southwestern France, shows screens displaying the logos of OpenAI and ChatGPT. - ChatGPT is a conversational artificial intelligence software application developed by OpenAI.

Lawyers, doctors, administrators, managers, and consultants are some of the most highly compensated professionals in the United States. Generative artificial intelligence is banishing them to obsolescence.

With only 375 employees, the unprofitable Chat GPT3 was acquired by behemoth Microsoft at a valuation reportedly northward of $30 billion. For perspective, with over 42,000 highly educated healthcare employees, AmerisourceBergen is the largest company by revenue headquartered in Pennsylvania. Its valuation is $33.25 billion. So, with 99% fewer employees, the unprofitable Chat GPT3 is already worth nearly the same as the largest company in the Commonwealth.

Microsoft has already pledged $10 billion to optimize Chat GPT3 toward profitability. Tens of billions more dollars are coming.

The last time policymakers were presented with displacement on this scale was the globalization that decimated the American working class. The solution for Pennsylvania policymakers was to pivot the states economy to Eds and Meds, which now constitute 44% of total employment.

Those industries were chosen because spending is generated predominantly by the government, which is historically stable. To quote Ronald Reagan, Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Pennsylvania policymakers knew that they were making safe bets as those markets would almost always exist.

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The pivot worked, with Pennsylvania stabilizing its population decline. Communities able to make the pivot, particularly in the suburbs, saw prosperity.

Once reliably Republican, the suburban voters employed by Eds and Meds now constitute the Democratic Partys base. The rise of conservative populism, which pointed the finger at college-educated elites for the decline of the working class, accelerated the trend.

The reticence of suburban elites to choose Republican candidates is understandable, considering some in the GOPs working-class base label them the enemy. For many in the working class, the contempt is personal, as they perceive the college-educated as having enriched themselves at their expense, via globalization.

But generative artificial intelligence is poised to inflict the same level of economic devastation on suburban elites as suffered by the working class through globalization. Some elites will undoubtedly find sure footing in the pending economy created by generative artificial intelligence. But many others will not.

The Rust Belts decline took decades to manifest. Its slow pace helped shield policymakers from criticism because gradual change enabled some Americans to find solutions on their own.

In contrast to globalizations slow deindustrialization, however, technological adoption moves at lightning speed and is only getting faster. Eds and Meds suburbanites are unlikely to gain a reprieve through gradual transition. Profitable generative artificial intelligence business models may surface within a year. Suburban prosperity could be severely undermined before the next Winter Olympics. Policymakers need immediate solutions.

Political polarization rises during economic decline. A 20-point gap persists between the political affiliations of college-educated and non-college-educated Americans. It is one of the most pronounced cleavages in American politics.

The displacement potentially caused by generative artificial intelligence could put college-educated voters back into electoral play for Republicans, presuming the GOP can deliver something for them.

The path to help these Pennsylvanians, one that would be exclusive to Republicans, is rapid reindustrialization. The prerequisites for rapid reindustrialization are affordable, abundant energy and school choice. Both are fundamental tenets of the GOP platform.

Pennsylvania is blessed with abundant natural resources and is a net exporter of energy. It has educational entrepreneurs pleading for the opportunity to create the most industrially skilled workforce on the planet. Products made in Pennsylvania can reach most of the continental United States or international waters within 24 hours. Among the 50 states, this iron triangle of energy-workforce-logistics may be unique to Pennsylvania.

Rapid reindustrialization is the path that unites all educational backgrounds to produce real, sustainable wealth. Instead of pitting the educational classes against one another, it makes them partners in success.

Pennsylvania Republican policymakers have the opportunity before them to accomplish what Ron DeSantis has achieved in Florida: a generational political realignment of a state.

Meanwhile, Pennsylvanias Republican Party leaders have proposed spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on a 2022 midterm post-mortem. Thats fine. But the lesson of the 2022 midterm is that voters do not reward looking backwards.

A crisis has begun. The GOP will respond either by providing tomorrows leaders or being condemned by history for failing to rise to the challenge.

Athan Koutsiouroumbas is a managing director at Long Nyquist and Associates and a former congressional chief of staff. Follow him on Twitter at @Athan_K.

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Can Chat GPT3 make Pennsylvania a red state?
Pack your bags, it's time for an Italian vacation.

Nina Ruggiero

Ready to have a sultry seaside vacation along the Amalfi Coast? A Roman holiday? Perhaps a shopping getaway to Milan? Then you better book a flight ASAP.



According to the World Bank, in 2019, just shy of 100 million people traveled to Italy for a vacation. Though that number declined significantly due to the pandemic, tourism made a major comeback in 2022, with an estimated 56 million arrivals. And if youre looking to be among the pack to visit in 2023  and stay on a budget  Scott Keyes, founder and chief flight expert of Going.com, says you should book your flight right now.



The two months with by far the highest number of cheap flights to Italy are January and February, Keyes shared with Travel + Leisure. According to Keyes, these are "the slowest two months of tourism in the U.S. and Western Europe, and thus a time when airlines are forced to drop fares in order to fill planes. Sub-$400 round-trip flights to Italy have been commonplace, popping up every few weeks for the past five months.

Related: The Best and Worst Times to Visit Italy

If youre not particularly concerned with the flight cost but would like to avoid the crowds, Keyes suggested plotting out a shoulder-season getaway to just about anywhere in the European nation. Aside from winter travel, shoulder season (March through May and September through November) is known for cheap Italy deals, he shared.



Alessandra Amodio

If you can hold out until the end of the spring shoulder season, youll be rewarded with pleasant temperatures in the mid to high 70s across the country, according to WeatherSpark. The same can be said for the early part of the fall shoulder season, with temperatures in Italy going from the low 80s in September to the high 60s in October.



Keyes mentioned a few recent round-trip fares to Italy his team at Going found for its members, including flights departing New York City for $360, Miami for $380, Chicago for $489, Washington, D.C. for $455, Charlotte for $434, Dallas for $562, and San Francisco for $430. He added, they even [found flights at] smaller airports like Cleveland for $581.



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Nina Ruggiero

There was one more time Keyes said could be the cheapest time to fly to Italy: Thanksgiving.



I'd argue that the hidden best week of the entire year for cheap flights to Italy is Thanksgiving, he said. That's because while domestic fares get severely inflated that week, few Americans are traveling internationally then, and Thanksgiving is certainly not a holiday in Italy. Over Thanksgiving week, it usually costs more to fly to Minneapolis than Milan. Plus, by late November, the wonderful Christmas markets may already be in full swing in some parts of Italy.



And really, who wouldnt want to carve a turkey in Milan? You can pair your bird with a local truffle; as Eataly explained, white and burgundy truffles are at their peak between September and December, while winter black truffles are at their prime from December to early March. But luckily for you, there really is no bad time to visit Italy. Find the flight and the time that fits your budget, then start planning the Italian getaway of your dreams.

For more Travel & Leisure news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on Travel & Leisure.
Lafayette Square, outside the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans

Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Feb. 9 editorial, "Court ruling puts abuse victims at risk  and takes gun rights to ridiculous extremes."

The 5th Circuit [Court of Appeals] ruling basically says in light of the [New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v.] Bruen case, criminals such as [Zackey] Rahimi can possess firearms while under a restraining order because at the time of the Constitution's drafting, there were no domestic violence laws, or even a recognition of such a thing. Judge Cory Wilson says the ban was "an outlier that our ancestors would never have accepted."

It seems far-reaching, even for the conservative 5th Circuit, to analyze a case in 2020 about a violent criminal and his gun rights through the lens of a time when Black slaves were counted as three-fifths of a person. Racism and sexism abounded, yet we have grown and evolved and  mercifully  recognize the rights of all, even though that wasn't always the case. Why would the Second Amendment be excluded from the application of such changes?

Just as lawmakers  and the Supreme Court  have sided against the portion of American history that would not recognize interracial marriage, our view of domestic violence has evolved. Surely it's one thing to interpret the Constitution how it would have been understood when it was written and another to insist that obvious societal changes can't be incorporated.

There's originalism and then there's originalism and on this, the 5th Circuit seems to have, almost facetiously, gone too far. Such are the mental gymnastics of the ruling and absolute indifference toward the application of it. Under this analysis, would not all of our modern gun laws crumble?

The second reason we disagree with this ruling is the practical application of it, which ignores victims of domestic violence. Unfortunately, sometimes neither a restraining order nor a federal law prohibits abuse. But orders can be a deterrent and offer victims trying to survive peace of mind.

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 Fort Worth Star-Telegram Editorial Board

Houston Chronicle

Feb. 6 editorial, "School choice? Give teachers a raise, not a punch in the gut."

Were all for school choice. Were glad that parents have a right to send their kids to any school they choose  private, public or at home. Were pleased they can choose free charter schools or choose to transfer their kids to schools within or outside their district. Our problem is with the idea of using taxpayer dollars to subsidize private and religious schools.

For example, a bill sponsored by state Sen. Mayes Middleton, a Galveston Republican and member of the Texas Freedom Caucus, is a case in point. His Senate Bill 176 would create a state education savings account that would allow parents to pay for their childrens private school, online schooling or private tutors. It would provide Texas families who opt out of public schools the average amount of money the state provides to educate a child, currently about $10,000. Struggling public schools, particularly those in rural areas, would suffer.

Lawmakers advocating for what they consider choice ignore the fact that their primary responsibility as state officials is to keep public schools whole. That means paying teachers a decent salary.

The challenges that todays teacher faces are a lot more serious than having to board with a family that ignores housekeeping chores or has a passel of noisy youngsters underfoot. More and more good teachers are abandoning the profession, not only because of low pay, hours devoted to working overtime and sometimes having to pay for school supplies out of their own salary, but also health worries during the pandemic, mass-shooting anxieties, as well as rude parents, school boards and elected officials more interested in culture wars than education. Public schools across the state  rural, urban and suburban  are struggling to fill teacher vacancies.

Texas ranks 28th in the nation in teacher pay, $7,652 less than the national average, according to the most recent National Education Association report. A 2018 survey from the Texas State Teachers Association anda 2022 survey by the Charles Butt Foundation both found that 40 percent of Texas teachers work a second job, not for extra spending money but to cover necessities. Pay raises would help pay bills, to be sure, but also, in a state with the ninth-largest economy in the world, a pay raise would be a statement of respect for the vital role that teachers play in a democratic society.

 Houston Chronicle Editorial Board

San Antonio Express-News

Feb. 7 editorial, "Qualified immunity shields injustice."

We have editorialized in support of several of the measures [Sen. Roland] Gutierrez has put forward: the creation of a Uvalde victims compensation fund, raising the purchase age for firearms from 18 to 21; providing avenues for law enforcement officers to remove firearms when people are deemed a danger.

But we had stayed silent on his push to end qualified immunity for law enforcement officers in Texas because we wanted to better understand the repercussions of such a change. Qualified immunity, a federal judicial doctrine, essentially shields officers accused of civil rights violations.

We get it. Police officers make split-second decisions and could be the subject of any number of frivolous claims. And the vast majority of law enforcement officers serve their communities at incredible personal risk. But as Alexandra Klein, a professor at St. Marys University School of Law, told our Editorial Board, qualified immunity has created unreasonably high hurdles when civil rights claims are alleged.

Plaintiffs have to show officers violated a persons constitutional rights and that a reasonable person would know these actions were a violation at the time. Courts, in turn, have taken very narrow interpretations of the specific facts of cases to determine if precedent was established.

You can sue a lawyer for malpractice, Gutierrez said. You can sue a doctor for malpractice. You can sue a priest. You can sue a teacher, but you cannot sue a cop for ordinary negligence.

 San Antonio Express-News Editorial Board

Dallas Morning News

Feb. 9 editorial, "Ted Cruzs term limits stance would be helpful if hed walk the talk."

Nothing signals a lack of seriousness than to propose a standard that youre not willing to follow.

Case in point is Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who recently proposed that U.S. senators be limited to two six-year terms in office  even as he is running for a third term. Asked about this during an interview with CBS News, Cruz said, If and when it passes, Ill happily ... comply. I never said Im going to unilaterally comply.

Cruzs penchant for self-preservation aside, support for term limits polls strongly across political, geographic and demographic divides. Roughly 80% of Americans approve of term limits on members of Congress. However, a serious national discussion of whether to adopt term limits has to run through the Congress, which is tantamount to asking the foxes to guard the henhouse.

Cruz described himself during the interview as a passionate defender of term limits, adding that Congress would work much better if every senator were limited to two terms, if every House member were limited to three terms.

Frankly, lowering demonizing partisan rhetoric on social media and committing to legitimately debate ideas and solve problems would be useful, too. And if lawmakers didnt have to constantly raise money for the next campaign around the clock, then perhaps serving the public would outweigh serving selfish interests.

 Dallas Morning News Editorial Board

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin American-Statesman Commentary Roundup: Feb. 12, 2023
Ive had a front row seat for Gov. Ron DeSantis attempts to overhaul Floridas university system. My eldest son is currently a junior at New College of Florida which is ground-zero in this struggle. He didnt choose New College because of some liberal ideology; he was excited about small class sizes, accessible professors, and its designation as an honors college. New College has been a great experience. Now, the rug is being pulled out from under him. His tiny school is the first test in a state-wide experiment that is coming to a campus near you.

Its almost guaranteed DeSantis is running for president. By claiming that Floridas universities and colleges are filled with radically liberal professors that are indoctrinating our students, the governor has discovered a way to energize his Republican base and present himself as a champion for conservatives. Are independent voters in Arizona and Pennsylvania going to lose sleep over the reshuffling of Floridas colleges? Probably not. He has found an issue where he can win the hearts of Republicans without alienating the independent voters that he needs to win the presidency.

The governor is targeting many aspects of higher education, but his main line of attack is focused on eliminating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs from state colleges and universities. Ironically, under DeSantis, the Board of Governors insisted that universities adopt these DEI programs just a few years ago.

DeSantis government overreach may be an important building block in his run for the presidency, but it will do long-lasting harm to Floridas institutions of higher learning. Floridas universities spend time, money, and resources to attract talented students and faculty  and they have been successful. There are many jokes about our weird and wonderful Florida, but our higher education system has garnered well-deserved respect in recent years.

Universities in other states are now poised to start poaching these talented folks with promises of true academic freedom. Florida will lose talented professors and students through attrition and find it more difficult to attract quality replacements. The governors decision to use these schools as pawns in his political games will cause long-term damage to the institutions and the degrees they issue.

In the real world, corporate America has overwhelmingly adopted diversity, equity, and inclusion. All the Fortune 100 companies have made a public commitment to DEI. Why? Because the young, talented workers they want to attract are demanding it. Employees now expect their employer to promote the values they hold. Why did Disney come out against DeSantis Dont Say Gay law? Because Disney employees around the country wouldnt stand for anything less. The unemployment rate is unprecedentedly low  its hard to attract top talent. Millennials and Gen-Z are driving the workforce now and they expect DEI to be a priority.

The changes at New College of Florida are just the opening gambit in a much larger plan. DeSantis attempt to roll back diversity, equity, and inclusion is doomed to fail. Its akin to closing the barn door after the horse has already bolted. In the meantime, his political ploy will do lasting harm to our state universities and colleges  and undermine the competitiveness of our college graduates.

Ben Wright

Tallahassee resident Ben Wright is a third generation Floridian and former captain in the U.S. Air Force. He graduated from Indian River State College, the University of Florida, and Regis University in Colorado with an M.B.A. He works for a Fortune 500 company and his oldest son attends New College of Florida.

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: DeSantis attempt to roll back diversity, equity, and inclusion is doomed to fail
The Diamondbacks are on the verge of a reunion with left-hander Andrew Chafin, agreeing to a one-year, $6.25 million deal with the veteran reliever that includes a team option for 2024.

The agreement is pending a physical.

Chafin, who spent the first seven seasons of his major league career with the Diamondbacks, is coming off an impressive season in relief with the Detroit Tigers, for whom he logged a 2.83 ERA with 67 strikeouts and 19 walks in 57 1/3 innings

The bullpen had been an area of focus for the Diamondbacks all offseason, and Chafin is the second experienced reliever the club has added to a big-league deal this winter following the signing of hard-throwing right-hander Miguel Castro.

The club also took a flyer on right-hander Scott McGough, a 33-year-old journeyman who is coming off a strong four-year run for Japans Yakult Swallows.

The team also acquired flamethrower Carlos Vargas in a deal with Cleveland and added a slew of relievers on minor league deals, most notably veteran right-hander Jeurys Familia.

Chafin, 32, was a supplemental first-round pick by the Diamondbacks in 2011. He made three starts as a rookie in 2014 before shifting to relief in 2015, where he pitched out of the Diamondbacks bullpen before being traded to the Cubs midway through the 2020 season.

Since leaving, he has put together two of the better seasons of his career. Over 126 innings combined, he has a 2.29 ERA with just 2.7 walks per nine innings and 9.4 strikeouts per nine.

Chafins addition gives the Diamondbacks five relievers who seem all but assured of jobs with camp set to begin on Wednesday. He joins Castro, McGough, Mark Melancon and left-hander Joe Mantiply, the clubs lone All-Star last season.

Chafins deal comes with a base salary of $5.5 million with a $7.25 million option for 2024 or a $750,000 buyout. He can make another $1 million this season in bonuses based on appearances, earning an additional $250,000 each when reaching 55, 60, 65 and 70 games pitched.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Diamondbacks set to reunite with lefty Andrew Chafin on one-year deal
A high-altitude object tracked over northern Canada has been shot down over the Yukon, officials said.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he ordered the takedown of "an unidentified object that violated Canadian airspace."

"Canadian and U.S. aircraft were scrambled, and a U.S. F-22 successfully fired at the object," he tweeted.

Canadian Forces will now recover and analyze the wreckage, Trudeau said.

I ordered the take down of an unidentified object that violated Canadian airspace. @NORADCommand shot down the object over the Yukon. Canadian and U.S. aircraft were scrambled, and a U.S. F-22 successfully fired at the object.  Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) February 11, 2023

The object was shot down approximately 100 miles from the Canada-U.S. border in central Yukon, Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand told reporters during a press briefing Saturday night. It appears to have been a "small, cylindrical object" that was flying at about 40,000 feet, she said.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command detected the high-altitude object over Alaska late Friday evening, according to Pentagon spokesperson Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder. Two U.S. F-22 aircraft monitored the object over Alaska, then Canadian aircraft joined as it crossed into Canadian airspace, he said.

Following a call from Trudeau to President Joe Biden on Saturday, Biden authorized that U.S. aircraft take down the new high-altitude object and a U.S. F-22 shot it down with a sidewinder missile, Ryder said.

The leaders authorized that the "unidentified, unmanned object" be taken down "out of an abundance of caution and at the recommendation of their militaries," according to a White House readout of the call. They also stressed the importance of recovering the object to determine its purpose or origin, the readout stated.

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"As Canadian authorities conduct recovery operations to help our countries learn more about the object, the Federal Bureau of Investigation will be working closely with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police," Ryder said in a statement.

PHOTO: Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau walks to the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Feb. 1, 2023. (Blair Gable/Reuters)

The development comes a day after the White House said an unknown "high-altitude object" was shot down over the waters off Alaska.

That object was about the size of a small car and flying at around 40,000 feet, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said Friday. U.S. Northern Command said Saturday it had no further details on the object's "capabilities, purpose or origin."

"These objects did not closely resemble and were much smaller than the PRC balloon and we will not definitively characterize them until we can recover the debris, which we are working on," a spokesperson for the NSC told ABC News on Sunday.

MORE: US shoots down unknown 'high-altitude object' over Alaska, White House says

Trudeau said he supported the "decision to take action."

"Our military and intelligence services will always work together, including through @NORADCommand, to keep people safe," he tweeted Friday.

NORAD confirmed on Saturday that there was a temporary space restriction over Montana.

The airspace was closed due to an object "to ensure the safety of air traffic in the area during NORAD operations. The restriction has been lifted," the statement read.

"NORAD detected a radar anomaly and sent fighter aircraft to investigate. Those aircraft did not identify any object to correlate to the radar hits. NORAD will continue to monitor the situation," the statement continued.

Statement from NORAD & U.S. Northern Command pic.twitter.com/aY1VXRCpEs  North American Aerospace Defense Command (@NORADCommand) February 12, 2023

Montana Sen. Steve Daines said he was in contact with the Pentagon regarding the object in the airspace and receiving frequent updates.

"Montanans still have questions about the Chinese spy balloon that flew over our state last week. I'll continue to demand answers on these invasions of US airspace," he tweeted.

I'm in direct contact with the Pentagon regarding the object in Montana's airspace & will receive frequent updates. Montanans still have questions about the Chinese spy balloon that flew over our state last week. I'll continue to demand answers on these invasions of US airspace.  Steve Daines (@SteveDaines) February 12, 2023

NORAD and the FAA temporarily closed a section of airspace over Lake Michigan on Sunday afternoon "to ensure the safety of air traffic in the area during NORAD operations," according to both organizations. The air restriction has since been lifted.

NORAD did not immediately reply to questions on the nature of those operations, such as whether fighters were sent up to investigate a radar anomaly, as happened over Montana on Saturday.

"The FAA briefly closed some airspace over Lake Michigan to support Department of Defense activities," the FAA said in a statement Sunday. "The airspace has been reopened."

The U.S. also shot down a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon off the coast of South Carolina on Feb. 4, after tracking it across the continental U.S. for several days.

U.S. officials said Friday that the undercarriage of the Chinese balloon -- where the surveillance equipment and other technology was housed -- had been located.

MORE: Chinese balloon reconnaissance platform located, officials say

In the wake of the incident, the U.S. Commerce Department said Friday it added six Chinese entities to their Entity List for "supporting the PRC's military modernization efforts, specifically those related to aerospace programs, including airships and balloons and related materials and components, that are used by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) for intelligence and reconnaissance," according to a press release.

By adding these companies to the list, the U.S. can block them from "obtaining U.S. items and technologies without U.S. government authorization."

The move is aimed at sending a "clear message to companies, governments, and other stakeholders globally that the entities on the list present a threat to national security," the release said.

ABC News' Luis Martinez and Molly Nagle contributed to this report.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

High-altitude object shot down over northern Canada, temporarily closing Montana airspace originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Egypts exports to Korea recorded an increase of 161 percent in 2022 year-on-year as it reached an all-time high of $1.69 billion, the Cairo office of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) said on Sunday.

According to KOTRA, Egypts exports to Korea marked a $220 million surplus in 2022 from a $1 billion trade deficit in 2021.

Natural gas and petroleum products top Egypts exports to South Korea. Egypt exported to Korea $810 million worth of natural gas and $760 million worth of petroleum product naphtha, marking a 705 percent and 107 percent increase respectively in 2022 from 2021.

On the other hand, South Korea's exports to Egypt fell by 13% on-year to $1.46 billion due to the government's mandatory L/C measures at the time of importation and the difficulty of remittances from Egypt.

The L/C measures were cancelled in December.

Major Korean imports include synthetic resins, passenger cars, auto parts, soft steel plates, and semiconductors.

As of 2022, South Korea made a cumulative investment of about $790 million in Egypt, 33 times Egypt's investment in South Korea, according to the Export-Import Bank of Korea. In 2022, a Korean company invested about $30 million in Egypt.

The manufacturing industry accounts for about 63 percent of Korea's total investment in Egypt, the highest proportion among industrial sectors.

Currently, around 35 Korean companies are actively engaged in business in Egypt. These include LG Electronics which established a TV and washing machine manufacturing plant in 1990; and Samsung Electronics which constructed a TV production plant in 2012, began producing tablet PCs in 2021, and is currently producing some mobile phones.

The agency said that there is more active cooperation between the two countries in the field of defence, transportation and energy. It cited the export of K-9 self-propelled guns, the supply and production of metro trains for lines 2 and 3 in Cairo as well as the construction of the El-Daba nuclear power plant  which the Korean state-run Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Company will construct according to its agreement with Russian Rosatom in August 2022.

"We are trying to strengthen manufacturing capabilities through Egypt's 'Egypt Makes Electronics (EME)' policy and National Development Plan Vision 2030," Hong Jin-wook, South Korea's ambassador to Egypt, was quoted as saying, adding that Korean companies would actively participate in exporting from Egypt as the hub to neighbouring countries through the African Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), which entered into force in 2019.

"In order for Egypt and South Korea to further strengthen cooperation in the field of trade and investment, it is necessary to implement the procedures for signing a trade and economic partnership agreement between the two countries as soon as possible, he added

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For the first time in more than 40 years, a new portrait will hang in the Texas Senate as Opal Lee, a lifelong civil rights activist and prominent Juneteenth advocate, was honored this week with the unveiling of the chamber's newest painting.

State Sens. Royce West, D-Dallas, and Borris Miles, D-Houston, sponsored a resolution honoring Lee after Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick suggested it two years ago, resulting in Lee's portrait presentation Wednesday on the Senate floor, which included heartfelt testimonies from several senators in front of a gallery full of spectators.

"Receiving your roses while you're alive, you are a living legend," Miles told Lee. "You're a living icon, Ms. Opal Lee, a living icon. Members, I am so proud to join you as we unveil the new portrait."

Lee is only the second Black person to be honored with a portrait in the Senate gallery. Barbara Jordan, the first Southern African American woman elected to the U.S. House and Texas' first Black state senator, was recognized in 1973.

Lee was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2022.

As Miles and West began the festivities, Patrick emphasized the rarity of adding to the Senate's art collection, which was last done roughly 43 years ago, he told the chamber.

"This is an historic day," Patrick said to much applause. "This does not happen often."

More:Opal Lee helped make Juneteenth a national holiday. At 95, she's still got work to do.

Known as the "grandmother of Juneteenth," Lee, 96, has spent decades pushing to have Juneteenth recognized as a federal holiday. That finally happened in 2021 when President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act.

Juneteenth  also called Emancipation Day, Freedom Day or Jubilee Day  symbolizes the end of slavery, though it wasn't abolished until the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was passed in 1865.

Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger delivered news in Galveston that enslaved Black people had been freed by President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, which he had issued two years earlier, ending slavery in Southern states.

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"None of us are free until we're all free," Lee told USA TODAY last year. "Which means we have to keep working at getting rid of the disparities that are in our nation. ... We need help."

Texas became the first state to recognize Juneteenth as a holiday in 1980.

During her interview with USA TODAY, Lee remembered growing up in the East Texas city of Marshall, when Juneteenth celebrations felt like Christmas, featuring music, speeches, games and food.

When she was 12 and living in Fort Worth, a white mob burned down her family's home.

More:Biden signs Juneteenth into a holiday, officially giving federal employees the day off Friday

President Joe Biden speaks with Opal Lee after he signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act on June 17, 2021, in the White House.

Representing Tarrant County, Sen. Kelly Hancock, R-North Richland Hills, offered an apology that Lee and her family had to endure the experience and that they hadn't been "welcomed how they should have been."

Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, D-Austin, found motivation in Lee's response to the tragedy, as she went on to begin a life of advocacy work.

"This portrait is going to remind us that even in the darkest moments of oppression, we can take that struggle and turn it into an opportunity for a bigger love," Eckhardt said. "You are teaching that to us every day."

Each senator signed on to author the resolution honoring Lee, which passed unanimously after the members gave remarks.

"So, on this special day, I am delighted to have a role in the unveiling of this beautiful portrait of a truly beautiful person whose portrait, name and story will be added to the illustrious history of the Lone Star State," West said. "Her portrait will from this day forward be on display on these most sacred walls of the Texas Senate for all eternity."

For freshman Sen. Phil King, R-Weatherford, seeing Lee in the Senate chamber reminded him of previous interactions with her decades earlier when he was a young Fort Worth police officer.

While serving on the mayoral detail in Fort Worth, King would frequent City Hall, often standing in the corner or along the walls during the many occasions when Lee would visit City Council meetings.

"You influenced me, and I just wanted to thank you for those small things," King said.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: 'Grandmother of Juneteenth' Opal Lee honored in Texas Senate
'Unidentified object' downed over Lake Huron

The U.S. military shot down an unidentified flying object over Michigan Sunday  the third in three days and fourth since downing a Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina Feb. 4. The object had been flying at about 20,000 feet over Lake Huron in a path and altitude that raised concerns about it being a hazard to civilian aviation, Ryder said Sunday evening. An F-16 shot down the object at 2:42 p.m. ET Sunday at the direction of President Joe Biden, according to Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary. U.S. officials were working to determine whether China was responsible as concerns escalate about what Washington says is Beijings large-scale aerial surveillance program.

Chiefs defeat Eagles, win Super Bowl thanks to late-game magic from Mahomes

On one leg, Patrick Mahomes finished the job. His reward, other than resting an oft-injured ankle this postseason, is a second Lombardi Trophy for the reigning NFL MVP. The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35 in Super Bowl 57 on Sunday, the teams second title in four seasons. A controversial holding penalty by Eagles cornerback James Bradberry gave the Chiefs a chance to run the clock down and kick a game-winning field goal with eight seconds left, which Harrison Butker nailed from 27 yards. All our live coverage from Super Bowl 57.

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (left) celebrates with tight end Travis Kelce (right) after winning Super Bowl 57.

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Anger builds in Turkey, Syria as earthquake death toll surpasses 33,000

Nearly a week since the most devastating earthquake in recent history, rescuers in Turkey and Syria were searching for signs of life in freezing temperatures as the death toll surpassed 33,000 and survivors expressed frustration about the rescue efforts. The United Nations' top aid official on Sunday said aid efforts have "failed the people in north-west Syria," where more than 12 years of civil war have resulted in a complex political situation. The 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck southern Turkey and northern Syria. Turkish officials have detained or issued arrest warrants for 131 people involved in the construction of buildings, including architects, contractors and engineers. The country vows to punish anyone responsible after experts and victims say bad construction contributed to the devastation.

Local residents walk in front of a destroyed building in Nurdagi, southeastern Turkey, Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023. Thousands who lost their homes in a catastrophic earthquake huddled around campfires and clamored for food and water in the bitter cold, three days after the temblor and series of aftershocks hit Turkey and Syria.

Biden and Brazilian President Lula talk climate change, protecting the Amazon

Nearly a month after Brazil experienced riots that mirrored the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, President Joe Biden met with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Top of the agenda: preserving democracy, and collaborating on fighting climate change. The two leaders are self-described pro-union men and are both the oldest presidents elected to each country. The meeting came a month after supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro attacked several buildings in Brazils capitol last month, including the building where Brazil's Congress meet, as a retaliation for Brazil's election results. Here are some key takeaways from the visit.

US President Joe Biden and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva walk together along the Rose Garden colonnade at the White House in Washington, DC, February. 10, 2023.

Wet, possibly wild weather forecast in Southeast

Wet and at times wild weather is headed for the southeastern U.S., much of the Midwest and Northeast will continue to enjoy milder temperatures, and there's a chance of rain during the Super Bowl in Glendale, Arizona. The National Weather Service has issued several winter weather notices for the Southeast including a winter storm warning for parts of South Carolina, which could see snow, ice and winds gusting to 45 mph. Other Southeastern states might even see rain mixed with snow. Here's everything you need to know about this weekend's weather.

Driving in the snow? What to do if you're stuck in your car during a winter storm

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Eagles and Chiefs at Super Bowl, unmanned aircraft shot down: The weekend's biggest news
On Aug. 9, 1997, New York City police officers arrested Haitian immigrant Abner Louima outside a dance club in Flatbush, Brooklyn. After a brief scuffle, Louima was transported to the 70th Precinct station house, where he was forced into a bathroom and tortured with a broken stick until both his colon and kidney were ruptured. The U.S. Attorneys Office in Brooklyn handled the prosecution of four indicted police officers, and Justin Volpe, the leader of the assault, continues to serve a 30-year prison sentence.

Lynn Smith

At the time, the Louima case was highly publicized because it was both legally and politically significant. White police officers had allegedly committed acts of unimaginable cruelty on a helpless Black man, thereby demonstrating horrific disregard for his civil rights, so the legal pressure to act was enormous. Politically, the case clearly connected race and poverty with police brutality, so local politicians desperately wanted some of the involved officers to be punished. Because no one wanted convictions more than current Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, he demanded that the Louima case be handled by the most qualified, clean-cut and fearless prosecutor that the Brooklyn U.S. attorney could provide.

Ultimately, the person that was chosen to lead the Louima prosecution was Jack Smith, the very same man who was recently appointed to oversee the U.S. Department of Justices investigation into former President Donald Trump. And it was in his new role as special counsel that on Jan. 10, Jack Smith again crossed paths with Rudy Giuliani  this time to issue a subpoena relative to the 2020 election.

After graduating from Harvard Law School in 1994, Mr. Smith got his start in the Manhattan district attorneys office under the tutelage of Robert Morgenthau, best known for prosecuting mob bosses. In 1999, when he moved to the United States Attorneys office in Brooklyn, Jack served in a supervisory capacity with a growing focus on public corruption. In an interview with the Associated Press, he told reporters that he believed his job as a prosecutor mattered because it served people like his parents who,  paid their taxes, followed the rules, and expected their public officials to do the same.

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In 2008, Smith was asked to supervise war crime prosecutions at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. It was there that he began to hone his skills for litigating corrupt government officials and militia members.

Jack Smith, then the Department of Justice's chief of the Public Integrity Section, poses for photo at the Department of Justice in Washington, on Aug. 24, 2010. Attorney General Merrick Garland named Smith a special counsel on Friday, Nov. 18, 2022, to oversee the Justice Department's investigation into the presence of classified documents at former President Donald Trump's Florida estate as well as key aspects of a separate probe involving the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and efforts to undo the 2020 election.

He returned to the U.S. Department of Justice in 2010 to head its Public Integrity Section. It was during this period that Jack Smith suffered two of his worst losses  the campaign finance case against former Sen. John Edwards (D-NC), and the bribery case against Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ). Both trials resulted in acquittals and/or hung juries. But at the same time, Mr. Smith was leading the successful prosecution of Jeffrey A. Sterling, a former CIA officer who was convicted of mishandling national security secrets and obstruction of justice.

In 2013, he also won major convictions against Rick Renzi (R-AZ) for extortion, bribery, insurance fraud, money laundering and racketeering. Although Renzi appealed his conviction to the Ninth Circuit Court where they upheld the jury's original 17-count verdict, Renzi received a full pardon from President Donald Trump in January 2021.

During recent years, Mr. Smith has been back in The Hague, this time working as chief prosecutor investigating the ethnic cleansing that occurred between 1998 and 2000 during the war in Kosovo. In November, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Smith to oversee two ongoing federal investigations around the efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, and the theft of classified materials stored at Mar-a-Lago. In this role, Smith is responsible for determining whether or not the former president should face any indictments at all. Smith has learned that when the facts don't warrant a prosecution, you cant proceed with a case, and hes demonstrated that by closing long-running investigations into former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX), Rep. Don Young (R-AK), and Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA), without ever filing charges.

Ultimately, if the Justice Department does indict Trump, the ramifications will be ugly regardless of what the evidence shows. Trumps most ardent supporters will be certain that the DOJ is acting politically, and if charges arent brought, Trumps harshest critics will claim that the DOJ is guilty of cowardice. But neither will trouble Jack Smith because hes already confronted war criminals, mobsters, and corrupt police. Now in his mid-50s, he will bring the experience, temperament and demeanor required to handle the fierce partisan rancor that is sure to follow any path he pursues.

And we can be sure that like Jack, 2023 will not be dull.

 Community Columnist Lynn Smith is a retired wealth management executive who resides in Holland. Contact her at lynn.angleworks@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Lynn Smith: Jack is no dull boy
Nascar driver Kyle Busch has avoided a possible Mexico prison sentence for weapon and ammunition charges.

Mr Busch, 37, was arrested by the National Guard on 27 January when staff at an airport in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo found a gun and ammunition in his luggage during a routine screening.

Last week, the two-time Nascar champion was sentenced to three and a half years in prison and ordered to pay a $1,000 fine, the Associated Press reported,

The Mexico federal attorneys office has since revealed that a local judge allowed conditional punishment for Mr Busch. He left the country after paying an undisclosed bond.

In a Twitter post on Monday, the two-time NASCAR champion said that he has a valid concealed carry permit from his local authority in the US and that he had made a mistake by forgetting [the weapon and ammunition were] in his bag.

Discovery of the handgun led to my detainment while the situation was resolved. I was not aware of Mexican law and had no intention of bringing a handgun into Mexico, Mr Busch wrote. When it was discovered, I fully cooperated with the authorities, accepted the penalties, and returned to North Carolina.

I apologize for my mistake and appreciate the respect shown by all parties as we resolved the matter. My family and I consider this issue closed.

Nascar said in a statement to the AP that Mr Busch, who is in his first season driving for Richard Childress Racing, will not be sanctioned by the association.

Mr Busch was vacationing with his family in Quintana Roo before the incident at the airport unfolded. The .380 calibre pistol with six hollow-point bullets was found in his bag when it was being scanned at a terminal for a private aircraft, according to the AP.

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A judge determined in late January that the charges could stand in court before Mr Busch was sentenced on 3 February.

Mr Busch, who is in his first season driving for Richard Childress Racing, is expected to attend another hearing in which a judge will set his conditional punishment.

He has been cleared for the Daytona 500 race on 13 February.
Nia Long has no plans to rush into another relationship after her high-profile breakup with suspended Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka.

In an interview published Friday, the actor told The Cut that she has not thought about getting serious with someone  despite the interest she has received publicly in recent months.

Oh God, Im not ready for a serious relationship, she said. My mind is not even there at all. I want to go out and have amazing, important, deep, thoughtful conversations.

The actor added that she aims to focus on traveling, enjoying time with her kids and having a lot of laughter in her life.

Everything else will have to show itself as being that, she said. Im just trying to enjoy the moment. I have a couple of passion projects I want to get off the ground. I want to go to Bali [in Indonesia] for a month, relax, breathe, and do yoga.

Nia Long in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Jan. 21.

Nia Long in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Jan. 21.

Long was thrown into a media frenzy in September when the Celtics announced that Udoka, her longtime partner, had violated team policies. Several publications, citing unnamed sources, reported at the time that Udoka was suspended for engaging in an improper relationship with a member of the organization.

The Boston organization also held a press conference that month to address Udokas one-year suspension.

Long told The Cut that she doesnt understand why the Celtics decided to make family business public when it couldve all been handled internally.

She then added cryptically: I do understand why, but I cant talk about it. Maybe one day I will. You know, fear drives stupidity, and Ill leave that right there.

The You People actor has criticized the Celtics response to Udokas scandal before.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter in late fall, Long said she was disappointed that no one from the team had reached out to her in the midst of the ordeal.

The actor said the Celtics handling of the situation took a toll on her 11-year-old son, Kez, whom she had to remove from school when the news broke. Long also has a 22-year-old son, Massai Dorsey II, from a previous relationship.

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As for her dating life, just because shes not looking for anything serious doesnt mean shes not admiring anyone.

The actor revealed on The Drew Barrymore Show last month that she had her

eye on one person  but her lips were sealed on their identity.

Related...
It has taken decades, but the Democratic National Committee has a scheme eliminating New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation presidential primary. Their effort won't work because we've never needed their permission to hold our primary when we wish. We don't now.

Our state has led the presidential nominating process since 1920. Our leadoff status has been protected by law since 1975, a law much talked about lately as the reason why we remain first. I sponsored that law, and it was a battle then to get it passed. We didn't ask permission. And we won't bow to Washington powers-who-are and change it. Some 48 years later the law remains in ink. Sorry, DNC  we'll follow it in 2024. You will fail in your efforts. Some 48 years later, I'm still around, too, and I've seen the law work well to protect New Hampshire through the years. It's simple: It requires  yes, mandates  that our secretary of state set our primary at least seven days before any similar primary elsewhere.

Jim Splaine

Why the political acrobatics by national Democrats?

I watched the DNC debate, and the way they slammed through their attempted steal of our primary with a quick five-second non-recorded vote was disappointing. By doing so they're trying to restrict and limit where candidates can run, what voters they can visit, and prohibit Democrats from voting for whom they wish. That's the "Democratic" Party?

Some important history: As a young legislator in the mid-1970s, I sponsored this law because America was at war.

Explainer: What happens if NH defies DNC on presidential primary? How are votes set?

The Vietnam conflict was causing the deaths of our young people, who were then subjected to mandatory drafts to fill quotas. Over 50,000 Americans died; many others suffering lifelong injuries. Over three million citizens of North and South Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia were killed. Democratic and Republican presidents got our nation more embroiled, with no end in sight  goaded in large part by the military-industrial complex wanting to sell war machinery.

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In 1968, little-known Minnesota U.S. Sen. Eugene McCarthy ran for president. Anti-Vietnam War activists joined his New Hampshire campaign. Underfunded, with little national name recognition and no political network of support, McCarthy did well here, encouraging New York Sen. Robert Kennedy to announce his candidacy. Within weeks, President Lyndon Johnson decided not to run for reelection.

Richard Nixon won that November, but the movement to end the war continued. In 1972, another unknown, South Dakota Sen. George McGovern, came to our state challenging the candidate who had national support from establishment Democrats, Sen. Edmund Muskie from neighboring Maine.

Previously from Splaine:New Hampshire will have the first presidential primary in 2024

Without funding and not considered by core Washington-based Democrats worthy of support, McGovern's strong showing here propelled him nationally. He became the Democratic presidential nominee. He lost to Nixon but made opposition to the Vietnam tragedy the goal of a new, young, revitalized generation of voters. The war ended three years later.

Such is the unique quality of our lead-off position. Our state has a special asset of smallness, and a less expensive media market. Here, candidates with meaningful messages visit voters face-to-face, meeting us eye-to-eye, one-by-one. The impact of campaign consultants, image-makers, and flashy campaign ads funded by mass amounts of dark money is minimized. Our primary isn't about us, it's about democracy.

Because of our primary, we helped stop a war. Because of our primary, we have enabled candidates without vast national networking or access to unlimited dark money a chance to make their case. It's difficult to buy our votes.Thats why I sponsored our 1975 law. That asset of smallness is a good thing for the democratic process. We need to fight to keep it. It's a worthy cause.

Our secretary of state will follow the law requiring him to set our primary date seven days or more before any other. Later this year, he'll invite all candidates  Democrats and Republicans  to have their names printed on our primary election ballots. He'll then announce the date of the New Hampshire presidential primary for early 2024. Political parties attempting to disenfranchise voters, or prohibit or punish candidates who run here, will be met with both dismay and disgust.

Sorry, DNC. Our primary law will prevail over your efforts to hijack democracy and restrict our choices. We're going to keep it in our law books. Washington out-of-state Democrats need to know that our voters won't be ignored next year.

Next time: Options  the missing word in affordable housing.Jim Splaine has served variously since 1969 as Portsmouth assistant mayor, Police Commission member, and School Board member, as well as New Hampshire state senator and representative. He can be reached at jimsplaineportsmouth@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Columnist Responds to national Democrats: NH will remain first
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that he ordered the takedown of an unidentified object that had crossed into Canadas airspace on Saturday.

It is the second object in two days to be shot down over North America.

Trudeau said in a tweet that the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), which protects the airspace above the United States and Canada, downed the object after U.S. and Canadian aircraft were scrambled.

He confirmed that a U.S. F-22 fighter aircraft shot the object down over Yukon, a relatively sparsely populated territory in northwestern Canada. He said Canadian forces will recover and analyze the wreckage of the object and thanked NORAD for keeping watch over the continent.

Trudeau added that he also spoke to President Biden about the object.

The White House said in a release that NORAD tracked the object for 24 hours, and Biden was continually briefed on it by his national security team.

Out of an abundance of caution and at the recommendation of their militaries, President Biden and Prime Minister Trudeau authorized it to be taken down, the release states.

Biden and Trudeau also discussed the need to recover the object to learn more about its origin and purpose, according to the statement.

The incident comes one day after U.S. officials said they shot down an object flying over Alaskan airspace Friday. The object was traveling 40,000 feet above the ground, which officials said posed a reasonable threat to commercial aircraft, and landed in U.S. waters.

White House spokesperson John Kirby said the U.S. was still collecting information about whether another country operated it or if a private individual or company owned it. He said officials did not know what the objects purpose was and did not have a more specific description of it than calling it an object.

Yukon borders Alaska on the states eastern side.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) in a statement Saturday commended U.S. forces for taking the object over Canada down. She said she appreciates all Air Guardsmen who are involved in the efforts to recover the debris, which will allow the U.S. to know what the objects are and where they came from.

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As we learn more about these objects, I will continue to encourage maximum transparency so that Alaskans have the greatest possible understanding of what they are and what we are doing, on the front line of our nations defense, to take them safely out of the sky, she said.

Both of these incidents happened in the aftermath of the Chinese surveillance balloon that traveled across the United States last week. It was first seen over the Aleutian Islands of Alaska and eventually traveled from the airspace over Montana and across the country until it was shot down over the coast of South Carolina.

The U.S. military downed the balloon down when it was over the Atlantic Ocean. Officials decided against shooting it down earlier based on concerns about debris from the balloon harming people on the ground.

The Chinese government has denied that the balloon was meant for surveillance, instead saying that it was a weather balloon that was blown off course by wind. U.S. officials have rejected that assertion.

The incident has heightened tensions between the U.S. and China as Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed a planned visit to the country after discovering the balloon. A top Chinese defense official also refused a phone call from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to discuss the balloon last week.

Updated on Feb. 12 at 6:35 a.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Relief efforts in Indianapolis are underway to help victims of this weeks powerful earthquakes that shook Turkey and Syria, among the most devastating and deadliest quakes in recent history.

The death toll surpassed 19,000 across the two countries Thursday, making the quakes the deadliest seen worldwide in more than a decade. Many are still trapped under the rubble.

It is going to be not only one day or two weeks of activity. Its going to be a long, long time, said Nilgun Ozsoy, president of the Indiana-American Turkish Association-Together Universal Responsible Kind (In-Ataturk), a non-profit launched in 2018.

Earthquake victim Arife Koc (68) was evacuated alive by rescue teams, some 80 hours after the earthquake on Feb. 9, 2023, in Elbistan, Turkey. A 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit near Gaziantep, Turkey, in the early hours of Monday, followed by another 7.5-magnitude tremor just after midday. The quakes caused widespread destruction in southern Turkey and northern Syria and were felt in nearby countries.

The group on Monday began collecting money as well as clothing and other items to ship to Turkey, which has declared a fourth-level alert state, including an international call for help.

Impacted areas are experiencing harsh winter conditions.

The nonprofit is working with the Turkish consulate in Chicago to get the goods to the country through Turkish Airlines.

What people in Syria and Turkey need after the earthquake:

Winter clothing for adults and children

Coats and raincoats

Boots

Underwear and socks

Sleeping bags

Tents

Blankets

Diapers

Medical supplies and first aid kits

Feminine hygiene products

Baby formula and bottles

Flashlights power banks and generators

Food, including canned goods that dont require openers for access

The items dont have to be new, but should be in good condition, Ozsoy said.

Monetary contributions to the recovery can be made through PayPal at paypal.com/us/fundraiser/charity/3491429. Those without PayPal accounts can use credit cards to donate at https://bit.ly/40G74oZ.

For more information, visit inataturk.org or contact inataturk2018@gmail.com.

The Bosphorus Istanbul Cafe, 935 S. East St., also is helping the assistance by providing diners a QR code that links directly to the Red Cross in Turkey to make monetary donations.

A lot of people were texting me and telling me about their feelings and prayers and I thought if I give this kind of option, we can help more people, said owner Orhan Demirtas, who has family in Turkey, but far from the affected area. So many people have lost their family houses and everything.

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A magnitude 7.8 quake struck at 4:17 a.m. local time Monday in the southern Turkish province of Kahramanmaras, U.S. Geological Survey said. Hours later, a 7.5 magnitude quake hit more than 60 miles away. Scores of violent aftershocks followed both quakes and continued into Tuesday.

More than 6,000 buildings were toppled. In addition to the climbing death toll, tens of thousands of injuries have been reported. Rescue workers from around the world were on the ground this week searching through debris for signs of life  but amid the widespread damage, relief still struggled to reach some devastated towns.

USA Today contributed to this report.Contact IndyStar reporter Cheryl V. Jackson at cheryl.jackson@indystar.com or 317-444-6264. Follow her on Twitter:@cherylvjackson.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Turkey-Syria earthquakes: How Indianapolis residents can help
In this article, we will take a look at the 16 biggest paint companies in the world. If you want to see more companies in this selection, go to the 5 Biggest Paint Companies in the World.

According to Dublin, Ireland-based ResearchAndMarkets, the size of the global paints and coatings industry is set to increase from $211.9 billion in 2021 to $230.22 billion in 2022. This reflects a year-over-year (YoY) increase of 8.6%. Furthermore, the industry is set to experience a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.8% from 2022 to 2026 and observe its size increase to $311.47 billion. The Asian Pacific is the biggest region in the paints and coatings market as it has growing economies like China and India, where construction and renovation activities are on the rise. Furthermore, projects like the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar have also resulted in higher demand from the region. In addition to this, the Asia-Pacific region is experiencing growth in population, and urbanization is on the rise as well in developing countries of the region.

Overall, the growth of the construction and transportation industry is some of the key drivers for the positive outlook of the paints and coatings industry, as these are the key end-users. ResearchAndMarkets believes that the construction industry is set to observe its size grow from $6.6 trillion in 2019 to $8.4 trillion in 2022. Meanwhile, the global transportation industry is anticipated to grow from $6 trillion in 2019 to $7.8 trillion in 2022. Leading companies are now working on projects that meet the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. Interestingly, paint and coatings can contribute as much as 27% in achieving LEED v4 certification.

Experts believe that the paints and coatings industry is likely to experience greater competition along with more focus on sustainability and environmental-friendly initiatives in the future. The COVID-19 pandemic has also given rise to the use of antimicrobial coatings in indoor spaces like kitchens and bathrooms. There has been increased focus on paints that are resistant to mold and prevent infections. Some of the biggest paint companies in the world include The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW), RPM International Inc. (NYSE:RPM), and Nippon Paint Holdings Co Ltd (TYO:4612).

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16 Biggest Paint Companies in the World

Pixabay/Public Domain

Our Methodology

To shortlist the 16 biggest paint companies in the world, we analyzed the scale of operations, growth prospects, and product portfolio of both private and public companies operating in the industry. To present a more accurate picture to the reader, we looked specifically at the paint and coatings sales data for these companies as of 2021. Most of these companies serve both residential and commercial markets. We have ranked them in ascending order of their 2021 revenue.

16 Biggest Paint Companies in the World

16. DAW

2021 Paint and Coatings Sales: $1.25 billion

DAW is the biggest privately-owned and family-operated manufacturer of building paints in Europe, with a rich history of over 125 years and around 5,600 employees.

Overall, the company is the third-biggest manufacturer of building paints in Europe and the market leader in Germany, Austria, and Turkey. The Ober-Ramstadt, Germany-based company is currently operated by the 5th generation of the owner's family. Alpina and Caparol are two leading paint brands that fall under the DAW portfolio. Nano360 is a product of the Caparol brand that claims to result in energy savings of up to 5% and 22% cost savings over the lifetime of a building structure.

15. Berger Paints

2021 Paint and Coatings Sales: $1.29 billion

Berger Paints is a Kolkata, India-based innovative paint company founded in 1923. The corporation has 16 manufacturing facilities in India, two in Nepal, and one each in Poland and Russia. Along with these three international markets, the company sells its products in Bangladesh as well. The company has a headcount of nearly 3,500 employees and distributes its offerings through a network of more than 25,000 dealers. On January 12, Berger Paints announced the appointment of Kaushik Ghosh as CFO and VP with immediate effect. He will take over from Vikash Sarda, who resigned from his position on January 4.

14. Behr Holdings Corporation

2021 Paint and Coatings Sales: $1.5 billion

Behr Holdings Corporation is a subsidiary of Livonia, Michigan-based home improvement and building products company Masco Corporation (NYSE:MAS). The California-based company, founded in 1947, offers a diverse range of paint products for residential and commercial markets through its brands like Behr, Kilz, Whizz, and E&J.

Behr Holdings Corporation operated as a private entity before its acquisition by Masco Corporation in 1999. The Marquee line of Behr paint is known for its durability and performance. Behr Holdings Corporations products are sold at home improvement retailer giants like Home Depot and Lowes. The company has manufacturing facilities in the US, Canada, China, Chile, and Mexico and a global presence in numerous countries through its distribution partners.

13. Hempel

2021 Paint and Coatings Sales: $1.95 billion

Hempel is a Lyngby, Denmark-based producer of paint and coatings founded in 1915. The company has production facilities and subsidiaries in over 80 countries.

The product range of Hempel is used in ships, offshore structures, wind turbines, and tanks. Meanwhile, decorative paint is extensively used in buildings and other infrastructures. At the start of 2021, Hempel revealed that it intends to double in size by 2025. Experts believe that this is an ambitious target given the macroeconomic uncertainty globally. Hempel claims that a truck of paint and coatings leaves its production facilities every 20 minutes, and 750 liters of Hempel paints and coatings are used around the world every minute.

12. Jotun

2021 Paint and Coatings Sales: $2.59 billion

Jotun is a Sandefjord, Norway-based chemicals company operating in the decorative paints and performance coatings segments. The company has been able to expand its footprint to more than 100 countries during its near-century existence and presently has a headcount of 10,293 employees globally.

Jotun operates in these countries through 67 entities and has 39 production facilities in its portfolio. By 2030, the company intends to lower its greenhouse gas emissions by 50% compared to the levels in 2017 and also plans to consume 70% renewable electricity by the end of this decade. Furthermore, Jotun is targeting to have 40% female managers at its headquarters by 2030.

11. Arkema SA (EPA:AKE)

2021 Paint and Coatings Sales: $2.97 billion

Arkema SA (EPA:AKE) is a Colombes, France-based diversified chemicals company with a paint and coatings segment. The company has a stronghold in waterborne coatings, high-solid systems, UV coatings, and powder systems.

To establish itself in the paint and coatings industry, Arkema SA (EPA:AKE) doubled the production capabilities of its facility in Mumbai, India. The company is focused on developing low Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) technologies. Arkema SA (EPA:AKE) considers India an important market for the powder coating industry and is focused on developing sustainable products. The French diversified conglomerate is trading at a 15% FCF yield for 2024 and at a 9x multiple when compared to the 2024 guidance.

10. Asian Paints Ltd (NSE:ASIANPAINT)

2021 Paint and Coatings Sales: $3.8 billion

Asian Paints Ltd (NSE:ASIANPAINT) is a Mumbai, India-based paint and coatings manufacturing, selling, and distribution company that came into being in 1942. The company has selling and distribution operations in 13 countries and manufacturing facilities in 14 countries.

Asian Paints Ltd (NSE:ASIANPAINT) claims to be the third-biggest paint company in Asia and the biggest paint company in India for the past five decades. The vision of the company is to become one of the top five decorative paint and coatings companies in the world. Asian Paints Ltd (NSE:ASIANPAINT) has also approved a capital outlay of $244.81 million for a proposed manufacturing facility with an output of 400,000 kiloliters per annum.

9. KANSAI PAINT CO., LTD. (TYO:4613)

2021 Paint and Coatings Sales: $3.44 billion

KANSAI PAINT CO., LTD. (TYO: 4613) is an Osaka, Japan-based publicly listed paint and coatings company founded in 1918. The company has 93 production facilities in 34 countries globally and is the biggest paint company in its home country Japan.

Kansai Paint's product line includes coatings for automobiles, buildings, and industrial equipment, as well as marine, traffic, and powder coatings. KANSAI PAINT CO., LTD. (TYO:4613) generates 78% of its top line with equal contribution from the automobile, industrial, and decorative paint segments. In December 2022, KANSAI PAINT CO., LTD. (TYO:4613) acquired the railway coatings business of Beckers Group to expand its global footprint in the paint and coatings industry.

8. Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA)

2021 Paint and Coatings Sales: $4.4 billion

Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA) is a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based paint and coatings company that has a footprint in numerous industries.

In a research note issued to investors on January 4, Michael Leithead at Barclays increased the price target on Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA) from $28 to $30 and maintained an Overweight rating on the stock. Mr. Liethead believes that the chemicals industry is in the seventh or eighth innings of downward earnings revisions. Furthermore, the weak demand from the Chinese market is expected to bottom out in Q1 2023. This means that forward-looking investors can be expected to buy Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA) stock once they think that the earnings forecast has bottomed out.

7. BASF Coatings

2021 Paint and Coatings Sales: $3.90 billion

BASF Coatings is a leading supplier of paint and coatings and operates as a segment of Ludwigshafen, Germany-based diversified chemicals company BASF SE (OTCMKTS:BASFY). The original entity behind the BASF Coatings segment came into being in 1888. The company has over 70 production facilities and 114,000 employees.

BASF Coatings has the distinction of having the biggest integrated paint manufacturing facility in Munster, along with its corporate headquarters. The company is focused on sustainability. This can be gauged by the fact that nearly 2,000 of its body shops in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) depend upon refinish coating derived from biomass sources. Furthermore, BASF Coatings has eliminated lead pigments from its refinish paints.

6. Akzo Nobel NV (AMS:AKZA)

2021 Paint and Coatings Sales: $4.05 billion

Akzo Nobel NV (AMS:AKZA) is an Amsterdam, Netherlands-based chemicals company with 39 leading paint brands in its portfolio. The company intends to become the industry leader as it has been in business for over two centuries now.

Akzo Nobel NV (AMS:AKZA) aims to become a carbon-neutral entity by 2050 and generate more than 50% of its revenue from sustainable solutions. In addition to this, the company intends to train 100,000 people in the local communities with new skills. Akzo Nobel NV (AMS:AKZA) also plans on lowering its carbon emissions by 50% by 2030, compared to the levels in 2018, and reducing its electricity consumption by 30% before completely shifting towards renewable energy sources.

In addition to Akzo Nobel NV (AMS:AKZA), The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW), RPM International Inc. (NYSE:RPM), and Nippon Paint Holdings Co Ltd (TYO:4612) are also some of the biggest paint companies in the world.

Click to continue reading and see the 5 Biggest Paint Companies in the World.

Suggested articles:

Disclosure: None. 16 Biggest Paint Companies in the World is originally published on Insider Monkey.
The Abilene ISD was a step ahead of the University of Texas at Austin.

On Tuesday it was announced in an email to students and faculty that the Austin university wont be able to access the social media platform while connected to UT internet servers.

The university is taking these important steps to eliminate risks to information contained in the universitys network and to our critical infrastructure, the email stated. As outlined in the governors directive, TikTok harvests vast amounts of data from its users devices  including when, where and how they conduct internet activity  and offers this trove of potentially sensitive information to the Chinese government.

TikTok is a video hosting service that's owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. Videos are short in duration and hugely popular worldwide.

The University of North Texas, University of Texas at Arlington and the University of Dallas also have instituted bans. The Texas A&M University System also is putting TikTok restrictions into place.

On Dec. 7, Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order that banned access to TikTok on state-issued cellphones and computers, citing security risks. Other governors had given the same order.

Abilene ISD Communications Director Jordan Ziemer said Thursday that Abbott has sought how to ban that on state employees' personal devices, with a mid-February goal on implementation.

"Not just state-owned devices but personal devices of state employees," Abilene ISD Communications Director Jordan Ziemer said.

It in December that the Abilene ISD, which already had strengthened its student cellphone use policy to start the current school year, began to discuss what to do bout TikTok. Abbott's order did not include local agencies, such as school districts, but should the AISD follow suit?

Ziemer said preparation had begun to honor the AISD board of trustees in January, "and we had some staff that had been planning to use TikTok to recognized the board. The all pressed pause on all those projects."

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Legal counsel to the district agreed the Abbott's ban did not extend to the district "but the strong recommendation was restricting access to TikTok on the district network due to date security concerns that they believe are real, or at least there's enough reality to those concerns to make them recommend to us to make those changes,

"The decision came down to what's best for our district? What's best for our students?"

Alex Mounir livestreams on TikTok after having graduated from Ridge Point High School ten minutes earlier inside the George R. Brown Convention Center where the NRA Convention was being held next door to his school's commencement in Houston in May 2022.

When students, faculty and staff returned to classes after the Christmas break, TikTok could not be accessed through the district. Personal cellphones and computers are not affected.

"It's not up to us if a student is going to use that outside of school or at home."

"I think the decision we're making is in keeping the education institution in Texas ... because of the security concerns," Ziemer said.

TikTok decision works with AISD's revised cellphone policy

To begin school in August, Gustavo Villanueva, associate superintendent for leadership and student services in the AISD, addressed stiffer cellphone use policies. Basically, students could bring cellphones to school but those were not permitted in classes.

If the policy is violated, even for the first time, a student pays a fine to get the cellphone returned.

More:Abilene ISD limiting cellphone use in classrooms, boosting fine policy

Ziemer on Thursday said the newer TikTok policy fits into this model.

"The way we encourage students to be attentive at school," he said.

Villanueva said TikTok has "created major disturbances on our campuses."

He cited challenges, some that are funny and others that are destructive. One widely known challenge, was to destroy restrooms, he said. It was known as the "devious licks" challenge.

And those were carried out on campuses here, Villanueva said.

"Inevitably, kiddos will follow those folks and continue to meet those challenges," he said.

To cut down on the destructive challenges, a TikTok would be good, he said. But TikTok has not been widely used for educational purposes, as far as he knows.

The revised cellphone policy for the 2022-23 school year had less to do with TikTok and more to do with bullying and harassment using social media.

Cellphones "created more issues than they did solutions" for students during the school day, Villanueva said.

"It's a distraction. I'd rather be TikToking or reading something else than being engaged in the classroom," he said.

The result of the revised policy halfway through year?

"I can tell you it has been significant," Villanueva said. "The difference is very palpable on the campus."

If there is an incident, such as two students scuffling, the inability of students to take a video and post it has decreased a perception that these things happen constantly during the school day, he said.

And, he added, the fight could the result of a social media conflict to begin with.

"We're not moving backward on that," Villanueva said.

The district's limitation on cellphone use and impact during the school day also an attempt to teach students responsibility is the use of their devices.

"How can we be better digital citizens?" he said.

Gov. Greg Abbott bans TikTok on state phones and computers, citing cybersecurity risks

Following the lead of several other GOP governors, Abbott said banning the social media platform, which is run by the Chinese company ByteDance, would protect state information from the Chinese Communist Party.

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Abilene ISD's new TikTok ban based on security concerns
The pioneering Japanese Egyptologist Sakuji Yoshimura  who is supervising the restoration of Khufus Second Sun Boat for the Grand Egyptian Museum  was honoured Tuesday with a certificate of appreciation by the countrys ambassador.

The certificate was awarded by the Ambassador of Japan to Egypt Oka Hiroshi in a ceremony at the ambassadors residence.

The ceremony was attended by world-renowned Egyptologist Zahi Hawass, Egypts first minister of antiquities, and Khaled El-Anani, the former minister of tourism and antiquities, who congratulated Yoshimura on the prestigious recognition.

Yoshimura established in 1966 the first team in all of Asia to research and excavate Egyptian antiquities. Since then, he has worked in the field for more than half a century, accomplishing much using the latest scientific techniques.

Through solid and deep relationships with the Egyptian government, scholars and archaeologists, Yoshimura conducted several joint research projects with Japanese scholars and researchers and made outstanding contributions to the development of Egyptology research in Japan.

Yoshimura serves as professor emeritus of Waseda University (Ph.D. in engineering) and president of Higashi Nippon International University.

Currently, he is leading and supervising the excavation and restoration of Khufu's Second Sun Boat in his capacity as president of The Institute for the Restoration of the Sun Boat, a non-profit organisation with the support of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

The boat will be displayed as one of the main exhibits at the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), which is supported by Japan, and will become a new symbol of cooperation between Japan and Egypt.

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Brazil federal police said they arrested a suspect on Friday they believe to be behind the murder of a Paraguayan anti-mafia prosecutor in Colombia last year. The suspect was identified by Paraguay police as Miguel Angel Insfran Galeano.

The suspect was apprehended on Thursday in Recreio dos Bandeirantes, a neighborhood in the West Zone of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil federal police said.

La Policia Nacional informa que se han hecho los contactos con los pares de Brasil y se tiene la informacion que fue detenida una persona en la via publica, que seria MIGUEL ANGEL INSFRAN GALEANO, en el Estado de Rio de Janeiro Brasil. pic.twitter.com/5HItrCfwUB  Policia Nacional del Paraguay (@policia_py) February 9, 2023

Last year, Colombia President Gustavo Petro said Insfran and Uruguayan Sebastian Marset, who is currently on the run, were suspected of being the murder masterminds.

Marcelo Pecci was murdered in May 2022 in front of his pregnant wife while they were on their honeymoon on the Colombian island of Baru, near the tourist port of Cartagena on the Caribbean coast.

Pecci, 45, was felled by two shots while relaxing on the beach with his wife, Paraguayan journalist Claudia Aguilera. They had gotten married on April 30 in the nearby city of Cartagena.

At the time of his murder, Paraguay Attorney General Sandra Quinonez said Pecci had obtained important convictions in an 11-year campaign against cross-border and drug crime.

Colombia has detained seven people over the murder, four of whom, including the hitman, have pleaded guilty and were sentenced in June to 23 years in prison.

The suspect was sent to the Jose Frederico Marques Public Prison, in Benfica, Rio de Janeiro, federal police said.

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Biden orders "high-altitude object" shot down over Alaskan airspace

Foreign policy expert reacts to U.S. shooting down second object

Pentagon briefing on "high-altitude object" shot down off Alaska
Tugboat deckhand Thomas Phillips, 35, of Dulac, went missing last week while on a tugboat in the Gulf of Mexico near the Louisiana-Texas border.

Family members plan to lead a candlelight ceremony Monday for a Dulac tugboat deckhand who went missing in the Gulf of Mexico near the Louisiana-Texas border.

Thomas Phillips, 35, was last seen about 10 p.m. Feb. 5 and was noticed missing after a crewboat was supposed to transfer him off the Smith Invader the next morning, according to a news release from the Coast Guard in Houston.

The Coast Guard received a call about 6:10 a.m. Feb. 6 and joined other agencies in a 23-hour search that covered 206 square miles by boat and helicopter before calling an end to the operation.

The tough decision of suspending a search is vetted through many channels and is never taken lightly, said Lt. Cmdr. Jeffrey Schwind, search and rescue mission coordinator for the Coast Guard's Houston-Galveston area. This search involved close coordination between state and local agencies, and we appreciate their assistance. We send our thoughts and prayers to the friends and family during this tough time.

The United Cajun Navy has picked up the search, but weather has made it difficult to search by air, family members told The Houma Courier and Thibodaux Daily Comet Sunday.

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For subscribers:Big crowds prompt changes for next year's King Cake Festival in Thibodaux. Here's the plan.

The Smith Invader, an 89-foot tug, is listed among boats owned by Smith Marine Towing, a Morgan City-based company that does work in the offshore oilfield as well as in dredging, barge towing, cargo hauling and other marine operations.

Phillips was last seen while the tug was a mile south of the McFaddin National Wildlife Refuge in Texas, about 17 miles west of the Louisiana border, the Coast Guard said.

His younger sister, Lesleyann Phillips, said she had spoken with him that day on the phone and he told her he was feeling unwell. Their last correspondence was via text message at 5:15 p.m. Feb. 5, when he wrote that someone was being sent to pick him up.

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She said the family will hold a candlelight ceremony at at 6 p.m. Monday Nang's Food Store, 109 Old Bridge Road in Dulac.

"Anyone is welcome," said Becky Parfait, Phillips' mother. "We need all the prayers we can get."

After the ceremony, family members said they will head to Texas to try to learn more.

This article originally appeared on The Courier: Family plans candllelight ceremony for Dulac deckhand missing in Gulf
Package Steel Systems Inc.'s manufacturing facility in Sutton.

$7,360

Package Steel Systems Inc. has agreed to pay a $7,360 penalty for violating the air pollution control and groundwater discharge permit regulations at its steel building manufacturing facility in Sutton, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection announced Tuesday. The DEP said that inspections and report reviews of the building, located at 15 Harback Road, revealed that Package Steel Systems was exceeding air pollution limits set in its permit, and illegally discharging industrial wastewater into an on-site septic system. The company has agreed to comply with air emission limits and has ceased illegal wastewater discharge.

The former location of the Owl Shop on Main Street in Worcester has been sold.

$250,000

A Worcester real estate developer has purchased the building containing the former Owl Shop for $250,000, according to property records. A change of deed for the 414 and 416 Main St. property was registered with the Worcester Registry of Deeds last week. The previous owner, Owl Shop Realty Co. Inc., granted the deed to 414-416 Main Street LLC with a principal place of business in Shrewsbury. Real estate developer Markopoulos Development announced in a social media post that it purchased the building. Last October, the tobacco shop announced it would close with the owner, Zack Photakis, saying he was moving his business to New Hampshire.

Dog daycare counselor Abbey Strilka has a training session with Cavalier King Charles Lucy, 3, at Loyal Companion in Lakeway Commons on Route 9 in Shrewsbury.

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Loyal Companion, which operates 18 of its 53 pet stores in Massachusetts including Shrewsbury and Stow, announced Monday that the company is going out of business. Loyal Companion said all stores would close by Feb. 28. Besides Shrewsbury and Stow, Loyal Companion's Massachusetts locations include Acton, Bedford, Beverly, Boston (two), Cambridge, Canton, Concord, Dedham, Littleton, Medway, Newton, Stoneham, Sudbury, Wayland and Wellesley. It also has eight locations in Maine and two in New Hampshire. The company has sought authorization from the court to continue honoring customer gift cards and loyalty member reward vouchers at stores through Feb. 28.

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The Stevens Linen Mill in Dudley.

$53M

A real estate company plans to start renovation and development on the property of the Stevens Linen Mill historic building this summer as part of a $53 million plan to turn the Dudley building into 156 apartments, and the rest of the property into a public event space, in addition to a riverwalk along the abutting French River. The South Carolina real estate company Stevens Mill Owner LLC purchased the 6.95-acre property at 8 Mill St. in August 2020 for $100 with intentions to redevelop. It wasnt until May 2022 that the Dudley Planning Board approved plans.

A look at the proposed development, looking from above Worcester's Kelley Square.

375

The Planning Board conditionally approved a preliminary site plan for an eight-story, mixed-use apartment complex proposed steps away from Polar Park. North Carolina-based Quarterra Multifamily Communities has submitted plans to redevelop the former Smokestack Urban Barbecue building on Green Street and a neighboring portion of the former Table Talk Pies property on Washington Street into an eight-story mixed-use apartment complex. Plans call for 375 units, retail space and a seven-story parking garage. It is the third phase of a plan to redevelop the former Table Talk Pies factory, where developers Boston Capital Development are building a multistory apartment complex.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Worcester County Business Matters: Central Mass. by the Numbers
James Flynn was highly applauded for his work on many critically-acclaimed films and prestige television series.

One of the minds behind the critically-acclaimed Academy Award-nominated 2022 film The Banshees of Inisherin, producer James Flynn, has died. He was 57.

The Irish Times reported on Flynn's death, but there was no word on his cause of death.

Metropolitan Films, the production company founded in 1997 by Flynn and his wife, Juanita Wilson, released the following statement announcing his passing: "All of us in Metropolitan Films are deeply saddened by the passing of our esteemed founder, colleague and great friend James Flynn, who departed peacefully on Saturday morning with his wife Juanita Wilson and children Alex and Anna by his side."

The statement continued, "James fought his recent illness with courage, dignity, and positivity to the very end. For that reason we are acutely aware that the news of his passing has been an unexpected shock for all of us.

The Screen Directors Guild of Ireland also released a statement, writing in part, "[Flynn's passing is] a huge loss to the industry and our thoughts are with his family."

Along with Flynn's work as a producer for Martin McDonagh's film The Banshees of Inisherin, which is nominated for nine Oscars, including Best Picture, the Irish producer worked on many high-profile projects throughout his career, including the films Becoming Jane, The Secret of Kells, and Disenchanted.

His work in television is even more extensive, with Flynn producing high-quality genre television series like Vikings, The Borgias, The Tudors, and Vikings: Valhalla.

Flynn was also nominated for an Academy Award in 2010 for the short film The Door.

Oscar-nominated producer Ed Guiney said of his friend after his death in a statement to The Irish Times, "James was a wonderful person, a brilliant producer  he had an encyclopedic knowledge of film and was the smartest of all of my generation of producers."

Guiney described Flynn as "witty and wise" before going on: "He made me laugh as well as always being a generous source of advice and support to so many of us. He will be sorely missed and is huge loss to the industry.

Our hearts go out to his loved ones.
A customer-service center uses artificial intelligence to identify a caller's agitation, an insurance company scans voice data to flag illness and raise rates, a five-star restaurant denies a reservation over personal details revealed by the tone on the other end of the line.

Far from science fiction, such scenarios have leapt into the realm of possibility, said Joseph Turow, a professor at University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for Communication and author of "The Voice Catchers: How Marketers Listen In to Exploit Your Emotions, Your Privacy and Your Wallet."

The rise of voice-assisted products in homes and workplaces has driven a wave of private sector innovation, honing the intake of fast food drive-thru orders, replacing handheld tech typically used by warehouse employees, and refining smart home devices that adapt to a user's vocal tics, according to privacy experts and advocates who spoke with ABC News.

But voice data collection also fuels targeted marketing based on personal information gleaned from recordings and risks data breaches that could place one's voice in the hands of cyber criminals aiming to imitate it, they added.

"This has become a real issue as more and more people are using voice-activated devices like Alexa and Siri," Marc Rotenberg, founder and executive director for the nonprofit Center for AI and Digital Policy, told ABC News. "There's a ticking time bomb with the collection of voice recordings."

"These companies gather voice recordings to improve a service," Rotenberg added. "But their retention of these voice recordings is a real concern for privacy."

While voice assistants recently arrived in consumers' pockets and living rooms, the technology goes back more than a half-century.

MORE: Controversy illuminates rise of facial recognition in private sector

In the early 1960s, IBM released the Shoebox, a calculator that could do basic arithmetic in response to voice commands. Roughly a decade later, the "Harpy" speech recognition system launched by Carnegie Mellon could identify more than 1,000 words in a user's voice.

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Ultimately, the technology reached an inflection point more than a decade ago, when Apple released Siri as a feature of the iPhone, equipping tens of millions with voice command. Three years later, Amazon came out with Alexa, a voice assistant that could play songs or look up facts in response to a simple utterance. Soon after, Google launched Google Assistant, a voice-recognition feature available on its Android and Google Home devices.

Meanwhile, the technology has grown well beyond a consumer curiosity, as businesses have sought it out to improve operations and marketers have explored secondary uses of voice data. In all, the worldwide voice recognition market surpassed $3.5 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach $10 billion by 2028, according to research firm Global Market Insights.

In many cases, businesses deploy voice data because it bolsters productivity or betters the service encountered by a customer, Kristin Bryan, an attorney at Squire Patton Boggs who has worked on litigation involving the collection of voice data, told ABC News.

"Companies are increasingly finding novel ways to use voice technology to reduce human error and streamline operations," she said.

For instance, a growing number of warehouses in the nation's vast e-commerce network have replaced handheld tablets with wearable technology that allows employees to record their work through voice commands, freeing up both hands for lifting and sorting products, said Roberto Michel, a senior editor for Modern Materials Handling, a trade publication covering the manufacturing industry.

MORE: Here's the difference between a 'minimum wage' and 'living wage,' and why it matters

A survey conducted by the trade outlet last year found that 39% of warehouse companies use voice-assisted technology, an increase from 21% of such businesses who reported adoption of the devices a year prior, Michel said.

The technology "speeds up the order-selection process versus fumbling with a handheld," Michel said.

However, even ostensibly innocuous uses of voice-assisted technology can trigger privacy concerns, said Turow, of the University of Pennsylvania.

Last week, Amazon-owned grocery chain Whole Foods agreed to pay almost $300,000 to workers in a settlement over allegations that a voice-assisted product used to track worker productivity at a Chicago warehouse had recorded employees' voices without their consent.

PHOTO: FILE - An Amazon.com Inc. Echo Plus device is displayed during an unveiling event at the company's headquarters in Seattle, Sept. 25, 2019. (Bloomberg via Getty Images, FILE)

Critics fear that voice-assisted products glean more revealing data than many users realize, allowing companies to profit off of utterances made at home or work through carefully honed advertising or the sale of intimate information.

A consumer's voice could be used to reveal a wealth of knowledge about him or her, including height, weight, ethnicity, personality traits and possible health issues, said Turow, who spoke to scientists about audio sleuthing for his book on the collection of voice data.

In 2019, Amazon announced the development of "a deep learning model to detect when customers are frustrated" with its voice assistant. "Alexa can now try to adjust, just like you or I would do," the company said.

"With Frustration Detection, Alexa will recognize positive, negative, and neutral tone for a request. Alexa is not designed to detect distinct emotions like happiness, sadness, anger or surprise," Amazon Spokesperson Lauren Raemhild told ABC News.

"Customers have several options to manage their Alexa voice recordings, including the option not to save their recordings at all," she added.

Last June, TikTok updated its privacy policy, expanding data collected by the company to include voice recordings.

Companies that collect voice data could use information to sell products directly to consumers, or pass the data along to advertisers, Turow said.

"As we move into a world where people use voice over typing in their everyday lives, marketers want to know: What can I get out of the voice of this person?" he said.

MORE: Apple's value plunged nearly $1 trillion in 2022. Here's what that says about the economy

Rotenberg, of the Center for AI and Digital Policy, warned that the collection of audio data could also result in nefarious actors accessing one's voice, allowing them to commit fraud or other crimes through impersonation.

A thief deploying the tactic, known as deepfake audio, tricked a Hong Kong-based bank into sending $35 million to a criminal the bank thought was a corporate attorney, Forbes reported last October.

In a statement, Amazon Spokesperson Lauren Raemhild said the company takes extensive measures to ensure the security of its data.

"Amazon has hundreds of employees dedicated to designing secure products, innovating on security, and finding and fixing vulnerabilities in Amazon services and devices," Raemhild said. "We employ numerous tactics and features that help keep our devices and customer data secure, for example, rigorous security reviews during development, encryption to protect data, and regular software security updates."

Apple and Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment about potential theft and abuse of voice data.

Despite the growing use of voice-assisted technology, laws protecting audio data collection remain limited, according to attorneys and advocates who spoke with ABC News.

The U.S. lacks a federal law governing such data, leaving regulation primarily at the state level. So far, four states have enacted laws pertaining to the collection of voice data: California, Texas, Washington and Illinois, said Bryan, of Squire Patton Boggs.

The strongest law, in Illinois, requires that companies obtain written consent from individuals before collecting such data, and afterward firms are prohibited from selling or profiting off of the information. Companies that violate the law face potential financial penalties.

The effort to limit voice data collection requires urgency, before voice-assisted products become more widely adopted, Turow said.

"Once this has congealed, we can't do much about it," he said.

Collection of voice data for profit raises privacy fears originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
OWENSBORO, Ky.  Opening Pamir Afghan Restaurant in Owensboro, Kentucky, is only a small part of the story Khaiber Shafaq, Tariq Pakzad and Edris Akbari have lived since 2021.

The three were among thousands of refugees who left Afghanistan when the Taliban gained control of the country in August 2021. Getting out of Afghanistan was of paramount importance. Where they eventually landed was not up to them.

From left, Edris Akbari, Khaiber Shafaq, and Tariq Pakzad inside the dining room at Pamir Afghan restaurant, which occupies the Windy Hollow Biscuit House in Owensboro on Saturday and Sunday evenings, on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023.

It was a selection based on the capacity of where they were resettling people around the United States, so we were told, You will be going to Owensboro, Kentucky, and we said, Okay, said Shafaq, whose wife and children remain in Istanbul, Turkey, for the time being.

When people left Afghanistan, they went to countries around the world. We started in Germany, then came to the United States and were (at) three months at the military bases for security verification, vaccinations, medical and all the paperwork.

More:Evansville-area food news: gumbo, Colombian tamales and more

When Shafaqs group arrived in Owensboro in November 2021, they stayed in hotels for more than two months until housing could be found.

They missed their country. While the Tri-State is home to many Muslims, this was the first group of Afghans to settle in large numbers the area. About 200 were placed in Owensboro, with 500 more in Bowling Green and about 1,000 in Louisville.

Being Muslim, Afghanis are Halal, meaning they eat only meat butchered in accordance with Islamic law  and thats hard to find at local restaurants. Some of the group began using church kitchens to cook traditional Halal meals and host gatherings for anyone who wanted to come.

We were getting a big number of Afghan community volunteers, and thats when the idea to have a restaurant came, Shafaq said. People liked it and we wanted to have a place for the Afghan people to go out of the house because they cant just run to Chick-fil-A.

Amanulla Samim pours saffron tea for a table of diners at Pamir Afghan restaurant on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023.

As fate would have it, Shafaq had previously worked for the Red Cross in disaster relief, and when a tornado struck Western Kentucky in December 2021, he jumped in to assist with aid. Through those efforts, he met Evelyn Miller, owner of the Windy Hollow Restaurant south of Owensboro and the new Windy Hollow Biscuit House in town, just off Frederica Street.

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He and Pakzad, who had owned a restaurant in Afghanistan, mentioned they would like to open a little restaurant.

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She said, If youd like to use my restaurant, Im only open three days for breakfast and lunch, Shafaq said. So we thought wed do it weekend evenings and she really helped us to start. Our chef Jawad Karimi is from Afghanistan and the servers and helpers are from the community. We are a team of 12 people.

So, thats how Owensboro, Kentucky, wound up with an authentic Halal Afghan restaurant that opens on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings from 5-9 p.m. inside the country-themed Windy Hollow Biscuit House  through layers and layers of people stepping in to help each other through tough times and come out stronger, closer and better.

And its packed with diners, some Afghani, but mostly area natives who find themselves curious about and enjoying a new cuisine.

On the menu at Pamir Afghan Restaurant

Afghanistan is a Muslim country that shares a border with Iran and Pakistan. If you like Indian or Arabian food, youll find elements of both in Afghani cuisine. It is rich in spices, but is not chili-hot. On Pamirs Facebook page there are lovely pictures and descriptions of all the menu items, and the menu thoughtfuly offers selections of tasting-sized plates so your table can sample many dishes.

A plate of manto steamed dumplings stuffed with beef and spices, topped with tomato and yogurt sauces, at Pamir Afghan restaurant on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023.

Some examples are chalaw, Afghani-style basmati rice pilaf with raisins, carrots and almonds. Have it enhanced with chunks of chicken or beef as murgh palaw or Kabuli palaw. Kofta beef meatballs are served in a rich but mild tomato sauce. Rosh is chunks of beef roasted with whole potatoes and served with a whole cooked tomato.

We were especially taken with the bolani, a soft flatbread filled with a seasoned potato mixture served with a yogurt and cilantro dipping sauce. If you like naan, youll enjoy this. The steamed, meat-filled manto dumplings fall somewhere between pot stickers and the Himalayan momo dumplings youll find at Yak and Yeti, yet with a distinct spice blend. Theyre dressed with a yogurt sauce and tomato sauce.

Vegetables including cauliflower, eggplant and okra are cooked until soft with gently fragrant spices, oil and a touch of tomato. All are especially good scooped up on bread.

When you are seated, complimentary tea is brought to your table. Pretty glass teapots of real saffron, lemon, ginger, cardamom, and black teas are ready for each diner to choose what kind theyd like.

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To finish your meal, choose from pistachio baklava; jelabi (rings of dough fried and then soaked in syrup) or Haft Mewa, a mixture of crunchy nuts and dried fruit soaked in rosewater.

As for Shafaq, Pakzad and Akbari, their stories have continued to evolve and blossom in Kentucky. Shafaq once again is working as a disaster case manager and as a paralegal, this time for the Catholic Churches of Owensboro. He hopes to bring his family from Turkey later this year. Pakzad, as well as once again owning a restaurant, is a supervisor for Purdue Chicken. And Akbari, who was a journalist in Afghanistan, is now the Afghan community liaison for the Owensboro International Center Refugee Resettlement Agency.

Servers Bilal Badaan, Zach Gross and Camile Severance bring tasting dishes to a table of diners at Pamir Afghan restaurant on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023. The restaurant stays busy, entertaining many Afghanis but even more Tri-State natives who are curious about Afghani cuisine.

The tagline for Pamir restaurant is "Culture. Cuisine. Community." It offers everyone an opportunity to come, enjoy the cuisine, and see how community is strengthened by a willingness to help and welcome people from many cultures.

Pamir Afghan Cuisine

Location : 630 Emory Drive, Owensboro, Kentucky.

Phone : 270-695-7519

Hours: Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 5-9 p.m.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Pamir Afghan Restaurant brings new cuisine, culture to Owensboro
US military fighter jets have been deployed four times within eight days to strike down a large suspected Chinese surveillance balloon and three smaller unidentified flying objects in the skies over Alaska, Lake Huron, and in the Yukon territory of Canada.

Recovery operations are underway in both countries, and military officials have not speculated publicly whether the incidents are connected.

For three days in a row, US military fighter jets brought down similar high-altitude objects, all within a week after a large airship, allegedly sent by China to spy on the US mainland, seized the national news agenda as it drifted across the country before it was destroyed off the coast of South Carolina.

Pentagon officials announced on 11 February that they had brought down a car-sized aerial intruder of unknown origin inside US airspace. The following day, an American F-22 fighter shot down a small and cylindrical object hovering 40,000 feet above over Canada. One day later, US officials announced a third object was shot out of the sky above Lake Huron near Michigan.

Heres everything we know so far about the latest mysterious objects.

What exactly happened?

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), which monitors and defends the skies over the US and Canada, began tracking an object about the size of a small car travelling in a north-easterly direction at an altitude of about 40,000 feet, according to Pentagon press secretary Brigadier General Pat Ryder.

Mr Ryder said on 10 February that it was "not similar in size or shape" to the alleged spy balloon. Other officials said it carried no significant payload.

(The Independent)

After sending aircraft to get a closer look at the object, the Pentagon recommended to US president Joe Biden that it be shot down. The White House agreed out of an abundance of caution.

Two F-22 warplanes were dispatched from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson near Anchorage, Alaska, and a single AIM-9 Sidewinder missile was fired around 1.45pm Eastern Time.

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Mr Ryder said that all this happened within US airspace and over US territorial waters, with the wreckage landing on frozen sea off Alaska's northern coast.

The warplanes were followed by Pave Hawk and Chinook helicopters, plus a C-130 search and rescue plane, aiming to gather up the remains of the object so that it can be studied.

(The Independent)

Officials also were tracking a second object that entered US airspace in Alaska before traveling into Canada, a discovery that was not revealed until 11 February, when another American F-22 Raptor jet shot down the object.

Two F-22 aircraft from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson monitored the object over US airspace with the assistance of Alaska Air National Guard refueling aircraft, tracking it closely and taking time to characterize the nature of the object, Mr Ryder said in a statement on 11 February.

Canadian CF-18 fighters and CP-140 maritime patrol craft joined the operation.

The object was small and cyndrical flying at 40,000 feet and posed a reasonable threat to civilian aircraft, according to Canadas Defence Minister Anita Anand.

President Biden was continually briefed by his national security team since the object was detected, according to the White House.

Following a call between President Biden and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and with the reccommendation of their militaries, the president authorised NORAD to conduct the operation and a US F-22 shot down the object in Canadian territory in close coordination with Canadian authorities, according to the White House.

It was brought down roughly 100 miles from the US-Canada border in Canadian territory in central Yukon on 11 February.

To our knowledge, this is the first instance of Norad downing an object in Canadian airspace, and the importance of this moment should not be underestimated, Ms Anand said during an evening briefing after the encounter.

NORAD and the Federal Aviation Administration briefly closed airspace over northern Montana to support Department of Defense operations late on 11 February, which appeared to be a false alarm.

NORAD detected a radar anomaly and sent fighter aircraft to investigate. Those aircraft did not identify any object to correlate to the radar hits, according to a statement.

On 12 February, US officials announced that another object, this time above Lake Huron near the state of Michigan, was fired out of the sky by pilots from the US Air Force and the National Guard.

(The Independent)

What were the objects, and where did they come from?

The short answer is that we don't know.

Canadas Defence Minister Anita Anand described the second craft as a small, cyndrical object.

Officials have described them as similar in size to a Volkswagen Beetle but slightly different in profile, according to The Washington Post.

"Were calling this an object because thats the best description we have right now," White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on 10 February. "We do not know who owns it, whether its state-owned or corporate-owned or privately owned."

A subsequent press conference that afternoon offered few answers.

USAF brigadier Pat Ryder briefs reporters on 10 February 2023 (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

"We have no further details about the object at this time, including any description of its capabilities, purpose or origin," Mr Ryder said. "We will know more once we're able to potentially recover some of those materials."

US military officials have not disclosed whether they believe they object came from China, whether it posed any threats to US radar or military sites, or how fast it was travelling.

Mr Ryder did say that there was "no indication" that they object could manoeuvre itself, and said it was "very, very unlikely" that a craft so small carried human pilots.

Why were the objects shot down?

US and Canadian officials reported that, unlike the large Chinese balloon that floated across the US before it was shot down off the coast of South Carolina, the objects posed "a reasonable threat to civilian air traffic".

Whereas the Chinese balloon was flying at about 60,000 feet, well above the range of altitudes for commercial airliners, both objects were reported traveling at about 40,000 feet.

"Any time we detect anything, we're going to first of all observe it, and then decide and take action. In this case, it was operating at an altitude that posed a reasonable threat to civilian air traffic," Mr Ryder said.

Yet many reporters questioned why the Biden administration had demurred in shooting down the Chinese balloon but destroyed the other two, speculating that the Pentagon or the president may have been motivated by political pressure.

Mr Biden was heavily criticised by Republican officialsfor not immediately destroying or disabling the Chinese craft. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy claimed that its appearance was part of a crisis in America, while another lawmaker baselessly speculated that it could have contained bioweapons.

Officials argued that the risk of civilian casualties in shooting down such a large object over populated land outweighed the likely benefits of shooting it down, saying that that it posed no immediate threat to the American public.

US defense officials told a Senate panel that shooting the massive balloon at first sight near Alaska also risked losing salvageable debris  and valuable intelligence  in frozen or deep-water areas where recovery operations would be impossible.

By contrast, the other objects were much smaller. The object shot down over Alaska was flying over the sea when it was shot down, off the coast of the fourth most sparsely populated county (North Slope Borough, Alaska) in the US.

Why are we suddenly seeing them?

The week of incursions has changed how analysts receive and interpret information from radars and sensors, according to a US official who spoke with The Washington Post.

Sensory equipment absorbs a lot of raw data, and filters are used so humans and machines can make sense of what is collected, according to the newspaper. But that process always runs the risk of leaving out something important.

We basically opened the filters, the official told the newspaper, which compared such data filters to those used by a prospective car buyer to broaden the parameters of what can be searched.

But that change does not fully account for the latest incidents, and whether they are deliberate actions by an unknown country or adversary, which analysts also have suggested are testing what a US response would be  and how the nations own partisan battles could play out  after that kind of provocation.

CBS News national security correspondent David Martin described the two unidentified objects shot down over Alaska and Canada as balloon-like and did not necessarily believe that they were deployed from China.

The prevailing wind brings everything that way, from east, west, across northern Alaska and northern Canada. And there is a lot of what officials call sky trash up there, he told Face the Nation on 12 February.

That sky trash includes balloons that are put up by governments, that are put up by corporations, put up by research institutes, and probably just by private individuals, and not for nefarious purposes but to just collect scientific data, he said.

In the past, the US didnt pay as much attention to such crafts, but the much-larger Chinese surveillance balloon was a game changer that put the US military and the Biden administration on alert, he added.

Are there any theories about the object?

Given last week's aerial drama, it's natural that the top possibility in many Americans' minds right now would be that this is another surveillance craft from China, Russia, or elsewhere.

US officials claim that China has long operated an aerial balloon programme that has sent similar craft floating above the US since at least 2017  whether for surveillance, or to test the US government's response, or both.

There is no shortage of interesting surveillance targets in Alaska, which houses nine US military bases, 18,000 military personnel, sensitive oil infrastructure, various radar and early warning systems directed towards nearby Russia, and missiles designed to shoot down incoming nuclear warheads.

The US National Weather Service also has more weather balloon stations in Alaska than any other state, releasing new ones at the same time every day.

Plenty of scientists and researchers are also interested in the skies over the Arctic, in part because of the region's role in global weather patterns and in climate change.

There is even a sizeable amateur ballooning community that likes to launch cameras, radio equipment, GPS trackers, scientific sensors, and other objects into the stratosphere.
One traveler shares how she learned to see family travel as romantic.

Malte Mueller/Getty Images

Quick thought exercise: Imagine a Scattergories game with the list topic "romantic trip with partner." Im quite certain that no one in the history of the world has ever written "wrangling screaming children on airplanes," "copious amounts of chicken fingers," or "being asked every five minutes, 'Are we there yet?'" This tiny sample of the realities of hitting the road with young kids points to why romance and family travel typically make incompatible bedfellows.

But Im here to argue the opposite  it really all depends on how you define "romance." If you're limiting the concept to quiet candlelit dinners and long walks on the beach, then I am out of luck for at least the next decade. (My kids are currently five and just shy of three.) But  stay with me, people  I no longer believe its axiomatic that family plus travel equals no romance.

Hannah Seligson

After a recent string of family trips to Turks and Caicos, Wyoming, and Miami, Im now convinced that we need to rethink what romance looks like when travel suddenly means having to attend to the needs of small humans. To be sure, I havent always seen the glimmers of romance in family travel. While my husband and I have traveled to different continents with our kids, I used to think of it as parenting, but with different scenery.

Travel, though, is my love language, (and also one of my beats as a writer), so the fact that my husband, Andrew, is willing to go along with my idea to take a 12-hour journey to a remote part of Wyoming (its worth it for Brush Creek Ranch) is, in my book, a grand romantic gesture. Another grand romantic gesture: Switch airports, from JFK to Newark, in the depths of COVID-19 restrictions, with two toddlers in tow, so we could try and salvage a seriously frayed planned trip to Anguilla. (We had no such luck.)

Hannah Seligson

Whats romance if not the feeling of accomplishment  and yes, exhaustion  that comes from arriving at your destination after having weathered meltdowns, endless security and border control lines, or extreme snowstorms that added four hours of driving to our Wyoming trip? Romance is the feeling of "we are in this together." Our family trips often remind me that Andrew and I are the same way when it comes to travel perseverance. (Many of our loved ones find this absurd, and they arent wrong.)

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I also take solace in the fact that if Andrew and I are still speaking to each other after a day that involved multiple COVID-19 tests for two toddlers, 14 hours of travel, bumpy boat rides, tantrums for the entire duration of a four-hour flight, and deplaning post-journey soaked in pee, then the spark is still there. Right?

Overall, though, these trips have brought us closer as a couple. While that might sound counterintuitive given what I just described, those nightmarish ordeals are fleeting moments. The big picture is that traveling has made us feel connected to our life before kids, which involved a lot of globe-trotting. Parenting can be become an all-consuming identity. For us, travel helps break a certain monotony that is endemic to raising young children who thrive on routine.

Theres a reason people suggest a change of scenery to spruce up a relationship or spice up life: because it works. I promise that you will be more positively disposed to your partner and entire family if you are staying in an oceanfront suite at The Shore Club in Turks and Caicos or Acqualina in Miamis Sunny Isles Beach, both of which have accommodations tailored for families. And you want to know what is decidedly not romantic? Cleaning up after your children at home. Whats slightly more romantic? Cleaning up after your children while looking at crystalline waters or snowy mountain vistas  and counting the minutes until turndown service.

At its core, travel is about seeking different and varied experiences. This jives with a whole body of research that found couples who try new things are happier together. The memories from these family trips, while hardly perfect in the Instagram sense, remind me that life, even in the thick of toddler parenting, still has novelty, fun, and excitement. Recently, we reminisced about how our 2.5-year-old son had a 10-minute "conversation" with an iguana on the aptly named Iguana Island in Turks and Caicos (part of a kid-centric trip excursion arranged by The Shore Club), or how our daughter danced for more than an hour to the live band that was playing at the Cheyenne Club in Saratoga, Wyoming.

One thing about having young kids is that it's hard to be spontaneous  everything takes a certain degree of planning, usually around sleeping and eating schedules. When we made a very last-minute plan to go to Miami and checked into the Acqualina resort at 8 p.m., I felt less irritated with Andrew than I had on the plane. It hit me that we had pulled off this small act of spontaneity. We were actually in Miami. We got to the hotel and ordered pizza. We all hovered around the table eating it in our pajamas. If that isnt romance, I dont know what is.

Hannah Seligson

My overall epiphany is that romance happens in these very unexpected ways when you travel with kids. For example, romance is when the chicken fingers arrive at lightning speed, as they did one night at dinner at Il Mulino in Miami, allowing us to have some approximation of an adult dinner. To find these sparks of romance in family travel, your love language suddenly becomes dropping off your kids for the evening, as we did recently at The Shore Club where they set up dinner and movie for the children. Romance is when the kids' club at Acqualina can keep your child entertained with inventive arts and crafts for an entire morning. It's when you leave for 50 minutes of bliss called the "Stress Relief Back Massage," a.k.a. what every person whose 35-pound toddler still wants to be carried at all times needs. (Presumably this is not the sole demographic for this new treatment at Acqualina's spa.) At Brush Creek Ranch, the love language was the staff at the activities barn offering to take the kids sledding.

Hannah Seligson

In short, its amazing how far toward bliss a beautiful new location and fun novel activity can take you  not to mention good service and a clean room  even with slobbering and bawling toddlers in tow. And when all else fails, remember that reminiscing about surviving a category 5 tantrum in a faraway locale can still bring a parent couple together  even if didnt in the moment  because its worth a laugh and memory after arriving back home.



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Read the original article on Travel & Leisure.
The metaverse looks set to change the way we work and play. Within it, you can make friends, design fashion, buy real estate, attend events, create and sell digital art, and earn money. Some believe the true metaverse, which is years away, will revolutionize the internet as we now know it, and what was once a mere buzzword is becoming a roar.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckeberg has gone so far as to rename his company after it. Microsoft spent $68.7 billion on its acquisition of Activision Blizzard so it could expand its virtual foothold in the metaverse. And Goldman Sachs believes the metaverse is an $8 trillion market opportunity, which is roughly the size of Japan and Germanys combined GDP.

Its not so surprising then, that experts say companies, large and small, need to not only better understand what the metaverse is, but should also be developing strategies around it todaystrategies that include marketing, product development, customer relations, and diversity and inclusion.

Unfortunately, D&I is decidedly lacking at present. Despite hopes that the metaverse might be a platform that has more parity, research by McKinsey shows discernible gender inequality, especially when it comes to women in leadership roles.

Lack of diversity

In its report, the firm found an already noticeable gender gap, similar to the gap that exists in Fortune 500 companies and start-ups, where less than 10% of Fortune 500 CEOs are women, and female founders receive a mere 17% of all VC funding.

In the past five years, metaverse companies led by men received a higher share of total entrepreneurial funding than metaverse companies led by women90% to 10%. Men received $107 billion in funding; women got $5 billion. The findings are based on the data of 4,186 founders.

Ironically, the research also found that when women are active in the metaverse theyre more likely to be power users (35% compared to 29%), and they are also spearheading and implementing more metaverse initiatives.

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The metaverse has the potential to bring profound change to the global economy, as well as to create new and more equitable opportunities for all who use it, the McKinsey report stated. Which is why its of paramount importance that the gender gap is addressed and corrected while its in its early development stages. Companies planning to participate in the metaverse have an opportunity and responsibility to shape an inclusive space where everyone feels represented, and that they belong.

Speaking of, here are some exceptional companies that have done just that but IRL. They all appeared on AnitaB.orgs 2022 Top Companies for Women Technologists list. A global non-profit focused on intersectional gender and pay parity in tech, and in 2022, AnitaB.org measured 52 companies, 422,494 technologists, 106,928 women and non-binary technologists and 61,485 women and non-binary technologists of color.

Airbnb, Wells Fargo and Northrop Grumman all appeared on the list, and in even better news; theyre also currently hiring.

Airbnb

Airbnb is united with its community to create a world where anyone can belong anywhere. It is looking for a Lead Experience Designer  Infrastructure in San Francisco. As a design lead youre a thought-leader in and outside the organization helping to advance the craft. Youll lead projects and initiatives, inspire and direct teams, and partner with wider teams to define problems and goals. If you have 10 years experience with end-to-end product design, preferably with experience in enterprise and/or data products, and excellent visual, interaction and/or service design skills, then find out everything you need to know here.

Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified, community-based financial services company with approximately $1.9 trillion in assets. It believes in diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace and its currently looking for a Lead Information Security Engineer in San Leandro. Youll need a well-rounded understanding of the cloud threat landscape, endpoint/network defenses and detection methodologies, in addition to expertise in how adversarial cyber threat actors think and attack. Regular collaboration with multiple teams will be critical. Read all about it here.

Accounting Manager 1/2, Northrop Grumman, Dulles

Northrop Space Systems is seeking qualified candidates for an Accounting Manager role to provide leadership and guidance to the enterprise and sector specific accounting shared services organization.The position has oversight of general accounting responsibilities including coordinating the month end, quarter and year end accounting close requirements and maintaining the general ledger chart of accounts. You will also manage the account reconciliation process for owned accounts and prepare, review and approve journal entries. Get the full job description here. For more career opportunities and to find a role that you love, visit The Hill Jobs

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Ohio Army National Guard members Sgt. Brooke Lundberg (left) and Sgt. Major Shawn Hayslett hold their flags while performing their duties as Honor Guard before the 2019 Memorial Day service at the National Veterans Memorial and Museum in Columbus.

A ceremony will be held Friday afternoon for about 50 members of the Ohio Army National Guard from the Columbus area who will be deployed to western Europe to assist allies in the region.

The "citizen-soldiers" of the Ohio Army National Guards Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 174th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, located in Columbus, are deploying to Europe in support of Operation European Assure, Deter and Reinforce, according to a release.

War in Ukraine: Ohio Army National Guard sends equipment in fight against Russia

The public is invited to attend a "call to duty" ceremony for the deploying soldiers at 1 p.m. on Friday at the Reynoldsburg Community Church, located at 1636 Graham Road in Reynoldsburg.

Feb 10, 2023; Reynoldsburg, Ohio, USA; Citizen-Soldiers of the Ohio Army National GuardOs Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 174th Air Defense Artillery Brigade exit the room following a duty ceremony for the deploying soldiers at the Reynoldsburg Community Church. Mandatory Credit: Brooke LaValley/Columbus Dispatch

While deployed, the unit will provide mission command support of air defense assets in western Europe. The Ohio National Guard reports this will be the units third overseas rotation in support of these operations, which enhance deterrence, increase readiness of U.S. forces in Europe and support NATO nations and U.S. allies in the region.

Elements of the 174th Air Defense Artillery Brigade headquarters have also deployed five times over the last 10 to 15 years to support security of the National Capital Region in Washington, D.C., the Guard reports.

@Colebehr_report

Cbehrens@dispatch.com

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Some 50 Columbus-area members of Ohio National Guard deploy to Europe
Syria's northwestern rebel-held region was the country's hardest hit area. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday that the earthquake was the "disaster of the century."

Some rescue operations in Turkey were stopped amid reports of nearby looting. More than 28,000 people have died in Turkey and Syria, officials say, and millions more have been left homeless. Martin Griffiths, United Nations aid chief, said he expects the death toll to double.

In Turkey, rescue operations were conducted amid a massive amount of rubble produced by fallen buildings. Turkey began arresting scores of contractors Saturday whom officials believe are responsible for the shoddy construction of buildings that collapsed during and after the earthquake.

"This is a disaster caused by shoddy construction, not by an earthquake," David Alexander, a professor of emergency planning at University College London told The Associated Press.

Eyup Muhcu, president of the Chamber of Architects of Turkey, told AP that many of the buildings that fell were built with inferior materials and methods, without regard for Turkey's construction codes.

Suzan van der Lee, a seismologist and professor at Northwestern University, told VOA Turkish's Ozlem Tinaz, "Earthquakes like this are going to happen... we just don't know when. So, the best thing to do is to be as prepared as possible, buildings that are as safe as possible and know exactly what to do when you feel the ground shake."
Attorney Scott North from the firm of Porter, Wright, Morris & Arthur LLP speaks on behalf of Chestnut Solar LLC during the Marion County Commissioners' meeting on Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023. The commissioners approved a resolution opposing the proposed Chestnut Solar facility in Pleasant Township.

The Marion County Commissioners have adopted a resolution expressing opposition to a proposed solar energy facility in Pleasant Township.

In 2016, the National Renewable Energy Corporation (NARENCO) based in Charlotte, North Carolina, began concept work for a proposed Chestnut Solar LLC solar farm in Pleasant Township. According to the Chestnut Solar LLC website, the 68 megawatt project would be located on about 500 acres of farmland. The company has filed an application with the Ohio Power Siting Board.

Commissioners Mark Davis and Kerr Murray voted in favor of the resolution during the commissioners meeting on Thursday. Commissioner Andy Appelfeller was not present at the meeting.

This is the first resolution approved by the Marion County Commissioners regarding solar or wind energy facilities that names a specific company. Other resolutions have affirmed resolutions from township trustees seeking to restrict the development of large-scale solar and wind facilities.

The commissioners resolution approved on Thursday states that the Facility proposed in the Chestnut Solar application is incompatible with the adopted policies for development of renewable energy and farmland preservation under terms of the amended Marion County Land Use Plan adopted by the commissioners on March 8, 2012.

The resolution further states that the construction and operation of the Facility would be incompatible with the general health, safety, and welfare of the residents of Marion County, and therefore would not serve the public interest, convenience, and necessity of the residents of the County.

Attorney Scott E. North of the law firm Porter, Wright, Morris & Arthur LLP attended Thursdays meeting to represent Chestnut Solar. He told the commissioners that adopting the resolution would be premature and ill-advised given its reliance on a false statement contained in the resolution, according to Chestnut Solar officials.

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According to a document North provided to the Star, Chestnut Solar and its representatives take issue with the following statement in resolution:

 Chestnut Solar has not provided the Marion County Board of Commissioners with the evidence necessary to demonstrate that the Facility is grandfathered from the application of Sections 303.61, 303.62, and 4906.102 of the Ohio Revised Code, despite several requests starting four months ago by the Boards representatives for that evidence.

North said Jack Van Kley, an attorney retained by the Marion County Commissioners to investigate Chestnut Solars claims that the company is grandfathered under terms of Ohio Senate Bill 52, has not yet completed his investigation and was scheduled to meet with Chestnut Solar officials and its attorneys on Thursday afternoon at the offices of Porter, Wright, Morris & Arthur LLP in Columbus.

At that meeting, North said, Van Kley would be shown non-public information and documents that would corroborate information that Chestnut has already provided to Attorney Van Kley, demonstrating that the Project is grandfathered.

Charles Hall, Marion County assistant prosecuting attorney, told the commissioners that Van Kley has shown him emails sent to Chestnut Solar requesting the information that would show the company is grandfathered under terms Ohio Senate Bill 52. Hall stated that the company did not comply with the requests for information.

In June 2022, the county commissioners approved a resolution submitted by the Pleasant Township Trustees to restrict the development of large-scale solar and wind facilities in the township. According to the resolution, which Pleasant Township Trustees approved on Dec. 29, 2021, "no solar or wind farms considered 'major utility facility' are to be constructed in Pleasant Township."

The Marion County Commissioners have approved resolutions seeking to restrict the development of solar and wind projects from trustees in eight of the county's fifteen townships: Big Island, Claridon, Green Camp, Pleasant, Prospect, Richland, Salt Rock, and Waldo.

According to the Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB) database, only one solar project has been approved to operate in Marion County. The Marion County Solar Project LLC is a proposed 100 megawatt solar energy facility that will be located on approximately 500 to 600 acres of land in northern Marion Township. The OPSB granted approval for the project in November 2021.

Email: ecarter@gannett.com | Twitter: @AndrewACCarter

This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Marion County Commissioners voice opposition to Chestnut Solar project
TAXPAYERS would see a reduction in Rhode Island's second-highest-in-nation sales tax from 7% to 6.85%, and a temporary suspension of a scheduled gas tax increase that would keep the rate at 35 cents a gallon.

UTILITY RATEPAYERS would get a refund or credit averaging $24 on their electricity bills and $30 on their natural gas bills for the "gross receipts tax" they pay on from December 2022 to March 2023.

BUSINESSES would see the corporate minimum tax drop from $400 to $375, the elimination of a "litter tax" and a potential $45-million state investment in public-private partnerships to grow Rhode Island's "life sciences sector," with one or more "wet lab incubator spaces" and related services to aid in "business development" and "commercialization."

More on the budget:Here's how McKee's $13.8b proposed budget would help environmental causes in Rhode Island

STATE WORKERS AND MEDICAID RECEIPIENTS would be covered by their state-paid health plans should they seek an abortion at a projected state cost of $621,905.

STATE RETIREES already getting COLAs once-every-four years will not see a further pension boost in Gov. Dan McKee's proposed budget, but a McKee spokesman says: "The Governor is committed to exploring how the state may be able to provide some relief to state retirees."

STUDENTS AND TEACHERS will benefit more in some communities than others from $58.7 million in additional dollars in a reworked state aid formula.

For more details on the budget:Details of McKee's $13.8 billion proposed budget released. Here's what's inside

HOUSING SEEKERS will see a beefed up "Department of Housing" with 38 staffers and a $182-million budget to oversee the state's $250-million effort to increase the number of affordable housing units  including potential new spots on the Rhode Island College campus  and $30 million more for homeless shelter beds.

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FAMILIES AND INDIVIDUALS facing the potential loss of Medicaid in April, when pandemic-era rules are scheduled to expire, would get help paying the first-month premiums on a new health plan through HealthSource RI.

MARIJUANA TOKERS in the road could be met by more state troopers trained as drug recognition experts.

McKee's budget proposal can be found here: https://omb.ri.gov/budget-office/fy-2024-governors-budget

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Gov. Dan McKee releases RI budget: Here are the impacts
Ernst Hillenbrand was born in Germany in 1935, just four years before World War II started in Europe. His experience growing up in the midst of war taught him to embrace the good things in life.

FREMONT - Many people in Fremont know Ernst Hillenbrand, the ballet dancer who talks with a congenial German accent and taught hundreds of young girls to move gracefully across a stage.

Hillenbrand, who founded the Fremont Ballet School, danced with the Toledo Ballet, flew airplanes, and restored award-winning antique cars, gives the impression that his life has been filled with leisure.

On the contrary, Hillenbrand learned to embrace the good things in life because he had experienced humanity at its worst as a child growing up in Nazi Germany. He was born in Mainz in 1935, just four years before World War II began in Europe, to parents who defied the Nazis. They lived in constant fear of reprisal from their own government and of attack by enemy forces.

I was born in the city, so we had air raids. We had bombings. By the time the war started, I was old enough to realize things were not so good, Hillenbrand said.

Hillenbrand lived with bombings, hid in family basement

Hillenbrand said the city was often attacked with phosphorous bombs.

On impact, they exploded and would start a fire, he said. During the war, we spent a lot of time in our basement because of air raids. My dad had the basement shored up with posts and beams. Toward the end of the war, the air raids got stronger. The Allies wanted to destroy the whole idea of Germany.

Hillenbrand wasnt old enough to fight in the war, but his older brother and sister were forced to serve in the German Army and were eventually sent to Allied prison camps. Both survived the war.

All that time, his father served in an underground resistance against the Nazis.

Ernst Hillenbrand stands inside Fremont Ballet School, which he built in 1964 and sold in 2019. In between those years, he taught hundreds of local children how to dance.

He was considered an untrustworthy German. He was in the underground against Hitler, but they couldnt prove it, or he would have died, Hillenbrand said.

Among other dangerous duties, Hillenbrands father would listen to the BBCs German-language radio broadcasts that provided updates on military movements across Europe. Listening to the broadcasts was a crime under the Nazi regime.

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Minivans with antennas on top could pick up who was listening, so my dad had lookouts, Hillenbrand said.

After the war, Hillenbrand became involved in gymnastics and then ballet. At the age of 16, he joined the Raimonda Ballet Company in Germany.

I fell in love with ballet and all the lovely girls in it, he said.

During a trip to America to visit family, he decided to stay.

I wasnt planning to stay. I couldnt speak one word of the language. And I hadnt thought ahead. How could I support myself dancing? he said.

Herman Gonawein, a German-born homebuilder in Fremont, offered him a job.

He invited me to come to Fremont. I had no clue about building a home, but I came to Fremont and fell in love with the area. I fell in love with the people, Hillenbrand said.

Ernst Hillenbrand said that growing up during World War II forced him to mature quickly, leaving him with the belief that he could learn to do anything. He learned to excel at ballet, build houses, fly planes, and restore antique cars, like this 1934 Packard. All of his restoration car projects won national awards for excellence.

Homebuilding eventually became a side job as Hillenbrand joined the ballet world in America. Homebuilding and dancing may seem like conflicting occupations, but each are founded on creativity. Choreographing a ballet isnt completely different from designing a home. Throughout the years, Hillenbrand built 20 homes.

Ive always had a real love of creativity, he said.

Hillenbrand built the Fremont Ballet School

But ballet was his passion. Hillenbrand became a teacher for the Maria Miller Dance Studio in 1954 and joined the Toledo Ballet in 1956, where he remained for 40 years. He also danced with the Ballet Theater of Toledo, taught in Cleveland for a short time, and taught ballet at Heidelberg University for 35 years.

In 1964, he bought a house at 405 E. State St., moved the house to the back of the property (its still there), and built Fremont Ballet School in its place. There, he trained and inspired generations of dancers. In 2019, he sold the school to former student Lily Adams, who is carrying on Hillenbrands tradition.

Im so delighted Lily is in my life, he said.

In his spare time, Hillenbrand learned to fly, but he sold his Cessna when he began restoring antique cars. He restored 18 cars from scratch, all of which won national awards from the prestigious Packard Club or Antique Automobile Club Association.

Hillenbrands childhood was filled with the trauma of war, but it cultivated the perspective that life can, regardless of hardship, be good.

Growing up in the war, you were just more mature. You didnt have that kid feeling in you. You were a young adult, he said. Over the years, I was so happy all the time. Life is precious. Life is wonderful.

Contact correspondent Sheri Trusty at sheritrusty4@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Ernst Hillenbrand taught hundreds of local children to dance
Since 2019, most Austin schools' academic performance has improved, at least slightly, or remained steady, according to Texas Education Agency 2019 and 2022 score cards.

Eleven schools, however, performed worse on state standards since the beginning of the pandemic, and eight of those campuses are on the district's northeast side, an area advocates have long said lacks enough resources.

Many in the Austin school district community, however, argue the state scores dont reflect the breadth of services happening in schools.

The state ranks schools with A, B or C letters. Any schools that receive below 70 points are deemed not rated. Of the 110 traditional campuses in the Austin district, 47 improved in letter grade and 11 declined, according to agency data.

Students and teachers have worked hard to achieve what we have, but we know and admit there is still more work to do, said Gilbert Hicks, the Austin district's interim chief of schools. We're prepared to do that.

During the pandemic, the district did a good job of supporting students and staying connected to their lives, he said.

Improving scores

The district is working to improve scores through several strategies, including a curriculum audit and a focus on student-specific data, Hicks said.

Each child is an individual and making progress personal is really important to us, Hicks said. We want to make sure that every child learns, every child grows.

Children in grades 3-12 must take an annual state assessment  the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness  and the state prepares students for it, but these personalized goals are meant to ensure students are growing, he said.

"We're not going to sit and do test prep all year long and prepare them just for the STAAR test," Hicks said. "We do believe that our children are more than just a test on one day."

Diverse academic needs

Of the 11 schools whose academic performance declined in letter grade, eight are in or near District 1, an area that encompasses the upper east side of Austin, largely east of Interstate 35 and north of Seventh Street.

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The district needs to do more to provide equitable services to students in the upper east side, District 1 school board member Candace Hunter said.

The area is demographically diverse and different schools have different needs, she said.

Do we deploy resources where that need is great? Hunter asked. We havent been to the extent that we see a difference being made.

With the COVID-19 pandemic forcing students to learn remotely, it only heightened mental health issues and disruption, exacerbating existing issues in schools, she said.

What the scores mean

That nuanced approach to data isnt always reflected in hard scores like those given out by the state agency, Hunter said.

Its tricky to use test-based scoring systems to assess how a school is really performing, said David DeMatthews, an associate professor in the University of Texas Educational Leadership and Policy Department.

Often, test-based scoring systems measure poverty levels more than anything else, he said.

The schools that end up getting labeled F or D or C, theyre overwhelmingly schools serving students from low-income backgrounds, DeMatthews said, adding that schools do more than teach math and reading.

Theyre community spaces, he said. Theyre places for supporting students' social, emotional, civil engagement. All of that is missing from whats measured here.

State scores often color parents' perception of their children's schools, said Shaleiah Fox, whose son is in second grade at Harris Elementary School in District 1 which earned a C letter grade.

The going response was, Dont send your kid to Harris, Fox said. No one could really tell me why outside of the ratings. I got to know the school, and I fell in love with it.

It was important to Fox to support the school in her neighborhood, she said.

You could really tell the teachers loved the students, Fox said.

Next steps

When the state agency released its scores in August, Education Commissioner Mike Morath pointed to the scores as evidence the states post-pandemic recovery was working.

Statewide policy in Texas continues to remain focused on meeting the needs of students, with an accountability system that supports high expectations, robust tutoring supports, rigorous curricular resources and an investment in evidence-based training for our teachers, Morath said in a statement.

For districts to improve their state scores, administrators will need to focus on bringing high-quality teachers into struggling classrooms, DeMatthews said.

The pandemic made this worse, DeMatthews said. The lowest experienced teachers are working with the highest-need students.

Struggling campuses in District 1 need experienced teachers to support new teachers and students, said Hunter, the school board member.

You can simply use a map and say, 'Where are the low-income schools?' she said. Where are schools the most challenging located in our district? Where are all the new teachers? Why are those the same schools?

The district has started giving teachers dedicated time to plan together, Hicks said. The hope is that will help educators exchange and develop new ideas to improve student progress, he said.

To look up the score of a specific Austin campus, visit tea.texas.gov.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Post-pandemic test scores good for most, bad for East Austin schools
The Northern Kentucky University Board of Regents is expected to announce Bonita Brown, current vice president and chief strategy officer, as its interim president during a joint finance and policy meeting Wednesday morning.

Bonita Brown is expected to be named interim president of Northern Kentucky University.

A revised notice was sent to members of the media Tuesday afternoon stating the board is expected to consider a resolution appointing Brown to serve as interim president of the university. Brown has worked for the university since 2019, overseeing the execution of the university's strategic framework "Success by Design."

Last week the board met in executive session for nearly two hours before voting that the yet-to-be-announced interim president could not apply for the permanent president role.

Former president Ashish Vaidya stepped down in December. He came to the university in 2017 and renewed a five-year contract with NKU last year, but a separation agreement finalized in mid-November terminated the contract with a $1.3 million severance package. Vaidya said he and his family are moving back to California.

Documents: See NKU president Ashish Vaidya's separation agreement

'Further, Faster': NKU campaign brought in record-breaking $84.5 million

When NKU first welcomed Brown to its community, Vaidya said, "It became clear during the search process that she had the experience and skills to manage complex change initiatives in a collaborative way, engage others in challenging convention and encouraging innovation, with a strong commitment to and success with achieving diversity, equity, and inclusion goals."

In 2021, Brown was appointed to the Education Design Lab's Designers in Residence Program, part of a national nonprofit working to address the future role of higher education in regional communities.

The Northern Kentucky University Board of Regents will announce its interim president on Wednesday before launching a nationwide search to permanently replace former president Ashish Vaidya.

"Im ready to reimagine the strategies and partnerships that support NKU in meeting the needs of our diverse students and regional collaborators," Brown said at the time.

The Northern Kentucky University Board of Regents will meet Wednesday at 9 a.m. at the student union.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: NKU to announce interim president at Wednesday meeting
Jan 15, 2023; Hartford, Connecticut, USA; UConn Huskies forward Dorka Juhasz (14) shoots against the Georgetown Hoyas in the first half at XL Center. / David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

WASHINGTON (AP)  Dorka Juhasz had 18 points and 15 rebounds to help No. 4 Connecticut fend off Georgetown 67-59, snapping a rare two-game slide Saturday night.

Aubrey Griffin added 18 points for the Huskies (22-4, 14-1 Big East), who were coming off back-to-back losses for the first time since 1993 . They havent dropped three in a row since that same season.

Freshman Kennedy Fauntleroy had a game-high 24 points for the Hoyas (12-13, 5-11), who have lost 34 consecutive games to Connecticut.

Connecticut dominated the glass, outrebounding the Hoyas 44-23 in a game played off campus at the Entertainment & Sports Arena, the home of the WNBAs Washington Mystics.

The Huskies lost 81-77 on Sunday to No. 1 South Carolina, then followed it up Wednesday with a 59-52 setback at Marquette. In the first half, Georgetown threatened to deal Connecticut its third loss in seven days.

The Hoyas held an early seven-point advantage, led 17-13 after a quarter and were within three points in the middle of the third quarter.

Connecticut finally created some separation with a 12-0 spurt spanning parts of the final two periods to push its advantage to 51-36. Griffin scored six points in the run, while Georgetown was held scoreless for nearly five minutes.

The Hoyas pulled within 63-59 with 28.7 seconds remaining, but the Huskies made their last four free throws to seal the victory.

Connecticut, which committed 23 turnovers in a 65-50 defeat of the Hoyas on Jan. 15, again struggled with Georgetowns defense. The Huskies had 12 turnovers at halftime and 23 for the game.

BIG PICTURE

Connecticut: The Huskies remained atop the Big East even though sophomore guards Caroline Ducharme (concussion) and Azzi Fudd (right knee) remained sidelined. Ducharme has missed 13 consecutive games and Fudd has sat out the last nine games.

Georgetown: The Hoyas havent defeated Connecticut since 1993, but theyve clearly made year-over-year progress against the Big East power. Georgetowns average margin of defeat in two losses to the Huskies last season was 43.5 points and dropped this years home-and-home by a total of 23 points.

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POLL IMPLICATIONS

While Connecticut is near-certain to fall out of the top five after its loss at Marquette, the Huskies limited the damage to their ranking by handling the Hoyas with ease.

UP NEXT

Connecticut returns home to face Creighton on Wednesday.

Georgetown visits Butler on Wednesday.
Nota de la sala de redaccion: Estamos ofreciendo esta historia en ingles y espanol debido a que la vida del Beato Stanley Rother tiene un alcance tan global.

Another chapter in the remarkable story of an Oklahoma priest will begin with the dedication of a Roman Catholic shrine bearing his name.

The dedication Mass for the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine, set for at 11 a.m. Feb. 17, is expected to draw Catholic leaders and laity from across the country  and some from as far away as Guatemala, the Vatican and other places around the world. The completion and opening of the shrine at 700 SE 89 has been anticipated from its beginnings on an architect's drawing table and a jubilant groundbreaking ceremony in 2019. The huge, Spanish colonial-style church and grounds are currently visible from Interstate 35.

The shrine will help share the life and legacy of Blessed Stanley Rother with the world. Over the years, thousands of pilgrims from across the globe are expected to visit the huge shrine church and campus named for Rother, who is on the path to Roman Catholic sainthood. Pope Francis proclaimed him a martyr for the faith in 2016. He's the first martyr from the United States and the first U.S.-born priest to be beatified.

Timeline:The Life of Stanley Rother

The Most Rev. Paul S. Coakley, archbishop of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, said the development and construction of the shrine has been a massive project, costing in excess of $40 million. The project built on 60 acres that were once home to a golf course. The shrine campus includes a Spanish colonial-style church, with seating for about 2,000, will be the largest Catholic church in Oklahoma. It will be the church home of the merged predominantly Hispanic Sacred Heart and Holy Angels parishes. A pilgrimage center and museum are also part of the shrine campus, along with a replica of Tepeyac Hill and a chapel (with seating for about 140) where Rother will be entombed.

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There were some challenges along the way to completion, including some delays caused by weather and supply chain issues, but Coakley said he and his team are now ready to welcome the faithful and the general public to the much-anticipated shrine dedication.

"It's a huge undertaking, but it's been such a joy to see it finally coming together after so many months and years of preparation and planning, fundraising and building," he said. "It's a very happy time, right now. It's been a labor of love."

More:Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine celebrates its Hispanic culture

Telling Blessed Stanley Rother's story

The shrine tells Rother's story  how he was born on a farm in Okarche, Oklahoma, followed a divine call to the priesthood and served at various Oklahoma churches before traveling to Guatemala as a missionary priest. He served the church in Guatemala for 13 years, endearing himself to the people of St. James of the Apostle parish in Santiago Atitlan.

The country became engulfed in a civil war, and the priest's name eventually turned up on a hit list of people who were being targeted by guerillas. He visited Oklahoma in May 1981 but returned to Guatemala a few months later to help his mostly poor parishioners, saying famously, "A shepherd does not run." The priest was shot and killed by unknown assailants in the rectory of his beloved Guatemalan church in July 1981. He was 46.

More:How close is Stanley Rother to being recognized as a Catholic saint?

Crews continue work Monday, Dec. 5, 2022, on the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine in Oklahoma City.

Coakley said the shrine is being built to honor Rother because he is an example of "virtuous, even heroic, Christian living," and someone who inspires others on their own journey of faith. Ultimately, he said, every aspect of the project is designed to point people to Christ.

"With regard to our Catholic attitude toward the holy men and women of every age, including Blessed Stanley Rother, those whom the Church has declared 'blessed' or through beatification, or who the Church has canonized and regarded as a saint, we venerate them for the holiness of life that they demonstrated  and for the example of virtue that they give us as a way of living out our own Christian faith and discipleship," the archbishop said.

"We seek their intercession to help us in our own journey, to intercede with God on our behalf. We don't worship saints  we venerate them, we honor them, just as we might honor our parents or our grandparents, and continue to honor them after they're dead and gone."

Meet the pastor:Who has been chosen to lead Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine?

What would Rother think of the shrine?

Coakley said he thought the priest would be humbled by the scale of the church that will bear his name, "but I think he would feel at home there because the architecture and the cultural symbols of the shrine will be things that would resonate with the place where he served in Guatemala and that was intentional."

"I think he would be thrilled that that ministry among the Spanish-speaking people and Latino people and Indigenous people has been prioritized in such a way that we're able to do something like this  not just to honor him, but to really provide for the pastoral needs of the people that he gave his life to serve," the archbishop said.

One of Rother's siblings, Sister Marita Rother, a nun who is a member of the Wichita Center of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ in Kansas, weighed in via a phone interview.

Portrait of Rev. Stanley Rother, middle person in back row, and his family taken in the 1960s. Front row, from left, his mother, Gertrude, his sister, Elizabeth Mary (Sr. Marita) and his father, Franz. Back row are his brothers, Tom, left, and Jim, now deceased. Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman

"He would say 'All this commotion for me?'" she said, chuckling. "I mean, he didn't do anything for himself  everything was for the people."

Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine is just the beginning of the complex

Coakley said the shrine's $40 million projected cost increased over the years due to various cost increases and other factors.

But, he said, there also are plans to add classrooms, a parish hall and a rectory for the priests, among other things.

"I would say this is the end of the beginning," he said of the coming dedication.

"This is a very, very significant milestone, but there are a lot of things yet to be accomplished. This is a project that is going to go on for years to come."

Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine Dedication

When : 11 a.m. Feb. 17.

Where : 700 SE 89.

Admission cost : Free.

Livestream : http://archokc.org/live; also available on Archdiocese of OKC Facebook Page and YouTube Channel.

Information: https://rothershrine.org/dedication

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine ready to open in OKC
Opposition groups rally in France demanding EU list Iran's Guards as terrorist group Rally in solidarity with Iranian people, in Paris

By Michaela Cabrera and Noemie Olive

PARIS (Reuters) - Thousands of opponents of Iran's ruling authorities rallied for a second day in Paris on Sunday to pressure European Union states to list Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation in response to a crackdown in the country.

Tehran has been engaged in a violent crackdown on protesters since September, including carrying out executions, and it has also detained dozens of European nationals. The EU has become increasingly critical of its actions.

Ties between EU members and Tehran have also deteriorated in recent months as efforts to revive talks on Iran's nuclear programme have stalled and the country has transferred drones to Russia to help it in its war against Ukraine.

Sunday's rally in Paris, organised by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and which followed a similar rally on Saturday by European-based Iranians, aimed to highlight the IRGC's role in cracking down on protesters, but also its activities outside Iran.

"This will be a revolution... The youth know there is no future under this regime. They say they are better off dying in the streets than living in this country with this regime," said Ela Zabihi, a university lecturer in London.

Widespread anti-government demonstrations erupted in Iran in September after the death of young Kurdish Iranian woman Mahsa Amini, who had been detained by morality police for allegedly flouting the strict dress code imposed on women.

While some EU member states and the European parliament have pushed for the IRGC to be listed, others have been more cautious fearing that it could lead to a complete break in ties with Iran, harming any chance of reviving nuclear talks and jeopardising any hope of getting their nationals released.

Designating the IRGC as a terrorist group would mean that it would become a criminal offence to belong to the group, attend its meetings and carry its logo in public.

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Set up after Irans 1979 Islamic Revolution to protect the Shiite clerical ruling system, the Guards have great sway in the country, controlling swathes of the economy and armed forces and put in charge of Irans ballistic missile and nuclear programmes.

"The IRGC must be added to the list of designated terrorist organisations by the European Union," Maryam Rajavi, president-elect of the NCRI told the rally of several thousand people.

"The valiant youth have the right to defend themselves against the IRGC, covert agents, and the barrage of bullets that pierce their eyes, heads, and hearts."

The People's Mujahideen Organization of Iran is the main component of NCRI. The group, also known by its Persian name Mujahideen-e-Khalq, was once listed as a terrorist organisation by the United States and the European Union but not since 2012.

Tehran has long called for a crackdown on the NCRI in Paris, Riyadh and Washington. The group, whose level of support is unclear, is regularly criticised in state media.

(Additional reporting and writing by John Irish; Editing by Hugh Lawson)


A handful of issues are emerging as possible flashpoints in the 2024 election as Republicans and Democrats look to finetune their messaging ahead of a consequential presidential election.

President Biden sparred with conservatives over Social Security and Medicare during his annual State of the Union address, engaging in a spirited back and forth with Republicans over the issue. And if Democrats messaging on key 2023 races like the Wisconsin Supreme Court are any indication, the party is also likely to lean on the issue of abortion as well.

Meanwhile, prospective Republican presidential hopefuls are already wading into issues like immigration, education and culture wars, particularly those targeting the LGBTQ community.

Heres a look at seven issues that will define the 2024 election:

Social Security and Medicare

Biden speaks about his administrations plans to protect Social Security and Medicare and lower healthcare costs, Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023, at the University of Tampa in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Biden enjoyed the limelight during this weeks State of the Union address, particularly after he called out Republicans over previous proposals to sunset or reform eligibility requirements for Social Security and Medicare programs. In the backdrop of Bidens speech is the ongoing fight over the nations debt limit and Republicans insistence on spending cuts.

Some Republicans want Social Security and Medicare to sunset, Biden said, before he was interrupted by jeers, including from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) who called him a liar.

One of the Republicans that Biden was alluding to was Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who released a multi-point plan last year proposing that all federal legislation sunsets in 5 years and that if a law is worth keeping, Congress can pass it again  legislation that would impact both programs.

Scott defended his position in a statement following Bidens address, saying this is clearly and obviously an idea aimed at dealing with all the crazy new laws our Congress has been passing of late and suggested that to suggest that this means I want to cut Social Security or Medicare is a lie, & is a dishonest move.

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The president ran with that messaging during a visit on Wednesday to the battleground state of Wisconsin, where he spoke to residents about the merits of his economic plan.

A lot of Republicans, their dream is to cut Social Security and Medicare, Biden said in the Badger State. Well, let me just say this. Its your dream, but Im going to  with my veto pen  make it a nightmare.

Education

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis listens to others during a news conference where he spoke of new law enforcement legislation that will be introduced during the upcoming session, Jan. 26, 2023, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier, File)

Prospective 2024 Republican hopefuls are also addressing the issue of education, including targeting educational curriculum and parents rights to decisions made by schools.

That was most recently on display last month when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantiss (R) administration rejected an Advanced Placement course on African American studies. The Florida Department of Education argued that the content of this course is inexplicably contrary to Florida law and significantly lacks educational value, and the College Board later revised some of the material included in the course.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), who has been floated as a possible 2024 presidential contender, made the issue of education a key component of his platform, including rallying against critical race theory (CRT) and for deeper parental engagement in school curriculum. Critical race theory, which DeSantis and other conservatives have also attacked, is an academic framework taught at the graduate level that argues that racism is systemic in U.S. institutions and government. It has become a catch-all buzzword for any teaching about race in schools, however.

During the midterms, other Republican candidates like Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo (R) also sought to home in on the issue of education, suggesting members of the party see that as a key winning issue.

Abortion

March for Life

Supporters for and against abortion argue during the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C., on Friday, January 20, 2023. This is the first march since the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade. (Annabelle Gordon)

Democrats widely credit the issue of abortion as a major reason they performed better than expected during Novembers midterm elections, gaining a real majority in the Senate and losing the House by a narrow margin.

Even in key races this year, Democrats are seeking to put the issue of abortion front and center once again, including in the race for the open seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which could determine the high courts partisan tilt.

The state Supreme Court is likely to hear about Wisconsins contested 1849 abortion law, which offers no exceptions for patients except when the life of the mother is at risk. Prominent groups on both sides of the issue have said theyll be funneling money and resources into the race.

Foreign Policy

A high altitude balloon floats over Billings, Mont., on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023. (Larry Mayer/The Billings Gazette via AP)

Revelations that a Chinese spy balloon was flying over multiple states across the U.S., which press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters this week was part of a larger Chinese surveillance balloon program [] thats been operated for several years, drew angry remarks from Democrats and Republicans alike about the countrys delayed response to shoot it down.

Some Republicans in particular, such as Greene, latched onto the issue. Ahead of the State of the Union, she walked around the halls of Congress with a white balloon meant to reference the Chinese spy balloon. She told The Hill this week following a classified briefing for House members that she tore Biden administration officials to pieces.

The U.S. confirmed on Friday a separate object flying over Alaskan airspace was shot down by the military.

Expect Ukraine to be another flashpoint among foreign policy issues discussed. Some Republicans have expressed reservations in past months over how much more security assistance the U.S. should provide to the former Soviet Union nation amid the Russian invasion.

Immigration

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio)

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, is seen during its first hearing on Thursday, February 9, 2023 to discuss politicization of the federal government and attacks on civil liberties. (Greg Nash)

Although immigration and the southern border are not necessarily new issues Republicans have pursued on the campaign trail, it doesnt mean the issue wont feature prominently in different campaigns and on the debate stage.

The first hearing that the House Judiciary Committee, which is chaired by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), launched this year was titled The Biden Border Crisis  Part One. The hearing came as the U.S. reported over 250,000 encounters on the southern border in December, per data from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection  the highest number of encounters at the southern border that the Biden administration has contended with since the president took office.

Title 42, a policy first introduced in 2020 by the Trump administration and continued under the Biden administration, has also dogged Biden officials. The policy allows border officials to quickly expel migrants seeking asylum. While the Biden administration sought to lift the policy last year, they have also at times expanded its use.

LGBTQ-related issues

LGBTQ flag

With the U.S. Capitol in the background, a person waves a rainbow flag as they participant in a rally in support of the LGBTQIA+ community at Freedom Plaza, Saturday, June 12, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

Republicans also have not been shy in using legislation to target gender-affirming care, transgender girls and women competing in high school and college sports, and the classification of drag shows.

Florida made headlines last March when DeSantis signed what opponents have dubbed as Dont Say Gay legislation into law, which bars gender identity and sexual orientation topics in classroom instruction by primary school teachers. Subjects that arent age appropriate or developmentally appropriate cannot be taught by educators regardless of grade level.

And South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R), another widely floated 2024 GOP contender, is likely to sign into law legislation that would bar health providers from offering transgender youth gender-affirming care.

Crime

(Getty Images)

The issue of crime may also not be new, but its one that some Republicans believed worked well during the November midterms  arguing that other issues like abortion and the economy sidetracked crime from delivering as well as hoped. Others say that it helped key races stay competitive.

To be honest with you, yes, Dr. [Mehmet] Oz lost that race in Pennsylvania, but where he started at and where he ended [was] a much closer race than it was over the summer. That was purely because of crime, one GOP official told The Hill in December.

The issue of crime was credited for helping several New York Republicans notch key House districts, helping deliver the GOPs House majority.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Activists and lawmakers on both sides of the abortion issue are marking Sundays 50th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade ruling by seeking to reenergize supporters and refocus their goals after the landmark decision was struck down by the Supreme Court.

The courts ruling last June in Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization, which overturned Roe, drastically altered the landscape for both the pro- and anti-abortion movements.

Each side is using Sundays anniversary to remind supporters whats still at stake and highlight how the battle over abortion rights has shifted from the courts to Congress and the states.

With a divided Congress for the next two years, and a 2024 presidential race that will certainly bring surprises and some uncertainty for the nation, heres what we do know: The key battles for reproductive access will be fought at the state level for the next two years and beyond, said Rob Bonta, attorney general for the state of California.

The split Congress means federal action on abortion is unlikely for the next two years. But officials at all levels of government acknowledge it is an animating issue for millions of voters that will linger well beyond the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade.

The people really spoke in the last election to make clear, you know, that they think Roe was rightly decided, a senior Biden administration official said. They dont want a national ban. They do want national protection. And so, yes, we will continue to take up that mantle and fight for it.

The anti-abortion movement is also crafting a new state-based strategy, as its leaders come to terms with the fall of Roe.

After all those years, finally that moment came true. And while we prepared, nothing really prepares you for a reality in this area, Marjorie Dannensfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony (SBA) Pro-Life America, one of the countrys leading anti-abortion groups, said during a call with reporters on Wednesday. This is week one of the very beginning of a new life for our movement.

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Dannenfelser said with a new focus on states, the legislative goals for abortion restrictions will be as ambitious as possible. SBA leaders said they are targeting Florida, Virginia, North Carolina and Nebraska as places where they see the opportunity to enact strong pro-life protections.

This year also brought a significant change to the annual March for Life rally on the National Mall, which anti-abortion groups have held every year since 1974 to protest Roe v. Wade and call for its end.

With the original goal of the march achieved, anti-abortion leaders are at something of a crossroads.

While this year marks our most significant victory, the human rights abuse of abortion is far from over, sadly, said Jeanne Mancini, President of the March for Life Defense and Education Fund.

To reflect the new reality, the March for Life on Friday took a detour to pass by the Capitol on the way to the Supreme Court. The organization also has five state-level marches planned, and by 2030 aims to have one in every state.

The march has historically drawn top Republicans to address the crowd, including former Vice President Mike Pence and former President Trump. But in a sign of how this year is different, only two Republican lawmakers spoke: House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), and Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), a co-chair of the House Pro-Life Caucus.

When youre in a battle, its important to keep your focus on what the mission is. But every step of the way its also critical that we celebrate victories along the way, and boy did we get a victory just a few months ago when Roe was overturned, Scalise said.

Anti-abortion advocates are pushing hard for a national abortion ban, putting pressure on Republican lawmakers to embrace even stricter limits on when and how women can access the procedure.

In his remarks at the march, Scalise highlighted two bills the new GOP House majority passed in its first week  neither of which was a national ban.

Putting an early marker down on the 2024 GOP presidential primary, SBA said any candidate who does not support federal restrictions should be disqualified from winning the nomination.

But after a public backlash resulted in the GOP winning far fewer seats in the midterm election than expected, the party is divided on the best path forward. Some Republicans are unveiling plans for national 15-week abortion bans, while others want to avoid the issue completely and leave it up to the states.

On the other side of the issue, abortion rights activists are making their own plans, and acknowledging the long road ahead.

Were at a time where we cant keep doing the same things in the same way as a movement and expecting different results. This is a time and a moment for us to drastically rethink how we want to show up in this movement, Oriaku Njoku, executive director of the National Network of Abortion Funds, said during a press briefing.

NARAL Pro-Choice America is using the anniversary to launch a program to train state and local activists who want to organize their communities, highlighting efforts in Arizona, California, Georgia, Michigan and Nevada.

Vice President Harris will mark the anniversary of Roe with a speech in Florida, the third most populous state in the country and one that is central to the fight over reproductive rights.

In her speech Sunday, Harris will make the case for national legislation to protect reproductive rights, and she will draw a contrast between the Republicans extreme approach to reproductive health and that of the Biden-Harris administration.

Harris has emerged as the White Houses foremost public advocate for reproductive rights, meeting with hundreds of activists, medical workers, state and local lawmakers and advocates over the past year and traveling around the country to push back on abortion bans.

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) last year signed into law a ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, though abortion rights advocates are concerned he will back a more restrictive law this year as he eyes a 2024 presidential bid.

Harris and advocates are hoping to use the enthusiasm and outrage among those who support abortion in the aftermath of the Dobbs decision to put pressure on state lawmakers and governors weighing more restrictive policies.

Florida right now is really the epicenter of access for many patients in the south who are facing full out abortion bans, said Laura Goodhue, executive director of the Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood Affiliates. The [midterm] elections are over, but its our state legislatures and governors that will be deciding what priorities to focus on for their constituents.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
KYODO NEWS - Feb 11, 2023 - 21:34 | All, Japan

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida underwent endoscopic surgery for chronic sinusitis at a Tokyo hospital on Saturday, a government official said.

He was in good condition following the surgery, which began at around 12:05 p.m. and lasted about 3 hours and 40 minutes, the official said. As Kishida was placed under general anesthetic, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno stepped in for the prime minister.

Kishida had taken medicine for the ailment but decided to get the surgery so he could concentrate on his duties unencumbered by his physical condition, the official said, adding he is scheduled to resume work as usual on Monday after post-operative care the previous day.

The premier, who returned to his residence later Saturday after leaving the hospital at around 6.30 p.m., has gone to the same hospital since November, suffering from chronic sinusitis causing nasal congestion and other symptoms, the official said.

Following the surgery, Kishida said in a Twitter post that he will continue trying to tackle "many challenges at home and abroad" while ensuring "the best of health."

Japan's Cabinet Law stipulates that if a prime minister is prevented from carrying out his duties or the post is vacant, a state minister designated by the leader in advance will temporarily perform the role.
Its no longer a secret that Massachusetts vocational-technical and agricultural high schools are a great option for students of all backgrounds who want to learn a trade and pursue a career. Unfortunately, there simply isnt enough space in these schools to accommodate the huge demand.

Right now, there are roughly 55,000 students in Chapter 74 state-approved vocational-technical and agricultural programs, with another 6,000 students on wait lists. At the same time, business and industry are crying out for skilled workers.

We can be proud of these schools. They excel in academic performance, graduation rates and expanded programming that includes fields like environmental science; information technology; and medical, health, and dental assisting. Students excel because they enjoy the engaging, hands-on learning.

We are at a tipping point. With this lack of available seats and strong demand for vocational education, advocates, elected officials, and editorial writers are understandably concerned about whether students are being admitted equitably into our schools. Vocational school leaders are, too.

The current debate is centered on admissions policies and whether the adoption of a lottery system is the silver bullet for fixing any inequities, real or perceived. The reality is that a lottery does nothing to address the lack of capacity and it does not guarantee desired enrollment outcomes.

As educators, wed like to offer enrollment to everyone. We simply cant. We dont have the space. No lottery will ever change that. A lottery will just rearrange who sits in the seats, with 6,000 kids still on the outside looking in. With that in mind, we are working hard to conduct our admissions processes as fairly and equitably as possible:

 Since admissions regulations were revised by the state in 2021, 97% of vocational-technical and agricultural high schools have made changes in their admissions policies, personnel or training. Clearly, our schools are serious about this effort.

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 Grades are now less of a factor. Many schools now give equal consideration for grades of C or above, unlike before when student grades were more heavily emphasized.

 Disciplinary issues are now less of a factor. Minor disciplinary issues are no longer factored into the admissions process.

 Most schools require a recommendation, typically from a guidance counselor, and a brief interview to gauge a students interest in vocational education. We are training interviewers on eliminating bias and are providing supports and accommodations for those applying, including easier access to interviews and translation services.

 The admissions changes only took effect recently so we have limited data to gauge whether the changes weve made are making a real difference. One year of data doesnt make a trend. Moreover, our schools have no access to demographic information about the students who do not enroll. We need help from the state on this so we can make best-informed decisions.

 Finally, theres no guarantee that a lottery would actually help the protected groups of students that all of us want to help. In fact, simulations run by some of our schools have demonstrated that a lottery would yield exactly the opposite result. That is, a lottery would result in lower numbers of enrolled students in some protected groups (just as one school experimenting with a lottery recently discovered).

Vocational-technical schools are continuously striving to serve underrepresented populations. Consider special education. Five of the 10 school districts in Massachusetts with the largest percentages of students with disabilities are vocational-technical and agricultural high schools.

While there is strong sentiment on the both sides of the lottery debate, what all advocates of high-quality vocational-technical education can agree on is this: The state can do more to help vocational schools and our potential students.

First, the state needs to make a massive capital investment in vocational school construction to create more seats. Second, our schools need unfettered access to our middle schools so we can inform students, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, about the value of vocational education. Put another way, we need better access to reach the very students our detractors say are being excluded.

As demand for limited seats continues, we must work together to create opportunity and bright futures for all our high school students. Vocational-technical and agricultural high schools in Massachusetts will continue to do their part.

Steven C. Sharek is executive director of the Massachusetts Association of Vocational Administrators, a professional association of educational leaders who administer and advocate for high-quality vocational-technical and agricultural education.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Steven Sharek Massachusetts Association of Vocational Administrators
People in Ames were still trying to assess the condition of loved ones at home in Turkey four days after an earthquake struck their country and became one of the deadliest natural disasters of the century.

Mesih Klnc, who came to Iowa State University two years ago to work on a doctorate degree in bioinformatics, said his hometown is Elazg, Turkey.

He and his family were psychologically affected by a 6.8-magnitude earthquake that struck there in January 2020 and killed dozens of people.

His family felt the shaking from Feb. 6's pair of earthquakes of magnitude 7.8 and 7.5, though the epicenters were hundreds of miles away. Those quakes and aftershocks have killed more than 23,000 people in Turkey and neighboring Syria as of Friday afternoon, but Klnc said his family was physically all right.

But with that level of destruction, Klnc and Yasin Karatay, a postdoctoral research associate in Iowa State's English department, have started a GoFundMe fundraiser for earthquake aid.

More:Turkey, Syria earthquake updates: Dramatic rescues of 10-day-old baby, mother and children

They are hoping to raise $10,000 for the North Carolina-based nonprofit Bridge to Turkiye, which will in turn wire funds to the Ahbap Association in Turkey to get aid to where it's needed.

The GoFundMe, "ISU Helps Earthquake Victims In Turkiye," is available at gofundme.com/f/ISU-Helps-Earthquake-Victims-In-Turkiye.

We wanted to let people know that theres a way that they can donate to Turkey. I personally have had people ask me before, Klnc said.

As of Friday afternoon, more than $2,100 had been donated.

Klnc said donations from the U.S. are extra valuable, given the strength of the U.S. dollar against Turkey's currency, the lira.

He said a Pakistani friend contacted him after the earthquakes and taught him how to proceed with a fundraiser  something his friend had recent experience with after devastating floods in Pakistan.

But it's about more than just money. Klnc said a gathering of the Turkish community in Ames is planned for 3 p.m. Saturday at Somerset Clubhouse, 2400 Aspen Road.

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He said the community had not really had a chance to see one another since the quakes, so the event would be an opportunity "just to check on each other" and talk about what more could be done to help.

There were 33 Turkish students enrolled at Iowa State in the fall, according to international enrollment data, with 25 of those students in graduate programs.

The same data showed two undergraduate students enrolled from Syria.

Yusuf Demirci is a senior at Ames High School, born and raised in Iowa, but his parents immigrated to the U.S. in 1995 from Gaziantep, Turkey  one of the places hit hardest by this week's earthquakes.

Rescuers and civilians look for survivors under the rubble of collapsed buildings in Nurdagi, in the countryside of Gaziantep, on February 9, 2023, three days after a deadly earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria.

Demirci said his relatives in Turkey are OK, "however, we do have some friends who are under the rubble right now" in Gaziantep.

Cellphone towers were knocked out, but he said they know their friends are still inside what's left of their building.

Relatives lived out of their cars for a day or two before shelters opened up, including one at a large factory where he said some of his family is now staying.

Demirci said he had not yet known about Saturday's gathering in Ames.

More:100 years of earthquakes: Turkey, Syria disaster could be among this century's worst

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: Turkish community in Ames rallies after earthquakes, offers way to help
The United Nations apologized Friday for photos posted online of a senior delegation's security detail posing in front of the Taliban flag during a visit to Afghanistan this week. But U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq told CBS News the photos "should never have been taken."

The awkward incident highlights the tightrope the international community is trying to walk as Afghans suffer through a harsh winter with their long-vital international aid lifeline all but severed due to the Taliban's draconian crackdown on human rights.

A photo shared widely on social media shows the security detail assigned to protect a senior United Nations delegation, led by Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, posing in front of a Taliban flag in Kabul, Afghanistan, during the week of January 16, 2023. The U.N. apologized for the photo, which it called

Neither the U.N. nor the vast majority of governments around the world have formally recognized the Taliban regime that retook power in the country with the U.S. military coalition's swift withdrawal in August 2021. Most governments, including that of the U.S., are loathe to provide any financial assistance that could bolster the hardline Islamic group's power, and they have frozen millions of dollars in Afghan government cash reserves held overseas.

Afghan cricket team faces backlash over perceived support for Taliban

But the lack of incoming aid is only half of the problem for Afghanistan this winter. Since taking back power, the Taliban has methodically erased virtually all of the basic human rights gained by Afghan women and girls during the two-decade U.S.-led war that drove them from power in the country. Women have been barred from attending universities and most high schools, and from working for non-governmental organizations.

After an international uproar, that edict was revised slightly to allow women to work in the health care industry, where there's an urgent need for female doctors and nurses. But the other bans on women and girls remain in place.

Losing such a huge portion of the workforce has crippled aid agencies, including the U.N.'s own, which for more than 20 years had propped up Afghanistan's weak economy and basic food and health infrastructures.

The Taliban has not wavered in the face of tremendous international pressure to ease its restrictions on women, dismissing the calls as a "politicization" of human rights. The group's leaders have repeatedly insisted that they will rule Afghanistan according to their harsh interpretation of Islamic law, without compromise.

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"A good thing," but no breakthrough

In a bid to pressure the Taliban to ease its restrictions on women, the United Nations sent a delegation led by two of its most senior female  and pointedly, Muslim  leaders to the country this week.

Deputy Secretary General Amina Mohammed led the mission, along with Sima Bahous, the head of the U.N. Women agency. After visiting a number of other Muslim majority nations and meeting the leaders of Islamic organizations to build solidarity and present a united voice against the Taliban's anti-women policies  which have been condemned for months as anti-Islamic  the delegation arrived in Kabul in the middle of this week.

Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, speaks at the U.N. International Women's Day commemoration at United Nations headquarters, March 8, 2017 in New York. / Credit: ANGELA WEISS/AFP/Getty

They were there to meet Taliban leaders and women's groups for discussions on "women's and girls' rights and coexistence," according to the U.N.

After the mission, Mohammed told BBC News on Friday that most of the senior Taliban officials she'd met appeared ready to engage in a discussion on women's rights, but she indicated no serious breakthroughs, or even major progress, on getting the country's rulers to back down on their policies.

"I think there are many voices we heard, which are progressive in the way that we would like to go," Mohammed told BBC. "But there are others that really are not."

"I think the pressure we put in, the support we give to those that are thinking more progressively, is a good thing," she said. "This visit, I think, gives them more voice and pressure to help the argument internally."

In a statement provided by the U.N. later Friday, Mohammed said the restrictions reintroduced by the Taliban "present Afghan women and girls with a future that confines them in their own homes, violating their rights and depriving the communities of their services Right now, Afghanistan is isolating itself, in the midst of a terrible humanitarian crisis and one of the most vulnerable nations on earth to climate change."

"We must do everything we can to bridge this gap," she said.

The U.N. leaders met with the Taliban deputy prime minister in Kabul, and a senior regional official in the group's heartland in the province of Kandahar, but it was not clear whether the prime minister had met the women, and a meeting with the Taliban's supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, was never on the cards.

"Afghan women left us no doubt of their courage and refusal to be erased from public life. They will continue to advocate and fight for their rights, and we are duty bound to support them in doing so," Bahous said in the statement from the U.N., calling the last year and a half in Afghanistan "a grave women's right crisis and a wakeup call for the international community. It shows how quickly decades of progress on womens rights can be reversed in a matter of days."

A "mistake"

Haq, the U.N. deputy spokesman in New York, said the series of photos that emerged of the delegation's security detail smiling under the Taliban's white flag had been taken "while the Deputy Secretary-General was meeting the de facto leaders in Afghanistan."

"The photo should never have been taken. It was a mistake, and we apologize for it," said Haq.

In one of the photos, one of the security team is seen pointing at the Taliban flag on a wall behind the group. Similar versions of the same flag, a plain black or white banner with Arabic script reading: "There is no God but Allah, and Mohammed is his messenger," are used not only by the Taliban, but frequently in ISIS propaganda photos after one of the group's members carries out an attack or pledges allegiance.

"Foreign men with UN badges pose in photos in front of Taliban's flag as they smile. Under this same flag, women are erased and the people of Afghanistan are starved and deprived of basic rights and dignity," said one of the many critics of the photos, which were shared widely on social media, on Twitter. "Well done UN."

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Argus Leader letters to the editor for Feb. 12:

South Dakota's Republican Party is dangerous to individual rights

South Dakota politics are dominated by the Republican Party (GOP) that is endangering lives and liberty of all the citizens of South Dakota and USA.

Look to the legislature and see what they (and supporters) have proposed thus far. Look at some legislators, out of state influencers coming in, and SD groups supporting the ban on anything for trans youth, even if their parents, doctors, and mental health professionals support trans youth. Groups like the SD Heritage Alliance, Concerned Women for America, , SD Catholic Conference, and the SD Freedom Caucus.

Groups, which are faith based Constitutional movements that are a political movement that embraces far-right nationalism and the forceful suppression of any opposition, all overseen by an authoritarian government (10-20-2020, CBS News Leslie Gorstein.),  this is ChristoFascism.Look to the HB 1234 that allows public funds to be spent at private (and religious) schools). Again, the right GOP, legislators, and associated groups will support the destruction of public schools.

Teacher pay in SD is 50th in the nation (KELOLAND 1-23) and more teachers will leave because of this and other actions by state government. The proposed Social Studies Standards that emphasize Conservativism (brainwashing?) in the standards. Look at the lack of SD Educators input into those standards. Look to HB1070 K-12 curriculum available to all public schools in American history and exceptionalism, explaining why America rose to greatness and how to keep it that wayWhat is happening is the loss of individual rights, lose of school district funding/textbook selection, and mandating control of our society by radical groups with help from GOP Legislators. Is this what SD citizens want? Your choice or your loss. Which do you want?By the way, Christian/Bible/God are not in the Constitution.

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 Paul A. Harens, Yankton

More:How does a fast-growing city like Sioux Falls handle all this snow?

Sioux Falls needs a better focus on neighborhood infrastructure

This winter has been reminiscent of childhood memories. I am well past middle age now, but I seem to remember the street clearing was much better back in the 60s, maybe because the plow drivers were trained well, and took pride in what they did.

One wonders living on a street with NOT ONE sewer drain for snow melt: where is all the water going to go? Let me enlighten you, there are places along west 65th street where the water pools, because (there is) not enough of a grade for the water to move.

There are approximately 20 plus homes from the Tea/Ellis road to Galway. All have snow piled mailbox height, plus in yard. The nearest sewer drain is one block south of 65th on Galway for all that snow! Basements will be flooded, insurance rates will go up, the cost to repair water damage will rise. There is a solution to this problem put the city workers to work clearing the snow to a place closer to the river.cost to city: tax dollars that have been paid for years and misused for dressing up the city instead of tackling the base problems of infrastructure.

When this area was built, along with areas popping up since Galway Park  all have the same problem. No forethought, no planning, no infrastructure that help shomeowners have a good experience in rainy weather, dry weather.

My house is going to suffer, because SIOUX Falls thinks more about building new. Forget city infrastructure, sell the new, count the added numbers of homeowners and citizens. The mayor and council think more about art in the cost of a budget than fixing what has been left out of building a city. It is time to hold our city people to the task of getting this city in tip top shape. How much of that Biden infrastructure bill money did SIOUX falls get?

 Kay Nelson, Sioux Falls

SD lawmakers are taking away the rights of the parent with HB 1080

The South Dakota legislature overwhelmingly passed HB 1080, and the bill will be signed into law by Governor Noem.

Legislators accepted as true the disinformation propounded by the bills supporters, ignoring the substantial medical evidence against the bills premises and consequences presented in both direct testimony and written communication. Legislators rejection of this evidence and acceptance of the disinformation is puzzling, and, I think, was likely due to embedded, narrow-minded and well-hidden prejudices held by many South Dakota legislators against those suffering from gender dysphoria.

Gender dysphoria is a real disorder defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5-TS) with separate and specific criteria for children, adolescents and adults.

Bill sponsors would have us believe children are being mutilated, sterilized and turned into permanent medical patients, but that is simply not true.

What is true is that legislators with no medical training are substituting their twisted ideas about professional medical treatment for that of highly trained physicians. They are taking from parents the right to care for their children together with their doctors and threatening doctors with serious legal consequences for nothing more than their best efforts in treating their patients.

The citizens of this state should know this legislation will benefit no one except the egos of the legislators supporting it and they should not be fooled by baser motives hidden behind a facade of virtuous intent.

 Henry Travers, Sioux Falls

Stop blindly voting for party people

Congratulations South Dakota. While you were all busy working and taking care of your families, the GOP legislature voted to take away the rights of parents to decide on the medical care of their children! The fact that these parents have trans children should not make their rights any less important.SD does NOT do gender affirming surgeries on minors, yet fear mongering and misinformation won out. Why do Legislators think they know more about medicine than doctors that have studied for years? If I was a doctor, I would stop voting for and donating to the GOP, until they stopped interfering in the medical decisions.The GOP always claim they want to 'protect' our children. If that were true, they would pass some common sense gun safety laws since the No. 1 killer of children is gun violence.Ironically, many of the same legislators that voted to take away the rights of these parents also had sponsored a bill to "codify the rights of parents," but then they pulled it. I suppose it would be awkward for them to explain why they sponsored that and turned around and took away parent's rights.We have schools underfunded, a shortage of teachers, nursing homes closing, infrastructure that needs repair, and working people struggling but the focus of our GOP is preventing transgender care and drag shows! Good grief! Stop blindly voting for a party people!

 Sheryl Johnson, Sioux Falls

More:Ban on gender-affirming care for transgender children heads to Noem's desk for signing

Sanford merger could be a disaster for women's, trans health

I am a retired physician. I worked 30 years for Sanford Health Family Medicine in Sioux Falls and I am very proud of my medical care and service all those years.I received all of my higher education in South Dakota and proudly graduated from the South Dakota School of Medicine in 1984.I was reading the article in the Argus Leader about Minnesota medical student's concerns about the potential merger of Sanford Health and the Fairview medical system in Minneapolis. This could be a disaster for your women's care and trans care.I absolutely agree with their concerns.I was totally disgusted that my medical school's name was changed to "The Sanford School of medicine."Evidently money can get you darn near anything you may want, including the naming of a medical school after you, and allegations of legal felony charges. Continue to press your protest against this merger.The University of Minnesota Medical Center needs to live on as it has always been, not named Sanford. Doug Geise, Sioux Falls

More:Minnesota's med students oppose Sanford-Fairview merger, and politics play a major role

How to submit a letter to the editor:

Letters need to be no more than about 300 words, and will need to include first and last name, address, city and title. Addresses wont be publicized, of course, but its a way for us to make sure those who submit a letter are who they say they are.

Letters will run on Sundays in print and online as we receive them. There may be moments, however, when we don't have any as we work to solicit interest and actively rebuild this part of our coverage for readers.

You can submit those to News Director Shelly Conlon by emailing sconlon@argusleader.com or submit them through our online form here, which also is sent directly to the news director.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Warnings about SD's Republican Party, Sanford merger is worrisome: Your Letters
Ford Motor Co. plans to create 2,500 battery plant jobs in Marshall as part of a multibillion-dollar factory investment, the Detroit Free Press has confirmed.

While the project will be a partnership between two companies, Ford will own the physical structures, run the operations and employ the workers; its partner is a global expert on battery design and technology, the Free Press confirmed Friday.

A number of media outlets have reported tidbits about the project but nothing is official yet. Details will be revealed Monday by the Dearborn automaker and state officials who negotiated the deal. Neither Ford, nor Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, has discussed the project publicly. It is protocol for these announcements to be made by state and local economic development officials.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer greets guests before delivering her State of the State address on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023, at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing.

The city of Marshall, which lists on its website a 2021 population of 6,870 residents, sits 36 miles east of Kalamazoo and 108 miles west of Detroit.

What we know so far

Ford has said it wanted to build a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery plant.

The company has been scouting sites throughout North America.

The estimated budget for the project is $3.5 billion.

The states of Virginia and Michigan have been among the finalists.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, criticized the project because it would include a Chinese technical partner and withdrew Virginia from consideration late in the process.

Ford is planning to partner with Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd (CATL), the world's largest battery company. While it is based in China, it is not a government-owned enterprise. The company has plants all over the world and supplies batteries to companies including Tesla and Honda.

This would not be a joint venture but, rather, a factory owned by Ford with CATL design and technology support.

The Chinese battery company holds IP (intellectual property) that's valuable to Ford.

More:Ford to build new plants in Tennessee, Kentucky in $11 billion investment in electric vehicles

Story continues

"Virginia's loss is Michigan's gain," according to the source who has watched the process with Marshall come together. "This is a big get."

Details about potential government incentives were not available Saturday. Also, it is unknown whether the UAW will organize the site. Ford has said it will not impede labor union efforts at any of its battery plants.

Batteries technology shapes the future

"There's going to be future LFT battery plants in America and that's an important technology," the source close to the project told the Free Press, noting that everyone will benefit from domestic battery supplies including Ford's primary competitor Tesla.

Shipping batteries is a costly logistical challenge for all automakers. Being an early mover on battery plant production positions Ford to compete in a race to scale up electric vehicle production, which dramatically cuts costs.

A small city with big ambition

This Ford news comes just weeks after the governor of Virginia dragged the iconic automaker through harsh headlines, criticizing the project as a potential front for the Chinese Communist Party.

Rick Snyder, a Republican who served as Michigan's governor from 2011 through 2018, aggressively reached out to China and Chinese companies to bring jobs to the state during his eight economic development trips to China.

More:2 electric vehicle battery plants to be built in Michigan, promising nearly 4,500 jobs

More:GM to invest $650 million in lithium mining company in US

Meanwhile, Marshall is no stranger to the automotive industry.

Its top employers, according to the Marshall Area Economic Alliance, include:

Tenneco Inc., a global designer, manufacturer and distributor of clean air and ride performance products.

Eaton Corporation, a global technology leader in electrical systems for power quality, distribution and control.

Tribal Manufacturing, a machining and manufacturing company.

The community, developed by fur traders in the 1800s, is filled with hundreds of historic Greek Revival, Gothic Revival and Italiante homes and buildings, according to choosemarshall.com, operated by the Marshall Area Economic Development Alliance. Its 19th-century architecture has been recognized by the National Park Service.

Contact Phoebe Wall Howard: 313-618-1034 or phoward@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @phoebesaid

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Whitmer to close deal with Ford, bring 2,500 battery jobs to Marshall
Yukon Quest is the world's toughest dog sled race, especially in 2006

This Day In Weather History is a daily podcast by Chris Mei from The Weather Network, featuring stories about people, communities and events and how weather impacted them.

--

The Yukon Quest is a sled dog race that has taken place every February since 1984.

The event is officially known as the Yukon Quest 1,000-mile International Sled Dog Race, as it takes place between Fairbanks, Alaska, and Whitehorse, Yukon.

Yukon quest map

Courtesy of Yukon Quest

It's considered to be the most difficult dog race in the world because the conditions are extremely harsh.

Each team consists of a dog leader (called a musher) and six to 14 dogs. The teams race across frozen rivers, mountain ranges, and isolated villages. The race takes 10-20 days to complete.

Yukon race

Courtesy of Mia Gordon

During the race, temperatures can drop as low as 51C, and wind gusts can reach 80 km/h.

On Feb. 12, 2006, five teams in the race were making their way through the course when a massive storm hit. The storm caused the teams to get stuck on Eagle Summit.

Eagle Summit is 1,105 metres high.

The mushers and teams experienced aggressive winds and freezing temperatures while stranded on the mountain. Race officials tried to send search teams, but the conditions were too poor and that specific rescue mission was called off.

Yukon Race

Courtesy of Mia Gordon

A few hours later, the race officials asked the American military to help with recovery. The military sent a Black Hawk helicopter, a Robertson R44 helicopter, and a Cessna 208 airplane.

The military used infrared devices to locate the missing teams. Luckily, all of the mushers and their pups were rescued and no one was injured.

yukon race

Courtesy of Mia Gordon

To learn more about the Yukon Quest, listen to today's episode of "This Day In Weather History."

Subscribe to 'This Day in Weather History': Apple Podcasts | Amazon Alexa | Google Assistant | Spotify | Google Podcasts | iHeartRadio | Overcast'

Thumbnail courtesy of Wikipedia
Making it to 75 years is no easy task, especially for a community theater.

It takes passion. Years and years of passion.

The Warehouse Theatre Company was founded in Yakima in 1946-47 by Hal and Lorna Millen, Stanford graduates who had come back to Yakima and brought the theater bug with them, creating a sense of community and family.

I can't help but think Yakima sees the Warehouse Theatre Company as its family, too, said Sandy Jennings, Warehouse Theatre Company bookkeeper.

Grace Schefter has been an actor and director with the Warehouse Theatre Company since 1986 and says one thing remains consistent: "Show after show after show, you become part of a family. I remember the night we closed our last Christmas play, I thanked them (the cast) and I said, You guys are now part of this family and you will be forever and ever.

The Warehouse Theatre Company welcomes anyone interested in participating in the theater, whether youre from Yakima or a transplant.

Actor Corie Burck moved to Yakima in 2020 and sought out the Warehouse Theatre Company right away.

You don't have to have grown up in the theater to be welcomed," Burck said. "Auditions are open. There are lots of volunteer positions, that even if you're not someone who wants to be on stage, there's something that you would love and enjoy to be out with here and you'd be very welcome. As someone who moved to this theater later in life, theater people are the best people in the entire world."

People can find their calling because of their time with the Warehouse Theatre Company, said technical director Moe Broom.

We started a lot of careers through the Warehouse. Actors or technicians or whatever. Actors who are all over the world now. Technicians who are all over the world. They got their start here, Broom said.

I got my start here. There's a source for the community. Rather than hire somebody from Keokuk, Iowa, to come in and take a position, we have homegrown people who take those positions throughout the community, throughout the Northwest.

Burck said community sustainability has kept the company going for 75 years.

Making sure that you're facilitating education and legacy and passing that along," Burck said. "It wouldn't be sustainable if we were constantly trying to supplement from outside of the community. That's the essence of a community theater. If you want it to be sustainable. You need to make sure that these people are taken care of, appreciated for their hard work and invest in them."

Vance Jennings, the theater's executive director, spoke of community memories created in the theater.

If this is their very first theater experience, this is the place for them," Jennings said. "All the memories they're building. This is that spot. Past president Gary Gresham said it's just really important for everyone to remember that the theater is not the building. It's the people, and these people are the ones who will make theater good."

The audience is a part of the theater community, too, as well as the stagehands, actors and volunteers.

The audience plays such a huge role in how successful that show is, and I don't mean dollars and cents. The energy, it's just so engaging and energizing. It's a wonderful, wonderful thing, Vance said.

Burck said her favorite moment as an actor is the moment before the audience enters the theater, comparing it to moments before a thunderstorm, feeling static electricity in the air.

My 5-year-old niece saw me in a play for the first time and grabbed my stepdads hand because she felt this energy. The lights going down and coming up, she was like, Something's about to happen,' Burck said.

Theater casts and crews find theater challenging  a place to hone their skills and achieve a certain level of expertise.

Every single show you come in and you work as a team, from lights to sound to people on the stage and the director to the producer. You work as a team within a certain time window. That's a challenge, Vance said.

And we've got to get this show to this level, by this date. It'll get better after that, but we've got to have it ready, and that camaraderie and that challenge and being able to rise to it, that's highly satisfying. It really is.
Crime and Courts Reporter

Donald W. Meyers is a multimedia journalist at the Yakima Herald-Republic covering crime and courts. He is also the writer behind It Happened Here, a weekly history column. Before coming to Yakima, Meyers covered a wide variety of beats at The Salt Lake Tribune, Daily Herald, and daily and weekly newspapers across New Jersey. He is also a member of the Society of Professional Journalists, serving as a regional officer in the organization as well as on the national Freedom of Information Committee.
RFA/Health Care Access Reporter

Santiago Ochoa is a bilingual journalist covering health care access at the Yakima Herald-Republic in Yakima, Washington. Before joining the Herald, Ochoa reported for Flint Beat in Flint, Michigan, covering the citys Latino populationhealth care, education, community building and more, and winning top honors in the Michigan Press Associations feature category. He served as photographer and later editor for his college newspaper, The Michigan Times. When hes not working, Ochoa enjoys cross-country trips on his motorcycle, going to the movies, reading and skiing.
If you are sending a Letter To the Editor, please be sure to follow these rules:

Letters have a firm 200-word limit and will be edited for grammar, clarity and accuracy.

The person who signs the letter must be the author. Anonymous letters will not be considered. Letters must address the editor, not a third party.

We will not print form letters, libelous letters, business promotions or personal disputes, poetry, open letters, letters espousing religious views without reference to a current issue, or letters considered in poor taste.

Letters reflect the opinion of the writer. The Yakima Herald-Republic cannot verify the accuracy of all statements made in letters.

Writers are limited to one published letter per calendar month.
KYODO NEWS - Feb 12, 2023 - 12:11 | All, Japan

The Japanese government is considering using post offices to stockpile disaster supplies, such as food, water and bedding, with an eye to delivering them to evacuation areas in the event of a disaster, government sources said.

The government is seeking to utilize post offices' nationwide delivery network, which also reaches underpopulated areas, to help maintain services for residents at a time when many municipalities are struggling with shrinking populations.

Under the plan, local governments will use post offices as storage bases and keep disaster relief goods in empty spaces, and have their vehicles and motorcycles deliver them to evacuation areas, the sources said.

Among some 24,000 post offices in Japan, one in Sagamihara in Kanagawa Prefecture, neighboring Tokyo, concluded an agreement with a local government in 2021 to use its delivery network to transport supplies to evacuation centers and other locations.

The post office stockpiles relief goods, such as cardboard beds and blankets, in part of a space rented by the local government.

The government plans to encourage the post office from April this year to share its knowledge with other post offices with vacant spaces and municipalities aiming to enhance disaster responses and promote their coordination, the sources said.

Among other measures, the government is considering having post offices provide information on the status of residence to local governments to confirm the safety of people in the event of a disaster.

Japan Post Co., the operator of post offices, will work out details on the content of the information to be supplied and how it is used.

A number of post offices in Japan are undertaking some duties of local governments, such as issuing residence certificates. The central government is looking at expanding the administrative work that can be entrusted to them from local municipalities.

Japan Post is a unit of Japan Post Holdings Co., which is roughly one-third owned by the Japanese government. The state is involved in some of Japan Post's decision-making, including approving business plans.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Delhi-Dausa-Lalsot stretch of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway on February 12, 2023 at 3 PM. The 246 km stretch of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway has been developed at a cost of more than Rs 12,150 crore and is expected to reduce the travel time from Delhi to Jaipur from 5 hours to around 3 hours. The 1,386 km Delhi-Mumbai Expressway will be Indias longest and most advanced expressway and will half the travel time between Delhi and Mumbai from 24 hours to 12 hours. In a tweet, PMO mentioned, PM Modi's emphasis on the building of excellent road infrastructure as an engine of growth, development and connectivity in "New India" is being realised by the construction of a number of ongoing world class expressways across the country.

Among the key projects that will be dedicated to the nation tomorrow in Duasa is the Delhi  Dausa  Lalsot section of Delhi Mumbai Expressway. This project will greatly reduce travel time. pic.twitter.com/D4aIKXIEfP  PMO India (@PMOIndia) February 11, 2023

Key features of Delhi-Mumbai Expressway

1) Delhi-Mumbai Travel Time: The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is expected to reduce the travel time between the political and financial capitals of India from 24 hours to 12 hours.

2) Delhi-Jaipur Travel Time: The new expressway will reduce the travel time between Delhi to Jaipur from 5 hours to about 3 hours.

3) The expressway will pass through six states of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra and connect major cities like Kota, Indore, Jaipur, Bhopal, Vadodara and Surat.

4) Project Cost: This first portion of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, i.e. Delhi-Dausa section, has been built at a cost of more than Rs 12,150 crore and the entire cost of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway will be around Rs 98,000 crores.

5) The Expressway will have 40 plus major interchanges to provide connectivity to Kota, Indore, Jaipur, Bhopal, Vadodara, Surat.

6) The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway will also serve 93 PM Gati Shakti Economic Nodes, 13 Ports, 8 Major Airports and 8 multi-modal logistics parks (MMLPs) along with spurs to new upcoming greenfield airports such as Jewar Airport, Navi Mumbai Airport and JNPT port.

7) The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is the first expressway that is developed with a 21-meter median on principles of forgiving highways allowing inward expansion.

8) The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway facilitates Rain Water Harvesting in 500m the interval at over 2,000 plus water recharge points, and also having an automated traffic management system.

9) It is a 8-lane access-controlled Greenfield Expressway with scope for future expansion upto 12-lane Expressway.

10) It will be India's first Expressway to have a 3-meter wide dedicated corridor for laying Utility lines including Optical Fiber Cables, Pipelines and solar power generation.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated a 246-km section of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway in Rajasthan's Dausa on February 12, 2023. Prime Minister pressed the button of a remote to mark the opening of the Delhi-Dausa-Lalsot section, which is expected to reduce the travel time between Delhi to Jaipur from 5 hours to 3.5 hours. Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, Union MoS V K Singh, Union minister Gajendra Singh and other leaders were present on the stage at the function. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his Haryana counterpart Manohar Lal Khattar addressed the programme through a video link.

PM Modi said, "For the last 9 yrs, the central govt is continuously making huge investments in infrastructure. The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway and the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor are going to become two strong pillars of progress for Rajasthan and the country." The 246 km stretch of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway has been developed at a cost of more than Rs 12,150 crore and is part of 1,386 km Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, which will be the Indias longest and most advanced expressway.

The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway will introduce you to specific features that are rarely seen in highway construction in India.

Here are some glimpses of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, captured by drone camera.#PragatiKaHighway pic.twitter.com/yQfhH6gzEH  MORTHINDIA (@MORTHIndia) February 12, 2023

Earlier, in a tweet, PMO mentioned, "PM Modi's emphasis on the building of excellent road infrastructure as an engine of growth, development and connectivity in New India" is being realised by the construction of a number of ongoing world class expressways across the country."

Delhi-Mumbai Expressway route

The expressway will pass through six states of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra and connect major cities like Kota, Indore, Jaipur, Bhopal, Vadodara and Surat. It will also serve 93 PM Gati Shakti Economic Nodes, 13 ports, eight major airports and eight multi-modal logistics parks (MMLPs) along with spurs to new upcoming greenfield airports such as Jewar Airport, Navi Mumbai Airport and JNPT port.

This expressway qill improve connectivity between the National Capital of Delhi and the Financial Capital of Mumbai. The expressway will connect urban centers in Delhi via the Delhi-Faridabad-Sohna section of the corridor, as well as a spur to Jewar Airport and Jawaharlal Nehru Port, to Mumbai via a spur in Mumbai.

Delhi-Mumbai Expressway features

In addition, the road transport ministry is planning to build an electric highway between Delhi and Mumbai at a cost of 2.5 lakh crore. Trolleybuses and trolley trucks will be able to operate on these highways, according to the ministry. Trolley buses are electric buses that are powered by overhead wires, whereas an electric highway is a road that provides power to vehicles travelling on it, including via overhead power lines.
New Delhi: Bollywood star Ranbir Kapoor, who will be seen in Netflix's documentary 'The Romantics' based on legendary filmmaker Yash Chopra, said that the iconic film 'Dilwale Dulhania Le Jaayengay' has been the "defining film of our generation."

'The Romantics' will see Ranbir, talk about how Aditya Chopra directed the all-time blockbuster Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (DDLJ) that gave shape to Indian pop culture.

"DDLJ has been the defining film of our generation! I can't even tell you that feeling is still alive inside me. It Influenced the way I dressed. It influenced the way I spoke to a girl. It influenced how I was with my parents. Everything!" said Ranbir Kapoor in a new video.

From Aamir Khan to Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan to Ranbir Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan to Ranveer Singh, Rani Mukerji to Hrithik Roshan, Katrina Kaif to Anushka Sharma, the mega-stars and icons of Hindi cinema have come together and spoken about Yash Chopra and YRF's contribution to Indian cinema in upcoming documentary.

'The Romantics' has been directed by Oscar and Emmy-nominated filmmaker Smriti Mundhra, who returns to Netflix after the phenomenal success of 'Indian Matchmaking' and 'Never Have I Ever'.

This four-part docu-series will also feature 35 leading personalities from the film industry, who have closely worked with YRF through its 50-year glorious existence. Interestingly, the reclusive head of the iconic Yash Raj Films, Aditya Chopra, has also recorded his first on-camera interview for 'The Romantics'. Hearing him speak about YRF and the Hindi film industry in this docu-series is something most people didn't see coming and has caused quite the excitement within the fraternity.

Netflix will release 'The Romantics' on February 14, 2023, as a tribute to Yash Chopra.
KYODO NEWS - Feb 12, 2023 - 11:18 | All, Japan, World

A Chinese navy survey vessel on Sunday entered Japan's territorial waters near islands close to the southwestern prefecture of Kagoshima, the latest confirmed sighting of Chinese ships in the area since December, the Defense Ministry said.

A survey ship crossed into Japanese waters from southwest of Yakushima Island in the prefecture at around 2:30 a.m., the ministry said, marking the seventh entry by a Chinese survey vessel into waters off Kagoshima since November 2021.

The Japanese government expressed concern about the ship's actions to Beijing through diplomatic channels, the ministry said. The vessel sailed out of the territorial waters near Kuchinoshima Island, about 50 kilometers southwest of Yakushima, at around 4:10 a.m.

Chinese ships have repeatedly entered Japan's territorial waters or sailed through adjacent areas, most notably near the Senkaku Islands, a group of East China Sea islets controlled by Japan but claimed by China under the name Diaoyu.

China's growing military presence in the South and East China seas has been a source of friction with some countries in the region due to the country having overlapping territorial claims with neighbors.

Survey vessels are often used to conduct research, such as determining underwater topography for submarine navigation.
New Delhi: Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) has delayed finalizing the budgets of multiple teams as it prepares a fresh round of job cuts, the Financial Times reported on Saturday. In recent weeks there had been a lack of clarity surrounding budgets and future head count, the FT reported, citing two Meta employees familiar with the situation.

Meta did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment outside of normal business hours. Earlier this month, Meta announced that it expects its 2023 expenses at between $89 billion and $95 billion, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg calling the period a "Year of Efficiency."

The WhatsApp owner had cut more than 11,000 jobs or 13% of its workforce in November, following such tech companies as Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) and Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) which have announced thousands of layoffs due to the economic downturn.
New Delhi: The CBI on Thursday conducted searches at the premises of former finance secretary Arvind Mayaram after filing an FIR against him and a UK-based company for alleged corruption in the supply of exclusive colour shift security thread for Indian bank notes, officials said.

The CBI, in its FIR, alleged that Mayaram, the UK-based company De La Rue International Ltd, and unidentified officials of the finance ministry and RBI hatched a criminal conspiracy to extend undue favour to the firm. (Also Read: Money Earning Scheme: Invest in THESE SBI Mutual Funds Schemes to get Strong Profit- Check Return Calculator Here)

The agency alleged that Mayaram as finance secretary granted an "illegal" three years extension to an "expired contract" with the company for supplying exclusive colour shift security thread without taking any mandatory security clearance from the home ministry or informing the then finance minister, they said. (Also Read: Axis Bank Hikes FD Rates, Effective From Today- Check Return Calculator)

The extension granted by Mayaram was allegedly the fourth, the FIR said. The CBI registered the FIR under IPC sections related to criminal conspiracy and cheating and provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

It was followed by searches at Jaipur and Delhi residence of the 1978-batch retired IAS officer, days after he had joined the Bharat Jodo Yatra of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

The agency had registered a preliminary enquiry in 2018 on a complaint from the Chief Vigilance Officer of the Department of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance.

Based on its findings, the CBI has converted it into a regular case against Mayaram, now an economic advisor to Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.

The agency, in its FIR, said that the Centre had entered into a five-year agreement with De La Rue International Ltd for the supply of exclusive colour shift security thread for Indian bank notes in 2004. The contract was extended four times till December 31, 2015.

The agency has alleged that the then finance minister had authorised the Reserve Bank of India to enter exclusivity agreement with the suppliers of exclusive security features on behalf of the government of India, which was signed with De La Rue on September 4, 2004.

The agreement with the company specifically mentioned that the company had developed an exclusive India specific green to blue colour shift clear text MRT machine-readable security thread for use in Indian banknote paper as a security feature and for which the company holds exclusive manufacturing rights.

The CBI found that the company had filed for the patent in India on June 28, 2004, which was published on March 13, 2009, and was granted on June 17, 2011, which shows at the time of the agreement, it did not have a valid patent.

"Enquiry has further revealed that De La Rue made false claims of holding patent and they did not have any patent for their colour shift thread at the time of presentation in 2002 and their selection in 2004," the CBI has alleged.
New Delhi: As President Droupadi Murmu accepted the resignation of Bhagat Singh Koshyari from the Maharashtra governor's post, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) MLA Aaditya Thackeray on Sunday (February 12, 2023) said that "it is a big win" for the state.

"Big win for Maharashtra! The resignation of anti-Maharashtra Governor has finally been accepted," he said in a tweet.

"He, who constantly insulted Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Mahatma Jyotiba Pule and Savitri bai Phule, our Constitution, Assembly & democratic ideals, cannot be accepted as a Governor," the junior Thackeray, a former Maharashtra minister, added.

Big win for Maharashtra!

The resignation of anti Maharashtra Governor has finally been accepted!



He, who constantly insulted Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Mahatma Jyotiba Phule & Savitri bai Phule, our Constitution, Assembly & democratic ideals, cannot be accepted as a Governor!  Aaditya Thackeray (@AUThackeray) February 12, 2023

Some of Koshyari's statements had triggered controversy, leading to an announcement by the state Raj Bhavan last month that he wants to quit the post.

ALSO READ | President Murmu Appoints new Governors to 12 States, One UT - Check List

Addressing a gathering in November last year, Koshyari had said that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was an "icon of olden times" and personalities like Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar to Nitin Gadkari were the modern icons of the state.

Uddhav Thackeray, when he was Maharashtra chief minister, had also accused Koshyari of being overactive, and pointed out that the governor had not filled 12 vacant seats in the state Legislative Council despite the state government's recommendation.

Meanwhile, Koshyari has been replaced by Jharkhand Governor Ramesh Bais.
New Delhi, Feb 12 (PTI) Some women protesters were detained on Sunday after they allegedly threw red chilli powder on police personnel deployed during an anti-encroachment drive here, officials said.

Nearly 1,200 square metres of government land was reclaimed during the anti-encroachment drive in the Mehrauli Archaeological Park area on Friday, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) said in a statement on Saturday.

The DDA has been carrying out the drive since Friday amid police security, triggering protests from local residents and a blame-game between the AAP and the BJP.

On Sunday, a group of women staged a protest against the demolition drive and alleged that they were lathicharged by police personnel deployed at the spot.

Denying the allegations, a senior officer said, "There was no lathicharge and no one was injured. They (protesters) were obstructing the DDA personnel and the police.

"Some women threw red chilli powder on police personnel and a few of them have been detained. Suitable legal action will be taken."

The DDA continued with the anti-encroachment exercise on Sunday.

On Friday, the urban body said, "During the demolition programme on 10.02.2023, approximately 1,200 sq m of government/DDA land has been reclaimed from the encroachers so far, and the exercise is on to reclaim the rest of the encroached government land for its rightful use by all citizens as a park."

The action was taken as part of a demolition drive that will continue till March 9, officials said on Friday. It comes a month ahead of a G20 meeting planned to be hosted at the archaeological park in south Delhi.

"The court has in the past taken note of the encroachment in the historic park in connection with multiple cases, and many people in the last few decades have built unauthorised structures, some, even five-storey or six-storey, in the area. A notice was issued last December and pasted on walls to alert people," a senior DDA official had said.

The DDA started the drive from Friday in coordination with Delhi Police to remove encroachment from its land at Ladha Sarai village in Mehrauli Archaeological Park.

The park is home to about 55 monuments under protection of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), state archeological department of Delhi and the DDA, the authority said on Saturday.

Earlier, a demolition order dated December 12, 2022, was pasted on the walls of illegal structures on the land along with markings with directions to the "encroachers to remove all the unauthorised construction from the land in question within 10 days", it said.

According to the notice, the land on which the demolition is being carried out is part of the Mehrauli Archaeological Park and the "existing unauthorised encroachment is acting as a hindrance to the development of the Mehrauli Archaeological Park".

The sprawling park is dotted with historic monuments and, while the area falls under the DDA, the heritage structures are maintained by the ASI.

Official sources said the ASI is also working in full swing for the G20 meet at the Mehrauli Archaeological Park, planned to be held in early March.

"The High Court of Delhi has, on many occasions, directed the government authorities to secure, protect and preserve the area falling under Mehrauli Archaeological Park by removing illegal encroachment," the statement said.

"The department is taking the action to remove the unauthorised/illegal encroachment from the government land and also to secure the Mehrauli Archaeological Park from encroachment," it said.

A "demarcation exercise had been carried out as per direction of the High Court" in the presence of DDA and Waqf Board representatives by the Revenue Department of Delhi in December 2021, it said.

(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)
Mumbai: Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday said his party doesn't discriminate between Marathi-speaking people and north Indians settled in Mumbai, remarks viewed as an outreach to the key vote bank ahead of the crucial city civic polls. Addressing a gathering of north Indians, the former Maharashtra chief minister called for unity and said Hindutva doesn't mean spreading hate and dividing people.

"I fell out with BJP but I never abandoned Hindutva. The BJP is not Hindutva. Uttar Bharatiyas want answers on what Hindutva is. Hating each other is not Hindutva. We don't discriminate between Marathi-speaking and north Indian people residing in Mumbai," Thackeray said and appealed to the community to sink the past misunderstandings.

Also Read: 'Big win for Maharashtra': Aaditya Thackeray After Koshyari Resigns as Governor

Significantly, the Shiv Sena has always projected itself as the sole guardian of the sons-of-the-soil and had led violent agitations against north Indians in the past.

Thackeray said he walked out of the alliance with BJP to protect his dignity and joined hands with the NCP and Congress to form the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) after the 2019 Assembly polls.

".....Otherwise I would have been a slave with a belt around my neck just like some of my people have now become," he said in an apparent reference to the rebel Shiv Sena MLAs who belong to the Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena faction led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

Thackeray said he becomes a victim of the smear campaign whenever he meets north Indians or Muslims and questioned are raised on his Hindutva.

"My meeting with you has been criticised. If I meet Muslims, it is said I have given up Hindutva. When PM Narendra Modi came to Mumbai two days back, whose kitchen did he go to? If I had done that I would have been called anti-Hindu. But if the prime minister does that then it is said he has a big heart. I want to make it clear we have nothing against the Bohra community. They are with us," he said.

During his latest visit to Mumbai, the prime minister inaugurated the new Marol campus of the Aljamea-tus-Saifiyah Arabic Academy, a prominent educational institution of the Bohra community, and said he had come there as a family member of the community. Thackeray accused the BJP of creating a rift among Hindus.

"I come here to open your eyes and not provoke you. Shiv Sena never discriminates among people while helping them when it comes to blood donation or taking patients to hospitals in their ambulances. If we are together for five years why should we be separate during elections? "he asked.

He said everyone should come together to protect the freedom achieved from the British and ensure we don't become slaves of our own people.

"These people don't have the daring to call for elections- be it for Lok Sabha, Maharashtra Assembly or municipal corporations. They don't have guts to face challenges and they call themselves leaders of Hindus," he said targetting the BJP.

Thackeray also said that unity among people is the "security kavach" for him.

He took a dig at Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari quitting the office, saying it was a good day for the state.

"Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's coronation was performed by a priest from north India, and today the person who insulted Shivaji Maharaj has been sent back," he said.

In the 2017 Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation polls, the BJP made giant strides by winning 82 seats, just two seats behind the Shiv Sena in the 227-member civic body. The Bharatiya Janata Party, which shares power with the Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena faction, has said it would register a record win in the Mumbai civic polls, due since early last year.
Hyderabad, Feb 12 (IANS) Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Reddy on Sunday found fault with the Narendra Modi government for banning the BBC documentary on Gujarat riots, saying this is not good for democracy.

Speaking in the state Assembly, he questioned the restrictions imposed on the documentary.

"When BBC aired a documentary on the Godhara riots, it was banned. A lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay filed a case in the Supreme Court to ban BBC in India. Why this arrogance?...

"Where will this madness take us? Is filing a case in the Supreme Court by a BJP man to ban BBC is an honour for the country. What will the world think about us. Why this intolerance," he asked.

The Chief Minister also remarked that in a big country like India, mistakes do happen and one should admit them. He said in a democracy, it was not proper to ban the critics or send them to jail.

"One should have patience and tolerance. None is permanent as we are at the mercy of people to come to power," he said.

The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) president said that such behaviour will not be tolerated by people for long.

"Post 2024, they will be in ruins. We all saw what one Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan and the subsequent sparks that were generated in the country could do to Indira Gandhi," he remarked

KCR also slammed Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for demanding Prime Minister Narendra Modi`s photo at a ration shop in Kamareddy district. "The nation`s Finance Minister fought with a poor ration dealer. She threatened him. Why exactly should PM Modi`s photo be displayed?" he asked.

The BRS leader also wanted to know why the Modi government is not holding the census exercise in the country. He pointed out that the process of census began way back in 1871 and it continued uninterrupted till 2011.

He pointed out that even during the two world wars, it didn`t stop. KCR said that it`s only through census does a government know what the situation is in the country. He alleged that the Modi government is not conducting a census because it was afraid of people knowing the facts.

He said that people belonging to the backward classes and scheduled castes are also demanding a caste census. "The SC population was fixed at 15 per cent long back but with authority, I can say that it has now crossed 17 per cent. In some states it even crossed 19 per cent," he said.

(The above article is sourced from news agency IANS. Zeenews.com has made no editorial changes to the article. News agency IANS is solely responsible for the contents of the article)
New Delhi: Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind chief Maulana Arshad Madani on Sunday stoked controversy at the Muslim body's general session by claiming that "Om" and "Allah" were the same God worshipped by 'Manu', drawing objections from a prominent Jain monk who stormed off the stage along with a group of other religious leaders. Speaking on the third and final day of the 34th general session of the Jamiat at the Ramlila Maidan here, the Muslim cleric, who heads the Arshad Madani faction of the outfit, said he asked the "dharma gurus" as to who was worshipped when there was no Shri Ram, Brahma or Shiva.

"Some say Manu worshipped Shiva. Very few have pointed out that there was nothing in the world and Manu worshipped Om."

Also Read: Maulana Madani spews venom, says - 'Co-ed leads to Apostasy in Muslim girls'

"I asked who is Om, many said 'it is just air, it has no form, it has no colour and it is everywhere, it made the sky and land'. I said this is what we call Allah, you call Ishwar, those speaking Persian call Khuda and those speaking English call God," Madani said.

"This means that Manu, that is Adam, used to worship one Om, that is one Allah," he said.

Manu is a term found in religious texts, referring to the first man or the progenitor of humanity.

Arshad Madani's remarks were strongly disapproved by Jain monk Acharya Lokesh Muni who walked out of the session, accusing Madani of digressing from talking about unity to spinning a story about "Manu and Allah".

"We only agree with living in harmony, but all these stories regarding Om, Allah, and Manu are all baseless. He (Madani) completely spoiled the environment of the session," Muni said.

"The stories he narrated, I can narrate even bigger stories than that. I would even request him (Madani) to come for a discussion with me, or even I can come to meet him in Saharanpur," he said.

"It should be remembered that the first Jain Tirthankar was Rishabh, and his sons were Bharata and Bahubali, on whose name this country 'Bharat' was named'. We don't agree with his (Madani's) statements," the Jain monk asserted, before leaving the stage along with a group of leaders of other religions.

Religious leaders of several religions are often invited to the programmes and sessions of the Jamiat. Acharya Lokesh Muni has been part of several Jamiat-organised programmes in the past as well.

On Friday, Mahmood Madani, who heads the other faction of the Jamiat, triggered a row by claiming that India is the "birthplace of Islam" and the oldest religion of the country. He had asserted that the country belongs to him as much as it does to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.

Mahmood Madani had said it is wrong to suggest that Islam came from outside and claimed that the "first Prophet of Islam Adam descended here".
NEW DELHI: A 21-year-old medical student of the prestigious JIPMER in Puducherry has found himself embroiled in a legal battle over his claim of nativity -- an issue that has triggered a wider debate and calls for proper observance of admission norms. Najih Khalid scored 99.30 percentile in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) last year and bagged admission in the Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER) under the residency quota, but his admission was challenged soon after.

Another medical student, 18-year-old Saminathan S, alleged that Khalid had claimed nativity in Puducherry as well as Kerala and moved the Madras High Court in November last year seeking cancellation of his admission. Khalid has denied any wrongdoing on his part.

According to admission norms, a student cannot claim nativity in more than one state in an academic year while applying for admission to medical colleges. But many students take advantage of varying nativity norms in different states and apply for admission in multiple states to "grab the best opportunity", claimed an organisation fighting for the cause of students of the Union Territory of Puducherry.

"This nativity duplicity is quite frequent in many other states, particularly in bordering areas.... Students should be aware that it can lead to a disaster in their career," said M Narayanasamy, the president of the Puducherry UT All CENTAC Students Parents Association. Petitioner Saminathan, who secured a seat in the Karaikal campus of JIPMER, which is considered secondary to the Puducherry centre, demanded that Khalid's admission be cancelled because he misled the authorities by filing a false affidavit.

Saminathan also demanded his transfer to the Puducherry campus on the seat currently occupied by Khalid. The high court has issued notices to the Director of Medical Education (DME) of Puducherry, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Khalid and other parties concerned.

Though Khalid denied any wrongdoing, the report submitted by the DME confirmed that he had claimed nativity in Kerala as well in the 2022-23 academic session. The high court then asked the DME of Puducherry to give its opinion. On January 24, 2023, during the hearing, the DME said the seats of the two students should be interchanged. The court expressed its anger and asked the lawyer appearing for the DME to file an affidavit.

On February 6, the DME in an affidavit told the court that the Union Health Ministry is empowered to take action in this case and it had been informed of the matter. DGHS, in its affidavit, said the last date for admission was December 21. "It is therefore prayed that this honourable court may be pleased to pass any order to fit in the circumstances of the case and thus render justice," it said in the affidavit.

The court has reserved its judgment. The challenge before the authorities is that they can discharge Khalid but cannot fill the seat because admission schedules are over and they are mandated by the Supreme Court order.

Saminathan's advocate M Ravi argued that the authorities concerned took action against two candidates from a state government-run college and a private medical college for similar violations, but kept quiet about Khalid's case in JIPMER, which is run by the central government.

"The norm has to be respected and a message should go to all medical aspirants that they should not mislead the authorities about their nativity, else they will spoil their career," Ravi said.

He added, "Dual nativity or residency has been a contentious issue in medical admissions since states have a percentage of share in seat allocation for local students in central government-run institutions."

Due to different residency norms in different states, many candidates get eligible for nativity in more than one state.

For instance, to claim residency in Kerala, a candidate needs to complete the last five years of studies with the 12th examination from the state among other conditions.

However, in Puducherry, the proof of five years of residency from the parents of candidates is one of the conditions to get a residence certificate from the local authorities.

"Many candidates can claim residency in both states because their parents might stay in Puducherry but send their kids to study in Kerala or Andhra Pradesh since some geographical portions of the UT fall in these two states. This nativity duplicity is quite frequent in bordering areas of many other states," said M Narayanasamy of the NGO fighting for the cause of students of Puducherry.
Mumbai, Feb 12 (PTI) Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole on Sunday accused Buldhana police of unleashing a "brutal baton-charge" on farmers during a protest and demanded the suspension of the district superintendent of police (SP).

Patole also demanded that Saturday's baton-charge incident be investigated by a joint committee of the state legislature.

Farmers will teach a lesson to the "anti-farmer" Eknath Shinde-Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state, he claimed while talking to reporters here.

Patole alleged that the Buldhana police "brutally lathi-charged" the farmers on Saturday while they were staging a protest for their demands to get the right price for cotton and soybean and compensation for those deprived of crop insurance.

Congress district president Rahul Bondre and former minister Rajendra Shingane were also stopped by police while they were going to meet the protesting farmers, he claimed.

"Is protesting for your demands a crime in a democratic state? What was the need to lathi-charge? We will not tolerate this bullying by the Shinde-Fadnavis government. The entire case should be thoroughly investigated and action should be taken against the guilty," Patole said.

"The state government has mercilessly attacked the farmers who are fighting for their justice and rights," he alleged.

Patole demanded that the Buldhana SP be suspended immediately and the entire matter be investigated by a joint committee of the legislature.

He slammed the Shinde-Fadnavis government and condemned "police atrocities" on the protesting farmers.

Farmers are in trouble and are not getting the right price for their produce, he said.

Under the BJP's rule, farming is not affordable anymore due to the high cost of fertilisers, seeds and diesel, he claimed.

This (financial) year also, crops were damaged due to natural calamities and farmers from 16 districts suffered damages, he said.

(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)
New Delhi: The Lok Sabha Secretariat has asked Congress MP Rahul Gandhi to respond by February 15 to notices given by BJP members regarding his remarks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the House. In a letter to Gandhi, dated February 10, the secretariat has asked him to furnish his reply on breach of privilege notices against him by BJP MPs Nishikant Dubey and Pralhad Joshi -- also the parliamentary affairs minister -- by February 15 for the Lok Sabha speaker's consideration.

Following Gandhi's speech in Lok Sabha on the 'Motion of Thanks on the President's Address' on Tuesday, in which he commented on the Hindenburg-Adani issue, Dubey and Joshi had moved the notices against him.

Also Read: Will Bihar Stop Narendra Modi's Chariot in Lok Sabha Election 2024? Survey Gives UPA an Edge Over BJP-Led NDA

Both the BJP leaders in their notices to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla have alleged that Gandhi's comments were baseless and that he made "contemptuous, unparliamentary and dishonourable" allegations.

Several remarks made by Gandhi were expunged by the speaker.
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KYODO NEWS - Feb 11, 2023 - 20:14 | All, Japan, World

Two major Japanese telecom companies are expected to join hands with British organizations to promote a new communications network amid economic security concerns over China's growing share of the field, a source close to the case said Saturday.

NTT Docomo Inc., Japan's leading mobile operator, and Rakuten Mobile Inc. are likely to share information about research and development on Open RAN, or Open Radio Access Network, with British enterprises and institutions, the source added.

Open RAN has industry-wide standards enabling its interoperability with multiple vendors' equipment for cellular wireless networks. In 2022, the Japanese and British governments made an agreement to cooperate in enhancing the technology.

By using Open RAN, many democracies countering the Communist-led government have recently been aiming to avoid a situation where control of important communications infrastructure has been ceded to foreign players, such as China's Huawei Technologies Co.

Huawei has been a global leader in 5G telecom networks. A number of countries are worried that a dominant Chinese presence in the market could lead to information theft from Beijing and disruption to socioeconomic activity in the Indo-Pacific region.

Docomo and Rakuten were selected following their successful bids in response to an October 2022 call for proposals by the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology to subcontract research and development on Open RAN networks.

The Japanese state-run institute hopes that the two firms will help improve trust in Open RAN and contribute to energy saving while exchanging information on the progress and state of development of the technology, the source said.

In addition to Britain, Japan has entered into similar partnerships with the United States, Australia, India and Singapore. In January, Tokyo and Washington also inked a memorandum to spread Open RAN.

The British government, meanwhile, has distanced itself from Huawei after announcing in 2020 that it would no longer allow the use of the company's technology in 5G mobile communications network due to unresolved security concerns.
NEW DELHI/AGARTALA: The Trinamool Congress is "playing a game" to support the BJP in Tripura but will not be able to hamper the Congress-Left alliance's chances in the assembly polls, the state's AICC in-charge Ajoy Kumar said on Sunday. A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a dig at the Left-Congress alliance, Kumar asserted that the tie-up was on a strong footing in the state as there was "political commonness" between the Congress and the CPI(M) in Tripura.

"You see the crowds (for Left-Congress alliance), see on the ground. The leaders may have small issues but the cadre people are all together. I have been travelling all over Tripura, it is quite heartening to see that," he told PTI in a telephonic interview from Agartala.

Asked about the Tipra Motha party gaining ground in the tribal belt and if that will affect the Left-Congress, Kumar pointed to the head of CPI(M) in Tripura, Jitendra Chowdhury, being a tribal leader.

"He (Chaudhary) is actually a leader who speaks their (tribals') language. He is the son of the soil. So I think the tribals are also understanding that Jitendra Chowdhury represents the actual tribal aspirations," Kumar asserted.

The tribals are shifting towards Chowdhury and the Congress leadership, he claimed. In the 60-member Tripura assembly, 20 seats are reserved for tribal areas.

On the TMC making a fray in Tripura and if it will damage the Left-Congress' chances, Kumar said, "I don't think so (it will hamper Left-Congress chances). I think the TMC is playing a game to support the BJP, that's my analysis."

Pressed further on it, he claimed that "something is going on between the TMC and the BJP because all the Enforcement Directorate cases have been closed (against TMC leaders)".

Kumar exuded confidence that the Left-Congress will form the next government in Tripura, claiming that there is tremendous amount of anger against the BJP.

He said the main issue is of the BJP's "false promises" and the "highest unemployment" being in Tripura. Kumar also alleged that nothing was done for farmers, teachers and children by the BJP government.

He claimed that political violence is the highest in Tripura and "jungle raj" was prevailing there. "People are disgusted, I got attacked. One can imagine if somebody like me got attacked, what would be the situation of the common people. Girls are raped, body is found 50 metres from a police station, they burn offices, attack people, law and order has collapsed," the Congress leader said, slamming the BJP.

He said Congress has promised a return to the Old Pension Scheme, will support children's education, provide Rs 12,000 a year to the women of BPL families and give free electricity of 150 units.

Asked about Prime Minister Modi's remarks that the Congress and Left have strangely chosen dosti' (friendship) in the northeastern state as against their normal kushti' (wrestling) in Kerala, Kumar said there is "political commonness" that the Congress has with the CPI(M) in Tripura.

"We are fighting an evil force and we need to fight together. We need to save democracy and we need to save the people," he said.

The CPI(M) will contest 43 seats, the Congress 13, while other constituents of the alliance - the Forward Bloc, RSP and the CPI - will be contesting in one seat each. The alliance is supporting an independent candidate in the Ramnagar constituency in West Tripura.

The voting for the 60-member assembly will be held on February 16 and counting of votes will take place on March 2.

In 2018, the BJP had stormed to power, gobbling up most of the Congress vote and partially cutting into the CPI(M)'s vote bank.
Mumbai: Ahead of making his digital debut, Aditya Roy Kapoor set social media on fire with his shirtless pictures! Taking to Instagram on Saturday, Aditya posted a set of black and white pictures. Posing at the beach, Aditya looked smoking hot in trunks. In one frame, he has donned a hat. A scarf peeping out of his trunks is visible in the frame. Sporting his casual charm, Aditya captioned the frame with one word, 'Ya'.

Celebrities can't keep their calm with Aditya's hot pictures. The actor's co-star in the upcoming series wrote, "Yeh baat hui na... mere bhai mere hamdam mere dost." Actor Siddharth Kapoor wrote, 'Saxyy boyy'. Stylist Anaita Shroff Adajania wrote, "Who needs clothes right!?"

Helmed by Sandeep Modi, the series 'The Night Manager' features Anil Kapoor, Aditya Roy Kapur, Sobhita Dhulipala, Tillotama Shome, Saswata Chatterjee, and Ravi Behl in lead roles and will stream exclusively on Disney+ Hotstar.

The series is an official Hindi adaptation of John le Carre's novel 'The Night Manager', produced by The Ink Factory and Banijay Asia.

About the series, Aditya said, "When there's revenge and betrayal in the mix, high voltage drama is inevitable. The Night Manager pulls this off on the back of fascinatingly complex characters. As they say, still waters run deep, and my character Shaan very much embodies that phrase. One can never tell what's on his mind but you know the wheels are furiously turning, taking the plot from one unexpected turn to another. It's been a great experience working with some of the finest talent of the Indian film industry, assembled by the dynamic team at Disney+ Hotstar."
New Delhi: The Indian music industry has always welcomed new talents with open arms. One such raw talent who has been garnering a lot of attention recently is DJ Sahil Gulati. Gulati is a go-to for all partygoers, thanks to his upbeat music beats and ability to create a unique vibe every time he performs.

The artist has made a name for himself in Bollywood and gets huge love from EDM fanatics as well. And now the artist announces his association with Avadh Nagpal, who is known for representing some of the top names in the music industry, like Punjabi superstar Harrdy Sandhu.

DJ Sahil Gulati has come a long way and is now a star DJ in India. This young sensation is planning his India tour soon. With his super hit shows recently caught in Dubai, he is coming with more of his shows in the pipeline , starting with India this month itself.

When we see the crowds going berserk and dancing wildly, there's no doubt that anyone else is playing music at the event other than DJ Gulati. Known for his Bollywood, Hip-Hop, Progressive House, Deep House, and sometimes Techno music has made the artist a pretty sought-after name in the industry.

Talking about his association, which will include everything from live shows to music releases and everything in between, DJ Sahil says, "You cant have a party without good musicthat is what I feel. So I look at myself more as a performer who aims to rock a room, a concert, a club, or any party. And that's where my association with Avadh Nagpal comes in, Where I come from, most people still don't consider DJing a serious profession. I do want to change that mentality and create a legacy for generations to come, and make DJing accepted as a real profession and not a hobby."

DJ Sahil has also performed with Farhan Akhtar in Soho Delhi and has been making headlines ever since for his performance and winning followers globally. It's only a matter of time before we witness DJ Sahil Gulati performing at the world's largest music festival and his music releases appearing at the top of the charts.
New Delhi: Nawazuddin Siddiqui has been undergoing a legal battle against his estranged wife Aaliya for a long time now. Now in the recent turn of events, Aaliya Siddiqui posted photos and videos of their ugly interaction on social media and posted a long note along with it.

I regret giving my 18 years to a man who has absolutely no value of me in his eyes. Firstly, I met him in 2004 and we both went in a living relationship during his stay at Ekta Nagar, Charkop, Mhada, Mumbai and we where he himself, me and his brother Mr. Shamasuddin Siddiqui use to stay together in a 1 room where we started our journey together and was living very happily. I believed that he loved me and will keep me happy for long life. At that time, he did not even had money for food hence I and his brother Mr. Shamas-Uddin managed everything without any personal benefit. Then we got married in the year 2010 and post 1 year I deliver a child, she wrote in a long Instagram post.

Adding further, she wrote, Also, I sold my flat given by my mother for delivery purpose and even gifted him a car (Skoda Fabia) from the same money so that he could not travel by bus which he used to. And now after so many years, he completely changed and became inhuman. This man was never a great human being. He always disrespected his ex-gfs, his ex-wife and now disrespecting me and targeting his kids as well.

How can a person stoop so low when every document and evidences proves that this man has stated me as his spouse. If I would be aware that in future, I will have gone through with all this pain that I am facing from past 12 years, then I would have rather chosen to go with someone who would even has little money but not a person like him who along with the superstar became more liar and a cheater about which I had no idea when I got married to him, she further added.

See the post

He is stating that he gave me a divorce after the birth of our 1st child and then again post-divorce I got into a relationship with him and we gave birth to our second child while being in a living relationship and I came to know later that he never considered me as his wife when we were not even divorced. These allegations are so disgusting and handling these things are so disrespectful.

Hence, my only intention of this message is to show everyone that, this man is stopped so low and I want to show his true colours. Cheater can be of any caste and one who has good upbringing will never cheat. Hence, I request everyone not to go by the religion of a man. Justice to be prevailed, Aaliya wrote. She is also seeking paternity test of his younger son to prove that the child belongs to her. Nawaz and Aaliya got married in 2009 and have two kids together.
NEW DELHI: A fresh FIR has been filed against controversy queen Rakhi Sawant's husband Adil Khan Durrani in Mysore. The FIR has been filed under IPC section 376 at VV Puram Police Station in Mysore. As per reports, a young Iranian woman has reportedly accused the jailed businessman of raping her on the pretext of marriage. This is the second FIR against Adil, who is currently in 14 days of judicial custody. Adil was arrested by the Oshiwara Police after Rakhi filed a complaint against him for assault, cheating and an extra-marital affair. The court will reportedly hear his bail petition on Monday.

In her FIR, the young woman accused Adil of raping her on the pretext of marriage when they lived together in Mysore. She mentioned that when she demanded to get married to him five months back, he rejected it and said that he is in a similar kind of relationship with many girls. As per the complainant, Adil blackmailed her to not file any complaint against him by threatening to leak intimate pictures of her. An FIR has now been registered under IPC sections 376, 417,420, 504 and 506, said a TOI report.

Earlier in the day, Rakhi was captured by the mediapersons when she claimed that Adil's alleged girlfriend Tanu Chandel is pregnant and said that she should come out and reveal the truth. In a video shared by a paparazzo, Rakhi thanked police officials for taking action against Adil. She also reacted to the news of the Iranian student accusing Adil of rape.

For those unversed, a few days back, Rakhi revealed that Adil had an extramarital affair with Tanu and he was also previously married before marrying her.

Days ago, Rakhi made a shocking allegation against her husband Adil Khan and accused him of recording her nude videos and selling them. "Adil has taken my nude videos and sold them to people. My case is on with the Cybercrime department for the same. He now wants to marry Tanu for the third time," Rakhi said while speaking to ETimes.

The actress, who was papped on Thursday while she was visiting the court, said, "I have come to the court to share my side of the story. Adil shouldn't get bail, I have gotten my medical done and even submitted all the proofs to the Oshiwara police station. I have come here to seek justice from the Judge. Adil has tortured me and cheated on me and I don't want to get him bail. I have given my bank statements too, he took my OTP and stole my money, and he breached my trust."

Rakhi Sawant, who has accused Adil of assault and having an extramarital affair with his girlfriend Nivedita aka Tanu Chandel, also said that she will file an FIR against the duo for harassing her and physically assaulting her.

Last month, Rakhi surprised everyone after she announced on social media that she has tied the knot with Adil Khan.

The actor dropped a series of photos and videos from her nikaah ceremony, revealing that the two tied the knot in July last year, but kept it under wraps for eight months.
The Narendra Modi-led government is on a spree to modernize the Indian Railways and has been revamping stations across India with modern amenities and new design. Under the same, the Jaipur Railway Station will be modernized at a cost of Rs 717 crore. The first proposed design of the Jaipur station has been shared by the Ministry of Railways on their official Twitter account. Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the railways is carrying out the exercise taking into account both heritage and development.

Under the modernisation plan, the Jaipur railway station will be upgraded with high-end facilities at a cost of Rs 717 crore. The tenders for the work have been issued, he said. Vaishnaw said the contribution of the railways in building India is immense. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi has done the work of spreading India's skills all over the world with the scheme of 'One Station-One Product'," he said.

Scrumptious Makeover of Jaipur!



Take a look at the riveting design of the to-be-redeveloped Jaipur Junction Railway Station.#NayeBharatKaNayaStation pic.twitter.com/buj2I0GUHQ February 11, 2023

Instead of foreign technology, Prime Minister Modi expressed his faith in Indian engineering and Vande Bharat trains were manufactured in the country, he said, adding Jaipur will be connected with a Vande Bharat train soon. The minister said Vande Bharat trains appear to be better even when compared to those in Europe.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also inaugurate the 246-kilometer stretch of the ambitious Delhi-Mumbai Expressway on February 12, 2023. The Delhi-Dausa-Lalsot section of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is expected to cut the travel time from the capital to Jaipur from five hours to about three and a half. The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, once completed, will be the India's longest with the length of 1,386 km.

It will reduce the travel distance between Delhi and Mumbai from 1,424 km to 1,242 km, while the travel time is expected to cut by 50 per cent, from the current 24 hours to 12 hours.

With agencies inputs
History of Valentine's Day: Whether you enjoy Valentine's Day or hate it, one thing is hard to deny: the celebration has a long legacy. The origins of Valentine's Day are also much less romantic than the modern traditions of kissing, giving Valentine's Day gifts, and booking challenging restaurant appointments. Here is the Valentine's Day history that wouldn't function as a romantic comedy, which includes a saint, a tragedy, and even some sinful nuns. This day marks the day of love and bonding for not just couples but also to recognize the love you share with your best friends and with yourself.

Every year, February 14 marks Valentine's Day. The colour red is often associated and has been used for years on Valentine's Day to symbolise love and affection because it is a powerful colour that arouses strong emotions and is linked to passion, desire, and love.

Valentine's Day 2023: History of Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is a fixed date on the calendar that was combined with Lupercalia, a mid-February festival on the ancient Roman calendar, which some historians say is how Valentine's Day came to be associated with love. A ritual in which men and women were matched by selecting names from a jar could have been part of the fertility celebration known as Lupercalia.

People in ancient Greece celebrated the union of the god Zeus and the goddess Hera during winter.

Valentine's Day 2023: Story of Saint Valentine

Around 500 AD, the Catholic Church included St. Valentine's Day as a feast day in its liturgical calendar. Valentine-themed martyred saints were honoured on this day. Three separate saints named Valentine or Valentinus were commemorated in various traditions, but because so little is known about them and because the St. Valentine's Day tale has been documented in numerous ways, the feast day was dropped from the Christian liturgical calendar in 1969.

According to a tale, Saint Valentine was condemned to death by Roman Emperor Claudius II because he refused to accept paganism. His jailer's daughter was miraculously healed before he was put to death, and both she and the rest of his family afterwards embraced Christianity. According to a different legend, the festival is indeed named after a bishop by the name of Saint Valentine of Terni, who was also executed on this day.

Others, however, claim that Saint Valentine was a Roman priest who officiated weddings for soldiers who were forbidden from marrying due to a Roman emperor's edict that married soldiers did not make excellent warriors and hence young men could not marry. This is how Saint Valentine came to be associated with a love-centred festival. As a sign of affection and to aid in his recognition by soldiers, this Saint Valentine wore a ring with a Cupid on it. He also distributed paper hearts to remind Christians of their love for God, a practice that marks the use of greeting cards.

Saint Valentine gained attention as the patron saint of love as a result of this myth. In the Saint Valentine prayer, it is prayed that Saint Valentine brings together lovers so that they may unite as one and remember their faith in God.

Valentine's Day 2023: Why do we celebrate Valentine's Day?

The term "valentine" was first used to refer to a lover in poetry and music towards the end of the 15th century, and an English book titled The Young Man's Valentine Writer was produced in the 18th century.

The truth about Valentine's Day's past is that tragedies have still happened on this day of romance. On February 14, 1929, seven men were murdered in Chicago during Prohibition by a gang headed by Al Capone. With police and lawmakers going after the gangs and mobs that had formed in cities to control then-illegal substances like alcohol, the Valentine's Day Massacre constituted a turning point in Prohibition history.

(Disclaimer: The article is based on general information and common beliefs. Zee News does not confirm this.)
New Delhi: According to news outlet WRAL, Apple AirTag assisted a US couple in finding their stolen car within hours. According to images from the doorbell camera, the burglars chose Leslie and Antar Muhammad's Toyota Camry after an attempt to break into a neighbor's car failed.

The couple from North Carolina was asleep when the criminals stole their automobile, and they didn't realise it was gone until the next morning. However, the position of the car was quickly found thanks to Apple's tracking tool AirTag. Following a report to the Cary police, the automobile was located within 2.5 hours at a parking lot about 12 miles from their house. (Also Read: Harsh Goenka Shares Clip of Newlywed Welcomed by Indian Navy Officers to Tribe- Watch Heartwarming Video)

By 11 a.m. on February 4, Cary police had detained three individuals who were minors with the assistance of police from Durham. (Also Read: CBI Books Ex-Finance Secy Arvind Mayaram for 'Corruption' in Supply of Currency Notes' Security Thread)

According to Leslie, who was quoted by WRAL, the burglars chose the "wrong" car without realising it. The tiny, programmable tracking gadget, which resembles a button and was created by Apple as a key finder to aid individuals in recovering personal goods, is positioned in a covert spot that is not readily apparent, according to Antar.

"Just now, I visited Find My (app). I can zoom in and nearly perfectly identify the parking place, locate it with pinpoint accuracy "Antar gave news to Wral. The couple's automobiles, baggage, and wallets all have AirTags. The Muhammads recommended people to be aware of technological changes and pick simple, reasonable choices to defend their homes and assets. They described their security system as the "greatest" security system and said it cost $100 for a set of four devices.

According to reports, two women who were trapped in British Columbia, Canada, last month were apparently saved by the Emergency SOS through satellite feature of the iPhone 14, which was introduced in November 2022. The women were on their way back to Alberta when an accident shut down the major roadway, according to a Times Colonist story.
New Delhi: After sharing his location in a video appeal on WhatsApp, a 20-year-old student named Boran Kubat was rescued from under the rubble of an apartment building in eastern Turkey. While visiting family in Malatya, Boran and his mother, both from Istanbul, were shaken by the twin earthquakes.

The family had returned to the building after surviving the morning's first earthquake, which caused the structure to collapse in the subsequent quake of 7.5 magnitude. While trapped with his family beneath the apartment's debris, Boran realised he could notify friends via social media on his smartphone. (Also Read: Money Earning Scheme: Invest in THESE SBI Mutual Funds Schemes to get Strong Profit- Check Return Calculator Here)

In a video message sent on WhatsApp, Boran begged for assistance and provided their address. He said, "Whoever reads my WhatsApp status, please come and help. Please send help to save us right away. Rescuers found the family and pulled Boran and his mother from the rubble. (Also Read: Harsh Goenka Shares Clip of Newlywed Welcomed by Indian Navy Officers to Tribe- Watch Heartwarming Video)

According to Boran, it took his pals four to five sledgehammer swings to locate their exact location. This was revealed to Turkish news outlet Anadolu Agency. He further stated that his grandma and uncle were still captive.

Victims trapped in the earthquake-stricken areas of Turkey and Syria have inundated social media with desperate pleas.
KYODO NEWS - Feb 12, 2023 - 22:00 | All, World, Japan

The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.

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U.S. jet shoots down unidentified flying object over Canada: PM

NEW YORK - An unidentified flying object that entered the territorial airspace of Canada was shot down by a U.S. F-22 fighter jet on Saturday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said.

It was the third time since early this month for such an object to be militarily destroyed in North America, with the United States and many other democratic countries suspecting China of sending surveillance balloons across the globe.

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Japan's ruling party vows to promote debate on bill for LGBT people

TOKYO - Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party will accelerate discussion on a bill that would promote understanding of sexual minorities, a senior lawmaker said Sunday, amid growing criticism of the government's conventional stance on LGBT people.

Koichi Hagiuda, the policy chief of the LDP, said in a TV program that he will make efforts to "forge a consensus" on the matter within the party, around three months before Japan hosts the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima in May.

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FOCUS: Japan PM's pick for new BOJ chief a calculated surprise

TOKYO - The choice of former Bank of Japan board member Kazuo Ueda for the next central bank governor is a well-calibrated decision by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at one of the biggest make-or-break moments of his time in office.

Kishida has been caught in a bind between financial markets anticipating a pivot by the BOJ to a tighter monetary policy and some quarters of ruling party lawmakers who are urging him -- directly or indirectly -- to stick with the "Abenomics" economy-boosting program that has become synonymous with monetary easing.

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2 Japan firms to join hands with Britain in new network technology

TOKYO - Two major Japanese telecom companies are expected to join hands with British organizations to promote a new communications network amid economic security concerns over China's growing share of the field, a source close to the case said Saturday.

NTT Docomo Inc., Japan's leading mobile operator, and Rakuten Mobile Inc. are likely to share information about research and development on Open RAN, or Open Radio Access Network, with British enterprises and institutions, the source added.

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Japan's PM undergoes surgery for chronic sinusitis

TOKYO - Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida underwent endoscopic surgery for chronic sinusitis at a Tokyo hospital on Saturday, a government official said.

He was in good condition following the surgery, which began at around 12:05 p.m. and lasted about 3 hours and 40 minutes, the official said. As Kishida was placed under general anesthetic, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno stepped in for the prime minister.

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China mulls tripling nuclear warheads to 900 by 2035: sources

TOKYO - China is considering tripling its stockpile of nuclear warheads to 900 by 2035, as tensions with the United States are expected to escalate further over Taiwan, sources close to the matter said Saturday.

The blueprint, mapped out by the People's Liberation Army, has already been approved by President Xi Jinping, head of the military, who has been eager to bolster Beijing's deterrence against Washington, the Chinese sources said.

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Chinese navy vessel enters Japan waters near Kagoshima Pref. islands

TOKYO - A Chinese navy survey vessel on Sunday entered Japan's territorial waters near islands close to the southwestern prefecture of Kagoshima, the latest confirmed sighting of Chinese ships in the area since December, the Defense Ministry said.

A survey ship crossed into Japanese waters from southwest of Yakushima Island in the prefecture at around 2:30 a.m., the ministry said, marking the seventh entry by a Chinese survey vessel into waters off Kagoshima since November 2021.

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Figure skating: Japan wins men's, pairs gold at Four Continents

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado - Seventeen-year-old Kao Miura became the youngest-ever men's winner of the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships on Saturday, capping a successful day of competition for Japan.

Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara earlier won the pairs competition, raising expectations of a breakthrough world title next month.

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Video: Snow lantern festival in Yamagata
KYODO NEWS - Feb 12, 2023 - 17:17 | All, World

An unidentified flying object that entered the territorial airspace of Canada was shot down by a U.S. F-22 fighter jet on Saturday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said.

It was the third time since early this month for such an object to be militarily destroyed in North America, with the United States and many other democratic countries suspecting China of sending surveillance balloons across the globe.

"I ordered the take down of an unidentified object that violated Canadian airspace" over the northern Yukon territory, Trudeau said in a Twitter post.

The object was shot down after it was detected by the North American Aerospace Defense Command, a U.S.-Canada binational organization, he said, adding his nation's forces will "recover and analyze the wreckage." Trudeau said he spoke with U.S. President Joe Biden about the incident.

Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand said Saturday that what she described as "a small cylindrical object" was taken out as it could have posed a risk to civilian air traffic. The object was flying at an altitude of around 12,000 meters, she said.

The latest instance came a day after the United States shot down another unidentified object off the coast of Alaska. On Feb. 4, Washington also fired what it alleges is a Chinese spy balloon, which had traveled across the country, off the coast of South Carolina.

The Chinese Communist-led government has denied the U.S. accusation, claiming the balloon was used for civilian research purposes.

Related coverage:

U.S. military downs unknown object over Alaska

Unidentified balloon spotted off southwestern Japan last year: gov't

Chinese military unit involved in balloon operation: sources
Members of the China Search and Rescue Team carry out rescue operation on earthquake debris in Antakya in the southern province of Hatay, Turkiye, Feb. 11, 2023. Chinese rescuers have successfully saved at least four survivors so far. An 82-member China Search and Rescue Team arrived in Turkiye on Wednesday to join earthquake relief efforts in the country. (Xinhua/Shadati)

ANTAKYA, Turkiye, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- A female survivor was pulled out Friday afternoon from collapsed buildings in the quake-striken Turkish province of Hatay, following hours of joint efforts by Chinese and local rescuers.

The woman was plucked to safety at around 3:40 p.m. local time (1240 GMT) from rubble in downtown Antakya, making her the fourth survivor that the Chinese team helped rescue.

Earlier at noon, Turkish rescuers discovered signs of life when they were clearing a heap of building ruins with excavators. Immediately afterward, their Chinese counterparts were called to the scene.

The Chinese rescuers squeezed a flexible endoscope camera through small gaps in rubble to survey the condition beneath and confirmed through shouts that a woman had been trapped under.

The Chinese team, alongside Turkish rescuers, then started demolishing the surface of buried areas with rescue machinery, and successfully pulled out the woman after three hours of efforts.

Powerful earthquakes struck southern Turkiye and northern Syria on Monday. Tens of thousands of people are confirmed dead across Turkiye and Syria, with the numbers expected to rise.

The earthquake destroyed people's homes and local infrastructure. Relief items and supplies are pouring in. Search and rescue efforts are underway. 

Members of the China Search and Rescue Team carry out rescue operation on earthquake debris in Antakya in the southern province of Hatay, Turkiye, Feb. 11, 2023. Chinese rescuers have successfully saved at least four survivors so far. An 82-member China Search and Rescue Team arrived in Turkiye on Wednesday to join earthquake relief efforts in the country. (Xinhua/Shadati)

A member of the China Search and Rescue Team carries out rescue operation on earthquake debris in Antakya in the southern province of Hatay, Turkiye, Feb. 11, 2023. Chinese rescuers have successfully saved at least four survivors so far. An 82-member China Search and Rescue Team arrived in Turkiye on Wednesday to join earthquake relief efforts in the country. (Xinhua/Shadati)

A member of the China Search and Rescue Team carries out rescue operation on earthquake debris in Antakya in the southern province of Hatay, Turkiye, Feb. 11, 2023. Chinese rescuers have successfully saved at least four survivors so far. An 82-member China Search and Rescue Team arrived in Turkiye on Wednesday to join earthquake relief efforts in the country. (Xinhua/Shadati)

Members of the China Search and Rescue Team carry out rescue operation on earthquake debris in Antakya in the southern province of Hatay, Turkiye, Feb. 11, 2023. Chinese rescuers have successfully saved at least four survivors so far. An 82-member China Search and Rescue Team arrived in Turkiye on Wednesday to join earthquake relief efforts in the country. (Xinhua/Shadati)

A member of the China Search and Rescue Team carries out rescue operation on earthquake debris in Antakya in the southern province of Hatay, Turkiye, Feb. 11, 2023. Chinese rescuers have successfully saved at least four survivors so far. An 82-member China Search and Rescue Team arrived in Turkiye on Wednesday to join earthquake relief efforts in the country. (Xinhua/Shadati)

Members of the China Search and Rescue Team carry out rescue operation in Antakya in the southern province of Hatay, Turkiye, Feb. 11, 2023. Chinese rescuers have successfully saved at least four survivors so far. An 82-member China Search and Rescue Team arrived in Turkiye on Wednesday to join earthquake relief efforts in the country. (Xinhua/Shadati)

Members of the China Search and Rescue Team carry out rescue operation on earthquake debris in Antakya in the southern province of Hatay, Turkiye, Feb. 11, 2023. Chinese rescuers have successfully saved at least four survivors so far. An 82-member China Search and Rescue Team arrived in Turkiye on Wednesday to join earthquake relief efforts in the country. (Xinhua/Shadati)

Members of the China Search and Rescue Team carry out rescue operation inside earthquake debris in Antakya in the southern province of Hatay, Turkiye, Feb. 11, 2023. Chinese rescuers have successfully saved at least four survivors so far. An 82-member China Search and Rescue Team arrived in Turkiye on Wednesday to join earthquake relief efforts in the country. (Xinhua/Shadati)

A member of the China Search and Rescue Team carries out rescue operation on earthquake debris in Antakya in the southern province of Hatay, Turkiye, Feb. 11, 2023. Chinese rescuers have successfully saved at least four survivors so far. An 82-member China Search and Rescue Team arrived in Turkiye on Wednesday to join earthquake relief efforts in the country. (Xinhua/Shadati)

A member of the China Search and Rescue Team carries out rescue operation on earthquake debris in Antakya in the southern province of Hatay, Turkiye, Feb. 11, 2023. Chinese rescuers have successfully saved at least four survivors so far. An 82-member China Search and Rescue Team arrived in Turkiye on Wednesday to join earthquake relief efforts in the country. (Xinhua/Shadati)

Members of the China Search and Rescue Team carry out rescue operation in Antakya in the southern province of Hatay, Turkiye, Feb. 11, 2023. Chinese rescuers have successfully saved at least four survivors so far. An 82-member China Search and Rescue Team arrived in Turkiye on Wednesday to join earthquake relief efforts in the country. (Xinhua/Shadati)

A member of the China Search and Rescue Team carries out rescue operation on earthquake debris in Antakya in the southern province of Hatay, Turkiye, Feb. 11, 2023. Chinese rescuers have successfully saved at least four survivors so far. An 82-member China Search and Rescue Team arrived in Turkiye on Wednesday to join earthquake relief efforts in the country. (Xinhua/Shadati)

Members of the China Search and Rescue Team carry out rescue operation inside earthquake debris in Antakya in the southern province of Hatay, Turkiye, Feb. 11, 2023. Chinese rescuers have successfully saved at least four survivors so far. An 82-member China Search and Rescue Team arrived in Turkiye on Wednesday to join earthquake relief efforts in the country. (Xinhua/Shadati)

Members of the China Search and Rescue Team carry out rescue operation inside earthquake debris in Antakya in the southern province of Hatay, Turkiye, Feb. 11, 2023. Chinese rescuers have successfully saved at least four survivors so far. An 82-member China Search and Rescue Team arrived in Turkiye on Wednesday to join earthquake relief efforts in the country. (Xinhua/Shadati)

Members of the China Search and Rescue Team carry out rescue operation in Antakya in the southern province of Hatay, Turkiye, Feb. 11, 2023. Chinese rescuers have successfully saved at least four survivors so far. An 82-member China Search and Rescue Team arrived in Turkiye on Wednesday to join earthquake relief efforts in the country. (Xinhua/Shadati)

Members of the China Search and Rescue Team carry out rescue operation inside earthquake debris in Antakya in the southern province of Hatay, Turkiye, Feb. 11, 2023. Chinese rescuers have successfully saved at least four survivors so far. An 82-member China Search and Rescue Team arrived in Turkiye on Wednesday to join earthquake relief efforts in the country. (Xinhua/Shadati)

Members of the China Search and Rescue Team carry out rescue operation in Antakya in the southern province of Hatay, Turkiye, Feb. 11, 2023. Chinese rescuers have successfully saved at least four survivors so far. An 82-member China Search and Rescue Team arrived in Turkiye on Wednesday to join earthquake relief efforts in the country. (Xinhua/Shadati)

A member of the China Search and Rescue Team carries out rescue operation on earthquake debris in Antakya in the southern province of Hatay, Turkiye, Feb. 11, 2023. Chinese rescuers have successfully saved at least four survivors so far. An 82-member China Search and Rescue Team arrived in Turkiye on Wednesday to join earthquake relief efforts in the country. (Xinhua/Shadati)

A member of the China Search and Rescue Team carries out rescue operation inside earthquake debris in Antakya in the southern province of Hatay, Turkiye, Feb. 11, 2023. Chinese rescuers have successfully saved at least four survivors so far. An 82-member China Search and Rescue Team arrived in Turkiye on Wednesday to join earthquake relief efforts in the country. (Xinhua/Shadati)

Members of the China Search and Rescue Team carry out rescue operation on earthquake debris in Antakya in the southern province of Hatay, Turkiye, Feb. 11, 2023. Chinese rescuers have successfully saved at least four survivors so far. An 82-member China Search and Rescue Team arrived in Turkiye on Wednesday to join earthquake relief efforts in the country. (Xinhua/Shadati)

A member of the China Search and Rescue Team carries out rescue operation on earthquake debris in Antakya in the southern province of Hatay, Turkiye, Feb. 11, 2023. Chinese rescuers have successfully saved at least four survivors so far. An 82-member China Search and Rescue Team arrived in Turkiye on Wednesday to join earthquake relief efforts in the country. (Xinhua/Shadati)
A German-funded company started production in China's Xiamen 30 years ago. Since then, it has achieved rapid growth and witnessed tremendous achievements in China. #GLOBALink





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A member of the China Search and Rescue Team carries out rescue operations on earthquake debris in Antakya in the southern province of Hatay, Turkiye, Feb. 11, 2023. (Xinhua/Shadati)

ANKARA/DAMASCUS, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- The following are the latest facts about quake-hit Turkiye and Syria.





-- COMBINED CASUALTIES

Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay announced late Saturday that the country's death toll from Monday's earthquakes has climbed to 24,617, bringing the total fatalities with neighboring Syria to over 28,000, with tens of thousands injured.





-- RESCUE EFFORTS

Search and rescue efforts in 10 quake-hit provinces of Turkiye have now begun to turn to debris removal on the sixth day of the disaster. Rescue teams from across Turkiye and around the world were still trying to find survivors in the rubble of toppled buildings and pulled them out against all odds. However, with casualties soaring, few were pulled out of the rubble on Saturday.

Chinese rescuers have successfully rescued at least four survivors so far. An 82-member Chinese rescue team arrived in Turkiye on Wednesday to join earthquake relief efforts in the country. Members of the Blue Sky Rescue Team and other Chinese civil relief squads were also in Turkiye to join the international rescue work.

At least 160,000 people, including foreign teams, were on the field for search and rescue efforts, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday.

An Armenian delegation with five trucks of aid has entered Turkiye through the Alican Border Gate in the eastern province of Igdir, which opened for the first time in 30 years, the state-run Anadolu News Agency of Turkiye reported Saturday.

The World Health Organization (WHO) brought 35 tons of relief aid to the quake-hit Aleppo city in northern Syria on Saturday as WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reached the city and visited some hospitalized people, shelters where displaced people are staying, and damaged areas.





Rescuers work at an earthquake-hit site in Latakia, Syria, Feb. 10, 2023. (Str/Xinhua)

-- PROBLEMS & RESPONSE

In a statement, the Turkish Medical Association warned about infectious diseases that may occur after the earthquake. Damage to infrastructure such as electricity, water, and sewerage increases the risk of water- and food-borne diseases, the statement said.

Addressing the criticism that the quake response was not swift enough, Erdogan said it was impossible to get prepared for a calamity like the earthquakes that struck the country on Monday.

Speaking to reporters during his Syria tour, Ghebreyesus said that easing the U.S. sanctions on Syria within the next 180 days would give a window to bring more emergency supplies and support.

On Thursday, the U.S. Treasury Department issued a so-called six-month sanctions exemption for Syria-bound humanitarian aid, saying the U.S. sanctions in Syria "will not stand in the way" of life-saving efforts. 
This photo taken on Jan. 25, 2023 shows a question session of the Bundestag in Berlin, capital of Germany. (Xinhua/Ren Pengfei)

Germany's internal struggles aside, Europe's largest economy has not entirely given up on the idea of a diplomatic solution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.



By Moritz Rommerskirchen

BERLIN, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- Although Germany was criticized by its partners in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) for its "late" export approval of Leopard tanks to Ukraine, the country is right not to blindly rush into more and more weapon deliveries and plays a key role in calming its western allies.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned against a "public competition to outdo each other along the lines of battle tanks, submarines, aircraft..." NATO must not become a party in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, he said ahead of a special meeting of the European Union (EU).

Amid this balancing act, the office of the German defense minister is considered the "hot seat" among ministerial posts. With his predecessor failing to finish the legislative term, the current Minister of Defense, Boris Pistorius, just took office last month.





The 24th Ukraine-EU summit is held in Kiev, Ukraine, Feb. 3, 2023. (Ukrainian presidential office/Handout via Xinhua)

REQUESTS FOR ARMS

Germany's new defense minister was appointed at a critical time when pressure from NATO partners to supply battle tanks to Ukraine was mounting. Only days after Pistorius took office, the government finally gave its green light for the tanks.

What once began with 5,000 helmets, Germany is now pledging to deliver 14 modern Leopard 2 tanks and gave permission to its allies, most notably Poland, to re-export Leopard tanks from their own stocks. The export of up to 178 of the older Leopard 1 tanks was also approved.

In view of the highly explosive political nature, it was Chancellor Scholz who announced the step. "This decision follows on from our official line to support Ukraine to the best of our ability," said Scholz.

The United States followed suit, pledging 31 Abrams tanks. The West has thus crossed an invisible line that had long been avoided.

The West's military aid, Russia warned, would spark "unpredictable" escalation, dragging NATO members into the conflict. "The United States and its allies are trying to prolong the conflict as much as possible," Russian Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu said recently in a conference call with military officials.

Ukraine meanwhile is demanding more weapons and is asking for fighter jets as well. On Wednesday, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky reiterated this in London during his second foreign visit since the beginning of the conflict.

Germany has so far opposed the delivery of fighter jets. Due to their greater range and firepower, "we would be venturing into dimensions that I would currently warn against," Pistorius said in an interview with Sueddeutsche Zeitung in late January.





Leopard 2 tanks are seen in a training demonstration in Munster, Germany, May 20, 2019. (Xinhua/Shan Yuqi)

EMPTY STOCKS

Germany's ability to supply other nations with weapons is extremely limited due to the country's own undersupply. "The shelves are almost empty," the Inspector General of the country's army found when taking stock last year.

Germany is far from meeting NATO's defense target of 2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) per year, as promised by Scholz when presenting the special defense fund. According to the latest NATO estimates, the country's defense spending was only around 1.4 percent of GDP in 2022.

According to recent official remarks, it was unlikely that the country will meet the 2 percent target before 2025.

Parliamentary Commissioner for the Armed Forces, Eva Hoegl, criticized the "unacceptable" lack of action to fully equip the German military at the end of last year. Almost 20 billion euros (21.4 billion U.S. dollars) would be required to stock up on ammunition alone.

Germany's current stockpile would not even last for a week in the event of a military conflict, she warned.





German Chancellor Olaf Scholz attends a question session of the Bundestag in Berlin, capital of Germany, Jan. 25, 2023. (Xinhua/Ren Pengfei)

AVOIDING ESCALATION

Germany's internal struggles aside, Europe's largest economy has not entirely given up on the idea of a diplomatic solution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Although most important decisions such as the delivery of tanks are well coordinated among western partners, the tone is different. While French President Emmanuel Macron is vowing to help Ukraine to "victory", Scholz is careful not to close all doors on Russia.

Ukrainians would be supported for "as long as it is necessary," he said during the special EU meeting in Brussels on Friday. (1 euro = 1.07 U.S. dollar) 
Women take computer programming classes in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Feb. 8, 2023. (Photo by Herman Emmanuel/Xinhua)

DAR ES SALAAM, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- Jacqueline Msambila, a 24-year-old Tanzanian girl, woke up early in the morning determined to join other girls and women worldwide in marking the International Day of Women and Girls in Science.

Msambila, a second-year student of the University of Dar es Salaam pursuing a master's of arts degree in ethics of governance and public service, marked the day by urging fellow girls and women in Tanzania to embrace science and technology in supporting the East African nation's drive for a digital economy.

Since the International Day of Women and Girls in Science is an annual observance marked on Feb. 11 and adopted by the United Nations General Assembly to promote the full, equal access and participation of females in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields, Msambila feels that the big disparity between men and women, when it comes to knowledge on science and technology, can be bridged if women put more efforts and energy in acquiring the two disciplines.

And that determination pushed the young university student to join coding classes offered free of charge by the Launchpad Tanzania, a civil society organization that focuses on women and youth advancement programs, based in the port city of Dar es Salaam.

Msambila is among 36 girls and women aged between 18 and 30 who are attending classes on coding, digital marketing and graphic design, among others, at the Launchpad Tanzania's head offices in the Sinza suburb.

"We want to unveil a story of these girls who receive this training and how it will increase their participation and bridge the digital gender divide by having more skilled Tanzanian women in the digital economy," Loy Harold Jaffu, helpline manager for the Launchpad Tanzania, told Xinhua in an interview.

Jaffu said there are six girls or women in each class, adding that the organization's goal is to train 36 girls or women during the program that started on Jan. 23 in which training courses last for five to nine weeks.

"We need to increase the number of women participating in technology so as to fill the gap of the digital gender divide and have more Tanzanian women in the digital economy," She said.

Jaffu said from her experience, most women are interested in learning science and technology, but there is a myth in society that science is too hard for women, which is not true.

She said to celebrate International Women's Day on March 8, the Launchpad Tanzania has organized Tanzania Women and Technology Conference; the conference will be held in tandem with an exhibition on innovative and digital solutions by Tanzanian women.

International Women's Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women's equality.

As she finished her class on a cloudy Wednesday afternoon, Msambila urged fellow girls and women to train in science and technology to be able to support the country's drive for a digital economy.

"Since women are half of the Tanzanian population, they have a strong influence to be the leading game changers in pushing for the digital economy," she said with pride. 

Women take computer programming classes in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Feb. 8, 2023. (Photo by Herman Emmanuel/Xinhua)

Women take computer programming classes in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Feb. 8, 2023. (Photo by Herman Emmanuel/Xinhua)
BEIJING, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese mainland delegation on Sunday afternoon mourned Master Hsing Yun, founder of the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist order in Taiwan, at a temple in Yixing, east China's Jiangsu Province.

Long Mingbiao, head of the delegation and deputy head of the Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, attended the mourning ceremony, said a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council.

Others, including officials from the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee, president of the Buddhist Association of China, and representatives from all walks of life in Jiangsu, also paid their tributes.

Master Hsing Yun died on Feb. 5. He was born in Jiangsu and became a monk at the Dajue Temple in the city of Yixing.

The delegation had planned to travel to Taiwan to mourn Master Hsing Yun on Saturday, but the trip could not take place due to the obstruction of the Democratic Progressive Party authorities.

In a videolink talk with the Fo Guang Shan Head Abbot Venerable Hsin Bao at the mourning ceremony, Long said the mainland delegation made a special trip to the Dajue Temple to pay tribute and respect to Master Hsing Yun in gratitude for his important contributions to the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations, according to the spokesperson.

The delegation extended sympathy to the monks of Fo Guang Shan, and hoped they would carry on the last wishes of Master Hsing Yun and continue promoting cross-Strait exchanges, according to the spokesperson.

In the videolink talk, Abbot Hsin Bao pledged efforts to contribute wisdom and strength to advancing Buddhist exchanges across the Taiwan Strait and promoting the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations. 
Quake-affected people rest outside their temporary shelters in Antakya of Hatay Province, Turkiye, on Feb. 11, 2023. Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay announced late Saturday that the country's death toll from Monday's earthquakes has climbed to 24,617, bringing the total fatalities with neighboring Syria to over 28,000, with tens of thousands injured. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

ANKARA/DAMASCUS, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- The following are the latest facts about quake-hit Turkiye and Syria.

-- COMBINED CASUALTIES

Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay announced late Saturday that the country's death toll from Monday's earthquakes has climbed to 24,617, bringing the total fatalities with neighboring Syria to over 28,000, with tens of thousands injured.

-- RESCUE EFFORTS

Search and rescue efforts in 10 quake-hit provinces of Turkiye have now begun to turn to debris removal on the sixth day of the disaster. Rescue teams from across Turkiye and around the world were still trying to find survivors in the rubble of toppled buildings and pulled them out against all odds. However, with casualties soaring, few were pulled out of the rubble on Saturday.

Chinese rescuers have successfully rescued at least four survivors so far. An 82-member Chinese rescue team arrived in Turkiye on Wednesday to join earthquake relief efforts in the country. Members of the Blue Sky Rescue Team and other Chinese civil relief squads were also in Turkiye to join the international rescue work.

At least 160,000 people, including foreign teams, were on the field for search and rescue efforts, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday.

An Armenian delegation with five trucks of aid has entered Turkiye through the Alican Border Gate in the eastern province of Igdir, which opened for the first time in 30 years, the state-run Anadolu News Agency of Turkiye reported Saturday.

The World Health Organization (WHO) brought 35 tons of relief aid to the quake-hit Aleppo city in northern Syria on Saturday as WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reached the city and visited some hospitalized people, shelters where displaced people are staying, and damaged areas.

-- PROBLEMS & RESPONSE

In a statement, the Turkish Medical Association warned about infectious diseases that may occur after the earthquake. Damage to infrastructure such as electricity, water, and sewerage increases the risk of water- and food-borne diseases, the statement said.

Addressing the criticism that the quake response was not swift enough, Erdogan said it was impossible to get prepared for a calamity like the earthquakes that struck the country on Monday.

Speaking to reporters during his Syria tour, Ghebreyesus said that easing the U.S. sanctions on Syria within the next 180 days would give a window to bring more emergency supplies and support.

On Thursday, the U.S. Treasury Department issued a so-called six-month sanctions exemption for Syria-bound humanitarian aid, saying the U.S. sanctions in Syria "will not stand in the way" of life-saving efforts. 

This photo taken on Feb. 11, 2023 shows collapsed buildings after earthquakes in Antakya of Hatay Province, Turkiye. Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay announced late Saturday that the country's death toll from Monday's earthquakes has climbed to 24,617, bringing the total fatalities with neighboring Syria to over 28,000, with tens of thousands injured. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

This photo taken on Feb. 11, 2023 shows collapsed buildings and damaged properties after earthquakes in Antakya of Hatay Province, Turkiye. Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay announced late Saturday that the country's death toll from Monday's earthquakes has climbed to 24,617, bringing the total fatalities with neighboring Syria to over 28,000, with tens of thousands injured. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

A man walks on earthquake debris in Antakya of Hatay Province, Turkiye, Feb. 11, 2023. Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay announced late Saturday that the country's death toll from Monday's earthquakes has climbed to 24,617, bringing the total fatalities with neighboring Syria to over 28,000, with tens of thousands injured. (Xinhua/Shadati)

This photo taken on Feb. 11, 2023 shows collapsed buildings after earthquakes in Antakya of Hatay Province, Turkiye. Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay announced late Saturday that the country's death toll from Monday's earthquakes has climbed to 24,617, bringing the total fatalities with neighboring Syria to over 28,000, with tens of thousands injured. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

This photo taken on Feb. 11, 2023 shows earthquake debris in Antakya of Hatay Province, Turkiye. Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay announced late Saturday that the country's death toll from Monday's earthquakes has climbed to 24,617, bringing the total fatalities with neighboring Syria to over 28,000, with tens of thousands injured. (Xinhua/Shadati)

A Turkish national flag is pictured on earthquake debris in Antakya of Hatay Province, Turkiye, Feb. 11, 2023. Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay announced late Saturday that the country's death toll from Monday's earthquakes has climbed to 24,617, bringing the total fatalities with neighboring Syria to over 28,000, with tens of thousands injured. (Xinhua/Shadati)

This aerial photo taken on Feb. 11, 2023 shows tents for people affected by earthquakes in Antakya of Hatay Province, Turkiye. Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay announced late Saturday that the country's death toll from Monday's earthquakes has climbed to 24,617, bringing the total fatalities with neighboring Syria to over 28,000, with tens of thousands injured. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

This photo taken on Feb. 11, 2023 shows collapsed buildings after earthquakes in Antakya of Hatay Province, Turkiye. Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay announced late Saturday that the country's death toll from Monday's earthquakes has climbed to 24,617, bringing the total fatalities with neighboring Syria to over 28,000, with tens of thousands injured. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

This aerial photo taken on Feb. 11, 2023 shows tents for people affected by earthquakes in Antakya of Hatay Province, Turkiye. Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay announced late Saturday that the country's death toll from Monday's earthquakes has climbed to 24,617, bringing the total fatalities with neighboring Syria to over 28,000, with tens of thousands injured. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

This photo taken on Feb. 11, 2023 shows collapsed buildings after earthquakes in Antakya of Hatay Province, Turkiye. Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay announced late Saturday that the country's death toll from Monday's earthquakes has climbed to 24,617, bringing the total fatalities with neighboring Syria to over 28,000, with tens of thousands injured. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

This photo taken on Feb. 11, 2023 shows collapsed buildings after earthquakes in Antakya of Hatay Province, Turkiye. Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay announced late Saturday that the country's death toll from Monday's earthquakes has climbed to 24,617, bringing the total fatalities with neighboring Syria to over 28,000, with tens of thousands injured. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

This photo taken on Feb. 11, 2023 shows collapsed buildings after earthquakes in Antakya of Hatay Province, Turkiye. Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay announced late Saturday that the country's death toll from Monday's earthquakes has climbed to 24,617, bringing the total fatalities with neighboring Syria to over 28,000, with tens of thousands injured. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

This aerial photo taken on Feb. 11, 2023 shows tents for people affected by earthquakes in Antakya of Hatay Province, Turkiye. Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay announced late Saturday that the country's death toll from Monday's earthquakes has climbed to 24,617, bringing the total fatalities with neighboring Syria to over 28,000, with tens of thousands injured. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

This aerial photo taken on Feb. 11, 2023 shows tents for people affected by earthquakes in Antakya of Hatay Province, Turkiye. Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay announced late Saturday that the country's death toll from Monday's earthquakes has climbed to 24,617, bringing the total fatalities with neighboring Syria to over 28,000, with tens of thousands injured. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

This aerial photo taken on Feb. 11, 2023 shows tents for people affected by earthquakes in Antakya of Hatay Province, Turkiye. Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay announced late Saturday that the country's death toll from Monday's earthquakes has climbed to 24,617, bringing the total fatalities with neighboring Syria to over 28,000, with tens of thousands injured. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

This aerial photo taken on Feb. 11, 2023 shows tents for people affected by earthquakes in Antakya of Hatay Province, Turkiye. Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay announced late Saturday that the country's death toll from Monday's earthquakes has climbed to 24,617, bringing the total fatalities with neighboring Syria to over 28,000, with tens of thousands injured. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

This aerial photo taken on Feb. 11, 2023 shows tents for people affected by earthquakes in Antakya of Hatay Province, Turkiye. Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay announced late Saturday that the country's death toll from Monday's earthquakes has climbed to 24,617, bringing the total fatalities with neighboring Syria to over 28,000, with tens of thousands injured. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

Quake-affected people rest outside their temporary shelters in Antakya of Hatay Province, Turkiye, on Feb. 11, 2023. Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay announced late Saturday that the country's death toll from Monday's earthquakes has climbed to 24,617, bringing the total fatalities with neighboring Syria to over 28,000, with tens of thousands injured. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

Quake-affected people rest outside their temporary shelters in Antakya of Hatay Province, Turkiye, on Feb. 11, 2023. Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay announced late Saturday that the country's death toll from Monday's earthquakes has climbed to 24,617, bringing the total fatalities with neighboring Syria to over 28,000, with tens of thousands injured. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

This aerial photo taken on Feb. 11, 2023 shows tents for people affected by earthquakes in Antakya of Hatay Province, Turkiye. Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay announced late Saturday that the country's death toll from Monday's earthquakes has climbed to 24,617, bringing the total fatalities with neighboring Syria to over 28,000, with tens of thousands injured. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

This aerial photo taken on Feb. 11, 2023 shows tents for people affected by earthquakes in Antakya of Hatay Province, Turkiye. Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay announced late Saturday that the country's death toll from Monday's earthquakes has climbed to 24,617, bringing the total fatalities with neighboring Syria to over 28,000, with tens of thousands injured. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

Quake-affected people rest in a gym in Antakya of Hatay Province, Turkiye, Feb. 11, 2023. Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay announced late Saturday that the country's death toll from Monday's earthquakes has climbed to 24,617, bringing the total fatalities with neighboring Syria to over 28,000, with tens of thousands injured. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

Quake-affected people rest in a gym in Antakya of Hatay Province, Turkiye, Feb. 11, 2023. Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay announced late Saturday that the country's death toll from Monday's earthquakes has climbed to 24,617, bringing the total fatalities with neighboring Syria to over 28,000, with tens of thousands injured. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

Quake-affected people rest in a gym in Antakya of Hatay Province, Turkiye, Feb. 11, 2023. Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay announced late Saturday that the country's death toll from Monday's earthquakes has climbed to 24,617, bringing the total fatalities with neighboring Syria to over 28,000, with tens of thousands injured. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

Quake-affected people rest in a gym in Antakya of Hatay Province, Turkiye, Feb. 11, 2023. Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay announced late Saturday that the country's death toll from Monday's earthquakes has climbed to 24,617, bringing the total fatalities with neighboring Syria to over 28,000, with tens of thousands injured. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)
Six months after the explosion of the Nord Stream gas pipelines which shocked the world, an article by veteran US investigative journalist Seymour Hersh has accused the US of being the culprit of the blasts. Washington has denied the accusations without further explanation, but the article immediately prompted a fierce verbal confrontation between the US and Russia and making waves in geopolitics. Given previous US behaviors, Chinese experts believe that the Hersh report is highly credible and Washington's denial cannot hinder Russia's determination to dig out more evidence from the report's value as a clue. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Wednesday urged the US to give an explanation over its role in 2022 explosion of the Nord Stream gas pipelines. "The White House must now comment on all these facts," Zakharova said in a post on her Telegram page. In response, White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said on Wednesday that the investigative article was "utterly false and complete fiction," and the CIA and Pentagon also dismissed the allegation with similar rhetoric, according to media reports. Hersh, an 85-year-old Pulitzer Prize winner, published the article on his personal website on Wednesday, stating the US military involvement of sabotaging the Nord Stream gas pipelines after senior White House officials' nine-month long plot inside the national security community. Citing sources with direct knowledge of the plot, the article revealed many details of the operation: Explosives were planted by US Navy divers under the cover of the NATO maritime exercise; and a surveillance plane of NATO member Norway triggered the explosives on September 26, 2022 after US President Joe Biden greenlighted the operation. Although there's no final verdict on who was responsible, the US, NATO, as well as investigators from Sweden and Denmark agreed it was "a result of sabotage." Finding smoking gun Some US media had blamed Russia as the likely culprit soon after the Nord Stream explosion in September 2022, but Hersh wrote that political elites from his country has more incentives to destroy the pipeline regarding their words prior to the incident. On February 7, 2022, US President Joe Biden threatened that "if Russian tanks or troops cross the border of Ukraine, there will be no longer a Nord Stream 2." At a press conference in September 2022 about the consequences of the worsening energy crisis in Western Europe, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken suggested halting Nord Stream is a "tremendous opportunity to once and for all remove the dependence on Russian energy" and stop Russia from "weaponizing energy" for political purposes. If Biden were an ordinary citizen, and a tube explosion had happened somewhere in the US after Biden made those threats, his words would have been interpreted by the US procurator as a strong motive, and Biden would bear legal liability,Lu Xiang, an expert on US studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Thursday. Hersh proved his credibility in his investigations on the 1969 massacre of Vietnamese civilians by US forces and US troops brutalizing Iraqi prisoners after the US invasion in 2003, which prompted Lu to believe in his latest investigation of the North Stream pipeline explosion. "Even if it's not 100 percent accurate - exposure of such shady activity can hardly be 100 percent accurate - it's definitely not made up out of nowhere," Lu noted. As of press time, US mainstream media including The New York Times and The Washington Post maintained silence on the matter, which is qualified to be top on a US newspaper's front page. Lu suspected the consistent silence was a sound coordination between the US media and the US government, and the strategy is to deny it and wipe it from news portals even if their smoking gun was caught. Li Haidong, a professor at the Institute of International Relations at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Thursday that as the US had used washing powder to accuse Iraq of possessing weapons of mass destruction, it's a genius of playing dirty. Hersh's courage should be praised, yet analysts expressed concerns about his safety. It is obvious that the US benefited most from the destroyed pipelines. "If the US was behind the sabotage, definitely the Americans would have carefully planned how to destroy or hide the evidence and mislead the public," Li said. Lu said that without an entity in legal sense to be in charge of such international disputes, it is almost impossible to establish a legal fact even if more evidence further support the point that the US was the culprit. But this investigative report will strengthen Russia's determination to dig out more evidence, he said. Reactions to the blasts by some Western leaders also added to suspicion of US, including then British Prime Minister Liz Truss' texting "it's done" to Blinken and former Polish foreign minister's tweet "Thank you, USA." In January 2023, Russia blamed that Sweden and Denmark, who were investigating holes in the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, "have something to hide" and blocked Russia from engaging in the joint investigation. "Whether or not the US is the culprit, Europe has acted too obedient. It is also tragic that as the Russia-Ukraine conflict intensifies, Europe has less and less room to bargain with US on security issues," Li said. European politicians should reflect on whether blindly following the US would ultimately benefit Europe, or just the opposite, the expert said. He urged Europe to effectively strengthen autonomy. "Otherwise incidents like the Nord Steam pipeline blasts could happen again, and the price will again be paid by Europe, not the US."
BEIRUT, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- Forty-six members of Lebanon's 128-seat parliament announced on Saturday that they will not participate in any legislative session before electing a new president of the country.

A statement by the MPs states that they will boycott all forthcoming legislative sessions in light of the presidential vacuum, the National News Agency reported.

The statement was signed by independent MPs as well as MPs from the Forces of Change, Kataeb and Lebanese Forces.

In their statement, the 46 MPs support their claim with Article 75 of the Lebanese Constitution, which stipulates: "The Chamber meeting to elect the President of the Republic shall be considered an electoral body and not a legislative assembly. It must proceed immediately, without discussion of any other act, to elect the Head of the State."

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has called for 11 parliamentary sessions to elect a president since last September, but they failed to elect a new president as the term of former President Michel Aoun ended on Oct. 31, 2022.

Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati failed to form a new government before Aoun left office, making his government go into caretaker mode. Lebanon has an unprecedented dual executive-level power vacuum in the absence of both a president and a fully-empowered government.

Lebanon needs a new president and an effective government capable of undertaking major structural reforms to unlock aid from the International Monetary Fund which might put the country on the path of recovery. 
GUIYANG, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- Zhao Long, who works at a railroad signal workshop, used to worry a great deal about the safety of maintenance personnel during the annual Spring Festival holiday, as increased passenger and train traffic due to travel rush leave less time for maintenance.

Thanks to the introduction of a personnel protection system supported by the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) ahead of the Spring Festival this year, Zhao's concerns have been put to rest.

China's homegrown BDS is being integrated into an increasing number of application scenarios such as positioning, navigation, and international search and rescue.

"The new system allows operators to obtain precise real-time positions of the maintenance personnel along the railways, as they hold terminal devices. Operators at the workshop can guide the on-site maintenance staff through video or voice commands. If they walk out of the secure area, the terminal triggers an alarm," explained Zhao, who has been working at the signal workshop in southwest China's Guizhou Province for a decade. "The new system can better protect the safety of workers."

The new system integrates high-precision positioning technology, electronic fence technology based on GIS, train navigation terminal, Internet of Things and other high-tech features, providing protection for train stations, locomotives and workers, said Yi Pei, a sales manager of BeiDou's business division at Hi-Target International Group Limited.

To date, the new system has been installed at over 600 train stations and covers over 10,000 km of railway lines. More than 15,000 terminals are in use, Yi added.

BeiDou navigation technology has also been used in the agriculture sector. In Botou City, north China's Hebei Province, large corn harvesters have been equipped with autopilots to realize complete automatic harvesting.

"There are more than 200 sets of intelligent agricultural machinery in the city, including drones, sprayers, seeders, tractors and harvesters, all of which are equipped with BeiDou navigation system," said Li Tielian, director of the city's agricultural and rural affairs bureau.

BeiDou's positioning technology has assisted the traffic police in obtaining evidence, dispatching emergency personnel or undertaking rescue operations, and conducting data analysis.

The deep integration of BeiDou and big data, the Internet of Things, and artificial intelligence has been widely used in the fields of transportation, energy, agriculture, communications, meteorology, natural resources, ecological environment, emergency response and disaster relief.

According to the white paper "China's BeiDou Navigation Satellite System in the New Era" released in November 2022, the BDS has entered the fast lane of large-scale application.

In 2021, the overall output value of China's satellite navigation and positioning service industry reached about 470 billion yuan (about 69.24 billion U.S. dollars), the white paper said. 
ALEPPO, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. has imposed systematic sanctions on Iran, Syria, and other countries and collaterally targeted the third parties, which have not only jeopardized the economy and livelihoods of those nations, but also severely disrupted the global economic order.

Already ravaged by wars and sanctions, Syria was battered again by a devastating earthquake on Monday that deprived many locals of almost everything.

On Thursday, the U.S. Treasury Department issued a so-called six-month sanctions exemption for Syria-bound humanitarian aid, saying the U.S. sanctions in Syria "will not stand in the way" of life-saving efforts.

Yet the decision came too late for too many. Syrian experts have said that the U.S. decision to lift sanctions on Syria contradicts what it has claimed, namely that the sanctions did not target humanitarian aid to the quake-hit country.





Produced by Xinhua Global Service
Members of the China Search and Rescue Team carry out rescue operation on earthquake debris in Antakya in the southern province of Hatay, Turkiye, Feb. 11, 2023. (Xinhua/Shadati)

by Xinhua writer Wu Siyu

ANTAKYA, Turkiye, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- Since the Chinese rescue team arrived in Turkiye's worst-hit Hatay Province Wednesday, Asim Latif Erdogdu, a 24-year-old student at Istanbul Technical University, has been our accompanying driver, working tirelessly with the team.

Erdogdu signed up for volunteer relief work immediately after the earthquake. "Every day, many university students like me come from Istanbul to offer help. I came here with 163 volunteers," he said.

As the driver of the Chinese rescue team, Erdogdu has been with us this entire time. He drives the Chinese rescue team members daily from the camp to the site to carry out search and rescue missions. He even participates in the rescue work himself.

With the help of voice translation software, Erdogdu and the team members have been able to overcome the language barrier.

Members from the Chinese Rescue Team of Ramunion conduct rescue work in Belen, Turkiye, Feb. 9, 2023. (Rescue Team of Ramunion/Handout via Xinhua)

"What impressed me most was that on Thursday, Chinese rescue teams, Turkish rescue teams and others were here together to save lives," he said, "I saw the scene, and it's hard for me to describe the feeling."

Witnessing the rescue teams from different countries fighting side by side to rescue survivors from the rubble, Erdogdu was deeply moved. Regardless of nationality, those at the rescue site are doing their best to save lives.

Working with local counterparts on Thursday, the Chinese rescue team pulled out a pregnant woman to safety in the wee hours of the morning and saved two more women from the ruins of collapsed buildings beyond the 72 hours critical for rescue work. As of Saturday noon local time, the Chinese rescue team in Antakya city in Hatay has successfully rescued four trapped people.

Erdogdu will continue to fight with us.





Editor's note: A powerful earthquake struck southeastern Turkiye and northern Syria on Monday. Tens of thousands of people are confirmed dead across Turkiye and Syria, with the numbers expected to rise. The earthquake destroyed people's homes and local infrastructure. Relief supplies are pouring in. Search and rescue efforts are underway.

Journalists of Xinhua News Agency rushed to the epicenter and reported from the frontlines.
Workers make glasswork at the workshop of a company in Hejian City, north China's Hebei Province, Feb. 11, 2023. Hejian City is famous for its glasswork making industry. Now, there are more than 200 glasswork making companies and over 60,000 staff members involved in the industry in Hejian. The annual output of the glasswork reached nearly 10 billion yuan (about 1.47 billion U.S. dollars) and the glasswork has been exported to over 50 countries and regions. (Xinhua/Mu Yu)

Merchants visit the exhibition hall of a glasswork company in Hejian City, north China's Hebei Province, Feb. 11, 2023. Hejian City is famous for its glasswork making industry. Now, there are more than 200 glasswork making companies and over 60,000 staff members involved in the industry in Hejian. The annual output of the glasswork reached nearly 10 billion yuan (about 1.47 billion U.S. dollars) and the glasswork has been exported to over 50 countries and regions. (Xinhua/Mu Yu)

A worker carries glasswork at the workshop of a company in Hejian City, north China's Hebei Province, Feb. 11, 2023. Hejian City is famous for its glasswork making industry. Now, there are more than 200 glasswork making companies and over 60,000 staff members involved in the industry in Hejian. The annual output of the glasswork reached nearly 10 billion yuan (about 1.47 billion U.S. dollars) and the glasswork has been exported to over 50 countries and regions. (Xinhua/Mu Yu)

A worker makes a piece of glasswork at the workshop of a company in Hejian City, north China's Hebei Province, Feb. 11, 2023. Hejian City is famous for its glasswork making industry. Now, there are more than 200 glasswork making companies and over 60,000 staff members involved in the industry in Hejian. The annual output of the glasswork reached nearly 10 billion yuan (about 1.47 billion U.S. dollars) and the glasswork has been exported to over 50 countries and regions. (Xinhua/Mu Yu)

A worker arranges glasswork at the workshop of a company in Hejian City, north China's Hebei Province, Feb. 11, 2023. Hejian City is famous for its glasswork making industry. Now, there are more than 200 glasswork making companies and over 60,000 staff members involved in the industry in Hejian. The annual output of the glasswork reached nearly 10 billion yuan (about 1.47 billion U.S. dollars) and the glasswork has been exported to over 50 countries and regions. (Xinhua/Mu Yu)

A worker makes a piece of glasswork at the workshop of a company in Hejian City, north China's Hebei Province, Feb. 11, 2023. Hejian City is famous for its glasswork making industry. Now, there are more than 200 glasswork making companies and over 60,000 staff members involved in the industry in Hejian. The annual output of the glasswork reached nearly 10 billion yuan (about 1.47 billion U.S. dollars) and the glasswork has been exported to over 50 countries and regions. (Xinhua/Mu Yu)

Workers make glasswork at the workshop of a company in Hejian City, north China's Hebei Province, Feb. 11, 2023. Hejian City is famous for its glasswork making industry. Now, there are more than 200 glasswork making companies and over 60,000 staff members involved in the industry in Hejian. The annual output of the glasswork reached nearly 10 billion yuan (about 1.47 billion U.S. dollars) and the glasswork has been exported to over 50 countries and regions. (Xinhua/Mu Yu)

A merchant visits the exhibition hall of a glasswork company in Hejian City, north China's Hebei Province, Feb. 11, 2023. Hejian City is famous for its glasswork making industry. Now, there are more than 200 glasswork making companies and over 60,000 staff members involved in the industry in Hejian. The annual output of the glasswork reached nearly 10 billion yuan (about 1.47 billion U.S. dollars) and the glasswork has been exported to over 50 countries and regions. (Xinhua/Mu Yu)

A staff member presents glasswork via livestreaming at a company in Hejian City, north China's Hebei Province, Feb. 11, 2023. Hejian City is famous for its glasswork making industry. Now, there are more than 200 glasswork making companies and over 60,000 staff members involved in the industry in Hejian. The annual output of the glasswork reached nearly 10 billion yuan (about 1.47 billion U.S. dollars) and the glasswork has been exported to over 50 countries and regions. (Xinhua/Mu Yu)

A worker makes a piece of glasswork at the workshop of a company in Hejian City, north China's Hebei Province, Feb. 11, 2023. Hejian City is famous for its glasswork making industry. Now, there are more than 200 glasswork making companies and over 60,000 staff members involved in the industry in Hejian. The annual output of the glasswork reached nearly 10 billion yuan (about 1.47 billion U.S. dollars) and the glasswork has been exported to over 50 countries and regions. (Xinhua/Mu Yu)
URUMQI, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- A charter train loaded with 1,440 tonnes of cotton yarns produced in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region left for Foshan, south China's Guangdong Province, on Saturday, marking the launch of fast logistic track linking the cotton production base with the industrial hub.

Li Lin, a transport manager with the yarn supplier from Xinjiang's Kashgar City, said the company has signed an agreement with customers in Guangdong for supplying more than 6,000 tonnes of cotton yarns per month this year.

"The railway authorities have provided us with customized service for the transport, which not only ensures the supply amount but also the transport efficiency," he said.

Li added that the charter train service shortens the time for Xinjiang cotton to reach the south China textile industrial base 5,000 km away by four days.

"The cotton yarn market is favorable this year, and the demand is strong. The Kashgar-Foshan charter train service for cotton yarn is scheduled once a month on regular basis," said Ma Zhimin, with the Kashgar freight transport center of China Railway Urumqi Bureau Group Co., Ltd.

As of Feb. 10 this year, 36,400 tonnes of cotton yarn have been shipped by railway from Xinjiang's cotton production bases of Kashgar and Aksu, a year-on-year increase of 20.02 percent, Ma said. 
A woman receives medical treatment beside earthquake debris in Antakya, Hatay province, Turkiye, on Feb. 11, 2023. The death toll from Monday's devastating earthquakes climbed to 22,327 in Turkiye, while another 80,278 injuries were reported in the country, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced on Saturday night. (Xinhua/Shadati)

ANKARA, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- The devastating earthquakes that shook southern Turkiye and northern Syria was the "worst event" to hit the region in a century, a senior official from the United Nations said on Saturday.

"What happened here on Monday, the epicenter of the earthquake, was the worst event in 100 years in this region," Martin Griffiths, UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, told reporters in the Turkish province of Kahramanmaras.

More than 100 countries have sent emergency response teams to Turkiye, but "we're going to need more than that," Griffiths said.

The UN would launch the appeal to raise money for agencies to come and help the people who've been affected, he added.

"We have a clear plan tomorrow (or) the day after to give an appeal for a three-month operation to help the people of Turkiye with humanitarian assistance, and we will do some similar one for the people of Syria," he said.

As they are coming to the end of the rescue phase, the UN official expressed concern for the second phase of the disaster. "The second phase of a natural disaster of this size is often a medical one, where we have huge worries here and in Syria, of the health problems which have been going on treated," he noted.

Turkiye's response to the disaster was "extraordinary," Griffiths added.

The death toll from Monday's devastating earthquakes climbed to 22,327 in Turkiye, while another 80,278 injuries were reported in the country, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced on Saturday night.

Search and rescue efforts in ten quake-hit 10 provinces of Turkiye have now begun to turn to debris removal on the sixth day of the disaster. Rescue teams from across Turkiye and around the world were still trying to find survivors in the rubble of toppled buildings and pulled them out against all odds. However, while the number of casualties is soaring, the number of injured pulled out of the rubble was so few on Saturday.

In a statement, the Turkish Medical Association warned about infectious diseases that may occur after the earthquake. Damage to infrastructure such as electricity, water, and sewerage increases the risk of water and food-borne diseases, the statement said.

Risks increase for acute respiratory infections such as influenza, and coronavirus, along with the possibility of contact-transmitted diseases such as scabies, lice, fungi, and diarrheal diseases, it added.

Chinese rescuers have successfully saved at least four survivors so far. An 82-member China Search and Rescue Team arrived in Turkiye on Wednesday to join earthquake relief efforts in the country. Members of the Blue Sky Rescue Team and other Chinese civil relief squads were also in Turkiye to join the international rescue work.

At least 160,000 people, including foreign teams, were on the field for search and rescue efforts, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday. All the state dormitories of universities will be reserved for earthquake victims, and university students will have distance learning until the summer, he noted.

Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu slammed Germany and Austria because their teams have suspended their efforts due to security threats, and criticized them for "slandering" Turkiye.

"Austria's search and rescue team left the job with the claim of battering ... From the first day (of the quake), 416 incidents took place. In the six days before the earthquake, 586 events occurred," in the region, the Turkish minister explained.

"230 people have been detained so far, there are more than 20 arrests. Our friends take the security of the logistics warehouses, the security of the debris fields, the security of the tent sites," he said.

A border gate between Turkiye and Armenia has been opened for the first time in decades for the passage of humanitarian assistance for earthquake victims, the state-run Anadolu News Agency reported Saturday.

The Alican Border Gate was last used in the 1988 earthquake in Armenia when the Turkish Red Crescent crossed the border gate to dispatch aid to disaster areas.

The Armenian aid delegation carrying 100 tonnes of food, medicine, and drinking water passed through the gate in the morning toward the southeastern province of Adiyaman, according to a tweet on Saturday by Serdar Kilic, Turkiye's special representative for normalization talks with Armenia.

Turkiye severed diplomatic relations and closed the border with Armenia in 1993 in support of Azerbaijan which was fighting a war with Armenia over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The two neighbors launched talks on normalizing their ties in 2022. 

A woman weeps beside earthquake debris in Antakya, Hatay province, Turkiye, on Feb. 11, 2023. The death toll from Monday's devastating earthquakes climbed to 22,327 in Turkiye, while another 80,278 injuries were reported in the country, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced on Saturday night. (Xinhua/Shadati)

An injured boy walks on a street in Antakya, Hatay province, Turkiye, on Feb. 11, 2023. The death toll from Monday's devastating earthquakes climbed to 22,327 in Turkiye, while another 80,278 injuries were reported in the country, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced on Saturday night. (Xinhua/Shadati)

A woman receives medical treatment beside earthquake debris in Antakya, Hatay province, Turkiye, on Feb. 11, 2023. The death toll from Monday's devastating earthquakes climbed to 22,327 in Turkiye, while another 80,278 injuries were reported in the country, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced on Saturday night. (Xinhua/Shadati)

People sit beside earthquake debris in Antakya, Hatay province, Turkiye, on Feb. 11, 2023. The death toll from Monday's devastating earthquakes climbed to 22,327 in Turkiye, while another 80,278 injuries were reported in the country, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced on Saturday night. (Xinhua/Shadati)

A man holding an injured girl walks on a street in Antakya, Hatay province, Turkiye, on Feb. 11, 2023. The death toll from Monday's devastating earthquakes climbed to 22,327 in Turkiye, while another 80,278 injuries were reported in the country, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced on Saturday night. (Xinhua/Shadati)

People sit beside earthquake debris in Antakya, Hatay province, Turkiye, on Feb. 11, 2023. The death toll from Monday's devastating earthquakes climbed to 22,327 in Turkiye, while another 80,278 injuries were reported in the country, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced on Saturday night. (Xinhua/Shadati)
A group of the Blue Sky Rescue Team, a Chinese civil relief squad, is searching for survivors in Malatya, Turkiye.

Buildings were seriously damaged by the massive earthquakes on Monday.

After detecting heat sources by using a life detector, rescuers demolish the surface of buried areas and attempt to enter for searching.







Produced by Xinhua Global Service
HEFEI, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- On an early morning shortly after the Spring Festival holiday, nearly 100 local enterprises gathered at a public square of Fuyang City in east China's Anhui Province to recruit workers for the new year production.

"I saw the recruitment information on my community social media group. I want to find a job close to home because I have two kids to look after," said Liu Lei, 43, who used to work in electric welding in the coastal province of Zhejiang.

Fuyang, with a population of 10.8 million, is a major source of migrant workers. Roughly 3.8 million, or more than one-third of its population, are working across the country all year round.

However, like Liu, an increasing number of Fuyang residents are looking to work at their doorsteps mainly for two reasons. One, the local average income has increased gradually, although there is still a gap compared with more developed regions along the coast, and secondly, many middle-aged workers have to take care of their elderly parents and young children at home.

There are many job seekers who want to stay and work in the local area, said Wang Fang, from the human resource department at BYD, a leading car manufacturer in China. Four business divisions of the company attended the job fair, aiming to hire more than 1,000 workers for its new factory in Hefei, capital of Anhui.

Working near home has become a consensus shared by an increasing number of migrant workers. Some have decided to return to their hometowns to establish their own businesses after they have gained enough money and experience by working in other regions. In these newly-built factories, surplus rural laborers are absorbed, and the income of rural residents is also increased.

Fuyang has taken a series of measures to encourage and support local people to come back for work or entrepreneurship.

In 2020, an entrepreneurship park was launched in the city's economic development zone, providing low-cost operating sites and services for returnee entrepreneurs. The park is like an incubator that offers services such as legal, financial and human resources support, said Li Dandan, director of the park's operations.

A year later, Yu Liang, a 38-year-old Fuyang businessman, founded a clothing company and settled in the park, employing some 50 workers. The factory area has expanded from 3,000 square meters to 10,000 square meters, thanks to its business growth.

"It only takes about 20 minutes to come from home to the factory by e-bike. I can make over 5,000 yuan (about 740 U.S. dollars) a month, just a little lower than in more developed areas. However, I can spend more time with my family," said Yang Ping, 43, a worker at the company. Several of her neighbors who worked outside Anhui before have also applied to work in the factory this year, Yang added.

Over the past 16 years, more than 63,500 individuals have returned to Fuyang and set up their own businesses, providing 482,000 jobs for the locals.

The returnee workers in Fuyang are indicative of a larger trend in Anhui. The number of Anhui rural migrant workers working inside the province increased from 8.4 million in 2013 to 11.7 million in 2021, data from the Department of Human Resources and Social Security of Anhui Province showed.

A similar situation is observed in the Baimao Township of Anqing City in Anhui Province, where a group of local companies is benefiting from the upsurge in people willing to work close to home.

Walking into the workshop of a local shoe company, dozens of automatic sewing machines can be seen running in full swing. Order volume has continued to soar since the Spring Festival this year, but the production pressure has been greatly eased with the help of returnee workers, said Wu Canwen, who works at the shoe company's administrative department. 
Rescuers carry out rescue operation on earthquake debris in Antakya in the southern province of Hatay, Turkiye, Feb. 11, 2023. (Xinhua/Shadati)

ANKARA/DAMASCUS, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from the twin earthquakes that rocked Turkiye and Syria on Feb. 6 has climbed to 29,605 and 1,414 respectively as of Sunday evening.

The number of wounded, meanwhile, rose to over 80,000 in Turkiye and 2,349 in Syria, according to official figures.

FAULTY CONSTRUCTION

Turkiye has issued arrest warrants for 134 suspects involved in the faulty construction of buildings that collapsed in the earthquakes, Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said on Sunday.

Three of the suspects were arrested, Bozdag told reporters.

The catastrophic earthquakes have flattened more than 20,000 buildings across the 10 quake-affected regions.

Yavuz Karakus and Sevilay Karakus, contractors of many buildings destroyed in the earthquake in southern Adiyaman province, were detained at Istanbul Airport while trying to escape to Georgia, the local NTV broadcaster reported on Sunday.

Two more people were arrested for cutting the column of a building that collapsed in Gaziantep province, the semi-official Anadolu Agency reported.

RESCUE CONTINUES

Thousands of rescuers continued to search for any sign of life in collapsed multi-storey buildings on the seventh day of the disaster. Hopes for finding alive survivors are fading, but the teams still manage some incredible rescues.

Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca posted a video of a girl child rescued at the 150th hour. "Rescued a little while ago by crews. There is always hope!" he tweeted on Sunday.

Rescue workers pulled out 65-years old women in the Antakya district of Hatay province 160 hours after the quake, the Anadolu Agency reported.

A survivor was rescued from the debris in the Antakya district of Hatay province by Chinese and local rescuers on Sunday afternoon, 150 hours after the quake hit the region.

INT'L AID & SUPPORT

The first batch of emergency aid, including tents and blankets, delivered by the Chinese government for earthquake relief has arrived in Turkiye on Saturday.

In the coming days, more emergency supplies, including tents, electrocardiographs, ultrasonic diagnostic equipment and medical transfer vehicles will be shipped in batches from China.

Syria is also receiving supplies from the Red Cross Society of China and the local Chinese community.

The aid from the local Chinese community included infant formulas, winter clothes, and medical supplies, while the first batch of emergency medical supplies from the Red Cross Society of China was sent to the country on Thursday.

On Sunday, Algeria and Libya also sent planes full of relief items to the quake-hit areas.

Meanwhile, foreign heads of state and ministers started to pay visits to Turkiye and Syria for showing solidarity.

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias visited Turkiye on Sunday in a show of support. "We will continue to do our best to overcome difficult times, both at bilateral and the level of the European Union," said Dendias, the first European foreign minister visiting Turkiye after the disaster.

The visit by the Greek foreign minister comes amid long-standing tensions between the two NATO states over territorial disputes.

The Qatari emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the first foreign head of a state visiting quake-hit Turkiye, met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul on Sunday.

Qatar has sent the first part of the 10,000 container houses for earthquake victims in Turkiye, the Anadolu Agency reported.

Also on Sunday, Foreign Minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan visited Syria, promising continuing support for the country to overcome the repercussions of the catastrophic earthquake, Syrian state news agency SANA reported. 

Rescuers are seen near earthquake debris in Antakya in the southern province of Hatay, Turkiye, Feb. 11, 2023. (Xinhua/Shadati)

Rescue teams including Chinese rescuers carry out rescue operation on earthquake debris in Antakya in the southern province of Hatay, Turkiye, Feb. 11, 2023. (Xinhua/Shadati)

Rescuers transfer an earthquake survivor in Antakya in the southern province of Hatay, Turkiye, Feb. 11, 2023. (Xinhua/Shadati)
Syrian volunteers are seen preparing food for displaced people at a charity kitchen in Aleppo, northern Syria, Feb. 12, 2023. (Photo by Monsef Memari/Xinhua)



ALEPPO, Syria, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- During the past painful week after the massive earthquake that hit the already war-torn country of Syria, local charities have been working at total capacity to help the people who are suffering from the deadly tremor.

The Saed Initiative is one of the charities working in Syria for years, with an aim to help people who were impacted by the 11-year war. Usually, they work during occasions such as the holy month of Ramadan, offering free iftar meals, but now they find themselves before a huge duty that could last for months.

Following the earthquake, the Saed Initiative decided to create a charity kitchen that would give free meals the entire year.

The group distributes between 2,500 to 4,000 meals per day in Aleppo, and they have plans to expand the capacity to distribute as many as 40,000 meals per day.

Isam Habbal, the head of Saed Initiative, told Xinhua at their charity kitchen in Aleppo that the Syrians have shown unmatched solidarity during this earthquake crisis as every house sent help to the people in need.

"This is a collective work that is giving service to our community. Indeed, our community shows what it's made of. At some point, before the relief planes arrived, every house sent help, whether from their clothes, medicines, or food and money," he said.

He said that Syrians "proved to the world and ourselves, which is the most important, that we are all one, not separated by cities."

At the kitchen, volunteers were working hard -- some chopping vegetables, others making rice, and many more packing food boxes into cars to be delivered to displacement shelters.

Syrian volunteers are seen preparing food for displaced people at a charity kitchen in Aleppo, northern Syria, Feb. 12, 2023. (Photo by Monsef Memari/Xinhua)



Habbal said that in Aleppo, his group has 150 volunteers working around the clock to secure meal parcels for the people.

At another place in Aleppo, another charity is providing food for the displaced people.

Eyad Abazid, a board member of the al-Bir and al-Ihsan charity, told Xinhua that local charities have shouldered the significant duty to help Syrian people regardless of the aid from outside the country.

He emphasized the importance of local charities in facing hardships, saying foreign humanitarian workers come and go. After all of this, people in the country remain together, so they must help each other.

Abazid said his charity distributes 1,500 meals every day.

"No matter how much foreign assistance we receive, we should be together because these are our families that have been affected. We have to maintain the momentum of helping each other," he said.

The UN said recently that the earthquake in Syria displaced 5.3 million people. The Syrian health ministry said the death toll of the earthquake victims rose to 1,414 dead and 2,349 wounded.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said the earthquake killed over 5,300 people in rebel-held and government areas in Syria, expecting the death toll to rise to as many as 7,000 people due to the number of people under the rubble.
MOGADISHU, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- An air raid carried out by troops including those from Somali National Army (SNA) killed 12 al-Shabab militants in the central region, the allied forces said Sunday.

The collective self-defense air strike, which was carried out Friday at the request of the Somali government, occurred in a remote area about 45 km southwest of Hobyo, Somalia, the forces said in a joint statement.

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has declared an all-out war against al-Shabab, which is affiliated with the al-Qaida-linked terrorist network, since he was sworn into office in May 2022.

The Somali government forces backed by local militia have intensified the onslaught against the militants who have claimed credit to a series of terrorist attacks across the country. 
ADDIS ABABA, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- Teshager Moga described the communication barrier as the prime hurdle that he and fellow officers at the Foreigners' Service Directorate within the Ethiopian Immigration and Citizenship Service (ICS) often encounter in their day-to-day engagements with foreign nationals.

"Here, nationals of different foreign countries come on a daily basis for various issues concerning their stay in our country. Unfortunately, not all of them are able to interact with us through English or other Ethiopian languages," the ICS officer said.

Moga said the Chinese are one of the largest numbers of foreign nationals who come to the ICS to process their visa requirements and other needs. Despite their continued efforts to bridge the gaps in effectively addressing Chinese nationals, challenges emanating from the language barrier still persist.

On Saturday, Moga and 19 others who have been drawn from five directorates within the Ethiopian ICS embarked on a three-month basic Chinese language training program.

The short-term basic Chinese language training program, which will be offered by the Confucius Institute at Addis Ababa University, is expected to enable officers with basic Chinese language command.

Betelihem Hate, one of the 20 trainees, expressed her high expectations for the training in terms of enabling them to better Chinese language proficiency, eventually helping them to enhance their services to Chinese nationals.

"This is a very good and golden opportunity. Aware of the existing communication barrier the Ethiopian Immigration and Citizenship Service had previously hired a Chinese language translator to help facilitate our engagements with Chinese nationals. However, the demand still remains high," Hate said.

Moga also said the three-month training will not only enable him and fellow colleagues with basic Chinese language skills but also to better understand China and its people. "I hope after this training we will be able to better interact and serve our Chinese friends, ultimately significantly improving our day-to-day service provision," Moga said.

General Director of the Ethiopian Immigration and Citizenship Service Bruhtesfa Mulugeta spoke highly of the training during the opening ceremony, as he urged the trainees to serve as connecting bridges between the people of the two countries.

"The support we get shows the collaboration between Ethiopia and the Chinese government and institutions. It will fulfill the gap our officers have, that is a communication gap to serve our customers," Mulugeta said. "One of our honorable and known customers in our services are our Chinese brothers and sisters. In this regard, the language training given by the (Confucius) Institute is crucial to fulfilling the gap."

Shen Qinmin, minister-counselor at the Chinese Embassy in Ethiopia, said cooperation in language education between the two countries cements the two countries' partnership across all sectors and serves as the mainstay of practical cooperation at all levels. He said empowering service providers, such as employees of the Ethiopian ICS, with better communication skills, will create conducive conditions in terms of improving Chinese nationals' experience in the East African country.

Che Zhaoguang, the cultural counselor at the Chinese Embassy in Ethiopia, also stressed the crucial role that language plays in connecting people toward a better future.

"A lot of Ethiopian students have graduated from the Confucius Institute and they can speak quite fluent Chinese and work in big Chinese companies. They are playing an important role in promoting the friendship and cultural relations between our two countries," he said.

Courtesy of the everblooming Sino-Ethiopian ties, the interest in studying the Chinese language is growing fast with newly opening institutes being operational across public universities in different parts of the East African country.

In addition to Addis Ababa University, Chinese language studies are now provided across different public universities throughout Ethiopia, including the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Institute, Bahir Dar University, Mekelle University, as well as Arsi University.

The Confucius Institute at the Addis Ababa University, which started operation in Ethiopia in 2012, has so far registered more than 10,000 students who passed through various levels of Chinese language studies at different facilities across the country, according to figures from the institute.

Addis Ababa University, with the help of the Confucius Institute, has also recently launched its first-ever Master of Arts (MA) program in the Chinese language in Ethiopia -- the Master of Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages (MTCSOL). 
Supplies provided by Libya as humanitarian aid to quake-hit Turkiye and Syria are seen at Mitiga International Airport in Tripoli, Libya, Feb. 12, 2023. The Libyan government on Sunday sent two airplanes full of relief items to Syria and Turkiye to help deal with the impacts of the deadly earthquake. (Photo by Hamza Turkia/Xinhua)

TRIPOLI, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- The Libyan government on Sunday sent two airplanes full of relief items to Syria and Turkiye to help deal with the impacts of the deadly earthquake.

"We sent airplanes carrying relief items as well as more than 70 medical, emergency and recovery personnel," Gibril Shtewi, a Libyan aid official told Xinhua.

The Libyan teams so far rescued 27 people, recovered 53 bodies, and provided medical assistance to more than 400 people in southern Turkiye.

The Libyan government has sent 55 rescue and safety specialists as well as four tracing dogs to "help authorities in Turkiye deal with the consequences of the earthquakes."

More than 30,000 people were killed and many more were injured so far after two strong earthquakes hit Syria and Turkiye on Monday. 

Supplies provided by Libya as humanitarian aid to quake-hit Turkiye and Syria are loaded onto a plane at Mitiga International Airport in Tripoli, Libya, Feb. 12, 2023. The Libyan government on Sunday sent two airplanes full of relief items to Syria and Turkiye to help deal with the impacts of the deadly earthquake. (Photo by Hamza Turkia/Xinhua)
PHNOM PENH, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen on Sunday ordered the Ministry of Information to revoke the license of the West-backed VOD (Voice of Democracy) radio for spreading "slanderous" information.

"To protect the government's honor, I decided to end this case, allowing the Ministry of Information to cancel the license of the VOD radio from now onwards and the radio station must stop broadcasting by 10:00 a.m. local time on Feb. 13, 2023 onwards," the prime minister wrote on his official Facebook page.

The Cambodian government accused the VOD radio for broadcasting an "intentionally slanderous" article pertinent to the country's recent relief aid to the earthquake-hit Turkiye.

Hun Sen urged the radio's foreign donors to take their funding back to their countries or to divert the money to help other countries.

Hun Sen said the article totally distorted the truth regarding the government's budget management system, saying only the prime minister has the authority to make a decision on humanitarian aid to a foreign country.

He had asked the radio to make a correction and apologize publicly, but the broadcaster ignored his request. 
TOKYO, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- Two men were found dead after a fire on Sunday morning burnt down three houses in Tochigi, a Japanese prefecture north of Tokyo, local media reported.

Local police said the house fire at a two-story wooden house in the city of Oyama was reported after 2:00 a.m. local time, Japan's public broadcaster NHK reported Sunday.

The local fire department extinguished the fire about three hours later, but two bodies were found in the burnout of the house, which is believed to be the source of the fire.

In the accident, a total of three residential houses were burnt down as the initial fire further spread to two nearby ones, according to the reports.

A joint police and fire department investigation will be carried out to identify the victims and establish the cause of the blaze.

The site is located in a corner of a residential area about 4 km south of Oyama Station on the Japan railway line. 
MANILA, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- To boost the competitiveness of Filipino workers in overseas labor markets, a Philippine lawmaker has pushed for the promotion of the Chinese language at all school levels.

"We already have the edge in foreign labor markets because our workers can speak English. We should now aspire to double that advantage by encouraging more Filipinos to learn Mandarin early," House of Representatives Minority Leader Marcelino Libanan said in a statement on Sunday.

He added that learning Chinese, the world's most widely spoken language, will open up new opportunities for Filipinos who wish to work or travel in China, and Chinese-speaking countries such as Singapore.

Libanan urged elementary and high schools to encourage the creation of Mandarin student clubs. "We already have many young learners from Filipino-Chinese families that speak Mandarin. They can help put up Mandarin clubs in their schools," Libanan said.

Libanan also called on the country's state universities and colleges to offer Mandarin courses as part of their foreign language programs. 
COLOMBO, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- An inauguration ceremony of the China-Maldives ophthalmology center assistance and cooperation program was held in Hulhumale Hospital on Saturday with the participation of Vice President of the Maldives Faisal Naseem and other officials.

Naseem expressed his gratitude for the China-aided center and the medical expert team sent by China, and voiced his confidence in strengthening China-Maldives relations.

Naseem said the program not only benefits local patients but also provides an excellent opportunity to train local doctors and nurses in the ophthalmology profession.

The material support and technical expertise provided by China will bring an elevated standard of care for the Maldivian citizens, said Minister of State for Health Shah Abdullah Mahir at the inauguration ceremony.

China's medical aid model to the Maldives is shifting from "giving people fish" to "teaching people how to fish," which will not only set a new model of sustainable cooperation between the two countries, but also bring tangible benefits to the Maldivian people, said Chinese Ambassador to the Maldives Wang Lixin.

The program will assist Hulhumale Hospital in the diagnosis and treatment of ophthalmic diseases, with the priority focused on training local medical teams, said Chen Weirong, head of the China-Maldives ophthalmology center.

Chen added that local medical staff will be invited to China for professional training to enable them to complete the diagnosis and treatment of common ophthalmic diseases independently.

At the inauguration ceremony, Wang and Chen donated a batch of medical equipment to Hulhumale Hospital on behalf of China's National Health Commission and the Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center of Sun Yat-sen University based in south China's Guangdong Province. 
Cyprus' outgoing president Nicos Anastasiades (R) votes at a polling station in Limassol, Cyprus, Feb. 12, 2023. The second round of presidential elections started in Cyprus on Sunday morning as more than 1,000 polling stations opened for voting. Two veteran diplomats are vying for the country's presidency for the next five years. (PIO/Handout via Xinhua)

NICOSIA, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- The second round of presidential elections started in Cyprus on Sunday morning as more than 1,000 polling stations opened for voting. Two veteran diplomats are vying for the country's presidency for the next five years.

Former Cypriot Foreign Minister Nicos Christodoulides, who took the lead in the first round, will compete with Andreas Mavroyiannis, a former envoy to the United Nations (UN).

Chief Returning Officer Costas Constantinou said he expects to announce the final result by 8 p.m. local time (1800 GMT), about two hours after all polls are closed.

Fourteen candidates participated in the election campaign, with none winning an absolute majority in the first round. Christodoulides, running as an independent, garnered 32.04 percent of the ballots, compared to 29.61 percent by Mavroyiannis, who also ran as an independent and has the support of the left-wing AKEL party.

Averof Neophytou, leader of the ruling DISY party, ended third with 26.11 percent of the vote and was thus left out of the race, ending the party's decade-long hold on power.

Analysts said that the runoff's outcome is wide open and will be decided by disgruntled DISY supporters following Neophytou's failure.

Christodoulides broke with DISY and quit as foreign minister in early 2022 to run as an independent with the support of three small middle-of-the-road oppositions.

At present, voters of the right-wing DISY party have to choose between a "defector" of their own party and a candidate supported by the left.

Though DISY has urged its supporters to vote at will, several party officials have openly expressed support for one of two candidates.

While Christodoulides, 49, was trying to mend relations with the party by promising to offer government posts if he wins, Neophytou called him "Juda" and an "apostate," saying that DISY won't participate in any government irrespective of the outcome.

Christodoulides also served as director of the Diplomatic Office of the President and a government spokesperson. Before entering politics, he was a university professor of political science and a diplomat.

His wife is also a diplomat, currently leading the crisis management department in the Cypriot Foreign Ministry.

With his campaign promises close to the policies of DISY, Christodoulides said that if elected, his priorities would be to preserve a strong economy, stem the downward spiral of illegal migration and revive the moribund negotiations on the long-standing Cyprus problem.

Mavroyiannis, 66, served in various posts under several governments, such as diplomatic representative to the UN, the European Union and some European countries. He also acted as a negotiator for President Nicos Anastasiades in peace talks with the Turkish Cypriot side in 2014.

Mavroyiannis said he would endeavor to resume the Cyprus peace talks and work with the UN, which has presided over the efforts for a Cyprus settlement for over 50 years.

Mavroyiannis nominated a self-made business person for his finance minister ahead of the runoff to alleviate the fear that more austere economic policies may be introduced.

However, many voters are still haunted by the memories of harsh austerity applied during the worst economic crisis in Cyprus 10 years ago, which was blamed on AKEL policies between 2008 and 2013.

The Cypriot economy was saved from bankruptcy in 2013 by a Euro zone bailout, alongside cuts in salaries and pensions and a haircut on bank deposits. 

Andreas Mavroyiannis, a former envoy to the United Nations (UN), votes at a polling station in Nicosia, Cyprus, Feb. 12, 2023. Mavroyiannis also ran as an independent and has the support of the left-wing AKEL party. The second round of presidential elections started in Cyprus on Sunday morning as more than 1,000 polling stations opened for voting. Two veteran diplomats are vying for the country's presidency for the next five years. (Photo by George Christophorou/Xinhua)

Former Cypriot Foreign Minister Nicos Christodoulides (3rd R), running as an independent, votes at a polling station in Pafos, Cyprus, Feb. 12, 2023. The second round of presidential elections started in Cyprus on Sunday morning as more than 1,000 polling stations opened for voting. Two veteran diplomats are vying for the country's presidency for the next five years. (PIO/Handout via Xinhua)

A man votes at a polling station in Nicosia, Cyprus, Feb. 12, 2023. The second round of presidential elections started in Cyprus on Sunday morning as more than 1,000 polling stations opened for voting. Two veteran diplomats are vying for the country's presidency for the next five years. (Photo by George Christophorou/Xinhua)

A woman votes at a polling station in Nicosia, Cyprus, Feb. 12, 2023. The second round of presidential elections started in Cyprus on Sunday morning as more than 1,000 polling stations opened for voting. Two veteran diplomats are vying for the country's presidency for the next five years. (Photo by George Christophorou/Xinhua)

Two men vote at a polling station in Nicosia, Cyprus, Feb. 12, 2023. The second round of presidential elections started in Cyprus on Sunday morning as more than 1,000 polling stations opened for voting. Two veteran diplomats are vying for the country's presidency for the next five years. (Photo by George Christophorou/Xinhua)
ISTANBUL, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- The Qatari emir visited quake-hit Turkiye and met with the Turkish president in Istanbul on Sunday.

The Turkish presidency said in a statement that Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani visited Turkiye over twin deadly earthquakes which hit 10 provinces in the southern part of the country on Monday.

The two leaders held a closed-door meeting at the Vahdettin Mansion in Istanbul.

Qatar was among the countries which dispatched aid to Turkiye.

The death toll of the earthquakes has climbed to 24,617 in Turkiye, with 80,278 injured, according to the latest official figures. 
People participate in a protest against the government's proposed pension reforms in Paris, France, on Feb. 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)

Air traffic controllers in Paris' Orly Airport went on an unscheduled strike on Saturday, causing half of the flights at the airport canceled.



PARIS, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- The French Ministry of Interior said on Saturday that about 963,000 people across the country protested against the proposed pension reform, up from the 757,000 recorded on Feb. 7.

As for the CGT, France's largest union, the number of Saturday's general mobilization topped 2.5 million, against some 2 million on Tuesday.

French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne laid out details of the plan in January, which would progressively raise the legal retirement age by three months a year from 62 to 64 by 2030, and introduce a guaranteed minimum pension.

Starting in 2027, the plan would also require at least 43 years of work to be eligible for a full pension.

A man participates in a protest against the government's proposed pension reforms in Paris, France, on Feb. 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)

Though certain regions of France have entered winter school holidays, the number of demonstrators rose in many cities.

In Paris alone, the Paris Police Prefecture counted 93,000 people marching in the streets, a record since the beginning of general mobilization against the reform.

At least ten people have been arrested, while a gendarme is injured in the eye, the Paris Police Prefecture added.

Main unions in France also jointly called on workers to "bring France to a halt in all sectors on March 7" if the government and the parliament refuse to hear the population's contestation.

They threatened to organize actions "to highlight the major social injustice of this reform against women" on March 8, the International Women's Day.

Policemen stand guard during a protest against the government's proposed pension reforms in Paris, France, on Feb. 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)

Air traffic controllers in Paris' Orly Airport went on an unscheduled strike on Saturday, causing half of the flights at the airport canceled.

The French Directorate General for Civil Aviation noted that it had not received any notice or call for a strike. "Minimum service provisions have not been activated", it said. 
Brazil: Jair Bolsonaro, a former president, declared on Saturday that he would be coming back to Brazil "in the coming weeks."

Bolsonaro made his remark about going home for the first time in public during an event at an evangelical church in Florida.

Since arriving in Orlando, Florida, on December 31, the day before his leftist rival Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva took office as Brazil's current president, the far-right politician has been living in the United States.

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The right-wing group Yes Brazil USA organized Saturday's event, which was held entirely in Portuguese for a Brazilian audience of Bolsonaro supporters living abroad. All through the event, Bolsonaro received cheers.

When Bolsonaro might return to Brazil, where he is the focus of numerous inquiries into potential wrongdoing, has been the subject of speculation in recent weeks.

His initial diplomatic visa allowed him to enter the country for one month; it expired on January 31. His wife, a group of presidential advisers, and they all left Florida last month with him.

Bolsonaro's attorneys recently disclosed to Brazilian media that they had applied for a tourist visa to extend his stay in the United States.

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One of Bolsonaro's sons, Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro, told Brazilian reporters that he didn't know when his father would return amid the rumors regarding his plans. "He might never come back; it could be tomorrow or in six months. I'm not sure. He's unwinding," the son reported.

Bolsonaro no longer benefits from the special legal protection that requires any trial to take place at the Supreme Court for the first time in his more than three decades of political service, first as a lawmaker and then as president.

Four inquiries into Bolsonaro have been sent to the trial court this past week after being in the Supreme Court for a week.

One of the questions being looked into is whether Bolsonaro played any part in inciting the riot on January 8 when his supporters stormed into government buildings in the capital city of Brasilia and demanded that his election loss to Lula be annulled.

The large gathering of Bolsonaro supporters, who traveled to the capital from all over Brazil, is also the subject of an investigation into who organized and funded it.

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Who instigated the crimes and who provided the funding for people to travel to Brasilia is one of the investigations being conducted by the Brazilian justice system.
Berlin: German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has acknowledged that she erred when she said, in front of the European Council late last month, that the European Union and Russia were at war.

However, the diplomat pointed out that the overarching messagethat the continent should band together in support of Ukraineremains valid.

Baerbock was questioned about whether she believed Germany was "at war with Russia" in an interview with Der Tagesspiegel that was published on Saturday. Although she added that Moscow was also attacking "our European peace order" by attacking Ukraine, she gave a negative response.

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The foreign minister explained her earlier statement, in which she claimed that the EU was "fighting a war against Russia," and insisted that context was essential to its proper comprehension.

Baerbock recalled having to deflect criticism that Berlin was not doing enough to support Ukraine at the time, with critics citing Berlin's refusal to send tanks to Kiev.

Because of this, the diplomat stated, "I made it clear that we do support Ukraine in its self defense." She continued by saying that she was also attempting to make another point, namely that Moscow's offensive had targeted the entire security system of Europe and not just its neighbor.

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According to Baerbock, the propaganda of the Russian regime had purposefully misrepresented her words. The German proverb "The one who doesn't make mistakes, doesn't live" was the last thing she said.

At the time, Moscow responded to Baerbock's remark by stating that it had only served to demonstrate how the West had been preparing for the current conflict for years. Many domestic politicians on the right and left of the political spectrum did not agree with her choice of words.

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According to Bild, Chancellor Olaf Scholz's office was allegedly keeping track of Baerbock's mistakes as it grew more and more dissatisfied with her performance.
Islamabad: Before traveling thousands of miles between Islamabad and Makkah to perform Umrah and advance a "soft image" of his nation in the Middle East, a Pakistani man painted his motorcycle with traditional truck art.

South Asian animals, celebrities, and floral patterns are depicted in the murals on Pakistani trucks that are painted in bright colors. It got its name because it was initially only associated with lorries, even though the art form later turned into one of the most well-liked exports from the nation.

Following Saudi Arabia's recent relaxation of its travel regulations for umrah pilgrims by extending their visas' validity to three months and allowing them to visit other cities, many Pakistani bikers have recently traveled there.

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55-year-old businessman Aziz ul Hassan Hashmi left Pakistan's mountain resort town of Murree on November 27 and arrived in the kingdom on January 26 after traveling through Iran, Iraq, and Jordan.

In a phone interview with Arab News from Madinah, Hashmi said, "I started this journey to promote peace and a soft image of Pakistan with a message that it is a peace-loving country that is full of colorful cultures and art."

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He stated, "That was the reason I converted my bike [and had truck art designed on it], adding the art form was distinctive and well-known worldwide.

People loved my bike on my journey and took pictures with it everywhere I went, he continued.

Hashmi claimed he told people that Pakistan's vibrant colors stood for the country's diversity in terms of its people, art, and culture.

"I want to show different facets of Pakistani culture to the world through my bike," he continued. "The artwork on my bike represents the culture of all provinces, including Azad Kashmir."

The cost of getting the vehicle fully designed, however, as well as the bike trip across several nations, turned out to be quite expensive.

The bike to truck art conversion cost about Rs250,000 ($918), he said, adding that the tour's overall costs came to about Rs1.7 million ($6,241). Since Makkah is regarded as the center of world peace, that is where I first went.

If the appropriate authorities gave him permission, Hashmi said he also intended to travel the following week to the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, the third holiest site for Muslims, to offer Friday prayers.

Although they typically grant special permission on paper at the Jordan border to visit Al-Aqsa for a short period of time without a visa, he continued, "I cannot travel there on a Pakistani passport." I'll take a chance over there.

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According to an official statement, Hashmi's distinctive way of representing Pakistan abroad led the nation's consul general in Jeddah, Khalid Majid, to give him a certificate of appreciation for making the journey from Pakistan to Saudi Arabia.
Indore: A sex racket has been busted in the Indore city of Madhya Pradesh. Police have arrested 3 girls including a foreign girl and a youth running the racket. It is being told that the arrested girl is from Uzbekistan, and was sent to the customers as Russian. Tejaji Nagar police station of Indore has executed this action. Police are tracing other persons associated with the racket.

In fact, the Tejaji Nagar police station had received information from its informer that a sex racket was being run in a beauty parlor located in Rani Bagh Colony. Based on the information of the informer, the police team reached the spot. During the raid, the police arrested three girls from the beauty parlor and the racketeer, Javed. But during this, his wife, who was supporting Javed in running the racket, managed to escape from the spot.

According to the police, the sex racket was being operated in the guise of a beauty parlor in the flat. Javed used to operate this racket. 3 girls have been arrested, out of which two are from Delhi and one girl is from Uzbekistan. Police said that a lot of objectionable material has also been recovered from the spot. It was told that the arrested Uzbek girl was sent to the customers by pretending to be Russian. Javed and his wife are the main kingpins of the sex racket. Both of them used to bring girls from abroad and other states of the country on a contract basis and get them to do unethical work. On the sex racket busted, Indore ACP Ashish Patel has said that the raid was conducted on the basis of informer's information. The kingpin's wife is absconding, in whose search the police are continuously conducting the raids. Further legal action is being taken in the matter.

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MP Honcharenko on ex-SBU chief, cabinet reshuffle, Zelenskyys Europe trip, and defense minister in limbo 12 February, 08:00 PM Oleksiy Honcharenko (Photo:  / Facebook)

In an interview with Radio NV, MP Oleksiy Honcharenko analyzed whether President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's visit to Europe was successful, why it is still unknown whether the activities of former SBU head Ivan Bakanov actually led to human casualties, and what personnel changes may take place in the Cabinet in the near future.

 What is being said on the sidelines of the Rada about Zelenskyy's visit to Europe? How satisfied are the parliamentarians with what they managed to bring back from there? And what do you personally think about this visit? What are the consequences? Have we done enough to push our partners to provide Ukraine with the weapons to win?

Video of day

 It's hard for me to give any final assessment of the visit yet. It seems that in any case, it was successful. It is good and right that the president continues his foreign policy activities after his visit to Washington.

I have actually been saying this since last summer. Back then, I was campaigning and advocating that the president should have attended the G7 meeting in Bavaria, followed by the NATO summit in Madrid. At the time, I participated in this NATO summit, and I was the only Ukrainian MP there  not a single minister was present, no President. And I think it was worth starting back then. But that was the decision that was made.

However, it is right that the president is starting to leave the country. Of course, many people have been traveling to Kyiv and will continue to do so, but it is also very important to go to them. Ukraine has a lot of issues  weapons, financial support, sanctions  and the president, as the head of state, the head of the diplomatic front, as a person who is extremely popular in the world today, should use this popularity and this reputation that the entire Ukrainian people have created together to benefit Ukraine.

 In fact, the European Parliament was Ukrainianized. Everyone responded well with "Glory to the Heroes!"

 Absolutely. It's fantastic. And the accents are very well placed. Washington is first, which is also right. Then London, Paris, Brussels. I think the accents and signals are correctly placed.

That's why I think the visit was successful. And this small tour was a success.

We do not yet fully understand whether the issue of warplanes has been resolved. But we already understand that there will be training. This is very good because it is the beginning.

Did we manage to increase the number of armored vehicles that Ukraine will receive? A total of 80 or even 150 (tanks) is not enough to turn the tide at the front. It's very good, it's better than zero, obviously, but we need more. Whether we have succeeded or not, we cannot state this yet.

Did we manage to resolve the issue of long-range missiles, which is very important for us today? (This) is something that could dramatically change the situation at the front. Again, we do not know the answer yet. But I'm sure that an attempt has been made, and we'll see what happens next. That's why I am positive about it.

 The president said that there will be good news, which cannot be announced yet.

 God willing. I think this visit was definitely not in vain. And I think there are really significant, tangible results.

 You are one of the co-authors who submitted a draft resolution to the PACE to recognize the Wagner PMC as a terrorist organization. Which countries are ready to support this draft resolution? And what will it do? Will it complicate the activities of these terrorists?

 This is important. First, it is the discussion at the level of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Let me remind you that the Council of Europe itself unites 46 countries after we finally kicked Russia out. That is, the entire European Union plus other countries. This is a very important platform. The very fact of discussions on this platform is important to remind everyone who is who. We need to promote this Ukrainian agenda constantly.

Of course, this will not have any direct legal consequences, but it is a step towards making the legislatures of these 46 countries do so.

Let me remind you: when we made a decision on the tribunal in PACE, a certain chain reaction began in other parliaments, which began to follow suit. Or when we began to say that this is genocide at the PACE level, then European parliaments began to pick up on it. Because PACE sets the tone. If we talk about it at this level, then the parliaments of the countries begin to adopt it and use it, to move forward. So I think this is an important resolution.

 What should be the next box to be checked? What will be the next task of the PACE for you personally?

 We have a lot of tasks there. The January session recently ended, where we adopted, I think, a very important resolution that speaks of a tribunal for Putin and Lukashenko.

This is also a political signal. By the way, it's important that Lukashenko is also there. Somehow we often forget him here, but Belarus is occupied, Lukashenko is simply a criminal and Putin's puppet who is fully responsible for everything that is happening. That is why this was an important resolution.

We have to raise all the issues that Ukraine needs at the PACE level. The legal front: the tribunal, freezing of Russian assets, their seizure, compensation for Ukraine. This was also spelled out in the relevant resolutions, but we will need to continue to raise these issues.

The fate of Ukrainians in Europe is also something that we have spelled out in resolutions at the PACE level, and we need to go further. And today there are millions of Ukrainians abroad, especially in the member states of the Council of Europe. The Council of Europe is an important platform for protecting their rights.

 You mentioned the freezing of Russian assets and their transfer to Ukraine. Certain such processes have already begun in Estonia and the United States. Can we conclude that the process is ongoing in this regard?

 Yes, it is definitely underway. Of course, we would like it to be much faster, but the situation is unprecedented. Now we need to understand that a new chapter of international law is actually being written, and significant changes are taking place in international law. And what seemed impossible yesterday is beginning to happen.

And it is very important that the United States (started the process), because we understand that private property is an absolutely sacred cow for the United States, and this country is built on it. But at the same time, they have already set the first precedent by adopting the relevant legislation: assets worth $5.2 million have been seized and confiscated and will be transferred to Ukraine. And this is very important.

A similar law was passed in Canada. Europe is very important here, because there are huge Russian assets, both state and private, ranging from oligarchs to (propagandist Vladimir) Solovyov with his villa on Lake Como, and many others. That is, there are tens and hundreds of billions of euros worth of assets that Ukraine desperately needs, because the country is devastated, and we need to rebuild. And it is obvious that it is not the taxpayers of the United States, France or Germany who should pay for this, but Russia, which has done all this.

That is why this is a very important process, and it has started. It will be difficult. There will be more debates and trial rollercoasters. Legally, it is all very complicated, especially when it comes to the sovereign assets of Russia as a state. It will be a very difficult process. However, we have to push through it, because for us it is a matter of rebuilding our country.

 You said that an interesting draft law has been registered in the Ukrainian Parliament, which would punish MPs for breaking news from the Rada. Could you explain what it is about, what are the provisions of this document?

 I think this story is both absurd and ridiculous. But the trend we see is actually very disturbing. Unfortunately, this is not the only thing that manifests itself.

A little bit of background. It will soon be a year (since the full-scale invasion started). The Verkhovna Rada has always been, for all its shortcomings, the most open body of state power in Ukraine. It has always been. Because the sessions are broadcast online, anyone can turn on the TV and watch. There were a lot of journalists working behind the scenes, and then during the COVID (pandemic), it was complicated a bit, but then it was brought back. And that's the way it should be. Transparency is the only way to the result, to the fact that we are a democracy. Otherwise, this is the Russian Federation.

Unfortunately, the Verkhovna Rada sessions have not been broadcast for a year. At first, this was absolutely understandable. But it's been a year now. The Verkhovna Rada meets, but there is no broadcast.

I have repeatedly raised this issue from the rostrum of the Verkhovna Rada (but people do not hear it). They explain it by security: "What if Russia finds out that we are meeting live and attacks us with missiles?" First of all, I want to remind you that we gathered in the Verkhovna Rada building when the Russian army was physically located 30 kilometers away from the building itself. I was one of those who said at the time that we should gather in the Verkhovna Rada building, not in a shelter or somewhere else, because we needed to show Ukrainians and the world that the Verkhovna Rada is alive, the country is not beheaded. The president is in Kyiv, which is a very good example. But the parliament is in Kyiv, and it must also show this. And this was, I think, very important.

So I don't understand why. Okay, Russian planes take off, air raid alert, let's go down to the shelter then. I'm not even talking about the fact that Opposition PlatformFor Life MPs are sitting in the Verkhovna Rada building and attending the meetings. So to think that Russia doesn't know when we are going to meet, I think, is a bit ridiculous. Until recently, Medvedchuk received invitations to our meetings, he was a sitting MP. But we pretend that Russia doesn't know something.

 What is the real goal then? Who exactly do they want to restrict? You say that you and Zheleznyak who have been tweeting and posting on Telegram.

 Because we (me and Yaroslav Zheleznyak) are the ones who inform on our Telegram channels, Facebook, and so on about what is happening in the Verkhovna Rada, what decisions the Verkhovna Rada is making.

Let me reiterate this. Even if we take the security format, what prevents us from recording the entire session of the Verkhovna Rada (it is recorded anyway) and showing it two hours after it ends in full, so that people can see everything that is happening in the Verkhovna Rada?

At the same time, we have the Rada TV channel, which shows anything but the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. I think this is wrong. So I'm trying to open up the authorities, to show what's going on. And here comes this law, which aims to prohibit us from informing during the meeting and for an hour afterwards. But after an hour, you can inform. It seems absurd to me. It's not clear why they need to close it.

 What penalties do you face?

 The proposed penalties are as follows: the lawmaker who informed has thus violated the law (if this becomes law), and such an MP should be removed from the meeting and banned from working for up to five session days. It's a complete absurdity.

Okay, I won't report it myself, I'll send it to you, and you will report it as NV. Then it's okay? It's absurd.

I am just very pleased with the signatories of this bill. Among them are such "fighters" for parliamentary as (oppositionists) Yuriy Boyko and Nestor Shufrych. They continue to be Ukrainian members of parliament. They, along with our Speaker (Ruslan) Stefanchuk, First Deputy Speaker, and others, signed this bill to slightly shut down the Verkhovna Rada. It's a stupid initiative, and of course it won't work. But it is very indicative.

 It's just a bill for now, right?

 It's just a draft law, but it's signed by the Speaker of the Parliament and the First Deputy Speaker. And there are quite a few signatories. So, to be honest, I see it as having quite high chances (of being passed).

The adoption of this bill will not change anything for me. I will certainly inform the public. I respect any law, but I will continue to inform about what is happening in the Verkhovna Rada.

But tell me, are we moving in the right direction at all? It seems to me that the right direction is to become more transparent, not to close as many government agencies as possible. Because as a result, we end up with eggs at 17 hryvnias a piece in the procurement of the Defense Ministry or some other such things. The more transparency, the better.

 Ukraine has completed an internal investigation into the former head of the Security Service, Ivan Bakanov. It is known that he is now in Ukraine. Do you know if any violations were found in Bakanov's activities?

 This is the first time I'm hearing about this from you. I missed this news. Finally. I raised this question many times: what about Bakanov? Because we were told that he had violated the military regulations, and the consequences were human casualties, so it was extremely serious. But I don't know.

 This was reported by MP Fedir Venislavskyi on Feb. 11. He says that special procedures for checking Bakanov have been completed, and the public will be informed when it is timely. Because there are some classified materials, checks with limited access. In fact, this is all that was in his statement.

 So what is the problem with saying whether Bakanov is guilty of something or not? The checks have already been completed, but we won't tell you the results because it's a military secret? Well, tell us, did Bakanov violate the military charter, which led to human casualties? That was the wording of the presidential decree. I'm not making this up off the top of my head. Or did he not?

 We wanted to find out from you.

 You will not find out from me, because no one tells us about it.

We have not had a question hour for the government since Feb. 24. No one comes to us. The last time, when they voted to appoint Vasyl Malyuk as the new head of the SBU, Malyuk himself came as a candidate and answered some questions from the rostrum of the Verkhovna Rada. But he did not tell us anything special.

So, unfortunately, as a member of the Ukrainian parliament, I don't have any information (to share). But we did raise the question: what about Bakanov? Now we are told that the investigation has been completed. We spent six months trying to obtain information. Now I hope that it will not take six months for us to find out whether Bakanov has violated anything or not.

 Ihor Klymenko and Vasyl Malyuk are now the new heads of the Interior Ministry and the Security Service. A few days ago, David Arakhamia said that there would be some reshuffling in the government in the near future. But this hasn't happened yet. What information do you have? Maybe there are some backstage rumors about who might be dismissed and appointed?

 Actually, I do have some insights.

I once posted (information) that Kyrylo Tymoshenko would be dismissed. I was the first to report it. Kyrylo Tymoshenko said it was not true. As it turned out, I was absolutely right.

I think there will be these changes. There are questions about a number of ministers. We are talking about the Minister of Energy, the Minister of Education. The question is whether they will remain in their positions. We will see. I think there will probably be some changes in the near future.

And we still have an unclear situation with the Minister of Defense. It was no longer some kind of inside (rumor)...

 Journalists are told that the Rada wants to change the law on the appointment of the Minister of Defense. This is all allegedly being done for the current head of Ukrainian intelligence, (Kyrylo) Budanov.

 We saw this in an interview with (MP) Mariana Bezuhla, where she said this.

Let me remind you that the law says that the Minister of Defense must be a civilian. As it is in all civilized countries and in the free world, which we aspire to, in the EU, which we want to join. The Minister of Defense must be a civilian. Yes, it can be a former military man, but it cannot be an active military man. And here we are told that they want to change this.

Again, in which direction are we moving? The direction of Russia, where this pseudo-marshal (Sergey) Shoigu is? Or are we moving towards Europe, where the Minister of Defense is exclusively civilian? So I don't understand the point of this idea.

There are such talks, rumors... This is not even a rumor: Budanov refuses to resign as a serviceman. He is a serving general today. And, according to the law, he cannot become the Minister of Defense, cannot be appointed. In order for him to be appointed, there is a way: he must be dismissed from military service, become a retired general, and then he can be appointed defense minister. But Budanov does not want to do this, he does not want to resign from military service.

And then these things appear  that we may amend the law.

But I would go back a step. Now we are talking about Budanov, but we still have Reznikov. We still have the current defense minister. And I really don't like the situation when Reznikov is in limbo". We do not understand what will happen next. The minister of defense, especially of a country at war, should not be a lame duck. He shouldn't be in limbo.

Either you fire him or say "we've changed our minds" and Reznikov will work for a long time. He's going to Ramstein on Feb. 14, and they'll all be looking at him. The first question his colleagues will ask him is: "Who will come to the next Ramstein? Is it still you? Or someone new?" It shouldn't be like this, that the defense minister is "in limbo", this is the wrong way. Either dismiss him or say that there are no issues, he will continue to work.

I really don't like this whole situation.

If we go back to Budanov, I don't really understand the idea of appointing Budanov as defense minister. Budanov is a real fighting general for whom I have respect. And I know some very cool operations that he has organized, even personally participated in some of them.

However, should the minister of defense be a combat general? Today, the minister of defense is a manager and a diplomat. The minister of defense does not plan any military operations, let alone participate in them. The task of the minister of defense is to provide food for the army, to provide everything the army needs, and today it is also to negotiate for weapons.

It seems to me that if we take a combat general (no matter what his surname is) and put him in charge of the defense ministry, we lose a combat general because he will no longer be able to engage in operations. On the other hand, we will not get a strong minister, because the minister's tasks are completely different. That's why I don't understand it.

 The SBU has served a notice of suspicion of treason to MP (Oleh) Voloshyn. How will the story with the traitorous legislators pan out? Do you think they will take away the mandates of all Opposition Platform MPs?

 I do not think so. I submitted a relevant draft resolution to the Verkhovna Rada back in August, and it is still lying around. Unfortunately, we see that they do not want to do this. Some (mandates) are being taken away gradually, but for the most part they are kept.

Shufrych is still the head of the Committee on Freedom of Speech. It is he who is now defending your freedom of speech on Radio NV  Nestor Shufrych. I don't know how this can be explained a year after Feb. 24, but it remains the same.

The petition on the president's website that I registered garnered 25,000 votes. They actually responded to it. And MPs from the Opposition Platform are still sitting in parliament. That's all. Thus, creating a great threat to the national security of Ukraine. I'm not talking about the issue of justice, but once again, creating a huge threat to the national security of Ukraine.

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NATO to extend again term of office of Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg 12 February, 03:10 PM NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (Photo:REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo)

NATO member countries intend to extend again the term of Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg until next spring, as the alliance seeks to maintain stability during the war in Ukraine, German newspaper Welt am Sonntag reported on Feb. 12, citing unidentified diplomatic sources.

However, Stoltenberg himself wants to leave his post in the fall of 2023.

Stoltenberg was supposed to resign from his post in September. However, according to the publication, NATO member countries have agreed on a new regulation.

NATO members will extend Stoltenbergs term until April 2024 due to his outstanding achievements and to guarantee the military alliances stability during the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Video of day

There is an informal agreement among the 30 member states that Stoltenberg should remain in position beyond the end of his term on Sept. 30, the newspaper said, adding that a formal decision would be made in the coming weeks.

However, the NATO spokesperson, Oana Lungescu, said that (Stoltenberg) has no intention of seeking a further extension of his presidency.

Stoltenbergs mandate has already been extended three times, and he has been in office for almost nine years.

The extension of his term will also allow him to chair the organizations 75th anniversary summit in Washington in April 2024, the publication noted.

Stoltenberg could potentially become president of the World Bank when David Malpass steps down around the same time.

No decision has yet been made on who will replace Stoltenberg after his term expires, but Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and U.K. Defense Secretary Ben Wallace are among the leading candidates for the job.

Earlier, U.S. news website Politico reported that NATO may extend the mandate of the Secretary General of the alliance for another year.

In March 2022, NATO leaders agreed to extend Jens Stoltenbergs mandate. He will remain in his position until Sept. 30, 2023.

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MISSION VIEJO, Calif., Feb. 12, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Just over 100 hours after the first earthquake hit northwest Syria, global charity Human Appeal has offered 1,000 newly built brick homes as housing for internally displaced families who lost their homes in the massive earthquake that recently struck the region.

NGO Human Appeal's Al Zohoor town, Idlib, northwest Syria.

Human Appeal is the first international humanitarian NGO to offer permanent homes as shelter for those who lost their homes in northwest Syria due to the natural disaster.

The homes are part of a town settlement project by Human Appeal called Al Zohoor (in English the floral town) near Idlib northwest Syria, recently completed to provide permanent housing to 1000 internally displaced Syrian families due to the ongoing conflict.

Each single storey home comprises a modern design that includes a bedroom, living room, kitchen, bathroom and will offer electricity and running water. The project forms part of a major development by the charity in its ongoing efforts to alleviate the suffering of internally displaced families in the area.

Demonstrating Human Appeal's success in building permanent homes for displaced families in Syria, the Al Zohoor town follows on the heels of its first successful housed settlement already populated by families with 272 houses in Azaz, north of Aleppo.

Human Appeal has been active in humanitarian deployments and projects in northwest Syria for the last decade, providing ongoing medical and humanitarian assistance. Its biggest ongoing programme in the area focuses on healthcare such as mobile clinics and its Al Imaan hospital that Human Appeal has been running since 2014. The hospital provides ongoing primary medical care and a maternity ward for local residents. It offers much needed medical assistance to over 2,300 people in northwest Syria each month.

"The homes will still be offered to internally displaced families in northwest Syria but will now prioritize those Syrian families who have lost their homes and possessions due to the recent deadly earthquake. There are now even more displaced people in a region where 2.8 millionout of a total population of 4 millionwere already displaced. The huge consequences of this disaster require large scale international aid. Some of these displaced families do not even have a tent to shelter in from the current bitter winter conditions or coming harsh heat of summer," commented Dr. Mohamed Ashmawey, CEO of Human Appeal.

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About Human Appeal USA:

Human Appeal USA is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization.

Tax ID # 87-2410117. Your donations are tax deductible.

CONTACT: Human Appeal Inc., 26050 Acero, Suite 415, Mission Viejo, CA 92691, USA

Tel.: +1 949 569 9060

Email: customercare@humanappealusa.org

For more information visit: www.humanappealusa.org

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SOURCE Human Appeal
When the idiot heir brings down the entire empire: Corporate royalty may keep the company bloodline strong, but it can be a real threat to the rest of us

In an observation that launched a thousand tweets last year, one Gen Z social media user lamented that her new favorite actress on HBOs Euphoria wasnt the scrappy up-and-comer shed assumed she was.

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Maude Apatow, daughter of filmmaker Judd Apatow and actress Leslie Mann, was in fact a nepotism baby. Apatows name might not have been a wooden horse, but it certainly gained her access to the inner realm of Hollywood  or at the very least, gave her a slight advantage.

From there, Gen Z did what they do best: get right to the bottom of it. The term nepo baby dominated the internet for the last half of 2022, as they unraveled all the connections between Hollywood heavyweights and their offspring.

But its not just movie stars and musicians who are born with a leg up. There are few industries out there where it's not helpful to have a . But when nepotism occurs in the stock market, its wealth thats being bogarted.

Experts have been expressing concerns about the risk of the nepo baby in corporate governance long before the term took hold of the internet. Even if you dont hold shares, you may want to consider how inherited control could impact the brands you love and rely on  heres what you need to know.

Keeping it in the family

Several hundred companies in the U.S. employ dual-class stock ownership structures, which allows them to pass down super-voting shares through the family.

Most public companies have a single-class stock structure, meaning one stock equals one vote.

In contrast, a dual-class stock structure allows for two or more classes of shares, one which can hold comparatively more voting rights than the others. This empowers corporate executives to benefit from public investment in their company while maintaining perpetual control and limiting the investors power.

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Former SEC commissioner Robert J. Jackson Jr. warned in 2018 that these forever shares dont just ask investors to trust a visionary founder. It asks them to trust that founders kids. And their kids kids. And their grandkids kids.

Since theres only so much wealth to reap out there, investors continue to trade this eternal trust for a share of fast-growing stocks.

Alphabet subsidiary Google is the most famous example of a company with a dual-class structure. Class B shares reserved for Google insiders carry 10 votes, while ordinary Class A shares (GOOGL) sold to the public get just one vote, and Class C shares (GOOG) have no voting rights.

As of 2021, founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin controlled approximately 51.4% of the companys voting power via super-voting shares, according to Capital.

The risk of disproportionate voting rights

Family businesses have long played an important role in the American Dream  so whats wrong with continuing that tradition?

The trouble, as Jackson pointed out back in 2018, is that asking investors to put eternal trust in corporate royalty is antithetical to the values of Americans.

It raises the prospect that control over our public companies, and ultimately of Main Streets retirement savings, will be forever held by a small, elite group of corporate insiders  who will pass that power down to their heirs, he said.

However, there are some structures that can mitigate that perpetual control, like sunset provisions stipulating a re-evaluation of the structure after a fixed period of time.

In such a case, the public shareholders of the firm would vote on whether or not to extend the dual class structure, and if they declined it, all shares would be converted into a single class of shares with one vote per share.

Read more: Here's how much the average American 60-year-old holds in retirement savings  how does your nest egg compare?

Is dual-class best for performance?

There are upsides to a dual-share structure. Majority ownership allows entrepreneurs to prioritize their long-term goals and unique vision, without having to worry about pressure from investors concerned with the companys short-term gains. Especially in the early days of a company, a dual-class structure can allow visionary leaders to steer the growth of the business.

And even generations on, family CEOs may act as stewards of their firm to maintain long-term focus on those original goals.

But that advantage starts to erode over time. In fact, a study of dual-class firm valuation from the European Corporate Governance Institute in 2022 found that these companies tend to underperform over time  usually about seven years after the initial public offering (IPO).

Similarly, a 2017 paper found that as time passed from the IPO, the initial efficiencies of the dual-class structure decreased, while controllers developed perverse incentives to retain their power  which found them sometimes working against the companys economic interest.

And then theres the matter of merit. What happens when the lock on control is passed to a nepo baby whos not a fitting leader? Someone whos not as able, talented, skilled or driven as their predecessor?

A Harvard Law Discussion paper dubbed this the problem of the idiot heir. Citing evidence from another study, researchers have pointed out that competitive contests for top executive roles would rarely result in a family chief executive officer. Thats because theyd be overshadowed by their non-blood-related competition.

What it might mean for you

While a company falling apart at the hands of an unprepared leader might seem very much like a them problem, investors and consumers alike often get burned in the process too. Just look at WeWork, the famous coworking real estate company. When it filed (unsuccessfully) for IPO in 2019, it was revealed that co-founder Adam Neumann held 20 times the voting power of other shareholders.

Should Neumann be unable to continue his leadership, a committee headed by his wife would select the new CEO. According to Business Insider, he expected to pass control to future generations of Neumanns.

Though the property company flourished in its early years, public disclosure showed it was underperforming. WeWork had been thought to be valued at $47 billion before SEC filings, but in actuality was worth less than $10 billion. And it had lost $1.9 billion the previous year.

To salvage the company, WeWorks largest investor SoftBank took control and insisted that Neumann step down. According to CNBC, it took an offering of about $1.7 billion in stock, cash and credit to get him to walk away from the company and give up his voting rights.

While WeWork is an extreme example, the once-promising company that was set to dominate the hybrid work industry has watched its value tumble 90% in the last year, demonstrating the cost of perpetual control in the hands of leaders more focused on their own interests than the companys as a whole.

So as a prospective investor, how do you know if an exciting dual-share company is just one generation away from flushing it all down the toilet? Thats the rub. As with all investing decisions, it comes down to what youre willing to risk. And sometimes big risks can carry big rewards  just ask Googles early investors.

But if a successful name is compelling you to invest in a company with disproportionate voting rights that could live on for generations, consider your long-term stake. Blood may be thicker than water, but the yield on your investments is a matter of quantity. In the end, youre going to want as much liquid as possible.

What to read next

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
South Africa: Working together, we can overcome electricity crisis - Magwenya

Spokesperson to President Cyril Ramaphosa, Vincent Magwenya, has called on all stakeholders to work with government to resolve the energy shortage that South Africa is experiencing.

Magwenya was speaking at a media briefing on the Presidents schedule for the rest of this month.

Magwenya's call comes on the back of President Ramaphosas announcement during the State of the Nation Address (SONA) of a National State of Disaster to address the electricity crisis, and the addition of a Minister of Electricity in the Presidency to work with the National Energy Committee (NECOM).

This is not the time for finger pointing or politically motivated court actions or law-fare. This is the time to look past ideological and political differences and work together in the interest of our nation, [and] growing the economy and sustaining livelihoods.

Even those who harbour reservations about the approach the President has chosen are expected to join in and put shoulder to the wheel because ultimately, we are all working towards the same goal, Magwenya said.

Regarding concerns that the National State of Disaster process may be abused for personal gains, Magwenya reiterated the Presidents assertion that no State coffers will be looted.

President Ramaphosa announced measures to deal with any form of abuse. Over and above the Auditor General keeping a close eye on various processes as they roll out, the President expects law enforcement agencies to be vigilant and to act with speed in dealing with those who will seek to take advantage of the situation, he said.

Magwenya explained that the decision to declare the National State of Disaster was taken in consultation with a wide range of stakeholders.

South Africa is facing an enormous crisis, which threatens both economic and social stability. In consultation with business, labour, interfaith leaders, community organisations and the Presidential Coordinating Council, President Ramaphosa was being urged to take bold measures that will effectively deal with the current electricity crisis."

On disruptions that occurred during President Ramaphosa State of the Nation Address, Magwenya described the scenes that played out as unfortunate and disturbing.

The energetic and focused manner in which [the President] delivered his State of the Nation Address showed a President who remains resolute on the task of resolving the myriad of challenges facing the country and importantly, who remains accountable to the nation about the work of his Administration," Magwenya said, adding that the National Assembly will hold a debate on the SONA on Tuesday and Wednesday, with the President expected to respond to the debate on Thursday.

Presidential diary

Magwenya said President Ramaphosa is scheduled to attend several engagements over the next two weeks, including the African Union Summit in Ethipoia, national Armed Forces Day in Richards Bay, the national Budget Speech in Cape Town and the opening of the National House of Traditional and Khoi-San Leaders.

The President will participate in the 36th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union from 17 to 19 February in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Africas political leadership will convene under the economically focused theme, 'Accelerating the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement'. The President will also chair the AU Peace and Security Summit on the situation in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

On Tuesday, 21 February, President Ramaphosa will, in his capacity as Commander-in-Chief of our armed forces, officiate Armed Forces Day in Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal. This is an occasion on which South Africans can witness and take pride in the human and technological capabilities of our armed forces.

On Thursday, 23 February, President Ramaphosa will officiate the annual Opening of the National House of Traditional and Khoisan Leaders. [It] is a body composed of traditional leaders who are delegates from the Provincial Houses of Traditional Leaders of South Africa, representing the Provincial Houses at national level, Magwenya said.

At the end of the month, President Ramaphosa is expected to host Republic of Uganda President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni during an official State Visit.

South Africa and Uganda enjoy longstanding historical relations dating back to the struggle against apartheid. Uganda hosted and trained South African anti-apartheid activists and freedom fighters in the late 1980s. Political and economic relations between South Africa and Uganda have been improving since 1994.

The South Africa-Uganda Joint Commission seeks to strengthen and deepen bilateral relations and cooperation between the two countries, consolidate political, economic and social cooperation, and oversee the implementation of the signed agreements and Memoranda of Understanding, Magwenya explained.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2023-02-12. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
DAVOS, Switzerland, January 17, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A high-level delegation from Saudi Arabia participated in a multilateral meeting with the World Economic Forums (WEF) leadership at WEFs 2023 Annual Meeting.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230117006032/en/

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the World Economic Forum launched an innovation accelerator to help catalyze transformation (Photo: AETOSWire)

His Highness Prince Faisal Bin Farhan Al Saud, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Her Royal Highness Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud, Ambassador to the United States of America, His Excellency Abdullah bin Amer Alswaha, Minister of Communications and Information Technology, His Excellency Bandar bin Ibrahim Alkhorayef, Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, and His Excellency Faisal F. Alibrahim, Minister of Economy and Planning, met with Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of WEF and Brge Brende, President of WEF, to explore areas of mutual interest.

During the meeting, HE Abdullah bin Amer Alswaha, Chairman of the Board of King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) and Chairman of the Board of The Research, Development and Innovation Authority (RDIA), and Brge Brende, President of WEF, signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) to establish a new accelerator program to help ignite innovation in Saudi Arabia.

Under the LoI, KACST will work alongside WEF to connect experts and knowledge partners from the public and private sector to identify and unlock new promising markets as part of the ongoing work to transform Saudis economy.

During the meeting, the delegates highlighted the Kingdoms role as a Pioneering Partner in the Forums Global Collaboration Village, which will leverage the metaverse to serve the global community.

Saudi Arabia intends to build a house in the village opening a door to opportunities, investment, and collaboration between various national stakeholders and international entities. It will be used as a tool for attending events, interacting with people, sharing knowledge and making announcements.

Story continues

It was highlighted in the meeting that Saudi ARAMCO, as one of Saudis leading private sector entities, is the first company to build a house in the Global Collaboration Village.

The meeting also covered investment in green technologies, as well as female and youth empowerment as a vital enabler in effective climate action. The meeting provided updates on the progress of projects launched at WEFs 2022 Annual Meeting.

In addition, delegates addressed the future of the mining industry in Saudi Arabia and its untapped opportunities, especially considering the increasing demand for minerals and the importance of leveraging the Fourth Industrial Revolution and green technologies.

About the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at the World Economic Forum 2023:

Saudi Arabias participation at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2023 highlights the Kingdoms commitment to engage in meaningful dialogues with other nations to design solutions for some of the worlds most pressing challenges. In recognizing the crucial role international cooperation plays in ensuring global stability, Saudi Arabia is stepping up its efforts on the world stage to act as a bridge of near-term stability and long-term transformation.

*Source: AETOSWire

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230117006032/en/

Contacts

Wauod Alquaied

walquaied@mep.gov.sa
By Nick Starkov

LVIV, Ukraine, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Ukraine's forces hold defence along the frontline in Donetsk, including of the besieged town of Bakhmut, with the fiercest battles raging for the cities of Vuhledar and Maryinka, Kyiv's top military commander said on Saturday.

Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, commander-in-chief of Ukraine's Armed Forces, said Russia carries out some 50 attacks daily in Donetsk, a region in Ukraine's southeast that Moscow has been trying to occupy fully.

"Fierce fighting continues in the area of Vuhledar and Maryinka," Zaluzhnyi said in a Telegram message after a call with U.S. General Mark Milley.

"We reliably hold the defence. In some areas of the front we have managed to regain previously lost positions and gained a foothold."

Zaluzhnyi did not specify where the gains were. He added that Ukraine continues to hold Bakhmut, tying to "stabilise" the frontline around the town.

The head of Russia's Wagner mercenary group said on Saturday that his forces are facing fierce resistance around Bakhmut from Ukrainian defenders.

On Friday, Britain said Russian forces were making gains north of Bakhmut, but were having a more difficult time attacking Vuhledar, some 150 kilometres (93 miles) further south.

It is impossible to independently establish the control areas of each side, as fighting along the frontline has slowed in recent months to what Ukraine defence ministry calls "crawling" attempts to move little by little.

Ukraine's military analyst Oleh Zhdanov said that despite Russia's pressure in Maryinka, a nearly deserted and destroyed small city that has been on the frontline since the start of the war a year ago, Ukrainian forces managed to hold the ground.

"Fighting is going on in the city centre, but there have been no changes over the past 24 hours," Zhdanov said in a social media video.

Wagner's head, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said it could take two years for Moscow to control the whole of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in Ukraine. Moscow last year claimed both as "republics" of Russia, in a move condemned by most countries of the United Nations as illegal.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and other military officials have been on a diplomatic marathon in recent months trying to secure more Western weapons and fighter aircraft.

"The key to success on the battlefield is effective fire damage, which requires an appropriate amount of weapons and ammunition," Zaluzhnyi said. (Reporting by Lidia Kelly and Nick Starkov; Writing in Melbourne by Lidia Kelly; Editing by David Gregorio)
Russia's Progress cargo ship approaching the International Space Station.

A robotic Russian cargo craft arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) early Saturday morning (Feb. 11), delivering nearly three tons of food, fuel and scientific experiments.

The robotic Progress 83 freighter docked with the station's Zvezda service module at 3:45 a.m. EST (0849 GMT) on Saturday, ending a two-day orbital chase.

Progress 83 launched atop a Soyuz rocket from the Russia-run Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan early Thursday morning (Feb. 9).

Related: How Russia's Progress spaceships work (infographic)

Cosmonauts Dmitri Petelin and Sergey Prokopyev, who commands the current Expedition 68 mission aboard the International Space Station, monitored the approach of the autonomous freighter to the Russian segment of the orbiting lab.

After the spacecraft's docking, the space station crew had to wait for air pressure to equalize between the cargo craft and the station before opening the hatches and transferring the six-months worth of supplies, NASA officials wrote in an update on Friday (Feb. 10).

Related stories:

 Soyuz rocket: Russia's venerable booster

 The Cygnus spacecraft: Northrop Grumman's cargo ship

 SpaceX's Dragon: First private spacecraft to reach the space station

Petelin, Prokopyev and NASA astronaut Frank Rubio arrived at the space station in September 2022 aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. That vehicle lost all of its coolant after an apparent micrometeoroid strike in December 2022, rendering it unfit to carry astronauts back to Earth except in case of emergency.

Russia's federal space agency Roscosmos will launch an uncrewed Soyuz toward the station on Feb. 19 to serve as the trio's new ride back to Earth. Their homecoming will be delayed considerably, however, from the original March date that was planned to the late September timeframe, NASA officials have said.

Petelin, Prokopyev and Rubio are currently sharing the station with four other astronauts, who are part of SpaceX's Crew-5 mission for NASA. Crew-5, which arrived at the station in early October 2022, consists of NASA's Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, Japan's Koichi Wakata and Anna Kikina of Roscosmos.

The Crew-5 quartet are scheduled to return to Earth next month.
If Armageddon were to convulse the Mideast, would the finale mark the eve of destruction  or the dawn of correction?

The question  born of two disparate song titles of the Sixties  bears pondering while reading Peter Blauners Picture in the Sand (Minotaur, $27.99, 352 pages), his ninth novel.

Ali Hassan, an 85-year-old native of Egypt who runs a gas station in Brooklyn, is appalled and frightened when his 13-year-old grandson, Alex, flees home in 2014 to become a holy warrior for an Islamic terrorist group in Syria. To try to persuade him to return, Ali opens up to Alex about his dreadful experiences by emailing the boy, who replies sporadically.

In 1954, Ali was hired as a personal assistant for American film director Cecil B. DeMille for some location shooting of The Ten Commandments. Blackmailed by Sherif, his cousin and childhood friend, he joins the Muslim Brotherhood, which targets Prime Minister Gamal Abdel Nasser for assassination and the films exodus scene for a massacre.

Ali, who joined the Brotherhood in a pique after DeMille fired him, is caught in its web and suffers the consequences.

Blauner has also written for two Law & Order franchises: Criminal Intent and Special Victims Unit. Both engage the viewer in powerfully emotional storylines that often include graphic violence and troubled families.

He does the same in Picture in the Sand with expertly paced storytelling, memorable characters  and a pointed examination of aberrant ideology.

Creepy and claustrophobic

Who do you think you were?

Its a question for believers in reincarnation, and especially for those who think they may have acquired a second earthly life.

Its also the focus of Carole Johnstones second novel, The Blackhouse (Scribner, $28, 336 pages).

When she was 5, Maggie McKay announced that a man had been murdered on Kilmeray, a sparsely populated island in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. She called herself Andrew MacNeil (aka Robert Reid), a farmer who apparently drowned on April 9, 1994  the same night that young Lorne MacDonald is believed to have met the same fate.

Maggie has a history of bipolarity, a psychic break and treatment in a psychiatric ICU. To further explore her life, she travels to Kilmeray  a place she had never visited  where the locals initially greet her with friendship but later with threats and disdain as she persists in trying to determine if MacNeil was slain.

Creepy and claustrophobic, The Blackhouse meets all the requirements of an atmospheric, neo-gothic thriller.

Johnstone fashions a gripping narrative awash with multiple shocks and secrets  and a romantic connection between Maggie and Andrews grown son, Will. She creates a cast of secretive residents with intricate connections and polishes the storyline with descriptive prose (although the first few pages are overstocked with adjectives).

A perfect choice for a winter evening, The Blackhouse freezes the blood as it churns the brain.

Secrets and sorrow

Like many tween girls, Olivia Liv Barnes, Cassidy Green and Naomi Shaw of small-town Chester, Washington, loved fantasy and magic and spells. The trio of friends, all 11, played in the woods for hours while pretending to be Greek goddesses Artemis, Hecate and Hera.

But the fun ended when they made a disturbing discovery  and later when Naomi was attacked by someone who left her near death with 17 stab wounds.

What followed was hardly playtime. The three helped to identify a suspected serial killer, Alan Michael Stahl, as Naomis assailant.

Convicted and imprisoned, he died of cancer in prison 22 years later. And a litany of destructive falsehoods surfaces in Kate Alice Marshalls first adult novel, What Lies in the Woods (Flatiron, $28.99, 336 pages).

Naomi, who changed her surname to Cunningham and now works as a wedding photographer in Seattle, returns to Chester to try to make sense of the past.

Marshall, whose previous works of fiction target young readers, forges a nightmarish story of guilt and trauma that threatens more than one life. With a series of shocking twists, she pulls the reader further into the storyline with every page.

A master of misdirection, Marshall infuses the novel with secrets and sorrow, false identities and frailty, hostility and hypocrisy. And with a stunning revelation, she further shakes Naomis fragile psyche.

With a cleverly conceived and exquisitely executed narrative and a cast of fully fleshed characters, What Lies in the Woods represents a riveting read and a thoughtful and alarming take on childhood.
Chief John and Minnie Lightner gave an informative presentation on the community life and culture of the Patawomeck Tribe centered in White Oak in Southern Stafford County at Womans Club of Fredericksburgs general meeting, held at the Dorothy Hart Community Center in January. The Patawomeck Tribe was formally recognized by the Commonwealth of Virginia in 2010 and is one of Virginias 11 state-recognized tribes. The majority of tribal members still live within 10 miles of their ancestral villages on Potomac Creek. The tribal museum and cultural center is located at Little Falls, just across the Rappahannock River.
A Gazette investigation shows an increasing number of soldiers, including wounded combat veterans, are being kicked out of the service for misconduct, often with no benefits, as the Army downsizes after a decade of war.
Jeff Johnston felt a sexual attraction to other boys in adolescence and also found himself fascinated with pornography.

I struggled with my identity  who am I, what does this mean about me if I have some of these feelings, he said.

I asked God to take it away, and that didnt happen.

An internal battle raged within Johnstons young mind, body and spirit, as he fought to reconcile his Christian spirituality with his sexual desires.

Johnston said he fulfilled in adulthood what his heart was yearning for  to live as a heterosexual man  through professional counseling, pastoral counseling, prayer and involvement in his church.

We didnt focus on Lets make you not gay, he said. There were counselors who said, Well help you develop your heterosexuality.

Counseling also rectified painful and confusing issues from childhood, he said.

"When I go into prayer with someone and they're praying for me, I've never heard them say, 'We pray for this to go away,'" Johnston said. "In prayer time, it was an issue God brought up, and God brought healing to it. That's how prayer works."

Hes now the culture and policy analyst for Focus on the Family, an evangelical Christian broadcasting and media organization headquartered in Colorado Springs.

Johnston and his wife have three sons.

I made a decision I was going to follow Jesus, even if these feelings dont go away, he said. I realized I needed to grow into a healthy sense of my masculinity.

Like other issues, homosexuality is divisive in Christianity, with some denominations interpreting the Bible to mean same-same relations are sinful, while other denominations say that's not what the Bible says.

Helping people who question their sexuality also has become controversial.

Focus on the Family has been criticized for something leaders like Johnston and President Jim Daly say Focus doesnt do: Promote whats known as conversion therapy.

We at Focus do not advocate for any therapy that requires or promises categorical change or sexual conversion, Daly writes in a blog on the organizations website.

As a Christian organization, Focus supports the availability of professional counseling in matters of sexuality that is respectful, safe, ethical and responsive to the clients values and desires, Daly says.

Many view conversion therapy as harmful, though, particularly for adolescents.

Paul Gross, a licensed professional counselor who has owned 4Square Counseling in Colorado Springs for the past decade, says he agrees with the American Psychological Association, which in 2009 released a report that found insufficient evidence to support using psychological interventions to change sexual orientation.

The association now is calling for a nationwide prohibition on conversion therapy for youth.

Ive had people come to me who call themselves religious refugees, who have said theyve gone to different aspects of the church and said, Can we get help and felt it hurt them, Gross said. The shame, the guilt they were made to feel was what they were using to change the way they were living.

Clients have told him they heard things like, You shouldnt do this, its against this, or This is bad or  Youre going to hell.

That in and of itself can create a whole lot of trauma and mental health problems such as anxiety and depression, on top of already having anxiety and depression from How do I come out and tell my family and friends Im gay, Gross said.

Johnston of Focus on the Family decries the movement for states to criminalize such therapy.

"I want to emphasize that 'conversion therapy' isn't a thing  counselors can't force you to do something," he said. "We believe people should get the help they want and therapists should be able to help them. We advocate for people's freedom of speech, freedom of religion and self-determination."

Colorado is one of 20 states and the District of Columbia to ban conversion therapy for minors under age 18, by licensed psychiatrists or licensed, registered or certified mental health providers, according to the Movement Advancement Project, or MAP.

Colorado's law took effect in 2019 and defines conversion therapy as "efforts to change an individual's sexual orientation, including efforts to change behaviors or gender expressions or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attraction or feelings toward individuals of the same sex.

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It does allow for mental health professionals to provide acceptance, support and understanding for minor patients sexual exploration, as long as their techniques are sexual-orientation neutral interventions that do not try to convert someones sexual orientation or gender identity.

Johnston said Christians who believe the Bible opposes homosexuality should be given the freedom to choose counseling and support thats one with their goals," but that the current legal trend prevents parents from doing so.

If youre a parent and you have a 5-year-old boy whos confused about his identity, in Colorado you cant find a counselor who will help him embrace his masculine identity, and thats a travesty, he said.

Some states, including California, want to prohibit such therapy for adults.

Legal challenges to laws pertaining to juveniles, including in Colorado, are ongoing.

Kaley Chiles, a licensed counselor in Colorado Springs, sought a preliminary injunction last year to stop Colorados conversion therapy ban for minors from proceeding, but in December, a federal district court judge denied blocking enforcement.

Chiles argued that the law violates her First Amendment rights as a professional and as a Christian, describing the law as censorship and saying she wants to be able to talk freely with patients.

In striking down Chiles' claims, U.S. District Court Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney, the first openly gay federal judge appointed in Colorado, called Chiles assertions disingenuous.

In her ruling Sweeney wrote that Chiles is still allowed to provide therapeutic practices for a minor child client with the condition that she does not seek to change sexual orientation or gender identity.

However, Colorado law does allow for gender-affirming care, such as hormone therapy, for minor children, with parental consent.

But youth can access mental health care without parental consent at age 12, which means psychotherapy of any kind, including gender-affirming counseling, is available for children 12 and older.

The World Health Organization defines gender-affirming care as encompassing social, psychological, behavioral and medical interventions designed to support and affirm an individuals gender identity when it conflicts with their birth gender of male or female.

Adolescents under age 18 also can go through social transitioning, which means using a different name and pronouns to reflect the gender they identify with, and taking reversible puberty blockers, if that's deemed necessary for their mental well-being, said Liss Smith, spokesperson for Inside Out Youth Services, which supports LGBTQ+ youth.

Its critical that youth be allowed this freedom to explore their identities, to be respectful and valued for who they say they are  not what the world perceives them to be, Smith said.

Doing so can help prevent suicide, Smith said, since studies show that respecting a young persons chosen name and pronouns can reduce their risk of suicide by 56%.

Inside Out does not provide medical care but does offer individual, family and group therapy, and social opportunities for LBGTQ+ youth.

For Gross' LGBTQ+ patients who felt they were traumatized by conversion therapy, a combination of talk therapy, medication and eye movement and desensitization reprocessing psychotherapy have helped them get past that trauma of Were going to pray the gay away.

Im not going to say the churchs methods or conversion therapists methods cant be useful, but I do feel it does more harm than good , he said.

His patients have reported that they felt conversion therapy was misrepresented, since they were told it would help them cope but instead they felt like they were being attacked.

There are people who maybe it does help, but it seems to me like a coercion and more like lets stack shame and guilt on you so you can pack it down, Gross said. I personally dont condone conversion therapy, but everyone needs to make their own choice.

Choice is also what Focus on the Family advocates for, according to leaders.

Focus President Daly says in his blog that people should have the right to seek assistance in living within biblical guidelines, adding that the organization realizes its values are not everyone's values.

Individuals with unwanted homosexual attractions or gender concerns often suffer stress, family strain, depression, anxiety and questions that are deeply perplexing," he said.

As such, we believe in empowering individuals for health and realistic living toward their goals, Daly said, which can include therapeutically investigating their sexuality and exploring faith-compatible responses for their individual situation.

While Focus does not provide individual counseling, the organization has compiled a referral network of Christian counselors who address any topic, including issues relating to sexuality and gender. The organization also distributes a variety of materials for families and individuals who request assistance.

Johnston said the subject is among the top 10 concerns to Focus call center, which provides consultation and guidance.
YODER  Except for the Private Property sign nailed to a pole at the crossroads, the half-mile of dirt-packed dead-end in eastern El Paso County looks like the rest of the roads here, a fence-lined etch through endless tumbleweed plains dotted with the occasional barn, outbuilding and ranch-style home.

Its the kind of route you wouldnt take unless you got hopelessly lost, or knew precisely where youre going and that they're expecting you.

This dusty strip of easement between properties owned by Black ranchers Courtney and Nicole Mallery and their neighbor, Teresa Clark, who is white, is ground zero of a Colorado feud thats led to restraining orders and felony charges. Their story now is drawing global scrutiny and dividing neighbors in what residents describe as a hard-working, isolated agricultural community where people rely on one another to get by, even if they dont always see eye to eye.

The fight between the Mallerys and their neighbor didnt start when the Mallerys aired their side in a story published last month by Ark Republic, an online media outlet based in New Jersey. But thats where it gained steam and went viral.

In that piece, the Mallerys told of a horrifying tale of hate-based terror and intimidation that feels like it was ripped from the Jim Crow era of Americas Deep South. After they raised a Black Lives Matter flag and signs on their property, Freedom Acres Ranch, the Mallerys said theyd suffered abuse and threats online and in person by anonymous people in trucks, with guns. Their animals had been killed, their chicken coop set ablaze, and their surveillance system disabled by high-tech jamming devices.

When a ranchhand who worked for the Mallerys was shot dead in Rush, about 14 miles from their Yoder ranch, Courtney Mallery said he believed it was a "clear message" to the couple to get out or else. The body of 43-year-old Donaciano Amaya was found May 21, 2021, and his killer remains at large.

The Mallerys said the El Paso County Sheriffs Office had ignored and dismissed their complaints, and they accused one deputy of being complicit in the hate crimes they described as being committed against them.

The couples story went nuclear early last week when Courtney Mallery was arrested Monday by the El Paso County Sheriffs Office on accusations including a Class 5 felony charge of stalking.

The NAACP vowed to investigate. By Tuesday, a rally supporting the Mallerys was being organized in Denver. By Thursday, influencers were sharing the story online and one Twitter thread inspired by a post and story link, from an account with fewer than 2,000 followers, had garnered almost 7 million views. And by Saturday, a GoFundMe campaign launched in January on their behalf, with a $25,000 goal, had galloped past $130,000.

But this story that began small, with a they said/they said squabble over property rights, this Hatfields and McCoys with an ugly racial twist and no love story, is messier than the dueling narratives that are taking off and touching raw nerves on both sides.

Neighbor Valerie Clayborn said the feud and its fallout have left her wondering whether she and her late husband made the wrong decision moving here from Widefield in 2012.

We moved here for peace and tranquility. We loved it out here, but now I question myself, she said. Im worried for the Mallerys. Im worried for us, also. I feel like Im back in the 1800s.

Before tensions in Yoder ran red, before sides were picked, and neighbors started answering their doors to strangers with gun in hand, life wasn't easy around this strip of non-road in a beautiful but barren region dominated by agricultural operations and long-haul commuters living beyond Colorado Springs' eastern exurbs.

This part of El Paso County, rimmed by distant peaks but with a distinctly Kansas vibe, is home to roughly six people per square mile. Yoder has a post office but no town hall or community gathering spot since PJs General Store in Rush closed. Checking in on what your neighbors are up to from your own yard, in most cases, requires a powerful pair of binoculars.

But people still talk.

Residents with knowledge of the situation between the Mallerys and Teresa Clark, who owns the Crazy Ewe Ranch, say the two families initially had a congenial, if not close, relationship.

They started out like regular neighbors, said a Yoder resident who asked not to be named.

The Mallerys and the Clarks live about a mile apart, but as their disagreement over rights to the easement caused a growing estrangement, they began to see a lot more of each other.

In December 2021, the Mallerys took out a restraining order against Clark that required her to stay at least 100 yards from the property except when she was going to or from her own home. Her driveway lies about 1,000 feet down the easement between their ranches.

On Sept. 8, 2022, Clark was arrested for violating that order. According to the affidavit, Nicole Mallery called the Sheriffs Office after seeing Clark trespass onto her property to approach one of the video surveillance cameras she and her husband installed on posts at and near the boundary between their land, lenses trained toward the easement.

In the video, Clark is seen approaching one of the cameras and taking a photo with her cellphone before moving out of view, according to the arrest warrant. Nicole Mallery told police she believed her neighbor had tampered with the video security system.

Clark posted $500 bail on Sept. 14, according to court records.

On Nov. 22, Nicole Mallery was arrested on two counts of felony stalking after Clark contacted police and showed them a voluminous stalking log shed been keeping since late April 2021, about eight months after the Mallerys moved to town.

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According to the affidavit on Nicole Mallery's arrest:

Each page had space for 10 entries. The log was created to show that the Mallerys (sic) have no fear of her (Clark), and that they are actually going out of their way to put her in fear for her safety by repeatedly driving along the easement between their properties, and using a gate that opens onto that dirt lane to access their land, even though its far removed from the main entrance.

Nicole Mallery posted $2,000 bail in December and was due back in court last week. The Gazette was unable to ascertain the outcome of that hearing or whether it had occurred.

Then on Feb. 6, Courtney Mallery was arrested on a December warrant for felony stalking. His arrest warrant was similar to his wifes, but also included alleged misdemeanor crimes of tampering with a utility meter to power a surveillance camera supposedly used to spy on Clark, and petty theft of a trash can kept on the easement.

According to arrest documents obtained by The Gazette, Clark is listed as the stalking victim in Courtney Mallery's arrest. She has declined a request for comment. Courtney Mallery's bail was set at $6,000, three times what the prosecution requested during his preliminary court appearance Tuesday.

El Paso District and County Magistrate Deborah Pearson said she came to the decision after considering the long history of conflict, complaints and investigations by the Sheriffs Office, and because of concern about the risk to the community and the victim."

Back at the ranch with her husband on Wednesday, Nicole Mallery said she believes the Sheriff's Office never took their claims of being harassed and victimized seriously.

(The Sheriffs Office) is supposed to protect and serve, and thats not happening for me, Nicole Mallery said. Its like our lives dont matter, and thats not OK.

In addition to accusations of racism on social media, the Sheriff's Office has received hundreds of threatening phone calls, according to spokeswoman Lt. Deborah Mynatt.

Weve received threats through email, voicemail, on our (social media accounts), and on just about any communication line that is connected to our office, Mynatt said. Weve been called every name you can think of, and there have been racial allegations that we completely deny.

Sheriff Joe Roybal on Tuesday proposed a meeting with Nicole and Courtney Mallery and other members of the Yoder community. But the couple questioned the sincerity of the request and expressed reluctance to attend a town hall-style meeting.

They want to put us in a room, like were sheep amongst wolves, for people to attack us, Nicole Mallery said. That wont work.

Much of the public anger has been directed at Deputy Emory Gerhart of the countys Rural Enforcement and Outreach Unit. In the online article, the Mallerys accused Gerhart of being complicit in the alleged harassment. Nicole Mallery on Wednesday implied that the deputy plays favorites, referring to Gerhart as Clarks personal policeman.

The couple has started an online petition calling for Gerharts ouster. As of late last week, the petition has garnered more than 4,900 signatures.

In accordance with Sheriff's Office policy, Gerhart was unable to comment, officials said.

Sheriff's officials take issue with the Ark Republic articles contention that the department has ignored the Mallerys.

Since April 2021, the deputies have responded to more than 170 service calls and investigated 19 complaints that were either filed by, or involved, the couple, Mynatt said.

(The Mallerys) claim the Sheriffs Office has done nothing, has not responded to their calls for service, she said. Thats just not true.

Mynatt said that while sheriff's officials feel the online article was one-sided and misinformed, she understands some of the reaction to it.

If I read that article and I didnt know the other side of it, I would also be upset and infuriated, Mynatt said. We understand that people want and need to know what is going on.

To that end, the Sheriff's Office Record Division is currently in the process of compiling documents and body-worn camera footage that will accurately depict the departments numerous responses to calls from the Mallerys, officials said. Nearly 130 pages and more than 44 hours of footage need to be closely reviewed and redacted of names, addresses, images and other information that could compromise an open investigation or jeopardize someones safety.

The Sheriffs Office plans to make the documents available free to the public so that our community, as well as those across the country that have reached out to us in the last week and a half, can read it and make a determination for themselves, Mynatt said.

You know, in case they haven't already picked a side.
A Fountain police officer who suffered serious injuries in a fall while trying to apprehend a suspect has died, according to a news release from the Police Department.

Julian Becerra on Saturday succumbed to injuries suffered when he fell from a bridge as he and other officers were in pursuit of several carjacking suspects on Feb. 2. He was 35.

"We appreciate the publics outpouring of support over the past week for Officer Becerra, his family and the Fountain Police Department," Police Department spokeswoman Lisa Schneider said in the release.

On Feb. 2, law enforcement ended a lengthy car chase by disabling a suspect vehicle and forcing it to stop near a bridge on South Academy Boulevard, just east of Hartford Street, officials said. The driver left the car and ran. Becerra also exited his vehicle, and during the incident, fell over the bridge and landed 40 feet below, according to an FPD statement.

Becerra, who had served with FPD for 4 years, was airlifted to a nearby hospital, where he was listed in critical condition.

On Friday, the Fountain Police Department announced that Becerra had been placed on life support and was surrounded by his family and friends.

A procession to take Becerra from Penrose Hospital to the El Paso Coroner's Office was planned for late Saturday night.

Fountain Mayor Sharon Thompson on Sunday released a statement lauding Becerra's commitment to service and thanking the public for its support.

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The City of Fountain is heartbroken over the loss of Officer Julian Becerra," Thompson said in the statement. "His family and friends are in our hearts and prayers during this difficult time. We are so thankful for the outpouring of concern and support we have received from so many over these last difficult days, and I do ask everyone to continue to stand by the Becerra family and respect their privacy and wishes during this very difficult time.

"Fountain will forever be grateful for the selfless service and bravery of Officer Julian Becerra, and we are so proud and thankful for all our police officers and first responders who keep our community safe every day.

Expect traffic delays due to procession to escort Officer Becerra from Penrose Hospital at 2222 N. Nevada Ave. traveling southbound Cascade Ave. to the EPC Coroners Office on the CJC campus. Although the exact start time is fluid, delay is anticipated approx. 10:30 - 11:30pm. https://t.co/iOF9Eolz4U  EPCSheriff (@EPCSheriff) February 12, 2023

Becerras GoFundMe page has raised more than $52,000 in the past week and remains open for donations. According to the GoFundMe page, Becerra was an Air Force veteran with a wife and two kids.

Donations can also be made to the Becerra family by following this link: csppa.org/fallen-officer-relief-fund/. When completing the online donation form, please check the Designated box and enter Julian Becerra in the Designated Officer Name field.
Among the many things I dont like to do in my crotchety old age is compliment the young people at 9news.

But kudos to Kyle Clark and team for refusing an exclusive interview with Gov. Jared Polis after his State of the State address on condition they also interview only Polis handpicked sycophants. It would have been even better if they published a list of all the other media outlets that agreed to his journalistic blackmail and took the exclusive interview.

Clarks reporting partner, Marshall Zelinger, has been on a jihad that Colorados media should have been on since 2007 regarding crony, energy monopoly utilities and whats been making them wealthy on the backs of their captive customers.

Why should these questions have been asked back in 2007? Remember the ol mantra: elections have consequences.

That was after Colorado elected Bill Ritter as governor and his white whale was transferring Colorado to an economically unsustainable, feel-good energy system  the one we are now just starting to pay for in earnest. Just look at your energy bill.

Before then, the private energy monopolies and their captive customers had a grand bargain. The bargain was simple. The monopolies were guaranteed a profit no matter what they did. They provided energy, they got a guaranteed profit. They went out on a business lunch, got a guaranteed profit. They passed wind, got a guaranteed profit.

In exchange, the Public Utilities Commission was to rule over those private monopolies making sure they provided the least cost energy to their captive customers. And all those companies, including the largest one, Xcel Energy, had to prove to there was absolutely, positively no other way to provide power for less cost.

If you remember, we were lied to and told renewable energy would save money because the wind and sun are free. Oh, that parts true. But converting wind and sun to energy is insanely, madly, prohibitively expensive.

In 2007, under the direction of Ritters newly appointed PUC and its chair Ron Binz (who proudly exclaimed there will never be another new coal plant built in Colorado, even though carbon sequestration now means coal plants can be carbon neutral at very low costs) the PUC changed its mission from lowest cost to a fluffy feel-good mission of environmental and social values at reasonable cost, whatever the hell that means.

In other words, they removed the guardrails that protected customers so utility monopolies can do what evil monopolies do, run roughshod over their hostages.

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The monopolies changed their business model. They now can make many times more profit.

Read the following over and over until you understand your energy bill: Companies like Xcel are no longer in the energy business; they are in the building stuff business, and triple charging their hostage customers for it.

Starting with Ritter, through John Hickenlooper and Polis and their evermore left-leaning legislatures and activist appointees, Xcel has funded and partnered with green organizations to lobby for cascading green laws, mandates and regulations.

Thanks to a rubberstamping PUC that no longer demands lowest cost from energy providers, your energy bills arent paying for energy. Youre mostly paying for building crap.

Case in point is the Comanche power plant down by Pueblo. Xcel takes out a mortgage to pay for it, passes that cost on to its customers. Then they decide it needs to be rebuilt into the cleanest coal-fired power plant on the planet. So, they take out a second mortgage to refit it. The PUC rubber stamps it. Customers pay for two mortgages for the same power. This power plant is scheduled to be decommissioned in 2070. Thats 50 years from now!

So, of course, Xcel is now going to close it in a couple of years and replace it with more stuff like windmills. Thats a third mortgage to pay for the windmills which, of course, the PUC rubber stamped. Well, the wind doesnt blow all the time, so it must take out another mortgage to build backup gas generators and power lines for that too. Yada, yada, yada.

Congratulations, hostage customers. You are now paying multiple mortgages for the same bit of electricity and thats just one of many, many scams.

Its taken the mainstream media 16 years to ask questions. Ask faster! Maybe voters will think about the consequences.

Jon Caldara is president of the Independence Institute in Denver and hosts The Devils Advocate with Jon Caldara on Colorado Public Television Channel 12. His column appears Sundays in Colorado Politics.
In the summer of 2020, India Wood was hiking the countryside somewhere off Interstate 70 between Edwards and Wolcott.

I really had to pee, she recalls. And it was all private land, and Im like, What am I gonna do?

Up ahead, she saw what appeared to be a kids camp  what she later found to indeed be a kids camp dedicated to dinosaurs.

So I scurried over there, poked my head in the tent, and theres this guy. I introduced myself: Hi, Im India, and can I use your outhouse? And he was like, Youre India Wood!

The guy excitedly introduced this wanderer to the kids and told of how, when she was around their age, she uncovered one of the great fossils in state history. Wood was 12 in 1979 when she dug up the allosaurus now on display at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.

Alas, even on bathroom breaks, the reputation has followed her.

But on that summer day in 2020, Wood was on her way to accomplishing another remarkable feat, adding another chapter to her remarkable, colorful life story.

Last year, she finished an expedition she called Colorado X, a segmented walk that had her crisscrossing the state from corner to corner in two separate diagonals.

The first question I always get when I say I walked across Colorado is, Oh, so you hiked the Colorado Trail? Wood says. And its like, Well, for 100 miles yeah, but (otherwise) just wherever I could put it.

For her first transect in 2020, starting in the states southeast corner and ending in the northwest corner  not too far from where she found that allosaurus  Wood logged 732 miles over 65 days. That was mostly on paved roads or through unpaved ranches. In 2022 for the second leg, from the northeast corner down to the southwest corner, Wood recorded 739 miles over 70 days.

Each diagonal was done with starts and stops, with days back at her Boulder home for resting and critical planning. Wood had to contact private landowners to request permission to cross and, on some occasions, cache water and stock food at their properties. Sometimes, they offered her a bed. Mostly, Wood slept in her tent.

No, this was not the Colorado Trail. There were mountains involved, but nor was this exactly the mountainous adventure people have in mind when they think of Colorado.

I was one of those guys who drives through the prairie looking for the mountains, and then tries to get to the mountains as fast as possible, says Dennis Lyamkin, a friend who occasionally joined Wood. But the prairie offers something different.

It offered them a chance to meet ranchers whose families had been on the land for 100 years  stories you couldnt imagine, Lyamkin says. They walked deeper into history. In the northeast, through history of Native American bloodshed marked, for example, by a shot-up road sign for Summit Springs. In the southeast, through Hispanic homesteads and petroglyph-spotted canyons.

It was beauty Wood rarely appreciated. Beauty that could only be appreciated by slowly ambling through it. Images come back to Wood as if from a dream: pronghorn prancing, jackrabbits bounding, meadow larks and butterflies fluttering, black-eyed Susans waving against a big sky.

You have the sensation of the plants and earth under your feet, Wood says. And you notice the wind and the grass.

Her goal was to uncover real Colorado.

And the farther she went, the closer she felt to something more authentic in herself.

Truly one of a kind

On one hand, Lyamkin was surprised by the Colorado X concept Wood spoke of, the audacity and oddness of it. On the other hand, hed gotten to know Wood by then.

I remember her telling me stories about her past, Lyamkin says, and I was like, Holy cow, you truly are one of a kind.

Woods story begins in Colorado Springs, where she was born and raised through the 70s. Her father was Myron Wood, who became well-known for his photography of the Southwest. Her mother was Nancy Wood, an equally prolific photographer and writer interested in the same place and its people.

Its obvious where the childs curiosity came from.

Remembers a school friend from back then, Marjorie Eiref: Whenever a subject came up, she wouldnt just want to figure it out. Shed dive deep into it.

And its obvious where the childs independence came from, Eiref says.

Indias parents both went through many, many marriages, the friend explains. Her father and mother had both been married before they were married and had India, so she had many stepsisters and stepbrothers. And due to that, she was often left alone at a younger age.

She researched, read and explored in that time. Literature, history, chemistry, geology, astronomy  young Wood couldnt get enough. But paleontology held particular fascination.

Shed dig for fossils around Colorado Springs until a fortuitous trip to a family friends ranch in the states northwest corner. The tool-wielding 12-year-olds venture into the surrounding cliffs was her fleeing my destroyed family, she would later write.

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Fame from the allosaurus was fast and strange.

I didnt really know who I was then, so it felt slippery, Wood says. Like, OK, am I that girl who is in People magazine? Am I the dinosaur girl? Am I somebody else? Who do I want to be?

She saw her parents as starving artists. Strapped for cash and, in her mothers case, mentally and emotionally strained. Wood didnt want to be that.

She wanted to be a geologist, so she studied that at Dartmouth College, what she determined to be the most outdoorsy of Ivy League schools that courted her. Then she switched from geology to chemistry. Then to psychology. I ended up getting a degree in English literature, she says.

She worked with it for a while, but fear of being that starving artist eventually prevailed. She was starting a family that she swore would be whole, also unlike her parents.

Off she went to the Massachusetts Institute of Technologys business school.

I think she felt like she had to do something that was more professional, Eiref says. I dont believe she really thought this was what she wanted to do. It was what she felt she had to do.

Wood got her Master of Business Administration. When she realized that wasnt enough to grant her respect, when she realized the business world was way more interested in promoting men, she opted to become her own boss.

In 2002, she moved the family to Boulder, where she launched a successful consulting firm.

Ive had like five lives, Wood says now. And life No. 5 began around 2017, when I think, like many people in their 50s, I was thinking: What do I really want to do?

Listening to the birds

She wanted to realize the journey she imagined by stringing two strings across a map of Colorado, corner to corner, corner to corner.

She quickly realized the land wasnt as convenient as it looked on a map.

Near 12,000 feet in the San Juan Mountains, I thought, How am I possibly going to get across this? she says. It was one mountain after another after another after another.

It took her 10 days to get over the range, which included a life-threatening bout with hypothermia. Another time on the states opposite, southeast plains, she thought a derecho would blow her away. Around those parts she felt her greatest fear: In the middle of the night, a man sounding drunk lingered by her tent beside a country road.

That was more terrifying than any animal encounter, including mountain lion. The scariest of animals was the savage-sounding dog outside her tent in the northwest; the Anatolian shepherd was clearly unaware of her permission to camp on the ranch.

Along with finding water, finding and contacting those ranchers posed a consistent challenge. At the beginning, she was acutely aware of the perception: Here came someone from Boulder marching into red, rural Colorado.

The perception proved to be only that. Strangers welcomed her into their homes. They served her dinner. Theyve stayed friends.

And so the long walk wasnt a lesson about independence as much as it was about dependence. About the way we need each other, and need to connect with each other, Wood says.

Still, there were lonely times. Ive made friends with loneliness, she says.

That would be beneficial back home. Her marriage of 30 years had struggled well before she embarked on her adventure. It would end sometime after her return.

It would be the start of yet another life for Wood. Shes starting again as a writer; maybe shell be that starving artist after all. Its a life that feels uncertain as ever.

But shes been thinking about those hard times from the walk, how she always got through them. Shes been thinking about the friends she met along the way, one of the farmers in particular.

Hes this amazing storyteller, and he told me this story that I thought of every time I lost hope out there, Wood starts.

This was like in the mid-80s. He was plowing his field, and he looked up, and there was this massive tornado bearing down on his farm. He floored the tractor back to his house, grabbed his wife, and they went down to the basement.

When they came back up, the barn was gone, the work building, everything. Horses and cattle heads ripped off. The old family house had one wall standing. The tornado had ripped this line of elm trees that his grandparents had planted. And he said that he started to cry. He thought, How can I possibly rebuild this?

And then he said he heard this voice telling him to listen to the birds singing. And he said it gave him hope in the midst of something he had no control over.

And so I would think of listening to the birds. When Id just be totally depressed, when Id think I just cant do this anymore, Id think about that. Just be here, be present. Youre not in control, and thats OK.
YODER  Except for the Private Property sign nailed to a pole at the crossroads, the half-mile of dirt-packed dead-end in eastern El Paso County looks like the rest of the roads here, a fence-lined etch through endless tumbleweed plains dotted with the occasional barn, outbuilding and ranch-style home.

Its the kind of route you wouldnt take unless you got hopelessly lost, or knew precisely where youre going and that they're expecting you.

This dusty strip of easement between properties owned by Black ranchers Courtney and Nicole Mallery and their neighbor, Teresa Clark, who is white, is ground zero of a Colorado feud thats led to restraining orders and felony charges. Their story now is drawing global scrutiny and dividing neighbors in what residents describe as a hard-working, isolated agricultural community where people rely on one another to get by, even if they dont always see eye to eye.

The fight between the Mallerys and their neighbor didnt start when the Mallerys aired their side in a story published last month by Ark Republic, an online media outlet based in New Jersey. But thats where it gained steam and went viral.

In that piece, the Mallerys told of a horrifying tale of hate-based terror and intimidation that feels like it was ripped from the Jim Crow era of Americas Deep South. After they raised a Black Lives Matter flag and signs on their property, Freedom Acres Ranch, the Mallerys said theyd suffered abuse and threats online and in person by anonymous people in trucks, with guns. Their animals had been killed, their chicken coop set ablaze, and their surveillance system disabled by high-tech jamming devices.

When a ranchhand who worked for the Mallerys was shot dead in Rush, about 14 miles from their Yoder ranch, Courtney Mallery said he believed it was a "clear message" to the couple to get out or else. The body of 43-year-old Donaciano Amaya was found May 21, 2021, and his killer remains at large.

The Mallerys said the El Paso County Sheriffs Office had ignored and dismissed their complaints, and they accused one deputy of being complicit in the hate crimes they described as being committed against them.

The couples story went nuclear early last week when Courtney Mallery was arrested Monday by the El Paso County Sheriffs Office on accusations including a Class 5 felony charge of stalking.

The NAACP vowed to investigate. By Tuesday, a rally supporting the Mallerys was being organized in Denver. By Thursday, influencers were sharing the story online and one Twitter thread inspired by a post and story link, from an account with fewer than 2,000 followers, had garnered almost 7 million views. And by Saturday, a GoFundMe campaign launched in January on their behalf, with a $25,000 goal, had galloped past $130,000.

But this story that began small, with a they said/they said squabble over property rights, this Hatfields and McCoys with an ugly racial twist and no love story, is messier than the dueling narratives that are taking off and touching raw nerves on both sides.

Neighbor Valerie Clayborn said the feud and its fallout have left her wondering whether she and her late husband made the wrong decision moving here from Widefield in 2012.

We moved here for peace and tranquility. We loved it out here, but now I question myself, she said. Im worried for the Mallerys. Im worried for us, also. I feel like Im back in the 1800s.

Before tensions in Yoder ran red, before sides were picked, and neighbors started answering their doors to strangers with gun in hand, life wasn't easy around this strip of non-road in a beautiful but barren region dominated by agricultural operations and long-haul commuters living beyond Colorado Springs' eastern exurbs.

This part of El Paso County, rimmed by distant peaks but with a distinctly Kansas vibe, is home to roughly six people per square mile. Yoder has a post office but no town hall or community gathering spot since PJs General Store in Rush closed. Checking in on what your neighbors are up to from your own yard, in most cases, requires a powerful pair of binoculars.

But people still talk.

Residents with knowledge of the situation between the Mallerys and Teresa Clark, who owns the Crazy Ewe Ranch, say the two families initially had a congenial, if not close, relationship.

They started out like regular neighbors, said a Yoder resident who asked not to be named.

The Mallerys and the Clarks live about a mile apart, but as their disagreement over rights to the easement caused a growing estrangement, they began to see a lot more of each other.

In December 2021, the Mallerys took out a restraining order against Clark that required her to stay at least 100 yards from the property except when she was going to or from her own home. Her driveway lies about 1,000 feet down the easement between their ranches.

On Sept. 8, 2022, Clark was arrested for violating that order. According to the affidavit, Nicole Mallery called the Sheriffs Office after seeing Clark trespass onto her property to approach one of the video surveillance cameras she and her husband installed on posts at and near the boundary between their land, lenses trained toward the easement.

In the video, Clark is seen approaching one of the cameras and taking a photo with her cellphone before moving out of view, according to the arrest warrant. Nicole Mallery told police she believed her neighbor had tampered with the video security system.

Clark posted $500 bail on Sept. 14, according to court records.

On Nov. 22, Nicole Mallery was arrested on two counts of felony stalking after Clark contacted police and showed them a voluminous stalking log shed been keeping since late April 2021, about eight months after the Mallerys moved to town.

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According to the affidavit on Nicole Mallery's arrest:

Each page had space for 10 entries. The log was created to show that the Mallerys (sic) have no fear of her (Clark), and that they are actually going out of their way to put her in fear for her safety by repeatedly driving along the easement between their properties, and using a gate that opens onto that dirt lane to access their land, even though its far removed from the main entrance.

Nicole Mallery posted $2,000 bail in December and was due back in court last week. The Gazette was unable to ascertain the outcome of that hearing or whether it had occurred.

Then on Feb. 6, Courtney Mallery was arrested on a December warrant for felony stalking. His arrest warrant was similar to his wifes, but also included alleged misdemeanor crimes of tampering with a utility meter to power a surveillance camera supposedly used to spy on Clark, and petty theft of a trash can kept on the easement.

According to arrest documents obtained by The Gazette, Clark is listed as the stalking victim in Courtney Mallery's arrest. She has declined a request for comment. Courtney Mallery's bail was set at $6,000, three times what the prosecution requested during his preliminary court appearance Tuesday.

El Paso District and County Magistrate Deborah Pearson said she came to the decision after considering the long history of conflict, complaints and investigations by the Sheriffs Office, and because of concern about the risk to the community and the victim."

Back at the ranch with her husband on Wednesday, Nicole Mallery said she believes the Sheriff's Office never took their claims of being harassed and victimized seriously.

(The Sheriffs Office) is supposed to protect and serve, and thats not happening for me, Nicole Mallery said. Its like our lives dont matter, and thats not OK.

In addition to accusations of racism on social media, the Sheriff's Office has received hundreds of threatening phone calls, according to spokeswoman Lt. Deborah Mynatt.

Weve received threats through email, voicemail, on our (social media accounts), and on just about any communication line that is connected to our office, Mynatt said. Weve been called every name you can think of, and there have been racial allegations that we completely deny.

Sheriff Joe Roybal on Tuesday proposed a meeting with Nicole and Courtney Mallery and other members of the Yoder community. But the couple questioned the sincerity of the request and expressed reluctance to attend a town hall-style meeting.

They want to put us in a room, like were sheep amongst wolves, for people to attack us, Nicole Mallery said. That wont work.

Much of the public anger has been directed at Deputy Emory Gerhart of the countys Rural Enforcement and Outreach Unit. In the online article, the Mallerys accused Gerhart of being complicit in the alleged harassment. Nicole Mallery on Wednesday implied that the deputy plays favorites, referring to Gerhart as Clarks personal policeman.

The couple has started an online petition calling for Gerharts ouster. As of late last week, the petition has garnered more than 4,900 signatures.

In accordance with Sheriff's Office policy, Gerhart was unable to comment, officials said.

Sheriff's officials take issue with the Ark Republic articles contention that the department has ignored the Mallerys.

Since April 2021, the deputies have responded to more than 170 service calls and investigated 19 complaints that were either filed by, or involved, the couple, Mynatt said.

(The Mallerys) claim the Sheriffs Office has done nothing, has not responded to their calls for service, she said. Thats just not true.

Mynatt said that while sheriff's officials feel the online article was one-sided and misinformed, she understands some of the reaction to it.

If I read that article and I didnt know the other side of it, I would also be upset and infuriated, Mynatt said. We understand that people want and need to know what is going on.

To that end, the Sheriff's Office Record Division is currently in the process of compiling documents and body-worn camera footage that will accurately depict the departments numerous responses to calls from the Mallerys, officials said. Nearly 130 pages and more than 44 hours of footage need to be closely reviewed and redacted of names, addresses, images and other information that could compromise an open investigation or jeopardize someones safety.

The Sheriffs Office plans to make the documents available free to the public so that our community, as well as those across the country that have reached out to us in the last week and a half, can read it and make a determination for themselves, Mynatt said.

You know, in case they haven't already picked a side.
The American Association of University Women hosted a panel sponsored by the National Alliance of Mental Illness Saturday titled After Club Q: How we recover as a community to promote healing, education and conversation surrounding the aftermath of the tragic shooting at Club Q, a local LGBTQ+ nightclub, in November of 2022.

Influential figures from the National Alliance on Mental Illness, The Place, and Community Health Partnership gathered to host a conversation on LGBTQ+ awareness and how to bring action and response to a community whose resources are limited for its sizable presence in Colorado Springs.

Mary Ellen Benson, director of strategy and impact for CHP and moderator of the panel, welcomed the group to enter the conversation with an open mind and to seek, listen, understand, and ask questions.

We are working to convene, collaborate and bring folks together in the spirit of true community systems change so that we can move forward with some of our large community challenges, Benson said.

Homelessness, suicide prevention, substance abuse, behavioral health and health equity were some of the issues outlined by Benson to be discussed during the panel.

The panel itself consisted of four local professionals involved in addressing these issues through lived experience, and various nonprofit work.

Present on the panel were Shawna Kemppainen, director of The Place; Rachel Keener, project manager for CHPs LGBTQUIA+ Health Equity Project; Jerry Albrient, a retiree and now volunteer with Pikes Peak Mental Health Services; and Sarah Banta, peer programs coordinator for NAMI.

Kemppainen noted that The Place, a Colorado Springs nonprofit dedicated to helping young people, helps those who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.

Im here because the conversation about LGBTQIA+ health in our community; youth health and homelessness, and how we react after a crisis is very important, Kemppainen said. Its a conversation that needs to be ongoing.

When a youth comes out if their parents and caregivers can simply have a neutral approach, that actually cuts the suicide rate to 30%," Kemppainen said. "Its so important to take people as they are, and accept them as they are, and doing that is what the evidence shows creates a healthy environment for people coming out.

The conversation surrounding the Nov. 19 tragedys aftermath expanded on availability and visibility of resources throughout the two-hour discussion.

One point of conversation surrounded the need to find a space for available long-term resources.

Although instrumental in providing virtual assistance in the aftermath of the Club Q tragedy, Inside Out Youth Services, a community center for struggling LGBTQ+ youth and their families, was forced to shut down in-person services due to hate-group threats and lack of security following the November tragedy and remains closed.

CHP's Keener cited this is an example of the need to identify gaps in resources and strive to find solutions.

This is drawing attention to the deficiency of resources present in our community for this group of people, Keener said.

Keener outlined her perspective on the importance of leveraging funding toward resources and building relationships through various programs and organizations throughout the city.

We are still small community organizations working to do a lot with little resources, Keener said.

Albrient, a Colorado Springs resident for 30 years, discussed experience in disaster response and spiritual care with Pikes Peak Mental Health and his travels as a monk.

Albrient married the owners of Club Q and was at their home for dinner the night of the shooting.

Agreeing with his fellow panelists in terms of promoting longevity in after-disaster resources, Albrient relayed his hopes for the state of the community.

I want people to understand, to listen, and to not judge. Albrient said, I think that is probably the most important piece. Lets step away from the judgment and the condemnation and lets look to the love.
A program started at Danville's Institute for Advanced Learning and Research will grow across the commonwealth thanks to a multi-million dollar boost.

A partnership with employers, economic developers, K-12 school divisions and institutions of higher education, will use $3.4 million in GO Virginia funding to scale the Great Opportunities in Technology and Engineering Careers  known as GO TEC  framework across the state, according to a news release.

The GO TEC framework has been incredibly successful, both as a pilot program right here in Danville and Pittsylvania County and as we have partnered with other localities across Virginia, Julie Brown, vice president of advanced learning at the Institute, said. With this additional funding from GO Virginia, we will be able to support the current and anticipated expansion into dozens of K-12 schools across multiple regions of the commonwealth."

GO Virginia is a business-led economic development initiative with a mission to change the way "Virginias diverse regions collaborate on economic and workforce development activities," according to the group's website.

"Im excited to see how GO TEC makes a positive, direct impact on the students, educational systems, economic development efforts and overall success of these regions, just like it has in Southern Virginia, Brown said.

The program starts in middle school and continues through high school grades and post-secondary programs. The goal is to "engage students in hands-on learning in high-demand career pathways," according to the news release.

It's designed to deliver workforce training through a collaborative effort.

The infusion of money will allow staff members to go into other GO Virginia regions to expand the GO TEC model.

"GO TEC Virginia 2025 demonstrates that like-minded leaders from education, business, non-profit organizations, and government can work together to create for our students a clear pathway to high-paying jobs in their hometowns, said Tim Clark, chair of GO Virginia Region 3 Council. "GO Virginia Region 3 is pleased to have supported the growth of a partnership between IALR staff and Southern Virginia's school divisions and community colleges to make GO TEC a success for our students and businesses  a partnership that will now be expanded to benefit other regions in Virginia."

The $3.4 million was announced in December by Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin as part of more than $5 million in grants.

The state funds are matched with $2.44 million in local and federal funds from partner organizations, according to the release.

GO TEC  which started as a pilot program in 2018 in Danville and Pittsylvania County  has a strong presence in GO Virginia Region 3, including Danville, Pittsylvania County and Martinsville city school divisions.
GREENSBORO  Chandrika Brown had no idea what a "family partner" was until a friend recruited her to become one.

Turns out, the challenges Brown faced as the parent of a child with a mental health diagnosis, seizures and other issues were the kinds of experiences required for the job.

"She told me that she felt like I could help other families learn to get services for their child the same way that I had to fight for my son, but make it a whole lot easier for them," Brown recalled.

Brown now works with an organization called NC Youth and Family Voices Amplified  a unique program UNCG started last year on behalf of the state, supported with federal dollars. The program provides training and assistance to "family partners" and "youth peer support providers" across North Carolina  roles that require "lived experience" as their main qualification.

"It means so much when you have at least one person who can identify with what you are experiencing," said Frederick Douglas, the family training coordinator for the program.

The "family partners" are parents of children with mental illness who now help other parents like themselves. The "youth peer support providers" are people who suffered from mental illness growing up and now help teenagers and young adults going through it.

Been there, done that The challenges Chandrika Brown faced as the parent of a child with mental health issues has also made her qualified to help others.

The idea behind the program is that people who've experienced mental health struggles, whether personally or in a support role such as a parent, and have come out the other side are equipped to help others going through similar issues.

Stacie Forrest, a child mental health program consultant with the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, said the state keeps hearing that for families in the throes of mental health struggles, it helps to have people who've been there.

"Thats so important," she said. "Theyve been in those same situations and the families really respond to that."

****

The idea of peer support providers in the realm of mental health isn't new. But the state's recent investment in the creation of the UNCG program comes amid an ongoing mental health crisis.

Between 2019 and 2021, the percentage of Americans reporting symptoms of anxiety or depression nearly quadrupled. Faced with an "unprecedented need" for mental health services, the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services sees bolstering youth peer support providers and family partners as an effective strategy to help the state cope with the onslaught as well as make lasting change.

Family and youth peer support providers in North Carolina work at a wide variety of agencies, nonprofit organizations, private providers and churches  all paid for through a variety of different methods. State leaders lack numbers on how many are operating, but know they want to recruit more to the profession.

They see Youth and Family Voices as a centralizing hub that can do a number of key things to support these entities as they help others struggling with mental illness.

One is training. That includes recruiting and educating people to fill those roles so they can spread that experience to organizations and agencies across the state.

Another is helping families in need connect with existing family and youth peer support providers.

The need for training and making connections is growing as the state tries out family and youth peer support providers in some new settings, including the state's mobile crisis unit for children and a number of psychiatric residential treatment facilities. North Carolina also has some new efforts underway making family and youth peer support accessible to certain groups of Medicaid recipients.

Michael McGrath, a wraparound services program manager for the nonprofit Easterseals UCP, is involved with one of those efforts. He said North Carolina is behind some other states in figuring out how to incorporate family and youth peer support, but moving in the right direction. Family and youth partners, he said, are good at helping people stand up for their own interests and goals within the mental health care system and other state systems.

"When we do not involve family voice or we don't involve the youth  we are basically telling them what to do  it doesn't work," he said.

****

Within the realm of mental health services, youth peer support providers most typically are young adults who have struggled with a mental health disorder and now draw on that experience to help young people.

Thats a really unique package right there  a young adult that brings that experience thats actually come out the other side of it and is in a position to give back," McGrath said.

Like Erin Hanes. She is a peer support specialist who works with youth for the Kellin Foundation, a nonprofit organization in Greensboro.

NEED HELP?  NC Youth and Family Voices Amplified: Helps those with mental health problems connect with others that have faced similar struggles. 888-846-1066 or https://ncvoicesamplified.uncg.edu/contact-us/.  High Fidelity Wraparound Services: Services for youth and families dealing with some of the most complex challenges, typically navigating multiple systems, like juvenile justice, mental health services and child welfare. 910-612-8573 or michael.mcgrath@eastersealsucp.com.  North Carolina Families United: Longstanding nonprofit organization led by parents with experience dealing with child mental health issues. https://www.ncfamiliesunited.org/contact.

Hanes works in person and virtually with youth ages 13 and up who have experienced a significant mental health or substance abuse disorder. The services she provides are free and funded through grants. Sometimes she has a waiting list. Other times, she doesn't.

To get help, though, young people must volunteer rather than parents forcing them.

"Thats part of advocating for themselves," said Hanes, a Winston-Salem native.

Hanes said she works with clients to help them set goals, figure out coping skills and connect with community resources. Unlike a therapist, Hanes does not help her clients process trauma. Ideally, her services are in addition to therapy, but it's not a requirement.

"I take my experience in knowing how to keep myself well and use that to help inspire others, and just help them build resilience," she said.

Mental health recovery, she said, means learning to live with the disorder and manage symptoms.

"When I was not in recovery my depression would highly interfere with my daily activities," she said. "I wouldnt take care of myself, so personal hygiene was difficult. I wouldnt interact socially with others. But now, I know what works for me. I know how to take care of myself through that."

Hanes had already been dealing with anxiety and depression when, at age 16, she lost her best friend to a car accident. In the aftermath those "multiplied by a thousand," she described, and she also developed post-traumatic stress disorder and insomnia to the point that she was bedridden, sometimes for weeks at a time.

Hanes' therapist, psychiatrist and emotional support dog helped her get better, and she's since been able to accomplish big goals, like getting a bachelor's degree in psychology and launching her career.

Still, looking back, she wishes she'd also had peer support as a teenager.

"I felt like no one else had gone through this experience; I felt isolated and alone," she said. "I believe having someone I could have related to, that had a significant mental health disorder, would have been really beneficial to me in learning different coping skills that they had because I didn't really understand what coping skills were before I lost him."

****

The role of a family partner focuses on helping parents figure out how to secure the services and support their child needs after being diagnosed with a mental health disorder.

That's what Alamance County parent Shantay Collins experienced when she got help from Brown, back when the Youth and Family Voices collaboration coordinator was working as a family partner in Alamance County.

At the time, Collins said, she and her children were coming out of a domestic violence situation that was traumatic. Brown helped her figure out everything from how to get her children into therapy to finding a place to live.

"I didnt know how to advocate for my kids," Collins said. "Thats something I have under my belt now."

Brown said that when she was a family partner in Alamance County, she would usually work with between 15 and 20 families. That included sending texts, going to their homes and sometimes accompanying them to a meeting with a teacher or doctor.

"I dont take the steering wheel for them," she said. "Im kind of like their navigator, their GPS."

Collins said that when she wanted to give up, Brown, who'd been through it, wouldn't let her.

And hearing Brown's story helped Collins believe success was possible, even at a time when she wasn't feeling inclined to trust anyone.

"To be connected with someone," she said, "you do want to know you have something in common to connect."
As a bloodied Tyre Nichols lay dazed against a police car after being kicked, slugged and tased, a Memphis, Tenn., police officer snapped the photos of the scene as if he were on vacation or at a birthday party.

The officer, Demetrius Haley, was one of five who were fired and arrested in the wake of Nichols death.

Haley shared photos of the incident and then sent them to fellow officers and a female friend, according to documents released by the Tennessee Peace Officers Standards and Training Commission.

What kind of a depraved soul would do such a thing?

Haley and four other officers have been fired and charged with second-degree murder for their involvement in the gruesome incident, during which the officers seemed to revel in their brutality.

In its written request that the officers be decertified, the Memphis Police Department said: Your on-duty conduct was unjustly, blatantly unprofessional and unbecoming for a sworn public servant.

Youd hope that the incident, captured in police and surveillance footage for all of the world to see, would force an overdue reckoning on police reform.

You would hope.

But we have been here before. With George Floyd. And Breonna Taylor. And Philando Castile. And so on.

Yet, weve had little to show for it beyond tears and tragedy.

After Nichols death, could America finally have seen enough? Possibly.

According to a new Yahoo News/YouGov poll, Americans support every major reform in the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.

Even more encouraging: Republicans also favor the vast majority of the proposed reforms.

The survey of 1,585 U.S. adults, conducted from Feb. 2 to Feb. 6, found unequivocal support for the George Floyd Act, Yahoo News reported.

Also, more Americans seem to appreciate the nuances of this issue  and to understand that being for police reform does not mean being against police.

Fifty-nine percent of the respondents in the Yahoo/YouGov poll said they agree that we need to fix the police by reforming the existing system versus 13% who wanted to defund and reinvent our approach to public safety and 17% who preferred no reforms at all.

As for the specifics:

74% favored requiring body cameras.

71% favored creating a national police misconduct registry.

63% supported making it easier to prosecute officers accused of wrongdoing.

57% want to ban chokeholds.

Notably, even the less popular initiatives garnered more support than opposition: Fifty-one percent favor ending qualified immunity, which shields police from civil lawsuits, versus 25% who oppose it. Forty-eight percent want to ban no-knock warrants, versus 27% who are opposed.

Whether public sentiment forces tangible action is another matter. It certainly hasnt with guns. And, if past is prologue, this will be a struggle.

Despite a wave of reforms proposed after George Floyd died under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer in 2020, only a trickle, about 10%, were enacted, a Duke University law professor said during a video news conference last week.

Weve seen a lot of activity gesturing toward the need to improve policing, but not particularly hard-hitting requirements, Brandon Garrett, who directs the Wilson Center for Science and Justice at Duke, said of the lack of progress, NC Policy Watch reported.

One of Garretts colleagues at the Wilson Center, Angela Weis Gammell, cited no clear standard for excessive force, noting that the policy varies from department to department.

Meanwhile, so far in 2023, police offcers in the United States have killed 133 people, according to the national database Mapping Police Violence.

And the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act remains stuck in legislative purgatory, with scant evidence of Republican support.

Americans can demand action. Or we can only wait until the next horrific incident.

Because if we dont change, this wont.
Press Release

February 10, 2023 Pia: transcript of highlights of the hearing

Senate probe on the sale of vape products and flavors targeting the youth Public hearing led by Senator Pia S. Cayetano (SPSC)

Chairperson, Senate Committee on Sustainable Development Goals, Innovation, and Futures Thinking I. Opening statement This public hearing of the Committee on Sustainable Development Goals, Innovation, and Futures Thinking joint with the Committee on Trade, Commerce, and Entrepreneurship is called to order. In today's hearing, we'll discuss the speech I delivered on February 6, 2023 calling for an investigation on the violation of the Vaporized Nicotine Regulation Act in relation to vape flavors and designs, which in particular are very attractive to the youth. Joining us today is our Majority Floor Leader, Sen. Joel Villanueva, who even during the deliberations on the said measure, was very vocal about his concerns on the products that would be attractive to the youth, particularly the age, and the flavors, and I believe that our Majority Floor Leader would like to say a few words. Sir, the floor is yours. [Sen Villanueva: Expressed appreciation to SPSC for bringing into light this alarming situation concerning the implementation of the Vape Law] Thank you, Majority Floor Leader, thank you for reiterating that provision of law to point out that there is clear violation. Wala na siguro tayong kailangan pag-usapan, which is precisely why the Senate President, with your honor's support, really pushed for the immediate adoption of that resolution, kasi wala na talagang dapat pag-usapan. Even if we were a court of law, we had the evidence. Now, I'll take the opportunity, and bahala na kayo, Majo, stay as long as you want, and if you need to go, I know you'll be monitoring because you are concerned about this. But I'll take off from where the Majority Floor Leader left off. Our honorable Majority Floor Leader read the provision of the law that very clearly considers a product as enticing to the youth when it uses fruits, desserts, or other descriptors which are known to be connected with children. So as I was saying earlier, if this were a court of law, all you need to show is the evidence that there is such a product and it's being sold, and therefore, we then prove that there is a violation of the law. So I can now show some of these products. [Shows samples of vape products with fancy flavors] Na-alert ako nung sinabi ni [Majority Floor Leader Joel Villanueva]... parang he read my mind, but rest assured, everybody, we are not in cahoots. We just have the same concern. His honor mentioned dessert, right? And eksakto ang sample na andito na hawak ko, a Korean dessert, strawberry bingsu. So ito siya. And my staff told me that if you open it, which I won't do now, I'll do it later, probably, you don't even have to use it as a vape but just opening it will already note the smell of it, which is very enticing. So ito pa lang, dessert. Eh sinabi ng batas natin, bawal nga ang dessert. Oh eto, dessert. So ito nga mamaya babasahin ko yung address ng manufacturer o distributor nito kasi nga violation talaga siya... So, I can actually say, and FDA is here, I'll give you the floor later, pero from what I know, yung mga packages di ba kailangan very clear ang manufacturer and distributor address? Oh, wala. Wala. So violation din yun. Anyway, another example is watermelon cooler, so fruit. Hindi pa ba natin alam na prutas ito? Ayan, watermelon cooler. Kitang kita rin. And then for the accessories, hindi ko alam pero parang proud pa siya eh, yung tatak na "Made in the Philippines." Para bang proudly made in the Philippines, which to me I am not proud about, but anyway it is what it is. And then in terms of accessories, I made a statement and I'll go through this a little bit later on, but in the bill that I filed, which was actually a draft that was a collaborative effort with SEATCA and the youth group that has been monitoring the dangers of vapes, the bill that I had filed in the 18th Congress a few years ago, very clearly also prohibited accessories of vape products, which would effectively be promoting vapes and making it attractive to children. Kung hindi pa ba attractive ito, ito ang accessories. Ito ang lalagyan. Meron siyang parang lanyard na pwede i-hang sa neck mo. and ang product covers niya are candy bars and a very well-known soft drink, diba? So ayan. This is a sad state that we are in, colleagues. And the Majority Floor Leader looks like he is about to cry. Because this is the fate of our youth. Ito ang products on our market... And I made a statement that the three gentlemen that actively participated in the interpellation of my privilege speech were his honor, the Majority Floor Leader, the Senate President, and the Minority Floor Leader. All have daughters, all have young kids. So, yun nga ang kagandahan when we have a Senate that represents different members of our society, and in this particular case, the youth. Because they would immediately be... We are all human beings, and psychology tells us that we have a limited ability to focus on different things. So if we in the Senate were busy reviewing laws, it's very possible that hindi na-attract si Majority Floor Leader if I just mentioned fruits. But the fact that he saw, not to mention hindi ho kumakain ng gulay yan... So kung gulay ang nabanggit ko, hindi niya mapapansin yun. Sino ba naman ang attracted kung nagkaroon tayo ng vapes na ang andoon eh talong? It's not attractive. Prutas, yes. Pero what got his attention was the Sanrio character because he has a daughter and that's why I am grateful that this situation gives us the opportunity to take it up now. So, without further ado, thank you again, Majority Floor Leader. Let me just proceed with a few more information... Just to put this on record because it was covered in my privilege speech, but just very quickly, in 2012, we passed RA 10351, otherwise known as the Sin Tax Law, and this covered alcohol and cigarettes. And that is why in 2020, when I sponsored the new Sin Tax Reform Act, it now covered the new type of sin products, which is heated tobacco products and vapes. Kasi nga in the earlier law, parang wala pa yun sa mundo natin. Nasa mundo na natin, but it wasn't in our realm. It wasn't an immediate concern. But in 2020, Congress, the Senate in particular, had a debate, do we ban or do we not ban but we tax and regulate? And the decision was to tax and regulate. Thus, the Sin Tax Reform Act, because we would tax and regulate. And that is the purpose of the hearing, to find out if we are actually doing our job of regulating. Fast forward, shortly after 2020, a new law was passed and this is the... Vape Law, RA 11900, which overturned three major provisions of the Sin Tax Reform Act. These 3 provisions are pegging the age at 21 years so that the youth really are protected beyond 18; FDA being the agency that would regulate these products; and third is limiting the flavors to menthol and tobacco flavor. I say that these 3 major provisions were overturned because in the Vape Law, the age changed from 21 to 18; jurisdiction to regulate was transferred to DTI; and there was a more permissive provision on flavors. So the focus of this hearing is really on the flavors. And although I made it clear that the provision under the current law, which is the Vape Law, is more permissive, kasi dati, talagang ano lang, menthol and tobacco. So everything else is banned. And ngayon ang nangyari sa Vape Law, which I opposed, is they expanded the definition to include, basically allowed ang flavors with the exception of flavors that are attractive to the youth, and then may descriptors, like fruit flavors, cartoons, and other candies which obviously we would know are attractive to the youth. And now, ganun na nga ka-clear pa rin ang law, and we still have very, very clear violations. So I'd like to end my introduction by mentioning, and I will read it into the record perhaps later na lang so that we could give the floor to our guests who have taken the time to be here. But there are now articles and studies, peer-reviewed studies that are saying that as many of the advocates have warned, be careful with claiming that these products are safer, because it may not be safer at all. It may even be worse. And there are now studies that are saying that there is more lung damage to the lungs of people who vape than cigarettes. And I'll just cite those studies later on. And these are peer-reviewed studies, by the way. And there's the alarm that has been sounded in the UK. When I visited the UK specifically to study how they are approaching the handling, how they dealt with the handling of this novel product, which was vapes, they told me that they have a slightly, and this is just my own words, a slightly permissive take on it because they are not worried about the youth taking it up because the youth in the UK... based on their data, they have been successful in stopping the youth from smoking. Therefore, the chances daw na mag-shift sa vapes yung naninigarilyong bata is very low kasi nga they have already succeeded in making smoking not attractive to the youth. And the reason for this is because they have... adopted many of the recommendations of the advocacy groups on stopping smoking. This includes no point of purchase display. So if you go into a retail store in London, which I did, I wanted to try to see how the cigarettes look and ecigs, walang point of purchase displayed doon. So nakakalimutan ko. So ganun ka-effective yun. You will not think of buying cigarettes kasi nakatago talaga. Only if you ask will it be shown to you. And then, if I am not mistaken, they also have plain packaging, tama ba? Dr Yul is confirming. They have plain packaging. So balewala yung mga subtle and not subtle advertising ng iba't ibang tobacco companies kasi nga plain packaging din lang naman. And so on and so forth, including of course yung specific educational campaign na ginawa nila for more than a decade. So successful sila. Pero ngayon, this is two years since I've been... two or three kasi I was there in 2019... Three and a half years since I was there... Now, I am reading reports that said the UK is alarmed by the number of young people who have been hospitalized because of vaping. So hindi lang nagve-vape, naho-hospitalize pa. So I am sad for them because mali pala ang assumption nila na hindi magiging attractive sa bata kasi this industry works in a very devious way, and this is how they work... Our hearing will be immortalized, thanks to Youtube and our media friends who cover it. And I want this to be something that people, anyone of any age, well of mature age can understand. Even teenagers. I want them to be able to understand this. So I always want to give a background and context to what we are discussing... II. RESOURCE PERSONS [DTI] Sorry I need to interrupt you, sorry... I just want to explain. The reason that the SDG Committee is hearing this, for those who are not aware, para maintindihan niyo rin. The SDG Committee that I chair overlaps many, if not all, these concerns. Obviously good health, SDG 3; industry and jobs is all covered here so that's why there is an overlap and the Senate President and the body deemed it best for this Committee to hear it. So go ahead and proceed. [DTI mentions violations that they have monitored; Sen Villanueva interjects] Thank you, Majority Floor Leader. Actually, my questions are also along that line. Maybe we will get further clarity, and not confusion, when we ask these kinds of questions and then also listen to FDA kasi your last statement na, are our systems working, doon na lang tayo, dib ba? Andaming paliwanag, which Asec [Ann Claire Cabochan, of DTI] is simply just telling us what they put in the rules and in the law, some of those things are not in the law. Rules na lang yun. Pero is it adding to bureaucracy? Because for me, as a lawyer, I understand the concept of due process. But there is also the concept of plain danger. And law enforcements have the right to step in and protect people from danger. So I want to be able to validate these practices that we have with an eye towards either accepting it, that it's going to be a slow process or recognizing that there is room for change if we really want to be able to protect our youth. Kasi kapag sinabi mong binebenta sa harap ng schools, and that is one of the examples that Asec. gave. Are you telling me na pababayaan nating binebenta yan sa harap ng schools? Magbibigay pa tayo ng letter ng show cause, may x number of days, babalikan pa tayo, eh nakikita mo nang binebenta sa harap ng schools. Nakikita mo namang Korean dessert. May pinagkaiba pa ba yung Korean, American, Filipino dessert? Ano ang sinabi mo? May sinabi ka kanina, Majo... Gulaman. Hindi ko alam na may ganoon. Pati gulaman pala meron. Watermelon cooler. May picture na ng watermelon, may pangalan pa ng watermelon. Ano pa ba yun? Atty Porciuncula? [Atty. Marimel Porciuncula, director of the Fair Trade Enforcement Bureau of DTI] You're from the DTI right? So are you prepared to address the concern raised by the Majority Floor Leader na, are our systems working? It might be working because you are telling me we are following the letter of the rules and the law. Pero patawarin. Yang teenager na yan o 12 years old na yan na in-attract nila, baka lolo na, by that time. Finollow nga nila yung letter of the rules and letter of the laws, but we created too many processes that we are not able to save the youth. So that's my question, that's our question. [DTI] There you go. Have you confiscated, Asec? Have you confiscated? Then why not? Why not? Ni-report niyo sa amin, and I took note of it, you have 16 show-cause orders. May I know if these 16 include yung selling near the schools? Kasi yun yun, yung in-explain mo that these are the types of violations, I am not sure if you meant these are the violations defined by law or violations that were actually seen by your law enforcements. They have been seen. So may violations na selling near the school, may violations na may descriptors, katulad niyang watermelon... tapos selling without graphic health warning... point of sale, what about point of sale? [DTI] The required statements at point of sale na they cannot sell to minors, etc. So you found it, so paano, picture-taking tapos submission? Tapos show-cause? Mismong lawyer niyo ang nagsasabing you have the power to confiscate. Parang kulang naman sa briefing ang law enforcement niyo. [DTI] For the record, pinunas-punasan na ni MFL ang mukha niya. Kung ginawa ko yun tanggal na lahat ng makeup ko, okay? That is a sign. I have to put that on record because that is a sign of frustration. Wala na kaming magawa dahil kami naman ay disenteng senador, hindi kami nagmumura dito, nagpipilit kaming hindi magtaas ng boses. So hanggang ganyan na lang kami, nagpipigil na lang kami ng mukha namin. My God. Lord. Sorry, my mom gets mad at me if she hears me... "My God." Because do not call the name of the Lord in vain daw. But I am not calling the Lord's name in vain. I am actually calling out to the Lord for guidance because hindi ko na alam yung gagawin ko. If you are telling me, which you seem to be about to tell me, Asec. Ann... that your administrative order stated blah, blah, blah. Eh kayo ang nagsulat noon eh. Hindi naman ganun ang batas na ginawa namin. Masama na nga ang batas na ginawa namin, lalong pinasama pa ng admin order na nilagyan ng sangkatutak na requirements. Samantalang your lawyer is telling us that you have the right to confiscate. [Sen Villanueva] Atty Porciuncula and Asec. Cabochan, I will go to FDA and DOH. I am sure you have something more to say. I'll give you time to discuss and tell me what your clear position is. Because if this is going to be your position, then we really have a problem. We will never get to the bottom of this in the lifetime of these young people. [Sen Villanueva] Thank you. So that's very clear. Ang kagandahan naman ng batas na ito, which I already considered watered down, we were still able to make sufficient interventions that clearly define what are violations. Wala tayong... Hindi vague yun. We said flavors named as desserts, as fruits, that are attractive to kids. And these are what we consider attractive to kids kasi baka subject pa to discussion what are attractive to kids, kaya sinabi natin doon, cartoons, desserts... fruits. Yun na nga. Violation na nga siya. Violation na talaga siya. Anyway, like I said, I will give Atty Porciuncula of DTI and Asec. Cabochan an opportunity to talk... But in the meantime, before I give the floor to FDA, I want to educate all of us, okay? Let's all be educated. Even I continue to be educated, I need to research, I need to ask my team, what is the latest jurisprudence. On the plain view doctrine, which is a case in 2019, Argana vs. People, this is the doctrine: law enforcement officers in search of evidence when he is in a position from which he can view a particular area... oh di syempre kung tindahan yan at andoon ka naman nakapasok, it's a public store, lahat naman pwedeng pumasok, so siya ay nasa isang posisyon para ma-view niya, makita niya kung ano ang binebenta doon... Number two, discovery of the evidence in plain view, is inadvertent, hindi nangkalkal, hindi naman pumasok sa bodega nila kung ano mang lugar, mag-open ng drawers, ng cabinet; it's in plain view, pagtingin mo andoon; and third, it is immediately apparent that the item he observes may be evidence of a crime, contraband, or otherwise, subject to... seizure, hindi pa ba crime yun? Hindi pa ba contraband yun or subject to seizure? Ano pa ba? Now if these don't happen to be in plain view then I understand, di ba? I don't know, there are products that are really not in plain view, you have to enter, you have to open up. Eh plain view nga. So allow me to educate all of us, this is the plain view doctrine. Your rules do not have the power of law if there is a law and jurisprudence that is very clear. Balewala ang rules niyo. I will move to FDA and think about what you are saying to me because I am not happy with what I am hearing from DTI... [FDA] Can I remind all the secretaries and heads of agencies that if you send your subordinate, it is usually acceptable but common courtesy, let my office know so that if I have a question, if I'd like to say hello to you, if I'd like to direct my question to you, you can let me know... Ang DG ng FDA hindi man lang nag-abalang magsabi sa akin na hindi siya makakapunta. Nagtanong pa ako off the record earlier hindi niyo rin alam kung bakit wala siya. Ngayon niyo lang nalaman dahil sinabi kong alamin niyo... Hindi kasalanan ng subordinates yun, kasalanan ng principal yun. [FDA] What you delivered now is a summary of what is contained in that law, which both Sen. Joel and I consider a law that diminished the protective powers that the original law, Sin Tax Law, had given. So that is a summary of that and I guess you touched on the rules itself. Thank you. So my question now is can you tell us how this law or this rule has in whatever way affected your work? Like when we now talk about, if you were to compare what you normally take note of with other products that are harmful to health... ang specific division mo is center for cosmetics, household, urban hazardous substances regulation and research. So, let's use for example cosmetics, obviously you would be very familiar with that. Yung cosmetics ire-register sa inyo right? And from my understanding because I was a practitioner in FDA, nandyan ako madalas baka grade school pa lang kayo noon. That was my first job, one of my first tasks in the law office that I worked with, to assist our clients in getting their products registered so I am quite familiar with the process. May checklist yun diba? And over the years, we have institutionalized and internationalized our practice such that when you get a report that's validated already in another FDA, particularly syempre kung yung FDA na kinikilala ng maayos, let's say US product, that is just basically documentary na lang ang process nun, right? You will not conduct your testing, let the records show that Ms Cabrido [Division chief, Ofelyn Cabrido of the Center for Cosmetics and Household Urban Hazardous Substances Regulation and Research of FDA] is nodding her head... So basta ma-submit nila lahat yun, wala na kayong testing na gagawin because you take at face value na ang ibang FDA that had ruled upon this did their job. Correct? [FDA] Sabi mo nga you are governed by the ASEAN cosmetic directive... [FDA] It's not that they are not being regulated, but because of that agreement, you recognize that they have gone through the process in another country, that's why notification, correct? So there is still a process that gives you the confidence na dumaan na sa proseso ito. So if it's a contact lens, that go in the eyes; a moisturizer, facial cream that go on the face; deodorant that goes under a person's arm, you are notified, correct? So normally, with a product, and I am going now to the vapes, if you will recall the position that this representation has taken, same with the MFL, a product as defined by the FDA Law should be registered with the FDA if it is harmful and it could potentially cause, or have an effect on one's health. It has a claim that it has a good effect? Therefore, register it. It doesn't have any claims but from your own knowledge, from the wealth of knowledge that we have, it will be exposed to our body parts, then it has a health effect and therefore must go through some kind of process within the FDA, correct? So ang nangyari dito sa vapes na ini-inhale... sinisinghot o nilalanghap... yun nga ang pinaglalaban natin na kaya nga sa Sin Tax Law, sinabi natin na FDA will regulate, walang issue, done. Tapos dito sa bagong batas na ito, binaliktad, sinabi na DTI... Ibalik natin ang tanong, so paano niyo nache-check yun na ang nilalanghap nila, paano niyo nache-check yun? Because I will reiterate, and sinabi rin ito ni MFL when I delivered my speech, in the US FDA, more than 55,000 flavors were rejected kasi nga it does not contribute... hindi nga daw pumapasa sa standard... Hindi yan pumasa sa FDA, and here we are, our FDA has no authority to look into it based on the law, this bulok na law na napasa, it's with DTI... Let's ask them how they are checking on that... So just to be clear, yung sa 55,000 flavors that were rejected by the US FDA, the marketing application for these 55,000 flavors were rejected for failure to provide evidence that they appropriately protect public health. Hindi sila na-reject dahil lang hindi sila nakakasakit, but they appropriately do not protect public health. Bagsak sila doon. So I will ask DTI later on... how they are able to do that because from what I know, kayo ang may competence to do that. And you have the confidence to do that? May I hear the answer for that? [DOH] I am tempted to mention all the other things that we are working on together, which sadly negates, takes away from the time that we have to spend on problems like this because we are working nga towards more protection of health and yet here we are needing to take valuable time, the time of the honorable Usec, the time of DOH, FDA, the time actually also of DTI na marami ring pino-problema sa ibang aspect ng trade and industry, because certain sectors cannot even self-regulate and cannot even do their part in protecting the youth. Talaga namang tinarget pa ang youth. I don't think there is any question there. [Sen Villanueva; DOH] I will give the floor to Dr Yul Dorotheo, he is the Executive Director of Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance. We have been working together for more than a decade already. Talagang expert. He can recite the facts to us in his sleep about nicotine addiction and the like... and we have our youth representatives pa. Sen. Alan [Cayetano] is also online... I wanted to take off very quickly from what Dr. Beverly Ho [DOH Undersecretary] said. She was describing in layman's terms what is an addiction. Sen Joel and I both have young kids. My son is 12, around the same age as your two kids din. Hindi nagkakalayo. I was telling my son about my latest privilege speech on vapes. I was just trying to see kung naaalala niya ang discussion ko with him in the past years. Kasi nag-umpisa yan he was 8-9. And he is now 12... I was just curious kung nagegets niya ang point ko. So this was over dinner with my two older daughters and my 12 y/o son. And I said this was my speech, about vapes which is very dangerous, it's bad for you and it becomes addictive. And I said do you know about it and do you have friends who are doing this? Do you know it's bad for you? And my son's answer was this: Mom, do you think I am dumb? And I was like, no I don't think you are dumb, precisely why I was asking you if you understand the topic because you are old enough to understand. Then he repeated, do you think I'm dumb? And I said no. And he said, why do you have to ask me that? And then I said, you know what it's this golden age where they listen to their parents pa. Na kung sinabi kong bad yan for him, bad yan... But we do know from history, from time immemorial... that at some point, you start listening to what your friends are saying, you start getting more attracted to what is out there, what is attractive to you, and isn't that precisely the nature of what addiction can be? The problems it can give us? Kasi in your head, you know that it's bad. You know it's not good for you. Alam mo na, narinig mo na sa parents, teachers, doctor. Bakit mo pa ginawa? Peer pressure and eventually, you get addicted. [Dr Yul Dorotheo] For the record, Sen. Jinggoy [Estrada] also mentioned that he wanted to make sure that the graphic health warning is also covered. We covered that in the law and therefore, DTI should cover that in everything, in all the violations that are being monitored. [Dr Dorotheo] In the same way that DTI laid out to us the process that they go through, which made me realize na wow, ang haba ng prosesong yan, hindi man lang kayo nagko-confiscate. And kayo, I wanted to ask you for examples because I know for a fact na nagko-confiscate kayo kapag mga plain view din... And let the record show that the 3 representatives of FDA are all nodding their head... Ngayon ewan ko sa inyo DTI kung bakit hindi kayo nakakapag-confiscate... [Dr Dorotheo] Ewan ko pero ang proponents ng batas na ito ginawa nila lahat na DTI, so paano kapag tumawag sa inyo? Sasaklolohin niyo ang namamatay na? Binigay nila sa inyo lahat. Jurisdiction din sa inyo rin. So ewan ko kapag may tumawag, tell me later on how you intend to handle that. Because there are reported cases, as I've said, and I will read on record later on. Sa UK pa lang nagaalala sila sa dami ng youth na naoospital... [AER; Youth for Sin Tax; PH College of Chest Physicians] I'll take off from what you said. I think it was in the form of a question to Usec. Beverly Ho on the data available. And I am sure it's DOH who can put into action this concern that we both have. How do we disseminate this to all levels of healthcare? For us to get the data, ang kwinento niyong case clearly, nakarating siya sa specialist who was able to document that properly and diagnose it properly. But how many cases like this are diagnosed in the barangay health center, in a primary healthcare center? So I'd like to know from DOH what protocols do we have in place. Just like disease reporting, it just so happens that my team and I are also handling the drafting of the bill on the CDC... So I know the language that is contained in that bill, on the reporting of the diseases, on the cascading of information. But I'd like to know na until the CDC is in place, kasama ba itong pagmo-monitor ng EVALI ailment... or is it something we still have to do? [DOH] So paano? In FDA, it's embedded in their system that when you register, the registration certification that they give also has responsibilities on the side of recipients, and that includes reporting of adverse effects. May ganyan kayo? So for the record, everyone, the entire Philippine population, kung ang jurisdiction ba ay naiwan sa FDA, wala na tayong time na we are still putting together, crafting the guidelines, kasi may guidelines na sila, andoon na yun. They've been doing it ever since we had an FDA, which by the way was called BFAD in my time, and it was also during my time in 2009 when we changed BFAD's name to FDA, not just a change of name, but also strengthening of the functions of FDA. So for the record, all of this... we would not have had to go to this process of, we're still waiting, we're still doing it, because it would have been automatic with FDA because it is really what they do, sadly, inako ng DTI because of the law passed by Congress, which I objected to, gave the jurisdiction to you... [DTI] Kailan tayo magkaka-registration? In the meantime, wala tayong registration? For the record din, the Sin Tax Law that would have come into effect, minadali ng mga pro-vaper and senators and members of Congress, minadali nila yun kasi magka-come into effect na ang Sin Tax Law that would have required registration, and that's why they were in a hurry to pass this other law that would remove the jurisdiction para hindi pa rin sila nag-register and hindi pa rin sila nag-comply. So ganyan ang lobby ng mga sin products dito sa Pilipinas. Ganyan kaawa-awa ang sitwasyon natin. Anyway... For the record... nagkaroon ng transitory period na rin sa Sin Tax... They had 18 months na. Tapos minadali itong bagong law, kasi yung 18 months kulang pa sa kanila. Gusto pa nilang madagdagan. Ganyan talaga ang industry na ayaw magpa-regulate. Just letting you know. I know you are just trying to implement it. But I need the Filipino people to know that this is how thess industries who do not want to be regulated, who do not care if people will die, if young people get addicted, they don't care and they just want to go on and on unregulated, pretending that they want to be regulated but they don't. [DTI] But what is your business when you don't know... To my knowledge, the mandate of DTI has not changed. You have nothing to do and you have no expertise in health. So how in the world are you going about changing, modifying, or creating that standard? How? How? Saan ang doktor? May dala ba kayong doktor? Eh paano? So how are you creating these standards? Saan niyo hinuhugot yun? [DTI] And their expertise is on products that are harmful to health, particularly lung health? And brain health? [DTI] Sige give me the name of the people in the technical committee, their names, profile, and any expertise that they have. Because clearly, I think we have enough information, you can also do your own research naman, Asec. This is a product that can kill, that can create a generation of addicts. And I would think it is incumbent upon you, coming here to my Senate hearing, to ensure that what you are reporting to me in your own conscience also, is acceptable. History will tell us when we both look back, when we all look back, na humarap tayo sa hearing, nakinig ako sa inyo, I let you go knowing that we've all done our best to promote the interest of the Filipino people. And when I say the Filipino people, not the industry, but teka muna, sandali, ang pangalan niyo is Department of Trade and Industry. So I am so confused how in your human brain, kaya niyo to assure us that you are here to protect Filipino health, when your mandate and your name itself is the Department of Trade and Industry. It's not about you personally. It is just about my ongoing confusing with this whole situation. Kayo estudyante, nung estudyante ako, ang assignment natin, what is DOH? Dept. of Health, what does it do? What is DTI, trade and industry? What does it do? Saan nakasulat doon na involved and obligasyon nila to protect health? And if I look at the roster, can you tell me now na andyan na ang expertise niyo sa health? Nagkaroon ba ever since we created this law? [DTI] But if they don't say anything, they don't claim any risk reduction, they don't claim any health benefit, pero ito na naga-attract na ng youth. The President from the PH College of Chest Physicians says there are already reported cases of EVALI [E-cigarette or Vaping use-Associated Lung Injury]. And you already said for the record, you do not have the health expertise. So paano? How would you register? You're registering them on what basis? The basis that they are a P5-B company, a P5-M company? What is the basis? And katulad ng binigay nilang example ng cosmetics, they have a notification from another country that tells them na dumaan ito sa process. May ganoon? That's why I wanted to know and in the next hearing or TWG kindly present these people from your Bureau of Standards, that you are telling me are the ones who determine what are the standards that you are now following. Because I don't know if your Bureau of Standards has any health expertise to determine, like I told you, 55,000 flavors in the US were rejected by the FDA. Tell me how you will do that. And while you are waiting to put together all your rules and the time you need to put together your processing, how many will die, how many will get addicted? But let the records show that you already said that you do not have the health expertise. I will repeat. What is the DTI mandate from the time I have started questioning DTI. This is what I know it to be. Correct me if I am wrong: responsible for realizing the country's goal of globally competitive and innovative industry and services sector that contribute to inclusive growth and employment generation. Saan diyan ang health? Wala di ba? That's why you answered the way you answered. So I am sorry if I seem very frustrated. But I am very frustrated. I thank you for being participative and candid with your responses. My frustration is not directed at you personally. It's just directed at this terrible situation that we find ourselves in. Pretty much, para mo na rin sinabi na the law was created, binigay sa inyo, wala ka namang choice kundi gampanan ang sinabi ng batas na gampanan niyo. Pero wala nga kayong expertise in that field. And for such a dangerous product, which can cause immediate illnesses in young and older people, nakakagulat lang that it is now in your hands. I would also like to point out to anyone... I just want to emphasize that in a recent report... from a news article, Business World, this was dated not even a year ago, three months ago, October 24, Business World reports: DTI seizes uncertified products in Pampanga and Paranaque City. So I went through it quickly and these products are construction materials and automotive vehicles, including tires... Nakakatuwa pero nakakagulat na ang construction materials and tires for vehicles, gulong, pwede ma-confiscate, pero ang produkto na makakamatay ng bata, hindi niyo kino-confiscate. And I know this is probably not in your jurisdiction, there is another agency that handles. CDs and DVDs, kino-confiscate. Pero itong mga ecigs na clearly violating the law, I don't think there is anyone here, and kindly raise your hand if you object, I think everyone here agrees. The law is very clear. E-cigarettes and vapes that are targeting young people... particularly those that have fruits, cartoons, desserts, candies, are prohibited... Tapos yung DVDs, gulong ng kotse pwede ma-confiscate. Ito, hindi kino-confiscate. So I think that's very clear. Earlier, I read in the record, the latest Supreme Court jurisprudence on the plain view doctrine. So I hope you take this well. May I request that you work with DILG. isang kalabit lang naman yan sa mga mayor, sabihin niyo sa mga mayor na before you have another epidemic on hand, of addicted young people, ano ba naman yung you ask the mayors to ask their health officers, to ask whoever to go around, even the parent-teachers association to check what stores that are within 100 meters... kung nagbebenta nun, di bawal. Sinabi niyo you found, paano paisa-isa tayo? So talk to DILG... Isama niyo na yan sa request niyo. Isang tingin lang naman nila they will know that there are violations. I can tell you for a fact that in Taguig City, I can ask their mayor, and so many other friends all over the [country] na tingnan niyo nga ito, and right away, they will act. Pwede nila i-revoke ang business permit because they are selling products that are illegal. Correct? Am I wrong? Andali naman gawin pero yun nga, I know you have a lot of work but this is as important, if not more important than other products. Because this will create an epidemic of addicted and probably lung damaged children. Okay? So let me know in the next hearing what you have done about it because I am just really very concerned. Hay nako. Anyway... [Dr Dorotheo] Can you please put on record what they have done... New Zealand where they decided that every child this year and onward will never be able to smoke... Let's put that on record officially... [Dr Dorotheo] In the UK, I was there when they informed me that they are not really worried about the youth and here we are 3-4 years after we had that conversation... I am reading the report that they are now alarmed with the number of youth that are addicted and have actually been hospitalized due to EVALI. [Dr Dorotheo] This is not the end, obviously, this is just the beginning for the 19th Congress. We just hope to be able to work with everyone, all the concerned sectors, including DTI, of course, to come up with suggestions and possible amendments to the law that will be truly reflective of the protective measures that we want to see, not just for the youth but for the entire Filipino people. This hearing will be suspended. We will digest all the materials that we have. We have requested further materials from DTI... We probably will have another hearing or a TWG. Thank you everyone for taking the time to be with us this afternoon. Salamat and be safe for the rest of the day and the week. Happy Valentines.
Montanas new Commissioner of Political Practices, appointed by Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte, took a bipartisan leap toward confirmation Friday afternoon.

Longtime lobbyist Chris Gallus secured a unanimous, 10-0 vote from the Senate State Administration Committee just 10 minutes after his confirmation hearing wrapped up.

If eventually confirmed by a majority of the Senate, Gallus would replace former commissioner Jeff Mangan as the states top enforcer of campaign finance, lobbying and ethics laws. The position is a nonpartisan, appointed position limited to a maximum of one six-year term.

It can also be a political lightning rod, with accusations of partisan bias as old as the position. One of the commissioners main duties is to investigate and issue decisions on complaints filed against political candidates. Its an easy way to make enemies in the Legislature.

In an interview Thursday, Gallus said he would strive to be even-handed, despite a lengthy political history that includes serving as an attorney for the state Republican Party and many sessions lobbying for the Montana Chamber of Commerce.

We care about the job and applying facts to statutes that the Legislature has adopted and directed us to enforce, Gallus said of his new office. I very much intend to do that and abide by that, regardless of anybodys particular party or anything else they might be bringing into it.

While his partisan background received minimal discussion Friday, lawmakers on a nominating committee that met in December noted that his predecessor had entered the job as a former Democratic legislator who nonetheless won accolades from both sides of the aisle for his work. Mangan was nominated by former Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock.

That bipartisan nominating committee considered Gallus alongside four other candidates, ultimately deadlocking on which ones to nominate to the governor. That failure to advance a slate of nominees gave Gianforte free rein to nominate anyone who met the basic qualifications laid out in law.

A long career in politics

Gallus was born in Chicago, but his family soon moved to Butte, where he was raised. He was one of seven kids, including his brother, Steve Gallus, who served as a Democratic state lawmaker from Butte from 1999 to 2013.

While still attending Carroll College Gallus got his start in the Legislature as an intern in 1987, working for the Butte-Anaconda delegation of lawmakers. He returned the next session as a lobbyist representing Butte-Silver Bow, and continued working as a lobbyist for the state Chamber of Commerce and other clients for the next three decades.

Along with his extensive lobbying background, he also has a long history of contributions to campaigns for candidates from both parties, though for the past decade he has exclusively supported Republicans for office. He didnt donate to Gov. Greg Gianfortes most recent campaign, but last year donated to the campaigns of two senators on the committee that voted to confirm him Friday: Sens. Mark Noland, R-Bigfork; and Shelly Vance, R-Belgrade.

Gallus also worked closely with a ballot initiative. Campaign finance records show he served as the treasurer of a political committee formed to support a proposed constitutional referendum in 2018, and contributed several thousand dollars to the effort.

"Complaints are going to come in and complaints are going to be investigated, and were going to look at the law and apply that on a case-by-case basis," Gallus said Thursday. "Regardless of whos involved and what else might be going on, what motivations there might be."

He said hell also continue to build on Mangans work to educate those that interact with his office.

I think he did an excellent job on public outreach and public education, appearances before candidate groups and the like, and give people a clear understanding of whats required, Gallus said.

With clients including the Republican Party, special interest groups and the occasional candidate for office, Gallus told the committee Friday he anticipates potential conflicts of interest arising for him.

He didnt pledge to specifically recuse himself in any instances, but did say hes reached out to the State Bar of Montana for guidance.

In the last three weeks, Gallus said hes been busy meeting with senators on both sides of the aisle, and has appeared before the Senate Democratic Caucus to answer questions. Senate Minority Leader Pat Flowers said Friday before the hearing that the caucus had not decided whether they were going to back Gallus nomination.

He has been very transparent with us about his background and what he hopes to bring to the office, Flowers said, adding that Gallus also pledged to be diligent in enforcing state campaign laws on out-of-state organizations.

Pulling back on advocacy

In addition to the basic duties of the office, commissioners frequently testify on legislation that impacts campaign laws and transparency issues.

Gallus said he plans to take a more hands-off approach than his predecessors, deferring to the Legislature to chart a path on policy matters. Thats somewhat in contrast to Mangan and Jon Motl  whom Mangan succeeded  both of whom advocated for more transparency in campaign-related disclosures and retaining limits on campaign spending.

Were not kind of tinkering in a major way with things that are going on, Gallus said Thursday. But were also not going to be asleep at the wheel  If something did come out that was just antithetical to that or just kind of ripped at the foundation of what were doing, Ill absolutely step up on something like that.

In testimony on a campaign finance bill last week, Gallus neither formally opposed or supported a bill that would strike a requirement for PACs in Montana to disclose a person associated with the group on its flyers and other ads. He said it would simplify the process for political committees that often fail to provide that disclosure.

I think its an honest attempt just to simplify it so those technical violations dont occur, Gallus said in the interview.

When the commissioners office makes a determination that a group or candidate broke state campaign laws, the complaint first gets referred to a state county attorney for prosecution. Past commissioners have typically sent those to the county attorney for Lewis and Clark County, but Gallus said he plans to refer action to the counties where the campaigns are active. Typically county attorneys punt the decision to prosecute back to the commissioner, who can then take the case to court if the parties dont reach a settlement.

I think those are the people that I think are most affected by the failure to properly disclose, or whatever the case may be, Gallus told the committee on Friday.

Gallus told the Montana State News Bureau that he also intends to break with his predecessors work to push back against election conspiracy theories in Montana.

Particularly during his last year in office, Mangan became increasingly vocal about election misinformation circulated by right-wing activists in Montana, and the related threats against and harassment of election officials across the state.

Election misinformation, disinformation, the stuff thats happening across the state, is harming and putting at risk our election officials, our election judges, our election volunteers and poll-watchers in the coming elections, Mangan told an interim committee last June.

Gallus said while he finds actions that disrupt the election process repugnant, he doesnt plan to build on that role, suggesting it would be more appropriate for the Secretary of State to lead that effort.

My approach is really to the functions of the office, and what were assigned to enforce, and to do that, Gallus said. ... To venture into all these other issues and debates that are going on, I just see those as problematic for how the office ultimately is to function if we also got involved in those.

Carbon County lawsuit

Gallus recently represented a pair of conservative activists who have pushed unsubstantiated claims casting doubt on the security of Montanas election system.

Roy McKenzie and Lisa Bennett are suing Carbon County to obtain election-related records. The Carbon County News first reported Galluss involvement in the case.

The county has produced some of the documents but citing the voluminous nature of the requests, has asked for more time to comply in full. McKenzie and Bennett allege the county has been unresponsive to their requests. The countys request to dismiss the case is pending in state district court.

McKenzie publishes a right-wing blog that has advanced unfounded claims of irregularities in the states elections and potential tampering with tabulator machines and ballots. Bennett has emerged as a vocal critic of election officials in Carbon County, alleging fraud and recently circulating an edited surveillance video from the November election claiming to show ballots being shredded in the election office.

Carbon County, in a January press release, called the videos allegations false and said footage was taken out of context and does not show ballots being shredded.

In an interview Thursday, Gallus distanced himself from those actions by his clients, saying his role was limited to ensuring that public records are made available as required by law.

When people reach out to me with a problem, I dont judge who they are, he said. I dont judge whether theyre Republican, Democrat or the like, or if they have a sufficient enough point of view that aligns with my own.

Gallus said he couldnt remember exactly how he first got involved with the Carbon County case, but thought someone may have referred Bennett to him.

Bipartisan support

Gallus won endorsements from a handful of lobbyists during his confirmation hearing Friday, along with longtime Democratic Party activist Evan Barrett.

I have often disagreed with the groups Chris represented, but I have never questioned that they were getting good legal advice from Chris Gallus, Barrett said, offering testimony remotely over Zoom.

He also got praise from Gianforte policy director Glenn Oppel, Montana Chamber of Commerce lobbyist Charles Robison and Montana Trial Lawyers Association Executive Director Al Smith.

While the COPP nomination process has set up protracted fights between the Legislature and the governors office in the past, Senate Resolution 49, to confirm Gallus, now heads to the Senate on the back of a bipartisan, unanimous committee vote.

He just needs a majority of the Senate to get confirmed. Republicans control the chamber 34 to 16.
Montanas redistricting commission on Saturday voted 3-2 to finalize new House and Senate maps that will help guide the partisan balance of the state Legislature for the next decade.

As has happened on previous deadlocks over major votes, nonpartisan chair Maylinn Smith cast the tie-breaking vote in favor of the map. The independent commission also includes two Democrats and two Republicans.

The House map is largely derived from one offered by Democrats toward the end of a series of compromises last year, when Smith chose it over the GOP proposal. Since then, Democrats have largely supported it, while Smith has sided with Republicans on a number of area-specific changes in the months since. The redrawing process happens every 10 years based on new population estimates from the census.

But after a daylong work session, in which Smith voted with Republicans on a major change to a district north of Missoula, Democrats on the commission dropped their support. They objected to a Missoula-area change, which would not survive the day. It would have changed a reliably Democratic district to one leaning Republican.

Democratic Commissioner Kendra Miller has argued the maps should elect Republicans and Democrats roughly equal to their share of the statewide vote. An averaging of past statewide races used in the commissions competitiveness metric show a roughly 57% to 43% statewide split among Montana voters, favoring Republicans. The proposed House map would, under perfectly average electoral conditions, send 60 Republicans and 40 Democrats to the state House. The Senate map is based on pairing up adjacent House districts, with similar proportionality.

Using data to show how redrawing the districts will affect the Legislature's partisan balance is a matter of transparency, Miller argued.

Were drawing political districts, they have political impacts, she said.  It is disingenuous to pretend that moving lines doesn't have political consequences. It does.

Republicans have remained critical of the map, arguing it goes too far toward parity, and compromises too much on compactness, a criterion the commission is constitutionally required to follow.

A map will generally and naturally lead to an increase in districts for a majority party, Republican Commissioner Dan Stusek said, arguing for a process that omits political data from the district-drawing process. That happens for Democrats in California, it happens for Republicans in Republican states.

So with neither Republican nor Democratic support for the amended map, Smith was momentarily stuck with maps that couldnt advance from the commission. Saturday was to be the groups final meeting before filing them with the Secretary of State.

I would like to have a map that we can put forward today, Smith said. I dont want to draw this out any more than we have to.

With the commissions Republicans unwilling to support a map without further changes, Smith ultimately sided with the Democrats pitch to unwind the change north of Missoula back to reliably blue, largely reverting the House map back to its previous form.

Asked afterward if the GOP missed a chance to at least eke a small win out of the days work, Republican Commissioner Dan Stusek said that would have created the presumption that they approved of the map, which their party has consistently criticized.

We certainly had to take a principled stance on behalf of who we represent, he said.

The commission did find bipartisan agreement on several changes recommended by the Legislature. They include tweaking the district lines in Big Horn and Lake counties, along with several other small edits that found bipartisan agreement from lawmakers. On a 4-1 vote, they also shifted a line along the shore of Flathead Lake.

Smith resisted most of the last-minute attempts from Republicans to redraw politically controversial district lines, including ones in Flathead, Gallatin, and Lewis and Clark counties. Miller repeatedly referred to those as Republican wish list items that had been previously debated by the commission.

On a 3-2 vote, Smith sided with Democrats to redraw a pair of rural districts in Eastern Montana to make them more compact. Previously, one of the districts had stretched from Lewistown to Miles City.

If all goes as planned, the new House and Senate maps will be filed with the Secretary of State in the coming days, making official new legislative districts that go into effect starting with the 2024 elections.

But the Montana GOP has strongly indicated it may sue over the maps, a legal action not without precedent. Following the work of redistricting commission that met after the 2000 Census, the Secretary of State at the time refused to accept the new legislative maps, setting up an extended battle in the courts.
One of my top priorities this legislative session is strengthening Montanas position against hostile foreign nations like China.

National security is primarily a responsibility of the federal government, but as a Marine who served in Iraq, I believe elected officials at all levels of government should be improving our security.

One thing we can do at the state level is work to keep our adversaries out of our critical infrastructure. My Senate Bill 203 prohibits foreign adversaries from buying or leasing things like telecommunications equipment, transmission lines, and oil refineries in Montana.

Unlike other states that are pursuing similar legislation, Im also taking it a step further by including agricultural land as critical infrastructure.

Ive included agricultural land in my bill for two primary reasons. One is that agriculture is critical to Montanas economy and our food security. The second is that sensitive sites in our state, like Malmstrom Air Force Bases nuclear missiles, are surrounded by rural farm and ranch land.

China recently purchased 300 acres of farm land near Grand Forks Air Force Base next door to us in North Dakota, raising alarm bells in Washington, D.C., national security circles about potential espionage.

I know many Montanans would like the Legislature to ban all foreign and even out-of-state ownership of our land. I understand that sentiment, but its not constitutional under the U.S. Constitution. Targeting adversarial foreign nations and corporations controlled by them is a reasonable step that we can take.

Other nations are becoming more bold and more creative in how they challenge the United States. The recent incident with the Chinese balloon highlighted these issues for the general public, but China in particular has been using asymmetric tactics against us for years.

As a nation, we need to focus our national security to strategically engage with China for the long term. Our goal needs to be to move away from dependence on China for goods and manufacturing capabilities, while at the same time avoiding direct conflict.

We should avoid another endless foreign war and the devastation that kinetic modern warfare between major powers would bring. At the same time, we must push back on human rights violations, intellectual property theft, and the invasion of Americans privacy.

Policies like SB 203 are actions we can take to communicate our resolve and displeasure without engaging in military tactics that escalate tensions between our nations and increase the risk of miscalculation by either side.

Gov. Gianfortes decision to ban the social media app TikTok, which can function as a mass surveillance tool of the Chinese Communist Party, from state government equipment and networks is a step in the right direction. Legislation was recently introduced in Congress to crack down on foreign ownership of land, but we all know how slow and dysfunctional the federal government is, so we shouldnt hold our breath while we wait for them to act.

Senate Bill 203 is a serious move we can make immediately to improve our national security.
Montana has nearly nine million acres of forested land which is at very high or high wildfire risk.

We all know what this means when late summer hits: a high probability of us all choking under smoke filled skies.

Luckily, Montana leaders are well positioned to proactively tackle our wildfire crisis, even while the winter snow is still on the ground. In a new report authored by my organization the Frontier Institute, in partnership with Bozemans Property and Environment Research Center, we provide four strategies Montana can use to take our wildfire destiny into our own hands:

1. Actively manage forests with prescribed burns

Especially when coupled with mechanical thinning (logging), prescribed burns have proven to be a vital forest restoration tool to mitigate catastrophic fires by reintroducing the healthy role of low intensity fires back onto the landscape. However, the risk of liability for unintentional damages remains one of the biggest challenges to utilizing prescribed burns. Montana lawmakers might consider adopting a negligence standard, shown to increase the use of beneficial prescribed burns by 10%. Another strategy could be to look at an innovative market solution to prescribed burn liability such as a catastrophe bond.

2. Continue leveraging local forest management solutions

Sixty percent of the states highest priority forests for active management are on federal land. Under Gov. Greg Gianfortes leadership, Montana has leveraged cooperative programs like the Good Neighbor Authority (GNA) to greatly expand active management in the states federal forests to mitigate catastrophic fires. The state has already leveraged GNA to treat 26,000 acres of forest lands and least 37 timber sales and 39 restoration projects have been completed or under contract. The state should continue this good work and aggressively pursue GNA projects that promote forest health, reduce wildfire risk, and support the Montana timber industry.

3. Upgrade the Montana Fire Force

The effects of delayed attack on unnaturally severe wildfires can be devastating on Montanas economy, and by extension state revenues. Thankfully, Montana boasts a treasure of homegrown fire-fighting assets, including some of the nations largest and most capable aerial firefighting fleets. But when Montana calls, these assets may be occupied working missions in other states with earlier fire seasons. This makes Montanas wildfire response often reliant on coordinating with multiple federal or state bureaucracies in order to fight fires here at home.

Montana should adopt a goal of becoming completely self-sufficient for wildfire response, freeing our state from reliance on other governments. One way this could be accomplished is by upgrading contracts for the state aerial fire force, putting these assets exclusively under the states control for the summer months. This will enable Montana to better control our own wildfire destiny and be self-sufficient in supporting aggressive initial attack on wildfires within state borders

4. Lead a model mitigation certification program for homeowners

Nearly 30% of Montana properties have extreme wildfire risk, more than any other state. This extreme risk can impact home insurance for thousands of Montanans as insurers increase premiums to compensate for the risk or decline coverage completely.

One option the state could consider is creating a model voluntary wildfire mitigation certification program to help homes remain insurable in the face of wildfire risk. This voluntary effort would help Montana avoid the costly top-down approaches of states like California, which have resorted to insurance price controls and mandates that have forced homeowners onto a bare bones state-run home insurance plan.

With proactive measures like these to expand Montanas forest restoration and wildfire response capabilities, we can take our wildfire destiny back into our own hands.
DECATUR  Police said a wanted Decatur felon driving a stolen minivan rammed two squad cars and set off on a wild ride on a flat tire before he was finally chased down and arrested in rural Douglas County with the assistance of multiple police agencies.

Sgt. Brian Earles with the Decatur Police Department said the drama had begun at 7:40 a.m. Sunday when patrol officers responded to a stolen vehicle report. The Honda Odyssey minivan was later seen parked in the area of East U.S. 36 and South Country Club Road, and police patrols found the 39-year old suspect at the wheel and accompanied by a male passenger.

The driver, in an attempt to get away, struck two squad cars, which were occupied, and also rammed an unoccupied motorcycle, Earles said.

We used a tire deflation device called a Stop Stick which then flattened the vehicles right front tire, but the driver still managed to flee the scene. A pursuit ensued with speeds all over the place from down to about 10 mph to up to 70 mph or 80 mph in various different places.

Decatur officers chased the vehicle to Sullivan while other law enforcement agencies, including the Sullivan and Tuscola police departments, the Douglas, Moultrie and Piatt county sheriffs offices and the Illinois State Police, all became involved.

Earles said the pursuit ended just after 9 a.m., when the fleeing vehicle was stopped at the intersection of U.S. 36 and County Road 250 East near the Douglas County village of Garrett, and the driver was taken into custody.

He was later booked into the Macon County Jail on preliminary charges of aggravated assault of police officers, aggravated fleeing and eluding, possession of a stolen vehicle and driving under the influence.

Earles said a check of the mans record showed he was already wanted by the Mount Zion Police Department for aggravated fleeing and eluding. He had other outstanding warrants for unlawful restraint, aggravated domestic battery and domestic battery.

Earles praised the efforts of all the various police agencies and said it was a fine example of inter-agency cooperation.

And we are very thankful that no one was hurt and that the suspect was arrested, he added.

Earles said the passenger had been cooperative when questioned and the sergeant said he understood that man had not been charged with any offense.

All preliminary charges are subject to review by the office of the states attorney.

Updated mugshots from the Herald & Review Joseph A. Williams William A. Hosea Randolph Hayes Byron D. Theus Jetrevius O. Jarrett Phillip Gehrken Emmanuel White Aaron L. Hand
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HICKORY  Xan Pilgrim is the founder of an organized giving circle that is being formed in Catawba County.

The organization, Catawba County Women Who Care, is seeking interested members who are willing to meet for one hour three times per year to pool their financial resources for the purpose of collective philanthropy that benefits the local community.

The group is in search of 100-plus women in the area who are willing to participate so that three qualified, local nonprofits may receive the group's collective gift of $10,000 or more at various times throughout the year.

Each meeting of Catawba County Women Who Care lasts for an hour. During that time, members nominate, vote and designate a qualified local nonprofit to receive the organization's collective gift.

Catawba County Women Who Care is not a nonprofit 501c3. It is an organization of community members. All contributions to selected nonprofits will be written directly to the award recipient nonprofit organization and is considered a tax-deductible donation for the contributing member.

Two informational meetings are coming up in the near future. Both are scheduled to be held at the Patrick Beaver Memorial Library meeting room from 5:30-6:30 p.m. The first will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 21, and the second is scheduled on Monday, March 20. Anyone interested in joining is encouraged to attend one of the informational meetings.

The group's first impact meeting, where members will nominate, select and gift a local nonprofit, will be held on Thursday, March 30, from 5:30-6:30 p.m. at St. Alban's Episcopal Parish Hall in Hickory.

Members unable to attend the impact meeting may vote by proxy or pledge their contribution to the group majority vote.

Catawba County Women Who Care is affiliated with the 100 Who Care Alliance, a national resource for over 700 organized giving circle chapters nationally. Its sister chapter is located in the Smith Mountain Lake area of Virginia. The sister chapter, Smith Mountain Lake 100+ Women Who Care, has been in existence for about six years and has more than 140 members. It has been able to contribute approximately $270,000 to local nonprofits.

The organization has a Facebook and Instagram page, CatawbaCountyWomenWhoCare, and can be reached by email at CatawbaCountyWomenWhoCare@gmail.com.

Organizers of Catawba County Women Who Care met this week and now have a steering committee in place consisting of six members. They are Xan Pilgrim, Fran Paradine, Anna Winger, Michelle Morgan, Krista Burns and Susan Greathouse Jones.
Monday, February 13

The Concord Duplicate Bridge face-to-face games through Concord Parks and Recreation at Hartsell Recreation Center, 60 Hartsell School Road, at noon. Cost is $5 per player. You must have a partner and provide proof of vaccination.

Tuesday, February 14

TOPS #437 (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) meets every Tuesday at 10 a.m. (weigh-in begins at 9:30 a.m.) at Lakeview Baptist Church, 2532 Lane St. Kannapolis. Visitors are welcome.

The Cabarrus County Retired Nurses luncheon will be at 11 a.m. at Punchys Diner. Any questions call Gayla Spears 704 786 0333

Wednesday, February 15

The Cabarrus Senior Center Photo Club is alive and clicking away. If you like taking photos, come join the members on the first and third Wednesdays of the month from 1:30-3 p.m. at the Cabarrus Senior Center, 331 Corban Ave. SE, Concord, and share your photographic creativity. Whether you are a seasoned photographer or strictly amateur, all are welcome.

Thursday, February 16

Epworth UMCs famous hot dogs and taco soup, 9:30 a.m. -2 p.m. 1030 Burrage Road NE, Concord. For free delivery call 704-786-5500.

Friday, February 17

The Concord Duplicate Bridge face-to-face games through Concord Parks and Recreation at Hartsell Recreation Center, 60 Hartsell School Road, at noon. Cost is $5 per player. You must have a partner and provide proof of vaccination.

Heavenly Hot Dogs at Mount Olivet United Methodist Church, 301 Mount Olivet Road, will be offered from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Free delivery for orders of more than $15, and takeout is available. Homemade desserts and chicken noodle soup are available. For more information, visit www.mtochurch.com or call 704-782-8846.

Hot dogs at McGill Baptist Church, 5300 Poplar Tent Road, will be sold along with fried bologna and barbecue sandwiches and desserts from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Saturday, February 18

The Piedmont Farmers Market is open from 9 a.m. to noon at 518 Winecoff School Road. It features lots of local produce, meat, flowers and other products.

Monday, February 20

The Concord Duplicate Bridge face-to-face games through Concord Parks and Recreation at Hartsell Recreation Center, 60 Hartsell School Road, at noon. Cost is $5 per player. You must have a partner and provide proof of vaccination.

Tuesday, February 21

TOPS #437 (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) meets every Tuesday at 10 a.m. (weigh-in begins at 9:30 a.m.) at Lakeview Baptist Church, 2532 Lane St. Kannapolis. Visitors are welcome.

GriefShare Loss of a Spouse is a helpful, two-hour seminar for people grieving a spouses death. The seminar will be held from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at Pitts Baptist Church, 140 Pitts School Road, Concord, NC 28027. For more information contact Linda Bounds at 704-793-8155.

The Cabarrus County Council on Aging will have its quarterly meeting at 1 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Senior Center at 331 Corban Ave SE. The speaker will be talking about Reverse Mortgages.

The Salvation Army Womens Auxiliary of Cabarrus and Stanly Counties (SAWA) along with SHOE SHOW, INC. will be hosting a Souper Bowl fundraiser from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.. After a two-year hiatus due to COVID, Souper Bowl 2023 will be in a new venue, Central United Methodist Church, 30 Union Street North, Concord, NC 28025. Eat in or take out. Tickets are $10 each and include soup, crackers, cookie and beverage. The Womens Auxiliary will be having a bake sale and a Treasure Trove sale. Souper Bowl funds are used to support our various programs including some expenses for the shelter and the Angel Tree Christmas program.

Thursday, February 23

Epworth UMCs famous hot dogs and taco soup, 9:30 a.m. -2 p.m. 1030 Burrage Road NE, Concord. For free delivery call 704-786-5500.

Friday, February 24

The Concord Duplicate Bridge face-to-face games through Concord Parks and Recreation at Hartsell Recreation Center, 60 Hartsell School Road, at noon. Cost is $5 per player. You must have a partner and provide proof of vaccination.

Heavenly Hot Dogs at Mount Olivet United Methodist Church, 301 Mount Olivet Road, will be offered from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Free delivery for orders of more than $15, and takeout is available. Homemade desserts and chicken noodle soup are available. For more information, visit www.mtochurch.com or call 704-782-8846.

Hot dogs at McGill Baptist Church, 5300 Poplar Tent Road, will be sold along with fried bologna and barbecue sandwiches and desserts from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Saturday, February 25

The Piedmont Farmers Market is open from 9 a.m. to noon at 518 Winecoff School Road. It features lots of local produce, meat, flowers and other products.

Hot Dogs at Center United Methodist Church at 1119 Union Street S, are offered on the 2nd and 4th Saturday of each month from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. Dine in and take out. Call in orders are welcomed. 704-782-1785.

Monday, February 27

The Concord Duplicate Bridge face-to-face games through Concord Parks and Recreation at Hartsell Recreation Center, 60 Hartsell School Road, at noon. Cost is $5 per player. You must have a partner and provide proof of vaccination.

A Black History program with author and historian Norman McCullough will be held at Price Memorial from 6 to 8 p.m. The agenda will include the life and times of Warren Clay Coleman, development of an online video, and a current history in Concord/Cabarrus and a question and answer session..

Tuesday, February 28

TOPS #437 (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) meets every Tuesday at 10 a.m. (weigh-in begins at 9:30 a.m.) at Lakeview Baptist Church, 2532 Lane St. Kannapolis. Visitors are welcome.

Cabarrus County Homebuyer Forum will be at ClearWater Arts Center & Studios, located at 223 Crowell Drive NW, Concord, from 6 to 8 p.m. To register for this event, please visit CONCORDNC.GOV/HOMEBUYER This Forum aims to equip prospective homebuyers with information about the steps to prepare for home ownership, income and credit levels that are required to qualify for homes, available resources for possible assistance with down payments and closing costs, and eligibility requirements to qualify to receive the assistance.

Thursday, March 2

Epworth UMCs famous hot dogs and taco soup, 9:30 a.m. -2 p.m. 1030 Burrage Road NE, Concord. For free delivery call 704-786-5500.

Friday, March 3

The Concord Duplicate Bridge face-to-face games through Concord Parks and Recreation at Hartsell Recreation Center, 60 Hartsell School Road, at noon. Cost is $5 per player. You must have a partner and provide proof of vaccination.

Heavenly Hot Dogs at Mount Olivet United Methodist Church, 301 Mount Olivet Road, will be offered from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Free delivery for orders of more than $15, and takeout is available. Homemade desserts and chicken noodle soup are available. For more information, visit www.mtochurch.com or call 704-782-8846.

Hot dogs at McGill Baptist Church, 5300 Poplar Tent Road, will be sold along with fried bologna and barbecue sandwiches and desserts from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Saturday, March 4

The Piedmont Farmers Market is open from 9 a.m. to noon at 518 Winecoff School Road. It features lots of local produce, meat, flowers and other products.

Monday, March 6

The Concord Duplicate Bridge face-to-face games through Concord Parks and Recreation at Hartsell Recreation Center, 60 Hartsell School Road, at noon. Cost is $5 per player. You must have a partner and provide proof of vaccination.

Kannapolis History Associates will meet at 7 p.m. with a program by Chick Suggs, owner and operator of Lees Sandwich Shop who will be sharing the history of this Kannapolis icon that was started in 1949. The meeting is at A.L. Brown High School.

Tuesday, March 7

TOPS #437 (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) meets every Tuesday at 10 a.m. (weigh-in begins at 9:30 a.m.) at Lakeview Baptist Church, 2532 Lane St. Kannapolis. Visitors are welcome.

If you need help and encouragement after the death of a spouse, child, family member or friend, you are invited to join us for A GriefShare Support Group at Pitts Baptist Church, 140 Pitts School Road., NW, Concord weekly on Tuesdays through May 30 from 6:30 to 8:30 pm. For more information, contact Linda Bounds at 704-793-8155.

Thursday, March 9

Epworth UMCs famous hot dogs and taco soup, 9:30 a.m. -2 p.m. 1030 Burrage Road NE, Concord. For free delivery call 704-786-5500.

Friday, March 10

The Concord Duplicate Bridge face-to-face games through Concord Parks and Recreation at Hartsell Recreation Center, 60 Hartsell School Road, at noon. Cost is $5 per player. You must have a partner and provide proof of vaccination.

Heavenly Hot Dogs at Mount Olivet United Methodist Church, 301 Mount Olivet Road, will be offered from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Free delivery for orders of more than $15, and takeout is available. Homemade desserts and chicken noodle soup are available. For more information, visit www.mtochurch.com or call 704-782-8846.

Hot dogs at McGill Baptist Church, 5300 Poplar Tent Road, will be sold along with fried bologna and barbecue sandwiches and desserts from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Saturday, March 11

The Piedmont Farmers Market is open from 9 a.m. to noon at 518 Winecoff School Road. It features lots of local produce, meat, flowers and other products.

Hot Dogs at Center United Methodist Church at 1119 Union Street S, are offered on the 2nd and 4th Saturday of each month from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. Dine in and take out. Call in orders are welcomed. 704-782-1785.

Got news or events?

Does your community group or nonprofit agency have an upcoming event that would be of interest to the public? Email it to mplemmons@independenttribune.com.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia  Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Saturday that on his order a U.S. fighter jet shot down an "unidentified object" that was flying high over the Yukon  a day after the U.S. took similar action over Alaska.

North American Aerospace Defense Command, the U.S.-Canada organization that provides shared defense of airspace over the two nations, detected the object flying at a high altitude Friday evening over Alaska, U.S. officials said. It crossed into Canadian airspace on Saturday.

Trudeau spoke with U.S. President Joe Biden, who also ordered the object to be shot down. Canadian and U.S. jets operating as part of NORAD were scrambled and it was a U.S. jet that shot down the object.

Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand told a news conference in Ottawa that the object, flying at around 40,000 feet, had been shot down at 3:41 p.m. EST, approximately 100 miles from the Canada-U.S. border in the central Yukon. A recovery operation was underway involving the Canadian Armed Forces and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Hours later, in the U.S., the Federal Aviation Administration said Saturday night it closed some airspace in Montana to support Defense Department activities. NORAD later said the closure, which lasted a little more than an hour, came after it had detected "a radar anomaly" and sent fighter aircraft to investigate. The aircraft did not identify any object to correlate to the radar hits, NORAD said.

F-22 fighter jets have taken out three objects in the airspace above the U.S. and Canada over seven days, a stunning development. At least one of the objects downed was believed to be a spy balloon from China, but the other two had not yet been publicly identified.

While Trudeau described the object Saturday as "unidentified," Anand said it appeared to be "a small cylindrical object, smaller than the one that was downed off the coast of North Carolina." A NORAD spokesman, Maj. Olivier Gallant, said the military determined what it was but would not reveal details.

Anand refused to speculate whether the object shot down over Canada came from China. "We are continuing to do the analysis on the object and we will make sure that analysis is thorough," she said. "It would not be prudent for me to speculate on the origins of the object at this time."

Anand said to her knowledge this was the first time NORAD had downed an object in Canadian airspace.

"The importance of this moment should not be underestimated," she said. "We detected this object together and we defeated this object together."

She was asked why a U.S. jet, and not a Canadian plane, shot down the object.

"As opposed to separating it out by country, I think what the important point is, these were NORAD capabilities, this was a NORAD mission and this was NORAD doing what it is supposed to do," she said.

Anand didn't use the word "balloon" to describe the object. But later, Gen. Wayne Eyre, chief of the defense staff, said the instructions given to the planes was "whoever had the first, best shot to take out the balloon had the go-ahead."

Trudeau said Canadian forces would recover the wreckage for study. The Yukon is the westernmost Canadian territory and among the least populated parts of Canada.

After the airspace closure over Montana, multiple members of Congress, including Montana Sens. Steve Daines and Jon Tester, said they were in touch with defense officials. Daines tweeted that he would "continue to demand answers on these invasions of US airspace."

A day earlier, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said an object roughly the size of a small car was shot out of the skies above remote Alaska. Officials couldn't say if it had surveillance equipment, where it came from or what purpose it had.

Kirby said it was shot down because it was flying at about 40,000 feet and posed a "reasonable threat" to the safety of civilian flights, not because of any knowledge that it was engaged in surveillance.

According to U.S. Northern Command, recovery operations continued Saturday on sea ice near Deadhorse, Alaska.

In a statement, the Northern Command said there were no new details on what the object was. It said the Alaska Command and the Alaska National Guard, along with the FBI and local law enforcement, were conducting search and recovery.

"Arctic weather conditions, including wind chill, snow, and limited daylight, are a factor in this operation, and personnel will adjust recovery operations to maintain safety," the statement said.

On Feb. 4, U.S. officials shot down a large white balloon off the coast of South Carolina. It was part of a large surveillance program that China has been conducting for "several years," the Pentagon said. The U.S. said Chinese balloons have flown over dozens of countries across five continents in recent years, and it learned more about the balloon program after closely monitoring the one shot down near South Carolina.

China responded that it reserved the right to "take further actions" and criticized the U.S. for "an obvious overreaction and a serious violation of international practice."

The Navy continued survey and recovery activities on the ocean floor off South Carolina, and the Coast Guard was providing security. Additional debris was pulled out Friday, and additional operations will continue as weather permits, Northern Command said.

Most expensive US military weapons and programs Most expensive military weapons and programs #30. VH-92 Presidential Helicopters #29. Patriot Advanced Capability Missile Segment Enhancement #28. Cloud #27. Standard Missile-6 #26. Artificial Intelligence #23. Frigate (FFG(X)) (tie) #23. AEGIS Ballistic Missile Defense System (tie) #20. Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) (tie) #20. Landing Platform Dock Ship (LPD) (tie) #20. AH-64E Attack Helicopters (tie) #19. Joint Light Tactical Vehicles #16. M-1 Abrams Tank Modifications/Upgrades (tie) #16. CH-53K King Stallion (tie) #16. Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) (tie) #14. F-15EX (tie) #14. National Security Space Launch (aka EELV) (tie) #12. F/A-18 E/F Super Hornets #10. B-21 Long Range Strike Bomber #8. CVN-78 FORD Class Aircraft Carrier (tie) #8. KC-46 Tanker Replacements (tie) #7. DDG-51 Arleigh Burke Destroyers #6. Cyberspace  Operations #5. COLUMBIA Class Ballistic Missile Submarine #4. Virginia Class Submarine #3. Cybersecurity #2. Nuclear Command, Control and Communications #1. F-35 Joint Strike Fighters Most expensive US military weapons and programs #23. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) Ballistic Missile Defense #22. Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicles #21. Building Pandemic Preparedness #20. Amphibious Combat Vehicles #19. PATRIOT Advanced Capability - 3 (PAC-3) Missile Segment Enhancement #18. Joint Light Tactical Vehicles #17. Frigate (FFG-62) #16. Launch Vehicles - National Security Space Launch (NSSL) and Rocket System Launch Program (RSLP) #15. NGAD (Air Force) #14. Global Positioning System (GPS) Enterprise #13. Ground-Based Midcourse (GMD) and Improved Homeland Defense/Next Generation Interceptors (NGI) #12. F-15EX #11. KC-46 Pegasus #10. Addressing the Climate Crisis #9. LGM-35A Sentinel Weapon System #8. Space-based Overhead Persistent Infrared (OPIR) Systems #7. B-21 Raider #6. DDG-51 Arleigh Burke Class Destroyers #5. Columbia Class Ballistic Missile Submarine #4. Funds to procure highly survivable, precision-strike, and long-range firesfrom hypersonic to subsonicacross the joint force #3. Virginia Class Submarines #2. F-35 Joint Strike Fighter #1. Increasing cybersecurity and operationalizing Zero Trust Architecture
Q: I had a kitchen sink leak last October and have not had a working sink, or been able to use my garage, since then. It still hasnt been fixed, and I am unable to get approval for necessary repairs from my landlord. My question is how much am I entitled to for rental reduction for all these months once its finally fixed, and how do I deal with a company where there is nobody to talk to who could help?  A.F.

Answer: George Humphrey III, a local attorney, said that under North Carolina law tenants are not automatically allowed to withhold their rent payments.

Under North Carolina law, a residential landlord shall make all repairs and do whatever is necessary to put and keep the premises in a fit and habitable condition. North Carolina law does not allow a tenant to automatically withhold their rent payment due to repairs the tenant deems are necessary to keep the premises in a fit and habitable condition. To do so risks a breach of the lease.

Instead, the tenant must pursue a rent abatement claim in a court action which takes into account the rental amount in the lease and the condition of the premises during the tenants occupancy. Damages will be awarded to the tenant if they prevail in their action. The tenant should keep a record of all maintenance requests and the landlords and property managers responses and maintain all relevant documents. A picture is worth a thousand words, Humphrey said.

If you need to meet with a lawyer, Humphrey said that Legal Aid of North Carolina can be contacted at 866-219-5262. If you dont qualify for Legal Aid, you can get a referral from the North Carolina Bar Association. Its telephone number is (919) 677-8574.

Q: Clothing and bedding dried outside in the sunshine have a wonderful smell. To my nose, the outside air does not smell as sweet. What causes clothing dried outside to smell so wonderful?  L.L.

Answer: Phyllis Smith, a Natural Resources and Environmental Systems Extension Agent with the N.C. Cooperative Extension, Forsyth County Center, explained how the clean clothes and sunshine equal a fresh smell and its also good for the clothes and the environment,

According to a study published by the research journal Environmental Chemistry, the fresh scent of line-dried laundry is the result of physical and chemical processes occurring on the surface of the fabric in the presence of sunlight and water.

By comparing towels dried under differing conditions, researchers found that when exposed to sunlight, chemical reactions occurred between water and fabric to produce organic compounds known as aldehydes and ketones. Some of these chemicals produce floral or fruity scents.

Smith said that nice smelling laundry is not the only reason to line dry.

According to Carla Davis of the Department of Sustainability, There are more than 88 million dryers in the United States  each emitting more than a ton of carbon dioxide per year and raising your energy bills. Try line drying. Indoors or outdoors, hanging your clothes is a convenient and sustainable alternative for drying. Also, clothes last longer when hung dry because of less wear and tear by the heat from the dryer.
Press Release

February 10, 2023 STATEMENT OF SENATOR JINGGOY EJERCITO ESTRADA ON PROPOSED PH-JAPAN-US SECURITY TRIAD This is nothing new as there had been a similar undertaking and the most recent of which was the Trilateral Cooperative Arrangement (TCA) between Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines, a regional commitment focused on measures to address maritime security threats and challenges. The recent years' changing regional security landscape exposed our country's vulnerabilities. Any strategic partnership aimed at further enhancing the countries' increasingly close security relationship is a welcome move. It need not be emphasized that this proposed trilateral alliance is rooted in mutually beneficial partnerships. We must ensure though that the responsibility of protecting and promoting our national interest rests with our government. This proposal needs to be placed in its proper context in order to temper expectations.
A woman was shot at Crawford Park on Oak Ridge Drive, police said.

Aljuriah Alexandria Miller, 22, of Eden arrived at an area hospital early Sunday with a gunshot wound to her arm. Miller told police she was at a park with several individuals when an argument started. During the argument several shots were fired, striking Miller.

She was transported to the hospital by her boyfriend. Officers located a crime scene at Crawford Park. This incident appears to be an isolated incident, police said.

The victims injuries are non-life threatening.

Anyone with any information regarding this investigation is asked to call the Winston-Salem Police Department at 336-773-7700, Crime Stoppers at 336-727-2800, or En Espanol 336-728-3904.
Penelope Hardings doctor helped her get through years of mental agony and two suicide attempts. But when Harding realized she was a transgender woman, that same doctor denied her care to make the transition.

Whats more, Harding told a panel of Nebraska lawmakers Friday, that doctor never followed through on a promise to help her find someone who would provide gender-affirming treatment.

Harding told her story as one of the opponents of LB810, which backers said would afford health care providers the right to follow their conscience about medical treatments. Opponents said the bill would enshrine discrimination in state law.

Sen. Dave Murman of Glenvil, who introduced the bill, said he did so out of concern that conservative and Christian medical students are hesitating to enter the medical field out of fear that they will have to participate in treatments that violate their religious beliefs.

He claimed that 23% of medical practitioners face discrimination based on their beliefs, and 20% dont pursue specific positions out of fear of discrimination.

Under LB810, named the Medical Ethics and Diversity Act, medical practitioners, such as doctors and nurses, and health care institutions such as hospitals could deny elective medical treatment that violated their right of conscience, meaning their religious, ethical or moral beliefs. The bill would also allow health insurance providers to deny coverage of non-emergency care under the same principles.

Murman said health care institutions and health insurance providers would have to disclose what treatment they would not cover ahead of time. Emergency and life-saving treatment would not be affected.

Although multiple doctors spoke in support of the bill at the hearing, the states major health care organizations, including the Nebraska Medical Association, Nebraska Hospital Association and Nebraska Nurses Association, testified in opposition. Other opponents included Nebraska Family Planning, the Nebraska AIDS Project and ACLU of Nebraska.

Leslie Spry with the NMA said the associations biggest issue with the bill is that is doesnt allow doctors to refer patients elsewhere if they deny treatment. Though the NMA agrees physicians should act with a conscience, he said patients also have the right to be informed of all their options.

Spry said Murman is currently working on an amendment that would alter LB810s language regarding referrals. If that amendment passes, he said the NMA could change its position on the bill.

Several physicians who testified in support of LB810 said theyve heard from multiple medical students who are concerned about facing discrimination for their beliefs, so much so that they feared testifying.

The reason these students are not here is the reason this bill needs to be passed, said Nebraska physician Carolyn Manhart.

Family medicine resident Francesca Ursua, who identified as a minority, said she faces more discrimination in her field for her beliefs than her gender or race. She is interested in entering obstetrics, and said she does not want to prescribe hormonal treatment or forms of contraception to patients.

Murman said the bill would not result in discrimination because it focuses on procedures, not on the patients characteristics. He said he had three procedures in mind while drafting the bill: abortions, gender-affirming treatment for transgender patients and euthanasia. Pharmacists would also have the ability to deny contraception to patients, he confirmed.

LB810 would change existing legal provisions on abortions, stating that medical practitioners would have to opt in to participate in an abortion by consenting in writing.

Supporters listed many of these treatments as services they or other physicians have objected to. Retired family medicine physician Dale Michels said hes refused to provide IUDs, a form of birth control, to patients after researching it.

Stephanie Nichols, legal counsel for the national legal organization Alliance Defending Freedom, said physicians across the U.S. have been coerced into performing assisted suicide and gender-affirming care for trans youth, which she referred to as procedures that would sterilize or remove body parts from minors.

In addition to allowing physicians to deny that care, Nichols said LB810 would also allow pharmacists to refuse to provide vaccinations based on their ethical or religious beliefs.

But opponents said the bill could jeopardize patients health and leave already marginalized groups without care. They said the bill would particularly affect people living outside of Lincoln and Omaha, where there may be few alternatives for treatment.

Echo Perlman Koehler, speaking for the nurses association, argued that the bill would return Nebraska to a paternalistic system in which providers are the ultimate deciders about care, instead of patients.

No patient should ever be denied care solely on a providers personal biases, she said.

Some opponents noted that the bill appears to allow any employee of a health care institution, not just medical doctors or nurses, to refuse to participate in care. Lacie Bolte, testifying for the Nebraska AIDS Project, raised concerns that it would allow employers or insurance companies to use the cover of conscience objections to deny coverage of expensive HIV medications.

Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh of Omaha, a member of the Legislatures Health and Human Services Committee, noted that assisted suicide is currently illegal in Nebraska, so LB810 wouldnt apply to that. She also argued that the bill would not affect abortion, as state hospitals only allow abortions to be performed for life-saving emergencies or for medical necessity. The only place to access elective abortions is at abortion clinics, she said, which presumably would not hire physicians who object to the procedure.

Executive Director of Nebraska Right to Life Sandy Danek disputed that, claiming at least one Lincoln hospital with Bryan Health allows physicians to perform elective abortions.

John Trapp, a physician with Bryan Health, denied that, though he said it will allow abortions deemed medically necessary. That was later confirmed by a Bryan Health spokesperson.

Sen. Jen Day of Omaha, another committee member, questioned whether the bill was discriminatory against patients, as supporters generally seemed focused on two areas of medicine  gender-affirming care and reproductive health  which only applies to two specific demographics.

Day asked Nichols if there are any other industries where employees cant be fired for refusing to perform part of their job. Nichols did not directly answer, instead repeating a common argument among supporters that Nebraskas shortage of medical practitioners will worsen if LB810 doesnt pass. She later said that practitioners who object to certain procedures can still perform other services.

Day pushed the point again later while questioning another supporter, Tom Venzor with the Nebraska Catholic Conference. She suggested that if a practitioner was not willing to provide a medical service covered in their field, perhaps they should practice in a different area of medicine.

Venzor said Days perspective was a black and white view of the medical field. He and other supporters, including Murman, pointed out that LB810 wouldnt just apply to Christian and conservative beliefs, but would protect all viewpoints.

It is protecting the diversity of belief within the medical field, Murman said.

Photos: The business of governing in Nebraska in 2023
Ever since she was 10 years old, Aubriana Krieser knew she wanted to be a special education teacher. Learning about other people's struggles and how she can help is just something she enjoys.

So when her high school counselor at Lincoln North Star asked her if she would be interested in working as a paraeducator, Krieser jumped at the opportunity.

"Right off the bat, I was interested," the senior said.

Krieser is one of 11 students taking part in a new pilot program at Lincoln Public Schools that allows seniors to work as special education paras. The initiative, which kicked off this semester, is meant to address a dire workforce need with paras in short supply, while also giving students a chance to test the waters of a career they hope to pursue.

Some paras, however, have raised concerns with how the program was rolled out and the compensation students receive.

The student paras, who already attend school on a shortened schedule, perform the same duties and receive the same pay as para IVs, one of the five classifications of paras at LPS. Para IVs, who work with special education students in a variety of settings, are paid $16.83 an hour.

Students receive the same training and serve in an itinerant capacity, bouncing between mostly elementary and middle schools in a given quadrant. They cannot work at their home high school or schools where their siblings attend and they're required to work at least one hour per day.

Duties include assisting students with going to the bathroom and mobility and addressing behaviors.

Unlike teachers, who are certificated, paras are classified employees with less stringent requirements to work in a school. Federal law does require paras who work in Title I buildings to have 48 semester hours of college credit or equivalent, but that does not apply to itinerant paras.

Director of Special Education Jenny Fundus said she learned about the concept from a large Illinois school district at a conference in Chicago last fall. She ran it past her colleagues, who were soon on board.

"We need paraeducators and we need to recruit future employees of the school district," Fundus said. "That's kind of why we went down this road."

Other districts have experimented with using students as employees with workforce shortages gripping education. Ashland-Greenwood also hires seniors as elementary school paras, while Omaha Public Schools allows students to work as paid interpreters and summer interns.

Not everyone is keen on the idea of hiring students, however. Some paras at LPS have expressed concerns on social media about the program, including how it was rolled out and the fact that the student paras receive the same pay.

One para, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Journal Star he and other paras found out about the program via a Facebook post from a Lincoln high school.

"We kind of feel blindsided," the para said.

While the para said he believed the students could be qualified, he expressed concern at the optics of it, especially when paras are asking for better compensation or, in some cases, quitting.

Marla Styles, a human resources specialist who oversees the hiring of paras, said the idea was not initially run past the Lincoln Paraeducator Association, the union that represents the districts paras. Styles and Fundus did hold an optional Zoom recently with paras to clarify details about the program.

"It's not perfect," Styles said. "I hope everyone can see the perspective of what we're trying to do. ... We see this as a way to support students."

Styles said as of Thursday there were roughly 35 paras openings  mostly in special education, which comprises the bulk of LPS' paras.

In a statement to the Journal Star from Lincoln Paraeducator Association President Mary Harris on behalf of the association's board, the board said it recently learned about the program through a social media post.

"That posting prompted us to request a meeting with representatives at (LPS district office), which led to a Zoom meeting with paraeducators across the district where district representatives shared some of the details of this pilot program to help alleviate the significant paraeducator shortage," the statement reads.

Instead of commenting directly on the program itself, the board pointed to the need to better support paras.

"Paras' skill sets are highly specific to the students they serve and are among those at the lowest pay scale in the district," the board said.

Styles said the district is paying students the same amount that was negotiated by the union last spring. Those negotiations locked in para pay for this school year and the next, with raises built in.

"I do understand the association's and paras' overall concerns about compensation," Styles said. "We're trying to stick strictly to the negotiations."

Styles also added that the social media post announcing the program came from a specific school looking for applicants, not the district office.

Deb Rasmussen, president of the Lincoln Education Association, said she has heard concerns from teachers in a couple of buildings, but acknowledged the positives of "grow-your-own" initiatives that encourage students to work in education.

The district can also hire whom it chooses without running it past a union, Rasmussen said.

"They do have the right to assignment and the right to hire people," Rasmussen said.

The pilot program is capped at 11 seniors this spring and LPS sought students who want to work with students with disabilities and are in good standing at their high school.

Many of the student paras, for example, participated in unified programs, which pair general education students with their special education peers in programs like bowling, track and theater.

"These are not students who have no context working with students with disabilities," Fundus said.

The district vets students the way it would any other employee, including using background checks and conducting a physical skills test. Students also do not have access to student records, Fundus said.

A student's assigned school may change day by day or week by week depending on the need. Students are not encouraged to take a modified schedule to participate, but rather the district is seeking students who have already accumulated enough high school credits to have a shortened school day.

Kreiser, who works from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day, has spent the past two weeks at Goodrich Middle School, helping out in social skills classes and at recess. On Monday, she'll go to Belmont Elementary.

She plans to go to Concordia University next fall to pursue her dream of becoming a special education teacher. Asked if she would recommend the pilot program to others, Kreiser left no room for doubt.

"Yeah, 100%. I would do it over and over again," she said. "It's a jump-start."

Top Journal Star photos for February 2023
History buffs and Lincoln residents gathered Saturday at the Nebraska History Museum to celebrate the citys namesake.

Nebraskas capital, the largest city in the world named after Abraham Lincoln, celebrated the 16th presidents 214th birthday with a variety of activities, including a Lincoln impersonator contest and a birthday cake.

Saturdays celebration had somber undertones, though. History Nebraska had to adjust the schedule after nationally acclaimed actor Michael Krebs, who was to portray Lincoln at the event, died Jan. 29 at age 66.

Krebs, a Chicago native, had performed in Lincolns celebration from 2006-09 and was looking forward to attending this years celebration, according to event organizers.

We were able to chat over Zoom a few times and he was so knowledgeable, and really so excited to come here, said Ashlee Anderson, curator of education at the museum. Were all devastated by his sudden passing.

Anderson said officials began planning the event last fall, and that Krebs death altered the schedule for the weekend. Krebs and fellow Chicago actor Debra Ann Miller, who portrayed Mary Todd Lincoln with Krebs since 1998, were slated to make appearances around the city leading up to Saturdays event, Anderson said.

Still, history buffs of all ages had plenty of activities to check out. Lincoln High School students ran an Abraham Lincoln-themed Jeopardy game and an arts and crafts table, where people could decorate paper replicas of Lincolns famous beard and top hat.

Chris Sayre and Dave Marsh performed traditional folk music from the period when Lincoln was president, which included songs played on historically accurate instruments such as a musical saw and an accordion. Other tables featured fast facts about Lincoln, historical documents from the time and Civil War reenactors.

Theres something here for the whole family, Anderson said.

The impersonator competition drew three children and two adults. Competitors wore a top hat and fake beard  save for one competitor  and recited the opening lines of the Gettysburg Address.

History Nebraska gave each participant a prize pack that included free admission to the museum. Levi May of Ashland jokingly won the Best Natural Beard Award as the only competitor with a beard.

May said he had dressed up like Lincoln before on a trip to the state Capitol, but wasnt planning to enter Saturdays impersonator contest.

My wife wanted me to do it; the competition ended up being a lot of fun, he said.

After the contest, Sayre and Marsh led attendees in singing happy birthday, then guests returned to enjoying the celebration.

Anderson said Saturdays event was a success for the museum. It had been closed all of January for the installation of a Smithsonian traveling exhibit about American democracy. Saturday marked the first time in 2023 the museum hosted a sizable crowd.

Were super excited to have folks back in the building, she said.

Close Jim Atkins (left) and Neal Clayburn of the Nebraska Rangers from the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War guard the Abraham Lincoln Monument at the Nebraska State Capitol in honor of Lincoln's birthday Thursday. Bill Dean (right) of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War talks to Logan Schiermeyer, 12, of Omaha, and his dad, Jason Schiermeyer, about his Civil War artifacts in the Nebraska State Capitol, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2015. Bill Dean of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War displays his personal collection of bullets from the Civil War in the Nebraska State Capitol, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2015. Bill Dean of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War displays his personal collection of Civil War artifacts in the Nebraska State Capitol while Marc Witkovski (center) and Gage Stermensky, Nebraska Rangers of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, take a break from guarding the Abraham Lincoln Monument to warm up, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2015. The Nebraska Rangers have guarded the statue for the past 20 years in honor of Lincoln's birthday. Nebraska Rangers from the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War's Gage Stermensky teaches Jim Atkins the commands while guarding the Abraham Lincoln Monument at the Nebraska State Capitol in honor of Lincoln's birthday, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2015. Nebraska Rangers from the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War guard the Abraham Lincoln Monument at the Nebraska State Capitol in honor of Lincoln's birthday, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2015. Jim Atkins of the Nebraska Rangers from the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War guards the Abraham Lincoln Monument at the Nebraska State Capitol in honor of Lincoln's birthday, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2015. Photos: Guarding Lincoln's legacy Nebraska Rangers of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War guarded the Abraham Lincoln Monument on Thursday, something they have done for the past 20 years in honor of Lincoln's birthday. Jim Atkins (left) and Neal Clayburn of the Nebraska Rangers from the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War guard the Abraham Lincoln Monument at the Nebraska State Capitol in honor of Lincoln's birthday Thursday. Bill Dean (right) of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War talks to Logan Schiermeyer, 12, of Omaha, and his dad, Jason Schiermeyer, about his Civil War artifacts in the Nebraska State Capitol, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2015. Bill Dean of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War displays his personal collection of bullets from the Civil War in the Nebraska State Capitol, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2015. Bill Dean of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War displays his personal collection of Civil War artifacts in the Nebraska State Capitol while Marc Witkovski (center) and Gage Stermensky, Nebraska Rangers of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, take a break from guarding the Abraham Lincoln Monument to warm up, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2015. The Nebraska Rangers have guarded the statue for the past 20 years in honor of Lincoln's birthday. Nebraska Rangers from the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War's Gage Stermensky teaches Jim Atkins the commands while guarding the Abraham Lincoln Monument at the Nebraska State Capitol in honor of Lincoln's birthday, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2015. Nebraska Rangers from the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War guard the Abraham Lincoln Monument at the Nebraska State Capitol in honor of Lincoln's birthday, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2015. Jim Atkins of the Nebraska Rangers from the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War guards the Abraham Lincoln Monument at the Nebraska State Capitol in honor of Lincoln's birthday, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2015.
COLUMBUS  In the 1940s, the world was quite different. TVs were uncommon, vehicles were far less advanced, there was no internet, and Gordon and Edna Hoessel had just met.

There was a whole line of girls sitting on the side of a Model A car and I picked the prettiest one out and asked for a date and she accepted, said Gordon, whos been married to Edna for 76 years.

Their church, St. Pauls Evangelical Lutheran Church in rural Leigh, has played a prominent role in their lives, Edna said. They and their parents attended the church, they were married there and still attend. Theyve lived in quite a few places in the Platte County area over that time, finally landing in the Clarkson/Leigh area where they live now.

They courted for four years before they married Feb. 9, 1947. When they were dating and first married, Edna said, they would go to dances and parties together. There were more dance halls and places like that back then.

We went to shows and dances, stuff like that. At that time, everybody went to shows and dances, there wasnt much television or anything like that, Edna said. There was a dance hall in the country by where we first lived and a dance hall in Howells.

The pair has always farmed, Gordon said, though he did work for a lighting company for a while. They raised cattle, hogs, corn, oats and soybeans. Both were born and raised on farms. Gordon retired at 55, and since then, the couple has spent their time together. Farming, Gordon noted, is very different now than when he started and even when he retired.

I farmed all my life until I retired, Gordon said. From the threshing machines to little combines then it went from little combines to really big ones. Went from plowing the ground to tilling it.

Just a couple of years after they were married, they had their first child, Dorothy Halvorsen. Before long, they had three more: Gene Hoessel, Darlene Adamy and Joyce Bruha. They have since welcomed 10 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.

One thing they like to do together, Gordon said, is watch cars out the window. He picked up whittling from Gene years ago but unfortunately, arthritis has made that difficult. Hes made several instruments and decorative items over the years, such as ukuleles, mandolins, harps and wooden figures. He also used to weld occasionally and paint.

Edna crochets and does some sewing and embroidering.

I crochet and give doilies and stuff to my kids all the time. I make towels and things like that, she said.

Their creative pursuits, Gene said, have provided many personal handmade Christmas gifts for their kids and grandkidss. One example, he said, is a rather ornate wooden dove Gordon carved several years ago. Bud Adamy, their son-in-law, said they always gave heirloom-type gifts, not the kind of thing one can find in a store.

When they were younger, Gordon and Edna said, they liked to travel, sometimes in a camper. Gene said his parents have gone all over the western United States, to Montana, California and other places.

I liked going around the mountains, hunting for fossils, Gordon said.

The secret, they said, to being married 76 years is simply not arguing. Their children confirmed that they couldnt think of any time they ever saw the pair go to bed mad. Edna even gave a piece of advice for those who want to stay together that long.

Love each other all the time, Edna said. We just dont argue.

Gene said his dad had some advice years ago that was a little more amusing, in the event they did disagree on something.

He told me to always get the last word in, even if that word is yes, dear, Gene said.

Top Journal Star photos for February 2023
CALEDONIA  A child suffered a head injury that required 21 stitches after a woman allegedly drove the vehicle they were in into a ditch.

Paris L. Schreiber, 31, of Saukville, Wisconsin, was charged with a felony count of knowingly operating a motor vehicle while suspended causing great bodily harm and a misdemeanor count of bail jumping.

According to a criminal complaint, at 1 p.m. Thursday an officer from the Caledonia Police Department was sent to the 6100 block of Highway 32 (Douglas Avenue) after the report of a car wreck.

Upon arrival, the officer saw a man holding a small girl under the age of 4 who had suffered a laceration to the head.

The man reportedly said he saw a vehicle take a wide turn, strike a garbage can in front of Skoops Ice Cream, overcorrect and drive across traffic before ending up in a ditch.

The driver of the vehicle was identified as Schreiber, and it was determined that neither she nor the child were wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash.

The laceration on the girls head was 4 inches long and 1.5 inches wide, and she 21 stitches to her face and forehead at a hospital.

Another passenger in the vehicle reportedly said that she and Schreiber argued because Schreiber allegedly wanted to go to Milwaukee to sell food stamps for cash. The passenger said she did not want to go to Milwaukee and that a shouting match ensued, but she said she could not remember anything else before the crash.

An National Crime Information Center check showed Schreiber driving status had been suspended driving and the she had previously been issued citations for driving without a valid license.

Schreiber was given a $500 signature bond and a $400 cash bond in Racine County Circuit Court on Friday. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Feb. 22 at the Racine County Law Enforcement Center, online court records show.
Elections for state Supreme Court, while often noisy affairs in Wisconsin, are not usually noted outside the state. But this years contest, which will be narrowed by a primary later this month between two liberals and two conservatives, is drawing the eyes of a divided nation, with implications for abortion rights and a slew of ongoing legal and political battles in the perennial battleground state.

This is going to be, most likely, the most expensive judicial election ever in the United States, said UW-La Crosse political science assistant professor Anthony Chergosky. It might also be one of the most-watched judicial elections ever in the United States.

The stakes could hardly be higher.

Liberals view the election as a means to restore abortion rights, which have become mostly a state-by-state issue after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to an abortion in June, and to redraw the states legislative maps. Conservatives are seeking to protect the 4-3 majority theyve held on the high court for most of this century.

Battles over other major issues like redistricting and voting laws are shifting to the judiciary branch in Wisconsin because of a legislative and executive branch that are either unwilling or unable to cooperate, Chergosky said.

Adding to the interest in the race beyond Wisconsin is the states outsize role in politics.

We have seemingly countless ways that we are politically relevant on the national scene, Chergosky said, mentioning, for example, presidential races where Wisconsins results shift the election one way or the other  and the fact that any potential challenges to Wisconsins 2024 presidential election results could be settled by whoever wins this years high court race.

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.

While clearly divided ideologically, the race is technically nonpartisan and all four candidates will appear on the same primary ballot on Feb. 21, with the top two vote-getters advancing to the April 4 election.

To liberals, the race is the culmination of an end goal that was identified as early as 2011, during the early days of the (Republican Gov. Scott Walker) administration and its attacks on working people, ridiculous gerrymanders and, even back then, attacks on womens reproductive freedom, Democratic strategist Joe Zepecki said.

To conservatives, the race is about protecting those Republican gains.

We are looking at a situation where they are trying to elect an activist justice to roll back a lot of the reforms that weve seen in the last 25 years, Republican Party of Wisconsin chair Brian Schimming said, saying liberals want to roll back Walkers Act 10 legislation, which largely eliminated collective bargaining for most public employees; the private school voucher program; photo ID requirements for voting; and the states current legislative maps.

The chosen one

Among the liberal candidates, operatives on both sides say the candidate to beat is Protasiewicz (pronounced pro-tuh-SAY-witz).

She clearly is the chosen one on the left, Schimming said. And that shows in the endorsements and where the moneys flowing. ... Shes the one (liberals) want to get through, and they are spending resources to make sure that she does.

Protasiewicz has received endorsements from liberal Wisconsin Supreme Court justices Ann Walsh Bradley and Rebecca Dallet, dozens of judges statewide, dozens of current and former legislators, former Democratic Gov. Martin Schreiber and several unions. Mitchell has received endorsements from former Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle, several current legislators and several Dane and Milwaukee County judges.

Zepecki said it would take something extraordinary for Mitchell to come out ahead in this months primary, adding that Protasiewiczs 10-to-1 cash-on-hand advantage over Mitchell may have tipped the race in her favor when it became public last month.

That sent the signal to everybody who was holding back that if they were waiting to contribute, and waiting to see how its going to shake out, that Protasiewicz was the one to donate to, Zepecki said.

Asked to address Republican claims that she would strike down conservative legislation, Protasiewicz declined to say how she would rule on specific cases, adding that, on a personal level, she has concerns about requiring a photo ID to vote and said she isnt sure it reduces voter fraud. On private school vouchers, she called herself a big proponent of a strong public school system. She has repeatedly made her abortion rights views clear.

She said she marched in Madison against Act 10. And she said a person would have to be deaf, dumb and blind not to recognize that theres something wrong with the (legislative) maps in the state of Wisconsin, which strongly favor Republicans.

At the same time, she said, she is the best choice to reverse the extreme partisanship that has permeated the court for so many years.

Everybodys a human being, everybody has their own thoughts, their own values, right? she said. But in the end, I follow the law, and I uphold the Constitution.

Mitchell said the race boils down to two key themes  one about how the court rules on specific cases involving abortion, voting and redistricting, and the other about improving the court system on a local and statewide level for groups of people affected by the criminal justice system.

He said he was the best candidate to address those issues, especially the second one, pointing to his desire to increase trauma-informed practices on the local and high court level. He also pointed to the reduction of youth car thefts in Dane County while he presided over its juvenile court.

Between now and the primary, Mitchell said he wants to highlight how reproductive justice encompasses all of the fights and justice-related issues that we need to be able to talk about, adding that reproductive justice involves health care, criminal justice and mental health.

No consensus

While conservatives are confident theyll face Protasiewicz in April, operatives on both sides are less confident about who will be going up against her.

Dorow and Kelly each have endorsements from different Wisconsin Supreme Court justices. Both raised just over $300,000 last year, though Dorow made that in a month while Kelly raised it in four months.

Kelly has largely campaigned on his experience as a state Supreme Court justice, where he consistently sided with the courts conservative bloc.

While she never served on the high court, Dorow was in the national spotlight recently, presiding over the trial against the man who drove through the Waukesha Christmas parade in 2021, killing six people and injuring more than 60 others.

Retiring conservative Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Patience Roggensack endorsed Dorow. Conservative Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley has endorsed Kelly.

Kellys pitch to voters is that he has high court experience along with a long, public, proven record of constitutional conservativism and a body of scholarship that cant be matched by anyone in the race, he said.

I dont want to take anything away at all from Jennifers good work as a trial judge, (but) I dont think that, by itself, suggests an ability to take the step up to the Supreme Court. Shes been on the bench 11 years and hasnt left behind any scholarship that tells us what she means when she says that shes a judicial conservative.

Kelly supporters have also said Dorow isnt prepared as a candidate, pointing to her use of a binder to read prepared remarks during a WisPolitics forum as one example.

Asked what made her more electable than Kelly, Dorow said her breadth of experience  as a trial court judge, chief judge in her judicial district, and experience as a prosecutor and defense attorney  separated her from the other candidates.

She accused Protasiewicz of promising political outcomes in a judicial race, pointing to the liberal candidates explicit embrace of abortion rights. Anti-abortion groups have endorsed Dorow and Kelly, though the conservative candidates have not talked about the issue nearly as much as Protasiewicz.

Dorow has previously gone after the former justice and his supporters, calling on them to stop attacking her. In audio obtained by 1130 WISN-AM, she said candidates like Kelly attack fellow conservatives time after time, frankly to distract from their own deficiencies and because they know theyre not the frontrunner.

While some conservatives have expressed worry that such clashes could distract voters from whats at stake, Schimming said he wasnt worried about the partisan infighting.

One of the good things about having somebody so liberal on the other side is it makes the choice abundantly clear for our folks, he said, adding that conservatives will join their chosen candidate immediately on election night.

A 2022 tone

Some emerging themes of the high court race  abortion, the main theme of Protasiewiczs first two TV ads, and crime, the focus of Dorows first ad  echo some of the themes in last Novembers election, when a Republican won the states U.S. Senate election but a Democrat won the race for governor.

The Supreme Court race is fundamentally a referendum on freedom to access safe, legal abortions and live in a democracy that honors voting rights and lets people choose their politicians instead of politicians choosing their voters, Democratic Party of Wisconsin chair Ben Wikler said.

With a majority of voters in favor of abortion rights, conservatives are instead focusing on public safety  another top concern of voters, according to Marquette Law School polls ahead of the last election.

Our candidates are going to keep talking about crime, especially with record violent crime in Milwaukee and some other cities in the state, Schimming said.

Protasiewicz appears to have anticipated that, releasing a new ad Friday this month that seeks to brush off attacks that she is soft on crime.
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

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STATEMENT OF SENATOR FRANCIS 'TOL' N. TOLENTINO ON PH-JAPAN-US SECURITY TRIAD

?If it's going to be in the form of a Treaty, definitely it has to be ratified by the Senate in accordance with our Constitution.

However, temporary trilateral exercises in the form of maritime patrols and land-based training, including disaster assistance might be covered by a new executive agreement, and is a "welcome" new adaptation, so long as it benefits the nation and supports regional peace.

The Senate should be given the opportunity to finetune the dynamics thereof, while recognizing the role of the President. While this is not a SEATO-like structure, I support its genesis.
GOTHENBURG  The 2023 Tractor Relay Across Nebraska event this summer starts in Gothenburg, registration deadlines are this spring.

The 2023 Tractor Relay Across Nebraska (TRAN) will tour the central and southwestern part of Nebraska this summer, starting in Gothenburg on June 3 and ending in Wauneta on June 7.

The event is hosted by the Nebraska Antique Farming Association headquartered in Curtis. The tractorcade usually includes a wide variety of antique tractors: McCormick, Farmall, McCormick Farmall, Minneapolis-Moline, Oliver, International, Allis-Chalmers, Case and others. The tractors showed a bit of the history of American tractor manufacturing.

The schedule for the TRAN relay is as follows:

June 3: Gothenburg to Lexington, return to Gothenburg

June 4: Church Service, Gothenburg to Cozad, return to Gothenburg

June 5: Gothenburg to North Platte

June 6: North Platte to Wallace

June 7: Wallace to Wauneta

Contact the Gothenburg Chamber of Commerce at 308-537-3505 to help with the TRAN relay members stay in the community.

During the relay the group will be taking donations for the American Legion programs, Operation Comfort Warriors and Gifts for Yanks.

Operation Comfort Warrior provides wounded, injured or ill military personnel with comfort items not usually supplied by the government. Items include sweat suits, DVDs, puzzles, electronic devices, books and calling cards.

The registration deadline is May 1 and the buddy seat deadline is April 15.

TRAN 2023 General Information call:

Relay Coordinator: Donelle Moormeier 402-429-2480;

Safety Officer: Fred Petsch 402-416-5561;

NAFA Secretary: Donna Wilton 402-469-4455;

Accounts Receivable Treasurer: Steven Fisher 308-536-6076

Last year the event traveled through Hartington, South Sioux City, Wayne, Pender and West Point. The last time the TRAN relay passed through the area was the inaugural year in 2012 and 2013.

The second years TRAN route followed Highway 30 across Nebraska, in honor of the 100th anniversary of the Lincoln Highway, one of the first transcontinental highways for cars in America.

Tractor Relay Across Nebraska

The founding board members made a decision to have a Tractor Relay Across Nebraska following the theme of the Pony Express. The event started on June 2 and ended June 10, 2012. The relay started on the eastern side of Nebraska and continued to the western border following Highways 34, 30 and 26. There will be nine segments of the ride of one day per segment.

Meal and break stops were planned with the public invited to come out and see the tractors as they pass through.

The following is a report of the founding meeting of the Nebraska Antique Farming Association Nov. 12, 2011, at the offices of Dawson Public Power District in Lexington.

Statement of purpose

To unite fellow Nebraskans interested in collecting, preserving, and using older farm machinery

To raise awareness of our Agricultural Heritage through the promotion of antique demonstrations, exhibits, and educational endeavors

To be a voice of all Nebraskan Antique Machinery hobbyists through our combined influence and contacts

To be a liaison between the local antique machinery clubs and Legislative bodies on the State and National level

To be an advocate of our collecting and preserving hobby and to work with lawmakers in guiding them to make decisions that would be in the best interest of all

To work with all local clubs and groups hosting events to ensure success and wider participation
South Korean soldiers stationed on the southern side of the Joint Security Area on Feb. 7, 2023. Korea Times photo by Jack Lau



North Korean soldiers shun in-person talks due to COVID-19



By Jack Lau



PAJU, Gyeonggi Province  The Imjin River, near the heavily guarded Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) serving as a buffer zone between the two Koreas, was frozen on Feb. 7. Flowing from the North to the South, the river is a chilling reminder of the confrontation between the two Koreas that has continued for seven decades.



Rice paddies tended by villagers of Daeseong-dong in the border city of Paju surrounded the road towards the 245-kilometer Military Demarcation Line. The border marked the battlefront in 1953, when an armistice to end the three-year Korean War was signed between North Korea, China and the U.S.-led United Nations Command. Layers of ice had formed in the furrows of barren fields, where rare cranes foraged and fed in the landmine-filled DMZ, which has become a wildlife sanctuary.



North Korean troops have become somewhat of a rare sight. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, North Korean soldiers have avoided showing themselves in public to ward off the disease, at the cost of suspending in-person talks with the U.N. Command about upholding the armistice.



"They no longer meet with us face to face," said Lt. Col. Griff Hofman of the U.N. Command Military Armistice Commission behind the sky-blue conference huts at the Joint Security Area in Panmunjom managed by the commission.



"It's all done via the hotline, and they generally stay in Panmungak," he said, referring to the main building on the North Korean side of the area that is also known as the Phanmun Pavilion. "If North Korean troops needed to go outdoors, they wore hazmat suits."





Lt. Col. Griff Hofman (left) and his interpreter talk to reporters in a conference hut located in the Joint Security Area between North and South Korea on Feb. 7, 2023. Korea Times photo by Jack Lau







North Korea claimed in July last year that its first coronavirus outbreak was caused by civilians who touched "alien things" near its border with South Korea and warned people to be vigilant when dealing with balloons and other objects along the demarcation line.



Pyongyang has never confirmed the number of North Koreans that caught COVID-19, but began to report "fever patients" in May last year. About 4.8 million people have had "fever," it said, which represents a fifth of its population of 25 million. It has not reported daily case tallies since July 29, 2022, and said in August that it had overcome the virus.



In 2018, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met with then South Korean President Moon Jae-in in the Joint Security Area, summits that paved the way to?a short-lived optimism for peace that collapsed on disagreements over demands for Pyongyang to denuclearize. By 2020, North Korea severed hotlines with the South and blew up a joint liaison office in the North Korean border town of Kaesong.



Mountains and vegetation in North Korea seen from the southern side of the Joint Security Area on Feb. 7, 2023. Korea Times photo by Jack Lau



South Korean troops stationed in the Joint Security Area were staring into the air on Tuesday, when there were no signs of North Korean soldiers on their side of the heavily guarded truce village. No villagers or troops were seen in the North Korean fields overlooking a 70-meter metal tower fitted with cameras to observe movements of the North Korean military and unusual activities such as an amassing of resources in the area.



The fog reduced visibility to little more than 10km from the base of the tower, located a few minutes' walk from the conference huts. However, although partially obscured by fog, the vantage point still offered a view of Kaesong Heights that is home to long-range artillery and rocket systems hidden inside its mountains, which Hofman said threaten the safety of Seoul. Those systems could be brought out on railways, fired from there and retracted into the hillside.



No one could be seen roaming in the foreground of North Korea's Kijong-dong village, which merely keeps a pretense of civilian life under a 160-meter-tall tower flying the country's flag.





A North Korean flag flutters in the wind on top of a 160-meter-tall tower situated in Kijong-dong village on Feb. 7. Yonhap-AP
Its all going to be OK mom, no matter what happens. I love you and miss you so much.

About the series Across the nation, state and our community, fentanyl is leading the drug addiction crisis, surpassing all other substances in overdose deaths. Cheap, powerful and easily transported due to its microscopic size, the synthetic opioid is nearly impossible to measure precisely for illicit use and is increasing mixed  sometimes without the awareness of the user  in drugs including cocaine, methamphetamine and even marijuana. With a distressing 11 local overdose deaths being investigated just five weeks into 2023, and the possible inclusion of tranquilizers in area drug supply, medical officials and law enforcement are ramping up efforts to warn the community of just how dangerous the drug is, and to get naloxone into the hands of those who use and the people around them. In Part two of "Fentanyl: A deadly epidemic," the Tribune looks further at the life and tragic death of Amara Rose Lee, her mother's quest to honor her daughter and help others by establishing a foundation, and the collaborative fight to disrupt the drug crisis.

Heidi Overson for years has held on to the sheet of notebook paper, the words written in black pen by her daughter Amara Mari Rose Lee as she sat in a jail cell. It was one of Maris many periods in custody as she grappled with drug addiction, and one of many notes she sent her mom, all lovingly saved.

Mari had been abusing illegal drugs and alcohol since her early teens, but it wasnt until 2015 that Heidi learned how far her daughter had fallen. That year, filled with excitement, Mari told her mother she might have found the one, a man who cared about her, loved her, would look out for her.

He would be the one who shot heroin into Maris vein for the first time, and the one who revived her when she overdosed the first time. The experience wasnt enough to make Mari stop using. Instead, she drifted further into a life of darkness, stealing to support her habit, lying and manipulating those around her, and promising time after time she would turn her back on drugs.

But rarely can one walk away from that first high and never return. More likely, one will die trying to feel that euphoria again.

A life crumbling before their eyes

Mari was just three months old when Randy Overson met her mother, Heidi. Heidi and Maris biological father, Jeff Richardson, were no longer together, and Randy knew mother and daughter were a package deal, one he welcomed wholeheartedly.

I loved this girl, and I loved this little baby  it was kind of meant to be, Randy says. She was my daughter.

While Mari would spend time with Richardson, who lived in other cities in Wisconsin before moving out of state, Randy was the papa who raised her, along with the two daughters and son he and Heidi had together. Mari showed a strong personality from a young age  sharp and intuitive, cute with a little bit of sassy, and just a wonderful little kid, Randy says.

Mari was adventurous, finding the fun in even a simple trip to the grocery store. She drew friends in like a magnet and had the ability to make everyone feel important, never rushing a conversation.

She was ready to listen and she always had time for you, Randy says. Thats love when people do that.

Mari and her best friend, Anne, were inseparable, Heidi says, and shared a special bond that no one would forget. They were your typical high school chums, and they planned on experiencing life after graduation hand in hand.

As kids, Mari and her siblings delighted in being tossed into the air at the pool, making a big splash into the deep end, flying kites and spending long hours at the playground. The family jokingly shared insistence that Bigfoot lived in the woods behind their home, and occasionally donned matching Going Squatchin hats.

When Mari entered middle school, she began to spend less time with family, drinking and smoking marijuana, and by high school was taking hallucinogens. But she hid it well from her family and friends, even Anne, and Mari seemed to be in control of her life, walking the stage at graduation and still boasting a cheerful grin.

But in the years after high school, she was introduced to methamphetamine. And when heroin entered Maris realm, it became evident the drugs now dominated her.

In 2015, she overdosed for the first time  the first time as far as we know, Heidi says.

Mari had been revived and released from the hospital before Randy and Heidi got there, and the next day Randy found his stepdaughter walking down the street by her house, dressed in shorts and a T-shirt on that January night, her face white as a ghost.

She started yelling at me in the middle of the street, saying it was none of my business and things like that, Randy recalls. And I thought, Oh my God, were in trouble. Heres a girl that I pushed on the swingset, doing the underdog, and now here she is, high.

Over the next several years, Mari vacillated between using and sobriety. She would tell her parents, Im clean, when she made it two weeks without drugs, and Randy would say, No, youre not. A month, two months, you keep adding. A year clean is fantastic.

During those periods, however brief, it was like the old Mari was back, Randy says. And when she realized she was having trouble again, she was really trying but she couldnt (quit). It was like a monster that was taunting her.

It was evident when Mari was using again, Randy says, when she was deeply sick from withdrawal. To protect their other children, Mari was not welcome to stay in the home when she returned to the high, drug paraphernalia found in her room.

Watching their daughter relapse again and again, was like a death by a thousand cuts, says Randy. It was seven years of it.

No matter what Mari did, or how long she was gone, the depths of Heidis love for her daughter never wavered.

Each time she came back, we all welcomed her with open arms, says Heidi. She knew we would have done anything for her. We really fought as hard as we could.

Heidi always had hope, and while he did as well, Randy was also pragmatic.

I knew I would lose her in some form, Randy says. Shed either die or go to prison.

At 31, Mari lost the battle of addiction.

Addressing the challenges of fentanyl

Over 20 million people in the U.S. have a substance use disorder, and with the highest relapse rate of any substance 75% to 90%  opiates are a growing threat.

Opiates, including fentanyl, activate a dopamine release, and the feelings of pleasure are reinforcing triggers. Over time the brain adapts to the drug, needing more and more to achieve the same high.

The diminished sensitivity, according to the National Institute of Healths National Institute on Drug Abuse, (makes) it hard to feel pleasure from anything besides the drug. When people become addicted, drug seeking and drug use take over their lives.

The hold the drug had on Mari was evident, Randy says.

She would say sorry a lot, Randy says. She really tried, but its a monster. The drug becomes their master.

The mortality rate of opioid addicts  overdose is the greatest cause  ranges from six to 20 times higher than that of the general population, a 2015 Harvard study states, and those who do recover often continue or begin to use alcohol or other drugs. Individuals who suffered abuse or have mental health conditions have a higher relapse rate.

While the illicit manufacturing of fentanyl is a more recent phenomenon, the synthetic opioid was developed as an intravenous anesthetic six decades ago, and when used as intended in a hospital setting, fentanyl is actually a safer pain reliever than other drugs.

Anyone who has had surgery has been overdosed on drugs, says Dr. Chris Eberlein, emergency medicine physician at Gundersen Health System. You stop breathing, you are completely unresponsive. But we manage your condition and the respiratory component. We wait for the drug to wear off and you wake up.

The anesthetic has a wide therapeutic index, with fewer adverse effects than some alternatives. But in the absence of medical oversight and precise dosing, the slowed breathing brought on by fentanyl can lead to potentially permanent damage to the brain and lungs.

In addition, individuals may not be properly cleaning their skin or using sterile needles when injecting drugs, which can lead to hepatitis, bacteria in the blood, endocarditis, wound botulism and even potentially fatal necrotizing fasciitis, or flesh-eating disease.

Fentanyls impact on the opioid receptor in the brain can increase its deadliness by decreasing responsiveness to the opiate overdose antidote narcan, and Eberlein stresses the importance of being trained in rescue breathing in addition to narcan administration.

After not breathing for around five minutes, you will start to have cardiac issues and eventually your heart will stop beating, says Eberlein.

Those brought into the emergency room for overdose will not be reported to law enforcement, and Wisconsin has a Good Samaritan Law and Act 33 (2017) to protect aiders and aided persons who seek police or ambulance assistance.

I know there is a fear that goes along with calling the police to have us come  our role is to get there and make sure this person is safe and reverse any effects of the drug, Jason Melby, assistant chief of the La Crosse Police Department, explained during a press conference last month. The least they need to worry about is us actually taking some level of law enforcement action.

People who present at the emergency room in the throes of overdose are invited to meet with a social worker to discuss available resources, such as a peer support specialist and mental health or addiction services, and most do accept, says Eberlein.

In effort to reach those who are revived but refuse transport for additional care, Gundersen Tri-State in 2020 became the first ambulance service in Wisconsin to give out Leave Behind Overdose Safety Kits with naloxone  a drug that can reverse an opioid overdose  a mask for rescue breathing, usage instructions and information on how to get help in the community.

Kits are also available to overdose patients who are brought to the hospital, and paramedics may also distribute the kits when responding to other emergency calls if opioid use is known or suspected.

Weve had very good success with distributing Narcan  a brand name of naloxone  around our community, says Eberlein. That is in part why we havent seen as high a rate of drug overdose deaths per capita as other areas. But, obviously we are still having an increase almost every year.

As with needle exchange programs, some have argued easy access to naloxone is a form of enabling drug use. Eberlein says it gives people a fighting chance.

People can recover from opioid addiction. The goal of (naloxone) is to keep them alive until they recover, Eberlein says. There are many, many people in the our community that have had addiction issues that are very productive members of society, and we owe it to people to give them a chance.

Narcan can be purchased without a prescription at drugstores and is available for free at Vivent Health and Narcan Direct program agencies, including the La Crosse County Health Department and Gundersen. Training program attendance may be required.

UW-La Crosse currently has naloxone boxes on campus, and in Vernon County, Sheriff Roy Torgerson says there are efforts being made to have naloxone available to school nurses. Fentanyl test strips are available through the La Crosse County Health Department as part of a pilot program, formed following Gov. Tony Evers decriminalization of the product last year. Funding for the strips came from the State Opioid Response Grant.

We hope the test strips will allow people to make informed decisions about what theyre using, Anneliese Skoda, integrated support and recovery services assistant manager at La Crosse County Human Services, said in a release last June. People may not be aware a substance contains fentanyl, but if they are maybe they will choose not to use, or at least make sure they use with someone who has access to Narcan.

With any drug, Randy says, people are playing Russian roulette, with fentanyl showing up even in vapes; hospitalizations in other parts of the country have been reported due to laced marijuana.

The West Central Metropolitan Enforcement Group, a drug task force encompassing La Crosse, Vernon, Trempealeau, Monroe and Jackson counties, is working to head off drugs at the source, taking mainline distributors off the street, says Scott Bjerkos, Vernon County investigator. Several high volume drug busts have made over the past two years, with some dealers found in possession of up to three pounds of fentanyl.

So potent is fentanyl that a specialized ventilation hood is utilized when examining drugs, with another officer in possession of Narcan on standby in case the person conducting the testing has accidental contact with the substance. Roadside testing is no longer conducted.

Its too dangerous, says Bjerkos.

There is no cure for drug addiction, but it can be successfully managed. For heroin or fentanyl addiction, medication is the first line of treatment, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, typically paired with behavioral health therapy or counseling. Medications include methadone, buprenorphine and extended release naltrexone. There are several methadone clinics in southwest Wisconsin, including facilities in La Crosse.

Detoxing alone is not sufficient to prevent relapse, and can even be deadly. After a period of sobriety, tolerance lowers, and if an individual returns to using the same dose they previously needed to produce a high, they can easily overdose.

Withdrawal symptoms can occur in as little as hours for fentanyl users, causing nausea, vomiting, cold flashes, spasms, muscle pain and intense cravings for the drug. The intensity of the discomfort leads many to continue using.

Per the Harvard study, family and social support and employment helps facilitate recovery, while the NIDA cites stress cues associated with drug use, such as people, places, environments and situations, as the most common cause of relapse.

For Mari, being around the people she used drugs with and in the places she got high impeded her chances at lasting recovery, Heidi believes, and Randy says being around others who are actively using sets up a losing battle.

La Crosse was not a good place for her to be, says Heidi. And winter was always very dark for her. I wasnt surprised that she first overdosed in January and years later died in January.

Torgerson says Vernon County has not yet reached the level of crisis as La Crosse, but that we are working to get in schools and work with community groups to fight this problem that is very close by. I think we are doing a good job to educate the community but I dont think they understand just how bad it is.

Torgerson asks residents to stay vigilant, report any suspicious activity and seek out resources if needed, noting, We want to keep everyone safe, especially our vulnerable youth. Most importantly, we all need to work together to fight this crisis.

Bjerkos has been in the fight for over 36 years, and his decades in law enforcement havent jaded him to the ravages of the drug crisis.

Whenever a life is lost to drug use or overdose, I always to try to be a problem solver  what could we have done differently, trying to be proactive? says Bjerkos. There is always hope. Once you lose hope, you lose your drive.

Starting a foundation

The morning of Jan. 7, 2022, Heidi believes God looked down on Mari, alone on the kitchen floor of an apartment, and said OK, Amara, its time to come home and rest.

When she learned Mari had died from an accidental overdose from fentanyl, which filled the syringe Mari believed to be heroin, Overson was devastated, her grief compounded by the knowledge that Mari had died alone.

I wanted to be the one to put her in the body bag, Heidi says, becoming tearful. I wanted to be there when they picked her up. She was my daughter. As a mother, you see them take their first breath and want to be there when they take their last.

After years of rotating between jail, rehab, homelessness and squatting, Mari had few possessions left when she died. All Heidi has left, she says, are the precious memories, the purse she carried that night she died and its contents, mostly travel-sized toiletries items, hair clips, some jewelry. Thats all I have. Its all still in the bag from the morgue.

Heidi had to find one of her own outfits for Mari to be dressed in for the burial. One of Maris sisters brought a pair of earrings.

It was horrible, says Heidi. Just horrible. I was going through the motions, and nothing seemed real. The funeral was surreal. When I saw her, I thought and hoped they had the wrong person. My heart felt a glimmer of hope that this wasnt really her.

But as I got closer to her, yes, it was her. There was my girl. I stroked her hands and told her, Its OK, Mari. Its all OK now. But as they took her away after the service, I couldnt see her leave me again. I cried out, Mari, dont leave me.

But now, she believes, Mari is in a better place.

She is finally at peace, says Heidi. And happier than we can imagine.

Heidi herself may never make peace with her loss, but she is dedicated to keeping Maris memory alive while helping other families avoid the devastating fate of her daughter. It was just days after Maris death when Overson, back home following the funeral and celebration of life, proclaimed Im starting a foundation.

It was not a promise made in the emotion of the moment, one that would dwindle as the responsibilities of work and family continued. For Heidi, once the spark of inspiration was lit, her drive never lulled.

Amara did not die for nothing, Heidi wrote on the Amara Rose Foundation website. Amara had a beautiful soul, sparkling personality and a grounded faith. She just couldnt beat her illness. She would have wanted us to do this  to help and save others who have the same disease.

She would have wanted us to fight with every fiber of our beings to get drugs off the streets and out of the hands and arms of our children and loved ones.

Though Randy, a private person, was hesitant to share their story and draw publicity, he recognized how important the foundation was to his wife, and the impact it could make.

You cant pretend this doesnt happen, Randy says. We want to tell people we understand the pain, and were in this position that if we can help somebody we should do it.

While Heidi has a job in writing and editing, the foundation has become another full-time effort, with nine others joining her on the board of the foundation. Each has a connection to addiction and mental illness through their family or work. Outside advisors include a jail minister, law enforcement members and individuals in recovery.

In addition to Richardson, Randy, Maris sister Hallie and her cousin Cherie, the board includes an attorney, a woman in recovery who helps others with addiction, correctional officer Veronica Hoiland, who worked with Mari at the Vernon County jail, Bjerkos and Julie Tully, who lost her son Karl to a drug overdose.

In 2017, Mari had purchased heroin for her and Karl, and the syringe he kept, unbeknownst to them both, contained fentanyl. Mari was charged with first degree reckless homicide/delivery of drugs, and after breaking bond served a year in jail.

I had been avoiding Karls parents all this time because I felt so horrible that my daughter had given him the dose that killed him, says Heidi. Though she and Tully had previously talked just once over phone, when the foundation was formed, Overson asked her join as a director.

We finally met at our first board meeting, says Heidi. We hugged and cried. She said she never was mad at Mari  thats grace! Its the same grace that God showed Mari when she got to heaven. She is a very active director with fantastic ideas, and we are getting very close.

The board members, Heidi says, each put forth their greatest effort to fulfill the mission of the Amara Rose Foundation, a dedication beyond what she could have hoped for.

They put so much time and heart into this, Heidi says.

Richardson, who grappled with guilt over living across the country from his daughter, says that with the foundation, it felt a little bit like Mari has come alive again. Its actually brought me a lot of comfort.

One year in, the foundation has lofty goals with the passion to make them reality. Raising awareness of addiction and the dangers of fentanyl, and promoting prevention are a priority. Gone are the days when the DARE program was considered sufficient. Says Heidi, We know our presentations have to have a shock factor and evoke emotions.

Addiction, Richardson notes, doesnt discriminate  it happens to kids who come from broken homes; it happens to kids who are from the best homes. Whether an individual is living on the streets and shooting up in the corner of a park, or injecting in the bathroom of their expensive home, the dependence is the same. Different, however, are the avenues to recovery. To secure a long-term stay at a distinguished rehab facility, an addict or their family must invest sometimes tens of thousands.

A single month stay, depending on the location and facility, can cost up to $25,000, and for some people a year or more is recommended, possibly followed by an extended time in a sober living home.

The Oversons were not financially able to send Mari to an out-of-state rehab facility, and among the foundations plans are to assist in covering treatment costs.

Once financial goals are met through fundraising efforts, grants and donations, the foundation plans to offer scholarships to students going to college or training for law enforcement, counseling or other fields that address mental illness and addiction, and helping law enforcement and investigative teams with their programs or initiatives, such as funding for K-9 units if there is a need.

Within the jail and prison system, the foundation aims to support funding of programs and ministries that work with those addicted, and in the future offer rent assistance for those recently released from jail.

The foundation currently connects those struggling and their families with resources, already having directed many individuals, including those with other substance issues like alcoholism, to the best help for their circumstance. Later this year, the foundation will open a support group for families affected by addiction.

I want to use her death and her struggle to save other people, says Heidi. Mari always knew Im a fighter  I can be a ferocious mama bear.

They cannot save everyone, Randy acknowledges. For many, treatment is only successful if the individual is ready and accepting of help.

Not everyone will listen, Randy says. But maybe some will. We want to try to head (addiction) off at the pass, before it gets worse. I wouldnt wish it on anybody. Its like a wave, and everything behind it is wrecked.

While Heidi takes on the front end responsibilities of the foundation, Randy is most comfortable working behind the scenes. This past holiday season, he tended to the Amara Rose Foundation Christmas tree at Riverside Park, stopping by every other day to brush off the snow and re-hanging any decorations that might have blown off. Seeing the ornaments, each featuring the name of a person who died from addiction, stirred up intense emotions.

There was this one ornament that said Erin, and to me, I saw that and it was tough, because Erin sounds like such a nice girl, Randy said, growing tearful. And her name was on there really nice, and next to it was Dad. I think we are helping maybe people who are suffering in silence, and they can express themselves in some way.

Above all, the foundation wants to honor the person behind the addiction, showing the community each individual was more than a statistic, a criminal record, a withering body. These were daughters and sons, athletes, artists, animal lovers, people who goofed around with siblings, took on extra jobs to help their families pay bills and did their best to overcome difficult circumstances. They may have taken a wrong turn or made a bad choice. But havent we all?

I want people to remember her before the disease kicked in, Heidi says of Mari. She was beautiful inside and out.

For more information on the Amara Rose Foundation, visit https://amararosefoundation.org/.

First Annual Amara Rose Foundation Chili Challenge The Amara Rose Foundation is hosting its "First Annual Chili Challenge: Beat Scottie B.," from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 18, at the Westby Community Center, 206 N. Main St., Westby. Entries will be judged by all who come, with prizes awarded to the top three entrants. The cost is $10 per entry and $5 per taster. Ages 5 and under are free. Visit https://amararosefoundation.org/first-annual-chili-challenge-information/ for more information on entering the challenge.
WASHINGTON  Within hours of an Air Force F-22 downing a giant Chinese balloon that crossed the United States, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin reached out to his Chinese counterpart via a special crisis line, aiming for a quick general-to-general talk that could explain things and ease tensions.

But Austin's effort last Saturday fell flat when Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe declined to get on the line, the Pentagon says.

China's Defense Ministry says it refused the call from Austin after the balloon was shot down because the U.S. had "not created the proper atmosphere" for dialogue and exchange. The U.S. action "seriously violated international norms and set a pernicious precedent," a ministry spokesperson was quoted in a statement issued late Thursday.

It's an experience that's frustrated U.S. commanders for decades, when it comes to getting their Chinese counterparts on a phone or video line as a crisis is raising tensions between the two nations.

From Americans' perspective, the lack of the kind of reliable crisis communications that helped get the U.S. and Soviet Union through the Cold War without an armed nuclear exchange is raising the dangers of the U.S.-China relationship now, at a time when China's military strength is growing and tensions with the U.S. are rising.

Without that ability of generals in opposing capitals to clear things up in a hurry, Americans worry that misunderstandings, false reports or accidental collisions could cause a minor confrontation to spiral into greater hostilities.

And it's not about any technical shortfall with the communication equipment, said Bonnie Glaser, managing director of Indo-Pacific studies at the German Marshall Fund think tank. The issue is a fundamental difference in the way China and the U.S. view the value and purpose of military-to-military hotlines.

U.S. military leaders' faith in Washington-to-Beijing hotlines as a way to defuse flare-ups with China's military has been butting up against a sharply different take  a Chinese political system that runs on slow deliberative consultation by political leaders and makes no room for individually directed, real-time talk between rival generals.

And Chinese leaders are suspicious of the whole U.S. notion of a hotline  seeing it as an American channel for trying to talk their way out of repercussions for a U.S. provocation.

"That's really dangerous," Assistant Secretary for Defense Ely Ratner said Thursday of the difficulty of military-to-military crisis communications with China, when Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley pressed him about China's latest rebuff on the hotline setup.

U.S. generals are persisting in their efforts to open more lines of communication with Chinese counterparts, Ratner testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "And unfortunately, to date, the PLA is not answering that call," he said, referring to China's People's Liberation Army.

Ratner accused China of using vital channels of communication simply as a blunter messaging tool, shutting them down or opening them up again to underscore China's displeasure or pleasure with the U.S.

Without commanders talking in real-time, Americans and Chinese would have one less way of averting greater conflict. That puts more urgency on efforts by President Joe Biden and his top civilian diplomats and security aides to build up their own communication channels with President Xi Jinping and other top Chinese political officials, U.S. officials and China experts say.

Both U.S. and Chinese militaries are building up for a possible confrontation over U.S.-backed self-ruled Taiwan, which China claims as its territory. The next flare-up seems only a matter of time. It could happen with an expected event, such as House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's promised visit to Taiwan, or something unexpected, like the 2001 collision between a Chinese fighter and a U.S. Navy EP-3 reconnaissance plane over the South China Sea.

Biden has emphasized building lines of communications with China to "responsibly manage" their differences. A November meeting between Xi and Biden yielded an announcement the two governments would resume a range of dialogues that China had shut down after an August Taiwan visit by then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Last weekend, the U.S. canceled what would have been a relationship-building visit by Secretary of State Antony Blinken after the transit of the Chinese balloon, which the U.S. says was for espionage. China claims it was a civilian balloon used for meteorological research.

What passes for military and civilian hotlines between China and the U.S. aren't the classic red phones on a desk.

Under a 2008 agreement, the China-U.S. military hotline amounts to a multistep process by which one capital relays a request to the other for a joint call or videoconference between top officials on encrypted lines. The pact gives the other side 48 hours and up to respond, although nothing stops top officials from talking immediately.

Sometimes when the U.S. calls, current and former U.S. officials say, Chinese officials don't even pick up.

Timeline: Chinese leader Xi Jinping's rise and rule China's Xi Jinping expands power and promotes allies Early years Regional leader National leader
Influenza hospitalizations and deaths in the state are quickly declining as each week passes by, after Minnesota saw an early peak in November.

According to the most recent data released by the Minnesota Department of Health, there were only 16 hospitalizations related to influenza during the week ending on Feb. 4.

Those 16 add to the 3,220 hospitalizations so far this season in the state  with a large number happening in November, when some weeks saw more than 500.

This influenza seasons high peak and quick drop-off in hospitalizations came weeks earlier than that of any flu season in the past five years.

Deaths related to influenza have seen a similar decrease in recent months in the state.

So far this influenza season, there have been 144 deaths recorded in the state  none of which have been children, according to MDH.

As for in Winona specifically, Tina Glenzinski, director of primary care at Winona Health, shared on Wednesday, Here at Winona Health were currently seeing very little flu-related hospitalization and not many flu cases in the clinic either  especially in the past month. Our caregivers continue to encourage good hand washing and avoiding being around others when sick. Weve administered approximately 7,250 flu vaccinations this season.

For more information about influenza season in Minnesota, visit health.state.mn.us.

For information about how to get vaccinated at Winona Health, visit winonahealth.org or call 507-454-3650.
Dear W.C.,

Two years ago, while on my way to work I was hit by a drunk driver. They totaled my car, and everything has been a struggle since that day. I was taken to the hospital with head and back injuries and a broken ankle. The drunk driver did not have insurance and walked away from the accident without an injury. I spent two years going through surgeries, intense pain, physical therapy and many missed days at work. I was let go from my job a few months after the accident and have just recently found another good job. I used all my savings to get by but I am now out of funds and behind in my rent. I struggle to pay my bills as I had to get another car and my landlord has asked me to move out by the end of the month. I have nowhere to go and no one else to turn to as my family is all gone.

Dear Readers,

Sometimes the letters I receive seem almost insurmountable, except then I think of the thousands of people we have helped over the past nearly 40 years and I know there is a reason why they reached out to us. With us working together almost nothing is insurmountable and we can bring the life changing assistance they need.

This woman was no exception as I reviewed her letter and the details it included. I would have to speak to the letter writer herself to find out more about her situation.

Our calls missed each other for a few days as she was often at work when I called, or I was helping someone else when she returned my calls. We finally caught up with each other and I began asking the list of questions I had written down for her.

These questions included asking the present state of her health, living arrangements and financial state. She shared all the details of her car accident and the long recovery it entailed. She only had liability insurance on her vehicle, so she recently had to purchase another car to get to work and her medical care. She had been cutting back in food and other necessary expenses in order to try to save up for a security deposit and first months rent.

Together we reviewed her budget so I would be reassured she could afford the rental she was hoping to secure. The landlord was requiring first and last months rent along with a security deposit. The amount required seemed impossible for her to ever save, with her car payments, insurance, and medical co-pays each month. I told the woman I would call the landlord to verify all she had told me. I also would be calling her employer to verify her employment.

After speaking to the landlord, hearing from him how the apartment would be ideal and affordable for the woman once this initial expense was paid, and learning why he required an additional months rent, I told the landlord we would be providing this for the woman. I also told him the womans budget could afford this monthly rent on her own going forward. I then called her employer and was happy to hear how pleased he was with her work performance. He was happy to have such a hard worker in this day and age.

When I called the woman back, she cried through the rest of our conversation, asking, You are really doing this for me? I assured her that we would not only be paying her two months rent and security deposit, but also paying two months of car payments and providing gift cards for food and gas. She was left speechless until she said, You know this is life changing for me. I answered, That is just what we were trying to achieve. Thank You for making our life changing assistance possible for so many people struggling in homelessness, hunger and shame.

We are presently putting all donations towards matching our new matching grant opportunity, The Family Foundation 2023 $40,000 Matching Grant. This grant will allow us to continue our poverty relief efforts through the harsh cold winter. Thank you and the Family Foundation for your continued support of our good works!

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Press Release

February 11, 2023 CHIZ: PRIORITIZE AGRICULTURE WITH OR WITHOUT RCEP Senator Chiz Escudero has underscored the need for government to expedite the provision of much needed help in the agricultural sector to make it truly resilient and competitive internationally "with or without" the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) free trade agreement. "Matagal ko nang panawagan sa pamahalaan na bigyan ng tunay na prioridad ang sektor ng agrikultura. With or without the RCEP in mind, we should make sure that our agricultural sector is resilient to any internal and external shocks. After all, we are an agricultural country," Escudero said. As the Senate continues to conduct hearings on the RCEP treaty for ratification, the veteran legislator said the trade deal needs careful review to ensure that stakeholders in the country's agricultural sector, especially farmers and fisherfolks, are protected. "Mas lalo na kung tayo ay sasali sa RCEP kailangan nating siguraduhin na hindi madedehado ang ating industriya ng agrikultura, lalung-lalo na ang ating mga magsasaka at mangingisda," he added. Escudero said the country should urgently address the weakness in the agricultural sector primarily caused by the meager investment that the government has given to it. He renewed his call on the government to channel financing to the beleaguered farm sector with the same energy that it is pressing Congress to expedite the passage of the bill creating the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF). The Bicolano senator said the Executive and the Legislative should work hand in hand to end the government's "ADD - agriculture deficit disorder" as reflected in the flat farm sector growth inflicted by COVID -19 pandemic. "In 2022 ang value of crop, livestock, poultry, fisheries production na P1.756 trillion, computed in 2018 constant prices, ay mas mababa pa sa P1.086 trillion production noong 2018," he noted. "Kaya naman tumaas ng 28 percent ang presyo ng gulay, 25 percent ang presyo ng isda, 30 percent ang sa karne sa loob ng apat na taon." "Kung mas mahal pa ang isang kilo ng sibuyas kesa sa isang araw na minimum wage, anong pruweba pa ang kailangan ipakita na meron tayong food crisis ?" Escudero asked. On Monday, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri has told a media briefing that the Senate expects to ratify the trade agreement within the first quarter of 2023. Ratification of the RCEP agreement was stalled in the previous Congress because of opposition from groups within the agricultural sector. At present, there are some 100 groups from various sectors that are against the ratification of the international agreement. The RCEP, signed by the Philippines in November 2020 and ratified by then President Rodrigo Duterte in September 2021, entered into force for other signatory countries on January 1, 2022. But because it has yet to be ratified by the Philippine Senate, the RCEP remains unimplementable in the country. The RCEP is a free trade agreement among the Asia-Pacific nations of Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. In June 2020, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) released its 2018 study showing that poverty incidence was highest among farmers (31.6%), fisherfolk (26.2%) and individuals living in rural areas (24.5%). In 2015, the same sectors were also the poorest, with poverty incidences at 40.8% among farmers, 36.9% among fisherfolk, and 34% among rural-based individuals. "As I have been saying, nobody wants to be left behind in a global economy, but we must also be certain that in entering into more trade deals, we do not leave behind the most vulnerable sectors of our local economy. Growth must always be inclusive, or it will only perpetuate the cycle of poverty," he added.
EIR LEAD EDITORIAL FOR SUNDAY FEBRUARY 12, 2023

The Story That Will Not Go Away

Feb. 11, 2023, 2022 (EIRNS)On Feb. 8, the article came out by senior U.S. investigative journalist Seymour Hersh that, as the headline stated, How America Took Out the Nord Stream Pipeline. This has been described as a truth bomb, whose significance is reflected in the fact that it has been all but blacked out as a major media story in the Trans-Atlantic, or otherwise put down as conspiracy-theorizing, or the like. The same day that the story came out, U.S. authorities denied it completely.

But no matter what the attempted public mind control on it is by the MICIMATT (military-industrial complex intelligence media academia think-tank apparatus, as coined by veteran intelligence expert Ray McGovern), the Hersh report has the potential to speak to millions in the Trans-Atlantic, the heart of Global NATO, who already have no confidence in their governments.

This adds to the dynamic now impelling thousands to demonstrate in the streets this month, against the war-making, economic destruction and lies in the West.

Did the U.S. sabotage the Nord Stream pipelines? This is the story that wont go away ... its corrosive, was the comment today by Helga Zepp-LaRouche, founder and leader of the Schiller Institute.

The question of the U.S. sabotage has now been raised in the German Bundestag. Yesterday, in a special-topic hour, requested for the purpose of discussing Attacks on German and European Infrastructure, lawmakers from the Linke and AfD parties called the government to account for having done nothing after 137 days had passed since the sabotage explosion of the pipelines. The focus was that the Berlin government owes the Bundestag and the German people a serious commitment to find out the truth, and if the U.S. did the deed, then the basis for mutual trust inside NATO is gone.

In fact, Washington owes the whole world a truthful explanation, is the view expressed yesterday by the Chinese Foreign Ministry. Spokeswoman Mao Ning said: We have noted the reports [by Hersh] and given that the two Nord Stream pipelines were vital transnational infrastructure then, If Hersh is telling the truth, what he revealed is clearly unacceptable and must be answered for. The U.S. owes the world a responsible explanation.

It is worth recalling the record of Seymour Hersh, who ranks among the leading investigative reporters of the 20th century, and now the 21st. In 1969, he broke the story about the My Lai Massacre of civilians in My Lai, Vietnam; in 1974 he broke the story about CIA lies, which led into the founding of the Church Committee (against federal government abuse) in Congress; in 2003, he blew open the story about the lie that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction (WMD); in 2004, he broke the story about U.S. conducting torture at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

It is not just the story of the U.S. committing the explosion of the Nord Stream pipelines that wont be suppressed, we are in a time when we see overall that truth itself will not go away about the core of what Global NATO is perpetrating. Look at the situation of the earthquake victims in Turkiye and Syria. The truth is, the wicked practice of sanctions as a foreign policy by the U.S. and the collective West, is seen for the deliberate destruction that it has caused in Syria for years, and is still causing there, and also in many other nations directly and indirectly.

Plan to back, spread the word and attend the Feb. 19th Washington, D.C. demonstration to stop the war machine, and the similar events occurring, from Los Angeles, California, to Austin, Texas, to Munich and Berlin, Germany this month.
The British government is taking another step toward launching an official digital currency.

British officials said this week they plan to gather public comments on whether the country should establish a digital version of the pound. The decision comes nearly two years after Britains Treasury and the central bank, the Bank of England, confirmed they were considering the launch of a digital currency.

If created, a digital pound would be issued by Britains central bank, not by private companies. The Bank of England would set the digital currencys value. Digital currencies are also known as cryptocurrencies.

British proposals for an official digital currency suggest individuals would not hold accounts directly with the Bank of England. Instead, they would hold accounts with private digital wallet providers. Holders of the currency would be able to use it to pay for goods and services electronically.

Britains Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt said in a statement, "While cash is here to stay, a digital pound issued and backed by the Bank of England could be a new way to pay thats trusted, accessible and easy to use."

Hunt added that the government is interested in investigating different possibilities for an official digital currency, while also taking steps to protect the finances of users.

Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said all elements of a digital currency system  including privacy issues  need to be considered. Gathering public opinions on creating a digital pound marks the beginning of what would be a profound decision for the country on the way we use money," Bailey said.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had asked Britains central bank to examine the possibilities of a national digital currency while he was serving as finance minister in 2021.

So far, 11 countries have launched digital currencies. The U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank have both considered launching official digital currencies.

Supporters of such currencies say they make digital business easier and less costly. Such currencies can also make the financial system available to people who do not hold bank accounts.

But digital forms of currency also present risks, including internet attacks, privacy concerns and the danger that they can be misused by criminals.

The cryptocurrency industry has been hit with a series of problems in recent months. Crypto crashes led to large losses last year. And the collapse of crypto company FTX in November led to fraud charges against FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried.

Former Bank of England Governor Mervyn King recently said he thinks a digital pound would have risks but no obvious benefits.

King, who is currently a member of Britains House of Lords, added that state-backed digital currencies may be useful in countries that do not have effective banking systems. But he said he does not believe this is the case in Britain.

We need to be selective and not driven by a misplaced enthusiasm for all things crypto, King said.

Im Bryan Lynn.

The Associated Press and Reuters reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the reports for VOA Learning English.

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Words in This Story

digital wallet  n. a way of storing a users digital cash and online shipping information

cash  n. money in the form of bills and coins, rather than checks and credit cards

accessible  adj. able to be reached or easily gotten

profound  adj. felt or experienced very strongly or in an extreme way

fraud  n. the crime of using dishonest methods to take something valuable from another person

obvious  adj. easy to see, recognize or understand

benefit  n. a good result or effect

enthusiasm  n. a feeling of energetic interest in a particular subject or activity

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Press Release

February 11, 2023 Villar asks Navy to help remove PH from the list of 'marine polluters' Senator Cynthia A. Villar has urged the Philippine Navy to further join efforts to lift the Philippines away from its distressing position of being one of largest marine polluters of the world. Villar, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, lamented the Philippines is one of the world's largest sources of plastic waste leaking into the ocean. "I am really pleased that we gather here periodically to show our support for this wetland park- the Las Pinas-Paranaque Wetland Park (LPPWP), and in so doing, we are also raising awareness about the marine pollution in bodies of water and the need to find solutions in reducing these wastes, particularly plastic wastes," she told the Philippine Navy. Villar was the Guest Speaker of the Civil Military Operations Group - Philippine Navy (CMOG-PN) in their 12th founding anniversary on February 10. The coastal clean-up drive at the Las Pinas - Paranaque Wetland Park (LPPWP) is one of the anniversary activities of the CMOG-PN. "Together, let us put our hearts and exert efforts into this. We should help each other to achieve a better environment now and in the future for the next generation," she said. A jubilant Villar said she is thankful to CMOG- PN for considering LPPWP in the conduct of their environmental advocacy. "We are blessed that we have this unique haven where we could frolic with nature in the urban sprawl of Metro Manila," said Villar who related that LPPWP is a legislated protected area under the Expanded NIPAS Act of 2018, which she principally authored in the Senate. She also extolled that LPPWP (formerly LPPCHEA) was declared a "Wetland of International Importance" under the International Convention for the Conservation of Wetlands or the Ramsar Convention, which was ratiified by the Philippine government. The seven other Ramsar sites in the country are the Olango Island Wildlife Sactuary in Cebu, Naujan Lake National Park in Oriental Mindoro, Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary in Agusan del Sur, Puerto Princesa Subteranean River National 2 Park in Palawan, Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park in. Sulu Sea, Negros Occidental Coastal Wetland Conservation Area, and Sasmuan Pampanga Coastal Wetland. Villar noted that the LPPWP is a 182-hectare key biodiversity area that features two interconnected islands, lagoons, ponds, salt marches, mudflats and remarkably, a 36-hectare mangrove forest, which is the thickest and most diverse mangrove forest along the Manila Bay area with 12 species of mangroves. It serves as an important spawning ground of fishes in Manila Bay, nursery, feeding and temporary shelter of different fish species and other forms of wildlife. It also protects the communities of Las Pinas and Paranaque cities against flooding, storm surges and high tides aside from serving as sanctuary to around 90 species of endemic and native trees. Due to these, Villar said she has been vigorously fighting all forms of destruction on LPPWP, including reclamation projects in Manila Bay. Villar, nanawagan sa Navy na tumulong na tanggaling ang Pilipinas sa listahan ng 'marine polluters' HINIMOK ni Senator Cynthia A. Villar ang Philippine Navy na tumulong na matanggal ang Pilipinas sa hanay ng malalaking "marine polluters" sa buong mundo. Dismayado si Villar, chairperson ng Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, na ang ating bansa ang isa sa pinakamalaking pinanggagalingan ng plastic waste na napupunta sa karagatan. "I am really pleased that we gather here periodically to show our support for this wetland park- the Las Pinas-Paranaque Wetland Park (LPPWP), and in so doing, we are also raising awareness about the marine pollution in bodies of water and the need to find solutions in reducing these wastes, particularly plastic wastes," pahayag ni Villar sa Philippine Navy. Si Villar ang Guest Speaker ng Civil Military Operations Group - Philippine Navy (CMOG-PN) sa kanilang 12th founding anniversary noong February 10. Bahagi ng anibersaryo ng CMOG-PN ang coastal clean-up drive sa Las Pinas - Paranaque Wetland Park (LPPWP). "Together, let us put our hearts and exert efforts into this. We should help each other to achieve a better environment now and in the future for the next generation," ayon pa sa senador. Pinasalamatan ni Villar ang CMOG- PN sa pagpili sa LPPWP sa kanilang environmental advocacy. "We are blessed that we have this unique haven where we could frolic with nature in the urban sprawl of Metro Manila," pahayag pa ni Villar na nagsabi rin na ang LPPWP ay legislated protected area sa ilalim ng Expanded NIPAS Act of 2018 na kanyang inakda sa Senado. Ipinagmalaki rin niya na idineklara ang LPPWP (dating LPPCHEA) na "Wetland of International Importance" sa ilalim ng International Convention for the Conservation of Wetlands o ang Ramsar Convention na niratipikan ng Philippine government. Ang pito pang Ramsar sites sa bansa ay ang Olango Island Wildlife Sactuary sa Cebu, Naujan Lake National Park sa Oriental Mindoro, Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary sa Agusan del Sur, Puerto Princesa Subteranean River National 2 Park sa Palawan, Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park sa Sulu Sea, Negros Occidental Coastal Wetland Conservation Area, at Sasmuan Pampanga Coastal Wetland. Tinukoy din ni Villar na itinatampok ng 182-ektaryang LPPWP na 'key biodiversity area' ang dalawang isla, lagoons, ponds, salt marches, mudflats at 36-ektaryang mangrove forest na pinakamayamang mangrove forest sa Manila Bay na may 12 uri ng mangroves. Mahalagang spawning ground ito ng mga isda sa Manila Bay, nursery, feeding at temporary shelter ng mga isda at wildlife. "It also protects the communities of Las Pinas and Paranaque cities against flooding, storm surges and high tides aside from serving as sanctuary to around 90 species of endemic and native trees," sabi pa ni Villar. Dahil dito, patuloy na lumalaban si Villar sa lahat ng gawaing makasisira sa LPPWP, kabilang ang reclamation projects sa Manila Bay.
Large technology companies including Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft, recently announced that they would cut thousands of jobs.

The reductions are worrisome for students in the fields of science, engineering, technology and math, also known as STEM. For international students, the cuts were even more unsettling for those who hope to stay and work in the United States.

Under U.S. laws, after finishing school, international students are permitted to work in the country for one year under the Optional Practical Training, or OPT program. For STEM students, the program extends their work permit for an additional two years in their field of study.

Voice of America recently spoke with two students who are working on advanced degrees in technology. The students are finishing their studies this year.

A data student from Spain

Marta Martinez Fernandez is a 27-year-old student from Valencia, Spain. Later this year, she will complete an MBA, or Master of Business Administration, in interpreting data at Brandeis University, near Boston.

Fernandez had an internship, a training position, with a company in California last year. The company, Postman, makes a product that helps computer programs from different companies work together. She said that the company plans to offer her a job.

But she said some of her classmates who finished their study programs in December are not so lucky. They are unemployed, and their time to find a job is running out.

Students in the U.S. on an F-1 visa must find a job within the first 90 days after completing their studies. Some job offers have been withdrawn, Fernandez said, because of the economy.

Its definitely made everybody more competitive. Its made everybody more stressed. The market was already competitive like crazy for international students before the tech layoffs happened, I feel like right now, its at a different level than at least I had ever witnessed before.

An artificial intelligence student from Iran

Ervin, who did not want to give his full name, is a 27-year-old from Iran. He studies the intersection of language and technology at a school in the northeastern U.S.

He said he came to study in the U.S. because of the educational quality. He said he risked everything to come to the U.S., hoping for a chance to use his skills.

Ervin said there are technology companies in Iran, but there are too many students competing for a small number of jobs. In the U.S., it is the opposite. There are a lot of good jobs for experts in language and technology.

Right now, he is applying to do research in a lab at Stanford University in California. If he does not get a job with Stanford, he hopes to work for a company that makes computer programs to help humans speak to machines.

Although Ervin believes he will get the research job, he worries when he hears about job reductions at big technology companies. That is because there are more experienced people looking for tech jobs than ever before.

Advice from a professor

Christopher Perrello is an assistant professor at Syracuse Universitys School of Information Studies. He said even students who graduated from Syracuse three or four years ago are asking for help finding new jobs.

Im worried about this, Perello said. Our international students get hurt the most when these layoffs occur Perrello said students in technology studies who planned on working in Silicon Valley might need to consider something different.

For example, he said they should look at healthcare and hospitals because hospitals have experience bringing in workers from other countries. And, healthcare pays very well, he said.

The other areas he suggested include working on computer systems for airlines or hotels. Those companies work in countries around the world and have experience with international workers. And the third place to look for work would be in higher education.

Perrello warned students against spending more money just to stay in school in order to stay in the U.S.

What you're really doing there is now you're just setting that candidate up for another few years of uncertainty and ambiguity. And that could cause some further mental health challenges or further, you know, anxieties with getting other jobs.

Back-up plans?

If Martinez Fernandezs job offer from Postman does not come through, she said she might consider staying in the U.S. and trying to start her own business.

For Ervin, if he does not get a good job or research position, he said he still is happy that he came to study in the U.S.

I think the biggest risk is to stay stable and not do anything.

Even if it does not work out, Ervin said, he has a great degree he can use in his home country.

Im Dan Friedell. And I'm Caty Weaver.

Dan Friedell wrote this story for Learning English.

Quiz - International Students in STEM Concerned About Tech Economy Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz

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Words in This Story

advanced adj. a higher level than something else

interpret v. to work to understand something

stressed adj. a feeling of worry or anxiety

layoff n. when a business eliminates workers

intersection n. the point where two things meet

apply v. to write or express interest in a job, school program, etc.

occur v. to happen

ambiguity n. a lack of clarity or understanding

anxiety n. a feeling of worry or nervousness

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UW-Madison will aggressively seek a new College of Engineering building as its top priority in the upcoming state budget cycle as growth stagnates and faculty compete with one another for coveted and increasingly limited lab space.

Even with six buildings, space is limited. The colleges newest building is two decades old; space constraints are immediately obvious throughout all of the buildings as equipment and filing cabinets line the hallways regardless of where you are. In many of the labs, the only open space left is narrow walkways.

A proposed new 340,000-square-foot building on the Engineering campus would offer flexible lab space adaptable to future technology. It would also allow the college to increase student enrollment, as it can currently accept 1,200 new students out of 8,000 yearly applicants, College of Engineering Dean Ian Robertson said.

Admissions staff tell Robertson that of those applicants, 2,000 are deserving of a spot in the engineering program. With more space, the college would partially close that gap and increase its population to 5,500 students, Robertson said. Its not possible without it, he added.

Were leaving an awful lot of students to pursue engineering somewhere else, Robertson said. That, to me, is a problem, especially when I look at Illinois, Michigan, Purdue, Ohio State. Theyre almost double our size ... we havent grown at all.

Both UW-Madison and the University of Wisconsin System have listed a new engineering building as their top priority in the states 2023-25 biennial budget. The $356 million project will be partially funded with $150 million in grants and gifts, but the remaining balance will require borrowing, which must be approved by the Republican-controlled state Legislature and Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.

Gov. Tony Evers gives green light to design work for new UW-Madison engineering building Another of the 15 bills Evers signed Friday prohibits local units of government from regulating battery-powered, alarmed electric security fences as bill proponents say businesses need more security.

In addition to making more space for engineering students, the proposed building would open up space for those who teach. Lab-stealing and physical space constraints are persistent problems for the College of Engineering, which is bursting at the seams.

With so little wiggle room, its hard to guarantee new hires office space and harder to offer research amenities, Robertson said. Limited space also means researchers are having to turn away grants or federal projects because there isnt the space to expand.

Mechanical engineer Christian Franck, who studies brain trauma and prevention, is getting close to the root of what causes brain injuries at cellular and even molecular levels.

Franck has been able to make progress in recent years as his program has grown, now with eight graduate students. But its getting more difficult to recruit the next wave of top talent and simply find the physical space to put new equipment necessary to advance Francks research.

When youre space-limited, we cant bring in any more high-tech equipment to help us go after some of those more nuanced, deeper problems, Franck said. Not having the kind of scientific equipment that we need to solve these problems, not having the personnel that we need, it just limits the speed by which you can provide solutions back to people and communities.

Labs at capacity

As it is now, Francks shared lab is full.

Plastic totes of equipment are stacked above work benches nearly to the ceiling. The tissue culture room where large biosafety cabinets are kept is full and no amount of rearranging would allow for another to be installed. A room with a high-tech microscope has space for a second only after a sink removal. A piece of specialty equipment that should have its own room is sheathed in dark curtains in between benches.

Utilities sometimes cannot keep up with the equipment in the shared lab. Franck has to retro-engineer electric utilities to keep up with equipment, and even then, it doesnt always work: Last summer, numerous power fluctuations in the lab damaged a critical piece of laser equipment worth $250,000. It had to be shipped to Germany for repairs and its still not back in the lab.

We can manage, Jacob Notbohm, a mechanical engineering researcher in Francks shared lab, said. But if were managing dozens and dozens of little things, it becomes a big thing.

To free up space, Robertson said the college is transitioning classroom space into labs for two departments that make up half of the undergraduate population  a short-term solution thats far from ideal.

If you were to join us today, wed be going, We dont know where your office is going to be, Robertson said. Were getting down to that level. Youd always like to know youve got one or two extra offices. So, we are at capacity.

Power limitations

The College of Electrical and Computer Engineering is about maxed out not just on space, but on power. In the basement tucked behind a chain-link fence are magnetic motors that output enough energy to power 1,000 homes for a single second. Theres room for maybe one or two more, graduate student Alexander Thornton said.

Its at a point where if more power were needed, staff have discussed the possibility of stacking the motors on top of one another.

This is using the space to its full utility, Thornton said. We dont have space to install another type of power supply or more diagnostics.

Before last year, UW-Madison engineering physics professor Adrien Couet wasnt able to visit some of his research spaces for weeks at a time.

Couet had six small lab spaces spread across buildings on the College of Engineering campus. Time constraints required Couet to place trust in his graduate students that theyd maintain safe labs.

Couets lab spaces have since been condensed into two  one of which was coveted by many  but only after he received a job offer from another university. While the new lab space kept Couet at Madison, having to compete with his colleagues for space felt wrong.

That creates tension, and thats not the ideal situation when you work somewhere and when you want to foster cooperation, Couet said.

Space needs

A new building wont alleviate pressures on the college immediately  if the project is approved in the 2023-25 budget, the earliest it might open is 2028. Design plans are expected within the next few weeks.

The university plans to tear down one of the colleges oldest buildings to make way for the new one. Formerly a state highway lab, the 83-year-old buildings configuration makes it difficult to renovate, College of Engineering spokesperson Renee Meiller said.

The Republican-controlled legislative budget committee removed the then-$300 million project from the budget in 2021, but last March, the state gave UW-Madison $1 million to start design work for the building. Those funds lay the groundwork for, but dont guarantee, potential funding in the upcoming state budget.

Engineering badly needs a new building, which we hope will be funded jointly by the state and by philanthropy, and which when built, will open significantly more spots for students at a time when engineers are in high demand in our state, UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin told the UW Board of Regents during an address Thursday.

A new engineering building is just one of UW-Madisons facility needs, as the student population has grown by 10% in two years and buildings age, some ungracefully.

UW-Madison receives $20 million donation for new Letters & Science building Construction is set to begin in 2023 and will finish in the fall of 2025. Two residence halls will be demolished to make room for the 26,000 square-foot building.

UW-Madison is fundraising for a new computer science building, as the data major has seen the largest growth in the last five years, Mnookin said. The Humanities Building, a brutalist-style behemoth that needs $70 million in renovations, will be replaced by a new building and is scheduled to be completed in 2026.

Other deferred maintenance for UW-Madison facilities is expected to cost $2.1 billion.

National pressure

In the meantime, companies who seek out UW-Madison engineering graduates are getting frustrated.

The college graduates about 750 engineering students into the workforce each year. Thats irritatingly low for the 400 companies who are hoping to hire, Robertson said.

Only some of those graduating show up to job fairs because many students have been offered employment long before they graduate, Robertson added.

Not being able to meet employer demand is a problem for the state, Robertson explained, as those companies are now recruiting out-of-state graduates out of necessity. Or opportunities may pass by the state altogether  companies who cant find workers in Wisconsin might take root elsewhere.

Other universities engineering departments enroll twice as many students as UW-Madison. While Ohio States engineering school is a little less than twice the size of UW-Madison, at 8,235, Purdue and University of Illinois boast populations even larger with about 10,000 students each.

That competition isnt just a problem for UW-Madison. Wisconsin faces a shortage of 140,000 workers, and the need is expected to increase in coming years.

We need to be able to attract more students here, Robertson said. If you look at demographics of Wisconsin, theyre on the decline. So, if were going to meet current workforce (needs), it means we have to be able to attract more students into the state.

113-year experiment at UW-Madison ends this year. It will be crushing "How do (builders) know what concrete needs to be replaced and what concrete doesn't need to be replaced? So this informs that sort of decision making."
Joe Biden is running for reelection. Even in the absence of a formal announcement of candidacy, the presidents third State of the Union address made his intentions clear. And what he did the day after he delivered what was generally regarded as a successful annual message made his 2024 strategy all the more clear.

He came to Wisconsin, the perennial battleground state that he put back in the Democratic column in 2020. More importantly, he came to the right place and talked to the right voters.

Donald Trump won Wisconsin for the Republicans in 2016 by about 22,000 votes. It wasnt a landslide, but it put Trump over the top that year. Narrowly winning Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania  three states that had consistently backed Democrats in recent decades  seemed to signal a shift in the nations political topography. Three historic manufacturing states, battered by bad trade policies and deindustrialization, their unions under attack and weakened, took a chance on a populist Republican.

Had those three states stuck with Trump in 2020, a new calculus might well have locked in.

But that didnt happen. Biden, running to the left of Trump and emphasizing working-class issues, took Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The Wisconsin win was close  barely 20,000 votes separated the candidates, and Trumps still contesting it.

But Biden is looking forward with an eye toward securing the state in 2024.

He recognizes that deep divisions between Democrats and Republicans, charged up and extended by visceral social and broadcast media memes, have locked partisan voters into their camps. And there arent many genuinely independent swing voters  once the key players in Wisconsin  left these days.

Biden knows he has to maximize Democratic turnout in the places where Democrats are strong. So he came last Wednesday to Dane County, the vote-rich progressive bastion that for the past two decades has provided winning margins for Democrats in close races for the presidency and statewide posts.

Smart move. As Democratic Party of Wisconsin chair Ben Wikler will tell anyone who is paying attention, it is never too early to begin mobilizing voters in the partys heartlands.

But Biden did not go to Madison, the college and state government town where Democratic candidates can count on overwhelming margins from already enthusiastic voters. He went to a Laborers International Union of North America training center in the eastern Dane County community of DeForest. There, he spoke to young working-class voters who are preparing for careers in the building and construction trades. Very smart move.

Democratic campaigns in the past several election cycles, in Wisconsin and nationally, have benefited from the solid support of young voters, who polling suggests are turned off by Republican extremism, especially on social issues. But young voters are less likely to turn out that older voters. And the polls suggest that they arent particularly enthusiastic about Biden. So young working-class people are precisely the potential voters Biden needs to be talking to as he heads into the 2024 race. He has to convince them that he is all about creating jobs and providing them with the opportunities that their parents and grandparents had.

Biden knows this. On Wednesday, he acknowledged the damage industrial decline did to Wisconsin communities, and then he focused in on his administrations efforts to develop the next-generation of jobs with investments in infrastructure and technology.

Once-thriving cities and towns became shadows of what they used to be, he said. When those towns were hollowed out, something else was lost: pride, self-esteem, a sense of self-worth. But now were going to turn that around and build an economy where no ones going to be left behind.

That was the right message, delivered at the right time to the right voters.




Qabil Ashirov

A delegation from the Azerbaijani State Customs Committee met with Raigo Uukkivi, the director general of the Estonian Tax and Customs Board within the framework of the International Zakat, Tax and Customs Conference held in Riyadh, Azernews reports, citing the Customs Committee.

According to the State Customs Committee, the current relations between the customs of Azerbaijan and Estonia were discussed at the meeting.

Besides, a preliminary agreement was reached on the studying and sharing of the best practices of both organizations, and the achievements of the Estonian customs service in the field of application of information technologies.

In addition, the importance of the possible activity of the permanent representative of the Estonian customs at the Baku Regional Office for Capacity Building for the World Customs Organization Europe Region was emphasized, and views were exchanged on further strengthening of cooperation.




Michael Walls has taken a liking to the small town of Jackpot, Nevada.

We fell in love with this little community, Walls said, after moving there two years ago with his wife.

The small, unincorporated community of mostly casino and hotel workers, sits on U.S. Highway 93 just south of the Idaho-Nevada border.

Walls provides security for Bartons Club 93, and he said the employees at the casino and motel have bonded like family.

But now, with changes coming to the mobile home park hes living in and limited housing options available, he said we might be on our way out.

Walls and many other Jackpot residents became concerned after the new owner of the park more than quadrupled the monthly lot rent  from $75 to $401. Plus, the owner wants the tenants to purchase the mobile homes, instead of renting, for what many residents say are inflated prices.

If they decline to purchase the homes, they will likely be given a notice that they have six months to move.

Brett Spence of Idaho Falls purchased the park from Bartons Club 93 in November and plans to raise lot rents when tenants leases with Bartons expire in April, bringing them up to what he said is market value.

Spence, who owns four other mobile home parks in the region, says he is offering residents an attractive way to own their own homes, and that residents will end up saving money in the long run as they build equity in the home, instead of being perpetual renters.

This has gotten blown way out of proportion, Spence told the Times-News on Thursday. Instead of being the scumbag some people have made him out to be, he said wants to help Jackpot grow and clean up the mobile home parks, making them a better place to live.

Homes for sale

Spence is selling about 35 mobile homes, built in 2002 and later, for prices ranging from $28,000 to $80,000. Hes setting up a program where even people with low credit scores can qualify for mortgages  as long as they have been making payments, he said.

His plan has not gone over well with many residents who have flooded social media with negative comments, saying the trailers are rundown and overpriced. They say Spences plan seems more likely to cause people, including longtime residents, to leave Jackpot rather than stay.

Park residents complain that Spence has not communicated with them and that working with Spences Twin Falls-based property management company has been equally frustrating.

And no one is making needed repairs to the homes, residents say.

Earlier this month Spence posted on Facebook about his intentions to sell the mobile homes, and is lining up people who say they are interested in purchasing them  30 were on the list in just three days, he said. He expects to have his real estate license soon and the sales will begin.

As far as the people currently living in the homes are concerned, if unable to purchase they will come up for sale to another family, Spence wrote on his Facebook post, which he has since deleted, citing the number of negative posts.

People can be cruel, he said, adding that many of the people who made negative comments dont live in Jackpot.

He promised to give six months notice to people now living in the park who dont want to purchase the homes, but said hes making an attractive offer, selling units for well below market value.

Its a sweet deal, he said, adding that the homes include a small, fenced yard.

He said the homes he plans to sell for $28,000 offer about 560 square feet of space. A $80,000 home is about 1,000 square feet and includes a detached garage.

Not for what he wants

Residents disagree with Spences opinion that he is selling the homes cheap.

A look on Realtor.com shows no mobile homes for sale in Jackpot, but in Twin Falls a 924-square-foot home built in 1982 is selling for $90,000, but has been on the market 170 days.

The sale is pending on a 1990 three-bedroom, two-bath home with 1,560 square feet of space, with an asking price of $45,000.

In Jerome, a 1,088-square-foot home built in 2020 has an asking price of $115,000.

Erica Matteson-Newman wants to see Spence put the purchase plans in writing. She and other residents say they havent seen anything specific and dont know how much Spence is asking for their particular mobile homes. Spence told the Times-News that the mortgages would be for a 20-year period at approximately 8% interest.

Matteson-Newman said she had gotten comfortable in her mobile home, moving there in October just before the park was sold.

We actually had a place of our own, where we werent couch-surfing or living in shelters, she said.

Matteton-Newman expects her rent to double. That is a difficult prospect, she said, with her $11.75-per-hour wage she said she is making at Bartons.

Im not even making McDonalds burger-flipping wages, she said.

She is interested in purchasing the one-bedroom home, but not for what he wants. She worries that because there are few housing options in Jackpot, she might end up living in her vehicle, a Dodge Durango.

The homes need maintenance, Matteton-Newman and other residents say. In her home, skirting needs repaired, there is a hole in the floor where the dryer vent is supposed to be, and a flange on the toilet needs to be repaired, she said.

Other residents, on social media posts, have complained of mold.

Some houses need a lot of work, said Maria Avila, who has lived at the park for 20 years. Floors, bathrooms, furnaces, mold  you name it.

Arturo Sanchez said he has several maintenance issues that havent been addressed on his home, including windows, door and back porch steps.

Spence maintained that the mobile homes are in good condition, but that people need to properly care for them. For example, to prevent mold, people need to turn on the bathroom fan.

Response from the Twin Falls-based property management company Spence has been using has been almost nonexistent, Avila said.

Residents said they have called the phone number provided and are met with an automated greeting to leave a message. But after leaving a message, there has been little response.

Some mobile home furnaces cease operating, and renters have gone days without heating.

An acquaintance went four days without a furnace, Avila said, and the only way they got it repaired was that her son got the part and fixed it himself.

Spence said he has made improvements at the park, cutting down overgrown trees and getting broken-down cars removed.

He also doesnt want residents to own dog breeds that some people regard as dangerous.

He pledged to have a responsive property management team.

So far that hasnt happened, Avila said.

Residents are struggling to get rent payments to the proper recipient. Avila said she went to the Twin Falls office and employees said she couldnt pay it there.

She kept her receipts and said she was served an eviction notice.

They said I owed $780, but I have my receipts that show I paid, she said.

She said there arent a lot of other housing options in Jackpot, and the situation has worried residents.

A lot of people have moved out or talked about moving, she said.

Jeff Young, general manager of Bartons Club 93, declined to comment on the housing situation and how it might affect staffing at the business.

Avila and others showed up at a Jackpot advisory board meeting Thursday. The room was full of people hoping some type of action could be taken to alleviate concerns, she said.

Instead, Shawn Burt, Jackpot public works superintendent, said it is a civil matter and the board had no power over it, although members are aware of the situation.

I know its been tough, Burt told people in attendance, and said affordable housing has been a problem in Jackpot for years.

He did offer a glimpse of hope, however.

Government grants might be available for Jackpot to help with affordable housing, and a developer recently expressed interest in placing homes in the area, he said.

The homes, sometimes called pop-up homes, are made by a Las Vegas company and have concrete walls and concrete roofs, he said, but can be constructed quickly, in about six weeks.

Prices could range from about $80,000 for a smaller home, and homes might also be rented.

Its all preliminary, Burt cautioned. It still takes time; we are working with the government.

Information will be distributed through the community, and as things progress, people who are serious in buying might be requested to put down a deposit, he said.
Twin Falls County gets $4M in Rock Creek project funding

Twin Falls County has received $4 million in funding for the Rock Creek Restoration and Water Quality Project as part of the omnibus spending package signed by President Joe Biden in December, Idaho Rep. Mike Simpson announced last week.

The project is designed to enhance water quality through sediment removal and total phosphorus reductions from agricultural runoff, according to a news release, while also improving fish and wildlife habitat and urban outdoor recreational opportunities.

We are grateful for Congressman Simpsons efforts to help the City of Twin Falls improve Rock Creek and overall water quality in our area, Twin Falls Mayor Ruth Pierce said in the release. In partnering with the Twin Falls Canal, we will be able to make long-term water improvements that will enhance water quality and benefit fisheries, wildlife, and recreational opportunities.

Additionally, Simpson said the Rock Creek project would help alleviate flooding issues in and around Twin Falls that have been ongoing for several years now.

Hailey library to host Craters of the Moon presentation

The Hailey Public Library will host a presentation on Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve from its retired chief of interpretation and education on Thursday, beginning at 5:30 p.m. at Town Center West.

In his new book, People of the Moon, Ted Stout shares his unique perspective after working the final 17 years of his career at the lava fields about 45 minutes from the Wood River Valley.

Craters of the Moon is a fascinating place in every season and has a rich geological and cultural history, Kristin Fletcher, the librarys programs and engagement manager, said in a news release. Ted really knows the Monument and will share many personal stories. Hes also conducted extensive research and tracked down incredible historical images.

Town Center West is across from the library at 116 S. River St. For more information, call the library at 208-788-2036, or go online to www.haileypubliclibrary.org.

BLM to restrict public trails access in Wood River Valley

The Bureau of Land Management will restrict public access to portions of the Wood River Valley near Hailey to protect wintering wildlife, beginning Wednesday.

The restrictions will apply primarily to south-facing slopes from North Picabo Road to East Fork/Triumph, including Buttercup Ridge, according to a news release. Signs have been posted at all access points.

Trails at Quigley Road, Blaine County Recreation District, Quigley Loop, Toe-of-the-hill in Hailey, Olympia Gulch, Triumph Trail and the flat trails at the base of the hills in Old Cutters will remain open, according to the release.

 Times-News
In 2021, Idaho was awarded a $6 million federal grant from the Trump Administration to support in early childhood education across the state.

For a state years in crisis  and this was even before the COVID-19 pandemic set back learning here and across the United States  the grant was lauded as a difference-maker by the Idaho Association for the Education of Young Children (IAEYC) and the Idaho State Board of Education, which were designated to oversee and invest the funds, and by education and family care advocates.

All that was left was a stamp of approval from Idaho Legislature. Which didnt happen. Why? A contingent of hard-right Republicans successfully turned the grant into more about the IAEYCs supposedly woke agenda and less about literacy, families and school preparedness, resulting in a 36-34 House vote to walk away from the money.

Now, two years later, theres a new chance for Idaho to land similar funding with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families offering up $300 million in early childhood grants. The state has applied.

Will the legislature see things differently this time? Or will the same arguments of propaganda and misinformation win out?

Its an easy choice in our eyes: Idaho needs to invest more in early childhood education  not give in again to convenient but unfounded conspiracy theories and politically motivated buzzwords.

It says a lot about the state of affairs  in our country and here at home  when not even early childhood education can escape the poison of partisan politics and fear-mongering elected officials who peddle unfounded claims of indoctrination, warn of woke teachers and agendas without proof, and stir paranoia about the boogeyman of critical race theory.

Its simply a ploy, a tactic of control to rid government from the equation and consolidate power around the select few who are trafficking in fear.

We have seen no evidence to suggest that education in early childhood, termed as birth to 5 years old, includes aspects of activism or wrongheaded ideologies, or that it promotes lifestyles or behaviors that run contrary to Gods vision for man and woman.

What we have seen, through our own experiences and those around us, is a deep and sincere effort by educators to build strong cognitive and social foundations for our children through programs that promote language and comprehension and teach self-confidence and self-control.

Such programs are also especially vital for working families  in the Magic Valley and beyond. A 2022 report from Moscow-based IdahoSTARS, the states leading expert on child care and early education, found that 62% of children under 6 in the Gem State come from families with two working parents, meaning at-home care would only come at the expense of lost income.

It doesnt help, either, that 49% of Idahoans live in areas where children outnumber the availability of licensed slots for care, otherwise known as child care deserts, according to the IdahoSTARS report.

Then theres the payoff. A compelling research project by Nobel Prize-winning economist James Heckman (and we encourage you to spend time with it as we did) makes clear that early childhood education is a smart investment in the future. The return for every $1 spent in early learning, the data shows, is up to $16 later in life  through stronger school performance that leads to more personal income and decreased odds of crime-related costs and incarceration rates.

Yet, without additional funding streams, Idaho will face a worsening crisis once federal relief grants expire at the end of June, IAEYCs executive director, Beth Oppenheimer, wrote in a January guest column for the Idaho Statesman.

Recent surveys of both child care employees and owners found concerning results: 75% of child care facilities are receiving support from facilities and/or wage enhancement grants, and 57% said when this funding expires, they will have to raise tuition on families, many of whom are already struggling to pay tuition; 37% have said they would lay off staff or cut wages; 14% said they will close their program, Oppenheimer wrote.

The IdahoSTARS study paints a bleak picture of what happens in our state without renewed funding:

Programs will close.

Tuition will increase.

Staff will leave.

Learning materials, meals and activities will be lost.

Families will be left without care.

Do you want to live in that Idaho? A place where too many of our children dont have access to educators to help them learn their ABCs, their numbers and their colors. Where families have to consider making the choice between raising their children and making a living. Where politics takes precedence over education.

We dont  and we dont have to. Take the money, Idaho. Our children and families will thank you.
In August 2006, the California State Legislature enacted Assembly Bill 32, a sweeping environmental law that required California to upend its economy to build a green energy utopia. In August of 2015, to assist Californias Democrat leadership in their idealistic folly, President Barack Obama issued an executive order fast-tracking green energy projects, regardless of their cost or feasibility.

Years later, its now Idahos turn to bail out California in its Green New Deal nightmare. The proposed Lava Ridge and Salmon Falls wind projects would upend Idahos economy, wreck a culturally significant historic monument, and harm the interests of hardworking men and women across several industries  all in the name of generating power for liberal environmentalists in Malibu and San Francisco.

OUR VIEW: We are researching Lava Ridge Wind Project to form an opinion. Are you? OUR VIEW: Does Lava Ridge's promise of an economic boost for Idaho outweigh what would be obvious damage to the Magic Valleys visual aesthetics? That's for you to decide.

LS Power, a New York-based energy company, wants to construct 400 wind turbines across 75,000 acres of Idaho public lands. Contrary to local media reports, the energy generated from these turbines will not be for Idaho users but residents in California. Thats right: Our lands and our economy will be made to service California  all because California decided to do away with a sensible energy policy.

It is worth congratulating LS Power. Theyve done the one thing no other issue could: Unite the entire Magic Valley community. From historic preservations to hunters, conservationists, dairymen, cattlemen, water users, and the Southcentral Idaho aerospace industry, this project has generated widespread community opposition.

When I ran for State Senate I promised to do three things: Listen to my constituents; obey the commands of God and my conscience; and ferret out corruption, in all its forms. Im proud to be standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the hardworking men and women of the Magic Valley who demand that Idahos land and resources serve Idahos people and economy.

'What you have to say matters': The public opposition to Lava Ridge Opposition to Lava Ridge Wind Project shared information on how to prevent the massive wind energy project in the high desert of the Magic Valley.

To ensure that your rights are protected, and the federal government hears your opposition, I invite you to file a public comment opposing this project. This is an important and necessary step in the process of ensuring the Lava Ridge Wind Project, despite being fast-tracked for approval, takes account of the various community interests it would harm.

Working together we can ensure that our region has a voice. Working together we can ensure that the resources of our region enrich our people  instead of enriching the far-off whimsies of voters who made their top priority a green energy fantasy.

A collection of Lava Ridge stories See more coverage of the Lava Ridge proposal from the Times-News.
Writers Note: The topic of homelessness has been in the public eye for the past few months. Its easy to hear from business owners, citizens and public officials, but there has been almost no input from homeless people themselves.

I proposed to Martinsville-Henry County Warming Center Director Ariel Johnson that I spend the week there as a volunteer, then write about the experience. She agreed. That week was the evening of Monday, Jan. 30, through the morning of Monday, Feb. 6. The center is open from 6:30 p.m. to 8 a.m. on nights the temperature drops below 37 degrees or inclement weather is forecast, and I was there nearly the entire time.

Out of respect for the privacy of the guests, their names, pictures and identifying information are not used in this article. I was acutely aware that I was with people at quite possibly the lowest points of their lives, and I was not going to take advantage of that.

Several of the guests asked me to tell their stories. I told them I would conduct interviews at the end of my week, and that interview time would be clearly noted by me sitting behind my computer as a journalist for those who wanted to go on record. Except for then, I would not use their names. Those stories are in a separate article.

Practically seven days a week, Martinsville-Henry County Warming Center volunteer Zee Koslov is the first to arrive at the basement of Forest Hills Presbyterian Church, at 4:30 or 5 p.m., and she goes home for some shut-eye late at night. Shes back at 6 a.m. and sees the people through wake-up and breakfast. After they leave on the van back to town around 7:30 a.m., she cleans the center. That means putting away breakfast food, wiping tables, cleaning both bathrooms, vacuuming, taking out the trash and anything else to restore order.

Shes worn out, she said. The center is having a hard time getting dependable overnight volunteers. She gets tired of the troublesome guests who steal from and argue with each other.

Then she listed out a number of homeless people she described as kind, gentle and vulnerable. Some are like children in adults bodies. There include the shy ones who keep to themselves and almost never talk, and the gregarious ones who help with chores and keep lively conversation flowing.

Ariel Johnson, the director, has a masters degree in social work. Tom Salyer is her right-hand man. Both work for Virginia Harm Reduction Coalition but spend long hours at the center, often in the evenings, and sometimes overnight when the center is short on volunteers. All the work they do for the warming center is on a purely volunteer basis. They also help the centers guests find housing and arrange for other services.

They are particularly worried about an elderly homeless man who has become forgetful: Hell do something, then forget hes done it and needlessly do it again; he tells the same story over and over. Hes said he has an apartment lined up, but with different details each time he tells it  and it hasnt panned out after a month of tomorrows.

Koslovs favorite guest is a man you never know if hell be grumpy or happy  or all taped up.

He likes masking tape and duct tape. One time he came in with his ears taped against his head and a large leaf taped on top of his head. Once his shoes were all wrapped in tape, around and around. One night he went to bed showing no signs of mischief, but in the morning, his face was all wrapped in masking tape like a mummy, with only spots open for his eyes.

Koslov was laughing and shaking her head as she said its for the people like him and the other vulnerable ones that you keep going.

Reasons

About 25 different people stayed at the center that week, some each night and others, sporadically.

Most of those who talked about how they ended up at the warming center said they got put out on the streets when the person they were living with died, moved away, broke up with them and kicked them out, got evicted or got sent to jail. All except for that one woman who said she had been on the streets for five years were either from the Martinsville area or were from an adjoining county and had been living in the local area for a few years.

One consistently cheerful woman has a full-time job at a local industry but seemed confused about what to do when the apartment building she was living in was sold. At the same time, her car broke down and is still in the shop, and her phone was out of order. The center volunteer found her someone to drive her to and from work in the meantime.

One was a handsome, well dressed, composed young man who said he has a home but his power was cut off because he couldnt afford the high bill. It was too cold at home without heat.

Four barely talked. They were deferential and polite and too timid to interact with other people. It would be hard to imagine them even talking enough to go through the job or housing application process or even be able to understand it.

Generosity

When the group arrived Thursday evening, a normally jovial elderly man came in with his head held down, dejected.

He had just cashed his disability check, he said, then was jumped in a parking lot and robbed of all his months pay. He said he knew the man who did it.

He cried as he talked over and over about having been robbed and occasionally would apologize for talking so much about it, but he had to, to get it off his chest.

Then he shook his head, wiped away his tears and reached inside his overalls. He pulled out a small bag and carefully unwrapped a container of mink oil from the shoe store.

You told me your boots leak when it rains, he told a volunteer. Were going to rub this into our boots to keep them dry. Give me yours first.

It was not the only generous act. One evening a carpenter who carries his tools around in his backpack gave a volunteer a birdhouse he said he had made. Another evening, a homeless man who rides his bike all over town shyly handed a volunteer a fancy, late model iPhone. He had found it on the ground near Sportlanes, he said, and the owner probably misses it; could the volunteer advertise it as found?

Another night a guest was waiting in the hallway for a volunteer to arrive. I know you like cards, she said. I got you some. She handed a pack of cards from McDonalds with a Disney design. I went to McDonalds today and got them with my meal.

One night a timid man was sitting quietly eating a late dinner after the lights were off when another man came up, put a few tubular things onto his plate from a cylindrical container and walked to another table.

A moment later the timid man chuckled quietly. I though those were cigars, he whispered. I was wondering why he gave me cigars.

Theyre chocolate cookie rolls, the other man said, returning the smiles and laughter.

Caretakers

A few nights a man some of the other men considered to be a troublemaker stayed. Several men slept in the cots surrounding the so-called troublemakers cot.

Once or twice when the troublemaker was alone in the hallway near a new volunteer, a couple of the other men went into the hall and stood between the troublemaker and the volunteer and started lighthearted conversation until the troublemaker wandered off.

Koslov did speak sharply to the troublemaker a few times when he was wandering around too much, and hed fall right in line. He rarely spoke. He didnt cause any trouble all week, just looked like he might if given the chance.

He stayed awake all night one night, sitting at a table with an adult coloring book. He colored in several exquisite floral designs in intricate detail.

Being on guard

The volunteers can keep their belongings in lockers inside a locked office, but most of them dont bother. The guests never take the volunteers stuff, one seasoned volunteer told a newcomer.

However, sometimes the guests need to watch out for each other. Items easily can end up missing.

Some nights they relax less than others. There are a few occasional overnighters who are known to the others as thieves  those folks have been known to go through other peoples belongings to take things. They also sneak large amounts of the prepackaged foods the center leaves out for the guests to take with them when they leave in the morning.

Its fine for the guests to take some food with them, said Koslov, because the purpose of offering it is so that the people will have food to eat throughout the day. However, they shouldnt hoard it so that the others cannot get their fair share.

One man got off the bus at the warming center one evening wearing only one shoe. The other had gotten lost. It never did get made clear whether he simply had lost the shoe or if one of the other men had taken it (or how the shoe got off his foot in the first place). Koslov said shed try to find him another pair of shoes. The center had a few extra pairs to give out as needed, but none in his size.

A storage room at the end of the mens sleeping area has neatly stacked and labeled bins of all sorts of personal hygiene items. There are shelves full of washcloths and towels and tubs filled with blankets. Shelves hold a selection of clothes.

People are given what they need.

On Wednesday evening one man asked for a pair of socks. He had just received two pairs of socks that morning and two pairs the morning before. It was a mystery what he was doing with those socks  selling them? Losing them?

One night, a new guest came. He was a small fellow with a large presence. His body was tense and his movements jerky, as if he were ready to explode at any moment.

He wandered about the room. Hed sit with his elbows on his knees, head down rested on his hands.

Hed look around the room, eyes shifting. When he looked at someone it was with an intense gaze, his eyes boring into the other persons.

In the evening he made conversation with a volunteer. I regret having tattoos on my face, he said. Theyll always be there. Know why I did it?

No, why? she asked.

Because I was smaller than the other guys when I went to prison. I had to do something to look tough.

As the hours wore into night, he talked with one of the volunteers. He was determined to make the best of his life. He had a second chance and wasnt going to blow it. He wished he hadnt had done the things hed done. Hed like to do better, but he doesnt know where to go or what to do.

The next day, Koslov explained his body language to the new volunteer. The jumpy wariness is a common characteristic of people recently released from prison, she said. When they are locked up they have to be constantly on their guard, ready to protect themselves against any attack. It takes people quite a while to lose that constant vigilance and calm down.

Overwhelmed

One evening a couple in their 40s or 50s with very different experiences with homelessness arrived for the first time at the center. Though others assumed they were married, they had only met two days before.

The woman cheerfully said shes been homeless for five years, and its a fine lifestyle  though its much harder to be homeless in Martinsville than in the big city where shes from.

In that big city, some agency gives heaters for homeless people to use in their tents, and convenience stores give the homeless free refills of soda and all the leftover hotdogs every four hours, she said.

Two months ago she was invited to live in her cousins house in Martinsville, she said, for stability. However, the cousins house was full of shiftless people who came and went, stealing things and doing drugs. It was no big loss to lose that housing after her cousin was put in jail, she said.

The man she came to the shelter with said he had been living with his son in Henry County, but when his son moved to Danville the man was left behind.

Im overwhelmed, he said, shaking his head as he watched the woman industriously arrange things between the dozen or so bags they had between them. This has never happened to me before. Im overwhelmed.

The nightly routines

Evenings

A van picks up people who want to stay at the shelter from the Martinsville library at 6:30 p.m. to bring them to the warming center, which is in the basement of Forest Hills Presbyterian Church on Beechnut Lane in Druid Hills. Another van arrives at the warming center at 7:30 a.m. to drop them back off at the library. Volunteers drive their own vans, such as from Kearfott Memorial Church or The Community Fellowship.

As the guests arrive, a hot dinner awaits them. The suppers also are provided by volunteers who sign up to take a night. They may be individuals, families or churches. Suppers during the week included sloppy joes, fried chicken from Bojangles, pizzas from Dominos, tetrazzini and vegetable soup with sandwiches.

The evenings are sociable times. Two or three people watch TV, others talk, some lay down early on their cots, and others play card games. A couple of men sit for hours doing drawings or coloring in coloring books.

Uno is a popular game. As they play the players work out which rules theyll follow, because there are variations: whether or not the person whos the target of a Wild Draw Four or a Draw Two lays down a card. There also are some additional techniques of Prison Uno, which some of the former inmates teach the others: If you have to lay down a 6, you can lay down two 3s instead, for example; or if you are the brunt of a Draw Two, but have a Draw Two in your hand, just lay down that Draw Two and the next player has to draw four.

Tunk and Blackjack are played, but its only Rummy that comes second in line after Uno in popularity.

Search-a-Word books also are popular.

At 9 p.m., the evening shift of volunteers  there may be between three and six  leave, and the night shift of two or three people arrives.

At 10 p.m., a volunteer calls the police station to give the number of guests and volunteers who are there for the night. Then its lights out. The men stay in the main room, which has tables on one end and cots in rows on the other. The women have a smaller room down the hall.

Missing his couch

Most people arrive at the center on the van that picks them up from the library, but sometimes guests are brought by police who find them out in the cold and bring them to safety.

A big man who appeared to be in his 60s or 70s was brought in late one night by a police officer. He smelled strongly of alcohol, dirty clothes and as if he had soiled his pants.

Koslov got some clean clothes from the closet and instructed a male volunteer to have him change. However, the newcomer didnt change clothes.

Air freshener was sprayed a few times throughout the room.

The man was invited to sit down for a meal, but as the food was being prepared he said he wasnt hungry yet. He had filled up pretty good on wine and would be fine for a while.

The man lay down on the cot assigned to him. After midnight, he called out, Maam? Is there anyplace else to sleep? I just cant get comfortable.

Im sorry, he was told. Thats all we have, but we have more blankets if that would help.

I just cant get used to this little cot, he said. At home I sleep on the couch.

By about 2 a.m. he was snoring.

The tiger pillow

The center is monitored with cameras all over and an alarm system that is turned on between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.

The rule is that the door is locked at 10 p.m. and no one is allowed to go out and back in, except for supervised smoke breaks at 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. Theres an exception for the gentle, shy young man who needs to get out and ride his bike sometimes.

At 9 one night he gingerly approached a volunteer and, with his head tilted downward, quietly told her that he would like to leave for a while to go get a tiger pillow. He smiled as he haltingly described how nice it is.

At 11 p.m., a woman asked if she could go outside to smoke. Not yet, she was told; the next smoke break would be at 1 a.m. She thanked the volunteer and returned to the womens room.

Five minutes later there was a knock on the door. It was the biker, so rakishly handsome and stylish that he looked like hed be carrying around a martini at a New York City art gallery rather than a pillow in a church basement in the rural South.

The door was opened for him. With a wide grin, he proudly held up a large, plush animal-print pillow.

He was holding an unlit cigarette in his other hand. Another man walked toward the door, saw the bikers cigarette and went out to smoke, and then yet another man did the same. To be fair, a volunteer went to tell the woman that it was OK for her to smoke now, too.

Meanwhile, the pillow guy did not smoke but rather tried to get his stuff in through the doorway. He was holding his bike with his right hand and a shopping cart with long, folded cardboard and some blankets in the other.

There was plenty of room in the cart for the tiger pillow, but he had it clutched underneath his arm. He struggled to get through the doorway but his collection of things was wider than the doorway. Someone helped him with his stuff.

I had left the cart at the gazebo, but it was weighing on my conscience, he explained.

Then he held out the tiger pillow again for the volunteer to admire.

Ten minutes later, the smokers came back in, the door was locked and the alarm once again was set.

Wakeup calls

There seemed to be little need for alarm clocks at the warming center, as the women in some form or another fulfilled that role with their squabbles.

A couple of the regular women are quick to instigate, and a couple are calm, quiet and cheerful, though that can change in a flash if they are being yelled at.

Monday morning, an elderly woman came out yelling that someone had stolen her phone. Then a woman in her 30s came out yelling that she was tired of being accused of things she didnt do. Eventually, the phone was found in the purse of the woman who had claimed it was stolen.

Tuesday morning, the elderly woman yelled at a woman in her 50s over the bathroom mirror. Then the elderly woman called 911 (with the phone that hadnt been stolen after all)  which no one else realized until four police cars arrived. She complained to the police that she expected a private room but had been put in with the other women. The police explained to her that it is a warming center that was optional to stay at and she should be grateful for it.

Wednesday morning when the bus arrived one woman did not get on it. A search revealed her to be in the bathroom with her makeup all spread out. Koslov told her that it was time to go, immediately. She yelled at Koslov. Koslov told her to leave. Her boyfriend yelled through the bathroom doorway at Koslov to speak respectfully to his woman. Koslov told him to behave or he would not be allowed back. He was polite and deferential the rest of the week, but his girlfriend did not return.

Thursdays yelling was just some standard stuff about lights, the bathroom and snoring.

In the wee hours of Friday morning the toilet off the womens room overflowed. The floor was mopped and a volunteer left the mop bucket in front of the toilet as a signal that the bathroom should not be used. Around 6 a.m. the woman in her 70s came into the main room yelling that another woman was telling her not to use the bathroom. A volunteer explained the situation to her. Then another woman came in yelling that she was told not to use that bathroom, and aint nobody going to tell her what to do.

Saturday morning a big bruiser of a woman in her 20s or 30s unleashed a torrent of curses about the light being turned on and disturbing her. She was gonna kick somebodys ass  until Koslov told her to knock it off.

Sunday morning was peaceful. An experienced volunteer theorized that that might have been because the womens excitement had happened the night before.

One woman said Saturday night that before she came to the center someone had hit her over the head with a heavy metal object, and her head was hurting and she needed medical attention. The ambulance was called, and officers in two police cars also arrived. The woman was carried by ambulance to the hospital.

Three hours later, after the center had closed for the night, there was a knock on the door. It was that woman. She said she didnt feel like waiting for her turn in the hospital waiting room, so she was back.

Mornings

While the women start their mornings in such dramatic fashion, the men get up silently and peacefully. Coffee is started around 6 p.m., and a few men get up and sit quietly at the tables. They whisper companionably.

Koslov usually returns around 6 a.m. and starts putting out some food. At 7 a.m., the lights are turned on, and the partition between the kitchen and main room is lifted. Its officially breakfast time.

The serving table has six or seven varieties of cereal, plus instant oatmeal and assorted other foods as available. A volunteer stands on the other side of the counter, in the kitchen, to hand out frozen sausage biscuits and chicken biscuits. The guests heat their biscuits in the microwave.

The food table also holds three baskets of foods people can take with them to have during the day: breakfast bars, ramen noodles, instant oatmeal, food in cans with pop tops.

One of the regulars gets picked up around 6 a.m. for work. Those with their own transportation are the next to leave: A couple of the regulars have vehicles, and two or three of the men have bicycles.

The rest board a van or bus driven by assorted volunteers, including churches, at 7:30 a.m.

They are dropped off back uptown, where they begin yet another day trying to keep warm, and finding places they can go.

Homeless people tell their stories Writers Note: There were about 25 guests at the Martinsville-Henry County Warming Center du
King Mohammed VI, Chairman of Al-Quds Committee of the OIC, has renewed Moroccos strong commitment to the Palestinian cause in general, and to al-Quds in particular, affirming that the Palestinian issue is as important as Moroccos national cause and one of the pillars of Kingdoms foreign policy.

In his message addressed Sunday to participants in the High-Level Conference on the Protection & Support of the City of Al-Quds held in Cairo, the Monarch urged Arab countries to cement ranks to counter the violations committed in the Holy City, and the attempts to obliterate its unique cultural identity and change its legal character, which the relevant UN Security Council resolutions have pledged to protect.

The unilateral measures designed to create illegitimate facts on the ground in al-Quds and its surroundings represent a threat to the citys legal status, its demographic make-up, and its historical character, which is rooted in a diversity of cultures and faiths, said the King in his message, read on his behalf by Head of Govt. Aziz Akhnnouch.

Furthermore, the systematic measures taken, which are at odds with international law and United Nations resolutions, do not help build trust. Rather, they undermine the chances of reaching a permanent solution based on two states living side by side, in peace and security, underlined the Monarch.

The interruption of negotiations between the Israeli and Palestinian sides, and the continuing stalemate in the peace process, give radicals an opportunity to exacerbate the conflict, stir up religious feelings, and increase tension and agitation in the city of al-Quds, added the King, warning that this political conflict might turn into an ideological one, with dire consequences for the entire region.

Therefore, protecting the city of al-Quds from plans to change its historical and legal status should be an honest and sincere endeavor, far from empty slogans, useless outbidding tactics, and narrow-minded calculations, underlined King Mohammed VI.

The City of al-Quds holds a special place in the hearts and minds of Arab and Muslim peoples. This makes the City a sacred trust for all of us  a great responsibility before God and history, said the Moroccan sovereign, affirming that defending al-Quds should not be a momentary and circumstantial act. Rather, it should involve effective diplomatic actions and actual work on the ground, inside the Holy City.

The tangible field work carried out under my personal supervision for more than 25 years by Bayt Mal al-Quds al-Sharif Agency to support the Holy City and preserve its cultural specificity through the implementation of social and development projects that concern all segments of the Citys population, said the King.

The Agency has managed to implement more than 200 projects costing about $65 million, with Morocco providing 100 pc of the funding, added the Monarch.

He called for concerted Arab and Islamic efforts to protect the Holy City of al-Quds and to facilitate a political detente that can open up prospects for peace, security and prosperity in the region, said the King, recalling the Al-Quds Appeal, which he signed in Rabat on 30 March 2019, with Pope Francis.

The King also reiterated his call for setting up a global alliance of all driving forces that are committed to peace and that believe in the values of tolerance and coexistence. The aim is to save the City of Peace and preserve its common cultural and human heritage, explained the Monarch, recalling the appeal He made in Rabat, in 2009, on the occasion of the International Conference on al-Quds.

Morocco remains convinced that the Palestinian question is a fundamental political issue and that it is the key to a lasting, comprehensive solution for the establishment of peace and stability in the Middle East region, said the Moroccan Sovereign.

He stressed the need to find a just settlement for this issue in line with international legitimacy and the principle of the Two-State solution agreed upon by the international community.

Convinced that peace in the Middle East region remains an inescapable strategic option, Morocco will keep up its efforts and leverage its relations with all international parties and powers to contribute to efforts for re-launching dialogue and negotiations, the only way to put an end to the conflict and achieve security, stability and prosperity in the Middle East region, said the King.

He expressed his full support for the Palestinian National Authority and President Mahmoud Abbas for the efforts engaged to achieve the aspirations of Palestinian people to freedom, independence, unity and prosperity.
King Mohammed VI of Morocco has warned that the stalemate in the Palestinian-Israeli peace process gives radicals an opportunity to exacerbate the conflict, stir up religious feelings, and increase tension and agitation in the city of al-Quds.

The warning came in a message that King Mohammed VI, Chairman of the Al-Quds Committee, addressed to the participants in the High-Level Conference on the Protection and Support of the City of Al-Quds held in Cairo Sunday.

In his message, King Mohammed VI reiterated Moroccos unwavering commitment to the Palestinian cause and to al-Quds, pointing out that he considers the Palestinian cause just as important as the Kingdoms foremost national cause.

The Kingdom of Moroccos participation in todays conference attests to my countrys renewed commitment to the Palestinian cause in general, and to al-Quds in particular, in keeping with my sacred duty as Chairman of the Organization of Islamic Cooperations al-Quds Committee. Indeed, the Palestinian cause is just as important to me as my countrys foremost national cause. As it has been pointed out on various occasions, it is also one of the enduring pillars of our foreign policy, states the Sovereign in the message that was read out by Head of Government Aziz Akhannouch.

The King who underlined the special meaning of this conference as it is taking place at a difficult juncture as regards the Palestinian cause and the question of al-Quds and of Islamic and Christian holy shrines there, foremost of which is the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, called on Arab states to close ranks, take joint action, and shoulder a collective responsibility in order to face up to the violations committed in the Holy City, and the attempts to obliterate its unique cultural identity and change its legal character, which the relevant UN Security Council resolutions have pledged to protect.

The unilateral measures designed to create illegitimate facts on the ground in al-Quds and its surroundings represent a threat to the citys legal status, its demographic make-up, and its historical character, which is rooted in a diversity of cultures and faiths, the Sovereign pointed out, warning that the systematic measures taken do not help build trust. Rather, they undermine the chances of reaching a permanent solution based on two states living side by side, in peace and security.

The King underlined further that the difficult reality prevailing in al-Quds cannot be considered separately from the general context relating to the evolution of the Palestinian cause.

The interruption of negotiations between the Israeli and Palestinian sides, and the continuing impasse and stalemate in the peace process, give radicals an opportunity to exacerbate the conflict, stir up religious feelings, and increase tension and agitation in the city of al-Quds. As a result, there is a risk that this political conflict might turn into an ideological one, with potentially dire consequences for the entire region, the Sovereign stated in his message.

He made it clear that protecting the city of al-Quds from plans to change its historical and legal status should be an honest and sincere endeavor, far from empty slogans, useless outbidding tactics, and narrow-minded calculations, calling for effective diplomatic actions and actual work on the ground, inside the Holy City.

Calling for the need for concerted Arab and Islamic efforts to protect and support the Holy City, and to facilitate a political detente that can open up prospects for optimism, so that peace, security and prosperity would prevail in the region, the King explained that commitment to the principles of coexistence and the perception of cultural, religious or sectarian differences as common sources of enrichment, would bring communities together, rather than separate them.

The King recalled in this vein the Al-Quds Appeal he signed in Rabat on 30 March 2019, with Pope Francis, in which they stressed that it was important to preserve the Holy City of Jerusalem / Al-Quds Acharif as the common patrimony of humanity and especially the followers of the three monotheistic religions, as a place of encounter and as a symbol of peaceful coexistence, where mutual respect and dialogue can be cultivated.

With that in mind, I reiterate the call for setting up a global alliance of all driving forces that are committed to peace and that believe in the values of tolerance and coexistence. The aim is to save the City of Peace and preserve its common cultural and human heritage, in keeping with the appeal I made in Rabat, in 2009, on the occasion of the International Conference on al-Quds, King Mohammed VI stated.

The Sovereign vowed that Morocco, convinced that peace in the Middle East region remains an inescapable strategic option, will keep up its efforts and leverage its capabilities and its outstanding relations with all the influential international parties and powers so as to contribute to any international effort aimed at re-launching dialogue and negotiations. That is, indeed, the only way to put an end to the conflict and achieve security, stability and prosperity in the Middle East region.

In his message, King Mohammed VI also surveyed the tangible field work carried out for more than 25 years by the Bayt Mal al-Quds al-Sharif Agency, which is the operational branch of the OIC al-Quds Committee, to support the Holy City and preserve its cultural specificity through the implementation of social and development projects that concern all segments of the Citys population.

The Agency has managed to implement more than 200 projects, at an estimated cost of about $65 million, a funding totally provided by the Moroccan state (70 percent of the budget) and contributions from institutions and individuals.
15th Annual Missoula Writes Continues

Missoula Writes 15th Annual Writing Contest  do you have the write stuff? Missoula Public Library's annual writing contest accepts fiction, non-fiction and poetry submissions through Feb. 19. Prizes will be awarded for the top three submissions in each category and in four age groups: 8-10, 11-14, 15-18 and 19+. This year you will have an opportunity to workshop your entry with local authors prior to submission. To submit your work visit missoulapubliclibrary.submittable.com/submit.

Book Club Books Giveaway

Already in a book group? Thinking about starting one? The Friends of Missoula Public Library is offering free books to community book clubs this month in honor of National Library Lovers Month! Come to any of the Library Lovers events during February, or visit the display in the Level Three Demo Kitchen to pick out your next book club titles. Each bag has 10 copies of a title, the books are in new condition, and there are multiple titles to select from. Choose one bag or several and thank you for your love of libraries! Bags available while supplies last.

Beyond BMDs  Adding Life to Your Family History

There's more to your ancestors than their births, marriages and deaths. Learn how to add interesting details to your family history in this Missoula Public Library genealogy class on Feb. 13 from 1:30 to 3 p.m. in Cooper Room A on Level Four.

Job Service  Job Search and Resume Workshop

Join Missoula Job Service at Missoula Public Library for a Job Search and Resume Workshop on Feb. 13 from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. in Cooper Room B on Level Four of the library. This class is an in-depth look at how to design your resume to navigate your job search. This workshop includes how to use Applicant Tracking Systems to your advantage, search for and analyze job postings, utilize accepted resume formats, and write a resume that stands out. This is where to start if you are looking to take your job search to the next level, and secure an interview with the job you want. No registration required.

Buffalo Soldiers: The 25th Infantry Regiment Bicycle Corps

Join Missoula Public Library Feb. 13 for a presentation by the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula on the "Iron Riders," a unit of African-American soldiers tasked with testing the military potential of the new bicycle, in honor of Black History Month. Presentation is 6 to 7 p.m. in Cooper Room A on Level Four of the library.

Memory Cafe: Montanas Natural Wonders

Memory Cafe is Missoula Public Librarys safe, welcoming, and supportive space for individuals experiencing memory loss and their caregivers and family members. On Feb. 14 explore Montana's natural wonders with the Montana Natural History Center from 2 to 3 p.m. in the Level Four Cooper Room.

Community Cooking @ the Library: Chocolate, Chocolate, and more Chocolate

You can never go wrong with chocolate! Join Missoula Public Library in the Level Three Demo Kitchen, on Feb. 14 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. with Missoula Co./MSU Extension Agent for Family and Consumer Sciences, Kelly Moore. Kelly will demonstrate how to make three decadent treats on Valentines Day.

Fossils Rock! Lecture Series: A Guide to Ice Age Montana

Winter is here...but not like it was during the Pleistocene Epoch. Join Missoula Public Library on Feb. 15 as we travel back over 10,000 years to meet the Ice Age animals that roamed Montana and to learn about the environment they lived in. We'll also dig into the geology of the Flathead Valley to find out how ice shaped the modern landscape. Program is 6 to 7:30 p.m. in Cooper Room B on Level Four of the library.

Tech Connect: eBooks and Audiobooks

Learn how to download eBooks and audiobooks for free with your Missoula Public Library card using a variety of mobile devices. On Feb. 16, come to Cooper Room A on Level Four of the library from 10:30 to 11:45 a.m. for this tech class. Bring your own device, or try out one of the library's devices before buying your own. A variety of tablets, smartphones, Kindles, and other E-readers will be on hand for use during the class.

You're an Engineer

Build and create with oversized Building Blocks and Missoula Public Librarys Rig-a-ma-Jig at the next Youre an Engineer program on Feb. 16. The Rig-a-ma-Jig is a set of wooden planks with pulleys, oversized nuts and bolts, and screws. Come to the Level Two Imaginarium from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. and enjoy your own free building time or join in our building challenges.

Tech Connect: Tech Time @ MPL

Meet with a library staff member during Missoula Public Librarys drop in tech help hour and get one-on-one assistance with basic technology issues and library services. Bring your own device, or use a library laptop. The next Tech Time is Feb. 18 from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the Level Three Ellingson Room. No appointment required, first come, first served.

Pop-Up Library

Missoula Public Library and All Under One Roof Partners Pop-Up brings services to you in exciting locations. Connect with your local library on Saturday, Feb. 18, 2023, at the Southgate Mall in Missoula from 1 to 3 p.m. Get a library card, check out and return library materials, participate in an activity, and discover something new with your Missoula community.
Officials said Saturday evening that airspace over Havre was closed briefly to support Department of Defense activities.

The Federal Aviation Administration issued a NOTAM notification, an acronym for Notice to Air Missions, about 5:30 p.m. It closed off aviation up to 34,000 feet and was lifted about 6:28 p.m. It said that pilots that did not follow the order would be detained.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command, also known as NORAD, released a statement Saturday night that it, along the the FAA, implemented a temporary flight restriction airspace in central Montana to ensure air traffic safety in the area during NORAD operations and the restriction had been lifted.

"NORAD detected a radar anomaly and sent fighter aircraft to investigate," officials said. "Those aircraft did not identify any object to correlate to the radar hits. NORAD will continue to monitor the situation."

The Hill County Sheriffs Office said they had no information as to why the airspace over Havre was closed.

Members of Montana's congressional delegation said they were monitoring the situation.

U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., confirmed receiving an unclassified courtesy call from the Department of Defense about an object in U.S. airspace near Havre, flying at a low enough altitude to pose a risk to commercial air traffic.

The Western District Republican said it wasn't yet known whether the object was another Chinese surveillance balloon, but that two F-15 fighter jets had been deployed to investigate. Darkness was going to make a visual assessment difficult, Saturday night, he said.

"It was a courtesy call from the DOD undersecretary, which I appreciate. I'm glad that they're taking this seriously, finally," Zinke said.

Gov. Greg Gianforte said on Twitter that he received "a briefing tonight at the White House about an object in Montana airspace. I will continue to receive regular updates."

Earlier in the day, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on his order a U.S. fighter jet shot down an unidentified object that was flying high over the Yukon, acting a day after the U.S. took similar action over Alaska.

A U.S. military fighter jet on Friday shot down an unknown object flying off the northern coast of Alaska. The object was flying at about 40,000 feet and posed a reasonable threat to the safety of civilian flights.

There has been heightened sensitivity over U.S. skies after a Chinese spy balloon was seen flying over Montana. That balloon was shot down off the South Carolina coast. It was found to be part of a large surveillance program that China has been conducting for several years, the Pentagon said, according to The Associated Press.

The U.S. did not identify the balloons that passed over U.S. territory on four occasions during the Trump and Biden administrations as Chinese surveillance balloons, a Pentagon official said.
As a fifth generation Bitterrooter, Ive recently witnessed the drastic decline in our outdoor sporting heritage and am concerned that my grandchildren will miss out on much of what makes Montana, well, Montana. And our states Fish & Wildlife Commission has a big part in that.

Montana has seven citizen commissioners appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Montana Senate to oversee the Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks, one for each administrative region.

Here in the Bitterroot, thats Region 2. Our outgoing commissioner, Jana Waller, did a great job, but she's leaving the state and decided not to seek a second term. Waller has publicly acknowledged that the responsibilities that came with being a commissioner were comparable to a full-time position to do it correctly. I sincerely thank and appreciate Ms. Wallers service.

But Im left scratching my head at how Gov. Gianfortes new Region 2 appointee, Mr. Jeff Burrows, thinks hes going to have the time for this. Burrows, on taxpayers dime, currently sits on the Ravalli County Commission representing the south valley portion. Not sure how he expects to be able to juggle the responsibilities of these two demanding public positions, and am left wondering who will get the short end of the stick: Montanas taxpayers or Montanas sportsmen and women? Either way, we lose.

Plus, during his time on the Ravalli County Commission, Burrows repeatedly failed to protect the publics interest. Hughes Creek road has twice been deemed a public road by the Montana Supreme Court, yet Burrows wouldn't take the necessary actions to reopen the road after it continued to be illegally blocked. It took legal action from Public Land Water Access Association to get Burrows and the Ravalli County commission to finally act and get the obstructions removed. Yet somehow Gov. Gianforte thinks Burrows will protect the publics interest in this new role? I wouldn't count on it.

As an active member of many Montana sporting groups and as a founding member of the Montana Sportsmen's Alliance, I took great issue when several years ago, Mr. Burrows felt the need to question the legitimacy of the groups I helped form and am actively engaged in. I felt personally attacked  all Montana sportsmen did. This sort of conspiracy dealing, anti-public access, anti-sportsmen Burrows is the exact opposite of what Montanans want to see in charge of FWP. Its maddening.

And its not like Gov. Gianforte didnt have better options.

I know of two retired department biologists and past private lands wildlife managers who threw their names in the hat to represent Region 2. Both would have helped bridge the gap between landowners and sportsmen, and both were fully qualified to represent hunters and anglers while letting science guide their decisions. Yet both were overlooked.

Montana sportsmen better speak up before its too late and Mr. Burrows ends up making decisions that impact your opportunities to hunt and fish for the next four years. Contact your state senator and members of the Senate Fish and Game Committee and express concerns with Mr. Burrows, specifically related to Senate Resolution 3, which seeks to confirm him.

Montanans deserve better.
Laman Ismayilova

Wonderland Shusha-2023 International Scout Camp will be organized in Shusha this year, Azernews reports.

The event is included in the Action Plan over the declaration of Shusha the Cultural Capital of the Turkic World 2023.

Earlier, Azerbaijani Prime Minister Ali Asadov signed an order approving the Action Plan for declaring the city of Shusha as the Cultural Capital of the Turkic World 2023.

The Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Culture Ministry, the Special Representative Office of the Azerbaijani president in Shusha as well as the Shusha State Reserve are entrusted with the implementation of the activities related to the events.

The Culture Ministry is designated as the coordinating body for the implementation of the activities envisaged by the Action Plan.

The Action Plan implies the financing from the funds allocated to the relevant executive bodies in the state budget for 2023 and other sources not prohibited by law.
Keira Rush, a Mooresville resident, recently headed to San Francisco, California, to begin an 18-month mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Sister Rush, as female missionaries are called, will be among 54,000 missionaries serving in 411 missions around the world. During her 18-month mission, she will be teaching others about the gospel of Jesus Christ, studying scripture and volunteering to help those in need in the community.

Rush is thrilled about the opportunity to serve a mission. She says that she is excited about many things but is most looking forward to meeting and teaching people from all backgrounds.

I know I will meet people that I will love for the rest of my life. I cant wait to share the message of hope that Jesus has to offer, she said.

In explaining her decision to serve a mission, Rush described how her faith in Jesus Christ guided her through a particularly difficult time.

I learned that when we put effort into our relationship with the Savior, He will multiply our efforts and bless us abundantly, she shared. My faith in Him has brought me so much joy and more direction than I ever thought possible!

Rush graduated in 2021 from Franklin High School in Franklin, Tennessee, where she was part of the cross-country team, enjoyed digital marketing and photography classes and worked part-time. Prior to her mission, she attended Brigham Young University-Idaho and worked at a secondhand store during semester breaks where she enjoyed meeting people from all walks of life.

Her parents, Amy and Mike Rush, are confident that she will be a wonderful missionary. They describe her as being a very well-prepared, focused and creative person who loves to discover beauty in unexpected places. Her father shared, Keira will be able to help others see and celebrate their inherent beauty and worth as children of God.

Rushs family and friends are looking forward to hearing about the experiences she will be having as a missionary and to see how her missionary service impacts her life. Her mother said, Im excited for the spiritual growth she will experience and for her relationship with her Savior to deepen.

Once she returns from her mission, Rush plans to return to Brigham Young University-Idaho to continue her education studying photography and marketing.

The Rush family is part of the Lake Norman congregation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Visitors are welcome to join worship services on Sundays at 8:30 and 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. at the church located at 148 Lazy Lane in Mooresville.
From something as small as a lightbulb to something as large as a heating and air system, going green has paid off for Burke County Public Schools.

Since 2009, the school district has teamed up with Cenergistic to partner in energy conservation. And over the past 13.5 years, the savings have added up to more than $30 million.

BCPS Energy Specialist Charles Cooke has been in his role with the district since the inception of the program.

We submit our database to Cenergistc every month and they analyze our data for accuracy to maintain the integrity of the results we report, he said. Through December 2022, a time frame of 13.5 years, we have now saved a total of $30,110,153, which equates to a savings percentage overall of 47.5%. These savings are a combination of electricity, natural gas, fuel oil, water and sewer which we still track and record in our database.

By installing tankless water heaters, controlling water output and thermostats over summer and holiday breaks, and installing LED lighting the district has drastically cut its utility budget. And thats not all. Cooke said the savings equate to a cumulative Greenhouse Gas Reduction of 117,793 metric tons of CO2 being released into the atmosphere or the equivalent of 24,000 vehicles being removed from the roads for one year. The overall cost for the last 12 months for all utilities for the district is $.96 per square foot.

To remain at an overall cost of less than $1 per square foot in todays energy climate is proof of the strength of our program, Cooke said.

Looking back on the program, Cooke said in the beginning much of the districts effort was behavior based training, meaning training students and staff to turn off lights at the end of the day, reporting water leaks and recognizing HVAC systems running unnecessarily. Later in the program, the district applied for and received money from the North Carolina Energy Office, which was utilized for many lighting projects throughout the district. The district also applied for and received rebates for energy saving projects in schools served by Duke Energy.

In addition, we continue to shut down the district for all of the breaks in the school year such as the holiday seasons and in the summer, Cooke said. We maintain HVAC support and any other necessary systems for departments that operate during these times, but a very large part of our overall savings are generated by shutting down for the summers and utilizing the four-day work week during that time.

Cooke said the program has come a long way since its inception.

Back in 2009, much of our effort was to recognize and change our habits as far as using energy unnecessarily, he said. Once we were on the correct path to understanding how to save, we began to utilize energy efficient equipment when equipment failed and had to be replaced. In the last few years, we have been able to continue to replace worn out equipment with new, modern equipment, therefore increasing efficiency and making saving easier. We have improved not only the conditions in the schools by replacing thermostats with several new control systems, but have improved overall comfort and indoor air quality as well.

The program has garnered the district several awards, including the Chairmans Sustainability Award in 2017 and the Cenergistics Energy Pacesetter Award in 2013.

The Burke County School district has done a tremendous job in this endeavor and as always, steps up to the occasion to manage our resources to the greatest extent possible, Cooke said.

BCPS Superintendent Dr. Mike Swan praised Cooke and his team for the programs success.

Mr. Cooke and our auxiliary services team have done a great job not only training students and staff on ways to save energy but also by being proactive in replacing old equipment with modern, energy efficient equipment to reduce our carbon footprint, Swan said. Even the smallest of efforts from our team, such as turning off a light when leaving a room or shutting down computers at night, have added up to make a big difference. I am proud to be a part of this effort and am proud of everyones commitment to make a positive impact on the environment.

Cooke tracks energy consumption  including electricity, water, sewer, natural gas and fuel oil  for the school system using energy-accounting software. He compares current energy use to a baseline period and calculates the amount of energy that would have been used had conservation and management practices not been implemented. By tracking consumption and analyzing energy use, he can quickly identify and correct areas that need immediate attention, which is good for the coffers and the environment.
NEW YORK  Former President Donald Trump called for parents to elect and fire school principals. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis banned instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade. And Nikki Haley, the former U.N. ambassador, is among the Republicans taking aim at critical race theory.

In the opening stages of the 2024 GOP presidential race, the "parents' rights" movement and lessons for schoolchildren are emerging as flashpoints.

The focus on issues related to racism, sexuality and education is a way for potential White House hopefuls to distinguish themselves in a crowded field, suggesting new and deeper ways for government to shape what happens in classrooms.

But the effort have prompted criticism from LGBTQ advocacy groups, teachers' unions, some parents and student activists and those worried about efforts to avoid lessons about systemic racism. Democrats cast the efforts as race-baiting and improperly injecting politics into schools.

In Florida, DeSantis made an aggressive push against what he calls "woke" policies.

He gained national attention last year for signing the so-called Don't Say Gay bill into law, barring instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity for young elementary schoolers, as well as material deemed not age-appropriate, which critics argue is vague and could stifle classroom discussions. He also signed the "Stop WOKE" act in 2022, a law that restricted teaching that members of one race are inherently racist or should feel guilt about past actions by other people of the same race, among other things.

DeSantis also extended his political influence to school board races, endorsing candidates last year in what had been nonpartisan contests and flipping at least three boards from a liberal majority to a conservative majority.

More recently, he blocked high schools from teaching a new Advanced Placement course on African American studies, contending it was a violation of a state law and historically inaccurate. Beyond K-12 schools, he appointed six conservative trustees to the board of a small liberal arts college and announced plans to restrict state colleges from having programs on critical race theory and diversity, equity and inclusion.

Critical race theory, which DeSantis has called "pernicious," was developed by scholars in the 1970s and 1980s in response to what they viewed as a lack of racial progress following the civil rights legislation of the 1960s. It centers on the idea that racism is systemic in the nation's institutions, which function to maintain the dominance of white people in society.

Trump staked out his own positions, releasing a nearly 5-minute video outlining what his campaign called a "Plan to Save American Education and Give Power Back to Parents."

Declaring that "public schools have been taken over by the radical left maniacs" and warning about "pink-haired communists teaching our kids," Trump pledged, if elected president again, that he would cut federal money for any school or program promoting "critical race theory, gender ideology or other inappropriate racial, sexual or political content on to our children."

Trump said he planned to create a national organization that would certify teachers "who embrace patriotic values, support our way of life and understand that their job is not to indoctrinate children" and would set up favorable treatment for states and school districts that adopt reforms such as allowing parents to directly elect and fire school principals.

Former Vice President Mike Pence is using a group he formed to rally conservatives against transgender-affirming policies in schools. The group plans to run ads, hold rallies and canvass in early voting state Iowa as a federal appeals court is set to consider a case involving an Iowa school district's policy to support transgender students.

In the U.S., public education is run by states and largely paid for by state and local taxpayers. The federal government does not certify teachers or regulate how schools hire staff and doesn't control curriculum standards. But Congress or the Department of Education can incentivize certain education practices by tying them to federal money.

The more recent divisive shift to social issues in schools is an outgrowth of Glenn Youngkin's successful bid in 2021 to become the first Republican in more than a decade to be elected as Virginia's governor. Youngkin campaigned on parental rights. He appealed to parents frustrated over school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic and said he would ban the teaching of critical race theory in public schools.

His administration began rewriting the state's model policies for the treatment of transgender students, issuing guidance for school divisions that would roll back some accommodations and tighten parental notification requirements.

Half of voters in 2022 said their K-8 schools were teaching too much about gender identity issues, according to AP VoteCast, a national survey of the electorate. Only about one-quarter said schools teach too little on the subject.

About 4 in 10 voters said too little is taught on racism in the U.S., while about one-third said schools were teaching too much on related issues.

These were the top 10 books people wanted removed from schools and libraries in 2021 1. 'Gender Queer' by Maia Kobabe 2. 'Lawn Boy' by Jonathan Evison 3. 'All Boys Arent Blue' by George M. Johnson 4. 'Out of Darkness' by Ashley Hope Perez 5. 'The Hate U Give' by Angie Thomas 6. 'The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian' by Sherman Alexie 7. 'Me and Earl and the Dying Girl' by Jesse Andrews 8. 'The Bluest Eye' by Toni Morrison 9. 'This Book is Gay' by Juno Dawson 10. 'Beyond Magenta' by Susan Kuklin
Linda Parks and Pen Parks celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on Feb. 3, 2023. Linda Parks owns Lixit Corporation and Pen owns Southgate Mini Storage. Their wedding took place at the Sacramento Riding Club in 1973. Their children are Christopher Parks and Allison Parks, Allison owns The Painted Lady Tanning & Spa. The family will be celebrating with dinner at Don Giovanni.
Puertas Abiertas Community Resource Center (PACRC) has added three community members to their 2023 board: Miriam Puentes, Mario Gutierrez and Blanca Wright.

Since 2005, Puertas Abiertas has worked to address unmet needs in the community by providing a gateway for access to fundamental services as well as resources (health, mental health, social and legal services) for underserved members in the community. It is considered as the first stop for services and a safety net to Latinos. Puertas Abiertas works with Napa Countys Latinx community to inspire and achieve healthy lifestyles, self-sufficiency, and opportunities for leadership and community engagement.

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Miriam Puentes immigrated to the United States in 1980 with her family from Guanajuato Mexico and spent many years working in the wine industry, which sparked her entrepreneurial spirit. After earning a degree in business management, in 2008 she and her husband launched Honorama Cellars, named in honor of Miriams father, who passed away before he could create his own label.

She said, serving on the Puertas Abiertas board is a way to support immigrants and non-English speakers that are part of our community and provide so much through their work."

Blanca Wright has worked with Renteria Vineyard Management for more than 12 years as chief financial officer. As the daughter of migrant farmworkers, she understands the challenges our farmworker community faces. She is passionate about helping others advance in their personal and professional lives.

Previously, she has given back to our community as president of the California Farm Labor Contractors Association and vice president of Napa Valley Community Housing.

Blanca says, knowing there is an organization which caters to our Latino community inspired me to become a part of it. As a child of migrant farmworkers, I watched my parents struggle as they tried to learn of resources that could help them. I want the community in similar situations to know there is help. They deserve it.

Mario Gutierrez was born in Napa and began his career in banking in 2006. As the current branch manager of Redwood Credit Union, he has been awarded the North Bay Forty Under Forty Award by the North Bay Business Journal.

As a volunteer for Puertas Abiertas, he teaches financial education workshops and has a personal passion to break down language barriers that could stand between a person reaching their financial goals.

Mario said, I decided to join the board because I believe in what this organization stands for and the impact it has on our community.

Nancy Weiss, the current president of Puertas Abiertas, is excited to welcome these community members to the board and looks forward to their contributions in the coming year.

Puertas Abiertas promotes self-suffiency and healing in Napa's Latino community Puertas Abiertas Staff Statue outside Puertas Abiertas Outside of the Puertas Abiertas building
The California Department of Food and Agricultures Preliminary Grape Crush Report for 2022, released on Friday, shows Napa County in a position of strength relative to the rest of the state.

This is not only for the price per ton of Napa's wine grape prices; the county was also one region that saw an increase in yield in 2022 over 2021.

The massive report, which includes 150 pages of tables, provides details of crushed tonnage, degrees Brix and weighted average prices from throughout the state, broken down into 17 districts.

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Overall, the 2022 crush in California totaled 3,620,595 tons, down 6.7% from the 2021 crush of 3,880,141 tons.

Red wine varieties accounted for the largest share of all grapes crushed, at 1,885,875 tons, down 7.2% from 2021. White wine varieties crushed totaled 1,463,787 tons, down 8.6% from 2021.

Among the highlights from the 2022 report:

Cabernet Sauvignon surpassed Chardonnay as the variety with the largest percentage of the total tonnage crushed at 15.4%.

Chardonnay accounted for the second largest percentage of the total crush at 14.4%.

Grapes produced in Napa County received the highest average price at $6,847.19 per ton, up 12.2% from 2021.

Sonoma and Marin counties received the second highest average price at $2,858.39 per ton, up 6.4% from 2021.

The 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon average price of $1,892.40 was up 13.8% from 2021, and the Chardonnay average price of $1,014.63 was up 3.9% from 2021.

The 2022 average price for French Colombard was $330.64, up 1.9% from 2021, while the average Zinfandel price was up 0.7% from 2021, at $651.06 per ton.

The 2022 average price of all varieties was $910.80, up 5.7% from 2021.

After Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay, the other most planted grape varieties statewide are Zinfandel (8.5%); French Colombard (7.5%) Pinot Noir (6.4%); Pinot Gris (5.4%); Merlot (5%) Rubired (4.9%) and Muscat of Alexandria (4.3%). Grapes such as Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc fall within the remaining category of "Other varieties, 28.1%."

"The 2022 North Coast harvest showed strength across all four crush districts," said Glenn Proctor, from Ciatta Company, global wine and grape brokers based in Novato.

Napa's Cabernet Sauvignon was up in tonnage from the previous vintage to 69,309, Proctor said, and also experienced "a great bounce back on Chardonnay with an increase of 57%."

Proctor said many growers wait for the highly anticipated report to finalize deals on prices.

"Fifteen years ago, we used to have someone at the door in Sacramento waiting for the book to drive it back to the office and we'd try to figure out what it all meant," he said.

These days, an email announces that the report will be available in a PDF online  this year it was at noon on Feb. 10  "and we all go into a room and sit down at start figuring out what the numbers mean."

But it is critical information for a company whose business is negotiating deals between buys and sellers, Proctor said. "A number of contracts use the information to adjust their prices."

Napa remains strong, Proctor said. "The demand for Napa Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, is strong and there's not a lot of it out there."

Although the yield in Napa County was up over 2021 and substantially over 2020  the year of the LNU and Glass fires  Proctor said it's important to put it in context, looking at the number over a 10-year average, including the bumper crop years of 2018 and 2019.

"It was a surprise that Napa yields were up 5% (over 2021)," Proctor said. "What with frost and heat waves and drought concerns, it felt lighter."

Sonoma was hit harder by early frosts and its wine crop "was down 9% overall, with Pinot Noir (down 16.8%) and Chardonnay (down 12%) showing significant losses in tonnage."

"Lake County came in with a historical Cabernet Sauvignon harvest of 21,214 tons, and still saw an increase in price. Mendocino witnessed a 30% increase in tons, but was the only North Coast crush district to see a decrease in overall price, down 1.3%," Proctor said.

According to Greg Livengood from Ciatti, statewide, "the 2022 wine grape crush was even lighter than anticipated, further emphasizing the impact of drought conditions, a severe frost, and ongoing vineyard removals, particularly in the Central Valley."

"Cabernet and Sauvignon Blanc showing the biggest increases of the main varieties due mainly to increased demand in the coastal regions," Livengood said.

He added, "while the crop report shows a total number that is slightly below expectations, this volume is not completely unwelcome, given recent reports of sluggish sales in the U.S. market. With many buyers sitting on the (fence) waiting to make decisions on inventory, this report may push many of those players into action."

In the last couple of years, Proctor said, the concerns were about the lack of rain. "It was 'Oh my God,' will there be enough water for frost protection, irrigation?"

With January's heavy rain filling reservoirs, he said now they are discussing the implications of "the potential for a bigger crop."

"Napa is leading the way," Proctor said. "Statewide, California (wine grapes) are playing a different set than Napa, where the brand remains strong."

"For all of us, the question is, where is the economy going?" he concluded. "Will consumers continue to pay the higher prices? We don't want to kill the golden goose."

Photos: Celebrating the 2022 grape harvest at Schramsberg Vineyards
Like most of the Bay Area, all of Napa County's's jurisdictions essentially missed a Jan. 31 state deadline to submit their long-term housing plans known as housing elements.
As San Francisco prepares to block vehicle traffic from a stretch of the Mission District this month in an attempt to stifle street prostitution, the idea of creating a designated district for sex work is gaining traction among some advocates and officials.

A red-light district might not be a far-fetched concept in the Mission, where many residents say sex workers have been present for decades.

Though San Francisco has not taken any official action on a red-light zone, officials are having water barriers and other barricades installed on Capp Street in response to recent complaints about what county Supervisor Hillary Ronen called a "cruising zone," according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The stretch of Capp between 18th and 22nd streets will be closed to vehicles except for those of residents.

Motorcycle officers will patrol the area and issue traffic citations in an effort to deter people from searching for sex workers.

It's unclear how long the barriers or police patrols will remain. The San Francisco Police Department did not respond to requests for more information.

The installation of the barriers has renewed discussion of a designated area where sex workers could operate without being criminalized and of how to address concerns about human trafficking.

Ronen, who represents the Mission, told the Chronicle that she would support a red-light zone, but that figuring out the legal hurdles and location would be challenging.

But she hopes to introduce a resolution to the San Francisco County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday that would act as an official request to California lawmakers to decriminalize sex work.

"What's happening right now on Capp Street is it's become more brazen, and bigger than we've ever seen it before," Ronen told the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday.

"Instead of repeating the same cycle that we've repeated for decades, it's time to try something new," she said.

The idea of decriminalizing sex work is not as radical as it might have been when Ronen took office in 2017, she said.

"I don't think this is going to happen tomorrow. This would be a major change in policy and direction," said Ronen, a licensed attorney. "I certainly won't be the first person to try to urge the legalization of prostitution, and I won't be the last."

Celestina Pearl, outreach director for the nonprofit St. James Infirmary, which provides resources to sex workers, welcomes the idea of a red-light district, but said there is a critical component that needs to be taken into consideration.

"I feel like the important thing is to get the actual voices of sex workers involved," Pearl told The Times. "Are they talking about forming a red-light district and then pushing for decriminalization? Or possibly simultaneously? Or prioritizing the criminalization? These are all the possibilities. The future is happening very quickly."

A group of anonymous residents told ABC affiliate KGO-TV that drivers line Capp Street until 3 a.m. in search of sex workers. They also said crime had gotten worse in the last few months.

Santiago Lerma, a legislative aide with Ronen's office, told the news outlet Mission Local that there was a resurgence in sex workers as people started to emerge from the pandemic.

Pastor James Amado of the San Francisco Tabernacle Seventh-day Adventist Church near Capp and 22nd said sex workers had been on Capp Street since he first started attending the church more than 20 years ago.

"Capp Street is like the main street for them to flock to," Amado told The Times, referring to the sex workers. "I've seen them every night. These ladies start to walk around in front of the church."

Amado said he had seen johns and sex workers try to use the church parking lot when he leaves it unlocked at night during weekly church meetings.

"It's been going on in this neighborhood for a long time, and I can feel the sentiment with the people who live in the neighborhood," he said.

San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said her office had been in contact with Capp Street residents.

She visited the neighborhood on a weeknight "to better understand their concerns and determine how (to) be helpful in addressing the prostitution and human trafficking concerns, while working to support victims," she said in a written statement.

Clients who are cited for solicitation are referred to neighborhood courts for adjudication and are expected to abide by the agreements they make, including going to "john school and pledging to not repeat their behavior," according to Jenkins.

Since she took office last year, 14 johns have been referred to neighborhood court, she said.

"We also do everything we can to help rescue victims from traffickers. We are prepared to prosecute any  traffickers where there is sufficient evidence for us to move forward," the statement said.

Pearl, with St. James Infirmary, said that although there are likely instances of sex trafficking, not all sex workers on the street are victims.

Anita O'Shea, operations director with St. James Infirmary, said street barriers on Capp Street would not be a permanent solution.

"It's not going to change the fact that sex workers need to work to survive, to feed their families, to pay rent," O'Shea told The Times. "If we want real solutions, we need to decriminalize sex work. And provide housing, job training, healthcare and other things to poor people."

Twice a week, St. James hands out kits to sex workers that include hygiene packs, condoms and lubricant.

San Francisco's planned crackdown in the Mission will only move the sex workers over to another street, O'Shea said.

Though it is clear that Capp Street residents are being exposed to violence and other hazards as men cruise in search of sex, O'Shea said, "we feel that the solution is not to sweep people away."

14 charts that show jobs, unemployment and workforce data for Napa and California
Moodys reaffirms "Export Insurance Agency of Armenia"s rating

The newly appointed Human Rights Defender conducted fact-finding activities in Tegh village

Armenia ambassador to Canada, newly elected mayor of Ottawa discuss cooperation

Investigative Committee: Criminal proceeding launched into wounded soldiers case

Woman who threw umbrella at Armenia premier is charged

Zakharova responds to Armenia parliament majority faction secretary: They probably mistranslated it to him

shamshyan.com: Man found dead, car found on train tracks in Yerevan

Matviyenko: Russia hopes Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty will be signed soon as possible

Armenia, Russia FMs discuss matter of Yerevan-Baku relations normalization

Smart solution from AraratBank: electric car loans at an interest rate starting at 9%

Armenian legislature speaker: We call on international community to clearly condemn Azerbaijan aggressive actions

Ameriabank CEO Artak Hanesyan sums up Triple Best campaign: We believe in potential of our team, Armenia

Armenia MOD: Soldier wounded by own weapon

Karabakh NSS deputy director, head of presidential Central Information Department are dismissed

Armenia official: I wouldn't call this a vector change, I would call it a search for certain security guarantees

Armenia parliament speaker expresses concern to Ashimbayev regarding Kazakhstan collaboration with Azerbaijan

Armenia, Russia FMs meet in Uzbekistan

GeoProMining Gold develops social cooperation with Ararat region

Armenia Security Council chief briefs OSCE Minsk Group US co-chair on Azerbaijan provocation near Tegh village

CIS FMs next meeting slated for October in Kyrgyzstan

Armenia Security Council secretary: International presence needed to resolve many security issues in Karabakh

Armenia ruling force lawmaker: PMs orders are mandatory for execution

Armenia police hand over Azerbaijani found in Kapan city area to National Security Service

Security Council head on CSTO: Not possible that Armenia be offered arms, ammunition help and it refuses

Armenia ruling force MP to Zakharova: If we hadn't fought, given casualties, Russia MFA could call as much as it wants

USD depreciating against several other major currencies

Armenia Security Council chief on Azerbaijan border stability: We expect Brussels to take appropriate steps

Armenia Security Council head: There were arrangements with Azerbaijan but most of them were broken

CIS FMs to hold meeting in Uzbekistan

Armenia Security Council chief: Azerbaijan is preparing for military escalation

Newspaper: Army General Staff chief admits that Tegh village incident was Armenian sides omission as well

Armenia MOD: Sanitary vehicle staff not hospitalized

shamshyan.com: Armenia MOD driver, 2 medical assistants hospitalized after truck, MOD sanitary vehicle collide

Brazil's president in China called for abandoning the dollar

Artsakh's Ombudsman expresses dissatisfaction to OSCE chairman for attitude of international community

Ararat Mirzoyan will go on a working visit to Uzbekistan

Police and demonstrators clash on the 12th day of demonstrations in France

Anahit Manasyan had a phone conversation with the Human Rights Ombudsman of Artsakh

The 12th protest against pension reform takes place in France

Russia MOD: No ceasefire violations recorded in Karabakh during last 24 hours

Lemkin Institute issues statement on Azerbaijan noncompliance with ICJ order to unblock Lachin corridor

MFA: Shushi is Artsakhs integral part in territorial, cultural, economic, historical aspects

An earthquake of magnitude 4.3 occurred in southeastern Turkey

Charles Michel explains his activeness in Armenia-Azerbaijan relations normalization process

Armenia PM to Bujar Osmani: This visit is good opportunity to get familiarized with complicated situation

South Korea bans its citizens from traveling to Armenia-Azerbaijan border region

Karabakh President convenes working consultation, security challenges discussed

OSCE Chairman-in-Office: I am here to find out if there is possibility to build bridges between Yerevan and Baku

Armenia PM chief of staff: Azerbaijanis are already in Yerevan, we have ensured their safety

Chairman-in-Office: OSCE toolkit provides mechanisms to assist peace process between Armenians and Azerbaijanis

Osmani: We are ready for any efforts to achieve positive dynamics between Azerbaijan and Armenia

Armenia FM: Replacing army with guards on Azerbaijan border should be part of final settlement

Armenia MFA: Rumors about OSCE Minsk Group activities termination are greatly exaggerated

168.am: Who is the Azerbaijani already rendered ineffective in Armenia? What does he say in video?

Armenia village youth tell how they caught Azerbaijani

Armenia Investigative Committee issues statement on murder of security guard, 56, in Syunik Province

Azerbaijani who crossed border into Armenia is caught by locals, found in Achanan village territory

2nd Azerbaijan soldier found, detained in Armenia

Armenian health minister: Wounded soldier in critical condition due to Azerbaijan provocation has stabilized

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Premier: Armenia ready for reopening of transport links, delimitation of borders

Pashinyan: We are ready to withdraw troops to safe distance along Armenia-Azerbaijan 1991 border

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Azerbaijan MFA accuses France foreign ministry of smear campaign and unfair position

Armenia PM: It failed to deploy border guards without escalation of tension

Newly elected Armenia ombudsperson announces her priority objective in this capacity

Armenia deputy PM, US Deputy Secretary of Treasury acknowledge high level of cooperation between both countries

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Armenia deputy PM, USAID official discuss opportunities for deepening cooperation

Mher Grigoryan, Todd Robinson exchange views on ongoing democratic reforms in Armenia

Armenia FM to Derek Hogan: Provocation near Tegh village was another manifestation of Azerbaijan aggressive policy

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US State Department on Armenias Tegh village incident: Use of force to resolve disputes is unacceptable

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Russia MOD: 4 ceasefire violations recorded in Karabakh

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Armenia National Security Service Border Guard Troops commander dismissed

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Mayor of Frances Lyon expresses unconditional support to people of Karabakh

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Criminal proceedings launched into Armenia soldiers being killed, wounded by Azerbaijan near Tegh village

Chairman-in-Office: OSCE supports continuation of Armenia-Azerbaijan direct contacts

MFA: Russia asked Armenia to explain information about participating in joint military exercises with NATO

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Russia MFA spox: CSTO mission deployment details can be talked about when Armenia is ready

Zakharova: Russia favors complete unblocking of Lachin corridor

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Zakharova: Russia Border Guard Service, army took measures to de-escalate situation near Armenias Tegh village

Armenia deputy defense minister on possible Azerbaijan provocations again: Nothing can be ruled out

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Mher Grigoryan, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State discuss security issues in Armenia, region
In March 2013, it was reported that two other associations  African Peoples Congress and All Patriotic Citizens  also applied for INEC registration, adopting APC as an acronym as well, reportedly a development interpreted to be a move to thwart the successful coalition of the opposition parties, ahead of the 2015 general elections. It was reported in April 2013 that the party was considering changing their name to the All Progressive Congress of Nigeria (APCN) to avoid further complications.

In November 2013, five serving Governors, along with Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, former vice president of Nigeria, from the governing PDP defected to the APC, as well as 49 legislators who joined the ranks of 137 legislators in the APC as a result of the prior merger of the smaller opposition parties.

This initially gave the APC a slim majority of 186 legislators in the Lower House out of a total of 360 legislators; however, subsequent political wrangling and pressure from political factions and interests outside the National Assembly of Nigeria, gave the party only 37 additional legislators thus giving the APC a nominal majority of 172 out of 360 Legislators, as opposed to the PDPs 171 (though some smaller PDP-allied parties hold the balance of the other seats.

This was further confirmed when the party seated 179 members on January 15, 2015 when the House resumed after a long recess to finally affirm its majority. The governors who defected to the APC were Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State, Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State, Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano State, Murtala Nyako of Adamawa State and Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto State. It had been previously reported that Governors Muazu Babangida Aliyu of Niger State and Sule Lamido of Jigawa State were to set to defect from the Peoples Democratic Party to the APC; however, both ended up remaining with the Peoples Democratic Party.

In the 2015 elections, Muazu Babangida Aliyu ran as a senatorial nominee of the Peoples Democratic Party for the Niger State east senatorial district, losing in a landslide to the APCs David Umaru.
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov has left for a working visit to Egypt's Cairo, Azernews reports.

Within the framework of the visit, the minister will hold bilateral meetings and take part in the high-level international conference of the League of Arab States within the framework of Azerbaijan's chairmanship in the Non-Aligned Movement.
Sabina Mammadli

Azerbaijani Defense Ministry's engineering troops sent high-voltage generators to assist the people affected by the earthquake in Turkiye, Azernews reports.

Generators to ensure uninterrupted power supply were dispatched to Turkiye by vehicles.

Besides, Azerbaijan's Emergency Situations Ministry has sent a second field hospital equipped with the necessary medical supplies to Turkiye.

The hospital consists of 5 functional departments - reception and distribution, laboratory, and two operating units. Appropriate conditions for examination, operations, and treatment of the seriously wounded have been created. High-qualified medical personnel capable of working in military field conditions will also be provided.

Azerbaijan Red Crescent Society has stated that a total of 2.02 million Turkish liras ($106,470) of aid has been dispatched to Turkiye already.

Meanwhile, Turkish Ambassador to Azerbaijan Cahit Bagci thanked the citizens of Azerbaijan for their assistance on his Twitter page.

He expressed his gratitude to all Azerbaijanis who participated in the campaign to help victims of the earthquake in Turkiye.

A 7.7-magnitude earthquake was recorded in central Turkiye on the morning of February 6, 2023, according to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Center. The quakes epicenter was located 26 km away from the city of Gaziantep with a population of about 1.06 million. The source of the earthquake was 7 km below the surface.

Further, three more quakes with a magnitude of 6.4-6.6 rocked Gaziantep province in south-eastern Turkiye. As a result of the earthquake that hit Turkiye, strong tremors were also felt in Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, and Cyprus.

The number of people who died as a result of the earthquake has reached 24,617, and 80,278 people were injured.
Negotiations on the resumption of the 2015 Iranian nuclear agreement between Tehran and world powers, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), have continued at different rates over the past year and a half, but they have been conducted in a concerted and continuous manner, and that communications between the two sides are now ongoing, Ali Baqeri, Iran's deputy foreign minister for political affairs and Iran's chief negotiator of the nuclear agreement, told Lebanese TV channel al-Manar.

The high-ranking diplomat also noted that one of the Islamic Republic's main red lines is the issue of guarantees by which the opposite side adheres to its commitments.

"The Islamic Republic has said that it sees no obstacles to completing the agreement, even in the short term, within a framework that respects its red lines and interests," he added.

According to Baqeri, Western countries have failed to use the recent foreign-backed unrest in the country as leverage in the negotiations.

He said the West has made a "miscalculation" regarding recent developments in Iran.

"Regarding developments inside Iran, (Western states) may have made a miscalculation, but when they faced the realities, they came up empty-handed and had nothing to criticize for at the negotiating table," he said.

Negotiations to renew the 2015 agreement began in the Austrian capital of Vienna in April 2021. The aim of the talks for the Iranian side was to lift sanctions and examine the seriousness of the U.S. intention to join the JCPOA.

However, discussions have been stalled since August 2022 due to Washington's categorical refusal to lift all sanctions that were imposed on Tehran by the previous U.S. administration, Tasnim reported.
President Raisi to visit China: Iranian state media

Ebrahim Raisi is expected to hold private talks with President Xi. File photo: AFP

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi will head to China on Monday for a three-day visit aimed at strengthening economic cooperation, Iranian state media reported on Sunday.



Raisi will set out for Beijing on Monday evening following an official invitation by President Xi Jinping, Iran's state news agency IRNA said.



Both presidents met for the first time last September in Uzbekistan at a summit for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, where the Iranian president called for expanded ties.



On his upcoming trip, Raisi is expected to hold private talks with Xi, and delegations from both countries are due to sign "cooperation documents", according to IRNA.



The agency added that Raisi will also take part in meetings with Chinese businessmen and Iranians living in the country.



Iran and China have strong economic ties, especially in the fields of energy, transit, agriculture, trade and investment.



In 2021, the two countries signed a 25-year "strategic cooperation pact" said to include "political, strategic and economic" components.



China is Iran's largest trade partner, IRNA said, citing the 10-month statistics of Iranian customs authorities.



Iran's exports to Beijing stood at US$12.6 billion, while it imported US$12.7 billion worth of goods from China. (AFP)
Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], February 11 (ANI/NewsVoir): Country Chicken Company (CCC), a fast-growing player in the retail meat industry, driven by the concept of 'hygiene and experiential stores' has firmed up plans to expand and grow the market. With a target of earning Rs. 200 cr revenues in the next two years, the company is implementing an ambitious plan to set up 65 outlets in 6 cities and be present in 900 supermarkets. At present, it has 12 operational stores and 8 in the offing. The confidence springs from significant achievements within a year of the launch of the company. The biggest was to launch the world's first-ever, experiential, odourless retail outlet in Hyderabad. "Our innovative concept of creating a store that appeals to kids and mothers alike has received a tremendous response from customers", said G Saikesh Goud, Founder-CEO, Country Chicken Co. The team has grown from 10 to 150. The farmers base expanded to 15,000 and customers served reached 17,000 and operational profitability was demonstrated. The company is betting big on its commitment to providing the highest quality chicken and customer satisfaction to drive growth. The operations of Country Chicken Co got a fillip with the launch of the flagship store in Pragathi Nagar in its very first quarter. It was inaugurated by the Telangana State Minister Animal Husbandry and Dairy, Mr Talasani Srinivas Yadav. Very quickly, word spread and the company received 300 franchisee requests in just a month. Of these 11 deals for Hyderabad have been finalised. The outlets strive to bring the best Natu Kodi Chicken to the consumers plate. The company attracted national and global attention too. It was honoured to represent the Indian meat ecosystem at the Dubai expo, where it received recognition and support from prominent figures such as Union Minister, Mr Anurag Thakur, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, M.K Stalin, and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). The Indian Council of Agricultural Research-National Research Centre for Meat (ICAR-NRCM) recognised and felicitated the Country Chicken Co for revolutionising the country chicken and retail meat store segment. Branding & Express Stores As part of its diversification and branding, the company launched the innovative 'Express Store' in KPBH Colony. It generated Rs. 13 lakh revenue in its first week of operations itself. Additionally, the company unveiled its third experiential store in Manikonda, with the inauguration attended by the minister, Talasani Srinivas Yadav, Principal Secretary, J. S. Ranjan, MLA's - Vivekananda and Prakash Gowd. The Natu Kodi Brand Country Chicken Co. has truly made its mark on the industry. This success reinforced the popularity of the brand in the city, leading to the opening of the third store in Kothapet. In efforts to build on the goodwill, the team worked on strengthening the brand and gaining a strong foothold in the competitive market. Consequently, emphasis was laid on exponentially increasing brand awareness and reaching out to new customers through various marketing campaigns and strategies. The company leveraged its longstanding partnership with Kotayya, a noted name to raise the bar in the offerings of Natu Kodi chicken. All the chicken are sourced from farms owned by him and ensure consistent quality. Over the past year, Country Chicken has established itself as a profitable and thriving enterprise. In addition to the Natu Kodi speciality, it expanded its offerings to include a range of products such as pickles, quail birds, young warriors, turkey, brown eggs, and country eggs. Recently, the company executives met Narendra Singh Tomar, the Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers. He was highly impressed with the brand's concept, which aims to improve the welfare of farmers, and expressed his appreciation. The company wants to be a game changer in the retail meat industry, offering customers a unique, odourless shopping experience, and supporting the growth of farmers across the country. This story has been provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir)
The first Agriculture Deputies Meeting, a three-day event, will be held at Indore starting Monday. Around a hundred delegates from G20 member countries, guest countries and international organizations are expected to participate in the meeting. Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan will inaugurate the exhibition on the first day of the three-day meeting. Millets and its value-added food products along with stalls from animal husbandry and fisheries will be a major attraction of this exhibition, informed the government through a release on Sunday. During the first ADM of Agriculture Working Group, two side events have been scheduled on day one to deliberate on agriculture-related matters. Day two will witness the esteemed presence of the Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia following which there will be a general discussion among the participating members and international organizations, an official release said on Sunday. Day three will be dedicated to the deliberations on the key deliverables of the Agriculture Working Group. It will be a technical session with round about discussions and participation from all concerned members and international organizations. During the event, the delegates will get to experience the rich Indian history through heritage walk to Rajwada Palace and an excursion to Mandu Fort. Gala dinners and cultural performances will provide a taste of Indian cuisine and culture. (ANI)
Eliminating poverty, generating employment and improving the law and order system were the key issues in Uttar Pradesh prior to 2017 and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has not only addressed these but also worked for the development and the state, said Union commerce minister Piyush Goyal on Sunday, adding that on the CM's watch, the state was receiving a flurry of investments. Goyal made these remarks while addressing a session on the third and last day of the ongoing Uttar Pradesh Global Investors Summit. The Union minister guaranteed the people investing in the state as well as the people of the state that the government of UP and the one at the Centre will continue to serve them together. "It is under the guidance of CM Yogi Adityanath that the revenue of the excise department, which used to be Rs 14,000 crores till six years ago, has increased to reach Rs 42,000 crore. The CM has proved that when transparency and rule of law exist, investment flows into the state," he said. He said the Union government was striving for free trade and UP has an important role to play in it. UP has made giant strides not only in production but also in exports, the Union Commerce minister noted, adding that earlier, the state's exports used to be in the region of Rs 85,000 crore but, under the BJP government, it has surpassed to Rs 177,000 crore. The three-day UP Global Investors Summit 2023 kicked off in Lucknow on Friday. The flagship investment summit of the Uttar Pradesh government was aimed at bringing together policymakers, industry leaders, academia, think tanks, and leaders from across the world to collectively explore business opportunities and forge partnerships. (ANI)
Netflix original 'You' star Penn Badgley wanted the American rapper Cardi B in the new season of the show. Wonder why? The actor, who rose to fame for his portrayal of Joe Goldberg in the show, recently expressed his wish to a US-based media, reported Deadline. "Would I want her to be in You? Yeah, if it worked. I wanted her to be in Season Four. But it has to work. You know? How could she be anybody but Cardi B?" he told the publication. On the other hand, the rapper is a huge fan of the show and she recently changed her profile picture on Twitter to a still from the Netflix drama to celebrate the return of the show. Cardi B's song 'I Like It' was played in the background during season 4 of 'You'. Back in 2021, Cardi even suggested how she could be part of the series tweeting, "So it's episode 1 and I'm at Paris Fashion week shutting it down! I turn around and there stands YOU. Ok, finish it off Netflix." It was back in October 2021 that Cardi retweeted a video of the You star talking about the rapper to which she quoted and said, "OOOOMMFFFGGGGGG HE KNOWS ME !!! OMMMGGGG!!!!!!. Yoooo like I'm famous famous." The mutual admiration between the two stars has gone far. When a reporter recently asked Badgley if he liked the idea of Cardi being the one to ultimately end Joe's life and kill him, "I don't disagree," replied Penn. Netflix dropped the first five episodes of You Season 4 with the five remaining episodes expected to be made available for streaming on March 9. (ANI)
Newlyweds Sidharth Malhotra and Kiara Advani arrived at their wedding reception a while ago and the couple looks nothing but classy and chic. For the reception, Kiara and Sidharth both opted for a fusion of Indo-western elements for their looks. Kiara was seen wearing a beautiful floor-length monochrome evening gown with a small trail at the bottom while Sidharth opted for a blingy black suit. Kiara's jewellery, however, stole the show! Kiara wore a very heavy emerald and diamond studded neckpiece which looked exquisite and gave a beautiful touch to the chic gown. Kiara kept her hair tied back and opted for neutral-toned makeup. They both entered smiling, holding hands, and looking extremely adorable. Photos of Kiara and Sidharth have gone viral on social media. Check out the photos: Don't they look extremely adorable? Well, talking about their wedding, the two tied the knot in Jaisalmer on February 7 this year. For the ceremony, Kiara donned a Manish Malhotra-designed pink lehenga, which featured intricate embroidery detailing Roman architecture. It was inspired by the special love the newlyweds share for the city of domes. The new bride chose diamond jewellery by Manish Malhotra for her big day. The neckpiece features an exquisite composition of ultra-fine hand-cut diamonds crafted with rare Zambian emeralds. She was seen wearing a diamond ring, prompting speculations that it is her wedding ring. On the other hand, Sidharth opted for an ivory sherwani with an exquisite royal lustre. The sherwani features classic signatures, hints of ivory threadwork, gold zardozi and badla work, handcrafted with utmost finesse. He completed his look with Polki Jewellery studded with extremely fine uncut diamonds for the perfect regal look. Kiara and Sidharth have always been tight-lipped about their relationship. They neither accepted nor denied the dating rumours. Sidharth and Kiara apparently fell in love while shooting for 'Shershaah', which was released in 2021. The duo was often seen hanging out together which added extra fuel to their relationship rumours. In an episode of Koffee with Karan Season 7, Kiara revealed that she first met Sidharth at the wrap-up party of Lust Stories. She also confessed that she and Sidharth Malhotra are definitely more than "close friends." Ever since Sidharth and Kiara shared their look as groom and bride, fans have been in awe of how happy and gorgeous the couple looked. (ANI)
Shloka glowed in her subtle makeup and black saree while Akash gave quite dapper looks as they posed together for the paparazzi outside the venue. Holding hands, they smiled at the paps, looking extremely adorable together!

Many people are expected to make an appearance at the function tonight, Kareena Kapoor, Karan Johar, Vidya Balan, Alia Bhatt, Neetu Kapoor, Ayan Mukherji, Ajay Devgn, Kajol, Abhishek Bachchan, Anupam Kher, Ishaan Khattar, and Manish Malhotra have been spotted by the paparazzi''s camera lenses.

Here are some photos:

Meanwhile, talking about the bride and groom, for the reception, they opted for a fusion of Indo-western elements for their looks.

Kiara was seen wearing a beautiful floor-length monochrome evening gown with a small trail at the bottom while Sidharth opted for a blingy black suit. Kiara''s jewellery, however, stole the show!

Kiara wore a very heavy emerald and diamond studded neckpiece which looked exquisite and gave a beautiful touch to the chic gown.

Kiara kept her hair tied back and opted for neutral-toned makeup.

They both entered smiling, holding hands, and looking incredibly adorable. Photos of Kiara and Sidharth have gone viral on social media.

Sidharth and Kiara tied the knot in Jaisalmer on February 7 this year. (ANI)
Data on territories free of mines in Azerbaijan's Karabakh has been added to the geoinformation digital system, Head of Economy Ministrys State Service on Property Issues Matin Eynullayev said.

He made the remarks at the conference dedicated to the results of 2022.

He stressed that information on territories suitable for agricultural activities and real estate is also added to the system, as well as noted that data on houses and other residential/non-residential facilities on the liberated territories are also being integrated. Overall, the data of 32 state structures are integrated into this platform, he stressed.

"In addition, 3D descriptions of real estate objects are also presented in this system. Work on digitalization and data integration continues," Eynullayev added.

Furthermore, Eynullayev underlined that over 14,000 objects have been inventoried in Azerbaijan's Karabakh up to date.

"Inventory work continues on the liberated territories of Azerbaijan. In 2022, about 1,500 objects were inventoried in Lachin and 7 adjacent villages," he said.

The inventory database in Karabakh is being created based on materials collected through the Azercosmos satellite operator. Currently, a fairly large amount of cadastral information has already been collected and this process continues.

A Moscow-brokered ceasefire deal that Baku and Yerevan signed on November 10, 2020, brought an end to six weeks of fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani army declared a victory against the Armenian troops. The signed agreement obliged Armenia to withdraw its troops from the Azerbaijani lands that it has occupied since the early 1990s.
Delhi Police has arrested a 27-year-old man for allegedly snatching the bag of a person that had cash of around Rs 2 lakh in north Delhi's Lahori Gate area, an official said on Saturday. The accused has been identified as Sintu Kumar Yadav, a resident of Bihar. A police officer said that Yadav, along with his associates, used to come to Delhi, especially from Bihar, periodically by train in order to commit robbery and snatching, and later returned to their native places. According to Sagar Singh Kalsi, Deputy Commissioner of Police (North), a 55 year-old man, Mohammad Sharif, who works with a businessman dealing in tyres in Lahori Gate, reported that he was going to market to meet his employer after collecting cash Rs 1,97,200 from Naya Bazar on Friday. "At around 5 p.m., when he reached near Novelty Cinema, SPM Marg, Lahori Gate, he got stuck in traffic. An unknown person came from behind, snatched his bag containing cash, and tried to escape from the spot. The complainant raised an alarm and also tried to chase him," said the DCP. "The police team was patrolling in the area, when they heard the noise. Police also started chasing the accused and nabbed the accused along with a bag containing cash," said the DCP. "Yadav was previously found involved in two cases of theft registered in Lahori Gate and Bara Hindu Rao police stations," the police officer said. --IANS ssh/pgh ( 252 Words) 2023-02-11-22:38:03 (IANS)
Union Home Minister Amit Shah will hold two rallies and a roadshow in poll-bound Tripura on Sunday. Shah will begin his day by visiting Mata Tripura Sundari Temple at around 11 am in Udaipur town of Tripura. He will then address two rallies as part of the Vijay Sankalp Rally in the state. First, he will hold the rally in Chandipur in the Unakoti district at 12 pm and later in Bishramganj town in Sepahijala district at 2 pm. Later in the day at around 4 pm, the Home Minister will hold a road show in the Pratapgarh Assembly constituency. On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed two rallies in poll-bound Tripura, giving a boost to the BJP's campaign, as he attacked the Left-Congress alliance in the state saying they have ignored the interests of the poor. Addressing public meetings at Ambassa and Radhakishorepur, PM Modi said that the BJP is committed to honouring the pride of tribals and to their overall development. He said the BJP government had worked to empower women in the state and they now feel a sense of security. In the rally in Ambassa, PM Modi talked about the work done in Tripura during five years of BJP-led government. "I had promised "HIRA" (Highways, Internet ways, Railways and Airways) in Tripura and people could see the delivery of projects. The work of doubling the length of National Highways in Tripura is at a high pace," he said. Prime Minister said the 'tri-shakti' of housing, health and income is empowering the people of the state. He said PM Awas Yojana has changed the lives of the poor people and three lakh pucca houses for the poor have been constructed. He said the BJP government is focussing on increasing the income of people in Tripura. Money has been transferred into the bank accounts of farmers under PM-Kisan. "Under our rule, farmers are reaping the benefits of MSP (minimum support price)," he said. He alleged that CPI-M cadres had influence in police stations earlier but now there is the rule of law in the state. PM Modi said that BJP has worked for making Tripura free of fear and violence. The Prime Minister is scheduled to visit the state again on Monday. In the previous polls, the BJP-led alliance ousted the Left Front government creating a record. Elections will be held on 60 seats in Tripura on February 16. The counting of votes will be held on March 2. The Bharatiya Janata Party is contesting 55 seats while its partner Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) is contesting five. (ANI)
Opposition Congress in Meghalaya on Saturday promised minimum support price for ginger, turmeric, broomstick, black pepper and other agricultural products, as well as free health care services and 200 units of free power to each household belonging to the below the poverty line (BPL) if it comes to power. Releasing the manifesto for the February 27 Assembly elections, senior party leader Jairam Ramesh said that the cultural and independent identity of Meghalaya was under threat from the BJP. The Congress manifesto also committed to provide free education to every girl child in Meghalaya from KG to Class 12 and according to the Congress leader would go a long way in empowering girl-child to fulfil their dreams, ambitions and aspirations. The Congress has also promised to provide every household living below the poverty line with quality roofing materials. "Around Rs 500 crore would be provided as corpus funds for building infrastructure for religious gatherings," Ramesh said referring to the manifesto. The party proposed to set up a university which would provide market demand courses. The Congress also promised to establish a Special Urban Police Force which would be people-friendly and equipped with the latest technology to handle city-based crimes, provide a free LPG cylinder quarterly to each BPL household, and creation of one job for every household in Meghalaya through promotion of mass entrepreneurship. "Fourth Pillar of our democracy has been neglected. We would reverse that trend. Substantial pensionary and other benefits would be provided to all accredited journalists, who have attained pensionable-age." The manifesto also said that the party, if it comes to power, would restore the dignity of all teachers in Meghalaya and there would be no more delay in salaries. "Our teachers do not have to resort to any agitations or protests for their legitimate demands. We respect you and your profession and your justified demands would be fulfilled because we respect the dignity of your profession and acknowledge your selfless service," the Congress manifesto said referring to the suffering of the teachers in Meghalaya. The Congress also promised to set up an exclusive market for women where products with "Proudly Made in Meghalaya" tag would be marketed and sold. It also proposed to augment the power supply in the state by an additional 500 MW through the adoption of clean and green technologies. --IANS sc/vd ( 402 Words) 2023-02-11-23:10:02 (IANS)
According to CRPF, the Maoist, identified as Dudhi Budhra, Chaitanya Natya Mandali (CNM) President Tumalpad RPC, surrendered before the CRPF officials and Chhattisgarh Police.

Budhra who had a reward of Rs 1 lakh on his head, had joined the Maoists in 2018 and was involved in several Maoist activities in the Chintagupha and Chintalnar districts of Chhattisgarh.

The consistent efforts of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Chhattisgarh Police in Left Wing Extremism Division affected regions have led to a significant reduction in Maoist violence.

"The efforts of the Security Forces in persuading the Maoists to give up the ideology of violence and surrender has also paid dividends as a large number of Maoists have been laying down their arms and returning to the mainstream," it said.

Earlier on February 2, the CRPF in a joint operation with Chhattisgarh Police apprehended seven Naxals from the Sukma district of Chhattisgarh. (ANI)
In a joint operation with Meghalaya Police, the BSF acting on the tip-off confiscated three trucks from Muktapur- Amlarem road, West Jaintia Hills with cattle brutally crammed in them and being taken for smuggling to Bangladesh.

"Acting on a specific tip-off on February 10, 2023, vigilant troops of 04 Battalion of BSF Meghalaya and state police jointly confiscated 03 trucks from Muktapur- Amlarem road, West Jaintia Hills carrying 40 cattle brutally crammed in them and being taken for smuggling to Bangladesh," the BSF said in a statement.

The arrested smugglers and seized items were handed over to the Police outpost Muktapur for further legal action.

"The joint operation team also apprehended two smugglers from the spot who are residents of district Ri-Bhoi, Meghalaya. Arrested smugglers and seized items were handed over to the Police outpost Muktapur for further legal action," said the BSF.

Enhanced vigil by BSF on International Border has led to the seizure of 450 cattle from different border areas of Meghalaya since January 2023. (ANI)
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Saturday wrote to Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari over the poor condition of the road connection between Chennai to Ranipet National Highway. The Chief Minister claimed that the condition of the road is so bad that he had to plan his recent visits to a few districts by train. Highlighting that the road segment provides "vital connectivity" from Chennai and its ports to the industrial clusters in Kanchipuram, Vellore, Ranipet, Hosur and Krishnagiri, Stain said that the reply given by the Union Minister in the Parliament to a specific request made by DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran in this regard was "very general" and "non-committal". "I wish to bring to your kind notice the request made by Thiru. Dayanidhi Maran, MP, to yourself on the floor of the Parliament to improve the condition of the existing road stretch from Chennai to Ranipet (NH-4). This segment provides the vital connectivity from Chennai city and its ports to the industrial clusters in Kanchipuram, Vellore, Ranipet, Hosur and Krishnagiri. The condition of the road is so bad that I had to plan my recent visits to a few districts by train. While the request from our MP was very specific on this important road, we were disappointed with your reply which was very general and non-committal." He further pointed, "I also wish to bring to your notice the efforts taken by our Government to support NHAI projects in the State. The Chennai Port to Madurvoyal Elevated Expressway Project has been revived by extending every possible help, including granting exemption from royalty on aggregates." "Similar concessions, which were never given in the past, have been extended to other major NHAI projects. Based on the requests from your side, the validity of soil/gravel permits has been extended from 3 months to 1 year on 9-5-2022. A Special Cell has been constituted in the State Headquarters to monitor land acquisition for highway projects. Permissions from Forest Department are also being reviewed and to the best of my knowledge, no major NHAI project is held up for want of such permissions," he added. In addition, the progress in land acquisition and borrow earth permissions by the District Collectors is being regularly monitored at the level of the chief secretary. The other requests for providing borrow earth free of cost by waiving the material cost, royalty and seigniorage charges are also under consideration." Stalin further said that it was unfortunate that an impression was created that the state government was not cooperating with NHAI has been underlined in Nitin Gadkari's reply in Parliament. "With all such sincere efforts by the Government, it was unfortunate that an impression that the State Government was not cooperating with NHAI has been underlined in your reply in the Parliament. I assure you that it is not true and we have been trying our best to expedite all major infrastructure projects without discriminating between the projects undertaken by the State and Union Governments." The Chief Minister also noted that six-laning work was in progress in the Sriperumbudur to Walajapet section of NH-4, but the work has been held up due to contractual issues between the contractors and NHAI and hence the condition of the existing road is very bad. "I would be extremely grateful to you if you could instruct your officials to look into the very specific request raised by our MP. The road stretch pointed out is the Sriperumbudur to Walajapet section of NH-4 where the six-laning work is in progress. The works have been held up due to contractual issues between the contractors and NHAI and hence the condition of the existing road is very bad. It is not out of place to mention that the Hon'ble High Court of Madras in December 2020 reduced the toll fee at Sriperumbudur and Chennasamudram Toll plaza to 50 per cent due to such poor maintenance. The poor road conditions and the difficulties faced by road users have caused a major dent in the reputation of NHAI, which otherwise has been doing an excellent job in our State," he said. Assuring of all necessary cooperation for NHAI projects Stalin the Union Minister requested that suitable instructions need to be issued to the NHAI officials to expedite the six-laning works and maintain the road stretch in good condition. "In view of the above, I request that suitable Instructions may kindly be Issued to the NHAI officials to expedite the six-laning works and maintain the road stretch in good condition. I once again assure you that we will continue to extend all necessary cooperation for your projects," he added. (ANI)
Prime Minister will also address the gathering on the occasion.

Union Minister GK Reddy and MoS Culture Arjun Ram Meghwal and Meenakshi Lekhi will grace the occasion

According to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati, born on February 12, 1824, was a social reformer who founded Arya Samaj in 1875 to counter the prevalent social inequities.

Arya Samaj has played a key role in the cultural and social awakening of the country through its emphasis on social reforms and education.

The government has been committed to celebrating the social reformers and important personalities, especially those whose contributions were not given their due yet on a pan-India scale.

From declaring the birth anniversary of Bhagwan Birsa Muda as Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas to participating in a programme commemorating Sri Aurobindo's 150th birth anniversary, Prime Minister Modi has been leading such initiatives from the front.

.(ANI)
According to the President's Secretariat, "President will visit Uttar Pradesh from February 12 to 13, 2023."

On Sunday, the President will grace the Valedictory Session of UP Global Investors Summit-2023 in Lucknow.

Notably, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday inaugurated the Uttar Pradesh Global Investors Summit 2023 in Lucknow.

UP Global Investors Summit 2023 is the flagship investment summit of the Government of Uttar Pradesh. The mega event is aimed to bring together policymakers, industry leaders, academia, think tanks and leaders from across the world to collectively explore business opportunities and forge partnerships.

Investor UP 2.0 is a comprehensive, investor-centric and service-oriented investment ecosystem in Uttar Pradesh that endeavors to deliver relevant, well-defined, standardized services to investors, said an official statement.

In the evening, the President will attend a civic reception to be hosted in her honour by the Government of Uttar Pradesh at Lok Bhavan in Lucknow.

On February 13, President Murmu will grace the 10th convocation of Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University in Lucknow.

Before returning to Delhi, she will also visit Kashi Vishwanath Temple and attend Ganga Aarti at Varanasi. (ANI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Rajasthan's Dausa district to inaugurate the Delhi-Dausa-Lalsot section of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, on Sunday. PM Modi will also lay the foundation stone of development projects worth over Rs 18,100 crore. Rajasthan BJP State President PL Poonia and BJP Leader reached the event site and inspected the preparations on Saturday. Regarding this, the BJP has made full efforts for the preparation, and around two lakh people are expected to reach Dausa, said Bharatiya Janata Party State President Satish Poonia in a press conference on Saturday. The BJP leaders have invited people from every village and district to attend the Prime Minister's programme. BJP state president Satish Poonia and BJP leader Arun Singh held a press conference on Saturday at the inauguration site by the Prime Minister. BJP state president Poonia said that this is the biggest express highway in the world which has been built with special technology. He claimed that people from all over the world are coming to see it. "Even Japan has inspected the express highway to know about this technology. This express highway is very important for Rajasthan and the Prime Minister has given a big gift to the people of Rajasthan," he added. BJP leader Arun Singh said that the infrastructure will increase with the Delhi-Mumbai express highway, and the dimensions of employment will increase. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken this express highway on a priority basis. The country is continuously progressing under the leadership of the Prime Minister, BJP leader Arun Singh said. "Along with the express highway, 111 waterways are also being constructed. 50 new airports are being built. Huge investments are coming to the state which will improve employment opportunities and farmers and other sections will get employment," he added. Regarding the allegation made by Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot that a government program has been made a BJP program, BJP leader Arun Singh said that people from far and wide are coming to listen to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He is everyone's leader. He said that the budget is being continuously increased by the Prime Minister for the construction of the express highway and now 10 lakh crore rupees have been invested so that people get employment, and transportation facilities and people's time is saved. "The Prime Minister belongs to the whole country, so the Congress should also come forward and congratulate the Prime Minister," he added. BJP leader Arun Singh said that when there is world-class infrastructure, foreign countries will also invest. Employment opportunities will be available and the country will emerge as a big power on the world map. The member of Parliament from Alwar, Balaknath was also present on this occasion. The 246 km Delhi - Dausa - Lalsot section of the Delhi Mumbai Expressway has been developed at a cost of more than Rs 12,150 crore. This operationalization of this section will reduce the travel time from Delhi to Jaipur from 5 hours to around 3.5 hours and provide a major boost to the economic development of the entire region. Delhi Mumbai Expressway will be India's longest expressway with a length of 1,386 km. It will reduce the travel distance between Delhi and Mumbai by 12 per cent from 1,424 km to 1,242 Km and travel time will be reduced by 50 per cent from 24 hours to 12 hours. It will pass through six states, Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra and connect major cities like Kota, Indore, Jaipur, Bhopal, Vadodara and Surat. The Expressway will also serve 93 PM Gati Shakti Economic Nodes, 13 ports, 8 major airports and 8 multi-modal logistics parks (MMLPs) along with spurs to new upcoming greenfield airports such as Jewar Airport, Navi Mumbai Airport and JNPT port. The Expressway will have a catalytic impact on the developmental trajectory of all adjoining regions, thus contributing in a major way to the economic transformation of the country. During the programme, Prime Minister will also lay the foundation stone of 247 kilometres of National Highway projects to be developed at the cost of more than Rs 5940 crore. This includes a 67 km long four-lane spur road from Bandikui to Jaipur to be developed at the cost of more than Rs 2000 crore, a six-lane spur road from Kotputli to Baraodaneo, to be developed at the cost of about Rs 3775 crore and a two-lane paved shoulder of Lalsot - Karoli section, being developed at the cost of about Rs 150 crore. (ANI)
A hand grenade was found near a canal in Uttar Pradesh's Meerut, which has been disposed of, officials said on Sunday. According to the police, on Saturday, an onlooker informed that a bomb-like object is lying near the canal in the Lodhipur area within Parikshitgarh police station limits of Meerut. A local team of police along with the Bomb disposal squad from Ghaziabad immediately reached the spot and took up the preliminary enquiry after seizing the hand grenade. Rupali Rai, Circle Officer said, "A young man saw a bomb near Ganga Nahar. On the information of the youth, other people immediately reached there and found that a hand grenade is lying near the canal which is dry at present. The grenade was seen in the stones under the bridge built near the Lodhipur area. Seeing the bomb, there was a stir among the people. Immediately police were informed about the bomb." "A local team of the police and bomb disposal squad reached the spot and safely lifted the bomb which was fitted with a safety pin. There is a number on the hand grenade, but due to rust, that number is not clearly visible. The police took possession of the bomb and have kept it in the police station after disposing of it," Rupali Rai said. Lal Singh Bhati, an Official from Ghaziabad Bomb Disposal Squad said, "After receiving the information that a hand grenade has been found near the canal of Lodhipur area in Meerut, our team immediately rushed to the spot on Saturday evening along with Station House Officer, Parikshit Garh and defused the bomb there." "This bomb was made in a government factory. We identify it by the name of SE 36. We don't know from where and how it came here but now it is defused. If we talk about the power of this bomb, then the area within 9 yards can be destroyed with it. This bomb was in working condition. We have 8-9 men in the prevention squad, who have disposed of it," Lal Singh Bhati added. (ANI)
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov spoke about the results of his visit to Turkiye's quake-hit Kahramanmaras, humanitarian assistance provided by Azerbaijan, and the evacuation of Azerbaijani citizens during press confidence, Azernews reports.

During the visit, Bayramov visited the Turkish Center of the Emergency Situations Agency and the Regional Center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, got acquainted with the large-scale work carried out by AFAD to rescue and evacuate citizens trapped under the rubble, as well as to eliminate the consequences of the earthquake.

Bayramov also visited the field hospital provided by Azerbaijan aimed at helping with necessary medical assistance to the victims and met with Azerbaijani doctors working there. The minister expressed gratitude to the doctors for their efforts in this responsible work.

Bayramov noted the support measures implemented by Azerbaijan from the first day of the disaster on behalf of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, saying that the earthquake that occurred in Turkiye is "our pain".

Today, people in every region of Azerbaijan bring help from their homes to collection points for brotherly Turkiye, he said.

The minister noted that thousands of volunteers from Azerbaijan want to come to Turkiye.

The only reason why they are not here yet is that this is a very complex operation. Starting today, volunteers from Azerbaijan will come to Turkiye and join the ongoing work," Bayramov said.

The official emphasized that the main priority is to save people, to help the wounded, and the next stage will be the return to normal life in all these regions.

He noted that, in this regard, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has already said that Turkiye will cope with this within one year.

"President Ilham Aliyev has also stated that Azerbaijan has been near its Turkish brothers and sisters from the first minutes, from the first hours, and will be next to Turkiye during the restoration and construction work," the minister said.

In turn, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu stressed that planes with help from Azerbaijan are continuously delivering the tents and other needed supplies.

"We are very grateful for this help. When I expressed gratitude for this, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said that there was no need for this, since we are brothers, we are one nation, two states, and Azerbaijan perceives Turkiye's grief and pain as its own own grief and pain," he said.

Cavusoglu noted that in addition to rescue forces and medical assistance, additional tents are sent to Turkiye.

"We are also negotiating with other countries regarding the delivery of tents. We are working shoulder to shoulder. The Turkish people, just like the Azerbaijanis, experienced a sense of pride in Azerbaijan's victory in the 2020 second Karabakh war. We know that our Azerbaijani brothers are sharing todays grief with us," the minister added.
The arrested person named Manoj has been arrested by Medical College Police.

Unidentified people pelted stones at the house of the Union minister's residence in Ulloor in Thiruvananthapuram, breaking a glass window pane, police said on Thursday.

The window pane of the minister's house in Ulloor was found smashed. Muraleedharan was not present at the house when it was vandalised.

According to sources, the house help found the window pane smashed and informed relatives and party workers about the incident.

Kerala Police formed a special team to probe the alleged stone-pelting at union minister's residence in Thiruvananthapuram. (ANI)
Heroin weighing 2 kg and 180 grams was recovered by the Robertsganj Police Special Operations group and surveillance team in Uttar Pradesh's Sonbhadra. The cost of heroin is estimated at around Rs 2.25 crores. The police have arrested ten accused including a woman. On receiving inputs, Robertsganj police SOG and surveillance team raided Devpathia Hata of the Robertsganj Police Station area. 2.18 Kg of heroin drug was recovered from 10 accused including a woman present there. Police said that after bringing large quantities of heroin from Barabanki and Lucknow, these smugglers used to make small pouches in Sonbhadra and sell them at different places. The Police have also recovered a car, two bikes and nine mobile phones from them. A case has been registered at the Robertsganj police station and all the held accused are arrested and sent to jail under Section 8/21 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) Act. Superintendent of Police Dr Yashveer Singh told that in the case of heroin smuggling, five people from Awadhesh's (one of the accused) family working in Robertsganj are involved. Three sons of Awadhesh, Gopal alias Vimal Ram, his wife, Sonu alias Bunty, and Sunil Ram alias MLA are included. All of them are residents of Jait village of Robertsganj Kotwali. Apart from this, the police have arrested Raj Bharti, Babu Nandan, Sonu Harishchandra and Mahila Chandni. An accused in this case is still absconding. Police are trying to arrest the absconding accused. Superintendent of Police Dr Yashveer Singh said that Tehsil worker Awadhesh is being interrogated in this matter since when he was involved in this business. (ANI)
A drive to clear unauthorized encroachments on Government land, that houses protected ASI monuments among others, has been started by the Delhi Development Authority from February 10 in co-ordination with Delhi Police at Lado Sarai Village falling in Mehrauli Archaeological Park, said a statement on Saturday. "All stakeholders, including the GNCTD, have been on board in the run-up to this long pending, Court-mandated exercise," the statement added. The statement further added, "A demarcation exercise, to identify the extent of unauthorized and illegal encroachment or construction, for the purpose of removing them, had been carried out as per the direction of the High Court by the Revenue Department, representatives, in the presence of DDA and Waqf Board representatives in December 2021." The statement further read, "This park, adjacent to the iconic Qutub Minar is home to about 55 monuments under the protection of ASI, State Archaeological Department of GNCTD and DDA. Earlier a demolition order dated December 12, 2022, was pasted on the encroachments existing on the land along with marking with the directions to the encroachers to remove all the unauthorised construction from the land in question within 10 days, the statement stated. "The land involved in the said demolition order is Government/DDA Land of Ladha Sarai Village and is part of Mehrauli Archaeological Park, the statement further stated. According to the statement, the High Court of Delhi has, on many occasions, directed the government authorities to secure, protect and preserve the area falling under Mehrauli Archaeological Park by removing illegal encroachment. "The department is taking the action to remove the unauthorized/illegal encroachment from the government land and also to secure the Mehrauli Archaeological Park from encroachment," it added. "During the demolition program on February 10, 2023, approx. 1200 sq. mtr. Government/DDA Land has been reclaimed from the encroachers so far and the exercise is on to reclaim the encroached Government Land for its rightful use by all citizens as a Park" the statement concluded. (ANI)
Three thieves including a stepfather-son duo have been arrested by the Delhi Police for allegedly stealing Rs 14.5 lakh from a collection agent, the official said. The accused have been identified as Mohammad Naim (26), Deepak (22) and his stepfather Joginder (32). According to Sagar Singh Kalsi, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) the police spun into action after a robbery complaint was received on February 10 from Shiv Kumar Sethi, a resident of Veena Enclave, Railway Road, Nangloi. "A robbery complaint was registered at the Lahori Gate police station on Friday stating that Rs. 14.5 lakhs has been looted from the victim Shiv Kumar Sethi near the Lahori Gate Chowk. The victim is a collection agent in an ice cream factory situated in Nangloi," DCP said. "A team from the local police station immediately reached the spot and the preliminary enquiry was taken up by them. Acting upon the bases of 150 CCTV camera footages, one accused named Mohammad Naim was nabbed by the team from his house in the LNJP Colony of Maharaja Ranjeet Singh Road," DCP further added. The DCP further added that during the enquiry, the accused Mohammad Naim confessed to his involvement in the present robbery case and the association with two others. "During the further course of the probe at the instance of the arrested accused, his other associates identified as Deepak 22 years and his stepfather Joginder 32 years were arrested from their house. Later on, at their instance Rs 4.5 lakhs were also recovered from their possession," DCP said. The DCP said all three accused including a duo of stepfather and son within 24 hours of robbery and Rs 4.55 lakhs of stolen cash and one mobile phone purchased from stolen money were recovered from their possession. Police further informed that over the course of the probe, the team learned that two more accused persons namely Sunny and Vikky were involved in this robbery case. Soon a raid was conducted at the possible hideouts of the co-accused but both were found absconding. Further investigation is underway and soon both the absconding accused will be nabbed by the team, the DCP said. (ANI)
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar will be visiting Gurugram and Nuh today to inspect the control centre of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway with Union Minister Nitin Gadkari in Sohna, Gurugram. He will virtually participate in the inauguration ceremony of several projects of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway and National Highway in Nuh. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will start these projects from Dausa in Rajasthan. PM Modi will also lay the foundation stone and dedicate it to national road development projects worth over Rs 18,100 crore. "Prime Minister's emphasis on the building of excellent road infrastructure as an engine of growth, development and connectivity in New India, is being realised by the construction of a number of ongoing world-class Expressways across the country. One such important project is Delhi Mumbai Expressway, whose first completed section, Delhi - Dausa - Lalsot, will be dedicated to the nation by the Prime Minister," the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said in a statement. The 246 km Delhi - Dausa - Lalsot section of the Delhi Mumbai Expressway has been developed at a cost of more than Rs 12,150 crore. This operationalization of this section will reduce the travel time from Delhi to Jaipur from 5 hours to around 3.5 hours and provide a major boost to the economic development of the entire region. Delhi Mumbai Expressway will be India's longest expressway with a length of 1,386 km. It will reduce the travel distance between Delhi and Mumbai by 12 per cent from 1,424 km to 1,242 Km and travel time will be reduced by 50 per cent from 24 hours to 12 hours. It will pass through six states Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra and connect major cities like Kota, Indore, Jaipur, Bhopal, Vadodara and Surat.The Expressway will also serve 93 PM Gati Shakti Economic Nodes, 13 ports, 8 major airports and 8 multi-modal logistics parks (MMLPs) along with spurs to new upcoming greenfield airports such as Jewar Airport, Navi Mumbai Airport and JNPT port. The Expressway will have a catalytic impact on the developmental trajectory of all adjoining regions, thus contributing in a major way to the economic transformation of the country. During the programme, Prime Minister will also lay the foundation stone of 247 kilometres of National Highway projects to be developed at the cost of more than Rs 5940 crore. This includes a 67 km long four-lane spur road from Bandikui to Jaipur to be developed at a cost of more than Rs 2000 crore, a six-lane spur road from Kotputli to Baraodaneo, to be developed at a cost of about Rs 3775 crore and a two-lane paved shoulder of Lalsot - Karoli section, being developed at a cost of about Rs 150 crore. (ANI)
DSP Girdih Sanjay Rana told the media that the accused person named Manish Baranwal has been arrested.

"On January 1, 2022, a person namely Manish Baranwal filed a case of his wife running away or being abducted. He told that his wife was missing since December 14, 2021," he said.

Upon interrogation, the accused confessed that he killed his wife and buried the body in his friend's house.

"The remains of the body were recovered from the spot. We will get the body examined by performing a DNA test. Manish has been arrested and efforts are on to arrest other accused," he further said. (ANI)
The election for mayor, deputy mayor, and six members of the standing committee of Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) can finally take place, as the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi VK Saxena has approved the proposal of convening the adjourned meeting on February 16. LG Saxena informed in a statement that the meeting will be convened on February 16, at 11 am on the 4th floor, A Block, Dr SP Mukherjee Civic Centre. "As recommended by Chief Minister, GNCTD, I approve the proposal to convene the adjourned first meeting of Municipal Corporation of Delhi on Thursday, the 16th February 2023 at 11:00 AM at 4th Floor, A-Block, Dr. S.P. Mukherjee Civic Centre for the election of Mayor, Dy. Mayor and six members to the Standing Committee," the statement read. Earlier on February 9, the MCD got the nod from the Delhi government on the proposed date, and only the final nod from the LG was pending. The Delhi government and Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) were compelled to come to a consensus for a new date to conduct the elections of new Mayor, Deputy Mayor, and Standing committee members after the House was stalled thrice -- January 6, January 24, and February 6 -- due to ruckus. On February 6, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi House's Proceedings were adjourned until further notice without conducting the mayoral election. This was the third time in a row that the house had been adjourned after a ruckus erupted over nominated members being allowed to vote in the election to the post of mayor, deputy mayor, and standing committee members. (ANI)
According to The Verge, an American technology news website, the feature, called "shorten," is part of the company's broader plans to integrate AI tools into its browser, similar to what Microsoft's doing with Edge.

Users can enable the functionality by clicking the "shorten" button to the right of the address bar, as seen in a demo included in Opera's blog article.

From there, a ChatGPT sidebar will appear on the left, generating a clean, bulleted summary of the article or webpage you're viewing. Opera's announcement comes just days after Microsoft revealed the AI-powered Bing and Edge.

While the company's search engine will have an AI chatbot that delivers annotated replies to searches, Edge will include an AI "copilot" that can summarise webpages or articles, as well as generate content for social media posts and other purposes, reported The Verge.

Google also demonstrated its AI search bot Bard earlier this week, though it is not currently available for anyone to test.

The "shorten" feature isn't available to everyone just yet, though. Jan Standel, the vice president of marketing and communications at Opera, told The Verge that it's going to "launch in browsers very soon." (ANI)
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said that peace in Jammu and Kashmir could only be retained with unity. "What has Jammu and Kashmir got when all it wants is employment, better business opportunities and love? Bharatiya Janata Party's bulldozer! The land which the Kashmiris irrigated with their hard work and love is being snatched from them. Kashmiriyat and peace [in the UT] can only be protected if people here are united and not divided," Rahul Gandhi said in his tweet in Hindi. The Wayanad MP's remarks came amid the ongoing demolition drive in the Union Territory which is being widely opposed by the Opposition there. The administration of the Union Territory launched an eviction drive against illegal encroachment by 'big land owners' and 'influential' people and nearly 23,000 hectares have been retrieved during the ongoing anti-encroachment drive in the Jammu division. On Wednesday, during a protest against the anti-encroachment drive in the UT, People's Democratic Party (PDP) Chief Mehbooba Mufti in the national capital alleged that there is "Gunda Raj" there, after which she was detained by the police here. "There is 'gunda raj' in J-K. It is being destroyed like Afghanistan," Mufti alleged. Meanwhile, a purported video also surfaced that showed the PDP chief along with the party workers being detained and taken to a police vehicle. In an earlier tweet, the Party alleged that "The government is at war with the people." "This heartless "Homelessness drive" initiated by the LG administration is focused to deposssess the people of J&K," a PDP tweet said earlier in the month. "In the garb of 'reclaiming state land' from 'encroachers'. No notices are served and neither do they accept proof of ownership. Simply inhuman & unjust," Mufti tweeted earlier in the month. Simultaneously, Jammu and Kashmir People's Conference chief Sajad Lone on February 6 hit out at the administration over the ongoing anti-encroachment drive during his media briefing and said that the drive would only result in more people being rendered homeless. "We have no objection to the anti-encroachment drive if it is against big landowners. The big landowners 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 in his press briefing. J-K Democratic Azad Party chief Ghulam Nabi Azad on Wednesday (February 8) hit out at the UT administration over the ongoing anti-encroachment drive saying that at a time when the anger against the Centre's abrogation of Article 370 and 35A was starting to abate, the admin has itself caused more harm to it with this drive. Azad claimed his party was the first to protest against the anti-encroachment drive before other Opposition voices in the UT joined in. "At a time when the anger against the Centre (over the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A) has cooled off slightly and militancy, as well as strikes and stone-pelting has been largely contained, the government, instead of drawing the benefits of these positive outcomes, has brought harm to itself by launching the anti-encroachment drive," Azad told ANI on Wednesday. He also said it was in the government's interest to withdraw eviction notices to maintain law and order in the UT. "Stone-pelting and agitations have started again. In the interest of public order, it is critically important for the administration to end the anti-encroachment drive and create a conducive ambience for the (Assembly) election," Azad said. He informed that his party has already mobilised protests in more than 50 places -- district headquarters, subdivision headquarters and Tehsil headquarters in the UT while other parties had yet to come out in protest against the move. Earlier this month, the Democratic Azad Party chief had called on Union Home Minister Amit Shah to apprise him of 'eviction issues' in Jammu and Kashmir. However, Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and National Conference Vice President Omar Abdullah on February 6 addressed a press conference and demanded the list of properties to be demolished be put out in the public domain so that people can present their claims. He further said that there is a way in which evictions should be carried out, the bulldozers were used without the information of the people living in the place. "We don't support the illegal occupancy of government land. But there is a way in which evictions should be carried out. We demand that lists of properties to be demolished be put out in the public domain so that people can present their claims," Omar Abdullah added. (ANI)
The protest by locals against the Demolition Drive by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) is underway for the third consecutive day in the Mehrauli for the third consecutive day on Sunday. The agitated protestors could be heard sloganeering against the government and the DDA with slogans of "DDA haaye haaye", "Taanashahi nahi chalegi, nahi chalegi". It has also been claimed from the site that the raging protestors threw red chilli powder on the security personnel deployed at the protest site. Meanwhile, the Delhi Police said that suitable legal action will be taken against some women who allegedly threw red chilli powder on the police personnel. They also clarified that police did not conduct lathi charge on any individual there and no one was injured. "There was no lathi charge from the police. No one has been injured. They (locals) were obstructing the DDA personnel and police and some women also threw red chilli powder on police personnel. A suitable legal action is being taken against them," the Delhi Police said. An official statement from the DDA on Saturday said that the drive is intended to clear the unauthorised encroachments on the government's land that houses protected monuments of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) among others was started by the DDA on Friday in co-ordination with Delhi Police at Lado Sarai Village falling in Mehrauli Archaeological Park. The statement further read that a demarcation exercise, to identify the extent of unauthorized and illegal encroachment or construction, for the purpose of removing them, had been carried out as per the direction of the High Court by the Revenue Department, representatives, in the presence of DDA and Waqf Board representatives in December 2021. "This park, adjacent to the iconic Qutub Minar is home to about 55 monuments under the protection of ASI, State Archaeological Department of GNCTD and DDA," it added mentioning that the Delhi High Court has, on many occasions, directed the government authorities to secure, protect and preserve the area falling under Mehrauli Archaeological Park by removing illegal encroachment. On February 11, the Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government asked the DDA to stop demolition in south Delhi's Mehrauli and the officials said that the residents cannot be displaced until fresh demarcation is conducted. "Many residents of Village Ladha Sarai have represented against DDA's demolition drive on the basis of faulty demarcation. I have advised Divisional Commissioner & DM south to carry out fresh demarcation in the presence of affected persons," Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot tweeted. Meanwhile, on Friday, the Delhi High Court pulled up the DDA over demolition in Mehrauli despite a stay order till the next date of hearing, i.e., February 16. This matter pertains to DDA's demolition drive in different colonies falling under ward number 8 of Mehrauli. Advocate Ankit Jain appearing on behalf of one petitioner Ruchi and 16 others moved a plea against the Delhi government, DDA and the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) stating that the properties of the petitioners are in the urbanised village Mehrauli, which falls within 'Lal Dora' land and has been duly registered with the Sub Divisional Magistrate's Office, Mehrauli since the year 2001. The sum and substance of the said demolition order are that some Khasra numbers, falling in the village 'Ladha Sarai', have been encroached upon by unauthorised occupants, the petition stated. It is also said that the said notice to the properties falling in the village Ladha Sarai and the Mehrauli Archeological Park. The notice granted the said occupants to evict the area within 10 days. It was argued that the properties of the petitioners are falling in neither of the above. The petitioners' properties are self-owned and have been in existence for more than 25 years. (ANI)
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov met with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry, Azertnews reports.



During the meeting, the sides noted with pleasure the visit of the President of the Arab Republic of Egypt to Azerbaijan in January this year and mentioned that such high-level exchanges of visits are important for the development of relations.

The sides noted that great importance is attached to the development of historically friendly relations between Azerbaijan and Egypt and the expansion of cooperation in various fields.

The existing opportunities for cooperation between the two countries as part of the UN, the Non-Aligned Movement, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and other international organizations were considered, and the importance of mutual support was discussed. In this regard, Jeyhun Bayramov stated the importance of the summit of the Non-Aligned Movement Contact Group on fighting COVID-19 in Baku in March.

During the meeting, Bayramov informed his counterpart about Azerbaijan's initiatives towards establishing peace, security, and cooperation in the post-conflict period in the region. He noted that despite these efforts, Armenia continues to arrange provocations and undermine the process.

The parties also discussed the possibilities of cooperation in various spheres, including trade, the economy, cultural and humanitarian fields, and other issues of mutual interest.
Rajasthan Deputy Leader of the Opposition Rajendra Rathore has said that Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot must attend Prime Minister Narendra Modi's program in Dausa. He said that there is federalism in the country and this is the foundation stone of our Constitution. According to Rathore, the post of Prime Minister and Chief Minister is the highest in the centre and state respectively and they have their own rights. In such a situation, the Chief Minister should not see every decision through a political prism. On the other hand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Dausa is considered very important as assembly elections are to be held in Rajasthan later this year. In such a situation, BJP leaders believe that the Prime Minister's visit to Rajasthan will give new strength to Rajasthan and the BJP. Meanwhile, Rajasthan BJP State President Dr Satish Poonia has denied the allegations of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Congress in the midst of ongoing politics regarding the East Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP) just before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Dausa program. Poonia said that the Chief Minister and the Congress is only doing politics on ERCP whereas our Union Minister has said many times that according to the criteria of the national project, if the State Government sends a proposal to the Centre, then the Central Government will promptly work on it. Talking to reporters in Jaipur, the Rajasthan BJP state president Satish Poonia said that the Gehlot government of the state is only doing politics on this issue, while instead of making it a political issue, it should be made an issue of public convenience. Poonia said that the Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project was started during the period of former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje. The BJP and the Central Government are committed to ensuring that the people of Rajasthan get water for irrigation and drinking water facilities. But it is Congress that is only doing politics on this. (ANI)
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday gave instructions to establish a children's hospital at the Sanjay Gandhi Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGI). Yogi Adityanath today met Saloni Heart Foundation's founder and president Mrinalani Sethi and her husband, Himanshu Sethi on Sunday. During the meeting, he discussed the newborns with congenital heart disease and said that they'll no longer die in UP due to lack of treatment. "Newborn babies suffering from congenital Heart disease will no longer die in the state of Uttar Pradesh due to lack of treatment. The Foundation will work with SGPGI to build a Children's Hospital," said CM Yogi Adityanath. While giving instructions to establish a Children's Hospital at Sanjay Gandhi Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, the Chief Minister said, "A large percentage of children are born with heart disease in the state. Many of these babies require surgery within their first year of life and many children die due to lack of treatment. Keeping this in mind, a Center of Excellence in Pediatric Cardiology Unit should be established at SGPGI as soon as possible." Following a meeting with the Chief Minister during the state's ongoing investment conclave, entrepreneurs from the country and abroad are investing in development-oriented schemes. CM Yogi also welcomed such entrepreneurs who want to improve the state's healthcare system. Mrinalani Sethi, founder and president of America's Saloni Heart Foundation, and her husband, Himanshu Sethi, met the Chief Minister on Sunday. During the meeting, the founder of the Saloni Heart Foundation urged the Chief Minister to set up a children's hospital at SGPGI for infants suffering from congenital heart disease and expressed her willingness to invest Rs 500 crore in this endeavor. The Chief Minister welcomed the proposal of the Saloni Heart Foundation and assured cooperation from the government. Under the proposal, the Saloni Heart Foundation will begin the unit with 30 beds in the initial phase. After its successful implementation, the unit will be expanded to 100 beds in the second phase and 200 beds in the third phase. Once operational, the hospital will enable surgery for 5,000 children suffering from this disease and treatment of 10,000 more patients. The Saloni Heart Foundation will build another unit in collaboration with BHU once this one is fully operational. (ANI)
Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, BJP National General Secretary Arun Singh and BJP State President Satish Poonia reached Gulab Chand Kataria's residence and congratulated him on being appointed as the Governor of Assam on Sunday and also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Talking about Gulab Chand Kataria on being elected as Assam Governor Rajasthan BJP state in-charge and national general secretary Arun Singh said, "Kataria's nomination as Assam governor is an honour for Rajasthan. Gulab Chand Kataria, who worked in the politics of Rajasthan for 50 decades, has worked to advance the BJP organization." Responding to the question of who will be the next Leader of the Opposition in Rajasthan, he said that "The decision will be taken by the BJP Parliamentary Board and everyone will abide by the decision taken." Meanwhile, former Chief Minister and National Vice President of BJP Vasundhara Raje also visited Rasjasthan's LoP Gulab Chand Kataria's residence and said that there is no leader like Kataria in Rajasthan. "Gulabchand Kataria is a very experienced leader and there is no leader like that in Rajasthan at present. Looking at all the things Kataria did for the government and party is remarkable. We will miss him a lot," former Rajasthan CM Raje said. On the other hand, BJP State President Dr Satish Poonia also arrived at Gulab Chand Kataria's residence to congratulate him. Poonia said that "Gulabchand Kataria is an ascetic politician. He is the one who strengthened the BJP organization and the party on the ground of Mewar." It is an honour for all the workers of Rajasthan that he has been appointed as Governor of Assam. Kataria's appointment will enhance the dignity of the post of Governor, state president Poonia said. Earlier on Sunday, the Leader of the Opposition in Rajasthan and senior leader of Bharatiya Janata Party Gulab Chand Kataria has been given the responsibility of the Governor of Assam state and he said, "I will fulfil the responsibility honestly." Talking to ANI, Gulab Chand Kataria said, "My party have always shown its trust in me." Whenever the party has given me whatever, responsibility, I have tried to fulfil it to the best of my ability." The Rashtrapati Bhavan on Sunday announced the names for appointment on the post of 12 Governors for states and one Lieutenant Governor in the Union Territory of Ladakh. Let Gen Kaiwalya Trivikram Parnaik, PVSM, UYSM, YSM (Retired) has been appointed as the Governor of Arunachal Pradesh, Lakshman Prasad Acharya as Governor of Sikkim, CP Radhakrishnan as Governor of Jharkhand, Shiv Pratap Shukla as Governor of Himachal Pradesh, Gulab Chand Kataria as Governor of Assam, the statement read. "The above appointments will take effect from the dates they assume charge of their respective offices," the statement added. (ANI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday took a jibe at Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot for 'accidentally' reading out excerpts from the Budget of previous financial year in the State Assembly on Friday and said that the Congress party has "no" vision. Citing that anyone can commit a mistake, PM Said, "It's not hidden from anyone how the present Congress in government in Rajasthan is governing the state." "What happened during the Budget session in the State Assembly is being discussed everywhere today. I agree that anyone can make a mistake but Congress has no vision," PM Modi said while addressing a public meeting in Rajasthan's Dausa. "Question is not that old Budget was read but it was kept in a box, unacted and read again," He said. Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday erroneously started reading out excerpts from the Budget of the previous fiscal year. He was stopped by the chief whip after seven minutes. Amid criticism from the Opposition, Gehlot later apologized, saying, "I feel sorry, what happened was by mistake. You (the opposition) can point out only if there's a difference between what's written in the budget in my hand and its copies were given to the House members. If a page was added to my budget copy by mistake, how does the matter of leaking of budget arise?" This was the last budget of the Gehlot government as Rajasthan is going for an Assembly election later this year. And the faux pas by CM Gehlot led to adjournment of the assembly in the middle of the Budget session on Friday. PM Modi earlier today inaugurated 246-km section of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway in Rajasthan's Dausa. "The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway presents the developed face of India," Modi said. Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot also addressed the gathering via video-conferencing during the inauguration of the expressway. "PM visiting a state again in such a short time holds importance. I hope you keep visiting. You are in Dausa which is among 13 Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP) districts that have become an issue. You had mentioned in your earlier rallies that you would positively consider declaring it as a National Project. So hope you will take a decision on priority and keep your views on it," Gehlot said. Earlier, former Rajasthan CM Sachin Pilot to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to grant national status to the Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project during his visit to the state. (ANI)
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath while welcoming President Droupadi Murmu at the closing ceremony of the Uttar Pradesh Global Investors Summit 2023, expressed gratitude to all the participants of the summit and said that the state will be a safe destination for investment. Speaking during the valedictory session of UPGIS on Sunday, Yogi said that the investment that has come and will come in Uttar Pradesh will not only foster development but also will benefit the investors. Highlighting information about the achievements of the three-day Global Investors Summit, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that investment proposals worth Rs 33.50 lakh crore were received in this global investment summit. "With this investment, 93 lakh jobs and employment will be created. Earlier, investment meant investment only in NCR. While today, investment has been received for all 75 districts of the state in the summit. Investment proposals worth Rs 9.54 lakh crore and Rs 4.28 lakh crore have been received in Bundelkhand," he said. He assured that the Group of Ministers and the administrative officers will work together with team spirit to implement all the investment proposals in a systematic manner. The Chief Minister said that Uttar Pradesh worked on the basic mantra of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to 'reform, perform and transform'. "Transparent single window systems like Nivesh Sarathi, Nivesh Mitra, Mukhyamantri Udyami Mitra and Incentive Monitoring System were created to assist the entrepreneurs from signing MoUs to getting the investment on the ground. With all this, every investor was attracted to invest by being influenced by the law and order of the state," he said. CM Yogi said that there are limitless possibilities in Uttar Pradesh, and the compassion of the Prime Minister is helping in further industrial investment. He said that the state government is committed to making Uttar Pradesh a developed state of new India and the largest economy in the country. Yogi emphasised that UP will be celebrated as a trillion-dollar economy with the aim of making it the biggest economy in the country. "It is a matter of good fortune that on February 10, the Uttar Pradesh Global Investment Mahakumbh was given a new height by PM Modi. In the last nine years, India's respect has increased in the whole world under the leadership of PM Modi. Uttar Pradesh has also got the benefit from this increased honour in the grand event of the Global Investor Summit. The global community has been attracted towards Uttar Pradesh as the best investment destination," he said. (ANI)
During his visit, ADGP Jammu Zone accompanied by the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Rajouri-Poonch range Mohd. Haseeb Mughal, IPS and SSP Rajouri Mohd. Aslam, JKPS visited Kalakote, Budhal, Rajouri and Surankot.

ADGP Jammu Zone also chaired joint security review meetings which were attended by senior officers of the Army and CRPF besides district police, a statement from the police read.

ADGP Jammu Zone stressed strengthening both Border and Hinterland security grid and focusing on counter-terrorist operations and targeting the OGW network of terrorists. He stressed on all the officers put in their best to target terrorists present in the Rajouri district.

He also laid thrust on effective and actionable intelligence collection.

He was briefed regarding measures taken by District Police Rajouri and was also briefed regarding a few terror cases which had been solved in a record time.

DIG R-P Range, SSP Rajouri and SSP Poonch assured that efforts shall continue with full dedication so that the overall security situation improves and the general public feels secure and safe. (ANI)
President Droupadi Murmu on Sunday said that the country would be prosperous if Uttar Pradesh is prosperous as it contributes significantly to the country's economy. "Uttar Pradesh has resolved to contribute one trillion dollars in the goal of making the country's economy five trillion dollars, which meant that the fifth part of the country's total economy will be completed from Uttar Pradesh. The state is not only the largest state of the country in terms of population but also a state that contributes significantly to the country's economy if Uttar Pradesh is prosperous, India too will be prosperous," the President said at the closing ceremony of the Uttar Pradesh Global Investors Summit 2023 held in Lucknow. Lauding the UP government, Murmu said that by implementing far-sighted policies, Uttar Pradesh today is capable of becoming the growth engine of New India as per the vision of the Prime Minister. "The summit which was organised with the goal of inclusive development, would yield meaningful results and help UP emerge as the best investment region while giving it global recognition. Uttar Pradesh is at the top in implementing the central government's schemes. The state is the land of Annadata (farmers) and leads in the production of food grains, sugarcane, potatoes and milk in the country," she further said. Murmu also said there are immense possibilities for agriculture-based entrepreneurship development in Uttar Pradesh. "It is a matter of pleasure that the Government of Uttar Pradesh is encouraging the food processing industry through the Food Processing Policy," she said. The President said that political stability and continuity prove helpful for industrial development. "The way the state government has made efforts to simplify the procedures for investment in Uttar Pradesh is commendable. There are 95 lakh MSMEs in Uttar Pradesh, which is the highest in the country. MSME is the sector providing maximum employment opportunities after agriculture. MSME has a major role in economic development," she said. The President further remarked that UP has made great progress in the development of infrastructure in the recent past, adding that increasing investments in road transport, highways and expressways will help a lot in economic development. "I am happy to know that 65 per cent of mobile devices in the country are made in Uttar Pradesh alone. Not only this but Uttar Pradesh's One District One Product Scheme (ODOP) promoting traditional enterprise is also very successful. Promotion of traditional industries not only leads to economic upliftment at the local level, but investors also get a lot of opportunities," she pointed out. Praised the Yogi government for trying to strike a balance between development and the environment, Murmu said that when an environment for investment is created, self-employment also gets boosted, referring to the government's efforts to promote startups. Earlier, Murmu was felicitated with an idol of Lord Ganesha by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath during the Valedictory Session of the summit. (ANI)
Officials said that Parag Khare, ACP (traffic) Zone-3, has been suspended with immediate effect after a video and voice recordings of him went viral on social media.

In the purported video and audio recordings, ACP Khare could be heard threatening the businessman for money and behaving with him indecently.

"Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan took serious note of Khare's misconduct and violation of his official duties, and on the basis of which he has been suspended," the Home Department's official statement said on Sunday.

The Chief Minister had expressed strong displeasure over the said episode. (ANI)
Soon after his resignation as the governor of Maharashtra, Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Sunday said that he is going back to Uttarakhand for eating Kafals. Noting the similarities between both states, Koshyari said that Maharashtra and Uttarakhand share the same kind of culture. "When I came here and studied Marathi, I came to know that there are hundred pahadi words in Marathi. I went to the rural areas of Maharashtra, I found people very calm like Uttarakhand. Our culture is the same, if 'Deshpande' is here then we have 'Pandey' and if Raut is here then we have Rawat," Bhagat Singh Koshyari said on the final day of the Uttarakhand Premier League. "I am going back to Uttarakhand to eat Kafals," he added. The Rashtrapati Bhavan on Sunday announced the names for appointment on the post of 12 Governors for states and one Lieutenant Governor in the Union Territory of Ladakh. Koshyari, who served the state for over three years, has been replaced by Ramesh Bais as the new governor of Maharashtra. Koshyari was appointed the Governor of Maharashtra in September 2019. Earlier, last month, Koshyari had conveyed his desire to be discharged of his duties to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In a series of tweets, Governor Koshyari had expressed his desire to quit as the constitutional head of the state. "During the recent visit of the Prime Minister to Mumbai, I have conveyed to him my desire to be discharged of all political responsibilities and to spend the remainder of my life in reading, writing and other activities. I have always received love and affection from the Prime Minister and I hope to receive the same in this regard," tweeted Raj Bhavan. "It was an absolute honour and privilege for me to serve as the Rajya Sevak or Rajyapal of a great State like Maharashtra - the land of Saints, Social reformers and valiant fighters. I can never forget the love and affection I have received from the people of Maharashtra during the last little more than three years," Raj Bhavan said. In November last year, he courted controversy after calling Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj an "old icon" while addressing a function at Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University in Aurangabad. An outrage sparked following his remarks on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, a revered figure in Maharashtra. (ANI)
The appointment of retired Supreme Court judge Justice Abdul Nazeer as Arunachal Pradesh Governor is based on merit and does not reduce people's faith in the judiciary, former Allahabad High Court judge Justice Sakharam Singh Yadav said on Sunday. However, Justice Yadav said that he is open to any such legislation prohibiting retired judges from being appointed to a government position until after some years of retirement. President Droupadi Murmu on Sunday notified the appointment of the Retired Supreme Court judge, Justice S Abdul Nazeer as the third Governor of Andhra Pradesh. The move triggered political reactions from the Opposition with Congress' Rashid Alvi alleging that the appointment has "reduced" people's faith in the judiciary. "Giving government posts to judges is unfortunate. According to a report, governments send nearly 50 per cent of the retired Supreme Court judges to some position which reduces the people's faith in the judiciary. The government recently gave Rajya Sabha seat to Justice Gogoi. Several people have raised questions over the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case. People are saying this happened due to pressure from the government," Alvi said earlier while speaking to ANI. Justice Yadav, when asked about the remark, said that the decision to appoint Justice Nazeer as the Governor has been made on the basis of merit, not because of his judgements in key cases including the Ayodhya verdict. Speaking to ANI, the former Allahabad High Court judge said, "It is not about reducing faith in the judiciary. As far as suitability is concerned, Justice Nazeer has been the Supreme Court judge who has delivered big judgements. He has always made judgements according to the law. A Governor has to make decisions relating to Constitutional matters. His appointment as a Governor is right. There is no need to have doubts about the matter. Neither has the faith reduced in the judiciary. People think that he has been rewarded for his judgements. This is wrong. The President or the government has made the decision based on merit and not because he delivered the Ayodhya verdict or any other important verdicts." Asked if there should be any legislation against the appointment of retired judges to government positions, he said that there should be such laws. "There are no such laws against the appointment of retired judges at any position. If any such laws are made, there is no problem. If a law is made that the High Court or Supreme Court judges will not be given any political appointments within five years of their retirement, we do not have any problem. There should be such laws," he said. (ANI)
The Abu Dhabi Exports Office (ADEX), the export-financing arm of Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD), has signed two green finance deals with the government of Angola, valued at AED445 million ($121.3 million). The financing is provided in cooperation with Standard Chartered Bank.

One agreement, valued at AED330 million, pertains to the acquisition of an analytical platform, main data centre, backup data center and national cloud platform in order to strengthen the Angolan IT sector. The project will be carried out by Presight, a G42 company, which specialises in big data analysis powered by artificial intelligence and cloud computing.

The other agreement, valued at AED115 million, will allow Mark Cables, a UAE company specialised in manufacturing cables, lighting, water, and electrification projects, to install and maintain streetlights in the cities of Luanda, Malanje, Ndalatando and Uige.

The two agreements were signed by Mohamed Saif Al Suwaidi, Director General of Abu Dhabi Fund for Development and Chairman of the Exports Executive Committee of the Abu Dhabi Exports Office; Vera Esperanca dos Santos Daves De Sousa, Minister of Finance in Angola; Thomas Pramotedham, CEO of Presight; and Faruq Muhammad, Global Head of Structured Export Finance of Standard Chartered Bank. The ceremony was attended by Khalifa Al Qubaisi, Deputy Director General of ADFD; Alexis Bayigamba, Chairman of Mark Cables; Khalil Al Mansouri, Acting Director General of ADEX; and several other officials.

Important starting point

Al Suwaidi said: The two agreements constitute an important starting point for a new phase of developmental cooperation with the government of Angola. They contribute to building efficient partnerships to support the development of modern, environment-friendly infrastructure in Angola in cooperation with well-established UAE companies, as well as companies based in Angola. These activities will also contribute to the efforts to diversify the UAEs economy. He expressed hope that ADEXs cooperation with the Angolan government would exponentially develop in the future, which would economically benefit both the UAE and Angola, as well as UAE enterprises through accelerated commercial and economic activities.

De Sousa expressed delight at the agreements, which she said would broaden the horizon for developmental cooperation between Angola and the UAE. She thanked the UAE for its initiative to develop economic cooperation with her country, acknowledging that the Angolan government would immensely benefit from the agreements with ADEX as they would enable it to develop data, as well as financial and educational services, in addition to install modern and sustainable street lighting systems in major Angolan cities.

Pramotedham said: This agreement will contribute to accelerating Angolas digital vision and set the path for its future prosperity. The UAE has always been a strong ambassador for digital transformation, and we at Presight are proud to play our role in realising this mission. We now look forward to working closely with the Angolan government and other stakeholders for a mutually rewarding relationship.

Export sector

De Martino called the agreement an important step towards driving the UAEs export sector. As part of the street lamination project, we will export lights, poles, cables, and transformers to Angola. These cables and transformers are manufactured in the UAE. The rest of the material will also be procured from the UAE, he said.

De Martino also praised ADEX for its professionalism and competitive loan facility. All this makes ADEX not only our partner of choice, but the most essential component in our effort to implement the important green project, which will enhance safety, security, and the quality of life in the capital. We would love to have a long-term partnership with ADEX for many such meaningful initiatives, he added.

Muhammad said: Standard Chartereds unique footprint accompanied with the banks on-ground expertise across the Middle East & Africa region and unrivalled know-how of Export Credit Agencies (ECAs), connect our clients globally and provide them with seamless access to credit that fulfil their financing needs.-- TradeArabia News Service
An Armyman wanted in connection with abetment to suicide of a lady police constable was arrested from Uttar Pradesh's Meerut, the police said on Sunday. The accused identified as Sonu Bhalotiya was wanted in abetment to a suicide case of a lady constable of Delhi Police of PS Palam Village, they said. Officials said that the accused is an Armyman and was absent from his duty after coming to know that the police were looking for him. He was frequently changing his addresses and locations and was evading his arrest. A cash reward of Rs 20,000 was also announced on his name, they said. According to police, on August 3, 2021, a PCR call was received at PS Palam Village regarding suicide by one lady constable of Delhi Police. A complaint was filed by the deceased's sister alleging therein that her sister had committed suicide due to harassment by Sonu Bhalotia. The accused, Sonu came in contact with her sister in 2020. Thereafter, he got closer to the deceased mentioning that he is a resident of her neighbouring village and also made her believe that he is unmarried. Accused Sonu also took access to the e-mail ID and password of the deceased and extracted all the contact details, photos and videos from her Google account. In the year 2021, the deceased told all facts to her sister and she also came to know that the accused Sonu was already married. She blocked the mobile number of the accused Sonu but he kept on contacting her through different mobile numbers. In the meantime, the engagement of the lady constable was fixed with another boy and the accused Sonu threatened her that if she doesn't talk to him he would tell everything to her fiance. Due to depression, she committed suicide after getting victimized (mentally) by the accused Sonu. A team of AGS, Crime Branch was constituted to nab the criminal involved in this incident. Secret informers were deployed to track the accused and secret information was received by HC Mintu, regarding the presence of the accused in Meerut, U.P. Thereafter, on the basis of technical surveillance, a raid was conducted in the Meerut area and accused Sonu was apprehended from Sub Area, Meerut Cantt in UP, they said. The accused Sonu Bhalotia is a resident of Village Bhalot, Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan and has studied upto 12th standard. He got married in 2019. In Dec 2019, While boarding a bus from Dhaula Kuan to Jhunjhunu he met the lady constable and befriended her. He gained her trust and kept on maintaining a friendship with her. After some time, the deceased constable came to know that Sonu was already married and she asked Sonu to stop contacting her, but he kept on contacting the deceased and threatened her to keep in contact with him. After her engagement was fixed, the accused contacted the fiance of the lady and told him everything about his relationship. After this incident, the engagement was called off. Due to depression, she hanged herself and died. Getting this news, the accused fled away from his parent unit at Army Supply Corp, Bangalore and remained absent without leave from his duty. He was well aware of the arrest and direction of the court so he kept on evading his arrest by changing various SIMs to not getting to be traced by Police. (ANI)
Gwalior Crime Branch and Gole temple police have arrested four people for allegedly planning to rob a businessman in Madhya Pradesh's Bhind district. According to officials, the police received an information about some miscreants carrying weapons in a car near Katare farm at Bhind road. On the basis of information, Gwalior SP formed a special team of Crime Branch and Gole temple. The information was verified and the police teams reached Katare Farm Bhind Road late at night, where a Swift car without registration plate was found parked. One of the miscreants was seen standing outside the vehicle and he was explaining to each other the plan of committing a robbery at someone's place. Meanwhile, seeing the police, the miscreant standing outside the car escaped by taking advantage of the dark and geographical situation. A police team chased him but he could not be caught, while the other team laid siege to the car and four people sitting inside were caught on the spot. The miscreants in the car also tried to run away but seeing the police cordon, they could not run away. On asking for the name and address of the four miscreants caught by the police team, the persons were found to be residents of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. On interrogation, it was found that the four arrested miscreants had gathered at Katare Farm in Machhand district Bhind to commit robbery at a businessman's place. 8 live cartridges in a pistol 32 bore magazine, one country-made katta 315 bore loaded and one live cartridge, 7 live cartridges in a pistol 32 bore magazine were also seized from their possession. On searching the White Swift car which was without front and rear number plates, a country-made katta of 315 bores was found kept in polythene under the driver's seat and a packet of chilli powder was also found in the car. The number plates were removed so that the number of the car did not come in any camera. The act of the said miscreants is punishable under Section 399, 402 of the IPC. 11, 13 of the MPDPK Act and 25, 27 of the Ordnance Act. Several cases of robbery, dacoity and theft were registered against the arrested miscreants in Police Station Old Cantonment, Kampu, Murar, Hastinapur in District Gwalior and Jaura, Bamor, District Mandla, Jagdalpur (Chhattisgarh) in Morena District. The arrested miscreants are being interrogated in relation to other incidents of loot and dacoity. The five miscreants who were caught were conspiring to rob the Galla trader of Machhand police station Raun district Bhind. For this, the miscreants had already done a recce of the businessman, the police said. (ANI)
The three-day Uttar Pradesh Global Investors Summit 2023 concluded on Sunday in Lucknow in which the state government received investment proposals worth Rs 33.50 lakh crore, according to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The Summit was kicked off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 10 in which a number of dignitaries were present. Addressing the occasion, PM Modi said Uttar Pradesh is playing a leadership role in driving India's growth if the country is considered a bright spot. "There has been improvement in every field in the state in 5-6 years from electricity to connectivity," he said. "The state boasts of modern infrastructure and very soon it will be known as the first state to have five international airports in the country, the PM pointed out, adding that it is getting connected to the sea and to the ports of Gujarat and Maharashtra through a dedicated freight corridor. The Prime Minister said that new opportunities are being created for wealth creators in the state every day," the Prime Minister added. Inviting investors to invest in Uttar Pradesh, the PM said that the Uttar Pradesh government and the bureaucracy have embarked on the path of progress with determination. "To make your (investors and entrepreneurs) dreams come true, it is standing with you at every step." Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that the Uttar Pradesh Global Investors' Summit would change the destiny of Uttar Pradesh. Addressing a session organized at Dadhichi Hall of the Global Investors Summit, the Union Home Minister said, "Today Uttar Pradesh has everything required for the development of industries in any state. The UP government now makes decisions quickly as well. There is no longer any confusion in formulating policies." Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, on the occasion, said that the Central government has put forth a new vision for the business community in the country. "The slope of industrial growth in the country was declining due to some historical reasons because of which people used to hesitate to step into the business sector despite the availability of all resources. Because of this pseudo-secularism, the established industries were also hampered. However, the encouragement and achievements in the sector during the previous years show how the government has presented a new approach towards the business committee," he said. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that the state attracted investments proposals worth Rs 32.92 lakh crores through the roadshows for the Global Investors Summit 2023 and is ready to play the role of the growth engine of the country in line with the Prime Minister's vision. Reliance Industries, CMD, Mukesh Ambani, lauded the state and said that Uttar Pradesh is on its way to becoming Uttam Pradesh. "The UP government has created a good environment for investment by facilitating infrastructure such as highways, expressways, and rail traffic, in addition to making the state crime-free. Today UP has become a hub of investment because of its transparent policies, reforms, and strict law and order. Uttar Pradesh has become the centre of hope for a new India," he said. "The golden era of UP has begun. Both industry and cooperation are needed for the development of the state. UP is becoming an 'enterprise state' by imbibing the mantra of PM Modi, 'Reform, Perform and Transform.' There is greater harmony between rural and urban India in UP. In order for India to become a $5 trillion economy, UP must become a USD 1 trillion economy state. The state is progressing toward this goal under the leadership of CM Yogi," Ambani added. During the course of the Summit, the governments of Denmark and Uttar Pradesh signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) worth Rs 1000 crore regarding the setting up of a Smart River Laboratory in Varanasi aimed at monitoring the cleaning of the Ganges. Denmark's Global Climate Policy Minister Dan Jorgensen said that India is emerging as the world's leading economy, while Uttar Pradesh is fuelling India's power. A state government statement informed that a Japanese hotel chain Hotel Management International Company Limited (HMI) is mulling developing 30 new hotels across Uttar Pradesh. HMI signed a Memorandum of Understanding worth Rs 7,200 crore with the state government on the second day of the Summit. On Saturday, Union Road and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari lauded CM Yogi for his efforts to improve the state's agriculture and industry stating that his vision will change people's perceptions of Uttar Pradesh. Addressing a session on 'E Mobility, Vehicle and Future Mobility' on the second day of the Summit, Gadkari said, "Uttar Pradesh is the best destination for investment. Investment opportunities in the field of e-mobility are enormous due to the abundance of water, energy, human resources, and excellent connectivity." British Government's Defence Procurement Minister Alex Chalk Casey on Sunday said that the United Kingdom will make investments in the defence, aerospace and medical sectors in Uttar Pradesh. Speaking at the United Kingdom Partner Country/Defence session held in Lucknow as part of the ongoing UP Global Investors Summit 2023, Casey said, "It is a matter of pride for me to participate in GIS-23 being held in the capital Lucknow. Standing on this great land of Uttar Pradesh and inviting the whole world to invest is a big achievement in itself. At the same time, it is also a big achievement that we all became witnesses of this programme in a state, which is known as the 'Rice Basket'. The closing ceremony of the Summit on Sunday was attended by President Droupadi Murmu, Chief Minister Yogi. Speaking on the occasion, the President said that apart from being the largest state of the country in terms of population, Uttar Pradesh ranks first in India in many areas in terms of contribution to the country's economy. "Uttar Pradesh ranks first in India in total production of food grains, including wheat. It also ranks first in the country in the production of sugarcane and potato. In the production of mango and peas also, this state contributes the most. Similarly, Uttar Pradesh is the leader in milk production. Being rich in agricultural products, Uttar Pradesh has a lot of potential for agro-based enterprises," she said. The President noted that Uttar Pradesh has about 95 lakh MSMEs which is the highest number of MSMEs in the country. She said that apart from being the backbone of the country's industries, MSMEs also provide the largest number of employment opportunities after the agriculture sector. The President expressed confidence that the MSME sector of Uttar Pradesh will play a major role in the economic development of India. The President appreciated the efforts to make Uttar Pradesh a Preferred Investment destination. She expressed confidence that Uttar Pradesh would gain global fame as the 'Best Investment State'. "If Uttar Pradesh becomes more prosperous, India would also be more prosperous," she said. CM Yogi addressing on the occasion, said that the state will be a safe destination for investment. Yogi said that the state has received investment proposals worth Rs 33.50 lakh crore in the global investment summit. "With this investment, 93 lakh jobs and employment will be created. Earlier, investment meant investment only in NCR. While today, investment has been received for all 75 districts of the state in the summit. Investment proposals worth Rs 9.54 lakh crore and Rs 4.28 lakh crore have been received in Bundelkhand," he said. "It is a matter of good fortune that on February 10, the Uttar Pradesh Global Investment Mahakumbh was given a new height by PM Modi. In the last nine years, India's respect has increased in the whole world under the leadership of PM Modi. Uttar Pradesh has also got the benefit from this increased honour in the grand event of the Global Investor Summit. The global community has been attracted towards Uttar Pradesh as the best investment destination," the Chief Minister added. (ANI)
The arrested accused have been identified as Aman (22) and Anshul Verma (19). The accused persons were apprehended from the Bihar Sampark Kranti Express, they said.

On Thursday, four people allegedly attacked a catering staff after a dispute over plates at an function in the Rohini area, said the police.

The victim identified as Sandeep T (48) was taken to the nearest hospital where he was declared brought dead, officials said.

During investigation, it was revealed that a brawl took place over the delivery of plates for dinner between the catering staff and DJ workers.

Four DJ workers attacked the victim. One of them hit him with the plastic crate on his head.

A case was registered in the matter, and two accused were arrested.

Multiple teams have been constituted to trace other two accused and raids are being conducted at their possible hideouts, officials said. (ANI)
An Air Asia aircraft was "grounded" by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) at a runway in Pune on Sunday after one of the flight's tyres was found "cracked", officials said. As per the flight regulator, a Pune-bound flight was inspected on the said runway after pieces of the tread of the tyre were found on the Bengaluru runway, from where it was taxied. Upon inspection at Pune, the sidewall of the number 3 tyre was found cracked, DGCA said, adding that the flight has been stopped from further take-offs. Further information is awaited. (ANI)
Meghalaya's cab driver Gautam Gurung has won the Dinanath Pandey Smart Idea Innovation Award, in Guwahati. Gurung was awarded for his innovation 'Automatic Car Sanitizer' model which he exhibited at the two-day Innovation Festival held at Regional Science Centre, Guwahati, on Saturday and Sunday. Gurung who had to face a lot of hardship during the COVID-19 period innovated a mechanism he installed in his Maruti Alto. As per this mechanism, when a passenger opens the door with the handle, sanitizers are sprayed automatically on the seats and indoors. "I keep trying new things. It was a difficult phase during COVID-19 for all of us. And as cleanliness is part and parcel of our life, I decided to innovate this idea. This will keep us clean and hygienic. Thus the passengers too will be happy," said Gurung displaying his model. Gurung dedicated the award to his parents. The award was instituted by the family of Dinanath Pandey who was a master innovator and tried to change the way of life through his innovations. The 'Innovation Festival' which has been organized by Indian Council for Science Museum in collaboration with National Innovation Foundation (NFI) provides a common platform to the people of all the states in the northeast region working in different fields like innovators, artists, performers, crafters and science-demonstrators among others showcasing their creativity. Altogether 32 innovators from the NE states and West Bengal participated in the two-day exhibition. They displayed their various innovative devices. "We are thankful to the Regional Science Centre, Guwahati for providing us the place to conduct the event. I also thank all the innovators for joining the festival wholeheartedly and boost our morale," said Sailen Pandey, son of Dinanath Pandey. Mission Director of Assam State Rural Livelihood Mission Krishna Baruah was present as chief guest and K Raka Sudhakar Rao, a social activist, journalist, public speaker and author from Hyderabad was present as guest of honour during the prize distribution ceremony on Sunday evening. Project coordinator of Regional Science Centre, Guwahati Sujay Das and scientist of National Innovation Foundation, Assam Dr Rajiv Mili were also present on the occasion. (ANI)
Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday took a swipe at former Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, saying that the latter has been returned by "parcel" service today. "The person who insulted Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj has been returned by parcel service today," Thackeray said while talking to the reporters here. The Rashtrapati Bhavan on Sunday announced the names for appointment on the post of 12 Governors for states and one Lieutenant Governor in the Union Territory of Ladakh. Koshyari, who served the state for over three years, has been replaced by Ramesh Bais as the new governor of Maharashtra. Koshyari was appointed the Governor of Maharashtra in September 2019. However, Koshyari earlier in the day said that he is going back to Uttarakhand for eating Kafals. In November last year, he courted controversy after calling Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj an "old icon" while addressing a function at Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University in Aurangabad. An outrage sparked following his remarks on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, a revered figure in Maharashtra. Earlier, last month, Koshyari had conveyed his desire to be discharged of his duties to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In a series of tweets, Governor Koshyari had expressed his desire to quit as the constitutional head of the state. "During the recent visit of the Prime Minister to Mumbai, I have conveyed to him my desire to be discharged of all political responsibilities and to spend the remainder of my life in reading, writing and other activities. I have always received love and affection from the Prime Minister and I hope to receive the same in this regard," tweeted Raj Bhavan. Meanwhile, coming down heavily on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Thackeray said that he doesn't believe in "BJP's version" of Hindutva. "Balasaheb Thackeray never differentiated b/w Hindus and Muslims. He believed that those who work against the country, no matter their religion, should be punished. And this is our Hindutva. BJP doesn't mean Hindutva; I don't believe in their version of Hindutva," the leader further said. (ANI)
With the Nagaland state assembly election scheduled on February 27, alliance partners Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have come forward with a joint declaration to appeal to the voters of Nagaland to cast their votes in favour of candidates contesting on the NDPP and BJP tickets. Nagaland Chief Minister and leader of the NDPP party, Neiphiu Rio said that the NDPP and BJP as an alliance partner with the seat sharing of 40:20 will emerge victorious in the ensuing election. He said that with the ongoing campaigns, they will win with a thumping majority and made an appeal to the voters to vote for the alliance partner adding that they will form the next government. Deputy Chief Minister and BJP Legislature Party leader, Y Patton also said that the 2023 election with the alliance partner together expressed confidence that they will form the government and win the election with a thumping victory under the able leadership of Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio. He said that the alliance partner will come out with development and peace for the State of Nagaland. (ANI)
The opposition in Maharashtra erupted into joyous celebrations as the President accepted Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari's resignation and named Ramesh Bais as the new Governor on Sunday. Top leaders of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance comprising Congress, Nationalist Congress Party, Shiv Sena-UBT and others termed it as a "welcome" and "long overdue" development. Governor for 42 months since September 2019, Koshyari, 80, goes into retirement as per his own request made to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in January which has been acceded to. From its 31-month long tenure, the MVA harbours a host of unpleasant memories of their political tussle with the Governor, and even his controversial remarks against top state icons like Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Dr B.R. Ambedkar, Mahatma Jyotirao Phule and Savitri Phule, the slight of the Marathis vis-a-vis Gujaratis-Marwaris, and many other happenings. NCP President Sharad Pawar said: "Maharashtra has become free. He should have been removed much earliera The decision has come now. Such a Governor was never seen in Maharashtra's history." "It's a big win for Maharashtra! The resignation of the Governor has finally been accepted. He who constantly insulted Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Mahatma Jyotirao Phule and Savitri Phule, our Constitution, Assembly and democratic ideals, cannot be accepted as Governor," declared Sena-UBT's Aditya Thackeray. "Finally, he has to go... he has been given an exit though he insulted the state repeatedly. The people of Maharashtra know how to take their revenge," said state Congress President Nana Patole. Some like NCP state President Jayant Patil also expressed cautious hopes that the new Governor should not be a puppet of the Bharatiya Janata Party like Koshyari. Other senior leaders of all the three parties like Naseem Khan, Atul Londhe, Ajit Pawar, Supriya Sule, Dilip Walse-Patil, Dr. Jitendra Awhad, Sanjay Raut, Arvind Sawant, Dr. Manisha Kayande, and many more expressed their sentiments at the Governor's impending departure after his turbulent tenure, some saying "finally the state has been spared". On the other hand, BJP leaders like Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, ministers Chandrakant Patil, Nitesh Rane, ex-MP Kirit Somaiya and more bid a farewell to the Governor and recalled his dedicated services to the state. Last month, Koshyari had expressed his desire to spend the rest of his life in reading, writing and other leisurely activities. "I was an absolute honour and privilege for me to serve as the Rajya Sevak or Rajyapal of a great state like Maharashtra - the land of Saints, Social reformers and valiant fighters," Koshyari said. "I can never forget the love and affection I have received from the people of Maharashtra during the last little more than 3 years," he said. --IANS qn/vd ( 450 Words) 2023-02-12-19:50:02 (IANS)
The K. Palaniswami (EPS) faction of the AIADMK has got the right to use the 'Two Leaves' symbol in the Erode East by-election. His rival O. Panneerselvam (OPS) has also said that he would be campaigning for the 'Two Leaves' symbol.

Annamalai has already told both factions of the AIADMK that the BJP would not support the candidate put up by them if they are not contesting under the party symbol.

The AIADMK candidate is former minister K.V. Thenarasu.

The by-election was necessitated after the passing away of sitting MLA E. Thirumahan Everaa of the Congress, and his father and former Union Minister E.V.K.S. Elangovan is contesting as the Congress candidate.

--IANS aal/vd

( 149 Words)

2023-02-12-20:06:03 (IANS)
The $12 million Bahrain Agricultural Foods Storage and Security (Bafco) factory, located in Hidd, which specialises in producing and distributing food grains locally and exporting them internationally, has been inaugurated.

Opening the new unit at the Bahrain Business Incubator Centre (BBIC), Bahrains Deputy Prime Minister, Shaikh Khalid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, stressed the importance of integrated efforts to achieve sustainable food security through effective partnerships with the private sector so that local markets are supplied, a Bahrain News Agency (BNA) report said.

The efforts are in line with the objectives of the comprehensive development process, initiated by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the priorities and policies of the government, led by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, and the Bahrain Economic Vision 2030, Shaikh Khalid said in the presence of the Speaker of the Council of Representatives, Ahmed bin Salman Al-Musallam, ministers and officials.

Private sector

The Deputy Premier affirmed the government's commitment to implementing policies aimed at increasing the levels of food security, diversifying and sustaining the supply chains, upgrading the national capabilities in food industries and investing in them, as well as providing the necessary support for food security projects and stimulating the private sector to contribute to them.

Shaikh Khalid toured the factory and praised the advanced techniques and modern technology used across various production stages.

Chairman of the Bahrain Chamber for Commerce and Industry (BCCI), Sameer Abdulla Nass, asserted that among the priorities of BCCI's 30th session is to achieve the vision of the kingdom with regard to reaching food security, facing the challenges the world is witnessing in securing food and supply chains, and ensuring the flow of food by pumping more investments into the food industry sector.

Food security projects

He affirmed BCCI's support for the efforts of Bafco, in particular, and the private sector, in general, to boost investments in food security projects.

Bafco Board of Directors Chairman, Khalid Ali Al-Ameen, said the food challenges faced by the world recently confirm the importance of maintaining food supplies around the world while preserving the security of food supply chains.

He added that the food industry today requires developing solutions to secure food at the local and regional levels. He asserted that the factory will generate multiple investment opportunities, which will reflect positively on the kingdom's sustainable economic development.-- TradeArabia News Service
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Delhi-Dausa-Lalsot section of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway in Rajasthan's Dausa on Sunday and termed it "a grand picture of a rising India". The Prime Minister said that when such modern roads are built, the country's progress gains momentum. "This project will change the picture of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan." "This will make it easier to travel between Delhi and Jaipur. Also it will be easier for farmers to sell milk, fruit and vegetables, and other products. I congratulate you all on this development," he said while addressing a gathering after the inauguration. Taking a dig at the Congress-led UPA government, Prime Minister Modi said, "Congress government was afraid of building roads in the border areas of India. They thought that the enemy would come inside the country by walking through the roads built by us. I do not understand why the Congress has been undermining the valour and bravery of our soldiers." "Our army knows very well how to stop the enemies on the border and give them a befitting reply," he asserted. The Prime Minister said that the Central government has been spending a "huge amount" on such projects for the last nine years. "In this year's budget, a provision of Rs 10 lakh crore has been made only for infrastructure. This is five times more than in 2014." He said that the time taken to go from Jaipur to Delhi will be halved by this highway. The Prime Minister said that there are many such studies in the world, which show that the amount invested in infrastructure shows manifold effect on the ground, and it attracts investments. Earlier, at the beginning of the inauguration programme, Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said that the alignment of the highway has been corrected using satellite and the distance between Delhi and Mumbai has been reduced by 275 km. He claimed that before the end of 2024, India's road infrastructure will be equal to that of America. Gadkari also said that an electric cable will be laid between Jaipur and Delhi, so that electric trucks and buses can ply on this route. For this, the help of scientists is also being taken. He further said that "this is a trailer, film abhi baki hai." The Delhi-Dausa-Lalsot section of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is 247 km long, built at a cost of over Rs 12,150 crore. With the commissioning of the section, the travel time from Delhi to Jaipur will be reduced from five hours to about three and a half hours. --IANS arc/sha ( 445 Words) 2023-02-12-20:12:02 (IANS)
There were reports that the Delhi Police in a bid to normalise the situation used mild laathi-charge, but the official denied it.

It was the second day of the DDA's anti-encroachment drive in Mehrauli area on Sunday. Seeing the gravity of the situation a large number of police personnel were deployed in the area.

The police alleged that local women pelted stones at them. However, no one was hurt in the incident.

"They also threw chilli powder on us. We have initiated legal action against those involved," said the police.

The local residents have alleged that authorities were hand in gloves when the buildings were built and now the administration had come with full force to demolish their houses.

The ruling Aam Aadmi Party has urged the DDA to stop the anti-encroachment drive.

--IANS atk/sha

( 170 Words)

2023-02-12-20:18:02 (IANS)
Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Sunday found fault with the Narendra Modi government for banning the BBC documentary on Gujarat riots, saying this is not good for democracy. Speaking in the state Assembly, he questioned the restrictions imposed on the documentary. "When BBC aired a documentary on the Godhara riots, it was banned. A lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay filed a case in the Supreme Court to ban BBC in India. Why this arrogance?... "Where will this madness take us? Is filing a case in the Supreme Court by a BJP man to ban BBC is an honour for the country. What will the world think about us. Why this intolerance," he asked. The Chief Minister also remarked that in a big country like India, mistakes do happen and one should admit them. He said in a democracy, it was not proper to ban the critics or send them to jail. "One should have patience and tolerance. None is permanent as we are at the mercy of people to come to power," he said. The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) president said that such behaviour will not be tolerated by people for long. "Post 2024, they will be in ruins. We all saw what one Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan and the subsequent sparks that were generated in the country could do to Indira Gandhi," he remarked KCR also slammed Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for demanding Prime Minister Narendra Modi's photo at a ration shop in Kamareddy district. "The nation's Finance Minister fought with a poor ration dealer. She threatened him. Why exactly should PM Modi's photo be displayed?" he asked. The BRS leader also wanted to know why the Modi government is not holding the census exercise in the country. He pointed out that the process of census began way back in 1871 and it continued uninterrupted till 2011. He pointed out that even during the two world wars, it didn't stop. KCR said that it's only through census does a government know what the situation is in the country. He alleged that the Modi government is not conducting a census because it was afraid of people knowing the facts. He said that people belonging to the backward classes and scheduled castes are also demanding a caste census. "The SC population was fixed at 15 per cent long back but with authority, I can say that it has now crossed 17 per cent. In some states it even crossed 19 per cent," he said. --IANS ms/vd ( 428 Words) 2023-02-12-20:22:02 (IANS)
Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat will deliver the keynote address on the inaugural day of the annual meeting of the river cities alliance (RCA), which would be held in Pune between February 13 and 14. Being organised by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), the annual meeting of RCA, which is known as 'Driving holistic action for urban rivers' (DHARA), it will provide a platform for senior officials including Commissioners, Additional Commissioners, Chief Engineers and senior planners of the 95-member river cities in India to co-learn and discuss solutions for managing local water bodies. The event has strong synergies with the Urban20 (U20) initiative under the ambit of India's G20 presidency. One of the thrust areas of U20 is to promulgate urban water security, and healthy rivers have a vital role to play in enhancing the overall water security of the city. DHARA 2023 will witness multiple sessions over the two-day event that include sessions on 'National Case Studies on Innovative River-related Practices' to introduce the participants to several unique and innovative solutions for different aspects of urban river management involving lake and pond rejuvenation, de-centralised used-water management, enhancing river-related economy, groundwater management, and flood management and 'International Case Studies' to focus on innovative river-related practices in countries like Denmark, reuse of used water in Israel, floodplain management in the Netherlands, river health monitoring in the US, pollution control in Japan, and water sensitive city design in Australia. --IANS ans/vd ( 261 Words) 2023-02-12-20:32:04 (IANS)
The breach of privilege notices was served on the Congress MP by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi and BJP MP Nishikant Dubey after Rahul Gandhi alleged that the Prime Minister had connections with billionaire Gautam Adani.

Rahul Gandhi made the accusation against the Prime Minister during his speech in Lok Sabha while participating in the discussion on motion of thanks on President's address.

The Congress MP had questioned Prime Minister Modi's links with Adani, while pointing out at the businessman's sudden rise in fortune after the BJP-led NDA came to power in 2014.

He had accused the Prime Minister of 'crony capitalism'.

According to Lok Sabha secretariat sources, the notices seek a response from the Congress leader for making "misleading, derogatory, unparliamentary, and incriminatory statements" during a discussion on the President's address in Lok Sabha on February 7.

In a letter dated February 10, the secretariat asked Rahul Gandhi to furnish his reply on the notices by February 15.

On February 8, Dubey had written to Speaker Om Birla, giving a notice of breach of privilege against Rahul Gandhi. The notice had accused the Congress leader of levelling allegations against Prime Minister Modi without any "documentary evidence" and of "misleading the house".

--IANS ans/sha

( 249 Words)

2023-02-12-21:12:03 (IANS)
Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind President Maulana Syed Arshad Madani stirred a controversy on Sunday after he claimed that 'Om and Allah are same'. Madani made the remark during the 34th general session of Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan, after which Jain saint Acharya Lokesh Muni and several other religious leaders left the stage midway. Madani said, "I asked dharma guru when there was no one, neither Shri Ram, nor Brahma, then whom did they worship to? Some people told me that they used to worship 'Om'. Then I told them that this means that there is only one 'Om or Allah', and both are the same, and it is the only thing Manu used to worship. There was no Shiv, no Brahma, but only one Om and Allah that was worshipped... Om is called Allah by us, Ishwar by you (Hindus), Khuda by Farsi-speaking people (Persian) and God by English-speaking people." Expressing displeasure over his remarks, Lokesh Muni and other religious leaders left the stage saying, "We only agree with living in harmony, but all the story regarding, Om, Allah, and Manu is all rubbish. He (Madani) completely spoiled the atmosphere of the session." Addressing the media, the Jain saint slammed Madani's controversial statement on religion and gods. He said, "Swami Chidanand Saraswati talked about love, I Jain Acharya Lokesh Muni talked about love, the statement given by Madani should not be taken seriously. We say that our parents have given us birth, god has not given birth to us. His statement is baseless. We believe in philosophy that our good work leads to good fortune and our misdeed leads to bad luck." "The stories he said, I can narrate even bigger stories than that. I would even request him (Madani) to come for a discussion with me, or even I can come to meet him in Saharanpur," he asserted. --IANS avr/sha ( 324 Words) 2023-02-12-21:58:02 (IANS)
New research indicates that chemosynthesis (growth utilising inorganic substances) supports bacteria in the deepest areas of the water without sunshine. The research by Monash University researchers has been published in the journal Nature Microbiology. The five-year study, led by Dr Rachael Lappan and Professor Chris Greening of the Biomedicine Discovery Institute, demonstrates that two common gases, hydrogen and carbon monoxide, power trillions of bacteria in the ocean from the tropics to the poles. According to Professor Greening, until now most scientists have believed that ocean microbial life is primarily driven by photosynthesis (growth by using light energy). "But what about those regions so deep that light can't penetrate or so nutrient-poor that algae can't thrive? We showed in this study that instead, chemosynthesis is dominant in these regions," he said. "Hydrogen and carbon monoxide in fact "fed" microbes in all regions we've looked at: from urban bays to around tropical islands to hundreds of meters below the surface. Some can even be found beneath Antarctica's ice shelves." The study involved combining chemical measurements during oceanic voyages with the laboratory-based characterisation of microbial cultures. The research team also extensively used metagenomic sequencing, "which tells us the genetic blueprints of all of the microbes present in a given region of the ocean," Dr Lappan said. "We found the genes that enable hydrogen consumption across eight distantly related types of microbes, known as phyla, and this survival strategy becomes more common the deeper they live." For this project, the researchers were inspired by their previous work on soil bacteria. Professor Greening and colleagues have previously shown most soil bacteria can live by consuming hydrogen and carbon monoxide from the atmosphere. "The surface layers of the world's oceans generally contain high levels of dissolved hydrogen and carbon monoxide gases due to various geological and biological processes. So it made sense that oceanic bacteria used the same gases as their terrestrial cousins," Dr Lappan said. These findings provide insights into how life evolved. Professor Greening concludes that "The first life probably emerged in deep-sea vents using hydrogen, not sunlight, as the energy source. It's incredible that, 3.7 billion years later, so many microbes in the oceans are still using this high-energy gas and we've completely overlooked this until now." (ANI)
Chief of Defence Forces Odowaa Yusuf Rage said the troops destroyed two vehicles laden with explosives which the militants planned to use for attacking the army base, Xinhua news agency reported.

"Our forces foiled two terrorist car bombings near army bases in east Afmadow town. We killed 13 terrorists having received intelligence prior to the attempted attacks," Rage said.

He added that there were no casualties from the SNA troops, and the foiled attack came amid intensified onslaught against the al-Qaida-linked militants in their hideouts in south-central Somalia.

--IANS int/arm

( 128 Words)

2023-02-11-22:46:03 (IANS)
Methqal Rayyan, 27, was killed after being shot in the head by an Israeli settler in the village of Qarawat Bani Hassan, the ministry said in a statement, adding that the young man died on the way to the hospital, Xinhua news agency reported.

Palestinian eyewitnesses said a group of armed Israeli settlers clashed with the residents in the village and opened fire at them.

With the death of Rayyan, the total number of Palestinians killed by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank since January 1 has risen to 46, according to the ministry.

There has been no comment from the Israeli authorities on the incident.

The Israeli media reported that since January 1, nine Israelis have been killed and several injured in two separate attacks carried out by Palestinians in East Jerusalem.

Tension has been mounting in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, mainly after the formation of the Israeli right-wing government headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The issue of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem has long been a major source of dispute between Israelis and Palestinians.

--IANS int/arm

( 222 Words)

2023-02-11-22:50:03 (IANS)
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Saturday (local time) disclosed that an "unidentified object" had been shot down over Canadian airspace on his orders. "I ordered the takedown of an unidentified object that violated Canadian airspace. North American Aerospace Defense Command shot down the object over the Yukon. Canadian & US aircraft were scrambled & a US F-22 successfully fired at the object," tweeted Trudeau. This comes one day after a "high altitude object" was shot down by the US military over Alaska, and exactly one week after a Chinese spy balloon was shot down by the military off the South Carolina coast. The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said earlier that it was monitoring "a high altitude airborne object" over northern Canada, and military aircraft were operating in the area from Alaska and Canada, according to a news release from the agency. It is not clear what the object is or whether it is related to the suspected Chinese spy balloon shot down last week or another object shot down over Alaska on Friday. In the light of sightings of "high altitude object", Trudeau spoke with US President Joe Biden and vowed to "recover and analyze the wreckage of the object." "I spoke with President Biden this afternoon. Canadian Forces will now recover and analyze the wreckage of the object. Thank you to NORAD for keeping the watch over North America," tweeted Trudeau. Meanwhile, the US intelligence community has linked the Chinese spy balloon to a vast surveillance program run by the People's Liberation Army. US officials have begun to brief allies and partners who have been similarly targeted, The Washington Post reported. According to The Washington Post, the surveillance balloon effort, which has operated for several years partly out of Hainan province off China's south coast, has collected information on military assets in countries and areas of emerging strategic interest to China including Japan, India, Vietnam, Taiwan and the Philippines, according to several US officials. According to officials, the surveillance airships, operated in part by the PLA air force, have been spotted over five continents. An official said: "What the Chinese have done is taken an unbelievably old technology, and basically married it with modern communications and observation capabilities to try to glean intelligence on other nations' militaries. It's a massive effort." The New York Times recently reported that, as part of its response to a Chinese spy balloon that traversed US airspace last week, the Joe Biden administration on Friday (local time) clamped down on sales of some of its technology to several Chinese aviation and technology companies. The Commerce Department added five Chinese companies and one research institute to its so-called entity list, which will prevent companies from selling them American parts and technologies without a special license. (ANI)
Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund PIF (The Public Investment Fund) said it has completed its second green bond issuance which raised $5.5 billion to finance or refinance its green investments, in accordance with its Green Finance Framework.

The issuance follows PIFs inaugural green bond in October 2022, the first-ever green bond issued by a sovereign wealth fund and the first-ever 100 year green bond, said a statement from PIF.

It will further diversify PIFs sources of debt funding, in line with its Medium-Term Capital Raising strategy, it stated.

The latest bond issuance was more than 6 times oversubscribed, with books exceeding $33 billion. It was issued in 3 tranches, comprising: $1.75 billion for 7 years; $2 billion for 12 and $1.75 billion for 30 years. The bond was sold to a wide range of institutional investors globally, including Asia.

The issuance reflects PIFs role as the driver of economic transformation in Saudi Arabia and as one of the largest and most impactful investment funds in the world, in addition to demonstrating PIFs commitment to its green finance framework.

Fahad AlSaif, Head of Global Capital Finance Division at PIF, said: "Our second green bond issuance underlines the role that PIF is playing in supporting Saudi Arabias green agenda, as well as diversifying the local economy and unlocking new and sustainable sectors."

PIFs Green Finance Framework was created in line with best market practice, and is fully compliant with the International Capital Market Associations Green Bond Principles 2021 and the Loan Market Associations Green Loan Principles 2021.

"Strong demand from international institutional investors for this second issuance is a testament to the ongoing success of PIFs capital raising strategy, its credit profile and financial strength," he added.

As with its inaugural bond issuance, PIF said it will allocate an amount equal to the net proceeds of the issuance to fund eligible green projects in accordance with its Green Finance Framework.

These include projects in the space of renewable energy, energy efficiency, sustainable water management, pollution prevention and control, green buildings and clean transportation, he added.-TradeArabia News Service
The 60 Para Field hospital has garnered appreciation from the world over for its selfless service to earthquake survivors of Turkey and Syria. This is not the first time that the medical unit is in the limelight. Affectionately called 'angels in maroon berets', the 60th Parachute Field Ambulance unit treated more than 200,000 people between 1950 and 1954. During the Korean War (1950-53), India supported the UN Security Council Resolutions and deployed an Army medical unit; the 60th Parachute Field Ambulance, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel AG Rangaraj. The unit disembarked at Pusan on November 20, 1950, and was initially deployed at Pyongyang on November 29, 1950. It was then divided into two sub units; the 'Forward Element' grouped with 27 British Brigade and the "Administrative Element" located at Daegu to assist the Korean Army Hospital and also treat civilians. The Forward Element was in the thick of action including a major airlift, "OP TOMAHAWK" with the 8th US Army from 23 to 31 March 1953 in the area of Munsan that involved linkup with the 3rd Division US Army and later countering a massive enemy offensive on 22 April 1953. The unit came under the command of the 28 British Brigade on 01 July 1951 with the formation of the Commonwealth Division. It then participated in a series of operations named, "Operation Commando and Operation Killer", until 23 August 1953. The unit comprised 627 personnel, suffered 03 fatal and 23 non-fatal casualties during the deployment and treated over 222,324 patients including civilians during the Korean War. The unit was also awarded citations from the US and South Korean Army Chiefs and commendations from their parent formation, 1st Commonwealth Division. On their return to India, 60 Para Field Ambulance was awarded with the President's Trophy by President Dr Rajendra Prasad on 10th March 1955 at Agra, the first one of its kind and the only one to date. The unit was also awarded twenty-five Mentioned-in- Dispatches. Colonel Rangaraj was awarded a well-deserved Maha Vir Chakra (MVC) for his leadership during Operation Tomahawk. Carrying on the tradition, the Indian Army medical unit showcased its undying will to serve humanity in the light of a natural disaster - earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria on Monday. Under 'Operation Dost' India has sent six planes carrying rescue personnel, essentials and medical equipment for earthquake relief efforts to Turkey and Syria. The Indian army's field hospital set up in Turkey's Hatay to provide assistance to the earthquake-affected people, started functioning on Thursday. "The army field hospital in Iskenderun, Hatay, Turkiye has started functioning with running Medical, Surgical & Emergency Wards; X-Ray Lab & Medical Store," External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar tweeted on Thursday. The army field hospital has been set up under India's 'Operation Dost' to provide assistance to Turkey's earthquake-hit people. Jaishankar, sharing photos of the facility on Twitter on Wednesday, wrote: "This field hospital in Hatay, Turkiye will treat those affected by the earthquake. Our team of medical & critical care specialists and equipment are preparing to treat emergencies." (ANI)
The death toll across Turkey and Syria following Monday's earthquake reached 28,192 on Saturday (local time), reported CNN. Turkey's death toll climbed to 24,617, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said in a news conference. In Syria, the total number of confirmed deaths stands at 3,575, including 2,167 in rebel-held areas in the northwest, according to the White Helmets civil defence group. An additional 1,408 deaths have been recorded in government-controlled territories, according to Syrian state media, which cited the country's health ministry. Meanwhile, An Indian national missing since the earthquake in Turkey on February 6 was found dead under the debris of a hotel in Malatya, the Indian Embassy in Turkey informed in a tweet on Saturday. The deceased, identified as Vijay Kumar, was on a business trip to Turkey. "We received a report yesterday that his luggage and passport were found but there wasn't a body. We were hoping for his well-being, that he would have escaped. His father had passed away around a month back and now this has happened," said Gaurav Kala, a relative of Vijay Kumar. Kumar's family members were in deep shock as they learned of the tragic news. They cried inconsolably. He is survived by his mother, wife, and six-year-old child. He had lost his father about one and a half months back. "We received a call from Embassy in the afternoon. They wanted confirmation for identification, so we told them about a mark on the left hand. He worked in a company in Bengaluru & left from here on 22nd Jan. He was scheduled to return on 20th Feb, said Kala. The Indian Embassy in Turkey informed on Saturday that the mortal remains of Kumar have been found. "We inform you with sorrow that the mortal remains of Shri Vijay Kumar, an Indian national missing in Turkiye since the February 6 earthquake, have been found and identified among the debris of a hotel in Malatya, where he was on a business trip," the Embassy said in a tweet. "Our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones. We are making arrangements for the earliest possible transportation of his mortal remains to his family," it added. Ministry of External Affairs had said earlier this month that ten Indians were struck in remote parts of Turkey after the country was hit by two "biggest natural disaster" earthquakes. Still, they are safe while one citizen is missing. "There are 10 individuals who are stuck in some remote parts of the affected area but they are safe. We have one Indian national missing, on a business visit to Turkey's Malatya. And he has not been traced for the last two days. We are in touch with his family and the company in Bengaluru," Sanjay Verma, Secretary (West) in Ministry of External Affairs, had said at a media briefing on 'Operation Dost.' (ANI)
Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting L Murugan and BJP Tamil Nadu unit chief K Annamalai on Sunday arrived at Chennai airport from Sri Lanka after the inauguration of Jaffna Cultural Centre in Jaffna. Jaffna Cultural Centre built with an Indian government grant was dedicated to the people of Sri Lanka yesterday. "Yesterday we participated in the 'Yalpanam Cultural Center' inauguration event. Center was totally constructed on Union Government funds for the benefit of Yalpanam people," said Murugan. During the year 2015 March month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Yalpanam. It was a historical trip where PM Modi laid the foundation stone for Yalpanam Cultural Center. Now it has been finished and yesterday it was inaugurated. "Tamil Arts were also honoured in this Center. This is a historical time when Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe also participated," said Murugan. He also talked about the release of the Tamil fisherman boats. "We have already met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar regarding releasing the Tamil Fisherman boats. Very soon there would be a discussion between two countries' ministers and very soon we would get a solution to that," added Murugan. The iconic Jaffna Cultural Center (JCC), which was built with grant assistance of the Government of India (GOI), was dedicated to the people on February 11, 2023, at a colourful event in the gracious presence of President of Sri Lanka Wickremesinghe, Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying and Information & Broadcasting, Murugan, High Commissioner of India Gopal Baglay, Douglas Devananda, Minister for Fisheries, Vidura Wickramanayake, Minister for Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs, Kadar Masthan, Minister of State for Rural Economy, several Parliamentarians and dignitaries from various walks of life. Describing JCC as a gift from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Wickremesinghe thanked him and GOI for the Center. He thanked India for the support extended to Sri Lanka during the economic challenges. Highlighting cultural similarities between the two countries, he noted that India and Sri Lanka were the two sides of the same coin. Speaking on the occasion, Minister of State Murugan underlined that India's partnership with Sri Lanka was guided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Neighbourhood First' policy. He also announced a special financial assistance scheme for 100 students from economically weaker families at the University of Jaffna. He also highlighted that GOI has implemented numerous people-centric projects cutting across sectors in Northern Province. Wickremesinghe and Vidura Wickramanayake handed over a special token of gratitude to Murugan for JCC. The state-of-the-art facility consists of multiple facilities such as a museum of two floors; a state-of-the-art theatre-style auditorium for more than 600 people; an 11-storeyed learning tower; a public square which could also act as an amphitheatre; exhibition galleries (Air conditioned), Open exhibition and a 100-seat Conference facility, among others. JCC is an outstanding example of GOI's ongoing commitment to the people of Sri Lanka including in the Northern Province. GOI's development partnership with Sri Lanka which touches upon all aspects of daily life such as infrastructure development, education, health, housing, livelihood development etc currently stands at USD 5 billion. (ANI)
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhry on Sunday slammed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for not holding its meeting to discuss the general elections in Punjab today despite the court's directions, The News International reported. Taking to his official Twitter handle, Chaudhry said there is a general impression that "since the ECP is made up of munshis, it will not hold provincial elections like Islamabad". He further stressed that 'fiddling' with the constitution will cost Pakistan 'dearly'. He called on the Election Commission of Pakistan not to joke about the constitution and court orders. The PTI leader tweeted, "The Election Commission should have held a meeting today for the elections, don't make a joke of the constitution and court orders, even after the clear orders of the court, there is a general impression that since the Election Commission is made up of munshis, it will not hold provincial elections like Islamabad. This fiddling with the constitution will cost the country dearly." In another tweet, he posted, "We have the constitution as the only agreed document, if the constitution is also trampled, the state of Pakistan will be in serious danger, enough is enough, our movement is ready for the supremacy of the constitution, this movement will start from Jail Bharu and will continue until the restoration of the constitution." Meanwhile, the ECP has called a special meeting on Monday to discuss the Lahore High Court's (LHC) decision of holding elections in Punjab in 90 days, as per The News International report. The ECP in a statement said that a special meeting has been called at its secretariat regarding Lahore High Court's decision to hold elections in Punjab, The News International reported. According to the statement, the future course of action and implementation will be discussed with respect to the court's decision. On Friday, the Lahore High Court instructed the ECP to ensure that elections in Punjab are carried out within 90 days. The decision of the court came after Justice Jawad Hassan accepted the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) plea and asked the electoral body to hold the elections within the constitutional limit, as per the news report. The PTI had filed the plea in the court after repeatedly calling on the ECP to issue the dates for the polls in Punjab. The PTI dissolved Punjab's assembly on January 14. (ANI)
The Wikipedia ban in Pakistan shows the "inconsistent and recurring attempts by Pakistani authorities to restrict internet access, a concerning pattern that "undermines the country's nascent knowledge economy," Al Arabiya Post reported. The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), the media regulator of Pakistan, temporarily blocked access to Wikipedia over the presence of content that was considered insulting to Muslim sentiments, as per the news report. The people could not access Wikipedia for two days until Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif issued directives to restore it on February 6. The ban on Wikipedia suggests that "Islamist groups and their radical ideologies continue to hold considerable sway in Pakistan, particularly on the matter of blasphemy, irrespective of which political party holds power in Islamabad," Al Arabiya Post reported. The allegations of blasphemy offence often lead to mob violence and attacks in Pakistan. International and local human rights organizations have claimed that blasphemy accusations are often used to target minority religious groups and resolve personal grudges, as per the news report. At least 80 people have been killed in Pakistan over blasphemy allegations since 1990, the Al Arabiya Post report said. On February 1, PTA announced it was "degrading" access to Wikipedia in Pakistan due to the presence of "sacrilegious content" and gave the website 48 hours to remove them. After the ban on February 4, the PTA said it blocked access to Wikipedia due to the website's failure to remove the offensive content within a 48-hour deadline, as per the news report. After the ban on Wikipedia in Pakistan on February 4, the Wikimedia Foundation said, "We believe that access to knowledge is a human right. A block of @Wikipedia in Pakistan denies the 5th most populous nation in the world access to the largest free knowledge repository. If it continues, it will also deprive everyone access to Pakistan's history and culture," according to Al Arabiya Post reported. Internet users in Pakistan criticized PTA's decision to restrict access to Wikipedia. The excessive power given to the Pakistan government's telecommunications authority and its effect on the freedom of speech in Pakistan has been a great concern for many people in the country, as per the news report. Out of sheer helplessness, some people even called on the PTA to ban the internet if the authority aims to control the flow of information instead of regulating and enhancing telecommunications for the benefit of people. Pakistani authorities restored Wikipedia only after public outcry on social media. At a time when many nations are liberalizing their outlook towards technology, Pakistan is going backwards, according to Al Arabiya Post report. Pakistan imposed the first ban on Wikipedia in May 2010 due to concerns over the presence of controversial material on the website, including "content related to blasphemy, pornography, and terrorism." Pakistan also twice blocked TikTok twice for allegedly sharing "immoral, obscene and vulgar" content. Previously, dating apps, including Tinder, Grindr, and others have been banned in Pakistan for allegedly sharing "immoral content." In 2010, Pakistan blocked YouTube over "growing sacrilegious content." Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan-led government was overly concerned over data accessibility for the people of Pakistan and tried to pass legislation to access data servers and require tech companies to maintain a physical presence within the country for monitoring, as per the news report. This kind of approach hints at the ignorance and fear-driven measures regarding technology access. (ANI)
The China-Tibet tiff has intensified again as the US lawmakers have tabled a Bill in the House of Representatives and the Senate to strengthen America's policy for the peaceful resolution of their differences over Tibet, the Tibet Press reported. According to Tibet Press, known as the Resolve Tibet Act, the Bill will make it official US policy that China must resume dialogue with the envoys of the Dalai Lama, as the conflict between Tibet and China remains unresolved and Tibet's legal status is yet to be determined under international law. The legislation's timing is important as it was tabled during Penpa Tsering's US visit. Tsering is the Sikyong (President) of the Central Tibetan Administration. He is visiting Washington to meet with US lawmakers, including the main sponsors of the legislation and Biden administration officials. The Dalai Lama has in the past been accused by Beijing of indulging in "separatist" activities and trying to split Tibet. The Tibetan spiritual leader has, however, insisted that he is not seeking independence but "genuine autonomy for all Tibetans living in the three traditional provinces of Tibet" under the "Middle-Way approach". The Resolve Tibet Act offers new hope that the decades-long crisis in Tibet can come to a peaceful end, Tibet Press reported. The suppression of Tibetans under China's authoritarian regime continues as the monitoring is becoming heavy with every passing day in the region. Due to political sensitivity in the region, Tibetans experience harsher consequences and more intense monitoring than citizens in other countries, Tibet Press reported. As per several media reports, the Tibetans continue to be persecuted, molested, harassed, beaten and tortured in their own territory. According to Radio Free Asia, a 30-year-old Tibetan elementary school teacher, who goes by the name of Palgon was detained at his house in August 2022 and has been out of contact ever since. Palgon hails from the Qinghai province of China's south-eastern Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. He had been an elementary school teacher in the Pema county of the prefecture, but he left his position and carried on as an independent author. China's widespread crackdown on Tibetan individuals, including monks, writers, young activists, and others, over the past few months has now become a regular affair. A Tibetan father and his three young children were transported to the Lhasa Beijing Middle School Quarantine Center after the man's wife's anti-COVID test came back negative, according to a report by Voice of America. (ANI)
Nepal Election Commission on Sunday announced that a by-election in Chitwan-2 constituency for the House of Representatives will be held on April 23. The decision of the Nepal Election Commission comes as the constituency has remained vacant after the annulation of citizenship of the then Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane, who won the 2022 general election. The seat has remained vacant since the court's decision in January. After the verdict, Rabi Lamichhane acquired Nepal citizenship. However, Lamichhane is still unfit to contest in the elections as he is under investigation. Lamichhane is still under investigation in the case of misuse of his passport after he is found to be holding dual passports of the United States and Nepal. The Nepal Election Commission also made the election schedule public. According to the Election Commission's announcement, the voter list shall be finalised by March 30 and the candidates will file their nominations on April 3. On January 27, Nepal's Supreme Court disqualified the country's Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane from his posts after he was found guilty of producing an 'invalid' citizenship certificate to contest the recent general elections. The minister tendered his resignation to Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal aka Prachanda after the apex court's decision. The verdict was pronounced by a Constitutional Bench of the Nepal SC headed by Acting Chief Justice Hari Krishna Karki. The other judges on the bench were Justices Bishowambhar Prasad Shrestha, Ishwar Khatiwada, Ananda Mohan Bhattarai and Anil Sinha. "As Rabi Lamichhane has not completed the process for reacquiring his Nepali citizenship after renouncing his American citizenship, he cannot be a candidate for the position of a member of the House of Representatives or be elected to that position," read the Supreme Court verdict on Friday. "After giving up the US citizenship, Lamichhane was not found adhering to the legal process to acquire Nepali citizenship again. So, he did not deserve to be the candidate of the member of the House of Representatives nor could hold the lawmaker's post," the Bench ruled further. (ANI)
The rising popularity of social media platforms like Tik Tok and YouTube are attracting users in Bhutan. These users are now gaining popularity on both national and international levels. These platforms are opening economic avenues for the people of Bhutan, reported Bhutan Live. These popular social media applications offer the audience to send gifts to users that can be converted into dollars. However, social media influencers told Bhutan Live that withdrawing money from these platforms remains a hassle. A popular Tik Tok influencer from Bhutan, Phuntsho Choden told the publication, "I got a lot of gifts from a lot of people who appreciated my post, but the sad thing was it was not possible for me to withdraw money from my Paypal account. So, that's why I asked for help from one of my friends who is living abroad and he did help me with that". The report by Bhutan Live claims that as of now the country does not have access to international payment applications such as PayPal. The Royal Monetary Authority (RMA) says they previously contacted Paypal but the company declined the offer to tie up with RMA sheerly due to Bhutan's small population. The central bank is now exploring other options. Explaining this problem another Tiktoker, Thinley Gyeltshen said that "We need to get help from our close and trusted friends to encash our money. With this, if concerned authorities could make such applications accessible then our Bhutanese Tiktokers can withdraw their money without relying on our friends,". However, another popular platform in the country YouTube's Google AdSense is supported by local banks that help these users gain money. A popular YouTuber, Tandin Phub, says withdrawing money made through YouTube is done through Google AdSense which is supported by local Banks. These people despite all the challenges are able to gain popularity internationally and this proves that anyone with a large following can turn their online presence into a lucrative business, Bhutan Live said. (ANI)
China has spotted an unidentified flying object over waters near Qingdao and the authorities were preparing to shoot it down, The Paper reported. An employee at the marine development authority of Qingdao Jimo district said "relevant authorities" were preparing to take down the object, The Paper reported. The employee said fishermen in the region have been told to remain careful about safety, as per the news report. The development comes after US and Canada shot down three high-altitude airborne objects in recent days. An American fighter jet, acting on the orders of US President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, shot down another unidentified flying object on Saturday. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a statement on Twitter said, "I ordered the takedown of an unidentified object that violated Canadian airspace." He said an American F-22 with the North American Aerospace Defense Command, which is operated jointly by the United States and Canada, successfully fired at the object over the Yukon. Trudeau also said he had spoken with US President Biden on Saturday afternoon. "Canadian Forces will now recover and analyze the wreckage of the object," he said in his Twitter post, adding, "Thank you to NORAD for keeping the watch over North America." Meanwhile, the White House released a statement stating that Biden and Trudeau had "discussed the importance of recovering the object in order to determine more details on its purpose or origin." White House on Friday (local time) confirmed that the US shot down a second 'high altitude object' over Alaska. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that the Department of Defense shot down a "high altitude object" that was in Alaska's airspace in the last 24 hours. "Department of Defence was tracking a high-altitude object over Alaska airspace in the last 24 hours. Fighter aircraft assigned to US Northern Command took down the object within the last hour," Kirby said. Last week, US military fighter aircraft shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon which was flying in its skies for a few days. (ANI)
Varieties of dog breeds kept by families gathered in an open ground of Jawalakhel in the Lalitpur district of Nepal as they took part in the 13th edition of the Grand Dog Show. This year, around three dozen dogs participated in the dog show. Different breeds of dogs ranging from exotic breeds like Dachshund, Husky, and German shepherd to Labrador Retriever participated in the event. The Kathmandu Valley hosts a multitude of community dogs inhabiting the streets and squares. The ground next to the Central Zoo also echoed with varieties of woofs and barks as people thronged the space with leashes. Speaking to ANI, Prabin Bajracharya, the organiser of the Grand Dog Show, said, "The dogs are judged on the basis of the breed standard. There is separate category for the puppies and the dogs compete within their breed as well. In the final round, all the winners of the categories would compete for the winner's title." The dog show in Nepal started from 2005 when four friends came together with the concept and launched the event. It slowly and gradually attracted more and more dog lovers and caretakers, with the show being termed a grand one. Speaking to ANI, Rupesh Khadka, a participating dog handler, said, "The dogs brought up inside the four walls don't get time to meet other pets. While attending these kinds of events, the pets also would get exposure to similar breeds and types. We are a bit cynical while taking our pets back home but here they would get more exposure. We also aren't too stressed about their safety and bonding." On how such shows help in taking care of dogs, Aarati Hada, a dog handler participant, told ANI, "Such shows are really helpful and must be held in every city as now it is only confined to Kathmandu Valley." (ANI)
Enterprise Estonia will be taking 12 Estonian companies to the International Defence Exhibition (IDEX), the most important tri-service defence exhibition in the world. IDEX 2023 is taking place at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre from February 20 to 24, marking its 30th anniversary.

Enterprise Estonia seeks to introduce and showcase Estonia as an able and willing partner in the defence industry. Accompanying the participating companies will be The Estonian Defence and Aerospace Industry Association, which aims to create better opportunities for member defence and security companies, as well as contributing to the economic development of Estonia.

Of the companies being highlighted at the Enterprise Estonia stand are Marduk, specialising in UAVs; DefSecIntel, providing state-of-the-art security and surveillance solutions for customers in more than 25 countries; and Threod Systems, providing outstanding unmanned aircraft systems and sub-systems for intelligence collection and surveillance tasks.

Estonian innovation

Additionally, as part of a separate, standalone booth, Milrem Robotics, renowned for its accomplishments in the defence sector, will further propagate Estonian innovation at IDEX. Milrem Robotics THeMIS - unmanned ground vehicle - is a ground-based armed drone vehicle designed largely for military applications; it is built in Estonia and is used in 16 countries worldwide.

Estonias unique blend of expertise and experience provides the ideal platform for the research, development and management of cybersecurity solutions. The highest possible recognition towards this expertise in protecting complex hi-tech systems is that NATO has chosen Estonia as a home to its Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence, and the European Union has chosen it to be the home of its European agency for the operational management of large-scale IT systems.-- TradeArabia News Service
Terrorism in Pakistan is a self-inflicted wound. Pakistan has been nurturing terrorists in its backyard as a part of its security and foreign policies. The country now has to pay the price for this misadventure, according to Policy Research Group (POREG). According to POREG, the problem is the powers that matter in Pakistan have made terrorism a time bomb, initially appeasing the notorious terrorist elements, in the name of preserving Islam and afterward unleashing a reign of counter-attacks against them. The challenge before the country's leadership is two-fold. It must crush militancy in the Af-Pak border belt, and bring a sense of security and peace to the region. Simultaneously, Pakistani forces must check the re-grouping and growth of various Islamist militant factions within mainland Pakistan. Thousands of locals protested in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on February 5 under the slogan of Ulasi Pasoon (public uprising). They protested on the province's streets against the suicide attack on Peshawar Police Lines Mosque and the increasing lawlessness in the region. Unrest has also been witnessed in the districts of Lakki Marwat, Mohmand and Malakand over the return of terrorist menace. The law and order situation in the country has worsened in the past five months. People are unable to step out of their homes after nightfall, particularly in Lakki Marwat. According to POREG, the cry for peace is becoming louder by the day. Most youngsters are at the forefront of the peace marches. Holding white flags, placards and banners, they are demanding the government to eliminate militancy and ensure sustainable peace. 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, forcing the roof to collapse on those praying. A total of 100 people died in the blast. Pakistan-Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan has blamed the negligence of Pakistan's security forces and intelligence agencies for the rising incidents of terrorism in the country, Pakistan-based Dawn newspaper reported. Khan, in an interview with Voice of America (VOA) aired on Saturday, spoke about the criticism received by the PTI for its decision to negotiate with the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) before the party was ousted. To a question from VOA correspondent Sarah Zaman asked on whether he stands by his decision to greenlight the dialogue with the TTP, Khan was quoted in the Dawn report as saying, "Well, firstly, what were the choices [the] Pakistani government faced once the Taliban took over? Should we have just lined about 30,000 to 40,000 people and shot them, or should we have tried to work with them to resettle them?" (ANI)
Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML N) senior leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said former prime minister Imran Khan could move court over retired Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa's involvement in ousting his government last year, the Dawn reported. Speaking at a Dawn News broadcast on Saturday, Abbasi said the inquiry Imran has requested for was provided for under Article 6 of the country constitution. "If Imran Khan thinks the Constitution was violated, he should file an Article 6 petition," he said, adding, "It is his right." According to Pakistan's constitution, Article 6 states any person who abrogates or subverts or suspends or holds in abeyance, or attempts or conspires to abrogate or subvert or suspend or hold in abeyance, the Constitution by use of force or show of force or by any other unconstitutional means shall be guilty of high treason. "When he became a part of the process, then he is equally responsible as others. He also got support in completing his numbers in the confidence vote. The probe must be held, but inquiries are not held this way. The army and the government have their own systems. The request Imran is making pertains to Article 6, hence he should file a petition." Abbasi was quoted as saying in the report. He added that Khan has made so many accusations and allegations that one has no clue which one ought to be taken seriously, the Dawn quoted Abbasi as saying further. Khan on January 10 called for an internal military inquiry against Bajwa over his alleged 'admission' of being involved in the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) government's ouster last year, according to another report by Dawn. The former PM was referring to Bajwa's remarks published in a column by Javed Chaudhry. In the article, Bajwa said his 'crime' was not stepping in to save Imran's government. He was also quoted as saying that "these people (the PTI) were dangerous for the country", according to the Dawn report. On the army chief's acknowledgment of the military's involvement in politics, Khan was quoted as saying, "There should be an internal army inquiry against him for the statements that he proudly and arrogantly gave that 'I made the decision because the country's conditions were such', as if he was some economic expert." The Dawn further quoted Chaudhry as claiming that he had asked the former army chief, "why did you overthrow Imran Khan's government?" to which Gen Bajwa allegedly answered, "We did not overthrow his government. Our only crime was that why we did not save his government. Imran wanted us to step in and save his government." "I would have kept supporting Imran Khan and would have respectfully retired after bidding him farewell but I sacrificed my image for my country. I took the correct but difficult decision," Chaudhry quoted the former army chief as saying. (ANI)
Canada's Defence Minister Anita Anand on Saturday (local time) said that "it's far too early" to say whether an "unidentified object" shot down over Yukon came from China. "I will not be speculating on the origins of this object this evening. It is far too early in our analysis of the debris as we are still collecting," she said while addressing a news conference. This comes after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Saturday to shot down the object after it violated Canadian airspace. Anand said that the object was cylindrical in shape, and smaller than the Chinese balloon that the US shot down a week ago. She noted the object, "potentially similar to the one that was shot down to the one shot down off the coast of North Carolina though was smaller in size and cylindrical in nature." An F-22 fighter jet of US shot down an unidentified object over Canada on February 11, the second such incident in North America amid heightened alert following a week-long Chinese spying balloon saga. The object was downed approximately 100 miles from the Canada-US border over central Yukon. In a tweet, Trudeau said the operation was conducted under NORAD, or North American Aerospace Defense Command, a combined organization of the United States and Canada. And that a US F-22 fighter jet "successfully fired at the object." "At the direction of the prime minister, aircraft assigned to NORAD successfully took down this high-altitude airborne object at approximately 3:41 pm Eastern Standard Time," said Anand during a press conference, noting it was visually identified using NORAD fighter aircraft. "Recovery operations are now underway," she added. "To our knowledge, this is the first instance of NORAD downing an object in Canadian airspace, and the importance of this moment should not be underestimated. We detected this object together and we defeated this together," Anand said. The object was flying at approximately 40,000 feet and "posed a reasonable threat to the safety of civilian flight," Anand said. Chief of the Defence Staff Gen Wayne Eyre added that the instructions given to the pilots of the aircraft -- two F-22s and two CF-18s -- was for "whoever had the first best shot" to take it, reported Global News. In a phone call Saturday between Trudeau and Biden, "the leaders discussed the importance of recovering the object in order to determine more details on its purpose or origin," according to a readout from the White House. "The President has been continually briefed by his national security team since the object was detected," the readout stated. "Out of an abundance of caution and at the recommendation of their militaries, President Biden and Prime Minister Trudeau authorized it to be taken down. President Biden authorized US fighter aircraft assigned to NORAD to conduct the operation and a US F-22 shot down the object in Canadian territory in close coordination with Canadian authorities," the readout said. The incident came a week after a Chinese surveillance balloon that had flown into Canadian airspace and the northwestern U.S. for several days before being shot down over the Atlantic Ocean by the US Air Force. It's not known if the object being monitored on Saturday originated in China. Asked why Canada didn't intercept the first balloon when it passed through Canadian airspace, Anand told reporters that the government had monitored the craft and "determined that it posed no imminent risk to Canadians at all." Meanwhile, American security and defence officials have accused China of using surveillance balloons to spy on countries over several years and across five continents. The US began collecting pieces of the downed Chinese spy balloon off the South Carolina coast on Tuesday and will examine the craft's payload to better understand what it was surveilling. Parts of the craft have already begun arriving at the FBI's Quantico, Virginia headquarters. (ANI)
The death toll from the earthquakes in Turkey and northwestern Syria has gone past 34,000 as rescue efforts continue, reported CNN. It reached at least 34,179 on Sunday (local time). The death toll in Turkey has reached 29,605, said the Turkish Emergency Coordination Center SAKOM. The confirmed death toll in Syria is 4,574. That number includes more than 3,160 in opposition-held parts of northwestern Syria, according to the health ministry of the Salvation Government governance authority. The Syrian death toll also includes 1,414 deaths in government-controlled parts of Syria, according to the state news agency SANA. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) says it is waiting for final approval to send crossline deliveries into northwest Syria, where rebel groups in the country's long-running civil war control territory and aid deliveries have faced obstacles, reported CNN. The WHO hopes its Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus will soon be able to travel into the rebel-held areas hit by the devastating earthquake, the organization said Sunday. Tedros and a team of top WHO officials arrived in Aleppo on Saturday on a humanitarian aid flight carrying over USD 290,000 worth of trauma emergency and surgical kits. Rick Brennan, a regional emergency director with the WHO, said in a media briefing from Damascus Sunday that there have been "no crossline deliveries" into northwest Syria since the earthquake struck last Monday, reported CNN. "We have one scheduled in the next couple of days. We are still negotiating for that to go ahead," Brennan said, adding that before the earthquake the WHO was "planning a significant expansion of our crossline work." According to Brennan, the WHO has the approval of the Syrian government in Damascus but is waiting for the "approval ... from entities on the other side." "We are working very, very hard to negotiate that access," Brennan stressed. On Sunday, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths tweeted that "trucks with UN relief are rolling into north-west Syria," posting pictures of trucks being loaded for cross-border deliveries, reported CNN. Although he said he was "encouraged by the scale-up of convoys from the UN trans shipment centre at the Turkish border," the aid chief stressed the need to "open more access points" to get aid out quicker. This call was echoed by Raed Al Saleh, the head of the volunteer organization the White Helmets, in a tweet Sunday. Al Saleh said that after meeting with Griffiths at the Turkish-Syrian border Sunday, his group had appreciated the "apology for the shortcomings & mistakes," made. He called on the UN to act now outside the Security Council to "open 3 crossings for emergency aid" to northwest Syria, reported CNN. Meanwhile, a week after the devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Turkey and Syria, teams are rushing to save victims that could still be alive under rubble, with a UN liaison officer in Turkey warning that they are "approaching the end of the search and rescue window." While calling on the international community to "act immediately" in providing humanitarian aid to Syria, Syrian-American actor Jay Abdo told CNN on Saturday that civilians were "racing against time" to rescue loved ones. However, in the midst of tragedy, there have been miraculous scenes of survival and rescue, even days after the quake. A 10-year-old girl was rescued after 147 hours under the rubble, the latest in a series of harrowing stories of success as workers in Turkey continue to search for survivors. A teenage girl, Ayse (Reem Khaled Naasani), was rescued in Hatay Sunday some 162 hours after the quake, according to the Istanbul mayor. And a 50-year-old woman named Guler Agritmis was also rescued Sunday after spending days under the rubble, the Turkish state broadcaster TRT reports. A two months old baby was rescued in Turkey's Hatay province 108 hours after the deadly earthquake struck Turkey and Syria on Monday, according to Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca on Sunday. (ANI)
One person is hospitalized after multiple gun shots were fired in Dayton Sunday afternoon, according to Montgomery County Regional Dispatch.

>>PHOTOS: 1 person hospitalized after multiple shots fired in Dayton

Officers from the Dayton Police Department and medics were dispatched to the intersection of Philadelphia Drive and W. Hillcrest Avenue around 4:17 p.m.

One person suffered non-life-threatening injuries after being shot in the leg and medics transported him to the hospital, officers on scene told News Center 7.

>>It was a huge hit for us, Riverside family reeling from break-in at local business

No suspect or motive has been identified at this time.

There were multiple casings reportedly in the intersection, according to initial scanner traffic.

We will continue to provide updates.

Photo from: Jared Hall/Staff

Photo from: Jared Hall/Staff

Photo from: Jared Hall/Staff

Photo from: Jared Hall/Staff

Photo from: Jared Hall/Staff
In this article, we take a look at the 10 most advanced countries in nuclear fusion. You can skip our detailed analysis of recent developments in fusion energy and go directly to 5 Most Advanced Countries in Nuclear Fusion.

Energy is the engine of the global economy and fossil fuels make up most of the energy supply. However, carbon emissions from fossil fuels have been wreaking havoc on the climate, pushing the world further into existential crisis. The world needs to transition to net zero emissions conservatively by 2050 to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

Despite the hype around energy sources like wind, hydro and solar, they are not remotely energy-dense for the needs of a civilization of our economic scale, even as theyve become more cost competitive. The fact that fossil fuels share in the global energy mix reduced by just 0.1% from 2009 to 2019 is a clear indication of this.

Some stakeholders have pushed for nuclear fission, which is much more energy-dense than fossil fuels, as a viable and clean alternative. However, nuclear fission comes with problems of its own. For instance, fission energy costs an average of $150 per MegaWatt Hour (MWh), compared to $81 for gas power plants and $74 for coal-fired power plants, according to numbers from Bloomberg.

In addition to cost, the nuclear fission is not exactly emissions-free when secondary emissions from uranium mining and refinement are accounted for. Moreover, the risks of accumulative radioactive waste, nuclear weapons proliferation and nuclear meltdowns cannot be ignored.

Why Fusion is The Holy Grail of Clean Energy?

This brings us to nuclear fusion, which is much more cost competitive and energy-dense than nuclear fission, fossil fuels, as well as solar, hydro and wind energy. For instance, inertial-confinement-fusion cost could be as low as $25 per MWh, according to research published in Philosophical Transactions of-the Royal Society journal.

When it comes to energy density, nuclear fusion is four times more energy-dense than nuclear fission and almost four million times more dense than fossil fuels.

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Another advantage that fusion has over sources of energy like nuclear fission, coal, oil and gas is that it is orders of magnitude more sustainable, with no carbon emissions or toxic nuclear waste. Moreover, there is no resource-constraint on fusions reactants.

Investment in fusion energy has seen a huge surge in recent years and real progress has been made in the field, with the most significant breakthrough coming in late 2022, as the National Ignition Facility successfully achieved a net positive gain of energy in a fusion reaction, a first in the history of fusion energy.

Public-Private Investments in Fusion Energy

The public and private investment in the fusion energy sector is rapidly growing, with private sector investment surpassing public funding for the first time in 2022. According to the Global Fusion Industry survey of 2022, public funding for the year stood at $4.7 billion, while private investments increased by 139% from 2021, reaching $4.8 billion.

The sector has seen the emergence of eight new companies since the 2021 Global Fusion Industry survey, bringing the total number of fusion energy companies to 33, with six of them having raised more than $200 million.

When it comes to the public sector, the US, EU, UK and Japan are heavily focusing on fusion. The EU accounts for 45% of the funding for the ITER project, and has decided to provide $6 billion for it for the period 2021-2027. Further, the EU is working with Japan on three Japan-based fusion projects aimed to complement the ITER.

The noteworthy development in the US is that the country has decided to invest significantly in the private fusion sector, in line with the Bold Decadal Vision. The first major investment of $50 million was announced by the Department of Energy in September, 2022.

The US invests roughly $0.7 billion every year on fusion energy research, and the money mostly goes to ITER, national labs and universities. This is the first major investment aimed towards the commercial development of fusion energy technology.

In the private sphere, the US-based TAE Technologies is among the most notable startups, and has raised $1.2 billion to date. The development comes after the $250 million the company raised in the latest Series G round in mid-2022. Among the company's prominent investors are Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) and The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS).

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) has been in partnership with TAE Technologies since 2014. However, the July, 2022 Series G round marked the first time Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) has significantly invested in the startup.

Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX), on the other hand, has invested in the company through its venture capital arm known as Chevron Technology Ventures. It is the first time Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) has invested in the company.

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) oversaw the advisory in relation to the Series G funding of the company. The company itself has been a prominent investor in TAE Technologies in the past. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) was part of the Tae Technologies Series C-2 funding back in 2007.

Photo by Dan Meyers on Unsplash

Our Methodology

For our list, we have defined advanced countries in nuclear fusion as ones that have the highest number of fusion research projects as well as startups. For this purpose, we first ranked them based on the number of projects and then for the number of startups. We then calculated the average ranking for each country based on their two rankings in startups and research projects. For countries with the same averaged-out rankings, weve used their ranking in startups as the tiebreaker.

For research projects, startups and their investors, we have sourced the data from Fusion Energy Base, a fusion energy database. For the latest funding rounds for startups, weve sourced data from Pitchbook.

Here are the 10 most advanced countries in nuclear fusion.

10. Australia

Startups Ranking: 3

Research Projects Ranking: 9

Average Ranking: 6

Australia is the biggest economy in Oceania and is considerably advanced in energy technologies. The country has one fusion energy startup called HB11, based in Sydney. The company follows the laser-boron-fusion approach and its latest funds came from a grant of $6 million in late 2022, as per Pitchbook. Australia currently does not have publicly funded fusion research projects.

9. Russia

Startups Ranking: 4

Research Projects Ranking: 7

Average Ranking: 5.5

Russia is considered the nuclear superpower of the world, with the highest number of nuclear weapons. It is pertinent to mention that Russia has also made strides in nuclear fusion. The country has four fusion research projects, with three in Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics and one in Kurchatov Institute.

Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics is most prominently known for projects like Globus-M2 and Gol-3, with the former being a spherical tokamak, and the latter having the mirror fusion approach. Russia does not have fusion energy startups as of 2023.

8. Italy

Startups Ranking: 4

Research Projects Ranking: 6

Average Ranking: 5

Italys fusion research projects make it one of the most advanced countries in nuclear fusion, despite it having no startups in the sector. The country has five research projects in two different institutes, with four of the projects being carried out at Consorzio RFX, using the reversed-field-pinch approach to fusion.

Its FTU tokamak is operated at ENEA, or the Italian National Agency for new technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development.

7. United Kingdom

Startups Ranking: 2

Research Projects Ranking: 8

Average Ranking: 5

The UK is one of the leading countries in fusion energy. There are currently three fusion startups based in the UK, namely, First Light Fusion, Tokamak Energy and Fusion Reactors, with the first two being the most prominent.

First Light Fusion uses the inertial-confinement-fusion approach. The company achieved fusion in April, 2022, as confirmed by the UK Atomic Energy Authority. The company achieved fusion using less than $54 million. According to Pitchbook, First Light Fusion has raised $480 million in later-stage venture capital, with the funding round still in progress.

Tokamak Energy, on the other hand, has built several spherical tokamaks, with the latest prototype to be built at UKAEAs Culham Campus. The UK is also one of the most advanced countries in nuclear fusion with regard to research projects in universities and labs, with three projects.

Its Imperial College London and University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology are known for the projects MAGPIE and SPHEX Spheromak, respectively, while the UKAEA operates ZETA, a fusion reactor following the stabilized-pinch approach.

6. France

Startups Ranking: 3

Research Projects Ranking: 5

Average Ranking: 4

France is known for the startup Renaissance Fusion, which has so far raised $16.1 million in the latest seed round, which concluded in late January, 26, 2023. Renaissance Fusion is developing stellarators that use high temperature superconductors.

While France only has one startup in the fusion energy domain, it makes up for that with its six publicly funded research projects at institutes like Ecole Polytechnique and CEA.

Click to continue reading and see the 5 Most Advanced Countries in Nuclear Fusion.

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Disclosure: none. 10 Most Advanced Countries in Nuclear Fusion is originally published on Insider Monkey.
Twelve people were displaced from a house fire on Hyde Park Avenue early Sunday morning, fire officials said.

No injuries were reported.

The fire broke out around 4:30 a.m. Sunday at a six-family duplex at 957 Hyde Park Ave., Boston Fire officials said in a tweet.

Companies were able to quickly knockdown the fire ,& stop it from spreading at this 6 family duplex at 957 Hyde Park Ave. around 4:30 this morning .There were no injuries, 12 residents were displaced @RedCrossMA to help with housing,the cause is under investigation . pic.twitter.com/ICO25IQNB7  Boston Fire Dept. (@BostonFire) February 12, 2023

Firefighters were able to quickly knock down the fire and stop it from spreading, officials said.

The Red Cross also responded to assist the displaced residents.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

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

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

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If you want to know who really controls GWA Group Limited (ASX:GWA), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 40% to be precise, is institutions. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

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. Therefore, a good portion of institutional money invested in the company is usually a huge vote of confidence on its future.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of GWA Group, beginning with the chart below.

See our latest analysis for GWA Group

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About GWA Group?

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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in GWA Group. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of GWA Group, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in GWA Group. Perpetual Limited is currently the company's largest shareholder with 11% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 5.6% and 5.0%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 13 have the combined ownership of 50% in the company, suggesting that no single shareholder has significant control over the company.

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Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. There are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.

Insider Ownership Of GWA Group

The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. The company management answer to the board and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board themselves.

Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.

Shareholders would probably be interested to learn that insiders own shares in GWA Group Limited. It has a market capitalization of just AU$544m, and insiders have AU$30m worth of shares, in their own names. This shows at least some alignment. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 38% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over GWA Group. 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

It seems that Private Companies own 17%, of the GWA Group stock. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it's hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand GWA Group better, we need to consider many other factors. Be aware that GWA Group is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 2 of those don't sit too well with us...

If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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A look at the shareholders of Animalcare Group plc (LON:ANCR) can tell us which group is most powerful. We can see that institutions own the lion's share in the company with 58% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Because institutional owners have a huge pool of resources and liquidity, their investing decisions tend to carry a great deal of weight, especially with individual investors. As a result, a sizeable amount of institutional money invested in a firm is generally viewed as a positive attribute.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Animalcare Group.

Check out our latest analysis for Animalcare Group

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Animalcare Group?

Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

Animalcare Group already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at Animalcare Group's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Investors should note that institutions actually own more than half the company, so they can collectively wield significant power. Hedge funds don't have many shares in Animalcare Group. Alychlo NV is currently the largest shareholder, with 24% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 12% and 7.2% of the stock.

Our research also brought to light the fact that roughly 53% of the company is controlled by the top 5 shareholders suggesting that these owners wield significant influence on the business.

Story continues

While it makes sense to study institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiments to know which way the wind is blowing. While there is some analyst coverage, the company is probably not widely covered. So it could gain more attention, down the track.

Insider Ownership Of Animalcare Group

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.

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.

Our information suggests that Animalcare Group plc insiders own under 1% of the company. It seems the board members have no more than UK1.0m worth of shares in the UK117m company. We generally like to see a board more invested. However it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

With a 10% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Animalcare Group. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.

Private Equity Ownership

With a stake of 30%, private equity firms could influence the Animalcare Group board. Some investors might be encouraged by this, since private equity are sometimes able to encourage strategies that help the market see the value in the company. Alternatively, those holders might be exiting the investment after taking it public.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Be aware that Animalcare Group is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about...

Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

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.

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
Ethiopian Cargo & Logistics Services, Africas largest network operator, has started two weekly freighter flights connecting China's Xiamen with Sao Paulo (Brazil) and Santiago (Chile) via Addis Ababa (Ethiopia).

Ethiopian also plans to commence two weekly freighter flights between Shenzhen in China and Liege (Belgium) as of February 17. Ethiopian will deploy B777 Freighter on the new cargo routes.

Ethiopian Airlines Group CEO Mesfin Tasew said: We are glad to expand our reach in China adding Xiamen and Shenzhen in our global freighter network. The new cargo flights will be instrumental in facilitating cargo shipments across the world by improving air connectivity among China, Africa, Europe and South America.

"As the largest cargo network operator in Africa and a key air cargo service provider globally, Ethiopian Airlines will continue expanding its services around the world by opening new routes and increasing flight frequencies so as to facilitate global trade and the flow of goods.

Ethiopian is launching these new flights as it marks the 50th anniversary of the start of its passenger service to China back in 1973.

Xiamen and Shenzhen will join the vast Ethiopian network increasing its cargo destination in China to eight, including Guangzhou, Shanghai, Zhengzhou, Changsha, Wuhan and Chengdu. In addition to the cargo services, Ethiopian currently flies to four passenger destinations in China namely, Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou and Shanghai with its enhanced services and modern fleet.

As one of the leading global air cargo operators, Ethiopian Cargo and Logistics Services covers more than 130 international destinations around the world with both belly hold capacity and 68 dedicated freighter services. - TradeArabia News Service
Welcome to The Interchange! If you received this in your inbox, thank you for signing up and your vote of confidence. If youre reading this as a post on our site, sign up here so you can receive it directly in the future. Every week, Ill take a look at the hottest fintech news of the previous week. This will include everything from funding rounds to trends to an analysis of a particular space to hot takes on a particular company or phenomenon. Theres a lot of fintech news out there and its my job to stay on top of it  and make sense of it  so you can stay in the know.  Mary Ann

Hello, and welcome back. We finally got our power restored after the ice storm and Im feeling better after coming down with a cold  but since Im still not operating at full capacity, this newsletter will be a bit abbreviated.

Rebrands are not uncommon in the startup world, and the fintech space is no exception. They are particularly more prevalent when companies pivot to adapt to external circumstances. Last week, TripActions announced it was rebranding and is now called Navan.

I, for one, wasnt at all surprised by the news since TripActions pivoted from being a travel expense management company to a corporate card and expense management for enterprises more generally soon after the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March 2020. In 2021, CEO and co-founder Ariel Cohen told me that its revenue didnt just drop  it bottomed out . . . to zero. Thats when execs decided to focus its efforts on its then-new Liquid offering, which appears to have worked out pretty well for the company. In October, amid its continued growth, the company raised $154 million in equity at a post-money valuation of $9.2 billion, up from its prior valuation of $7.5 billion, as well as a $150 million structured financing deal from Coatue. Then in December, it secured $400 million in credit facilities from Goldman Sachs and Silicon Valley Bank (SVB).

Its rebrand is more than just a name change, apparently. The company said it has now unified its travel, corporate and expense offerings into a single super application. On top of that, Navan  a combination of navigate and avant (or forward)  claims to be the first travel company to integrate OpenAI and ChatGPT APIs across its infrastructure and product set.

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The company says it is currently using the generative AI technology to write, test, and fix code with the aim of increasing its operational efficiency and reducing overhead. So now, through Ava  Navans virtual assistant  travel managers are able to personalize recommendations and increase traveler engagement, execs claim. They say also that admins can use the tool as a personal assistant to perform tasks such as performing personalized data analysis, providing granular carbon emission details or ordering corporate cards for their company. Meanwhile, travelers can do things like perform a travel search, solve customer support issues and even recommend an Indian restaurant near their hotel in London, for example.

A company spokesperson told me via email: Program admins will be able to ask Ava for reporting across the travel and spend programs, whether that is via text, graph, PDF, etc. We also use AI to do everything from the elimination of expense reporting to automate itemization  and in the case of hotel folios, we instantly fetch it from the hotel after a stay, categorize line items, compare that against company policy, and submit for the user, so there's no need for them [to] move pennies around in order to balance out a folio  a process that's pretty painful in my experience.

Personally, weve been wondering at TC when generative AI was going to impact the fintech space, so Im intrigued by this move on TripActions  I mean Navans  part.

But I should point out Navan wasnt the only company in the financial services space that announced it was incorporating AI into its products.

Last week, TechCrunchs Sarah Perez reported that Microsoft and American Express announced they were teaming up to put AI to work to aid with the frustrating and laborious task of filing and auditing corporate expense reports. She wrote: The companies agreed to expand their decades-long partnership to build solutions that leverage Microsoft Cloud and AI technologies, starting with expense report management. According to Amex, the initial solution will leverage machine learning and AI to automate expense reporting and approvals. Notably, though, Amex says the AI is something it built in-house  its not leveraging Microsofts partnership with OpenAI but is using Microsoft Cloud. You can read more about that deal here.

Fascinating! I expect well only be hearing more about AI being incorporated in the world of financial services.

More layoffs

Last week, Affirm announced that it was reducing its staff by 19% and shutting down its crypto unit. It also missed analysts estimates on its revenue and earnings. All this news led to a sharp drop in its stock price. Its further evidence that buy now, pay later as a space is struggling. I plan to get into that more next week, so stay tuned.

Gusto also slashed jobs  laying off 126 people last week. Last May, TechCrunch had reported that the HR technology unicorn, which was worth nearly $10 billion at that time, raised an extension to its 2021-era Series E funding round. That funding event included $175 million in primary capital, a tranche of secondary shares and a tender offer.

Ironically, TCs Natasha Mascarenhas explains, late last month, Gustos editor-in-chief wrote about the topic of layoffs  and the silver lining ahead for small businesses looking to scoop up talent.

Call me cynical, but in the end, a big business will always choose itself over scores of its employees. Its just the nature of the beast. Small businesses need to use this fact to their advantage.

TechCrunch reached out to Gusto for comment and was told that the cuts represented about 5% of the workforce. A spokesperson also told me: "All employees were notified by email. Impacted employees also received a text pointing them to the email." One employee, who wished to remain anonymous, said the move came as a surprise since the company claims that it is in "stable financial condition." The same employee cited a toxic work culture, a sentiment that was echoed by some users of Blind.

Weekly news

According to Axios: Robinhood announced it plans to buy back shares from Sam Bankman-Fried's Emergent Fidelity Technologies. That particular Robinhood stake is currently in legal hell after FTX's implosion. Robinhood's board has authorized the purchase of "most or all" of the 55 million shares Emergent Fidelity Technologies acquired last year, it said in its earnings report Wednesday. Emergent Fidelity Technologies was formed to buy a 7.6% in Robinhood in early 2022. Now however, the stake is being disputed by several players. Ouch. I'm sure Robinhood didn't anticipate this when giving up those shares.

Pie Insurance, which provides workers' compensation insurance to small businesses, announced that it has completed its transition to a rated, full-stack carrier. Pie will begin issuing its own insurance policies later this year following the recent acquisition of a nationally licensed insurance company (previously the American Insurance Company), now renamed the Pie Insurance Company. We last covered Pie in September when it raised a $315 million Series D. Pie also expanded into commercial auto insurance as the MGA for Ford Motor Credit Company through the launch of Ford Pro Insure.

From Manish Singh: Fintech Kissht and PayUs LazyPay are among the apps that Indias IT Ministry has blocked in the ongoing crackdown as New Delhi moves to curb the misuse of consumers data and protect the nations integrity. More here.

PayPals stock is up once again. The company announced during its fourth-quarter earnings announcement that longtime CEO Dan Schulman plans to retire at the end of the year. But its earnings topped analysts estimates. Last week, we wrote about the companys plans to lay off 2,000 employees.

In July 2022, Brazilian fintech alt.bank launched novucard, a credit card in Brazil that has a dynamic credit limit, with the ability to see the limit adjusted upward and downward automatically based on usage and payment timeliness. A company spokesperson told me that since that launch, novucard has grown to 150,000 new clients, making it the fastest growing credit card in Brazil. She added: As many as 3,000 new customers per day are obtaining a new novucard. The company expects this figure will grow, boosted primarily by word of mouth  and that the number of customers will increase to 2 million by the end of 2023. Founded by American Brad Liebmann, fintech alt.bank has 130 employees based primarily in Sao Paulo and Sao Carlos. The company raised $5.5 million in Series A funding in May of 2021.

Fundings and M&A

Former Gemini CTO launches Fierce, a high-yield finance super app

New social investment platform Follow taps influencers to mirror their investment strategies

SUMA Wealth acquires Reel to close the U.S. wealth gap. Christine covered last year: https://techcrunch.com/2022/10/21/suma-wealth-latinos-credit-gaming/

Sequoia Capital Southeast Asia backs cross-border payments startup Tazapay

Investment platform Moonfare caps Series C extension at $15M

That's it for this week. Thanks once again for hanging in there with me, and I hope to be back at you at full speed next week. Enjoy the rest of your weekend! xoxo, Mary Ann
Ukrainian air defence units shot down four Iranian-made Shahed kamikaze drones and one Orlan-10 UAV in three hours on the evening of 11 February.

Source: Air Force of Ukraine

Details: It is noted that Russian occupation forces attacked critical infrastructure on the southern-eastern fronts on the evening of 11 February.

As always, the occupiers launched Shahed drones from the east coast of the Sea of Azov.

Military assets and personnel from anti-aircraft missile units of Air Command Skhid (East) of the Air Force of Ukraine destroyed four Shahed 136/131 attack kamikaze drones from 18:40 to 21:30.

In addition, air defence units shot down an Orlan-10 operational-tactical UAV on the same front.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Ukraines air defence forces have destroyed five drones in Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk oblasts.

Source: Air Command Skhid (East)

Quote: "There was another enemy drone attack on the critical infrastructure of the oblast."

Details: As the Command has reported, Ukraines air defence units have shot down four Iranian-made Shahed kamikaze drones in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

One more Orlan-10 UAV was also destroyed in Donetsk Oblast.

Background: Russian drones were detected in the skies over Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts on the evening of Saturday, 11 February 2023.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
No. 11 Alabama gymnastics (5-3) finished second in the Metroplex Challenge on Saturday night in Fort Worth, Texas, scoring a 198, ahead of No. 16 Arkansas, which finished third with a 197.125, and No. 24 Stanford, which placed fourth at 196.725. Top-ranked Oklahoma won the meet with a 198.125.

""The energy, the momentum, was amazing. I love when we have the opportunity to prepare for championship moments, and that's what tonight felt like," said Alabama coach Ashley Johnston. "Our team stepped up."

Here's what we learned:

Third straight season high

For the third week in a row, Alabama set a new season-high with its score. This time, however, the Crimson Tide scored its first 198 of the season. It was the first 198 score since Johnston was hired as head coach prior to the season and just the fifth score that high for Alabama since 2014.

"I think it says a lot about this team's potential," said Johnston. "They continue to just put their heads down and work week after week."

Alabama gymnast Luisa Blanco came up big at the Metroplex Challenge. She is shown here on balance beam vs. Auburn on Feb. 3

Blanco's near-perfect night

After a meet where she won three individual titles in a home victory over Auburn, Crimson Tide senior Luisa Blanco continued her hot streak, scoring 9.9 or better in each of her four events. She started with back-to-back 9.9s on the uneven parallel bars and the balance beam, added a 9.95 on floor exercise, then closed the meet with a 9.925 on vault, earning praise from her head coach.

"Oklahoma has been a top team in the country for several years now. Arkansas is a great team. Stanford's a great team. It was important for us to ignore the noise and focus on what we can control," said Johnston. "Luisa was a big part of that."

Karis German makes debut

The freshman stepped in on the bars, replacing sophomore Jordyn Paradise. German helped Alabama get started with a 9.85 in her first routine of her college career.

What's next

Alabama returns to SEC competition on Friday night, traveling to Athens to face Georgia.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama gymnastics scores 198 to finish second in Metroplex Challenge
Luis Gallego, CEO of IAG, photographed in London on 31 August 2022Image: Luis Gallego, chief executive International Airlines Group (IAG)Credit: International Airlines Group (IAG) - Nick Morrish

Rishi Sunak is failing to deliver one of the UKs flagship green policies, the chief executive of British Airways parent company has said.

In a rare intervention, Luis Gallego, chief executive of International Airlines Group (IAG), says Britain has fallen behind the US in the production of green aviation fuels because of Government inaction.

Writing in the Telegraph, Mr Gallego said time is running out for the UK as America establishes a lead by virtue of billions of dollars of White House subsidies.

If there isnt enough of these alternative fuels to go around, which at the moment there isnt, UK aviations net zero ambition is put at risk, he said.

Jet Zero was one of 10 commitments made in November 2020 under Boris Johnson's 12bn programme to deliver a green industrial revolution. The Governments 10-point plan said: Moving to sustainable fuels is one of the key steps to success that we can unlock.

A strategy for reaching net zero aviation by 2050 was subsequently published last summer.

However, the industry is increasingly concerned by the laissez-faire attitude in Westminster towards funding SAF.

Mr Gallegos concerns are shared by John Holland-Kaye, the chief executive of Heathrow airport.

He told the Telegraph: Britain is being leapfrogged by the US and Europe in the race to scale-up SAF production and unless we act fast well lose out on the huge prize this new sector can deliver for UK plc.

The Government says it is chasing economic growth, that it needs to decarbonise to hit net zero and that the UK needs to keep better control of its energy supplies in the future.

Thats exactly what creating a domestic SAF industry delivers. The Government needs to get out of the changing room and join the race.

(FILES) In this file photo taken on February 28, 2017 John Holland-Kaye, CEO of Heathrow Airport, speaks at the British Chambers of Commerce conference in London. - Heathrow Airport said on February 2, 2023, that it's CEO John Holland-Kaye has announced he will be stepping down from the role during 2023. (Photo by Daniel LEAL / AFP) (Photo by DANIEL LEAL/AFP via Getty Images) - DANIEL LEAL/AFP via Getty Images

The aviation industry is the latest sector to sound the alarm over the direction of Government policy, amid concerns about long-term growth.

Tom Glover, the UK boss of German energy giant RWE, told the Sunday Telegraph that the energy industry was at risk of death by a thousand cuts due to a combination of windfall taxes and flip-flopping policies.

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Meanwhile, the boss of FTSE 100 pharma giant AstraZeneca said last week the company had chosen Ireland rather than the UK for a new $400m drug factory because of the UKs discouraging tax regime.

A new survey of businesses by BDO consultancy found that optimism across the UK stagnated last month. Ed Dwan, partner at BDO, said hiring intentions are at their lowest levels in over a year as executives face into a bleak economic outlook.

Businesses need the right support in place to ensure they can weather the challenges ahead and focus on continuing to drive the growth of the UKs economy, he said.

Mr Gallego is calling on Mr Sunak to roll out a contracts for differences scheme  similar to that successfully used to incentivise investment into UK wind farms  to kickstart the production of SAF in the UK. This mechanism would help guarantee a price for the fuel, giving investors more certainty when investing in production.

Mr Gallego said support for SAF would be a golden opportunity here  to drive economic growth, to create new jobs, and to get to Net Zero, all at the same time.

Tom Glover in discussion.jpg - Andre Laaks/RWE

An independent review of net zero for the Government by former science minister Chris Skidmore, published last month, called for an adequate price stability mechanism to incentivise the production of SAF.

America already has four incentive schemes for SAF production and the EU recently pledged carbon credit allowances worth 2bn to incentivise the take-up of the eco-fuel.

Although the sector currently only accounts for 2pc to 3pc of harmful emissions, decarbonising aviation is challenging and is likely to take longer than many other industries. This means that as other sectors wean themselves off hydrocarbons, the proportion of carbon emissions represented by flying is likely to rise.

Free-marketeers dispute the need for incentives to stimulate SAF production, however, and argue that SAF plants will be built by foreign companies. Developments could be funded by forward selling the fuel to airlines.

A Government spokesman said: Our sustainable aviation fuel programme is one of the most comprehensive in the world and our 165m Advanced Fuel Fund is kickstarting its production in the UK by supporting investment.

Time is running out to meet Britains green fuel goals

By Luis Gallego

Aviation is a force for good. It generated nearly 90bn of value in the UK economy in 2019 through jobs, supply chain, and the wider tourism and trade it enables.

The industry has social and cultural benefits too, bringing people together from different continents and backgrounds. The stories we hear directly from our customers, and their passion for travel and exploration, are evidence of that.

At IAG, we are firm believers that we can retain the benefits of flying, while making the transition to cleaner skies. But we must be honest about the scale of the challenge and recognise that the industry cant do it alone.

Aviation, as well as being one of our most vital industries, is one of the hardest to decarbonise. Most of aviations carbon emissions come from the fuel needed for aircraft engines. Other innovative technologies that reduce emissions, like hydrogen and batteries, are years, maybe even decades, away from commercial use. Even then, they might not be able to support longer journeys.

The industry is already making progress in many areas: buying planes that consume less fuel, managing operations more efficiently. But there is more we could do.

We need airspace modernisation, so aircraft fly more directly, and we need support when it comes to new technologies and Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), which is crucial for decarbonising long haul travel.

Proven to be capable of powering existing aircraft engines right now, SAF is produced from a variety of substances including old cooking oil and takeaway coffee cups that would otherwise become landfill. Its use can reduce life cycle CO2 emissions by up to 80pc.

The benefit of SAF is clear and potentially transformative. Recognising this, the Government has announced a mandate that 10pc of UK aviation fuel come from sustainable sources by 2030.

IAG has already committed $865m towards future production, including plans with British Airways to support the construction of the first waste-to-fuels plant in Immingham in Lincolnshire.

But there isnt enough of these alternative fuels to go around. This puts the UK aviations Net Zero ambition at risk.

To meet just 10pc of UK fuel needs by 2030, the country will need around 1.2 million tonnes of SAF. In 2022, Britain only produced 1pc of that figure.

Perhaps just as concerning, the UK and Europe risk being overtaken when it comes to SAF development and production. In the US, the Government is offering billions of dollars of incentives for new SAF plants, which is already encouraging investment.

What is needed for this country to be a leader in the production of sustainable fuels?

The industry is asking the Government to put in place some mechanisms, in addition to the 10pc mandate, to attract investment and kick start the construction of new plants by 2025. This is not unprecedented  the Government took similar action with offshore wind power.

Research shows that we could see 14 new SAF plants across the UK in the next few years, creating thousands of jobs and contributing 2.7bn to the economy.

There is a golden opportunity here  to drive economic growth, to create new jobs, and to get to Net Zero, all at the same time. In doing so, the UK could create a reliable domestic supply of fuel.

But time is running out. For plants to be in construction by 2025, we need this support in place now to enable investment decisions to be made this year and next.

The vision of Global Britain has always depended on connecting the country with the rest of the world. Now, the Government has quite rightly set an ambition to play a leading role in the green industries of the future. Choosing to back SAF with measures to encourage investment in 2023 would see that ambition take flight.

Luis Gallego is chief executive of International Airlines Group (IAG)
By David Brunnstrom and Michael Martina

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - When U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken this month called off his trip to Beijing, he chose his words carefully. China's launch of a spy balloon on a high-altitude journey over the United States was unacceptable and irresponsible, he said, but he was postponing - not canceling - his visit.

A week later, China's balloon has been shot down, the trip remains unscheduled, and the Friday and Saturday downing of two unidentified aircraft over Alaska and Canada raised questions about whether an adversary had sent more spy vessels into North American airspace.

Still, say analysts, the two countries have strong reasons to manage their disagreements. The question now is when, not whether, they find their way back to the negotiating table.

"Secretary Blinken ... talked about postponing the trip, not canceling it or ending all foreseeable high-level communication with the Chinese government," U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said last week. "That is not going to happen."

China wants to revive its economy, still reeling from the crushing zero-Covid policy. To that end, Chinese President Xi Jinping hopes to improve relations that hit a dangerous low in August with the visit to Taiwan by then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and to persuade U.S. lawmakers not to push new rules aimed at thwarting China's efforts to produce advanced semiconductors.

And while U.S. observers had low hopes for Blinken's China trip, diplomats say a high-level visit is needed to put a "floor" under the relationship and to make progress on issues ranging from Chinese fentanyl to Americans detained in the country.

OUTRAGE AND HYPOCRISY

Restarting talks won't be easy. The balloon flight caused outrage in Washington, with politicians criticizing the U.S. military and U.S. President Joe Biden for failing to shoot it down when it first entered U.S. airspace.

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China's foreign ministry has reacted angrily to Washington's spying allegations, saying the balloon was a civilian research craft and accusing the United States of hypocrisy.

The Pentagon said last week that China declined a U.S. request for a phone call between Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe.

This doesn't mean re-engagement can't happen, however.

"While it's all too common for the Chinese to refuse to engage in the military-military channel when it is needed the most  in a crisis  that doesn't mean the Chinese have given up on their effort to buy time by calming relations with the U.S. and the West," said Daniel Russel, the top U.S. diplomat for East Asia under former President Barack Obama.

U.S. leaders have also said communication channels must stay open even while calling the episode a violation of U.S. sovereignty, briefing dozens of countries on what they say is a global Chinese surveillance program and adding six Chinese entities to a trade blacklist.

Biden has said the balloon needed to be shot down, but has played down both the security threat and the impact on U.S.-China relations.

On Thursday, he said the incident was not a major security breach while noting that "the total amount of intelligence gathering that's going on by every country around the world is overwhelming."

GIVE TALKS A CHANCE

Short of a high-level visit, there are opportunities for diplomacy. In a report from Berlin, Politico cited diplomats as saying that China's top diplomat Wang Yi, whom Blinken was to meet in Beijing, would attend this year's Munich Security Conference, which is slated for Feb. 17-19.

Blinken will also attend the event, though neither side has said the two might meet there.

Another chance will be a China trip by U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. On Wednesday Yellen said she still hoped to go to China, giving no details on timing, and China's commerce ministry said on Thursday it welcomed her willingness to visit.

While helpful, such meetings can only set the stage for the in-depth, high-level dialogue needed to steady ties.

Blinken could meet with the Chinese in Munich or at the G20 foreign ministers meeting in India in March, but he needs to visit Beijing and meet face-to-face with Xi to ensure messages on thorny issues like Taiwan and Russia get through, Russel said.

New U.S. restrictions on Chinese companies and Republican House Committee Chairman Mike McCaul's announced desire to visit Chinese-claimed Taiwan in April "could prove the straws that break the back" of such efforts, he added.

Bonnie Glaser, an Asia expert at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, cautioned that domestic pressures in both countries may mean it is too early for either side to re-engage.

"The Chinese don't want to look weak and they probably don't want to admit that they lied (about the balloon). President Biden is also under pressure from Republicans in Congress who insist the balloon should have been shot down sooner," said Glaser.

(Reporting by David Brunnstrom and Michael Martina; Additional reporting by Simon Lewis in Washington and Echo Wang in New York; Editing by Don Durfee and Deepa Babington)
Apprentice scheme - Anthony Upton

The UK has a problem across almost every sector and every industry that, until it is fixed, is damaging our economic future and productivity.

It is no secret that we have a skills shortage: daily we hear about the drastic shortfall of nurses and doctors. And while overall unemployment is low, it is disproportionately impacting the young, with 399,000 people out of work.

The construction and infrastructure industry contributes 7pc of our national GDP and is gearing up to deliver an even more ambitious range of projects to make the UKs green energy transition a reality.

This is something the Government recognised with its bold decision in the Autumn Statement to safeguard 600bn for capital investment over the next five years, with priority placed on investment in infrastructure, energy efficiency and innovation. This is expected to give our economy a much-needed shot in the arm. Yet research from National Grid states that 400,000 green jobs must be filled to enable us to deliver our successive net-zero targets. And the latest figures show that only about 23,000 new apprentices are starting careers in the sector each year.

Where do we find the number of skilled workers required, in the time frame needed?

First, we need a plan that produces rapid results so that current critical projects can be built. But at the same time, we need a larger solution that fixes the stubborn causes of our long-term national skills gap, once and for all.

As the founder of The 5pc Club  a movement of over 770 employers committed to making vocational training (earn and learn) positions accessible to all  I have fought for 10 years to boost the role of apprenticeships and other formal training programmes in building a socially mobile, prosperous and cohesive Britain.

I strongly believe that on-the-job learning can break down barriers many people face in acquiring the skills that create lifelong employability. It enables us to find and develop the talent we need to compete globally and  as many individuals have proven  it grows leaders in every walk of UK life.

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Balfour Beatty supported the aim of the Governments apprenticeship levy  boosting structured apprenticeship programmes  even before it came into force in 2017.

However, despite the Governments intent to establish a technical education system to match our world-leading university sector, the apprenticeship levy in its current form has not delivered. Since the levys introduction, take-up has in fact declined: the 713,000 apprentices last year represent the lowest annual total since 2010. It is clear change needs to happen, and it needs to happen now.

While the industry must lead on delivery, the Government has an essential role in supporting our skills pipelines. The Governments central focus on developing a new, sustainable skills base is welcome, but more must be done.

My direct ask of the Government therefore is to fulfil the promise they made last year to fully review, and fix the apprenticeship levy. Build this into their Spring Statement.

Flexibility is key. Rules on the length of training are prohibitive. High-quality booster courses, complementary training programmes and shorter units to upskill existing employees rapidly into a different discipline would all have fast and positive effects. Incentivise industry leaders to lead their industries. Enable larger employers to use the levy to mentor and support SMEs which often make up their supply chains.

Across the industry, incredible feats of engineering and construction are delivered every day. But the industry is evolving, becoming progressively more diverse and increasingly modern, embracing digital tools that require a wide range of technical skills needed to drive forward the pipeline of mega-projects in the UK.

As the industry evolves, so too must our approach to attracting and retaining new talent. In spite of pockets of excellence following significant investment by companies including Balfour Beatty, the construction and infrastructure industry as a whole remains one of the least digitised industries in the economy.

This has a significant impact not only on the sectors (and the UK economys) productivity, but also on its ability to tackle skills shortages, drive sustainability improvements and increase collaboration throughout the supply chain.

Therefore, transforming the levy spending rules into a more user-friendly skills levy would make it truly responsive to employer needs, maintaining the intent of the funding while allowing employers to match the available funds to the most appropriate training to address specific skills gaps in their workforce and supply chain. Increasing flexibility in this way would play an important role in upskilling the UK.

At Balfour Beatty, we take responsibility for talent in our sector by going over and above whats required. For a start, 6.2pc of our workforce are apprentices, graduates and trainees. In addition to supporting our early careers talent and broader learning and development across all levels of the company, we also spend 5m a year on technical training.

Having started my career as a Balfour Beatty graduate, I know these positions can build future leaders. So I am particularly passionate about increasing the number of earn and learn positions we offer. Combined, these changes would be the true silver bullets to equip the construction and infrastructure industry with the skilled workforce essential to drive economic growth, our green transition, net-zero goals and long-term energy security.

Apprenticeships are our future. Let us not forget that.

Leo Quinn is the chief executive of Balfour Beatty and founder of The 5pc Club
CAIRO (AP)  Dozens of leaders and senior officials from Arab and Islamic countries warned on Sunday Israeli actions in Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank could worsen regional turmoil, as violence surges between Israel and the Palestinians.

The meeting in Cairo was hosted by the Arab League and attended by President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi of Egypt, Jordans King Abdullah II and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas along with many foreign ministers and senior officials.

The high-level gathering came amid one of the deadliest periods of fighting in years in Jerusalem and the neighboring Israeli-occupied territory. Forty-five Palestinians have been killed so far this year, according to a count by The Associated Press. Palestinians have killed 10 people on the Israeli side during that time.

Speakers at the meeting condemned Israels unilateral measures in Jerusalem and the West Bank in statements, including home demolitions and expanding settlements.

They also condemned visits by Israeli officials to the citys contested holy site, which is sacred to both Jews and Muslims and has often been the epicenter of Israeli-Palestinian unrest.

There was no immediate comment from Israel's government.

The officials also voiced support for Jordan's role as custodian of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third-holiest site in Islam. The mosque is built on a hilltop in Jerusalems Old City that is the most sacred site for Jews, who refer to it as the Temple Mount because it was the site of the Jewish temples in antiquity.

Since Israel captured the site in the 1967 Mideast War, Jews have been allowed to visit but not pray there. Israel claims all of Jerusalem as its undivided capital, while the Palestinians seek east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.

Calling Jerusalem "the backbone of the Palestinian cause," el-Sissi warned of dire repercussions of any Israeli move to change the status quo of the holy site, saying they would negatively impact future negotiations to settle the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

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He said such measures would impede the long-sought after two-state solution to the conflict, which would leave both parties and the whole Middle East with difficult and grave options.

El-Sissi, whose country was the first Arab nation to establish diplomatic ties with Israel, called on the international community to reinforce the two-state solution and create conducive conditions for the resumption of the peace process.

King Abdullah II also called for Israel to cease its violations and incursions into the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The region cannot live in peace, stability, and prosperity without any progress made on the Palestinian cause, he warned.

Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, the secretary-general of the pan-Arab organization, also warned that attempts to partition the Al-Aqsa Mosque and obliterate its Arab and Islamic identity would fuel endless unrest and violence.

Abbas, the Palestinian president, said his administration would resort to the United Nations and its agencies and demand a resolution to protect the two-state solution to the conflict.

The State of Palestine will continue going to international courts and organizations to protect our peoples legitimate rights, he said.

The ongoing bout of violence has put the region on edge. Last month, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Egyptian, Israeli and Palestinian leaders and urged them to ease tensions.

Israel is run by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus new far-right government. Many politicians in Netanyahus administration oppose Palestinian independence.

Sunday's meeting in Cairo issued a final statement that condemned what it called Israeli's systemic policy that aims at distorting and changing Jerusalems Arab and Islamic culture and identity.

The communique also urged the International Criminal Court to pursue its investigation and hold those responsible for Israels alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity accountable.
APC in Government shall muster the political will to wage strident War against Corruption; otherwise our post-oil-economy will be disastrous. It is our considered view that none of our cardinal programs will succeed if the current level of corruption and looting going on in the land is allowed to continue. We shall strengthen and make independent the EFCC, ICPC and other Anti-graft agencies and repeal the laws which inhibit their independence. We shall embark on public sensitization campaign and civic education against corruption in schools and town halls. Shall encourage Civil Society Organizations, Advocacy groups and Whistle-Blowers in the anti-graft vanguard. We shall stop the corruption of our electoral process by making the Independent National and State Electoral Commissions (INEC) truly independent. We shall establish Special Courts for corruption, after due and thorough review of the penal code. To actualize this we shall make the appointment of the chairman and top officials of National and State Electoral Commissions Public as enunciated in the Uwais Electoral Reform Report. On all election matters, the Burden.

From a net and leading exporter of Agriculture produce in the post-independent years, the nation has now collapsed and become dependent on imports for its sustenance for wheat, rice, sugar, milk, fruit and juice to mention just a few. The nation now depends on foreign producers. Our Currency is weak, our independence is threatened and our national pride and integrity are compromised, this situation therefore will definitely worsen with the coming uncertainty in the oil and gas market. APC will embark on a massive and comprehensive re-organization and revolutionalisation of the agricultural industry. The objective is to sustain agriculture as the strategic engine and prime-mover of national economic development to feed the nation; to supply the raw material for industrial processing and manufacturing; and to earn stable remunerative prices in the local and international markets. In addition, APC will revamp the River Basin Authorities, which are the best vehicles for Nigerias agricultural revival and expansion. In recognition of the important role of agriculture in national development, our party in Government will be guided by the following: The creation of functional agricultural Extension and food inspectorate divisions with a view, not only to making professional services available to farmers, but also improving nutrition and eliminating food-borne hazards. Embarking on massive agricultural land preparation in all states to prepare the ground for massive crop production by restoring the NALDA. Encourage commercial livestock and fisheries development as well as strengthening forestation and environmental protection schemes. A policy to encourage young people to go into agriculture by funding incentives and mechanization techniques. This will replace the ageing current generation of farmers who are too few to meet the nations demands. Reclaiming the desert by tree planting programmes and growing alfalfa grass, and other legumes for livestock nutrition. Institution of land army scheme across the nation. Restarting farm settlements and procuring appropriate machinery for agricultural productivity, locally sourced or imported. Strengthening the Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development Investing in irrigation facilities for all season agro-enterprise

Power is the center point of the development process. All other indices of development anchor on power and energy. The failure to make power supply efficient has impacted negatively on the economy. It has made the cost of production and business high and has invariably raised the cost of agricultural produce and other finished goods and services thereby thwarting the growth of our economy. The crisis in the power sector is one of the major causes of the present collapse of the industrial sector and the inability of small scale industries to thrive. To kick-start industrial growth in the country, stable and affordable power supply is an absolute necessity. The APC Government shall vigorously pursue the expansion of electricity generation and distribution of up to 40,000 megawatts in four to eight years. The party will also work assiduously at making power available from renewable energy sources such as coal, solar, hydro, wind and biomass for domestic and industrial use, wherever these prove viable As a matter of pressing priority and urgency, tackle the paralyzing lapses with electric power generation, distribution and supply. Resolve all stalemate around the reform of the power sector and develop a transparently agreed power generation and distribution milestones with clear timeliness and targets. Liberalize the monopoly of the Federal Government in power generation and supply. We shall devolve much of power and energy to the private sector. The gas and thermal stations will particularly be encouraged to increase their supply capacities. Alternative power sources, including hydro, solar, coal and wind energy will be explored and developed. Regular Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) of existing facilities will be done to ensure steady and uninterrupted utility supply. An aggressive and efficient tariff/revenue recovery system will be pursued. All avenues of waste, corruption and abuse will be checked. Rural electrification will continue to be encouraged. Improve management efficiency of the nations distribution system, improve commitment to consumer service and sensitize a national energy conservation and maintenance culture on electricity supply.

Railways, waterways and road transportation are key and germane to economic growth and development. This is even more so in a country with an estimated population of 170 million, growing at an annual average of 3% the movement of people, goods and services in Nigeria will continue to be a challenge, which cannot be met efficiently and cost-effectively by road transportation alone. And as long as the Railway system remains undeveloped, so long will road construction remain recurrent expenditure and an unsustainable drain on the economy. Transport constitutes a very important sector of the Nigerian economy upon which depends: Development in other sectors of the economy: The socio-economic integration of the country and Inter-state commerce and international trade. Efficient and reliable urban transportation system across Nigeria I. ROAD TRANSPORT Undertake a survey of the condition of the Federal highways and State roads, including rural feeder roads as a basis for embarking on appropriate reconstruction, rehabilitation and maintenance works. APC in government will Embark on a National Infrastructural Development Programme as a PPP that will ensure the construction of 4,000 kilometers of super highways, including services trucks to be completed by 2003 Reintroduce toll gates to generate revenue for optimal maintenance roads network. II. RAIL TRANSPORT Revitalization of the railway system through modernization rehabilitation of tracks, procurement of new rolling stock and improvement of all operational and management techniques. Embark on the building of up to 200km of modern standard railway lines annually. Complete the medium steel section of Ajaokuta, which can produce two kilometer rail track steel per day, and use our locally made track for the modernization programme. III. AIR TRANSPORT Improvement and modernization of aviation infrastructure, compatible with international safety standards. Continuous encouragement to private airline operators, subject to their meeting the required globally accepted conditions and safety standards. Provision of a Standard Hanger in partnership with the private sector for the maintenance of aircraft in the sub-region IV. MARITIME TRANSPORT AND INLAND WATERWAYS Renovation and modernization of the ports to enable them cope with growing traffic Encouragement of Nigerian nationals to participate in international shipping and maritime trade. Local manufacture and maintenance of vessels for water transportation. Greater utilization of inland waterways as alternative mode of moving goods and services in the country. Encourage maritime cruises and pleasure boats for recreation and tourism Complete the dredging of River Niger.

APC in government will carryout a thorough review of the education sector and having established the main causes of the sectors terrible decline: Fully implement and enforce the provisions of the Universal Basic Education Act with emphasis on gender equity in primary and secondary school enrolment whilst improving the quality and substance of our schools Reinstate the now abandoned Teacher Teaching Colleges to train teachers. Target up to 10% of our annual budget for this critical sector whilst making substantial investments in training programmes at all level of the educational system Create elaborate incentive schemes to attract the best and the brightest to teach in our schools Re-introduce Technical and vocational education nationwide by giving adequate materials support to such institutions. This implies the review of and re-investment in the 6-3-3-4- system. Energise the inspectorate divisions of education ministries nationwide. Offer free and qualitative primary and secondary education to all but to tertiary level for women. Make learning experiences more meaningful for children and make education more cost-effective. Develop and promote effective use of innovative teaching Methods/materials in schools; Ensure a greater portion of expenditure on university education is devoted to Science and Technology with more spaces allocated to science and technology oriented courses. Establish at least six new universities of science and technology with satellite campuses in various states. Support education for persons living with disabilities. Provide a more conducive environment and active material and moral support for private sector participation in educational enterprises. Establish six centers of excellence to address the needs of special Education. Re-introduce the teaching of Nigerian History and Civics in all Secondary School.

Devolution of power

Accelerated economic growth
SAP, a market leader in enterprise application software, has announced the establishment of its global business network within Saudi Arabia at the recent LEAP technology event held in capital Riyadh.

Unveiling its plan, SAP said the move will enable Saudi public and private enterprises to trade, buy and sell on the worlds largest business digital network in 190 countries, with millions of trading partners conducting transactions worth more than $5 trillion annually.

As part of the SAP Business Network, buyers, suppliers, logistic providers, financial institutions, and original equipment manufacturers will be connected on one trading platform.

Bringing the SAP Business Network to be hosted in KSA will further position Riyadh to be a global digital and trade hub.

Ahmed AlFaifi, Senior Vice President and Managing Director for Mena region, said: "As part of our increased investment in Saudi Arabia, we are very pleased to launch the SAP Business Network in the Kingdom."

SAPs strategy is to help every business run as an intelligent, sustainable enterprise. As a market leader in enterprise application software, we help companies of all sizes and in all industries run at their best: SAP customers generate 87% of total global commerce, he noted.

"Our machine learning, Internet of Things (IoT), and advanced analytics technologies help turn customers businesses into intelligent enterprises," stated AlFaifi.

"This launch will contribute to achieving the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030 as it offers immeasurable trade and supply opportunities, positions KSA as global logistic hub, grows non-oil exports in addition to supporting the Kingdoms sustainability efforts," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
If you're looking for a multi-bagger, there's a few things to keep an eye out for. Amongst other things, we'll want to see two things; firstly, a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an expansion in the company's amount of capital employed. Basically this means that a company has profitable initiatives that it can continue to reinvest in, which is a trait of a compounding machine. Having said that, from a first glance at Associated British Foods (LON:ABF) we aren't jumping out of our chairs at how returns are trending, but let's have a deeper look.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

For those that aren't sure what ROCE is, it measures the amount of pre-tax profits a company can generate from the capital employed in its business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Associated British Foods:

Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT)  (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)

0.081 = UK1.3b  (UK20b - UK4.1b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2022).

So, Associated British Foods has an ROCE of 8.1%. In absolute terms, that's a low return but it's around the Food industry average of 9.6%.

See our latest analysis for Associated British Foods

roce

In the above chart we have measured Associated British Foods' prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

What Can We Tell From Associated British Foods' ROCE Trend?

On the surface, the trend of ROCE at Associated British Foods doesn't inspire confidence. To be more specific, ROCE has fallen from 13% over the last five years. However, given capital employed and revenue have both increased it appears that the business is currently pursuing growth, at the consequence of short term returns. If these investments prove successful, this can bode very well for long term stock performance.

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In Conclusion...

In summary, despite lower returns in the short term, we're encouraged to see that Associated British Foods is reinvesting for growth and has higher sales as a result. These growth trends haven't led to growth returns though, since the stock has fallen 23% over the last five years. As a result, we'd recommend researching this stock further to uncover what other fundamentals of the business can show us.

On a final note, we've found 1 warning sign for Associated British Foods that we think you should be aware of.

If you want to search for solid companies with great earnings, check out this free list of companies with good balance sheets and impressive returns on equity.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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AstraZeneca PLC (LON:AZN) will pay a dividend of $1.45 on the 27th of March. Based on this payment, the dividend yield will be 2.1%, which is fairly typical for the industry.

See our latest analysis for AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca's Dividend Is Well Covered By Earnings

We aren't too impressed by dividend yields unless they can be sustained over time. Prior to this announcement, the company was paying out 137% of what it was earning, however the dividend was quite comfortably covered by free cash flows at a cash payout ratio of only 58%. Healthy cash flows are always a positive sign, especially when they quite easily cover the dividend.

Analysts expect a massive rise in earnings per share in the next year. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio will be 32%, which would make us comfortable with the dividend's sustainability, despite the levels currently being elevated.

AstraZeneca Has A Solid Track Record

Even over a long history of paying dividends, the company's distributions have been remarkably stable. Since 2013, the dividend has gone from $2.80 total annually to $2.90. Dividend payments have grown at less than 1% a year over this period. While the consistency in the dividend payments is impressive, we think the relatively slow rate of growth is less attractive.

The Dividend's Growth Prospects Are Limited

Investors who have held shares in the company for the past few years will be happy with the dividend income they have received. However, things aren't all that rosy. In the last five years, AstraZeneca's earnings per share has shrunk at approximately 2.2% per annum. If earnings continue declining, the company may have to make the difficult choice of reducing the dividend or even stopping it completely - the opposite of dividend growth. It's not all bad news though, as the earnings are predicted to rise over the next 12 months - we would just be a bit cautious until this can turn into a longer term trend.

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Our Thoughts On AstraZeneca's Dividend

In summary, while it's good to see that the dividend hasn't been cut, we are a bit cautious about AstraZeneca's payments, as there could be some issues with sustaining them into the future. The company has been bring in plenty of cash to cover the dividend, but we don't necessarily think that makes it a great dividend stock. This company is not in the top tier of income providing stocks.

It's important to note that companies having a consistent dividend policy will generate greater investor confidence than those having an erratic one. However, there are other things to consider for investors when analysing stock performance. For example, we've picked out 3 warning signs for AstraZeneca that investors should know about before committing capital to this stock. Is AstraZeneca not quite the opportunity you were looking for? Why not check out our selection of top dividend stocks.

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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(Reuters)

There was a five-headed elephant in the room at what was otherwise a strangely flat affair at the Brit Awards. As is tradition with music ceremonies, a row flared up over representation (or rather, a lack of) after the nominations were announced. The gender-neutral Artist of the Year category was entirely made up of male artists: Central Cee, Fred Again, George Ezra, Harry Styles, and Stormzy.

The switch from gendered categories was implemented in 2021, after Sam Smith  who came out as non-binary two years earlier  urged awards shows to be reflective of the society we live in. At the first non-gendered awards show in 2022, Adele walked away with the Artist of the Year prize, for which Little Simz, Sam Fender, Dave and Ed Sheeran had also been nominated.

Women fared well across the board, with Olivia Rodrigo winning Best International Song, Wolf Alice taking home the British Group prize, Becky Hill for British Dance Act, Dua Lipa for Pop/R&B, and Little Simz scooping a belated but long-deserved Breakthrough Artist trophy.

A year later, though, the picture is very different. Beyonce fans were still furious with Harry Styles, fresh from beating her to the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. The As It Was musician went on to scoop top prizes at the Brits, too, including another Album of the Year trophy. Seemingly conscious of the minor backlash over his Grammys speech, in which he claimed a rare win for people like him (rich? white? famous?), he acknowledged his privilege before scooting away in time for Wet Leg to take home Best New Artist.

Accepting the award, the indie duo observed the gatekeeping that takes place in rock music, ironically quoting Alex Turners notorious 2014 speech. The 1975s Matty Healy, meanwhile, seemed under instructions to be on his best behaviour while accepting the fan-voted Best Rock/Alternative Act, a day after a US podcast aired an interview in which he and the hosts made a number of derogatory remarks about women, Chinese people, Hawaiians, and Japanese prisoners of war.

Smith, themself, made an appearance with Kim Petras for a rendition of Unholy, following a hilarious uproar from right-wing pundits in the US over their Grammys performance. It says a lot about this years ceremony that a relatively innocuous pop song was among the biggest controversies of the night. That and Wet Leg shouting f*** the Tories during their Best Group acceptance speech, but even that felt contrived.

We should know by now not to look to awards ceremonies to assess the wellbeing of the industry, just as Ed Sheeran or Adele dominating the Top 10 singles chart at any one time is not indicative of the sheer diversity of the UKs thriving music scene. You cant blame the artists who scarpered off part way through Styles final acceptance speech. These days, the Brits are just an excuse for a party.
This Thursday, after having had two cups of cardamom-flavored coffee and finished Wordle (3/6), my column deadline approaches and I struggle to make sense of interconnected conflicts and tragedies unfolding in Washington and the Middle East.

Robert Azzi

In Washington, a woman of color, Congresswoman Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, a former refugee of Somali descent who is the first African-born member of congress and the only House Foreign Affairs Committee member who's lived in a refugee camp, has just been politically-lynched for believing, as Archbishop Tutu believed, as I believe, as millions of others believe, that Israel has become an apartheid state  a land where only some residents have rights based on their religious affiliations and practice.

The reality is that Israel has become a land where Palestinian territories have become Bantustans, where land is stolen from farmers, olive trees uprooted, water denied, health care limited, homes destroyed, and systems of control over people who have little say in their governance.

A land where, according to an UN Human Rights Committee report in 2022, the widespread practice of arbitrary arrest and detention of Palestinians, including journalists, human rights defenders and children ... subjugates Palestinians to oppression and strips them of any sense of human rights and dignity.

"I am especially urging the [Presbyterian General] Assembly to adopt the overture naming Israel as an apartheid state through its domestic policies and maintenance of the occupation," the late Archbishop Tutu wrote in 2014, "and the overture calling for divestment of certain companies that contribute to the occupation of the Palestinian people..."

I am in agreement with those sentiments, in agreement with Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty International, in agreement with Israels most prominent human rights group, B'Tselem, in describing Israels governance of Palestinians as apartheid.

In the Middle East, since New Year's Day, at least 30 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank, including militants and civilians. Those casualties follow a year, 2022, where more that 150 Palestinians  including militant gunmen, armed attackers and unarmed civilians  were killed in the occupied territories, nearly all by Israeli forces.

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Last week, the day after an Israeli raid on a refugee camp in Jenin that killed 10 Palestinians, a Palestinian gunman criminally opened fire on worshippers at a synagogue in Neve Yaakov, an illegal settlement built on land Israel illegally annexed in Palestinian East Jerusalem after the 1967 war. The terrorist attack killed seven Israelis.

Those issues  that violence, those deaths  are connected. The distinctions and narratives defining them are important. Today, understanding how interrelated those events are, how important it is to support oppressed and minority communities as intersectional allies, wherever they are, is central to the survival of democracy, whether in Israel/Palestine or America.

As in nature, democracy thrives in diversity and pluralism, in light and love, in embracing the sojourner, in comforting the samaritan at the side of the road.

As we rightly condemn all violence that takes innocent lives  whether at Neve Yaakov or The Tree of Life Synagogue, whether in Christchurch or Brasilia, at Mother Emanuel, Jenin, or at the U.S. Capitol  we must understand that every death, every violent confrontation, moves a people further from their capacity for inclusion and peace and limits their ability to confront the inequalities and injustices in society that are central to poverty and oppression.

No nation, no people, are today free of the pernicious dangers of religious nationalism, nativism, racism, antisemitism, xenophobia, misogyny, Islamophobia, prejudice against LGBTQIA+ peoples, all common tropes deployed by demagogues to mobilize their followers and consolidate their power

Used by demagogues to drive a fear of The Other, to deny that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.

"Those behind the effort to remove Ilhan Omar claim that shes bigoted against Jews. Her Democratic defenders counter that the real bigots are those Republicans seeking to oust a Black Muslim woman. Yet neither side is talking much about what Ms. Omar has actually done on the committee from which she may soon be removed. Thats too bad. Because what Ms. Omar has done is extraordinary," Peter Beinart, editor at large of Jewish Currents, wrote in the New York Times. " ... Ms. Omars detractors might say all this reflects her anti-Americanism. Theyre wrong. Ms. Omar speaks idealistically about 'the moral authority the United States carries on the world stage when we stand up for human rights.' She just recognizes  as do many across the globe  that the United States doesnt exercise that moral authority nearly as often as our leaders claim."

Omar understands, as Archbishop Tutu has written, that Those who turn a blind eye to injustice actually perpetuate injustice. If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.

"I am a survivor of war, and I understand personally how it takes lives, shatters futures and tears apart families," Rep. Omar said in 2021. "I also know the moral authority the United States carries on the world stage when we stand up for human rights. We have an opportunity to live up to these values, to ensure that no child lives through violent conflict like I did, and to mean what we say when it comes to championing human rights worldwide ..."

It is not Ilhan Omar who lost the vote in Congress.

It is America.

Robert Azzi, a photographer and writer who lives in Exeter, can be reached at theother.azzi@gmail.com. His columns are archived at theotherazzi.wordpress.com.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Azzi: Ilhan Omar: 'I am a survivor of war'
National bookstore chain Barnes & Noble is moving into a new location at the Paddock Shops, according to a release from the company.

Formerly housed on the opposite side of the shopping center, Barnes and Noble will move into the shop previously occupied by Pier 1 Imports at 4330 Summit Plaza Drive after 21 years in the area, according to the release. The new location will celebrate its grand reopening on Feb. 15 at 10 a.m.

For subscribers: Decades later and millions of dollars spent, why does Louisville's sewer odor persist?

Relocating gives our booksellers the opportunity to craft a beautiful and unique bookstore from the ground up and really curate the selection for their community. Were especially fortunate to be able to offer continuity of service with no downtime, in the same center, with all the longtime booksellers this community has come to trust," said Amy Fitzgerald, vice president of stores for the company.

The reopening follows a boon in growth for the chain, the release said. The chain saw more openings in 2022 in more than a decade, and at least 30 new locations are expected to open this year. The new Paddock Shops location is the first Barnes & Noble opening in Louisville since 2002.

We are so glad to be remaining in the area and particularly right here at home in Paddock Shops, said Martin Gaddis, store manager at the Louisville location. The whole team is excited to show off the fresh new store design, and how dramatic a new bookstore we are to create within it. We cannot wait to build new memories with this wonderful community.

More:Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear among 77 Americans permanently banned from Russia

Barnes & Noble will host several authors for book signings on their opening day. Leesa Cross-Smith, a fiction author from Kentucky, will be on site from 10 a.m. to noon, Kelly Creagh, author of "Phantom Heart," will be present from noon to 3 p.m. and Fred Minnick, author of "Bourbon Curious," will be there from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Contact reporter Rae Johnson at RNJohnson@gannett.com. Follow them on Twitter at @RaeJ_33.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Barnes & Noble moves into new space at Louisville's Paddock Shops
An off-duty police officer shot a man in the chest after he allegedly took the cops taser and used it against him, Texas police said in a news release.

The officer, who is a member of the Somerset Police Department, was working security at a Twin Peaks restaurant in San Antonio before midnight on Feb. 11, the San Antonio Police Department said in the release.

A 34-year-old man at the restaurant was intoxicated and belligerent, and the officer forcibly escorted the man, and a group he was with, out of the building, police said.

At some point, the officer took out his taser and the man grabbed it, fired it and hit the officer.

The officer shot his gun at the man once, hitting him in the torso, police said, and he was taken to a hospital in critical condition.

The incident is being investigated.

Twin Peaks is one of the so-called breastaurant chains, featuring waitresses showing lots of cleavage.

Our Twin Peaks Girls are the essential ingredient to the perfect lodge experience. They are the beautiful faces that represent the brand and the reason our customers consistently come back for more, the chains website says.

Dads fight with his son ends with one shot in restaurant parking lot, Georgia cops say

Pilot notices laser aiming into police helicopter  then bullets fly, Michigan cops say

Irate Walmart customer coats floors in jam, syrup, hot sauce and pickles, PA cops say
By Andrea Shalal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden appealed to Republican and Democratic governors on Saturday to continue working across political divides to improve Americans' lives and rebuild the economy after the hardships brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaking at a black-tie dinner at the White House, attended by Vice President Kamala Harris and 31 governors, Biden said the passage of laws on investing in infrastructure and domestic manufacture of semiconductors was evidence of "some bipartisan progress" among Republicans and Democrats.

"I hope we're going to get a little bit - I'm going to try - a little bit less partisan and work on things that we can really get done to change people's lives," Biden said after governor meetings in Washington this week.

Biden said he was still "ready to fight, as you all are", and though Republicans and Democrats would not always agree, it made a difference when they worked together.

Republican Governor Spencer Cox of Utah, vice-chair of the National Governors Association, said it was "very symbolic" to have Republicans and Democrats "breaking bread together" at the White House.

Cox added that he believed the majority of Americans wanted to see more collaboration across the political aisle.

"This is what is missing in our country," he said, adding that "it's hard to hate up close".

Notably absent from the dinner was Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican who has challenged Biden's agenda on a wide range of fronts, from gun safety to LGBTQ rights.

Country music singer Brad Paisley played guitar and performed his song "American Saturday Night" after the dinner, telling the crowd he had swapped out the second line of the song "because it mentioned Russia and I don't do that any more".

Instead, he sang: "She's got Brazilian leather boots on the pedal of a German car. There's a Ukrainian flag hanging up behind the bar."

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Biden's remarks echoed his State of the Union address to Congress on Tuesday, in which he challenged Republicans to help to unite the country.

The bipartisan laws passed last year were game changers for the U.S. economy, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, a Democrat who chairs the association, told reporters on Friday after the series of governor meetings at the White House.

Murphy said the ability of the states to work together on other issues, such as mental health, disproved the "narrative that politics has gotten completely divisive" and called the association a "beacon of bipartisan reality".

He said the group had appealed to lawmakers and the White House to end a dispute over raising the $31.4 trillion statutory debt ceiling before Treasury runs out of funds to pay U.S. debts.

Republicans want spending concessions from Biden, who has said he will not negotiate over raising the limit.

Murphy said he left the meetings "more optimistic" about both sides' willingness to negotiate while preserving social security, medicare and defense spending.

(Reporting by Andrea ShalalEditing by Clarence Fernandez and David Goodman)
President Joe Biden speaks outside Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pa., on September 1, 2022. AP Photo/Matt Slocum

Biden said he has "no idea" if there'd be a difference in running against Trump or DeSantis in 2024.

"I think that they have a similar modus operandi, a similar way in which they work," he said on Noticias Telemundo.

Biden has not yet announced his reelection plans, but is expected to do so in the coming weeks.

President Joe Biden said that he had "no idea" if running against former President Donald Trump would be different than competing against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the 2024 presidential election.

In a recent Noticias Telemundo interview, Biden did not announce whether he would seek reelection to a second term, but when asked about his highest-profile potential GOP opponents, he expressed confidence in his own abilities.

When asked if there'd be any clear difference in a race between Trump or DeSantis, Biden said he was unsure.

"I have no idea," he said on the program. "No, I'm serious. I have no idea."

After Biden was asked specifically of any differences between the two men "in terms of polarization," the president was more candid in his assessment.

"I think that they have a similar modus operandi, a similar way in which they work," he continued to say. "But I really don't know. I've never decided to run or not run based on who the opponent will be."

Trump launched his third presidential campaign last November, while former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is set to jump into the GOP field on Wednesday.

DeSantis has not yet announced a presidential campaign, but in recent years has become one of the most visible Republican politicians in the country, putting into place a raft of socially-conservative policies in Florida.

Read the original article on Business Insider
By Maayan Lubell

JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israel's president floated a compromise plan on Sunday to spare the country what he described as a "constitutional collapse" and possible violence, over a contested judicial overhaul sought by the hard-right government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The rare prime-time television speech by President Isaac Herzog, whose figurehead role is designed to unite an often fractious society, included an appeal to coalition lawmakers to hold off on initial legislation steps in parliament which some had planned to begin this week.

But Justice Minister Yariv Levin poured cold water on the idea of postponing, saying in a statement responding to Herzog's speech that while he did not oppose dialogue this "should not be linked to progress in the legislation proceedings".

The centre-left opposition, accusing Netanyahu of seeking greater control over the court system even as he himself is being tried on corruption charges, have mounted demonstrations and called for nationwide protest strikes at the Knesset on Monday.

Netanyahu - who denies wrongdoing in his trial - says the reforms are aimed at restoring balance between Israeli authorities.

"We are on the brink of constitutional and social collapse," Herzog said. "I feel - we all feel - that we are barely a moment away from a collision - and even from a violent collision."

There was a similar if more veiled call by the White House, which generally shies away from discussing Israel's internal affairs.

"The genius of American democracy and Israeli democracy is that they are both built on strong institutions, on checks and balances, on an independent judiciary," U.S. President Joe Biden said in a statement quoted by the New York Times on Sunday.

"Building consensus for fundamental changes is really important to ensure that the people buy into them so they can be sustained."

Recent polls have shown relatively little support for the proposed judicial changes as they stand.

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Herzog urged immediate talks between the government and the opposition, based on five principles. These would include legislating a process for enacting Israel's quasi-constitutional basic laws and barring any Supreme Court interference in them.

Another principle would more clearly define the authority of the Supreme Court, which the government has accused of overreach. Herzog also called for a shake-up of the committee for selecting justices - but differed with the government on the format, arguing that "no side should have a built-in majority".

Opposition head Yair Lapid said that Herzog's proposal was a worthy one but that until understandings are reached "the struggle will not be halted and the protest will not stop".

Israel's five main banks, Bank Hapoalim, Bank Leumi, Israel Discount Bank, Mizrahi-Tefahot and First International Bank of Israel, in a rare such statement voiced support for Herzog's bid to reach broad understandings, which they said would benefit Israel's economy.

Legal experts, economists and former security and economic officials, who include Netanyahu confidants and appointments, have warned his government's judicial proposals could have serious diplomatic and economic fallout.

(Additional reporting by Steven Scheer; Writing by Dan Williams and Maayan Lubell; Editing by Susan Fenton, Hugh Lawson and Chizu Nomiyama)
The International Defence Conference 2023, which will be held on February 19 in Abu Dhabi, will attract a number of global leaders, decision-makers, ministers, senior officials and speakers specialising in defence industries.

The event will shed light on the rapid development of artificial intelligence and advanced technologies, and the importance of leveraging these technologies to bring about solutions to the challenges facing humankind.

The conference, which will be held under theme of Adaption, Exploration, Transformation: Reimagining Security, Society, and the Human Experience in an age of Disruption, brings together thought leaders, policy makers, influencers, researchers and futurists to debate and share ideas related to technological advancement and disruptive technologies.

It will include keynote speeches by Mohammed Ahmed Al Bowardi, UAE Minister of State for Defence Affairs.

Four panels

The event will include 4 panel discussions. The first panel, titled Promise and Peril, the social and economic impacts and risks of widespread adoption of new technologies such as AI, neuro, & biotechnology and extended reality. Panelists will include: Omar Sultan Al Olama, UAEs Minister of State for AI, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications; Francois-Regis BOULVERT International Scientific Cooperation Director of Naval Group; Wesley Kremer President Raytheon Missiles and Defense; and General John W Nicholson Jr, Chief Executive at Lockheed Martin Middle East.

The second panel, titled Keeping Pace: investigate and shed light on how the increasing incorporation of advanced technologies in the workplace is changing approaches to talent development and human capital management. Panelists will include Dr Ahmed bin Abdullah Humaid Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of Education of UAE, Robert Kachatryan, Minister of High-Tech Industry Armenia, Lieutenant General (Retired) Sir Tom Beckett Executive Director of IISSMiddle East, Hassan Al Hosani, CEO- Bayanat (G42).

The third panel, titled Tech at the Forefront: examine the impact of emerging technologies on modern operations and the future of warfare. Panellists will include: Major General Dr Mubarak Saeed Ghafan Al Jabri, Deputy Chairman of the Committee for Idex and Navdex, in addition to members of the Committee and its subcommittees in the UAE, AUSEC for Support and Defence Industries, Ministry of Defence; Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, Dong Joon Yoo, Deputy Minister of Military Force and Resource Management Republic of Korea, Commander of US Naval Forces Central Command, and the US Fifth Fleet and Combined Maritime Forces; Major General (Ret'd) Professor Adam Findlay, Professor of Practice, Defence and Regional Security, Griffith Asia Institute, Griffith University.

The next Frontiers

The fourth panel, titled The next Frontiers: explore at the human instinct to explore beyond the current dimensions of the terrestrial and physical world and expand the human footprint. Panelists will include Sarah bint Yousef Al Amiri, UAEs Minister of State for Public Education & Future Technology; Stephen duMont President, General Motors, USA. Nikos Papatsas Senior Partner EFA Group.

The previous edition of IDC, which was held in 2021, brought together 24 international experts, over 400 on-ground participants, and 2,400 participants joining virtually from 80 countries.-- TradeArabia News Service
Brandon Fitzpatrick performs with Allah during a Rehearsal Room concert on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020, at First Congregational Church in Battle Creek. Rehearsal Room, the brainchild of a Battle Creek record label Blvcksheep, is a virtual concert series recorded live, similar to an NPR Tiny Desk set.

BATTLE CREEK  In the throes of the coronavirus pandemic, Brandon Fitzpatrick and his bandmates were simply looking for a way to keep their music alive.

All the local festivals that Minor Element typically played  Leilapalooza and Battle Creek Cereal Festival included  were canceled in 2020, forcing Fitzpatrick and other members of the all-instrumental jazz fusion band to go back to the drawing board.

Gathering inside First Congregational Church in Battle Creek, a longtime rehearsal space for the band, the musicians opted to put on a virtual concert, performing a 30-minute set list with live video and audio recordings.

"We really kickstarted the possibility of being able to do this for multiple artists after that was recorded," Fitzpatrick said. "When we were looking at the finished product and we saw what we were actually capable of producing, that was the moment where we were like, 'This is so available.' ... It can become something sustainable, something we can put on as a true program for West Michigan artists."

James McGee "Allah" performs with Anthony Tyler, Ben Crino, Troy Robertson III, Dutcher Snedeker and Brandon Fitzpatrick during a Rehearsal Room concert Nov. 1, 2020, in Battle Creek. Rehearsal Room, the brainchild of a Battle Creek record label Blvcksheep, is a virtual concert series recorded live, similar to an NPR Tiny Desk set.

With the help of his longtime friends and fellow co-founders of Blvcksheep Record Label Vania Word and James McGee, Fitzpatrick has done exactly that, launching the Rehearsal Room series inside First Congregational Church.

MORE: How the COVID-19 pandemic is reshaping Battle Creek's music scene

The live concert series takes inspiration from  and in many ways resembles the format of  NPR's "Tiny Desk" concerts, with Blvcksheep transforming the church's choir room into an intimate performance space.

The record label employs a team of producers, photographers, videographers and set designers to help bring each show to life. The live audio and video recordings are then posted to social media following the performance.

"I think it was just an idea that we all kind of felt," said Word, who serves as label manager and producer of the Rehearsal Room series. "We literally sit in my living room and watch Tiny Desks for hours. Its something that weve been enthralled by and excited by for years."

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Local rapper Jaz Bolar will take the stage for the fourth installment of the series at 6 p.m. Feb. 18. Admission is $5.

"We want our community involved," Word said. "We want the opportunity not only to create this platform for our community to see these amazing artists, but we also want to be able to be a source of employment for artists."

A vehicle for artist development

The roots of Blvcksheep Record Label can be traced back to the hallways of Battle Creek Central High School.

Word and McGee played in the school's marching band for four years and Fitzpatrick, a musician since the age of 4, could always be found playing the piano in the music room whenever he had spare time.

This passion for music brought the three together but it wasn't long after graduating in 2012 that they found themselves at a musical crossroads.

Believing in their talent and willing to do whatever it took to "connect the dots" in the industry, the trio launched Blvcksheep Record Label soon after.

"We built Blvcksheep out of necessity," Word said. "We needed each other and there was no one else at the time focusing on what we were focusing on."

Tyler Appel records James McGee "Allah" during the very first Rehearsal Room concert set on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020, at First Congregational Church in Battle Creek. Rehearsal Room, the brainchild of a Battle Creek record label Blvcksheep, is a virtual concert series recorded live, similar to an NPR Tiny Desk set.

What began as a collective of musicians jamming together and helping each other write music has transformed into a vehicle for artist development, with Blvcksheep managing a roster of several artists and providing a spotlight for local performers through the Rehearsal Room.

"We have become those leaders that we needed when we were younger," Word said. "When we were graduating high school, we didnt have an 'us' to talk to, we didn't have someone like me or someone like James or someone like Brandon whos had a decade of experience throwing events, producing music, mixing music, writing music, in the industry, learning how to book gigs and things like that."

Showing what the city has to offer

Celeste Allison performs during a Rehearsal Room concert Nov. 12, 2022, at First Congregational Church in Battle Creek.

The Rehearsal Room series also aims to set an example for how artists should be treated.

The audio and video components of each performance are handled by at least 10-12 people throughout the production process, and Blvcksheep ensures every single person involved  even the artist that's performing  gets compensated for their time.

"Realistically, there are so many artists that are taken advantage of on a daily basis," Word said. "Weve been through that, for years. Weve been underpaid, overworked, (all) for exposure. ... There comes a time where that just doesnt work anymore.

"Were not going to ask you to come out, perform and not compensate you."

Grant funding from the Binda Foundation is helping to cover the cost of the concert series' inaugural season, but more sponsors will be needed to ensure the platform continues.

Fitzpatrick believes the series is a crucial component to reviving the culture of art and music that is often being diminished in modern society. Seeing is believing, he said, acknowledging these performances have the potential to inspire future generations

"(The Rehearsal Room allows you to) get that firsthand exposure to that art form up close and personal and that might inspire somebody to be a musician, to be an artist, to be a vocalist, to be a rapper, to be a guitarist, who knows? But they need to see it up close and personal and know that its attainable," Fitzpatrick said.

"Its about time for people to see that this city has way more to offer than what is at first glance and we need to highlight these things," he continued. "Some of these cats that are coming through are some of the best musicians and artists in the state and its really, really pivotal that we take a really good listen to it and are respecting the art that's coming from here in order to build on from those branches."

For more information about the Rehearsal Room, or to donate, email vword@blvcksheepmusic.com or visit blvcksheepmusic.com.

Contact reporter Greyson Steele at gsteele@battlecreekenquirer.com

This article originally appeared on Battle Creek Enquirer: Blvcksheep Record Label keeps growing "something sustainable" with concert series
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro said on Saturday he plans to return to Brazil "in the coming weeks," after having spent more than a month in the United States.

Bolsonaro flew to Florida two days before incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was sworn in as the new president on Jan 1, and later applied for a six-month tourist visa to continue his stay in the United States.

"There is no place like home ... We know Brazil is a fantastic country," Bolsonaro told a gathering of Brazilians in Boca Raton, a video posted online by broadcaster CNN showed.

"I also want to return to Brazil. I intend to return to Brazil in the coming weeks."

A swift return to Brazil could pose risks for Bolsonaro, who is accused of instigating a violent election denial movement in his home country.

Brazil's Supreme Court has agreed to open an investigation into Bolsonaro for allegedly encouraging anti-democratic protests that ended in the storming of government buildings by his supporters in Brasilia.

His plans to return were put in question after his lawyer told Reuters last month the former president would like to "enjoy being a tourist in the United States for a few months before deciding what his next step will be."

Still, a U.S. official with knowledge of the situation told Reuters this week that officials believe Bolsonaro will return to Brazil after the carnival festival, which ends on Feb 22.

(Reporting by Isabel Woodford in Mexico City; Additional reporting by Gabriel Araujo in Sao Paulo; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
BRASILIA, Brazil (AP)  Former President Jair Bolsonaro said Saturday he intends to return to Brazil in the following weeks.

The comment during an event at an evangelical church in Florida was the first time that Bolsonaro has made a statement in public about returning home.

The far-right politician has been in the U.S. since arriving in Orlando, Florida, on Dec. 31, the eve of the inauguration of his leftist rival, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, as Brazil's current president.

Saturday's event was held entirely in Portuguese for a Brazilian crowd of Bolsonaro supporters living abroad and was organized by the right-wing organization Yes Brazil USA. Bolsonaro was cheered throughout the event.

There has been speculation during recent weeks on when Bolsonaro might return to Brazil, where is the subject of several investigations into possible wrongdoing.

He initially entered the U.S. on a one-month diplomatic visa, which ended Jan. 31. He was accompanied by a team of presidential advisers and his wife, all of whom left Florida last month.

Lawyers for Bolsonaro told Brazilian media recently that they applied for a tourist visa to extend his stay in the U.S.

Amid the speculation about Bolsonaro's plans, one of his sons, Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro, told Brazilian reporters that he didnt know when his father would return. It could be tomorrow, it could be in six months, he might never return. I dont know. Hes relaxing, the son said.

For the first time in his more than three-decade political career as a lawmaker and then as president, Bolsonaro no longer enjoys the special legal protection that requires any trial be held at the Supreme Court.

Bolsonaro is being investigated in four inquiries, which had been in the Supreme Court and were sent to trial court this past week.

Among the inquiries is whether Bolsonaro had any role in inciting the Jan. 8 riot by his supporters who stormed into government buildings in the capital, Brasilia, demanding his election defeat to Lula be overturned.

Investigators are also looking into who organized and financed the mass gathering of Bolsonaro supporters, who came to the capital from all over Brazil.

One of the investigations held by the Brazilian justice is who are the ones responsible for inciting the crimes, as well as who financed people from all over the country to travel to Brasilia.
Feb. 11Manchester-Boston Regional Airport authorities and police took quick action after receiving a bomb threat against Spirit Airlines Flight 2025 to Tampa just before 11 a.m. Saturday.

The terminal was evacuated as New Hampshire State Police and bomb-sniffing dogs swept the plane and terminal before reopening around 1:45 p.m. All passengers needed to be rescreened by TSA.

"Spirit Airlines received a bomb threat and inbound passengers on two flights were deplaned and cleared," said Daniel Velez, the New England Region spokesman for TSA, in a statement. "K-9's completed a sweep of checked baggage and the sterlile area (the area behind security checkpoints) with negative results."

The state Department of Safety reported that the state police's bomb squad was called in to assist the investigation.

The FBI is investigating the incident, Airport Director Ted Kitchens said at a news conference Saturday at the airport.

"Passengers were removed from the aircraft, which was subsequently searched and cleared by law enforcement. All passengers and baggage were rescreened as the K-9 units swept the aircraft and all baggage per our established protocols," he said.

All passengers were asked to check in with their airlines as authorities continue to investigate.

"Safety is always our top priority, not only here in Manchester but throughout the entire aviation system," Kitchens said.

The Spirit Airlines plane, an Airbus A321 with 228 seats, which was scheduled to take off at 11:25 a.m., eventually departed at 3:11 p.m. according to a statement from Spirit.

"We thank our guests for their patience and understanding, and we thank law enforcement, the airport and our team members for their assistance in this matter," the statement reads.

Kitchens said this is the first time such an incident happened since he arrived as director about four years ago.

"I know we've had these in the past and they usually turn out to be not credible," he said.

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Just before 1:45 p.m., the airport tweeted: "Our team and law enforcement partners have completed a cautionary security sweep of the Airport."

"It was a very impressive response from all our mutual aid partners as well as the airport team," Kitchens said.

The New Hampshire Department of Safety and Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management continues to monitor the situation, according to a news release.

Several flights were held short of the gates during the sweep.

"We didn't want to introduce more people to the terminal environment," Kitchens said. No flights need to be diverted.

As part of the investigation, Londonderry police blocked the airport entrance.

Londonderry Police Capt. Patrick Cheetham said he couldn't comment on details of the criminal investigation.

"We take all of these threats very seriously and we prepare and train for these things literally on a monthly basis," he said.

Mayor Joyce Craig said she appreciated the prompt action of all those involved in the investigation.

jphelps@unionleader.com
(Bloomberg) -- Britains National Health Service has become a story of crisis. A lack of money, a lack of staff, even a lack of beds. The coronavirus pandemic almost broke it - and the hangover still might. This winter has played out against a backdrop of record waiting lists, ambulances unable to deliver patients to hospitals and picket lines of striking nurses.

Most Read from Bloomberg

For a host of medical practitioners and scientists and tech firms and politicians, the NHS  the UKs biggest employer - has finally reached a tipping point after 75 years, and the time has come to remake it.

Programs and studies underway include virtual wards for remote care, family doctors paying energy bills for vulnerable patients and scientists using artificial intelligence to predict the impact of cold and damp homes on childrens health. Their shared focus is finding ways to reduce the burden on the NHS by keeping people out of its overstretched hospitals.

This changing face of the NHS will shift how Britons experience an organization that is ingrained in the national psyche. Data for England show the health service assesses and treats everyone in the country an equivalent ten times a year on average. The shift will hinge on technology and data, making a growing role for private companies  fiercely opposed by some of the services staunchest defenders  inevitable.

Britains Health Care Black Hole Is Devouring the Whole Country

In normal times, such a shift would be politically impossible. With the next general election less than two years away, though, its suddenly on the cards. In part that reflects the scale of the crisis. Yet its also because Keir Starmers Labour Party, which founded the NHS but has been out of power for 13 years, is surging in opinion polls and appears determined to press the issue.

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If you don't reform the NHS, Starmer said last month, I fear it will die.

Pandemic Legacy

As Covid-19 took hold in March 2020, Watford General Hospital consultants Andrew Barlow and Matthew Knight drew up a blueprint for a virtual ward to care for people at home and prevent the hospital being overwhelmed, as was happening in Italy.

More than 6,000 coronavirus patients have since had their pulse, oxygen levels and other data remotely monitored to determine if they need face-to-face care at the hospital north of London, which has also expanded the concept to include people with heart conditions.

Covid forced us to think differently about how we deliver health care, but this is one of the biggest transformational changes that we're seeing, said Barlow, divisional director for medicine at West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust. The next step is to work with patients at risk of deterioration so they don't hit that crisis that brings them to the front door of the hospital.

Virtual wards are an attempt to solve mismatched capacity and demand, which was exposed brutally by the pandemic. Even before Covid, Britain lagged European peers on key metrics including per-capita hospital beds, critical care and medical technology.

At the same time, cuts to adult social care - support for vulnerable and elderly people at home or in a local facility - created a bottleneck of patients unable to be discharged from hospital wards. That has a knock-on effect, preventing patients being moved from emergency care, which in turn leads to ambulances queuing outside hospitals, leaving seriously ill people waiting hours for callouts.

Lindsey Rutley, a critical care nurse for 25 years, says she spends much of her time now trying to find beds for patients and estimates there are two or three wards worth at St George's Hospital in south London where she works who dont need to be there.

Rishi Sunaks Conservative government has embraced virtual wards as a way of meeting a pledge to reduce a backlog for routine NHS care of about 7 million patients. It sees 50,000 people a month being monitored at home to free up hospital space.

Yet critics say potential pitfalls include the risk of digital exclusion, if virtual monitoring and appointments become the default. Older people, who may find the technology difficult to use, will also have even less face-to-face contact.

Theres also the question of whether self-care via wearable devices creates demand and data volumes the NHS cant handle, and whether virtual wards invite more private companies in.

Barlow, who is also chief medical officer at digital care firm Virtue Health, says the argument needs to move on, and that private partnerships are necessary because the NHS cant create effective software platforms at scale without outside expertise. His West Herts hospital trust is working with medical technology firm Masimo on virtual wards that allow heart failure patients to leave hospital earlier and recover at home.

You cant keep throwing personnel at this, it needs to stack up financially  yes you do need consultants and nurses and therapists, but ultimately you have to make it as efficient as possible, he said.

Cold and Sick

When the NHS started out, life expectancy at birth in England and Wales was 66 years for males and 71 years for females. In the period 2018-2020, it was 79 and 83 respectively  meaning more long-term health conditions, more illnesses that can now be treated that couldnt before, and of course more elderly care.

Thats a key reason why officials are trying to shift the focus beyond hospitals and treatment to early intervention. The prize is being able to stop conditions from taking hold altogether. NHS reform on its own is a dead end, said Richard Sloggett, a former Tory government adviser and founder of think tank Future Health. What we really need is health care reform.

In a laboratory at Kings College London, health informatics lecturer Martin Chapman leads a team of scientists using artificial intelligence to digitally mimic cold and damp homes and various ways to prevent children living in them from falling ill.

One policy idea they are modelling is a government-funded discount on winter energy bills for low-income households, testing the theory that acting early to prevent chest conditions and mental health problems in young people will save longer-term costs.Its like forecasting the weather, except rather than modelling the atmospheric behaviors we're instead modelling human behaviors, said Chapman, whose three-month study is one of 16 commissioned by the Health Data Research UK charity with funding from the governments National Institute for Health and Care Research. The output of our model is a forecast for what will happen, much in the way predicting the weather is.

Paying energy bills is far from the traditional role of the NHS. Yet research shows it spends an estimated 860 million ($1 billion) treating conditions related to cold homes every year in England, while underheating contributes to about 10,000 UK deaths every winter.

A pilot program in Gloucestershire, southwest England, found tackling the problem at source can help. The study run by tech innovations firm Energy Systems Catapult saw 28 patients prescribed warmth in the winter of 2021-22. Recipients reported feeling less stressed about bills and less likely to visit doctors or hospital. A scaled-up trial is running this winter in parts of northeast England and Scotland, funded by energy giant BP Plc.

Going Private

The relationship between the NHS and private sector companies is already a long one: drug makers and tech firms get access to a pool of patients and the health service gets the latest developments. Businesses provide extra capacity in hospitals for surgery and beds, and most family doctors - known as general practitioners or GPs - operate in private partnerships.

But it still leads to the accusation, especially on the political left, that firms are driving up costs in a taxpayer-funded service. An NHS project to unify patient and other data, regarded as critical to coordinating care and managing resources, is providing the latest flashpoint.

The frontrunner for the 480 million contract is Palantir Technologies Inc., a US software and consulting company co-founded by Peter Thiel. He described Britons affection for the NHS as Stockholm Syndrome last month and said the service  which makes people sick - needs market mechanisms including privatization and deregulation to fix.

Thiel Scorns Britons Embrace of NHS as Palantir Seeks Contract

Palantir, which said Thiel had been speaking as a private individual at the event in Oxford, got its foot in the UKs public health door during the pandemic, offering its Foundry software to manage the Covid-19 vaccine rollout for just 1.

Several vendors and NHS officials told Bloomberg that rivals for the data contract would find it difficult to unseat Palantir, now its software is embedded in the health service. Others that have expressed an interest include C3 AI, an enterprise artificial intelligence software company, and British data analytics firm Quantexa. The NHS has yet to announce the successful bidder.

Palantirs involvement with the NHS sits uneasily with civil liberties groups given its tools have been used by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement to find undocumented migrants, for example. Patient advocacy group MedConfidential argues the health service should build its own open-source platform, rather than tie itself to Palantir.

But the trend of private companies eyeing parts of the NHS shows no sign of slowing, with the post-pandemic crisis and patient backlog creating more opportunities.

Gresham House Ventures, which in 2020 invested 5 million in eConsult Health - an online consultation form used by more than 3,200 GP practices  sees remote monitoring as a key area for growth.

If you look at the causes of the waiting list, its not the access to treatment, Gresham Houses investment director Maya Ward said. Its actually the diagnostics to identify the optimal treatment.

Even the Labour Party, with its ties to health unions traditionally wary of the link between modernization and private companies, seems relaxed about their involvement. It has said private hospitals could be handling 230,000 extra operations a year to cut existing NHS waiting lists.

Tipping Point

Amid the post-pandemic turmoil, public satisfaction with NHS service levels is falling. As of November, close to 380,000 patients had been waiting more than a year for treatment, such as general surgery, neurology and cardiology. The delay is keeping people out of the workforce.

Its also pushing more people to opt for private health care  about one in eight adults did so in 2022, with more than half self-funding on a pay-as-you-go basis rather than via insurance. Cataract surgery, hip and knee replacements and hernia repair procedures saw big rises, according to the Private Healthcare Information Network, an independent researcher.

Lack of access to NHS GPs has driven a rise in private app- or web-based services. Before the pandemic, AXA Healths virtual GP service was handling about 4,000 appointments a month; its now more than 50,000, commercial director Fergus Craig said in an interview.Staff are also leaving in part to seek better pay and conditions in the private sector. According to NHS England, the service had a nurse vacancy rate of 11.9% or 47,496 unfilled positions as of September.

Theres Never Been a Worse Time to Get Sick in the UK

The cost of funding the NHS keeps rising. The government spent 184 billion on health and social care in the year ended March 2022, of which NHS England accounted for about 150 billion. Getting waiting lists down and making improvements will likely require much larger sums to be spent.

There appears little appetite among the British public for free health care to be watered down. Its why neither Labour nor the government are talking about changing how it is funded  though Sunak has suggested people should pay if they miss an NHS appointment, an idea he abandoned after becoming prime minister.

What we've seen in the past is when NHS waiting times start to fall, you see the interest in self-pay completely go, said Sally Warren, director of policy at the King's Fund health think tank. She expects the current trend to reverse  so long as the NHS can get back on track.

That's not easy after funding for both social care and public health programs were slashed in the decade following the 2008 financial crisis.

Warren, who used to work for the government on social care policy, said ministers have been talking for 20 years about shifting care out of hospital: All the politicians say it, but yet they're unable to lead a system to make those changes."

Labour Push

Part of the problem is an electoral cycle of about five years, which makes governments wary of long-term plans and puts a premium on wooing voters with new hospitals.

While Sunak has embraced the idea of virtual wards, he has been more cautious about a broader overhaul. The legacy of austerity and previous unpopular reforms have left the Conservative government tainted, and even some Tory ministers privately concede its Labour that has the credibility with voters to talk about fundamental change.

Embracing a rethink is not risk-free for Labour, even as polls put it on course for a comfortable election victory, and Starmer faces considerable pushback from party members if he yields too much ground to private firms.

Labour is promising a 10-year-plan  effectively two terms of government - to modernize health care. Starmer has said that stems from his experience as director of public prosecutions, when it was rare he came across a case that couldn't have been prevented earlier in life.

Back on the picket line outside St George's Hospital, critical care nurse Natasha Trenchard-Turner said its now or never for an NHS she has worked for since 2002.

I want to be hopeful, she said. You need a consistent plan that has evidence behind it, they need to commit to it and they need to fund it. And that's the only way we're going to save our NHS.

--With assistance from Olivia Solon, Irina Anghel, Eamon Akil Farhat, Katie Linsell and Andrew Atkinson.

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2023 Bloomberg L.P.
British American Tobacco p.l.c. (LON:BATS) will increase its dividend from last year's comparable payment on the 3rd of May to 0.5772. This will take the annual payment to 7.6% of the stock price, which is above what most companies in the industry pay.

See our latest analysis for British American Tobacco

British American Tobacco's Earnings Easily Cover The Distributions

We like to see robust dividend yields, but that doesn't matter if the payment isn't sustainable. Prior to this announcement, British American Tobacco's dividend made up quite a large proportion of earnings but only 53% of free cash flows. This leaves plenty of cash for reinvestment into the business.

The next year is set to see EPS grow by 48.6%. Assuming the dividend continues along recent trends, we think the payout ratio could be 54% by next year, which is in a pretty sustainable range.

Dividend Volatility

While the company has been paying a dividend for a long time, it has cut the dividend at least once in the last 10 years. Since 2013, the dividend has gone from 1.26 total annually to 2.31. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 6.2% over that duration. We like to see dividends have grown at a reasonable rate, but with at least one substantial cut in the payments, we're not certain this dividend stock would be ideal for someone intending to live on the income.

Dividend Growth Potential Is Shaky

Growing earnings per share could be a mitigating factor when considering the past fluctuations in the dividend. Earnings per share has been sinking by 31% over the last five years. Dividend payments are likely to come under some pressure unless EPS can pull out of the nosedive it is in. However, the next year is actually looking up, with earnings set to rise. We would just wait until it becomes a pattern before getting too excited.

Our Thoughts On British American Tobacco's Dividend

Overall, this is probably not a great income stock, even though the dividend is being raised at the moment. In the past, the payments have been unstable, but over the short term the dividend could be reliable, with the company generating enough cash to cover it. Overall, we don't think this company has the makings of a good income stock.

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Companies possessing a stable dividend policy will likely enjoy greater investor interest than those suffering from a more inconsistent approach. Still, investors need to consider a host of other factors, apart from dividend payments, when analysing a company. For instance, we've picked out 2 warning signs for British American Tobacco that investors should take into consideration. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our collection of strong dividend payers.

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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Russia has likely suffered its heaviest losses since the first week of its invasion of Ukraine over the past two weeks.

Source: UK Defence Intelligence, as European Pravda reports

Details: UK Intelligence points to the Ukrainian General Staff's daily reports on Russian military casualties, noting that they cannot verify the Ukrainian methodology. They emphasise, however, that the trends illustrated by this data are likely accurate.

The mean average over the past seven days was 824 Russian casualties per day, which is four times higher than in June-July 2022. British Intelligence emphasises that Ukraine also continues to suffer from a high attrition rate.

UK Defence Intelligence believes that the increase in Russian casualties is likely due to a range of factors, including a lack of trained personnel, coordination, and resources across the front, as seen in Vuhledar and Bakhmut.

Earlier, British Intelligence expressed its assumptions as to why Wagner's Group is halting recruitment of prison inmates.

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Brittney Griner has made just her second appearance in public after her dramatic release from a Russian prison in December.

The WNBA star, 32, appeared happy and relaxed as she waved to the crowd at the 16th hole of the Phoenix Golf Open in Scottsdale, Arizona, on Saturday, images captured by the Associated Press showed.

A crowd of nearly 200,000 joined Ms Griner in watching top golfers including Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy in action.

They included an estimated 17,000 who packed into stands surrounding the 16th hole, which the New York Times describes as the loudest hole on the rowdiest stop on the PGA Tour.

Last month, Ms Griner turned out for the Martin Luther King Jr Day march in Phoenix.

The two-time Olympic gold medallist is still recovering from her 10-month ordeal in Russian custody after she was arrested for possession of a small amount of cannabis oil at a Moscow Airport last February.

Last week, her close friend and teammate Diana Taurasi revealed she had elected to skip a training camp with the national womans basketball team in Minnesota.

Ms Taurasi told the Associated Press she had been working out and training with Ms Griner as she eases her way back into competitive basketball.

Every single day we suffered and hoped shed be back and not until I saw her, did I really believe it, Ms Taurasi said.

And just to see her smile, just to see her free, was really emotional for everyone.

Brittney Griner acknowledges the crowd at the Phoenix Open Golf on Saturday (Associated Press)

Ms Griner has said she intends to return to play for the Phoenix Mercury when the WNBA season begins in May, but remains a free agent.

The 69 centre was sentenced to nine years in a Russian penal colony after she was found guilty of drug possession at a show trial in Moscow in October.

After months of negotiations between the US and Russia, Ms Griner was released on 8 December in a contentious exchange for Viktor Bout, a notorious weapons trafficker dubbed the Merchant of Death.

Ms Griner has said she wants to become an advocate for other Americans imprisoned in Russia, and has spoken out several times since her release about her hopes that former Marine Paul Whelan will be freed.

Phoenix also hosts Sundays Super Bowl 57 between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs.
Eazy Financial Services EazyPay, Bahrains leading innovative payment services provider, has signed an agreement with Novotel Bahrain Al Dana Resort, enabling it to accept crypto payments.

As part of the agreement, Novotel Bahrain Al Dana Resort, a luxury 4-star beachside hotel in Manama, will be provided with a series of electronic payment services including state-of-the-art Point-of-Sale (POS) Terminals placed at its outlets to accept all types of Debit and Credit cards from Visa & MasterCard, including the acceptance of the latest method of payment using Crypto assets via Binance App, which is regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain

This makes Novotel Bahrain Al Dana Resort the first Hotel in Bahrain and the region to accept premium payments such as crypto assets payments in a regulated, secure and extremely fast manner.

The agreement was signed at Novotel Bahrain Al Dana Resort in the presence of Amid Yazji General Manager, Muhammad Sohail Jamil Director of Finance and from Eazy Financial Services Nayef Tawfiq Al-Alawi, Founder & CEO, and Khalid Showaiter Head of Merchant Services & Sales.

Simple and effective

The benefits of bringing in EazyPay to Novotel Bahrain Al Dana Resort will ensure simple and effective transaction journeys for customers to ensure first-class service.

Yazji commented: Keeping up with the development of technologies, and our constant desire to provide our valued guests with the highest levels of service, we are thrilled to announce that we are the first hotel in Bahrain and the region to use the latest digital payment technologies.

Al Alawi said: We are providing competitive, and innovative payment services, which makes EazyPay the most leading, preferred, and Trusted POS & Online payment Gateway Service Provider in Bahrain.-- TradeArabia News Service
Republican Speaker Kevin McCarthys removal of progressive Democratic Representative Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee because of her criticism of Israels government is more than just symbolism. Its the latest move by todays Republican leaders who have totally flipped from the views and actions of the partys early presidents, martyred Abraham Lincoln and the progressive Teddy Roosevelt.

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., leaves the House chamber at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023. House Republicans have voted to oust Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The vote in a raucous session on Thursday to remove the Somali-born Muslim lawmaker came after her past comments critical of Israel.

We remember Lincoln rightly as the President who worked to end slavery and move the nation toward more justice. Using his authority as Commander in Chief of the military, he ended slavery in all the states he legally could  those in rebellion in 1863. Then he went to work cajoling and arm-twisting to get the 13th Amendment passed to outlaw the brutal and horrid practice of slavery in the United States. He gave his life, shot by a slave-state sympathizer at the Ford theater in Washington. Teddy Roosevelt, as President, called for a Square Deal for American workers, signed laws requiring food inspections for the first time, and cajoled coal mine owners to bargain with their workers.

Most of Lincolns Republican successors stood for more racial equality, while the Democratic Party developed a split between its northern faction  led by people like FDR  and its southern group, led by people like Strom Thurmond of South Carolina. FDR was criticized for not doing more for minorities, but most of the Congressional committees were chaired by Southern Democrats. So FDR could get little done for desegregation or farm workers because of Southern opposition  though what he did get through, like Social Security, benefited most of the American people, regardless of race or region.

After FDR died in 45, his successor, Democrat Harry Truman, of border state Missouri, took the bold step of integrating the US military  and that was one of the straws that broke the Democratic party in two  along with the partys endorsement of strong civil rights language at its national convention in 48.

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The Southern Dixiecrats walked out of the convention and nominated Strom Thurmond for president. With this secessionist strategy, the segregationists hoped to capture the White House. But they lost, as Truman won the 48 Presidential election anyway.

So Thurmond and others who supported segregation switched to the Republican Party, and todays political lineup was fairly set, with strong, reactionary Republican parties in our Southern states, and strong, more liberal Democratic Parties in the North and the coasts. Northern and Western Republicans  such as Eisenhower, George Romney of Michigan, his son Mitt, and the McCains  have tended to be more liberal on social issues and conservative on economics. So weve had a Gov. George Romney marching with M.L. King in Detroit, Sen. McCain rejecting racism toward Obama with, No maam, hes a good American, we just disagree, and a Sen. Mitt Romney voting to remove Trump for abuse of power.

McCarthys Republicans have the legal right to remove Omar, just as Strom Thurmond and Ronald Reagan had the legal right to follow a Southern Strategy of foot-dragging on human rights. But Rep. Omar stands more as a symbol of what America once considered itselfa refuge for those fleeing repression or wars abroad. Omar, a black Muslim girl, left Somalia at the age of 8, as that country was being torn apart by civil wars. Growing up in Minnesota, she was elected to Congress in 2016. Critics falsely labeled her anti-Semitic for criticizing Israels government. Realistically, her removal was a reprisal for Democrats removing Republican committee members who supported the January 6 insurrection.

So  as in 48  the forces of reaction and racism may win this rearguard battle, but lose the war. Republican leaders such as Speaker McCarthy, having chosen to channel the racism and sexism of the 19th century, are trying to turn back the clock to that time. Its really up to up to us--citizensvoterswhether or not we reject a public servant because of her religion, her gender, or her race. In the end, Im betting more Americans honor the Constitution and  no religious test for office than support bigotry and racism.

Jack Burgess is a retired history teacher. Other Burgess columns can be found at Yahoo, Facebook or other online sources.

This article originally appeared on Chillicothe Gazette: Burgess: Omar removal is a step backwards
Some investors rely on dividends for growing their wealth, and if you're one of those dividend sleuths, you might be intrigued to know that Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) is about to go ex-dividend in just 4 days. The ex-dividend date is one business day before a company's record date, which is the date on which the company determines which shareholders are entitled to receive a dividend. The ex-dividend date is important as the process of settlement involves two full business days. So if you miss that date, you would not show up on the company's books on the record date. Therefore, if you purchase Primerica's shares on or after the 17th of February, you won't be eligible to receive the dividend, when it is paid on the 14th of March.

The company's next dividend payment will be US$0.65 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed US$2.20 to shareholders. Last year's total dividend payments show that Primerica has a trailing yield of 1.3% on the current share price of $168. Dividends are a major contributor to investment returns for long term holders, but only if the dividend continues to be paid. So we need to check whether the dividend payments are covered, and if earnings are growing.

See our latest analysis for Primerica

Dividends are typically paid from company earnings. If a company pays more in dividends than it earned in profit, then the dividend could be unsustainable. Primerica paid out a comfortable 31% of its profit last year.

Companies that pay out less in dividends than they earn in profits generally have more sustainable dividends. The lower the payout ratio, the more wiggle room the business has before it could be forced to cut the dividend.

Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Companies with consistently growing earnings per share generally make the best dividend stocks, as they usually find it easier to grow dividends per share. If business enters a downturn and the dividend is cut, the company could see its value fall precipitously. Fortunately for readers, Primerica's earnings per share have been growing at 10% a year for the past five years.

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Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. Since the start of our data, 10 years ago, Primerica has lifted its dividend by approximately 34% a year on average. It's great to see earnings per share growing rapidly over several years, and dividends per share growing right along with it.

The Bottom Line

Has Primerica got what it takes to maintain its dividend payments? Companies like Primerica that are growing rapidly and paying out a low fraction of earnings, are usually reinvesting heavily in their business. This is one of the most attractive investment combinations under this analysis, as it can create substantial value for investors over the long run. In summary, Primerica appears to have some promise as a dividend stock, and we'd suggest taking a closer look at it.

So while Primerica looks good from a dividend perspective, it's always worthwhile being up to date with the risks involved in this stock. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for Primerica you should know about.

A common investing mistake is buying the first interesting stock you see. Here you can find a full list of high-yield dividend stocks.

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 The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) as an investment opportunity by taking the forecast future cash flows of the company and discounting them back to today's value. This will be done using the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. There's really not all that much to it, even though it might appear quite complex.

Companies can be valued in a lot of ways, so we would point out that a DCF is not perfect for every situation. If you want to learn more about discounted cash flow, the rationale behind this calculation can be read in detail in the Simply Wall St analysis model.

See our latest analysis for Sherwin-Williams

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 begin with, we have to get estimates of the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.

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 ($, Millions) US$2.22b US$2.56b US$2.85b US$2.88b US$3.38b US$3.60b US$3.79b US$3.95b US$4.09b US$4.22b Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x12 Analyst x11 Analyst x6 Analyst x2 Analyst x1 Est @ 6.56% Est @ 5.22% Est @ 4.27% Est @ 3.61% Est @ 3.15% Present Value ($, Millions) Discounted @ 8.3% US$2.1k US$2.2k US$2.2k US$2.1k US$2.3k US$2.2k US$2.2k US$2.1k US$2.0k US$1.9k

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = US$21b

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After calculating the present value of future cash flows in the initial 10-year period, we need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all future cash flows beyond the first stage. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield (2.1%) 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 8.3%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2032  (1 + g)  (r  g) = US$4.2b (1 + 2.1%)  (8.3% 2.1%) = US$70b

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= US$70b ( 1 + 8.3%)10= US$32b

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 US$53b. In the final step we divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of US$230, the company appears around fair value at the time of writing. The assumptions in any calculation have a big impact on the valuation, so it is better to view this as a rough estimate, not precise down to the last cent.

dcf

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 Sherwin-Williams 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 8.3%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.041. 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 Sherwin-Williams

Strength

Earnings growth over the past year exceeded its 5-year average.

Debt is well covered by earnings.

Dividends are covered by earnings and cash flows.

Weakness

Earnings growth over the past year underperformed the Chemicals industry.

Dividend is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the Chemicals market.

Expensive based on P/E ratio and estimated fair value.

Opportunity

Annual earnings are forecast to grow for the next 3 years.

Significant insider buying over the past 3 months.

Threat

Debt is not well covered by operating cash flow.

Annual earnings are forecast to grow slower than the American market.

Next Steps:

Although the valuation of a company is important, it ideally won't be the sole piece of analysis you scrutinize for a company. The DCF model is not a perfect stock valuation tool. Preferably you'd apply different cases and assumptions and see how they would impact the company's valuation. 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 Sherwin-Williams, we've compiled three relevant items you should further examine:

Risks: We feel that you should assess the 1 warning sign for Sherwin-Williams we've flagged before making an investment in the company. Future Earnings: How does SHW'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. The Simply Wall St app conducts a discounted cash flow valuation for every stock on the NYSE 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
Today we'll do a simple run through of a valuation method used to estimate the attractiveness of SEG International Bhd (KLSE:SEG) as an investment opportunity by taking the expected 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. There's really not all that much to it, even though it might appear quite complex.

Remember though, that there are many ways to estimate a company's value, and a DCF is just one method. If you want to learn more about discounted cash flow, the rationale behind this calculation can be read in detail in the Simply Wall St analysis model.

View our latest analysis for SEG International Bhd

The Method

We use what is known as a 2-stage model, which simply means we have two different periods of growth rates for the company's cash flows. Generally the first stage is higher growth, and the second stage is a lower growth phase. In the first stage we need to estimate the cash flows to the business over the next ten years. 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) forecast

2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 Levered FCF (MYR, Millions) RM57.3m RM57.9m RM58.9m RM60.3m RM61.9m RM63.8m RM65.8m RM67.9m RM70.2m RM72.6m Growth Rate Estimate Source Est @ -0.06% Est @ 1.03% Est @ 1.79% Est @ 2.33% Est @ 2.70% Est @ 2.96% Est @ 3.14% Est @ 3.27% Est @ 3.36% Est @ 3.42% Present Value (MYR, Millions) Discounted @ 11% RM51.8 RM47.3 RM43.6 RM40.3 RM37.5 RM34.9 RM32.5 RM30.4 RM28.4 RM26.6

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = RM373m

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After calculating the present value of future cash flows in the initial 10-year period, we need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all future cash flows beyond the first stage. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield (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 11%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2032  (1 + g)  (r  g) = RM73m (1 + 3.6%)  (11% 3.6%) = RM1.1b

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= RM1.1b ( 1 + 11%)10= RM393m

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 RM766m. The last step is to then divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Compared to the current share price of RM0.7, the company appears around fair value at the time of writing. The assumptions in any calculation have a big impact on the valuation, so it is better to view this as a rough estimate, not precise down to the last cent.

dcf

The Assumptions

The calculation above is very dependent on two assumptions. The first is the discount rate and the other is the cash flows. You don't have to agree with these inputs, I recommend redoing the calculations yourself and playing with them. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at SEG International Bhd 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 11%, which is based on a levered beta of 0.874. 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 SEG International Bhd

Strength

Debt is not viewed as a risk.

Dividend is in the top 25% of dividend payers in the market.

Weakness

Earnings declined over the past year.

Current share price is above our estimate of fair value.

Opportunity

SEG's financial characteristics indicate limited near-term opportunities for shareholders.

Lack of analyst coverage makes it difficult to determine SEG's earnings prospects.

Threat

Dividends are not covered by earnings and cashflows.

Moving On:

Valuation is only one side of the coin in terms of building your investment thesis, and it is only one of many factors that you need to assess for a company. DCF models are not the be-all and end-all of investment valuation. Instead the best use for a DCF model is to test certain assumptions and theories to see if they would lead to the company being undervalued or overvalued. For instance, if the terminal value growth rate is adjusted slightly, it can dramatically alter the overall result. For SEG International Bhd, we've put together three essential items you should look at:

Risks: Be aware that SEG International Bhd is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about... 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! Other Environmentally-Friendly Companies: Concerned about the environment and think consumers will buy eco-friendly products more and more? Browse through our interactive list of companies that are thinking about a greener future to discover some stocks you may not have thought of!

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.

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
We know that everything in life changes, and during our lifetime we've seen many changes that affects how we live. One of these changes that many of us can remember is the neighborhood grocery store.

It was in our respective neighborhoods where you might have been fortunate to have two, three and possibly four individually owned stores that, for the most part, would support and fulfill our daily needs. These were the ones that were often called "mom and pop" groceries.

The local grocery store owner was your friend and neighbor. You came to the store to purchase items you needed for your family, and sometimes you might have even discussed current events. Some of these owners might have extended a line of credit, and they had a required time period established for the payment.

Charles A. Over stands inside his grocery store at 63 N. Main St. in Chambersburg during the early 1900s.

Who was Charles A. Over?

Today's tale is about Charles A. Over, a Chambersburg grocer. His journey to this occupation began in 1885 at the age of 15 when he started carrying mail from the post office at Marion to the Cumberland Valley Railroad depot a short distance away.

It was just two years later, in 1887, that Over started serving his apprenticeship at Grove's general store in Marion. In 1888, he moved to the bustling town of Chambersburg. In a very short time, he became clerk at the grocery store of John Elder at 63 N. Main St.

Today's groceries:Egg prices are soaring; migratory birds and free-range chickens might be part of problem

During 1903, after 15 years of employment, Over went to work as a clerk at A.L. Sollenberger's hardware store in Chambersburg. He also worked as a clerk for the Pennsylvania Railroad for a brief period of time before returning to former employer John Elder as a clerk.

Over's life would change with the passing of John Elder in 1913 when he was able to buy Elder's entire inventory and continue the business, which became known as the Charles A. Over grocery store.

When you went into his store, you could see shelves filled with fancy and staple groceries. Some of the many items sold included the famous Log Cabin Maple Syrup, U Needa Biscuit, Arbuckle's Coffee, Polar Star cough remedies, and Koon's Brother's Cigars of Chambersburg. Of course, there was also a large variety of locally grown fruits and vegetables.

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What was it like to deliver groceries in the early 1900s?

It wasn't always easy to deliver groceries to a customer as on one such occasion on Jan. 17, 1918, the streets and sidewalks were covered with ice and snow. Over had to use his horse and wagon for delivery.

Over also had a unique crock made for selling his high-grade oleomargarine. The small crock advertised his business address, and today these old crocks are a treasured keepsake.

There's no doubt that Over was, living the dream in owning and operating his grocery store. When he had the opportunity during the spring and summer months, he and his family would ride the Chambersburg and Gettysburg trolley car from Chambersburg to Caledonia Park for an afternoon of relaxation.

What happened to Over during and after the Great Depression?

Over experienced a major setback during the fall of 1929 when the stock market crashed, causing him to lose nearly $39,000 in investments. Even though this was a stunning setback for Over, he pulled himself together and started back down the path of prosperity.

An unnamed store clerk stands with the delivery wagon for Charles A. Over's grocery story in Chambersburg.

In 1938, he purchased the property of Charles Smiley at the northwest corner of North Main and West King streets. On the first floor he opened a larger grocery store and also was now selling bicycles in the rear of the building.

It was during 1945 that Over sold his grocery business and relocated to southwest side of West King Street, near the Falling Spring Creek, where he opened a health-food store in 1946. A new direction in Over's life came about in 1957, after 44 years of business in Chambersburg, when he sold his business and retired.

The town of Chambersburg lost a kind, generous and devoted individual on Feb. 12, 1967, when Over died at age 96. He is buried in the Lincoln Cemetery.

M.L. Mike Marotte III is an author and historian who writes about the history of Franklin County. Read more of him at www.vintagefranklincountypa.com.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Charles A. Over worked at or owned a grocery for 44 years in PA
(Reuters) -A father and daughter, a toddler and a 10-year-old girl were among survivors pulled from the ruins of collapsed buildings in Turkey on Sunday, nearly a week since a devastating earthquake.

The quake and major aftershocks early last Monday flattened swathes of towns and cities in parts of Turkey and Syria, killing at least 33,000 people in the two countries.

Time was running out to reach trapped victims alive under the rubble, but emergency crews were still finding survivors on Sunday.

Video released by the Istanbul Municipality showed rescuers in the southern province of Hatay pulling a 10-year-old girl through a hole in the floor of a damaged building before carrying her out on a stretcher.

The girl, named Cudi, had been buried for 147 hours, the Istanbul Municipality said.

Also in Hatay, rescuers pulled a small child from the rubble of a collapsed building. A video released by the Turkish health ministry showed the child lying silently on a stretcher, bruised and covered in dust, as rescuers carried her to safety.

In central Hatay, a man and his five-year-old daughter Emira were also recovered alive from a destroyed building.

Video released by the Kocaeli Municipality on Sunday showed rescuers talking to Emira and her father while they were still trapped under debris.

"Hello beautiful girl, we are here to take you out," one of the rescuers said.

Around 180 km (110 miles) to the north of Hatay, in the city of Kahramanmaras, 27-year-old Muhammed Habib recited the Koran to rescuers during a 10-hour operation to extricate him.

Video posted on social media showed Habib pumping his fist in the air, yelling "God is greatest", to the cheers of rescuers below as he was finally winched out by machinery.

In the Hatay provincial capital of Antakya, a team of Chinese rescue workers and Turkish firefighters rescued a 54-year-old Syrian man from the rubble of a building near a central park, according to Reuters journalist.

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Also in Antakya, a 55-year-old woman was rescued from a collapsed building on Sunday evening. CNN Turk showed rescue workers carrying her to an ambulance as she waved, strapped into a stretcher and wearing a neck brace.

A woman named Saadet Coskun was rescued from a building in the town of Nurdagi in Gaziantep province, 159 hours after the first quake, a live CNN Turk broadcast showed.

Rescue workers called on the crowd on the building's ruins to open up a channel as they brought the woman through to a waiting ambulance, before bursting into applause.

Her condition was unclear.

(Writing by Raissa Kasolowsky and Frances KerryEditing by Jan Harvey)
The first meeting of the G20 Tourism Working Group to be held under the Indian Presidency placed the focus on the sectors role in in advancing the 2030 Agenda.

The meeting, held in the Rann of Kutch (Feb 7-9), featured as well a side event dedicated to rural tourism for community development and poverty alleviation. Here, UNWTO shared its recently launched Tourism for Rural Development Programme, including the Best Tourism Villages Initiative.

UNWTO is working as the knowledge partner to the presidency to deliver the Goa Roadmap for Tourism as a vehicle for achieving the SDGs.

The side event was an opportunity to highlight opportunities for rural tourism, including new consumer behaviours and growing interest in new destinations.

The meeting also explored the main challenges facing the sector, particularly with regards to digital and non-digital infrastructure, the empowerment of local communities and skills development. The findings presented were the result of an analysis of more than 200 candidacies by villages from around the world to the Best Tourism Villages Initiative as well as UNWTO Member States priorities and policies.

Representatives from Indonesia, Spain, Italy and Japan joined UNWTO, the UN Environmental Program, the International Labor Organization and the South Asia Women's Network (SWAN) in discussing how can tourism policy can support tourism's contribution to rural development. Participants stressed that the sustainability of tourism in rural areas is dependent on a comprehensive planning strategy is adopted and implemented based on a multi-action and multi-stakeholder participatory approach. Furthermore, it was noted that rural tourism requires the support of regional and local governments, the private sector, industry associations, civil society, communities and tourists.

In 2021, recognising the immense potential of rural tourism in the country, the Ministry of Tourism of India formulated a National Strategy and Roadmap for Development of Rural Tourism. Reflecting this, the event included also rural tourism cases from India, including examples from Astro-tourism, homestays and women empowerment as well as the Indian village selected by UNWTO to join the Best Tourism Villages Upgrade Programme  the Khonoma Village in Nagaland. - TradeArabia News Service
(Reuters) - China should enhance incentives for people to build families and boost the birth rate as the country's now-falling population could threaten the world's second-biggest economy, a Chinese family planning expert said.

Mainland China's population fell by 850,000 last year, the first decline since 1961, to 1.42 billion, the government said last month, potentially falling behind India's as the world's largest, the start of a likely long decline with profound implications for its economy and the world.

Wang Pei'an, deputy director of the China Family Planning Association, said on Saturday more tax incentives should be created based on the family unit that could encourage births.

Speaking at the third Chinese and Development Forum in Beijing, Wang cited a growing trend among younger generations to forestall having children. He called for more incentives around employment, medical care, social security and housing that could encourage people to build families.

The government imposed a one-child policy on families in much of the country between 1980 and 2015, but with the population now falling, the authorities are scrambling to prop up the birth rate.

In calling for more supportive measures, health officials cite factors such as worries over expenses and younger women focusing on careers.

The average Chinese household shrank to 2.62 people in 2020, a decrease of 0.48 from 2010, according to a survey cited by state broadcaster CCTV.

A 2021 survey found women born in the 1990s felt the ideal number of kids to have was 1.54, while for those born in the 2000s it was just 1.19. The percentage of women who never had children surged to nearly 10% in 2020 from 6.1% in 2015.

"In China, the level of maternity protection is still very low," Wang said, adding that without the effort to cultivate a need for marriage and children, it would be extremely difficult to boost fertility levels.

The average age a woman first marries rose from 22 in the 1980s to 26.3 in 2020, and the age of first childbearing was delayed to 27.2 years, according to CCTV.

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Wang pointed to a 2021 survey by the China Population and Development Research Center, showing fewer than 70% of women under the age of 35 thought life was complete only when one had children.

(This story has been refiled to correct reporting credit)

(Reporting by Ethan Wang and Bernard Orr; Editing by William Mallard)
(Bloomberg) -- China is getting ready to take down an unidentified object flying over waters near the port city of Qingdao, which is home to a major naval base for the Peoples Liberation Army, Chinese news outlet The Paper reported.

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An employee at the marine development authority of Qingdaos Jimo district said relevant authorities are preparing to bring down the object, the report said. The employee was not informed about what the object was.

The Jianggezhuang Naval Base, located about 15 miles east of Qingdao, hosts both ballistic and nuclear attack submarines and the countrys first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning. It is the command headquarters of the countrys North Sea Fleet.

The US and Canada brought down three high-altitude airborne objects this month, including one Washington said was sent deliberately by China for surveillance. Beijing countered that it was a harmless weather-monitoring device that blew off course.

China reserves the right to use necessary means to deal with similar situations, Chinas Defense Ministry spokesperson Tan Kefei said in a statement on Feb. 5, after the US shot down the first of the devices off the South Carolina coast.

The White House said on Sunday its too early to characterize the two latest objects shot down by US fighter jets over North America after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said they are believed to have been high-altitude balloons. The objects were shot down on Friday over Alaska and on Saturday over Canada.

(Adds detail about naval base in the area)

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A growing number of Senate Republicans are saying that President Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) should take defense spending cuts off the table in their negotiation over the debt ceiling.

The Republicans are digging in their heels after receiving a classified briefing on a Chinese spy balloon that floated over sensitive military installations.

The entire civilized world should recognize that communist China is probably the greatest threat weve ever faced, more severe than Soviet Russia was because of its economic integration into the West, said Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) after receiving a briefing from senior administration officials on the spy balloon. We should take every step we can to try to reduce our dependency on China [and] try to build stronger military deterrence against them.

I do not think that we should be talking about cutting the defense budget at all right now. If anything, substantial defense increases, he said.

Defense cuts werent popular with most Republicans even before the controversy surrounding the Chinese spy balloon, which was shot down off the coast of South Carolina a week ago Saturday.

But the balloon controversy, which some see as underlining an aggressive stance from Beijing, has become a No. 1 reason to draw a line against defense cuts.

Having a strong robust national security is essential to deterring bad behavior, said Senate Republican Whip John Thune (R-S.D.). I think its OK to try to find savings and do the audits and do all that sort of thing to become more efficient, but just willy-nilly saying were going to cut defense I think would be a mistake.

Sen. Tim Kaine says ill-timed spy balloon was incompetent move by China

Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) said there is no way that we should be looking at defense cuts right now.

Were probably going to need more and not less with regard to that. The primary responsibility of the Congress of the United States is the defense of our country and this one is a serious threat, he said of China.

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The tough GOP line on defense spending could make it even harder to reach a deal on spending cuts  which House and Senate Republicans are demanding as a price for raising the debt ceiling.

Democrats are against cuts to discretionary domestic spending and certainly do not want to reduce social spending if the Pentagons budget is not going to be touched.

President Biden has also drawn a line against cuts to entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare. McCarthy on Monday also pledged that cuts to Medicare and Social Security are off the table.

Senate Republicans had previously said they would leave the deficit reduction talks entirely to Biden and McCarthy, but its getting tough for them to stay out of it completely when theres growing talk of the need for a new military buildup to counter China and Russia, which is beginning a new offensive in Ukraine.

They believe in in strength, Rounds said of China, noting that the Senate Armed Services Committee, on which he serves, has authorized the new B-21 stealth bomber. Were not going to be a pushover.

He pointed out that a Chinese-owned company tried to set up a corn milling plant within 12 miles of Grand Forks Air Force base in neighboring North Dakota, which he called extremely suspicious.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), another outspoken opponent of cutting defense funding, said hes open to cutting wasteful programs within the Pentagon but he wants to redirect those savings to other defense-related priorities.

I dont mind reforming the Defense Department and doing away with certain programs. I want to apply it back into the Defense budget and put it in other areas. We need a bigger Navy, he said.

I dont think anybody believes our Navy and our military footprint west of the international dateline is sufficient to deter China, he said.

Republican lawmakers also say theyre not interested in cutting funding for veterans, law enforcement or border security, which doesnt leave much on the table for Biden and McCarthy to discuss.

Boy, I tell you theyre making their job very difficult, said Bill Hoagland, a senior vice president at the Bipartisan Policy Center who previously served as the Republican staff director of the Senate Budget Committee.

If you take entitlements like Medicare and Social Security off the table, you take defense off the table  obviously interest [payments] are off the table  what youre left with is the safety-net programs [like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program] and non-defense discretionary, he said. Theyre making their climb up this hill even more difficult.

Hoagland said that non-defense discretionary spending accounts for less than 15 percent of all federal spending.

He said that means theres little chance Biden and Republican leaders will agree to a deficit reduction package of any significant size.

Other policy experts share that view.

Whatever gets done will be a trim at best, said Jim Kessler, the executive vice president for policy at Third Way, a centrist Democratic think tank.

One out of every ten federal employees is a law enforcement official, he noted. Who are we cutting from the border or from the FBI or TSA? I think this gets hard.

Governing is a lot harder than being in the opposition. Kevin McCarthy is going to learn that, he said.

Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.), a leading Senate Republican budget hawk, said his GOP colleagues need to broaden the parameters of the negotiations if theyre going to have any meaningful impact on the deficit.

He said lawmakers who want to take defense cuts off the table are just not serious about trying to do anything about the debt.

All spending would have to be on the table in order to have any kind of real hope of assessing the debt, he said.

This came up with the omnibus at the end of the year and the question was: Which is more important for our national security, adding $45 billion in military spending or having a $31 trillion debt? From the perspective of fiscal hawks like myself, the $31 trillion in debt is more of a danger to our national security, Paul said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Dana Jarosinksi, a DNR wildlife technician, prepares a tissue sample taken from a sedated white-tailed deer near Dodgeville as part of the Wisconsin CWD, Deer and Predator Study.

The Department of Natural Resources last Wednesday announced the detection of chronic wasting disease in a wild deer in Langlade County.

The deer was a hunter-harvested 1-year-old buck taken in the Town of Wolf River.

It's the latest in a spate of initial CWD discoveries in recent months in wild deer in Wisconsin and follows similar announcements in Buffalo and Waupaca counties.

Chronic wasting disease is a fatal, infectious nervous system disease of deer, moose, elk and other cervids. It belongs to the family of diseases known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) or prion diseases.

Although no human illness has been linked to the disease, the Centers for Disease Control and Wisconsin Department of Health Services recommend meat not be consumed from CWD-positive deer.

The DNR began monitoring the state's wild white-tailed deer population for CWD in 1999. The first positives were found in wild deer killed in late 2001 near Mount Horeb as well as in captive deer at a farm in Portage County.

Since then the disease has continued to spread to in the state's captive and wild herds.

As required by state law, the DNR enacts three-year baiting and feeding bans in counties where CWD has been detected and two-year bans in adjoining counties that lie within 10 miles of a CWD detection.

The recent detection of CWD in Langlade County will renew a 3-year baiting and feeding ban in the county, as well as a 2-year baiting and feeding ban in Menominee County.

Because the deer was harvested in close proximity to the Menominee Reservation, the Menominee Tribal Government has its own baiting ban within the exterior boundaries of the Reservation.

Baiting or feeding deer encourages them to congregate unnaturally around a shared food source where sick deer can spread CWD through direct contact with healthy deer or by leaving behind infectious prions in their saliva, blood, feces and urine, according to the DNR.

A meeting to discuss the Langlade County finding is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at White Lake High School in White Lake.

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At the meeting DNR staff will provide information about CWD in Wisconsin, local CWD testing efforts and disease surveillance options being considered.

To learn more about CWD in Wisconsin, visit dnr.wi.gov.

Bird count: The 26th annual Great Backyard Bird Count will be held worldwide Feb. 17 to 20. The event is organized by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society.

The organizations invite people to spend time in their favorite places watching and counting as many birds as they can find and reporting them. The observations help scientists better understand global bird populations before one of their annual migrations and help to paint a picture of how birds are faring in the face of habitat loss, climate change and other threats, according to the groups.

Each participant or group counts birds for at least 15 minutes and records the birds they identify. This can be done at home, in a park or during a drive or commute. An estimated 385,000 people participated last year, reporting more than 7,000 species in 192 countries.

Visit the Great Backyard Bird Counts website at birdcount.org to learn how to participate or learn more. The groups will also hold an informational webinar at 12 p.m. Feb. 15.

Wolf input session recorded: A recording is available of last Tuesday's public listening session on the state's draft wolf management plan. The session started with a description of the proposed plan by Department of Natural Resources staff followed by public comments. It is archived on the DNR's YouTube channel.

The online public comment period on the draft wolf plan runs through Feb. 28. Comments can be provided through an online tool or by U.S. Mail to: Wolf Management Plan Comments, 101 S. Webster Street PO Box 7921,Madison, WI 53707-7921.

To learn more visit dnr.wi.gov. and search "wolf management plan."

Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Chronic wasting disease found in wild deer Langlade County Wisconsin
Google

Question: What is the most searched term on Bing? Answer: Google.

The long-running internet joke works because it is so believable. Microsofts search engine has been a punchline practically since its launch, always in the shadow of its wildly-popular and lucrative rival.

Despite persistent efforts to dethrone it, Googles search engine has become one of the most profitable inventions in history.

The billions of queries logged each day on the service brought in $163bn (135bn) for Googles parent company last year. More than half of Alphabets sales came from the search engine despite a technology empire spanning smartphone software, YouTube and cloud computing.

However, alarm bells are now ringing at the companys Mountain View headquarters after Microsofts Bing, the butt of the joke, signed a landmark deal to integrate artificial intelligence engine ChatGPT.

The announcement last week has triggered a code red at Google as its cash cow search engine comes under real threat, arguably for the first time in its history.

Yet the companys flat-footed response has exposed the growing sluggish nature of a business once regarded as Silicon Valleys premier innovator. Mounting bureaucracy and bloat has left insiders complaining that it is becoming harder to get things done at Google and challenge the status quo.

Bing rocketed to the top of the App Store download charts after its relaunch last week, threatening to consign Google to second place for the first time in its history.

The old joke about Microsoft's search engine doesnt seem so funny anymore.

Satya Nadella's Microsoft is challenging Google's cash cow search engine for the first time - AP Photo/Stephen Brashear

Google, which was launched on a Stanford university computer in 1996 and to the public two years later, has remained remarkably similar for two decades. A time travelling web user from 2000 would be baffled by Instagram, the iPhone and Alexa, but Googles blue links would be instantly familiar. Largely, that is a function of its success.

However, last week may be remembered as a turning point. On Tuesday, Microsoft unveiled an overhaul of Bing powered by an upgraded version of ChatGPT, the wildly popular artificial intelligence chatbot from the California start-up OpenAI.

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The revamped search service, first available as a preview before a wider release in the coming weeks, lets Bing users ask questions rather than just search. A simple, human-like answer is provided alongside the array of links.

Ask Bing for holiday recommendations that are less than three hours away and it will suggest, in plain English, why you might want to try Malaga or Florence. Ask what budget TV you should buy and it will outline the pros and cons of the most popular models.

Microsofts chief executive Satya Nadella said the launch marked a new day for search, and was unambiguous about his ambition for the product.

This new Bing will make Google come out and dance, and I want people to know that we made them dance, he told technology website The Verge.

Google is already scrambling. Sundar Pichai, Googles chief executive, has told staff that the chatbot is a code red moment, and even the company's hermit-like founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, have re-emerged to push for a response.

The perception that Google is falling behind will be difficult to stomach at the company. After taking over from Brin and Page in 2015, Pichai sought to position Google as an AI-first organisation. The business pays handsomely to pluck the brightest engineers and researchers from university labs.

It even had a big hand in the development of ChatGPT: the T in the name stands for Transformer, a machine learning system introduced to the world by Googles AI lab in 2017. That the company enjoyed such a vast lead and has failed to capitalise will be troubling.

Sundar Pichai - JOSH EDELSON

Under the leadership of Pichai, a McKinsey consultant before joining Google, a company that was once a model of youthful capitalism has faced growing criticism that its size and success has turned it into a risk-averse bureaucracy.

Last month, employees circulated a memo comparing the company to slime mould.

Google is a place that prides itself on moving quickly to tackle world-scale problems, the former employee behind the memo wrote.

But more recently it's started to feel way, way slower. Accomplishing even seemingly simple things seems to take forever.

The note outlined how a millefeuille of managers and departments held up new ideas at the company. Others say that new features are created but then forgotten, following a pattern of Launch, Promote, Abandon that explains why much-hyped projects in areas like cloud gaming and virtual reality fail to take off.

Pichai acknowledged that the company had become bloated last month when he announced 12,000 job cuts, amounting to 6pc of parent company Alphabet's workforce.

We hired for a different economic reality than the one we face today, Pichai said, adding that Google would direct our talent and capital to our highest priorities.

Dysfunction has been most apparent within Googles AI department. In 2020, hundreds of employees revolted when a researcher claimed she was fired for raising concerns about bias in AI. Last year, an engineer was fired for claiming that Googles AI chatbot had become sentient. Former Googlers have started a string of chatbot start-ups, claiming that the companys approach stifled their ideas.

Insiders acknowledge that Googles position means it is unable to launch products as rapidly as start-ups such as OpenAI. The company has been under immense political scrutiny over allegations it has broadcast misinformation and conspiracy theories about everything from elections to vaccines.

It must tread carefully to avoid any perception of political bias and US Republicans have already turned on ChatGPT for answering queries about Joe Biden more positively than those about Trump.

Microsofts tie-up with ChatGPT, the result of the Windows makers $10bn investment in OpenAI, has forced Google into action.

Microsoft's Yusuf Mehdi outlined OpenAI's integration into Bing search last week - AP Photo / Stephen Brashear

Last week, the company responded by announcing its own chatbot, named Bard, and confirming that its own search engine would feature chatbot-style results.

In comparison to Microsofts slick launch, observers were left underwhelmed. Google announced merely that its technology was in testing. An event showing off some of its capabilities revealed little.

Worse, a promotional image showed Bard delivering a wrong answer to a question about a Nasa telescope. The error only added to the impression that Google was struggling to play catch up. On the same day, shares fell by almost 8pc, wiping more than $100bn off the companys value.

Analysts brushed off last weeks early mishaps as mere ripples. Google has been preparing for AI for years [and] we think [it] likely has superior technology for search, said analysts at Bank of America.

The company also has a significant head start, given millions of people around the world reach for Google as their default.

[Googles web browser] Chrome is a moat for search, Android [Google's mobile operating system and smartphones] is a moat for search, says Colin Hayhurst, the chief executive of British search engine Mojeek.

Theyve got agreements with the phone manufacturers, particularly Apple.

Google pays Apple an estimated $15bn a year to be the default search engine on the iPhone. While consumers can switch, few do.

Even if Google emerges victorious, it could come at a great cost. Processing chatbot-style answers requires a vast amount of computing power, which comes at great expense. Analysts at Morgan Stanley estimate that each natural language answer could cost Google up to 2 cents, five times more than the current cost of dealing with search queries. Answering half of searches with a chatbot could cost the company $6bn a year, equivalent to 10pc of 2022s profit.

Nor is it clear how advertising might work with chatbots. While drawing eyeballs to sponsored search results has made Google rich, inserting ads into human-sounding language is more tricky. Neither Microsoft nor Google are yet to outline exactly how they plan to incorporate adverts, although both are expected to do so.

Google turns 25 this year, middle aged by Silicon Valley standards and older than many of its staff. With its search engine still largely unchanged, perhaps it's time for the product to grow up.
Columbus police SWAT fatally shot a man wanted on a rape warrant Saturday in the parking lot outside the Home Depot on Stringtown Road in Grove City. A firearm believed to have been in the possession of the suspect was recovered at the scene.

The man who Columbus police SWAT fatally shot Saturday outside the Home Depot store in Grove City was wanted for rape of a minor out of Athens County, law enforcement said Sunday.

The suspect who police fatally shot was Bret Andrews, 46, of Athens, who was wanted on a warrant out of Athens County on a charge of rape of a minor who was under the age of 13, according to Athens County Sheriff Rodney Smith, who was briefed on the fatal police shooting. The rape occurred in October 2021, according to court documents filed in December 2022.

Columbus police Sgt. David Scarpitti said the shooting happened shortly after 8:20 p.m. Saturday as SWAT officers were trying to arrest Andrews on the active rape arrest warrant in the parking lot of the Home Depot located at 1680 Stringtown Road.

"During the encounter, officers fired their weapons, striking the male," Scarpitti said in a release.

Andrews was transported to OhioHealth Grant Medical Center in downtown Columbus, where he died at 8:53 p.m.

A firearm believed to have been with Andrews was recovered at the scene, Scarpitti said Saturday. He could not say whether the suspect showed the weapon or fired any shots during the encounter. The number of officers who fired their weapons also was not released.

A criminal complaint filed in Athens County Municipal Court notes that Andrews had fled the Athens area when he became aware he was accused of sexual assault and feared he would spend the rest of his life in prison. Andrews formerly lived in the Columbus area, according to court records.

Columbus police SWAT officers are typically involved in arrests involving suspects wanted on warrants who may be considered armed and/or dangerous, as well as to assist other law enforcement agencies in such situations

At the shooting scene, a minivan and a four-door car had apparently collided in the parking lot in front of the contractor entrance area of the Home Depot. There were three cones, typically used to preserve evidence on scene, directly in front of the van. No explanation was available from authorities for what had occurred.

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The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations will investigate the shooting, as it does all shootings involving Columbus police officers where someone is killed or injured.

The identities of any Columbus SWAT officers who fired and body camera footage of the shooting are expected to be released in the coming days as the investigation unfolds.

Second Columbus police shooting in less than a week

This is the second shooting involving Columbus police in less than a week.

On Feb. 5, Columbus officer Joshua Ohlinger shot 66-year-old Michael Cleveland following a traffic stop.

Cleveland was running from a vehicle Ohlinger had pulled over on the 1000 block Wilson Avenue on the city's South Side. Cleveland was injured but survived the shooting.

Body camera footage shows Cleveland told officers he had thrown a firearm while running from officers. He is now charged with having weapons under disability.

Ohio BCI is also investigating that shooting.

bbruner@dispatch.com

@bethany_bruner

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Man who Columbus SWAT fatally shot was Athens County rape suspect
A U.S. fighter jet shot down the large Chinese balloon over the Atlantic Ocean off South Carolina on Feb. 4. (Chad Fish)

The Chinese balloon that floated across the United States this month, apparently on a mission to collect intelligence, began its journey as a curiosity. Then it became a political metaphor: a symbol of U.S. weakness to Republicans, a sign of President Bidens prudence to Democrats.

Now, a week after the U.S. Air Force shot it down, the errant balloon is gone, but its impact is still reverberating.

The incident, and the larger Chinese program it revealed, is a serious obstacle to one of Bidens top foreign policy goals: stabilizing the prickly U.S. relationship with Beijing.

The balloon may not have collected much useful intelligence. Pentagon officials say they took steps to cripple it, presumably including electronic jamming.

But as it ambled from Montana to South Carolina, the device became an all-too-visible reminder of the never-ending presence of Chinese espionage.

Biden administration officials denounced the overflight as a violation of U.S. airspace, and blacklisted the Chinese companies involved. Republicans charged that the balloon had posed an imminent danger to the nations security. A few claimed without evidence that it might have been carrying bioweapons or a nuclear bomb.

China insisted the vehicle was a civilian weather balloon and demanded its return, accusing the United States of political manipulation.

If the objects shot down off Alaska on Friday and over the Canadian Yukon on Saturday turn out to be more Chinese balloons, or if the U.S. Navy fishes surveillance equipment from the ocean off South Carolina, Beijing will only look guiltier.

The State Department has revealed that Chinese balloons have flown over more than 40 countries. U.S. officials are sharing intelligence about those flights with other governments, bolstering the international backlash against Beijings ambitions.

In sum, it appears China has scored the espionage equivalent of an own goal. Its balloon program could collapse if the United States decides to notify other countries when lighter-than-air vehicles are heading their way.

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But the stakes are far greater than spy-versus-spy drama. The balloon episode is a reminder that, just as in the Cold War, detente between nuclear powers is harder to manage than it looks.

All the worst instincts, the goblins just below the surface, have been unleashed on both sides, said Bates Gill, a China scholar at the Asia Society in New York.

The United States and China compete head-to-head for influence not only in Asia, but around the world. Their armed forces face each other in the Western Pacific and the South China Sea.

The two countries are dangerously at loggerheads over Taiwan, which Beijings leaders have long vowed to reabsorb.

At the same time, they share a massive, tangled economic relationship. And they occasionally try to cooperate on shared interests such as narcotics enforcement, climate change and pandemic prevention.

So much is at stake that Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping formally agreed at a summit in November to put a floor under the relationship.

Im not looking for conflict; Im looking to manage this competition responsibly, Biden said.

One of the first steps they agreed on was a visit to Beijing by Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, scheduled for last weekend.

The balloon appeared, and Blinken called the trip off.

One of his goals, ironically, had been to improve communications to prevent minor incidents from turning into major crises.

But as the balloon soared across Montana, communications immediately broke down. When Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III tried to telephone Chinas defense minister, nobody in Beijing took his call.

Now the two sides appear locked in a cycle of mutual recrimination that will probably continue at least as long as debris from the balloon is turning up.

Still, both governments seem willing to restart their dialogue. Thats a good sign.

The Biden administration has asked China for assurances that the recent balloon flight will be the last, apparently as a condition for rescheduling Blinken's visit.

But experts on China think its unlikely Beijing will make a public statement on that count, which would look like an admission that it lied about the weather balloon.

Blinken may have to be satisfied with the U.S. announcing any assurances made by China. He should also ask for improved crisis communications, beginning with a promise that next time, someone will answer the phone.

Then he can head to Beijing and resume building that floor.

If he goes, some Republicans will inevitably accuse the administration of being soft on China. Theyll say that no matter what.

A path toward improvement is going to be hard to find, said Bonnie Glaser, a China expert at the German Marshall Fund. It isnt certain that the relationship can get back on track. There are so many ways it can deteriorate.  But its a good sign that both countries agree that they still want to try.

Americans should remember a lesson learned during 40 years of Cold War diplomacy with the Soviet Union: Talking with adversaries isnt a reward for good behavior. Its a means of preventing small crises from becoming big ones.

Our interest in managing the high-stakes competition with China is much larger than a balloon  even one big enough to carry three busloads' worth of spyware.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Just because a business does not make any money, does not mean that the stock will go down. For example, although Amazon.com made losses for many years after listing, if you had bought and held the shares since 1999, you would have made a fortune. Having said that, unprofitable companies are risky because they could potentially burn through all their cash and become distressed.

So should Warby Parker (NYSE:WRBY) shareholders be worried about its cash burn? For the purposes of this article, cash burn is the annual rate at which an unprofitable company spends cash to fund its growth; its negative free cash flow. We'll start by comparing its cash burn with its cash reserves in order to calculate its cash runway.

View our latest analysis for Warby Parker

Does Warby Parker Have A Long Cash Runway?

A company's cash runway is the amount of time it would take to burn through its cash reserves at its current cash burn rate. When Warby Parker last reported its balance sheet in September 2022, it had zero debt and cash worth US$198m. Importantly, its cash burn was US$106m over the trailing twelve months. So it had a cash runway of approximately 22 months from September 2022. Notably, however, analysts think that Warby Parker will break even (at a free cash flow level) before then. In that case, it may never reach the end of its cash runway. Depicted below, you can see how its cash holdings have changed over time.

How Well Is Warby Parker Growing?

One thing for shareholders to keep front in mind is that Warby Parker increased its cash burn by 426% in the last twelve months. While operating revenue was up over the same period, the 12% gain gives us scant comfort. Taken together, we think these growth metrics are a little worrying. While the past is always worth studying, it is the future that matters most of all. For that reason, it makes a lot of sense to take a look at our analyst forecasts for the company.

How Easily Can Warby Parker Raise Cash?

While Warby Parker seems to be in a fairly good position, it's still worth considering how easily it could raise more cash, even just to fuel faster growth. Generally speaking, a listed business can raise new cash through issuing shares or taking on debt. One of the main advantages held by publicly listed companies is that they can sell shares to investors to raise cash and fund growth. We can compare a company's cash burn to its market capitalisation to get a sense for how many new shares a company would have to issue to fund one year's operations.

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Since it has a market capitalisation of US$1.7b, Warby Parker's US$106m in cash burn equates to about 6.4% of its 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.

So, Should We Worry About Warby Parker's Cash Burn?

It may already be apparent to you that we're relatively comfortable with the way Warby Parker is burning through its cash. In particular, we think its cash burn relative to its market cap stands out as evidence that the company is well on top of its spending. Although we do find its increasing cash burn to be a bit of a negative, once we consider the other metrics mentioned in this article together, the overall picture is one we are comfortable with. It's clearly very positive to see that analysts are forecasting the company will break even fairly soon. After taking into account the various metrics mentioned in this report, we're pretty comfortable with how the company is spending its cash, as it seems on track to meet its needs over the medium term. Its important for readers to be cognizant of the risks that can affect the company's operations, and we've picked out 1 warning sign for Warby Parker that investors should know when investing in the stock.

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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Simon and Nina Crouchman have rowed across the Atlantic but may not be able to get home from Antigua as they can't afford it. (SWNS)

A couple who have just spent two months rowing across the Atlantic for charity fear they may find themselves stuck in Antigua because they can't afford to get home.

Nina and Simon Crouchman, 50 and 53, have battled 14ft waves, blisters, seasickness and a broken rudder in what is dubbed by many as the 'world's toughest row'.

The couple, from Colchester, Essex, are days away from completing the challenge to raise funds for the Samaritans but now can't afford to get themselves home  or their 65,000 boat.

They are pleading for help to raise funds to get themselves back to the UK, as well as still trying to raise funds for charity.

The couple have rowed thousand of miles across the Atlantic, battling 14ft waves and a broken rudder to raise awareness and funds for the Samaritans. (SWNS)

The Crouchmans, who have three adult children, joined the starting line of the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Rowing Challenge with 42 other teams on La Gomera in the Canary Islands on 12 December and hit the halfway mark on 16 January.

They have so far raised 8,835 of their 50,000 target for Samaritans and have now launched the"Help Mr & Mrseas get home" fund, but have so far only raised 500 of the 7,000 needed.

On their GoFundMe page the couple wrote: "This has been a two-year plan to reach the start line, as ordinary down-to-earth people in their 50s, we never thought we would make it this far.

Read more: Cyclists travel across London in new super sewer 50m underground

They added: "Financially it has been a struggle, with all funding coming from one household and sponsorship extremely hard to find  its a difficult time and we are so close.

"We found ourselves at the start line, able to row the race and to support our charity but we do not have funds to get home ourselves once we reach Antigua.

"We do not have funds to ship our boat back to the UK from Antigua."

The couple have launched a fundraiser so they can get themselves and their boat home. (SWNS)

The couple, who have been together for 27 years, are undertaking the challenge in a 7.3m ocean pairs rowing boat named the Kraken and needed specialist training as well as safety equipment and supplies.

Story continues

They picked the Samaritans in honour of a close friend who lost their life to suicide.

Since leaving the Canary Islands, they have endured weeks of headwinds and seasickness as well as blisters.

They also suffered a delay when their rudder broke. Simon tried to fashion a temporary rudder out of a breadboard, but that broke free and they needed to wait for a yacht to bring a spare rudder from the Canary Islands, leaving them stationary for 11 days.

The Crouchmans have so far raised 8,835 of their 50,000 target for Samaritans and are 60 days into their 65-day physical feat, dubbed the 'world's toughest row'. (SWNS)

Nina Crouchman said: "We physically couldn't row anymore, couldn't steer and couldn't manually steer."

The pair expect to cross the finish line on Thursday, 16 February  making the trip a total of 65 days.

She added: "It is the ultimate rowing race. I wouldn't want to be doing the challenge with anybody else."

The couple's team MrandMrseas can be followed on the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge website or their social media pages on JustGiving and GoFundMe.
Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Culture today (February 12) announced the launch of Jeddah Historic districts Waterfront Project.

The project is part of the larger Jeddah Historical Rejuvenation Project, launched in September 2021 by His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister.

Lauding HRH the Crown Princes efforts to preserve, restore and rejuvenate historic sites, Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Farhan Al Saud, the Minister of Culture, said the two-year project will reconnect the Red Sea with Al Balad  downtown Jeddahs popular moniker  and vitalize the historic Al Bunt Port.

The ministry's Jeddah Historical District Programme, is to be implemented in three phases, said the ministry.

During the Phase One, sections of the waterfront that had previously been filled decades prior to accommodate the citys urban expansion would be carved out once more.

In Phase Two, Lake Al Arbaeens water would be treated and purified, leading up to the final phase, which will see the construction of a marina for luxury yachts as well as creation of open green spaces, pedestrian overpasses and public utilities to round off Al Balads sustainable urban structure.

"The redeveloped waterfront will be constructed in line with high and sustainable standards, and feature cultural, historical, and environmental themes from across Al Balad," explained Prince Badr.

The project, he stated, was a concentrated effort to platform the Al Balad area as a world-class tourist and cultural destination, a goal that is part of Vision 2030s objective of building a dynamic economy for an ambitious nation.

"The Jeddah Historical Rejuvenation Project aims to leverage the areas heritage and distinct cultural elements to power the local economy while redeveloping the urban space into an ideal place to live, work and create," said the minister.

"On completion, the project will highlight Al Balads historic landmarks and enhance its presence within a refined, environmentally-friendly urban ecosystem complete with natural greenery and vibrant waterfronts," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
Leading into what is expected to be a contentious 2024 presidential election, current and former governors took to Sundays talk shows to offer insights into the next race for the White House.

Former New Jersey Republican Gov. Chris Christie said on ABCs This Week that most of the candidates jumping in the GOP presidential primary will be mostly former or current governors alongside former President Donald Trump.

What it's going to be is a field of Donald Trump, I think, current and former governors, and maybe one senator, said Christie, referring to Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., who is also speculated to be considering a run for president.

Related: Republicans want to dump Trump. Will they rally behind a 2024 alternative fast enough?

As it stands, no governor has yet to formally announce a 2024 bid. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is set to announce her campaign Wednesday with other possible candidates such as Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis still waiting in the wings to contest the GOP nomination against Trump.

Former South Carolina Republican Governor Nikki Haley will formally launch her presidential bid on Feb. 15 in Charleston.

Stay in the conversation on politics: Sign up for the OnPolitics newsletter

Gov. Chris Sununu, R-N.H., who is himself considering a run for the Oval Office, told CBS Face the Nation we need results-driven leadership, and criticized past GOP leaders for failing to follow through on conservative priorities.

Whether its cutting taxes, being pro-business, the regulatory reform, the immigration stuff that we were told was gonna happen in 2017 and 2018 as Republicans and it didnt, said Sununu. We were told healthcare reform would happen, it didnt. We were told we were gonna secure the border and we didnt.

New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu waits for the start of a meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and governors visiting from states around the country in the East Room of the White House on February 10, 2023 in Washington, DC.

As the GOP field is set to grow this week, national Democrats appear largely united behind President Joe Biden, whose recent State of the Union address was interpreted by many observers as a precursor to announcing a 2024 reelection bid.

Pivot point: Biden faced a different chapter of his presidency in his State of the Union

Story continues

Despite concerns over Biden's low polling numbers, Gov. Phil Murphy, D-N.J., said on NBC's Meet the Press that Biden "has what it takes" to serve a second term as president.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., also said "Biden's in great shape," on ABC's This Week.

"I think the stature of Biden and what this Congress, this Democratic Congress, Senate and the House have done is going to even rise further in the American people's eyes. So I'm optimistic," Schumer said.

On NBCs Meet the Press, Gov. Spencer Cox, R-Utah who plans to run for reelection in 2024, said that he would take a governor for president every day of the week.

I prefer governors. Thats the easy call for me, Cox said.

Related: Democrats approve 2024 primary calendar that demotes Iowa, boosts South Carolina

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ahead of 2024 presidential primaries, governors offer preview
Police are investigating the death of Dallas man who was found in a vacant lot on Friday, according to officials.

Dallas police responded to the 300 block of N. Jim Miller Road at around 6:00 p.m. When officers arrived, they found the body of an unknown adult male at a vacant lot, the preliminary investigation determined.

The investigation is ongoing at this time.

The Dallas County Medical Examiners Office will assist with identifying the victim.

Anyone with information regarding this investigation or the identity of the unknown man is urged to contact Detective Kimberly Mayfield at 214-671-3646 or at kimberly.mayfield@dallaspolice.gov.
Davidson Colleges Black Student Coalition celebrated its 50th anniversary on Saturday.

Faculty, alumni, and leaders in the coalition celebrated on Davidsons campus. However, this was not only a time of celebration, but a time of reflection. At todays reunion past and present members held a panel to discuss where the coalition has been and where it will go.

ALSO READ: How to stay warm during this weekends cold blast

In addition to the panel, there was a self-guided tour including an exhibition of Black art across Davidsons campus.

J. Machelle Sweeting, an alumnus, and New York State Supreme Court Justice told Channel 9 how proud she is of the progress made by her former school.

There were so many cultural differences that I had to contend with as a student here, but I can absolutely say that its events such as this, Sweeting said, the cultural diversity that Davidson now has been instrumental in the development of our students and the development, I would say, of our country and our state, especially for our new generation of leaders.

(WATCH BELOW: Weddington church hosts Tim Tebows Night to Shine Event)








Nearly a week since the most devastating earthquakes in recent history, workers in Turkey and Syria were searching for signs of life in freezing temperatures as the death toll surpassed 33,000 and survivors expressed frustration about the rescue efforts.

The United Nations' top aid official on Sunday said aid efforts have "failed the people in north-west Syria," where more than 12 years of civil war have resulted in a complex political situation.

"They rightly feel abandoned," Martin Griffiths wrote on Twitter from the Turkey-Syria border. "Looking for international help that hasnt arrived."

Magnitude 7.8 and 7.5 earthquakes struck southern Turkey and northern Syria on Monday, toppling thousands of buildings and injuring tens of thousands of people. As many as 5.3 million people in Syria may need shelter, the U.N. Refugee Agency said, and the number of fatalities in both countries continues to rise.

Turkeys death toll was 29,605 Sunday afternoon, the country's interior ministry said. The toll in Syrias northwestern rebel-held region has reached 2,166, according to the rescue worker group the White Helmets. The overall toll in Syria stood at 3,553 Saturday, though the 1,387 deaths reported for government-held parts of the country hadnt been updated in days, The Associated Press reported.

But news of some remarkable rescues offered glimmers of hope. On Sunday, a young girl was pulled from the rubble "in the 150th hour" in Hatay, Turkey, the country's health minister said on Twitter, where he shared a video of the rescue.

100 YEARS OF EARTHQUAKES: Turkey, Syria disaster could be among this century's worst

Developments:

A family of four from the New York borough of Queens was killed in the quakes while visiting relatives in Turkey. The Council on American-Islamic Relations said they were Burak and Kimberly Firik and their sons, ages 1 and 2.

Earthquake aid from government-held parts of Syria into territory controlled by hard-line opposition groups has been "held up" by approval issues with the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Reuters reported Sunday.

Story continues

Two women, one of them pregnant, were rescued more than 155 hours after the first quake, according to broadcast reports in Turkey. The pregnant woman was found in hard-hit Hatay province and the other woman in Gaziantep province.

Greece's foreign minister visited Turkey on Sunday in a show of support, despite longstanding tensions between the two countries.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said a Pakistani walked into a Turkish Embassy in the U.S. and donated $30 million for earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria. Sharif said on Twitter he was "deeply moved."

HOW TO HELP: Relief efforts ongoing after deadliest earthquake in years

Warnings of major crisis in Syria

The head of the International Rescue Committee echoed concerns about aid efforts in Syria on Sunday.

"On the Turkish side of the border, you've got a very strong government. Youve got a massive aid effort underway," David Miliband, president and CEO of the organization, told ABC. "On the Syrian side of the border, its people whove frankly been abandoned over the last 10 years."

Rescue teams on the ground report Syrians are without food, medicine and basic hygiene supplies, and water and sanitation systems are in "ruins," Miliband told ABC. He warned Syrians are in "grave danger of a secondary crisis" because aid is largely blocked across the Turkey-Syria border, and only one humanitarian crossing point is open.

"There is news from the United Nations that the Syrian government is going to allow aid to go into this rebel-held area from the government-controlled side. But, frankly, thats an indirect route and its caught up in politics," he told the outlet.

Miliband called on the U.N. Security Council to meet to discuss opening more border crossing points and urged the U.S. to send further monetary aid.

"Theres a critical role for the U.S. in saying, dont forget these people again. The Syrian civil war has been going on for now a dozen years," Miliband told ABC, adding, "The world has moved on. But the crisis has not been resolved."

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, confirmed that notion while listing other major problems confronting Syria.

The compounding crises of conflict, COVID, cholera, economic decline, and now the earthquake have taken an unbearable toll, he said, adding that WHO experts were waiting to enter northwestern Syria, where we have been told the impact is even worse.

Sorrow turns to tension over Turkey earthquake response

Many in Turkey say they feel frustrated that rescue operations have proceeded slowly, and that valuable time has been lost during the narrow window for finding people alive beneath the rubble.

Others, particularly in the southern Hatay province near the Syrian border, say that Turkeys government was late in delivering assistance to the hardest-hit region for what they suspect are both political and religious reasons.

In Adiyaman, southeastern Turkey, Elif Busra Ozturk waited outside the wreckage of a building on Saturday where her uncle and aunt were trapped  believed dead  and where the bodies of two of her cousins had already been found.

"For three days, I waited outside for help. No one came. There were so few rescue teams that they could only intervene in places they were sure there were people alive," she said.

 Justin Spike, The Associated Press

DEADLY EARTHQUAKES HAVE HIT TURKEY BEFORE: Why there? Could a similar quake strike the US?

Turkey issues arrest warrants for building contractors after quakes

As rescuers still pulled a lucky few from the rubble six days after the earthquakes hit, Turkish officials detained or issued arrest warrants for about 130 people allegedly involved in the construction of buildings that toppled down and crushed their occupants.

Despair also bred rage at the agonizingly slow rescue efforts, and the focus turned to who was to blame for not better preparing people in the earthquake-prone region that includes an area of Syria that was already suffering from years of civil war.

Turkeys construction codes meet current earthquake-engineering standards, at least on paper, but they are rarely enforced, explaining why thousands of buildings toppled over or pancaked down onto the people inside.

The nongovernmental business organization TURKONFED estimated the earthquake damage at $84.1 billion. That's more than 10% of the country's gross domestic product of $819 billion in 2021, according to the World Bank.

Read more here.

 Justin Spike and Zeynep Bilginsoy, The Associated Press

Amid the devastation, helping hands and occasional moments of joy

The combined efforts of a sympathetic soldier and a neighbor helped appease a Turkish woman anguished over fear her son might have died in the earthquake, a rare happy development amid the unfathomable grief of the disaster.

The Turkish soldier climbed into the bucket of an excavator Saturday to look in a home damaged by the temblor for the cellphone of a 75-year-old woman in Antakya who had not heard from her son in five days, Reuters reported.

Murathan Adil was able to retrieve the device, belonging to a woman who gave her name as Mama Busra, but the battery was dead. However, a person in a building at the park where she waited for news heard the son's name and said he knew him and he was fine.

The person called the woman's son, and Mama Busra broke into tears when she heard him answer. "It's like you gave me the world," she said of hearing his voice.

How long can people survive after a disaster?

The amount of time people are able to survive after an earthquake varies significantly. For a person who is trapped under rubble following a quake, survival depends largely on their injuries, where and how they are trapped, their age, preexisting health, weather conditions and other factors.

Most people trapped in the rubble of an earthquake can only survive about a week, experts say.

"Typically, it is rare to find survivors after the fifth to seventh days, and most search and rescue teams will consider stopping by then," Dr. Jarone Lee, an emergency and disaster medicine expert at Massachusetts General Hospital, told the Associated Press.

"There are many stories of people surviving well past the seven-day mark," Lee added. "Unfortunately, these are usually rare and extraordinary cases." Read more here.

 Mike Snider and Wyatte Grantham-Philips, USA TODAY

TURKEY, SYRIA EARTHQUAKE: Death toll among worst in recent history

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Live updates: Turkey, Syria earthquake death toll surpasses 33,000
Patriot air defense systems

Reznikov also spoke about "the situation on the ground in Ukraine," the Pentagon said.

Read also: US announces $2.2 billion military aid package for Ukraine

The parties acknowledged the importance of providing military assistance to Kyiv as soon as possible, as promised at the Ukraine Defense Contact Group or Ramstein meeting of Ukraines military allies held on Jan. 20 in Germany.

This, and other priority issues, will be discussed at the upcoming Ramstein meeting, which will take place next week in Brussels, Belgium.

Read also: Ukraine can use whatever it needs to liberate its territories, says Pentagon

During the previous Ramstein meeting, the participants decided that Ukraine would receive from its allies:

Read also: Ukraine to receive 120-140 modern Western tanks in first wave, FM Kuleba says

In addition, the United States will provide the Ukrainian Armed Forces with:

59 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles;

90 Stryker armored personnel carriers;

53 mine-resistant armored vehicles (MRAPs);

350 Humvee High Mobility Multi-Purpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs).

Read also: US shows loading of over 60 Bradley IFVs for delivery to Ukraine  video

A few days later, on Jan. 25, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz officially announced that Germany would transfer 14 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine and approve their re-export from partner countries.

According to German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, the tanks could be sent to Ukraine by the end of March.

Read also: Ukraine will get German Leopards earlier than US Abrams, White House says

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
The York County Sheriffs Office has found a 9-year-old who went missing in Lake Wylie for a few hours Sunday.

Deputies were looking for Mark Rogin, who was last seen at Lake Wylie Christian Assembly at 11 a.m.

UPDATE: (2:09 pm) He has been found. Hiding in the church building. After several searches of the building, he was found in a small classroom. #YCSONews  York County Sheriff (@YCSO_SC) February 12, 2023

ALSO READ: Deputies arrest man accused of jumping onto moving school bus in York County

Rogin is autistic and has ADHD, according to deputies. They warned that if he was approached by a stranger, he would run away.

He was hiding in the church building, according to deputies. After several searches of the building, he was found in a small classroom.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

(WATCH BELOW: Locust chase ends in Charlotte crash; driver had missing teen in car, police say)
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has leaned hard into educational issues as he burnishes his national profile ahead of a potential White House bid  and conservatives love what they see.

DeSantis, who last year won reelection by the largest margin for a Florida governor in decades, has secured GOP plaudits for moves ranging from his reopening of schools during the coronavirus pandemic to his recent skirmish with the College Board over an AP African American studies course. Now, hes the only Republican polling alongside  or in some cases, even ahead of  former President Trump for the partys presidential nomination.

The party should be open to looking at a different candidate. DeSantis is in the strongest position, David McIntosh, president of the conservative Club for Growth, told The Hill this week.

It remains to be seen if DeSantiss moves on education would prove as popular with the voters at large as they are with congressional Republicans and Fox News hosts, but he has without question made the issue one of the key components of his brand.

Here are the five of the biggest DeSantis education policies that have garnered him national attention:

Handling of schools during the pandemic

The shuttering of schools nationwide during the pandemic began weeks after the first major U.S. coronavirus outbreaks, in March 2020. In some parts of the country, schools stayed closed until the end of 2021 or even the beginning of last year.

Not in Florida though.

DeSantis defied the mold, ordering schools to open in fall 2020, although he did allow parents to choose the option of virtual learning.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) speaks on at the Doral Academy Preparatory School

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) speaks at the Doral Academy Preparatory School in Doral, Fla. (Associated Press)

We wanted to figure out a way to still offer the parents choice but to really put the onus on the school districts to be monitoring this, and when they see students fall behind, to really be affirmative and engaging with the parents, DeSantis said back in 2020.

Story continues

He called closing schools was probably the biggest public health blunder in modern American history.

While the closing of schools over COVID-19 was advised by many in the medical community, it has led to major learning loss across the board in K-12 students.

DeSantiss decision made national headlines as it went against the teachers unions in his state and the guidance of multiple medical experts.

The Florida Education Association (FEA), one of the largest such unions in the state, sued the governor during the summer of 2020 over his reopening plan. The union argued the reopening went against the states constitution because it would be opening schools in an unsafe environment, but DeSantis prevailed in court.

In the summer of 2021, DeSantis signed another executive order to make it so schools couldnt force students to wear masks in classes.

The order, at the time, went directly against the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions (CDC) mask recommendations.

Dont Say Gay

Demonstrators protest inside the Florida State Capitol on March 7, 2022, in Tallahassee, Fla. (Associated Press)

DeSantis has become perhaps the Republican Partys preeminent cultural warrior on the subjects of LGBTQ education and critical race theory in schools.

He cemented this role in 2022 with the Parental Rights in Education bill, which became popularly known by opponents as the Dont Say Gay legislation.

The bill was touted by DeSantis and conservatives as a way to keep inappropriate subjects and materials from younger students, though critics say it stifles free speech and puts LGBTQ youth at risk.

During the measures signing ceremony, the governor said he had seen classroom materials about sexuality and woke gender ideology and libraries with clearly inappropriate, pornographic mature materials for very young kids. He also said some school districts had policies that didnt consult parents about their childs well-being.

The bill made it so gender identity and sexual orientation could not be taught to primary school children and that all other grades could only be taught about the subjects in age appropriate or developmentally appropriate ways.

The measure has been a hit with conservatives.

I do think it was a good move, Trump said in an interview with The Washington Post in April.

LGBTQ advocates, Democrats and the White House, however, have regularly blasted and mocked Dont Say Gay as discriminatory.

This law doesnt solve any problem that exists. Instead, HB 1557 has been weaponized by the Governors office to launch a bigoted smear campaign to attack and defame LGBTQ Floridians with baseless accusations of grooming and pedophilia, Florida Rep. Carlos Smith (D), the first openly gay Latino person elected to the Florida legislature, said last year.

Critical race theory, which examines how racism has shaped American policy and the legal system, is typically only taught at the college level. Its opponents say the theory is itself racist.

Stop WOKE Act

The Stop WOKE Act  using an acronym for Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees  marked another foray into culture war territory that sparked national controversy.

The law prohibited schools from teaching about historical topics in ways that would make someone feel personally responsible for a past wrong based on their own race, sex or national origin.

The bill was part of a larger effort by DeSantis to ensure critical race theory wasnt taught in Florida schools, even after the states Board of Education banned it.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks during the inaugural Moms For Liberty Summit at the Tampa Marriott Water Street on July 15, 2022, in Tampa, Florida. (Getty)

We wont allow Florida tax dollars to be spent teaching kids to hate our country or to hate each other, DeSantis said. We also have a responsibility to ensure that parents have the means to vindicate their rights when it comes to enforcing state standards.

Although signed into law last year, opposition to the act is alive and well today, with the University of Floridas student senate recently approving a resolution denouncing it. The resolution says the law is generally vague and has contradictory sections leading to confusion for faculty instruction.

DeSantiss laws aimed at classroom instruction have caused uncertainty among teachers about what types of books or instructions are allowed, with reports of teachers removing books off their shelves and out of libraries for fear of repercussions.

Manatee and Duval county school district officials told teachers in January to remove all books from their classroom shelves or wrap them up due to the new rules and unclear penalties a teacher could receive for unapproved books, according to records seen by The Washington Post.

Taking aim at universities

DeSantis has not only focused on K-12 education but has tackled problems he perceives at the college level as well.

Recently, he has proposed multiple changes for higher education, again largely with an eye on ideology.

You have the dominant view, which I think is not the right view, to impose ideological conformity, to provoke political activism. Instead, we need our higher education systems to promote academic excellence, the governor said.

His proposals would make it so state schools could not support diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs; boards of trustees at colleges could review the status of tenured professors; and course standards would be changed to ensure higher education is rooted in the values of liberty and western tradition.

On their merits, DeSantiss constructive suggestions all seem sensible, the National Review editorial board wrote earlier this month. In his announcement, DeSantis proposed that DEI was not, in fact, about diversity, equity, or inclusion, but about imposing an agenda on people. He is absolutely right.

The Florida chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, however, said the proposals are the governors latest attempt to restrict free speech and erase the history and legacy of discrimination in America by impeding the right to share ideas and receive information in classrooms is dangerous for our democracy and future generations.

AP African American studies course

The latest national education controversy DeSantis has thrown himself in was over the College Boards Advanced Placement African American studies course.

The College Board introduced a pilot of the course in dozens of schools this academic year with little controversy  until last month, that is, when DeSantiss administration said the content of this course is inexplicably contrary to Florida law and significantly lacks educational value.

The state said it would not allow the course in schools as it was.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R)

DeSantiss administration has yet to confirm whether they will approve the College Boards altered Advanced Placement African American studies course after the governors criticism of some of the subject matter. (Associated Press)

The main issues DeSantiss office had with the course were the topics of Black queer studies, intersectionality, the reparations movement, the Black Lives Matter movement, Black feminist literary thought and the Black struggle in the 21st century.

The controversy heated up when College Board said they were releasing revisions to the class. While College Board says revisions were in the works for months before the governors complaints since the course was only run as a pilot, DeSantiss administration took credit for the announced changes, which largely fell in line with its objections and included a new optional section on Black conservatism.

The College Board removed its woke curriculum from its AP African-American Studies course following @GovRonDeSantis objections to the blatant indoctrination in the course syllabus, tweeted Florida Rep. Byron Donalds (R). This is a HUGE win for our state & the future of childrens education!

The College Boards explanation did not temper the outrage from activists and others when it released the final version of the class, which took out or made optional most of the problems DeSantis had with the course.

To wake up on the first day of Black History Month to news of white men in positions of privilege horse trading essential and inextricably linked parts of Black History, which is American history, is infuriating, David J. Johns, executive director of the National Black Justice Coalition, said when the revisions were released in February.

DeSantiss administration has not yet said if they would approve the course after the changes.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Deutsche Telekom AG (ETR:DTE) will increase its dividend from last year's comparable payment on the 11th of April to 0.70. The payment will take the dividend yield to 3.5%, which is in line with the average for the industry.

View our latest analysis for Deutsche Telekom

Deutsche Telekom's Dividend Is Well Covered By Earnings

We like to see a healthy dividend yield, but that is only helpful to us if the payment can continue. Prior to this announcement, Deutsche Telekom's dividend was comfortably covered by both cash flow and earnings. This indicates that quite a large proportion of earnings is being invested back into the business.

Looking forward, earnings per share is forecast to rise by 27.3% over the next year. If the dividend continues on this path, the payout ratio could be 38% by next year, which we think can be pretty sustainable going forward.

Dividend Volatility

The company has a long dividend track record, but it doesn't look great with cuts in the past. The most recent annual payment of 0.70 is about the same as the annual payment 10 years ago. We're glad to see the dividend has risen, but with a limited rate of growth and fluctuations in the payments the total shareholder return may be limited.

The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow

With a relatively unstable dividend, it's even more important to evaluate if earnings per share is growing, which could point to a growing dividend in the future. Deutsche Telekom has seen EPS rising for the last five years, at 324% per annum. The company's earnings per share has grown rapidly in recent years, and it has a good balance between reinvesting and paying dividends to shareholders, so we think that Deutsche Telekom could prove to be a strong dividend payer.

Deutsche Telekom Looks Like A Great Dividend Stock

Overall, a dividend increase is always good, and we think that Deutsche Telekom is a strong income stock thanks to its track record and growing earnings. The company is easily earning enough to cover its dividend payments and it is great to see that these earnings are being translated into cash flow. Taking this all into consideration, this looks like it could be a good dividend opportunity.

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Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular one. However, there are other things to consider for investors when analysing stock performance. To that end, Deutsche Telekom has 3 warning signs (and 1 which is a bit unpleasant) we think you should know about. If you are a dividend investor, you might also want to look at our curated list of high yield dividend stocks.

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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NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP)  Former foreign minister Nikos Christodoulides was elected as the new president of Cyprus in a runoff election Sunday, pledging to revive stalemated reunification talks with the nation's breakaway Turkish Cypriots and to form a coalition government with women filling half of the Cabinet positions.

With 100% of ballots counted, Christodoulides had 51.9% of the vote and his runoff rival, veteran diplomat Andreas Mavroyiannis, had 48.1%, according to official election results. Mavroyiannis conceded defeat before the vote tally was complete.

Christodoulides, 49, campaigned as a unifying force for ethnically divided Cyprus, eschewing ideological and party divisions. His message resonated with a wide swath of voters.

I'm looking you all in the eye and I sincerely make you this promise: I'll do everything I can to appear worthy of your trust," Christodoulides told supporters at his victory rally.

He made a special reference to the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. Turkish Cypriots, including members of a volleyball team, were among the more than 33,000 people declared dead in the disaster as of Sunday.

We share in their mourning, and I want to assure them that we stand by their side," the president-elect said.

Mavroyiannis, who previously served as Cyprus ambassador to the United Nations, had positioned himself as the agent of change, ushering in a new political era following a decade of rule by outgoing President Nicos Anastasiades.

He ran as an independent, but the support he received from the communist-rooted AKEL party, the country's second-largest political party, may have pushed swing voters into backing Christodoulides.

Speaking to a somber crowd of supporters, Mavroyiannis, 66, who also was Anastasiades chief negotiator with the nation's breakaway Turkish Cypriots, said he would not pursue an active and daily role in politics but remained willing to offer his counsel to the new government, if asked.

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I want to congratulate Nikos Christodoulides for his election victory and to wish more power to him," Mavroyiannis said. I'm saddened that we couldn't fulfill the hopes and expectations for a large progressive changes that our homeland needs.

Christodoulides appeared to have won with support from members of the Democratic Rally (DISY) party, whose leader, Averof Neophytou, failed to make it into the runoff. The DISY leadership decided not to formally back either candidate and left it to members of the country's largest party to vote as they saw fit.

Many DISY party insiders had blamed Christodoulides, a long-time party member, for running against Neophytou and splitting the party vote.

However, many did not want the AKEL, Mavroyiannis main backer, to regain a foothold in government and feared the diplomat becoming the next president of Cyprus would threaten the country's fragile economy and pro-Western trajectory.

Critics fault AKEL for bringing Cyprus to the brink of bankruptcy a decade ago and for maintaining a pro-Moscow slant.

Amid the bickering within DISY, Anastasiades, a former party leader, took the unusual step of issuing a statement suggesting that DISY members should work to thwart an AKEL-backed government.

He urged the party's voters to safeguard the islands Western orientation and its deepening alliance with the U.S.

Christodoulides said he has already received congratulatory messages from world leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron and U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Our country's European, Western orientation is our steady compass for tomorrow," Christodoulides said.

Trying to mend fences with Christodoulides and divisions within DISY, Neophytou said the president-elect could count on the party's support for the good of the country.

Christoulides inherits the challenge of trying to restart moribund peace talks with the country's Turkish Cypriots, who declared independence nearly a decade after a 1974 Turkish invasion that followed a coup aimed at union with Greece.

The island's reunification has eluded politicians during over nearly a half-century of negotiations, despite progress on the shape of an overall peace deal.

A potential resolution became more complicated following the 2017 collapse of talks at a Swiss resort that many believed had come tantalizingly close to producing a breakthrough.

Turkey, the only country to recognize the minority Turkish Cypriots independence, has since turned its back on a United Nations-backed arrangement for a federated Cyprus. It advocates instead a two-state deal, which the U.N., the European Union, the U.S. and other countries have rejected.

As the government spokesman and Anastasiades' close confidant at the time, Christodoulides was a key insider during the failed peace drive in Switzerland. He has blamed Turkeys insistence on maintaining a permanent troop presence and military intervention rights in a reunified Cyprus as the main reason the negotiations unraveled.

Christodoulides has said he draws the line at those two Turkish demands but would utilize Cyprus' European Union membership to engage with Ankara on ways to break the current deadlock.

The current state of affairs cannot be considered a solution to the Cyprus issue, and I have expressed my readiness to make use of our European Union membership to break the deadlock and lead us to a settlement as quickly as possible, to reunify our homeland," Christodoulides said from his campaign headquarters, flanked by his wife and four daughters.

On the economy, Christodoulides said a top priority would be to maintain fiscal discipline without endangering the countrys social safety net and to effectively deal with unauthorized migration.

The president-elect also aims to expedite development on newly discovered natural gas deposits off Cyprus south coast as Europe grapples with an energy crunch.

Mr. Christodoulides candidacy is an opportunity for Cypriot people to turn the page, with a new type of governance, with a humanist purpose above all else, voter Neophytos Makrides, 58, said as he cast his ballot in Paphos. No to corruption and in favor of the right resolution of the Cypriot problem.
The takedown of four unmanned aircraft has raised new concerns about relations between the United States and China, with both Democratic and Republican lawmakers putting a new focus Sunday on national security.

Were going to have to begin to look at the United States airspace as one that we need to defend and that we need to have appropriate sensors to do so, said Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, chair of the House Intelligence Committee, on CNNs "State of the Union." We certainly now ascertain there is a threat.

On Sunday, the U.S. military shot down another unidentified flying object over Michigan. The shootdown occurred hours after airspace was temporarily closed over Lake Michigan by the Federal Aviation Administration and NORAD and after lawmakers had made the rounds on the Sunday political talk shows.

U.S. Air Force F-16 fighter jets downed the object, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to comment.

On Feb. 4, a U.S. fighter jet shot down a Chinese spy balloon over the South Carolina coast. Less than a week later on Feb. 10, an unidentified object was shot down over Alaska. The next day, another unidentified object was shot down in northern Canada.

Related: How the Pentagon shot down an unidentified object over Alaska, echoing Chinese spy balloon

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Late discovery of balloon program is 'wild,' Schumer says

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said on ABCs "This Week" that it is wild that the U.S. did not learn of Chinas balloon program until a few months ago."

Schumer said he was briefed by national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Saturday night regarding the aircraft, saying that the U.S. believes the two unidentified objects that were destroyed in recent days were also balloons, but that they were "much smaller" than the initial balloon shot down Feb. 4.

Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., chair of the House Oversight Committee, said he was glad to see a swift response from the White House, but told ABCs "This Week" that we've got a whole lot bigger problem with China than the spy balloons," saying the White House needs to be more "firm" against China.

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Related: Video shows moment US shot down suspected Chinese spy balloon

Hours after the second aircraft was shot down, the Department of Commerce announced sanctions against six Chinese companies which it said were supporting Chinas military aerospace programs.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks during a news conference at the Capitol in Washington, Feb. 2, 2023.

Todays action demonstrates our concerted efforts to identify and disrupt the PRCs use of surveillance balloons, which have violated the airspace of the United States and more than forty countries, Matthew Axelrod, assistant secretary of commerce for export enforcement, said in a statement.

Turner: Preferable to be 'trigger happy'

Lawmakers on Sunday also expressed concerns over the U.S. militarys protocol when unidentified objects are discovered.

When asked about whether the U.S. has changed its posture towards flying objects, Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, said I certainly hope not.

If thats where were going to go, there will be an accident. At some point were going to shoot down something we dont want to shoot down, Himes said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

Turner said the White House does appear somewhat trigger happy, although this is certainly preferable to the permissive environment that they showed when the Chinese spy balloon was coming over some of our most sensitive sites.

The first balloon's path visualized: U.S. tracked suspected Chinese spy balloon for 5 days before shooting it down over the Atlantic

Several lawmakers raised questions about the spy balloons flight path and whether it flew over sensitive military and nuclear weapon sites. Democratic Sen. Jon Tester noted on CBS' "Face the Nation" that the balloon flew over his home state of Montana, which houses 150 nuclear missiles.

In this photo provided by Chad Fish, a large 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. 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.

Concerns about TikTok, foreign ownership of U.S. farmland

The discovery of the balloon and two other unidentified objects has raised concerns about other issues pertaining to China. Tester pointed out his own concerns over foreign, including Chinese, ownership of U.S. farmland.

I dont think they should have any opportunity to try to dictate our food supply, said Tester, who introduced a bipartisan bill in January with Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., aimed at preventing foreign companies from owning domestic farmland.

Related: Spy fears spark flurry of proposed laws aiming to ban Chinese land ownership

Schumer also suggested that Congress should take a closer look at TikTok, the popular social media app owned by Chinese company ByteDance, to which Comer agreed, citing worries over Chinese data collection.

(TikTok) would be a concern if we continue to see escalation among China and the United States, Comer said.

Ban TikTok?: Restrictions on the popular video app are spreading across the U.S.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Heightened concerns over US-China relations after objects shot down
A California man faces charges that he ran over and killed another driver who confronted him in a road rage dispute, Whittier police reported.

Jeffrey Flores, 29, of Fontana, was arrested Saturday, Feb. 11, on a homicide charge, police said in a news release.

Another driver pointed a gun at Flores, who began following the vehicle to get its license plate number, the release said.

The other driver got out of his vehicle to confront Flores, who ran him over and killed him about 3:10 p.m., police said.

Investigators told KTLA the other man began pounding on the hood of Flores vehicle before being run over.

Officers responding to the incident found the man dead in the street, with Flores waiting nearby, the release said. A handgun was found inside the dead mans vehicle. Police arrested Flores.

It was the detectives opinion the person had ample time to distance himself from the incident, Lt. Sam Reed told The Press-Enterprise.

Thousands of people die every year from firearm injuries in the U.S. each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Firearm injuries are a serious public health problem, officials said. In 2020, there were 45,222 firearm-related deaths in the United States  thats about 124 people dying from a firearm-related injury each day.

More than half of firearm-related deaths were suicides and more than 4 out of every 10 were firearm homicides, according to the CDC.

Whittier is a city of 85,000 people about 15 miles southeast of Los Angeles.

Driver angry about traffic points gun before mistakenly shooting himself, GA cops say

13-year-old dies at 100-mph illegal race, Florida cops say. Now, boys dad is charged

Brake-checking leads to road-rage brawl with knife and baseball bat, Washington cops say
Ukraine urgently needs to receive military equipment from its Western allies in the coming weeks, otherwise the Russians might win the war.

Source: Polish President Andrzej Duda in an interview with Le Figaro, the text of which was made public by the administration of the Polish president, reports European Pravda.

When asked whether the Russians could emerge victorious from this war, Duda admitted that it was possible if Ukraine did not receive support very urgently.

"They do not have modern military infrastructure, but they have people! If we don't send military equipment to Ukraine in the coming weeks, Putin might win. He might win, and we don't know where he will stop," the Polish president said.

At the same time, Duda reiterated that a potential Russian attack on Poland would be a Russian attack on NATO.

"When the United States was attacked in 2001, all allies stood by the Americans to fight terrorists. We believe that if there was an attack on any NATO country, the response would be the same: swift and decisive", he said.

Last week, during his meeting with EU leaders, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy handed over a wish list regarding new arms supplies.

At the same time, according to media reports, the leaders of the European Union states did not give Zelensky any promises to provide Ukraine with combat aircraft during the summit in Brussels, although the Ukrainian president hinted at such agreements.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan talks with women during his visit to the hard-hit southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbaki

Turkey straddles key geopolitical tectonic plates as well as natures cruellest geological fault line. The country is at the core of the vortex of tensions involving Russia to the north, Nato to the west, the Middle East to the south and Iran to the east.

Given the apocalyptic scale of the human losses and physical damage caused across the region by last weeks mega-quake  over 25,000 killed, and rising  rightly calls for politics to be put on hold while humanitarian aid takes priority are understandable. But earthquakes, not least in Turkey, have political consequences too.

Opposition politicians have blamed President Erdogans autocratic style for hindering relief work and actually permitting shoddy construction projects by firms allegedly owned by his political cronies. These allegations are political poison ahead of an election on 14 May. Everyone in Turkey remembers how the last mega-quake in 1999 paved the way for Erdogans electoral victory in 2002, when the ruling secularists were booted out by voters enraged by lax building standards and corruption.

Turkey turned to Erdogans Islamists because of his reputation as an excellent mayor of Istanbul, which he literally cleaned up a generation ago by removing mounds of uncollected rubbish. The secular governments removal of Erdogan from the mayoralty for reciting an Islamist nationalist poem simply increased his popularity as the underdog.

Few in the West remember now the wave of optimism that Erdogans early years in power generated abroad. He was seen as a Muslim Democrat along the lines of Germanys Christian Democrats, and his authoritarian tendencies were treated as a decisive break with the old politics rather than a warning that should have shattered those illusions.

Since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war, Erdogans forked-tongue approach to his allies in Nato has become apparent. He has used membership of the alliance as a cover for his own assertion of Turkish military power in the region, and cosied up to Vladimir Putins Russia, conniving with Moscow to break Western sanctions following the invasion of Ukraine.

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Barely 24 hours before the quake, playing the nationalist card looked as though it would carry Erdogan to another presidential term. His Interior Minister, Suleyman Soylu  the voice of anti-Americanism  refused U.S. condolences after a recent terrorist attack in Istanbul. Now Mr Soylu is in charge of coordinating relief with the very donor countries he and Erdogan have abused. Countries Ankara has sought to label sympathisers with Kurdish terrorism  Erdogans excuse for blocking Swedens entry into Nato  are pouring in an impressive flood of aid, undermining the scapegoating of allies as Turkeys real enemies. Putin, meanwhile, has little to offer, and what he does may well go to Assads Syria.

This could well have an impact on political attitudes inside Turkey, triggering a popular reconsideration of where the countries true friends and allies are. However, this is not inevitable, nor is it inevitable that any such change would be allowed to be expressed at the ballot box.

The imposition of a state of emergency is understandable after the quakes havoc, and the disorder and looting in ruined regions. But Erdogans censorship of the media and his threat that the Turkish states heavy hand will come down on anyone disrupting law and order could enable cancelling the polls, or massaging their results.

As a devout Muslim Erdogan has deflected blame for the catastrophe onto Gods will rather than his governments lax standards. Many Turks are wondering if he would equally accept electoral defeat as sanctioned by God. To the south, Syrias civil war and refugee crisis present ominous reminders of what such a social breakdown could mean for the rest of us. If Turkey descends into a political crisis after a disputed election amid the rubble and hardship left by the earthquakes, the shock waves will surely spread West.

Erdogan has found himself in a rare vulnerable position. Nato and the West in general need to provide aid both to bandage wounds, and also to draw Turkey towards us as their terrible tragedy plays out. If we do not, we may find that troubled Turkey is set towards an an even darker path.

Mark Almond is Director of the Crisis Research Institute, Oxford. He was formerly a Visiting Professor at Bilkent University, Ankara
The death toll in the devastating earthquake that hit parts of Turkey and Syria almost a week ago is nearing 35,000 as hope of finding more survivors in the rubble is shrinking by the day.

The 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck the region last week. Rescue missions have been hampered by freezing temperatures and aftershocks over the past week.

Turkey authorities said that 29,605 people have been killed in the country, as the confirmed death toll in Syria has risen to 3,576, according to CNN.

The United Nations top emergency relief official arrived to the Turkey-Syria border over the weekend, and tweeted that the people in north-west Syria feel abandoned.

We have so far failed the people in north-west Syria, he tweeted. They rightly feel abandoned. Looking for international help that hasnt arrived. My duty and our obligation is to correct this failure as fast as we can. Thats my focus now.

The Syrian Civil Defense Group, also known as The White Helmets, ended their search and rescue operations on Friday, and said that the death toll will likely climb higher, according to CNN. The group will now start search and recovery operations.

The United Nations arrived in the region last Thursday for the first time since the earthquake hit, and Geir Pederson, U.N. special envoy to Syria, said Thursday that the organization will send aid to northern Syria through Turkey and Damascus.

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced Friday that it will be sending health supplies to reach 400,000 people in the Turkey and Syria region.

WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Sunday that the organization has sent 110 tons of medical supplies to the region, and a flight is scheduled to Damascus Sunday night with more supplies.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) tours a building in downtown L.A. developed by Skid Row Housing Trust in 2019. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

For decades, single-room occupancy hotels in downtown Los Angeles made up the only available and affordable housing for the poorest of the poor. But after thousands of these residential buildings, known as SROs, were demolished, a group of community activists and downtown business leaders banded together in 1989 to create the nonprofit Skid Row Housing Trust with a mission both urgent and valiant: Stop the demolition of these buildings and preserve them for people who had nowhere else to go.

Eventually Skid Row Housing Trust would become one of the largest and best-known producers of desperately needed permanent supportive housing on skid row.

Yet the organization is now headed for financial ruin, its oldest housing stock deteriorating with no funds for repairs. The trust is existing on an infusion of hundreds of thousands of dollars in support from three philanthropic organizations as it seeks to transfer its nearly 30 properties to other permanent supportive housing developers.

Theres much talk about how difficult it is to cobble together multiple sources of financing to build permanent supportive housing for homeless people who will not be paying market rate rents. Whats infrequently discussed is how challenging it is to keep those buildings maintained once they are occupied.

Skid Row Housing Trust's downfall is a cautionary tale of what can go wrong for owners and operators of permanent supportive housing. But it is not a warning to avoid building this kind of housing. L.A. can't solve its homeless problem without it. Homeless people stop being homeless only when they get permanent housing  along with services to help keep them in that housing.

The city has rightly staked its plan for reducing homelessness on the creation of more permanent supportive housing and should not change course. But Mayor Karen Bass, other city leaders and affordable housing developers should heed the lessons from the trusts problems. The primary one is to vigilantly and regularly assess the state of properties  and finances  and figure out how to finance rehab of buildings.

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In the trust's oldest buildings, rental vouchers didnt begin to cover the costs of repairs and upkeep. Repairs were deferred to the point where they got worse and created more problems. In some cases, units were damaged by tenants suffering from mental illness who flooded their units with running water or even set them on fire.

When some units became open, they were so damaged they couldn't be occupied until fixed  which the trusts operators couldnt afford to do. So the units sat empty, which meant less income from rent to fix repairs. The occupancy rate across all its properties averages about 78%, but the trusts chief executive said occupancy rate is significantly lower in the buildings that need the most repair.

Its up to the owners and operators of permanent supportive housing buildings to negotiate increases in rental subsidies to cover maintenance costs before they get out of control. Whether those increases occur or not, owners need to keep a financial reserve and replenish it through fundraising. But as the current chief executive, Joanne Cordero, said, that's not an easy task.

This business is hard on a good day, and if you are not relentlessly pursuing funding opportunities and working with the city and county to make sure your rents are as high as possible, you cant survive it, said Cordero, who didn't speculate on what her predecessors did or didn't do. After the trusts longtime respected leader, Mike Alvidrez, retired in 2018, a succession of chief executives came and went  which executives of other nonprofit housing firms point to as a weakness.

The trust's downfall is not a result of its permanent supportive housing model, which relies on housing people first then providing them support services  case managers, therapists and other health professionals. Even if the city and county need to provide some tenants with a higher level of service, the bigger problem here is financial.

Stephanie Klasky-Gamer, the chief executive of L.A. Family Housing, which operates permanent supportive housing and shelters in the San Fernando Valley, is considering taking over at least one of the trust's properties. She says the problems stem from a combination of older buildings and multiple changes in leadership that resulted in lack of investment and attention. And Mercedes Marquez, Bass' chief of housing and homelessness solutions, has said the city will contribute financially to help shore up the buildings in some way.

There has been a lot of investment in new supportive housing. But the city cant afford to lose existing units and should devote more effort and more resources to preserving affordable housing. That means making funding available to operators who need to do necessary maintenance on aging buildings from sources such as Measure ULA, which will provide tax revenue for building and preserving affordable housing. Funding tends to go toward new building, not to maintain old things. But Los Angeles needs as much of both as it can get.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Elon Musk controls Tesla, SpaceX and The Boring Company. Adrees Latif/Reuters

The Boring Company is working with a construction company to build housing near Austin, Texas.

"Project Amazing" will have street names including Boring Boulevard and Waterjet Way.

An initial 110 homes are planned for the development, documents show.

Elon Musk is planning to build hundreds of homes in Texas for workers at his companies.

The development in Austin's Bastrop County, which was first reported by the Austin Business Journal, is close to facilities for The Boring Company and is known as "Project Amazing."

Mel Hamner, the Bastrop County commissioner, told a meeting last month that Florida-based house builder Lennar was partnering with Musk's tunnel construction firm to build an initial 110 homes near its headquarters, the publication reported.

County documents show the subdivision has streets named Boring Boulevard, Cutterhead Crossing, Waterjet Way, and Porpoise Place. It is unclear when construction would begin.

The land is owned by Gappes Bass LLC, a company affiliated with The Boring Company, according to online records. Adam Pashaian, a corporate controller for the Boring Company, is also registered as an agent for Gapped Bass.

Austin is also home to a Tesla gigafactory that could eventually employ up to 20,000 workers, Musk said in late 2021. SpaceX is also expected to build a factory in the area.

Hamner said there was a housing affordability crisis in the area, therealdeal.com reported earlier this month.

"That's part of why The Boring Company is building housing for their workers, so they can afford to be living somewhere close to their facilities," he said, per the outlet.

Matt Holm, a real estate agent in Austin and president of the city's Tesla Owners' Club, told Insider that many more homes would be needed for workers at Musk's companies.

Lennar advertises 3D-printed homes on its website, and Holm said it could use the technique for the Austin development.

The Boring Company, Lennar, and Bastrop County didn't respond to requests for comment from Insider, made outside normal working hours.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Erling Haaland faces a fitness test ahead of the Arsenal game (Martin Rickett/PA) (PA Wire)

Erling Haaland faces a fitness test before Manchester Citys crucial clash with Premier League leaders Arsenal on Wednesday.

The prolific Norway striker, who has scored 31 goals in all competitions for the champions this season, was withdrawn at half-time during Sundays 3-1 win over Aston Villa.

With City 3-0 ahead at the time, there seemed little need to risk the 22-year-old in the second period at the Etihad Stadium but manager Pep Guardiola later revealed he had taken a knock.

46. CITY SUBS | Double switch at the break 



 3-0  #ManCity pic.twitter.com/zRUoECo7VT  Manchester City (@ManCity) February 12, 2023

Guardiola said: Erling has a kick and we will assess in the next days what he can do.

At half-time I spoke with the doctors. They said at 3-0, maybe dont take risks and I agreed.

I think he is not injured but tomorrow we will see. Hopefully he can be in for Wednesday but if he is not ready, or there is some risk, he is not going to play.
By Maya Gebeily

ADANA, Turkey (Reuters) - The European Union's envoy to Syria said early on Sunday that it was not fair to accuse the group of failing to provide enough help to Syrians following the earthquake that devastated large parts of Syria and Turkey last week.

Dan Stoenescu told Reuters the bloc and its member states have gathered more than 50 million euros to provide aid and back rescue missions and first aid in both government-held and rebel-controlled parts of Syria.

"It is absolutely unfair to be accused of not providing aid, when actually we have constantly been doing exactly that for over a decade and we are doing so much more even during the earthquake crisis," Stoenescu said in written comments.

More than 3,500 people died in the earthquake in Syria, where a 12-year conflict had already left hundreds of thousands dead and forced millions into displacement within the country and beyond its borders.

The war carved the country into various competing zones of control, making aid provision difficult even before Monday's 7.8 magnitude quake.

The Syrian government, which is under Western sanctions, has appealed for U.N. aid while saying all assistance must be done in coordination with Damascus and delivered from within Syria, not across the Turkish border into rebel areas.

Some observers have accused Damascus of directing aid towards loyalist areas. Syrian authorities did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on Sunday.

A 30-tonne shipment of humanitarian aid from the Italian government - including four ambulances and 13 pallets of medical equipment - landed in Beirut on Saturday en route to Damascus in the first European earthquake relief to Syria.

Stoenescu said the EU was encouraging member states to provide help and that sanctions "do not impede the delivery of humanitarian aid."

But he said the EU had foreseen that humanitarian partners may request exemptions "for humanitarian purposes and is willing to clarify further these possibilities."

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"The more the sanctions narrative is perpetrated, the more honest actors that want to help are inhibited and afraid to get involved in the international humanitarian efforts," he said.

The EU was seeking "sufficient safeguards" to ensure that help provided would reach vulnerable people, Stoenescu said, adding the Syrian government had a "record of aid diversion."

"We call the authorities in Damascus not to politicise the humanitarian aid delivery, and to engage in good faith with all humanitarian partners and UN agencies to help people," he said.

(Reporting by Maya Gebeily; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and William Mallard)
A former Griffin police officer was arrested for allegedly submitting fraudulent time sheets, officials say.

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The Georgia Bureau of Investigations was called to investigate Asia Jones, 26, of Hampton. Jones was employed with the Griffin Police Department.

According to the release, Jones was scheduled to work a part-time police job with a Griffin apartment complex.

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Officials say Jones would submit a timecard claiming hours she did not work.

Investigators did not say how many times Jones falsified her time sheet.

In June 2022, Jones resigned from the police department following an internal investigation.

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Jones is charged with one count of misdemeanor theft by deception and one count of violation of oath by a public officer.

The case will be turned over to the Griffin Judicial Circuit District Attorneys Office once the investigation is complete.

IN OTHER NEWS:
Airspace over Lake Michigan was briefly closed on Sunday due to Department of Defense (DOD) activities and has since been reopened, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The FAA briefly closed some airspace over Lake Michigan to support Department of Defense activities, the administration said in a statement to The Hill. The airspace has been reopened.

The activity above Lake Michigan comes as airspace over central Montana was closed briefly on Saturday, after North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) detected a radar anomaly, sending fighter jets to investigate.

The jets did not locate an object to corroborate the radar. Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) said that there still might be an object above Montana, but NORAD on Sunday did not confirm whether it was monitoring the situation or whether it was actively searching for an object above the state.

Testers team said he had been in close touch with the DOD, but did not offer details about why the senator believed an object might still be flying over the state. On Sunday he also said it could be a false alarm.

Two unidentified objects have been shot down over North America, one on Friday and one on Saturday, in the aftermath of the Chinese surveillance balloon that was taken down over the Atlantic Ocean after crossing the United States last week.

One object over Alaska was shot down on Friday while another was shot down on Saturday by a U.S. fighter jet over Canadian territory after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ordered the move.

Information about the downed objects has been sparse, with officials offering little in the way of clarity. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on Sunday that U.S. officials believe that the objects were balloons, after being briefed by a Biden administration national security official, but the White House has offered few other details on the matters.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The shoreline of Lake Michigan. iStock/Getty Images Plus

Another unknown object was shot down over Lake Michigan-Huron on Sunday.

The FAA briefly declared a "national defense airspace" over part of the lake while it was downed.

The object was the third item shot down by the US in three days.

The Federal Aviation Administration temporarily restricted airspace above Lake Michigan on Sunday for "national defense" as a suspicious object was shot down  the third such object downed by the US in three days.

"Today at 2:42 p.m. ET, at the direction of President Biden, and based on the recommendations of Secretary Austin and military leadership, an F-16 fired an AIM9x to successfully shoot down an airborne object flying at approximately 20,000 feet altitude in U.S. airspace over Lake Huron in the State of Michigan," a statement from the Pentagon read. "Its path and altitude raised concerns, including that it could be a hazard to civil aviation."

Prior to shooting the object down, the FAA declared a "national defense airspace" over Lake Michigan-Huron, Fox News reported the agency said in a notice. The FAA said that it "briefly closed some airspace over Lake Michigan to support Department of Defense activities" in a statement to Insider on Sunday.

"The airspace has been reopened," the statement said.

The United States military also closed airspace in Montana on Saturday and sent fighter jets to investigate a "radar anomaly," according to Reuters. The North American Aerospace Defense Command said the pilots didn't see anything in the area of the corresponding radar hits, according to the outlet.

Montana Republican Rep. Matt Rosendale said on Twitter that he is in "constant communication" with officials who "advised me that they have confidence there IS an object, and it WAS NOT an anomaly."

Rosendale's office did not immediately return Insider's request for comment.

"Based on its flight path and data we can reasonably connect this object to the radar signal picked up over Montana, which flew in proximity to sensitive DOD sites," a Sunday statement from the Pentagon read. "We did not assess it to be a kinetic military threat to anything on the ground, but assess it was a safety flight hazard and a threat due to its potential surveillance capabilities. Our team will now work to recover the object in an effort to learn more."

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The closure of Lake Michigan's airspace follows the shooting down of a suspected Chinese spy balloon by an F-22 off the coast of South Carolina on February 4. F-22 jets also shot down another unidentified object over Alaska on Friday. Then, another unknown object, described as "cylindrical" by Canadian Defence Minister Anita Anand, was shot down over Canada.

Sen. Chuck Schumer said on Sunday that the US believes the objects shot down over Alaska and Canada were also balloons.

The US Department of Defense said that the FBI and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police will be working "very closely" to investigate the object shot down over Canada in a statement.

Read the original article on Business Insider
A federal judge in Lexington has issued an opinion holding that a federal law prohibiting people from having guns if they have a domestic violence order against them is unconstitutional.

The case is one of a series of cases making their way through the federal court system in the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year that expanded gun rights.

In an order filed in the Eastern District of Kentucky Feb. 2, Chief U.S. District Judge Danny Reeves dismissed a federal charge against a Harrison County man, Sherman Combs, who had been in possession of a handgun while he was under a domestic violence order.

Combs is still facing a second federal charge that accuses him of lying to the firearms dealer about whether he had a DVO when he bought the gun in Georgetown three days after the order was issued.

The decision to dismiss the charge against Combs was based on the 2022 Supreme Court decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, in which the Supreme Court struck down a New York law that had required citizens to show a special need to carry weapons in public.

The ruling changed the way courts evaluate the legality of restrictions on gun possession.

In deciding that case, the Supreme Court found that when courts are evaluating challenges to gun laws, they must ask first whether the conduct being regulated is covered by the text of the Second Amendment, which guarantees the right to bear arms. If it is, they must then consider whether the regulation aligns with the nations historical tradition of regulating firearms.

In dismissing the possession charge against Combs, Reeves found that he had not been shown a comparable historical analogue to the law prohibiting gun possession by those with a domestic violence order against them.

Combs attorney, Thomas Lyons, said that though Combs was pleased with the dismissal of the charge, the ruling should not be viewed as an endorsement for people to have guns when they have a domestic violence order in place.

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Judge Reeves is obligated by his oath of office to do justice impartially, and to follow the law as pronounced by the Supreme Court, Lyons said in an email. This is the essence of the rule of law. I am confident Judge Reeves takes that oath seriously.

The U.S. Attorneys Office, which is prosecuting Combs, did not comment on the judges order.

U.S. Attorney Carlton Shier IV intends to appeal, according to court documents.

A higher court issued a similar opinion the same day Reeves issued his order.

In that case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which has jurisdiction over Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, also ruled as unconstitutional the law banning people under domestic violence orders from having firearms.

The three judges in that case also cited the Bruen decision, saying the 1994 laws ban on possession of firearms is an outlier that our ancestors would never have accepted.

Some advocates for victims of domestic violence are concerned about the rulings.

It is disappointing, especially given the situations weve had in Lexington recently around domestic violence and victims being killed using guns, said Fayette County Attorney Angela Evans. Its a disservice to victims. Its a disservice to the community.

She said that that knowing that their partner wouldnt be permitted to have guns is probably something that was a comfort to people who would file for a DVO, and she wondered if the rulings would cause a lot of hesitation among victims considering filing for an order.

What has this law prevented from happening? Im not sure, but Im concerned that we might find out, Evans said.

As someone who works for a domestic violence shelter, we obviously have strong feelings about people with DVOs against them possessing firearms, said Veronica Christian, a family advocate at GreenHouse 17.

Allowing people who are under domestic violence orders to have guns seems like giving a dangerous person another way to be dangerous, she said.

State court documents indicate that Combs wife sought and was granted a domestic violence order against Combs, 50, on June 15 in Harrison District Court.

On June 18, according to federal court documents, Combs bought a .357 Magnum revolver in Scott County, representing to the dealer that he was not subject to a court order restraining him from harassing, stalking or threatening an intimate partner or child of such partner.

He allegedly texted his partner in violation of the DVO five times on June 25 and 26. When a sheriffs deputy arrived to arrest him in Cynthiana the following day, Combs had a revolver in a holster on his hip, court documents state.

Though the charge related to Combs possession of the gun has been dismissed, he is still facing a federal charge alleging that he lied to the firearms dealer. A pretrial conference is scheduled for Feb. 15.
Serhii Koretskyi and Denis Kudin (both in the center) with other top managers during WOG's 2016 press conference

Denys Kudin, who was dismissed from the post of first deputy minister of economy of Ukraine on Feb. 10, 2023, will take up a senior position at the state oil and gas company Ukrnafta, two independent sources in the oil market told NV Business.

Read also: Ukrnafta to fire several top managers, say media

These reports are partially confirmed by the former official himself. "My personal next step is to focus entirely on the fuel front!" Kudin wrote on his Facebook page. He refused to answer NV Business' clarifying questions, promising to announce his new job soon.

In November 2022, Ukrnafta and Ukrtatnafta were nationalized. Both companies were headed by Serhiy Koretskyi, the former CEO of the WOG fuel company.

Denys Kudin also worked for this company from 2013 to 2018. He rose from Deputy CEO for Human Resources to WOG's Retail Director. In January 2018, Kudin left the company.

Read also: Kolomoyskiy's metal bars around Ukrnafta office building are cut down

"Next up is a lot of studying for an Executive MBA in London and New York (the core of the program in 2018), and then #entrepreneurship again!" Kudin said on Facebook at the time.

However, after returning from his studies, he became an official. In July 2020, Denys Kudin was appointed deputy head of the State Property Fund of Ukraine, which was then headed by Dmytro Sennichenko. In November 2021, Kudin was appointed first deputy minister of economy of Ukraine.

Today, state-owned Ukrnafta owns one of the largest networks of gas stations in Ukraine, with about 450 operating stations.

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
A former aide to former Vice President Mike Pence said the subpoena that Justice Department (DOJ) special counsel Jack Smith issued to him this week gives him a security blanket ahead of a potential 2024 presidential bid.

Olivia Troye said in an interview on MSNBC on Saturday that he will have political cover from the subpoena, and thus be able to talk about what really happened in the lead-up to the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

This is sort of the security blanket that I think Mike Pence has been looking for, she said.

Troye noted that Pence would be able to say publicly that he didnt willingly testify, but was compelled to do so because of legal requirements. However, its important to note that the former vice president did not choose to testify before the House select committee that investigated the Jan. 6 insurrection during the past session of Congress.

Smith, who is investigating both the insurrection and the documents found at former President Trumps Mar-a-Lago in August, issued the subpoena for documents and testimony from Pence reportedly about the interactions he had with Trump leading up to the 2020 presidential election and the 2021 attack on the Capitol.

Trumps attorneys reportedly plan to appeal the subpoena, arguing that Pence should not be required to testify on grounds of executive privilege.

Troye said Pence is more likely to cooperate with the special counsels investigation than that of the House select committee because he viewed the committee as politicized.

In some ways, its political advantage if DOJ takes Donald Trump out of the running, that works in Mike Pences favor, and Im sure that is part of the calculus going to the Pence team right now, she said.

Pence has indicated he is considering a run for the White House in 2024, but has thus far trailed behind Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) by significant margins in hypothetical GOP primary polls.

Trump is still the only major candidate to have declared his candidacy.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
(Bloomberg) -- Frances government is open to more concessions on its plan to raise the retirement age by two years, said spokesman Olivier Veran, hinting at a bigger work-from-home push after labor unions threatened to bring the nation to a halt.

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We are in listening mode and the government changed its project various times already, Veran said in an interview Sunday on France Inter in collaboration with France Televisions and Le Monde.

Beyond the debate on retirement age, theres the question of quality of life within the work place. This is fundamental. Our reform is a wider one and maybe this hasnt been understood, he said.

President Emmanuel Macrons government is redoubling its efforts to secure a parliamentary majority as citizens increasingly take to the streets to protest a reform to raise the retirement age to 64 from 62. The number of protesters swelled to about 1 million on Saturday, with more demonstrations planned for Feb. 16 and March 7.

By focusing on the topic of work-from-home, Veran may be seeking to shift the focus to a less divisive subject while the debate on the controversial reform continues at the National Assembly.

People want to work from home more than ever since the Covid 19 pandemic, Veran said. This is an excellent thing because as part of our climate transition plan, we will need, over time, 10 million French working from home twice a week. We arent there yet.

In spite of differences in views on the retirement age, Frances government and labor unions are still working together to find ways to improve the quality of working life, Veran told France Inter on Sunday.

We will have to work with companies to make sure they allow this in a way that people dont end up being isolated at home, he said.

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Saturdays marches were peaceful and many families joined in, Veran acknowledged. Still, he said that many people who took to the streets in smaller French cities showed the urgency of tackling the topic of work flexibility.

I speak about distance from work premises, work from home organization and shorter work weeks precisely because its in smaller cities that people are further away from their work location, Veran said. What I picked up from protesters yesterday, beyond the question of age, is the need to work differently and better.

Its also in those smaller cities and towns that so-called Yellow Vests protests kicked off in 2018. What started as a grass-roots movement morphed into nationwide riots that hurt businesses and the economy, becoming a thorn in Macrons side.

Verans work-from-home appeal also may be targeted at winning wider support among French women, who are among the biggest critics of Macrons flagship pension reform. Many women are unhappy about the prospect of working longer or retiring with a lower pension.

As part of concessions to see the pension reform through, Veran also said the government will focus on measures that make it harder for big companies to fire large number of senior workers.

The breadth and dynamics of street protests in France have often proved make-or-break for past presidents reform efforts. In 1995, Jacques Chiracs government dropped a pension overhaul plan after crippling strikes. Prolonged student-led protests forced a U-turn on labor laws in 2006, even after parliament had approved changes.

President Nicolas Sarkozy in 2010 pushed ahead with raising Frances retirement age to 62 from 60 despite months of upheaval. Macron now wants to lift it further, to 64, and has so far shown little sign hell back down.

--With assistance from William Horobin and Samy Adghirni.

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP)  Virginia coach Tony Bennett said he didn't know what happened on the final play of regulation in the eighth-ranked Cavaliers' 69-62 overtime victory against Duke.

Blue Devils coach Jon Scheyer didn't, either  and he was left fuming.

I still would like an explanation exactly, Scheyer said after the game. I dont have clarity on that.

Duke (17-8, 8-6 Atlantic Coast Conference) appeared poised to win when Kyle Filipowski drove to the basket on the final play of regulation Saturday and two defenders contested his shot. Officials initially whistled a foul, drawing thunderous disapproval from fans, but waved it off after a lengthy review  a decision the ACC later said was incorrect.

On the play, which started with 1.2 seconds left, Filipowski drove from the left side and officials called a foul. Replays showed Reece Beekman appeared to get a clean block on the shot but also made enough body contact to knock Filipowski to the floor.

He made a big-time play attacking the basket, and theres no doubt hes knocking down those free throws in my mind, Scheyer said.

They told me after the fact that the call was made after the buzzer and you can see the ball left his hands before point zero, Scheyer said of the officials. So I dont know exactly what the rule is.

The league issued a statement hours later, saying officials applied rules incorrectly and that Filipowski should have been sent to the line for two free throws.

According to the league, officials had determined after a review that a foul by Virginias Ryan Dunn had been committed after time expired. But the NCAA rule book states that the ball being in flight made it a live play with players in those situations being considered an airborne shooter, which should have led to free throws, according to the statement.

Instead, it was Armaan Franklin making the big shot, a 3-pointer with 39 seconds left in overtime to finish a 23-point performance. Franklin said he was initially out of position for the play, but adjusted and point guard Kihei Clark found him.

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I saw them kind of like mashed up on the side with Kihei on the wing, and I just ran to the corner. His man didn't switch off. I just had an open corner look and I shoot a million of those a day, he said.

Clark added 16 points and five assists and Ben Vander Plas scored 13 for the Cavaliers (19-4, 11-3), who won despite a 9-for-22 performance from the free throw line. Vander Plas also was credited with drawing 11 of the 24 fouls whistled against Duke.

Jeremy Roach led the Blue Devils with 16 points and Tyrese Proctor had 14. Filipowski, who averages 15.5 points, was scoreless.

Trailing 58-53, Duke got a driving basket from Roach with 1:31 left and a 3-pointer by Jacob Grandison from in front of the Blue Devils' bench to tie it with 50 seconds left. Neither team scored again in regulation.

Vander Plas drew a huge ovation when he made a pair of free throws to open the overtime scoring. At that point, Virginia had missed nine of 12 from the line. Clark's driving basket and another free throw gave the Cavaliers a 63-58 lead, and two baskets by Proctor were all the Blue Devils managed in the extra period.

Duke, now 2-6 in league road games, became the 39th consecutive ACC opponent to fail to reach 70 points at John Paul Jones Arena.

The Cavaliers used an 8-0 run to lead 54-51 with just under five minutes to play. Ryan Young hit a pair of free throws to pull Duke within a point, but after Virginia failed to score, the Blue Devils committed their third shot clock violation of the game with 3:29 left.

Virginia used a 14-5 run spanning the halves to take a 35-30 lead, but Duke responded with a 19-9 run that featured eight points by Dariq Whitehead, who had missed the past four games with an ankle injury.

BIG PICTURE

Duke: Roach scored 12 consecutive points for the Blue Devils after Dereck Lively opened their scoring with a pair of free throws. His last basket of the run gave him more points that Virginia's 11 at the time.

Virginia: Despite a distinct size disadvantage, the Cavaliers drove continually in the opening half, getting 20 of their 25 points in the paint. The Blue Devils had four players with two fouls by halftime and Roach was whistled for his third 31 seconds into the second half.

Virginia finished with 42 points in the paint and 20 points off Duke's 22 turnovers.

UP NEXT

Duke: Returns home to face Notre Dame on Tuesday night.

Virginia: Travels to Louisville on Wednesday night.

___

AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Zeekr, the electric car brand of China's Geely Automobile Holdings, is raising $750 million from five new and existing investors in a funding round that values the brand at $13 billion.

Zeekr, which sells two purely electric car models, said in a statement on Monday that proceeds from the funding round will be used to support technology research and the global expansion of the Zeekr brand.

The investors include Amnon Shashua, CEO and founder of autonomous driving technology company Mobileye Global - majority owned by Intel Corp - and the Guangzhou city municipal governments investment arm Yuexiu Industrial Fund, both new investors in the company.

Supporters of the funding round also include Chinese battery maker CATL, already among Zeekr's backers.

(Reporting by Zhang Yan and Brenda Goh; Editing by David Holmes)
MILWAUKEE (AP)  Recent revelations about Republican election strategies targeting minority communities in Wisconsin's biggest city came as no surprise to many Black voters.

A Wisconsin election commissioner bragged about low turnout in predominantly Black and Latino neighborhoods during last years elections. Weeks later, an audio recording surfaced that showed then-President Donald Trumps Wisconsin campaign team laughing behind closed doors about efforts to reach Black voters in 2020.

Many people who voted this past week in the state's primary election said they had long felt targeted by Republicans. The difference now is the public display of strategies that at best ignore the priorities of Black voters and at worst actively look to keep them from voting.

Its a plan that they devised and carried out with quite a lot of precision, said lifelong Milwaukee resident Dewayne Walls, 63. Its a repeatable pattern thats going to continue to happen over and over as long as they have that plausible deniability and as long as they have the power in Madison  the state capital.

Walls and other Black voters said they are tired of the countless hurdles that disproportionately try to keep them from being heard at the ballot box. Voters said their experiences with the GOP have been as voices to silence, not to win over.

The Republican Party needs a lot of work. All of them need to actually step into our shoes, go in our neighborhoods, work our jobs, do the things that were doing on a daily basis and see how they feel about whats going on once they experience it, said Valeria Gray, 59.

She described the relationship between Milwaukee and much of the rest of the state as one divided by race.

"It doesnt look like its gonna ever go anywhere, she said.

Voting rights advocates for years have accused Wisconsin Republicans of pushing policies to suppress voters of color and lower-income voters. Many such policies centered on the Democratic stronghold of Milwaukee, home to nearly 70% of Wisconsins Black population.

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Those claims were reinforced by an email sent to about 1,700 people in December from Bob Spindell, a Republican member of the Wisconsin Election Commission. He said Republicans can be especially proud of depressed midterm voter turnout in predominantly Black and Latino neighborhoods in Milwaukee, a heavily Democratic city.

Spindell later said his email was meant to convey the steps Republicans took to counter Democratic messaging in the city.

The Associated Press then obtained an audio recording of a meeting in which the head of Trumps 2020 Wisconsin campaign team talked with staff about their efforts to reach Black voters: "We ever talk to Black people before? I dont think so, the campaign official said to laughter.

Dwayne Morgan, 59, called it the same old, same old for the GOP in Milwaukee. Theyre trying to get us not to vote. Theyre trying to wipe away the history, he said.

Republican-drawn legislative maps adopted last year dilute Milwaukees influence and nearly guarantee a Republican majority in the Legislature. That's despite statewide races routinely being decided by narrow margins and Democrats winning the major statewide offices, including for governor, attorney general and secretary of state.

The Republican-controlled Legislature enacted strict voter ID laws in 2011 under then-Republican Gov. Scott Walker. Since his first term began in 2019, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has vetoed more than a dozen GOP-backed bills that would make it harder to vote. Those include ID requirements for older and disabled voters who are indefinitely confined, limits on when and where absentee ballots could be collected, and prohibiting election officials from filling out missing voter information.

Nonetheless, Republicans have prevailed in the courts, using lawsuits to outlaw ballot drop boxes and deny election clerks the ability to fill in missing information on the envelopes containing mail ballots. The Wisconsin Supreme Courts conservative majority, which is at stake in this year's election, has routinely ruled in favor of Republicans on consequential voting decisions.

That adds to a host of reasons Black voters in Milwaukee have increasingly felt as if their votes dont matter. The city has some of the worst racial disparities nationwide in health care, education, wealth and incarceration.

Low-income residents, who are disproportionately Black, already struggle to meet basic needs. Confusion over new election rules or limited options for when and where they can vote further discourage voting, said the Rev. Greg Lewis, founder of Souls to the Polls Milwaukee.

Suppression is not just a few things, he said. Its not just, not being able to vote without IDs. Its not just, not being able to take your ballots to the drop box. Its not just language barriers. Its all those things together.

For Barbara Bryant, 76, all the extra steps were the biggest barrier to voting. But she wasnt going to be deterred from participating in this month's primary. This past week, amid a snowstorm, a poll worker helped her from her car and into an early voting location.

Bryant said she has preferred voting early in recent years so poll workers have time to explain any new rules, but she has seen inaccessible voting sites and the removal of drop boxes discourage other older adults from voting.

Wisconsin Republicans told the AP they have been trying for a decade to make inroads with Black and Latino voters in Milwaukee.

The state party opened its first office in downtown Milwaukee in 2019, specifically with the goal of reaching out to Black voters. The focus is on engaging them in conversation, rather than meeting typical campaign metrics such as knocking on a certain number of doors, said Mark Jefferson, the state GOP executive director.

He said the party is not trying to suppress votes, but to chip away at the support for Democrats in those communities.

People are listening when they havent before, Jefferson said. I think weve learned a lot. I think we are cutting into Democrats margins, albeit faster currently in the Latino community and the Hispanic communities. But were also cutting into margins on the north side of Milwaukee, as well. And thats because we are more in touch than we were.

Angela Lang, executive director of Milwaukee-based Black Leaders Organizing Communities, wasnt worried about Republicans gaining a foothold with Black voters. She said the GOPs priorities are fundamentally at odds with what most Black voters in Milwaukee want.

But Lang said she was concerned about the precedent that could be set by Republicans so openly talking about strategies to lower turnout.

Its incredibly dangerous, because when one starts, then people just feel more emboldened, she said.

Several Black votes interviewed at the polls said they had seen little activity from Republicans in the city and described the GOP outreach center as more of a showpiece for the party.

I dont think they ever come down here to try to reach us at all," said voter Damario Wright, 36. I mean, you barely see a Republican in Milwaukee  come on, now.

___

Associated Press writer Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin, contributed to this report.

___

Associated Press coverage of race and voting receives support from the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

___

Harm Venhuizen is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow him on Twitter.
A bipartisan panel of governors from Maryland, New Hampshire, New Mexico and North Dakota said they agreed on elements of each other's ideas to address addiction and the fentanyl crisis, speaking Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation."

"That is probably going to be the nexus of real bipartisan work," Democratic New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said to North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, a Republican, after he described treating addiction as a disease. The governors were in Washington, D.C., for the National Governors Association conference, and dealing with fentanyl was one area where they clearly found common cause.

Burgum said his state is working to make sure the war on fentanyl doesn't become "a war on people," contrasting his approach to the hard-line enforcement against drug offenses championed in decades past.

"If we think that the way we're going to stop drug consumption is with with longer prison terms, or higher penalties, we're actually just incarcerating people that have a health issue," Burgum said.

U.S. drug overdose deaths surpassed 107,000 in 2021, setting a record and bringing the number of drug overdose deaths to more than 1 million since 2001. The number of deaths from synthetic opioids, including fentanyl, rose over the course of that year. And opioids overall accounted for more than 80,000 of those deaths.

New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, a Republican, also expressed agreement with the idea of keeping the opioid reversal drug naloxone in schools, after Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, described Maryland's use of the policy.

"You need access points to schools," Sununu said to host Margaret Brennan. "Kids need to know that  that there is help there, what those systems are. Rural access to care is absolutely huge."

Maryland, like New Jersey, Rhode Island and Washington, requires public schools to stock naloxone, also known by the brand name Narcan. Lawmakers in California are pushing to not only supply schools with the drug, but also to allow students to carry and administer it.
Usually, when one insider buys stock, it might not be a monumental event. But when multiple insiders are buying like they did in the case of Service Stream Limited (ASX:SSM), that sends out a positive message to the company's shareholders.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

See our latest analysis for Service Stream

Service Stream Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by MD & Director Leigh MacKender for AU$98k worth of shares, at about AU$0.68 per share. That means that even when the share price was higher than AU$0.63 (the recent price), an insider wanted to purchase shares. Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. We always take careful note of the price insiders pay when purchasing shares. As a general rule, we feel more positive about a stock if insiders have bought shares at above current prices, because that suggests they viewed the stock as good value, even at a higher price.

Service Stream insiders may have bought shares in the last year, but they didn't sell any. Their average price was about AU$0.77. I'd consider this a positive as it suggests insiders see value at around the current price. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. So if that suits your style you could check each stock one by one or you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Does Service Stream Boast High Insider Ownership?

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Insiders own 12% of Service Stream shares, worth about AU$46m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

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So What Does This Data Suggest About Service Stream Insiders?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. Insiders own shares in Service Stream and we see no evidence to suggest they are worried about the future. While we like knowing what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. You'd be interested to know, that we found 1 warning sign for Service Stream and we suggest you have a look.

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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Advocates for raising Michigan's minimum wage and employer sick time requirements have asked the Michigan Supreme Court to overturn a Court of Appeals ruling that found the Michigan Legislature did have the authority to effectively water down a pair of petition initiatives addressing the issues in 2018.

In its appeal, filed Friday, a coalition of groups called on the high court to restore Court of Claims Judge Douglas Shapiros July 2022 ruling that found the Legislature acted unconstitutionally in 2018 when it adopted language brought forward by a pair of petition initiatives and amended the petition language to weaken their original intent. Shapiros ruling was reversed by a three-judge Court of Appeals panel in January.

If allowed to stand, the Court of Appeals decision upholding this unprecedented adopt and amend scheme means the end of the peoples century-old constitutional right of statutory initiative because future legislatures will simply adopt and amend any proposal they dislike, attorney Mark Brewer wrote on behalf of the coalition, made up of groups Mothering Justice, Michigan One Fair Wage, Michigan Time to Care, Restaurant Opportunities Center of Michigan and plaintiffs James Hawk and Tia Marie Sanders.

People protest for fair wages plus tips for restaurant workers on May 26, 2021, in Detroit. The crowd of nearly 30 people marched down Woodward Avenue and around to various downtown restaurants to bring attention to the issue.

More:Michigan minimum wage increase, paid sick leave wiped out after appeals panel ruling

In 2018, the Legislature, then controlled by Republicans, adopted legislation created through a petition initiative originally intended to raise Michigans minimum wage to $12.05 by 2022, as well as raise the tipped minimum wage before eliminating it altogether by 2024. The tipped minimum wage is the hourly pay given to workers expected to make the bulk of their earnings through tips, like restaurant servers and bartenders.

After adopting the petition, lawmakers in the same session amended the language to put in lower wage thresholds that increased the minimum wage to $12.05 by 2030 instead of 2022 and kept the tipped minimum wage at 38% of the standard one.

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A separate petition initiative originally intended to require Michigan employers to provide one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours of work. Employers with fewer than 10 employees would have to allow employees to accrue up to 40 hours of paid sick time annually, and employers with 10 or more would have to allow employees to accrue up to 72 hours of paid sick time per year.

In 2018, the Legislature amended the petition to remove requirements for employers with fewer than 50 employees.

Shapiros ruling would have reverted the laws back to their original intent by Feb. 19, raising the minimum wage to $13.03 an hour and the tipped minimum wage to $11.73 an hour. But a unanimous ruling from a Court of Appeals panel Jan. 26 wiped out the changes, prompting the group to appeal to the Michigan Supreme Court.

More:Ruling on Michigan tipped wages could be 'massive, fundamental' change to restaurant industry

In their ruling, Court of Appeals Judges Christopher Murray, Michael Kelly and Michael Riordan wrote there was no explicit statute preventing the Legislature from using the adopt and amend method in a single session. In a separate concurring opinion, Kelly called the tactic anti-democratic but noted it was not illegal.

The Michigan Supreme Court can decline to hear the case. In December 2019, the high court declined to issue an opinion over the constitutionality of adopt and amend, MLive reported.

While the legal argument rests on the high courts interpretation of the petition initiative process, backers of the initial causes say there are quality-of-life consequences for tipped and low-wage workers in Michigan. Advocates for raising and eventually eliminating the tipped minumum wage argue it would be an economic boon to many working-class Michiganders in the hospitality industry.

Its an oxymoron to have a sub-minimum wage, Graham Barton, a metro Detroit barista, told the Free Press. You're getting paid less than the least amount that you're able to get paid.

Michigan's current hourly minimum wage is $10.10. The tipped minimum wage is $3.84 an hour. Barton added by eliminating the tipped minimum wage, workers wouldnt have to rely on the generosity of their patrons, saying customers are likely to tip less in times of economic downturn.

If you put your work in, you should be compensated, Barton said.

Business and restaurant advocacy groups in Michigan, however, say Shapiros ruling would threaten establishments throughout the state. A survey commissioned by the Michigan Restaurant and Lodging Association last September found that 58% of businesses surveyed would lay off employees if the wage increases had gone into effect, while 16% indicated they would have to close. The survey was conducted among 307 restaurant and hotel operators in Michigan, per the MRLA.

"We are optimistic that the Michigan Supreme Court will recognize the same and allow this industry to redirect its focus to the daunting task of recovering from a pandemic that decimated it so completely, MRLA President Justin Winslow said in a statement Jan. 26, following the Court of Appeals ruling.

Contact Arpan Lobo: alobo@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @arpanlobo.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Group appeals minimum wage, sick time ruling to Michigan Supreme Court
Iran smuggled at least 18 long-range Mohajer-6 combat drones to Russia in November for the war against Ukraine shortly after a Russian delegation visited Tehran, the Guardian reported on Feb. 12, citing sources in Iran.

For this, the country used its state-owned airline and boats, according to the sources.

Drones of this type can fly up to 200 kilometers and carry two missiles under each wing, along with 12 Shahed 191 and Shahed 129 drones, which can also carry air-to-ground missiles.

On Feb. 5, the WSJ reported that Moscow and Tehran were planning to build a factory in Russia that could produce more than 6,000 Iranian-designed combat drones.

Russia has been using Iranian-made kamikaze drones to attack Ukraine since September, launching attacks against civilians and destroying energy facilities across the country.

In November, the U.S. imposed sanctions against companies and individuals involved in the production and transfer of Iranian drones to Russia.

The EU and Canada have also sanctioned Iran over its supply of kamikaze drones to Moscow.
Imagine this nightmare scenario: Youre driving legally and safely on a highway outside an Oklahoma City suburb, when a car going more than double the speed limit smashes into your vehicle.

One of the bedrock principles of American law is that people should be able to seek compensation when they are wronged by someone else. Oklahoma caps damages from government agencies.

You are in a coma for six weeks with a traumatic brain injury. Your spouse has a broken arm, fractured ribs and severe colon damage from a seat belt. Your medical bills total over $1 million, not counting the ongoing care youll need because of these injuries for the rest of your life.

How much compensation would you ask for?

In Oklahoma, if you were hit by a city, state or county employee driving a work vehicle, the most money you could recover would be $175,000. And if its a smaller government, the maximum might only be $125,000.

These devastatingly low and unfair limits were set in state law many decades ago, and they havent been raised in nearly 20 years.

One of the bedrock principles of American law is that people should be able to seek compensation when they are wronged by someone else. Oklahomas caps on damages from government agencies abandon this principle.

But if you or a family member were injured, would you feel less entitled to a fair settlement just because a county vehicle hit you? I doubt it.

If a county employees negligence led to your injury, would your doctor, hospital, physical therapist and pharmacist give you a lower rate? Not likely.

If someone from the city left you unable to work, would someone else step in to make up the difference in your earning potential? Probably not.

Our civil legal system exists, in part, to resolve disputes, determine who was at fault when someone has suffered and attempt to restore justice by determining appropriate compensation for actual losses, as well as for pain and suffering in some cases.

Unnecessary protections for government agencies disrupt this system, and they leave hardworking Oklahomans unable to return to the lives they lived after an accident.

Its time for the Legislature to address this issue and remove or dramatically raise the caps on damages.

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Bryce B. Johnson, one of the founders of Johnson & Biscone, has represented clients in personal injury and medical malpractice cases for over 30 years.

Bryce B. Johnson has been a personal injury and medical malpractice attorney for over 30 years.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Guest: Caps on damages for governments harm Oklahomans
Halle Berry is sharing her face-plant for a good cause. (Photo: Mario Anzuoni/REUTERS?

Halle Berry is happy to laugh at herself for a good cause.

On Feb. 8, the Oscar-winning actress hit the stage for a luncheon and silent auction honoring Looking Beyond, a nonprofit organization supporting children and young adults with special needs. And when we say hit the stage, we mean ... literally.

Cameras at the Beverly Hills event caught the former Bond girl tripping up some carpeted steps as she made her way to the stage to the tune of Boney M.'s 1978 hit "Rasputin" (which coincidentally includes a lyric about women falling into the arms of the titular Russian mystic). Rocking a black pantsuit embellished with silver grommets, Berry, 56, did a full face-plant as the crowd gasped.

After taking a moment to recover from the fall, the Catwoman star took to the dais and laughed at the accident. But she jokingly warned attendees, "If I see this on the internet, Van's coming from you," a reference to her boyfriend, musician Van Hunt.

Turns out, it's Berry herself who is making footage of her fall go viral  all in hopes of drumming up support for Looking Beyond. On Saturday the (almost certainly bruised) Bruised director took to Instagram to post clips of her fall from multiple angles, telling fans, "Sometime[s] you bust your ass!"

"My dear friend @ShillaHekmatPiano invited me to speak at her charity event celebrating a wonderful organization called @LookingBeyondLA that raises money for children with special needs  then that happened!!! I face-planted," Berry explained, adding a plant emoji and ending her note with a call for donations. "Children are worth it!"

Berry's fans had her back, with many praising her for being able to laugh at her own expense and to use her embarrassment to drum up support for charity.

"You didnt fall," read one comment. "The floor was just getting up. Glad youre OK!"

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"When this magical woman FALLS ... She gets RIGHT THE F*** BACK UP!!!!!!!!" another fan responded.

"And she got right up and gave that speech!!!" a commenter cheered. "Super woman!"

"Way to take a blunder and turn it into a positive to help people!" read another comment. "More people should follow in your footsteps! (Maybe not the exact ones but close!)"
If you want to know who really controls The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are institutions with 89% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Because institutional owners have a huge pool of resources and liquidity, their investing decisions tend to carry a great deal of weight, especially with individual investors. As a result, a sizeable amount of institutional money invested in a firm is generally viewed as a positive attribute.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Hanover Insurance Group.

Check out our latest analysis for Hanover Insurance Group

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Hanover Insurance Group?

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.

We can see that Hanover Insurance Group does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of Hanover Insurance Group, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Investors should note that institutions actually own more than half the company, so they can collectively wield significant power. Hedge funds don't have many shares in Hanover Insurance Group. The company's largest shareholder is The Vanguard Group, Inc., with ownership of 10%. BlackRock, Inc. is the second largest shareholder owning 9.0% of common stock, and Franklin Resources, Inc. holds about 3.4% of the company stock.

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After doing some more digging, we found that the top 14 have the combined ownership of 51% in the company, suggesting that no single shareholder has significant control over the company.

While it makes sense to study institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiments to know which way the wind is blowing. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of Hanover Insurance Group

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.

Our information suggests that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. insiders own under 1% of the company. Keep in mind that it's a big company, and the insiders own US$47m worth of shares. The absolute value might be more important than the proportional share. Arguably, recent buying and selling is just as important to consider. You can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 10% stake in Hanover Insurance Group. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.

Next Steps:

I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. To that end, you should be aware of the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Hanover Insurance Group .

If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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Harlan is pictured on the David R. Francis Quadrangle in March 2021.

Before Bill Stackman was the University of Missouri's Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs he had heard of Harlan  about the comfort and care he had brought to a community and campus alike.

The reputation preceded him.

"I thought he was a staff member," Stackman said. "People would tell stories about how they hear he's would be on campus and they would go find him."

Stackman learned later that Harlan was a Great Pyrenees. When Stackman began working in Columbia, he saw firsthand what Harlan brought to the MU community.

"Harlan was a big man on campus," Stackman said. "A lot of people just love animals."

Harlan was a renowned part of the Missouri campus, along with fellow Great Pyrenees Harry, who passed in 2016. Harlan died Tuesday at the age of 11, his owner Cris Wood announced on social media.

Harlan's passing led to an outpouring of remembrances from former and current students, as well as Columbia residents who saw him walk the streets.

Harlan the dog looks on while relaxing in his familiar stomping grounds  the University of Missouri campus  in March 2021.

Harlan is remembered best as a part of the community who would brighten a student's day by either lounging in Speakers Circle or strolling through campus.

"Sending prayers of comfort to his human family," Michelle Clark Zimmerman wrote in a Facebook comment under the Tribune's story sharing the news of Harlan's death. "Thank you for sharing him with our MU students."

Stackman said he knows that students have begun planning vigils and even have begun talks of erecting a statue in Harlan's honor.

A change.org petition to build Harlan a statue, started by Christian Marble, had over 3,370 signatures as of Saturday, while a GoFundMe for the same purpose has also been set up.

"By creating a statue of Harlan in speakers circle, students will forever be able to see the how and happiness that came from Harlan and Cris and it will forever cement their legacy into Mizzou's history," the online petition's description reads.

Stackman worked in the field of mental health with students for 40 years. Before coming to the University of Missouri, he was at the University of Notre Dame.

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He has still seen the healing presence an animal can bring to a group of people, especially a campus of college students.

Harlan the dog enjoys some time in Speakers Circle during finals season in May 2019. Harlan, 11, passed away in Feb. 2023.

Stackman noted how many students come from homes where they had a family pet. That's why Harlan resonated so greatly with the community.

Not only was Harlan easily seen, but his friendly nature reminded those students of the best parts of being near their pets.

Stackman has seen firsthand how great of an effect animals have on the local community.

When he moved to Columbia, he began looking for assistance walking his two-year-old pet dog Mack. Stackman put an inquiry out to the campus, and he said 175 students responded this summer volunteering to walk him.

Stackman took the first 10 students that reached back out to him in the fall. Now, Stackman has someone to walk Mack every morning Monday through Friday, and in the afternoons, too. He pays them $10 an hour, but Stackman sees how even just an hour to two with a pet can affect a student for the better.

"It was hard for students leaving their pets," Stackman said. "Just to walk my dog for an hour just made them feel more connected."

Harlan was more than connected to MU. He was ingrained in the community and became a part of the campus culture.

Spot, a robotic dog made by Boston Dynamics, sits next to a cardboard cutout of Harlan, a popular dog on the University of Missouri campus, in early 2021.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, MU officials urged everyone to social distance by asking students to stay at least about two Harlan lengths apart, which equaled about six feet. An "emotional support sign" of Harlan could also be found on campus.

"I've had many students reach out to me wondering what they can do or what the campus can do," Stackman said. "People are definitely feeling the loss of Harlan."

Stackman said students can get that unconditional love from pets. They provide strong emotional support, and there's plenty of science to support that.

Harlan transcended that science. He was an icon and beloved by the student body, past and present. The outpouring of remembrances is proof he will be missed severely.

"People are attached to Harlan, because of the role he played in their hearts," Stackman said.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: How Harlan the Great Pyrenees became a beloved icon to the Mizzou community
Harry Styles (Getty Images)

Harry Styles was widely celebrated at this year's Brit awards - with him acknowledging his One Direction roots, his mum, and the women who were snubbed during his acceptance speeches.

Styles earned the rare clean sweep at the 2023 ceremony held at London's O2 Arena - earning all four of awards he was up for.

Read more: Brits 2023: Tom Grennan criticised for comment on Ellie Goulding's breasts on stage

Starting his wins with best pop/R&B act, Styles later won artist of the year, single of the year for 'As It Was' and album of the year for Harry's House.

During his artist of the year speech, Styles took a moment to 'acknowledge his privilege' in a nod to the controversy surrounding the award.

Harry Styles (JMEnternational/Getty Images)

Artist of the year was introduced two years ago, scrapping the previous 'best male artist' and 'best female artist' gongs, in a bed for the show to be more inclusive for non-binary stars.

However, this seemingly backfired in this year's nominations when only men were nominated.

Read more: Brits winners 2023: Full list as Harry Styles and Wet Leg dominate awards ceremony

Speaking on stage, Styles  who has previous won Brits both as a solo artist and as part of One Direction  took a moment to note the women who could have had a place in the category shortlist.

"Im very aware of my privilege up here tonight," he told the audience, before shouting out Rina Sawayama, Charli XCX, Florence + The Machine, Mabel, and Becky Hill.

One Direction (Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan) pictured at the Brits 2014 (Anthony Harvey/Getty Images)

During the speech, Harry also praised his family and also band One Direction, who went on an indefinite hiatus in 2018 shortly after bandmate Zayn Malik quit the group.

All the members  completed by Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Liam Payne  have gone on to solo careers.

Read more: Sam Smiths latex balloon body suit was *the* most iconic look of the Brit Awards red carpet

"I want to thank my family for being the most supportive, understanding, patient family," he said. "I want to thank my mum for signing me up for the X Factor without asking me."

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"I also wanna thank Niall, Louis, Liam and Zayn," he added. "I wouldnt be here without them."

Harry Styles (Getty Images)

Styles opened this year's Brit awards with a performance of 'As It Was', which later won single of the year.

Other big winners at this years ceremony was Beyonce - who took home best international artist and best international song  and Wet Leg, who were awarded best new artist and group of the year.

Read more: The Brit Awards' most controversial moments

However, the ceremony was not without its hiccups  with several technical difficulties and slip-ups plaguing the show's live airing on ITV1 and ITVX.

Host Mo Gilligan made an error by accidentally calling Lewis Capaldi "Sam Capaldi" while introducing his performance of song 'Forget Me', with other artists and presenters seemingly drunk and stumbling on their words.

Tom Grennan also caused controversy by commenting on Ellie Goulding's breasts live on stage.

WATCH: Maya Jama leads BRITS arrivals after posting a video
Pat Ryder

Pentagon spokesman Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder briefs reporters at the Pentagon in Washington, on Feb. 10, 2023. Credit - J. Scott ApplewhiteAP

U.S. fighter jets shot down yet another unidentified object on Sundaythis time over Lake Huron in Michiganmarking the third time they have taken down an object over the past three days, and the fourth in a little over a week.

Initial reports of an unidentified object early this month turned out to be a Chinese spy balloon, which was likely being used to gather intel as it traversed over several sensitive sites in the U.S. That balloon was later taken down near South Carolinas coast on Feb. 4.

But officials have indicated that the other objects are not like the Chinese balloon, which was estimated to be 200 feet tall and traveled at an altitude of 60,000 feetabove the ceiling of passenger jets. They were spotted at lower altitudes, where they could pose a risk to civilian aircraft.

When asked whether these objects could be aliens, Gen. Glen D. VanHerck, the commander of the U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) demurred: I havent ruled out anything.

That comment has done little to quell the speculation about what the objects are and who owns them.

The Biden Administration previously accused China of conducting multiple high-altitude surveillance missions affecting more than 40 countries thus far. China, in turn, accused the U.S of flying surveillance balloons over Chinese airspace at least 10 times since last year, which the White House has denied.

Heres the information we have thus far.

U.S.

On Jan. 28, a 200-foot-tall spy balloon first traveled above the Aleutian Islands near Alaska before it broke into the continental U.S. on Jan. 31. Civilian pilots then spotted the balloon and raised concerns, prompting the Pentagon to admit to its presence in the country on Feb. 2. Officials temporarily ordered a halt to flights coming in and out of Billings, Mont. and sent F-22 stealth fighter jets to the area.

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The journey of the balloon was the cause of much debate, as many questioned why officials were waiting to act. American fighter jets later shot down the surveillance balloon off the South Carolina coast on Feb. 4, as President Biden wanted to wait for the object to reach water to prevent pounds of debris from endangering Americans homes and lives.

Our number one concern was how can we take this down, while not creating undue risk to people or property, a senior defense official told the press during a background briefing call.

The U.S. State Department said the balloon had technology that likely allowed it to collect data on Americans communications and location. The Chinese spy balloons flightpath went over multiple security sites, including Montanas Malmstrom Air Force Base, home to nuclear-tipped intercontinental missile fields.

The recent balloon sighting marks one out of at least four similar incidents that happened under the Trump administrationwhen balloons were reportedly seen making their way to Texas, Florida and Guamwhich officials discovered after U-2 spy planes captured photos and collected electronic data of the recent Chinese spy balloon before it was shot down. Defense officials said there was an existing domain awareness gap that prevented them from detecting spy balloons that had previously entered U.S. territory.

On Friday, a separate unidentified object, which was flying at 40,000 feet, was shot down near Alaskas waters out of an abundance of caution, according to White House spokesman John F. Kirby. He added that the object posed a reasonable threat to the safety of civilian flight.

Officials initially believed the object was a balloon, but are now unsure about who owned the object or what it was after the object broke into pieces when it hit the frozen water, according to the New York Times.

Kirby also told reporters that the object was much smaller than the 200 ft. balloon from earlier in the week and was roughly the size of a small car. The object, which was unmanned, was tracked by NORAD for 24 hours after it was spotted on Thursday, and was then shot down.

Were calling this an object because thats the best description we have right now, he said. We do not know who owns it, whether its state-owned or corporate-owned or privately-owned. We just dont know.

Canada

On Saturday, another unidentified object was shot down by a U.S. military jet. It was initially found in American airspace and then later moved into Canadian territory before being shot down by an F-22 on orders from President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The object, which was described as cylindrical, was said to be flying at around 40,000 feet as it was shot down before 4 p.m, but while talking to reporters on Saturday night, Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand said she couldnt identify exactly what the object was or its origin.

The object was first detected on Friday by the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), and two F-22 fighter jets from Joint Base Elemendorf-Richardson in Alaska began monitoring the object closely, according to Norad. On Saturday, once the object reached Canadian airspace, it was shot down by a short-range missile (an AIM-9X) near central Yukon, according to officials.

Officials said they hope to be able to recover the object and determine more details on its purpose or origin, according to a White House statement released on Saturday.

While no other information has yet been released, officials know that the Chinese balloon that was shot down on Feb. 4 had previously passed through Alaskan and Canadian airspace before making its way through the mainland U.S.

On Sunday afternoon, American and Canadian government officials tweeted that yet another object had been taken down over U.S. airspace near the Canadian border. The U.S. Department of Defense confirmed in a statement that an American F-16 shot down an object over Lake Huron. The location chosen for this shoot down afforded us the opportunity to avoid impact to people on the ground while improving chances for debris recovery. Much remains unknown about the latest flying object but it was deemed a safety flight hazard and a threat due to its potential surveillance capabilities.

China

China has spotted their own unidentified object near the city of Rhizao and is preparing to shoot it down, Chinese State media reported Sunday.

Local maritime authorities in East Chinas Shandong Province announced on Sunday that they had spotted an unidentified flying object in waters near the coastal city of Rizhao in the province and were preparing to shoot it down, reminding fishermen to be safe via messages, the Global Times, a state-controlled media outlet, said in a tweet on Sunday.

There has been no further information released on what the object is.

On Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Webin claimed the U.S. commonly flies their own high-altitude balloons into other countries airspace. Wenbin reported that in the last year, balloons entered Chinese airspace more than 10 times without the approval of relevant Chinese authorities.

White House National Security Council Spokesperson Adrienne Watson denied these allegations.

Any claim that the US government operates surveillance balloons over the PRC is false, she tweeted early Monday. This is the latest example of China scrambling to do damage control. It has repeatedly and wrongly claimed the surveillance balloon it sent over the US was a weather balloon and has failed to offer any credible explanations for its intrusion into our airspace, airspace of others.

What are these objects? Could they be aliens?

Since the discovery of the Chinese surveillance balloon, security officials have been more on guard, opting to make the NORAD radar systems more sensitive to better detect slower moving objects in the skyrather than focusing on fast-moving things like missiles and planes. That likely plays a role in why so many new objects are being reported.

We have been more closely scrutinizing our airspace at these altitudes, including enhancing our radar, which may at least partly explain the increase in objects that weve detected over the past week, said Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Hemispheric Affairs at a press conference Sunday evening.

Some officials attribute the unidentified objects to surveillance attempts by other foreign nations.

U.S. officials are currently reviewing video footage and sensor readings of the objects to assess what these objects are, where they are from, and their purpose.

NORAD commander VanHerck told reporters on Sunday that he has not ruled out whether these objects could come from extraterrestrials. But other national security officials said that no senior official truly thinks these devices did not come from Earth, according to the New York Times.

The Biden Administration accused China of conducting multiple high-altitude surveillance missions affecting more than 40 countries thus far. China has since accused the U.S of flying surveillance balloons over Chinese airspace at least 10 times since last year, which the White House has denied.
This time of year, freezing temperatures are nothing unusual in northern Michigan. But there's one kitchen that knows a recipe for keeping warm. Original Murdick's Fudge has been in operation since 1887, when it first opened its doors on Michigan's Mackinac Island.

"Fudge is Mackinac Island, synonymous with Mackinac Island," said owner Bob Benser. "I put a little piece of fudge sometimes in my coffee in the morning, a little piece of double chocolate fudge. You get the sugar, the cream cafe mocha-type flavor!"

Mackinac Island, between Michigan's Upper and Lower Peninsulas, is the self-proclaimed "Fudge Capital of America." The car-free oasis has more than a dozen fudge shops. During the summer, fudge-loving tourists (affectionately called "fudgies") flood the island.

To meet the demand each shop can make up to five hundred pounds a day!

Our appetite for the chocolate staple dates back more than a century, when someone making candy allegedly

But even when temperatures and tourism cool, fudge remains a hot item.

Salie said, "Fudge seems like a natural fit for Valentine's Day."

"We all love chocolates at Valentine's Day, right?" said Benser. "So, why wouldn't you like fudge?"

That appetite for fudge dates back more than a century.

Food historian Joyce White says fudge is based on a recipe for chocolate caramels, which was very similar. "What probably happened is that there was someone in Baltimore, messed it up, or 'fadged' it," she said. "Fadge is a word that means you messed up. I fadged it, or I fudged it. Nowadays, we use a different F-word to say that, right?"

By 1888, that Baltimore recipe was passed along to a student at Vassar College (then all women) in Poughkeepsie, New York. "Women would make fudge in their dorm rooms," said White, "doing something against the rules, in the late evenings and trying to get away with something not condoned in the rulebook."

"And at the same time, men at men's colleges were out carousing?" asked Salie.

"It was a woman's way of being rebellious," said White. "Cooking in the dorm at night! Breaking every rule, in the way that was still considered lady-like."

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Soon, so-called "Vassar fudge" ended up at other women's colleges, even making headlines around the country.

Vassar Fudge recipe (Vassar Alumnae/i Quarterly)

Pouring the pudge onto a marble slab at Original Murdick's Fudge. / Credit: CBS News

Fast forward a century, and the recipe for fudge hasn't changed much: Sugar, milk, butter and chocolate mixed, poured onto a marble slab, and then "worked" until the mixture solidifies.

At the Original Murdick's St. Ignace location, veteran fudge maker Carnel Samuels turns the 45-minute process into a 30-pound loaf of fudge.

Shaping a loaf of fudge. / Credit: CBS News

Making fudge is certainly harder than it looks, but if its history has taught us anything, it's that mistakes can be sweet any way you slice it.

/ Credit: CBS News



For more info:

Original Murdick's FudgeFood historian Joyce White (A Taste of History)1Thanks to Maryland Center for History and Culture, Baltimore



Story produced by Sara Kugel. Editor: George Pozderec.

U.S. military shoots down unidentified objects

Michigan Congressman says Americans "deserve far more answers" on shot down objects

What we know about the 4 objects shot down by the U.S. this month
A man broke into and stole from a small Riverside business early Sunday morning.

>> TRENDING: She didnt go missing by accident; More than 60 volunteers search for missing Dayton mother

Spin Kemp Laundrys owners were alerted after a man broke into their small business by kicking in the security door at around 4:40 a.m., owner Kaitlynn Nartker told News Center 7.

Riverside Police were dispatched shortly after at around 5:05 a.m., the citys dispatch informed. Officers responded to the 600 block of Spinning Road for the break-in in progress.

The suspect stole around $4000 of money from a bolted and secured safe, as well as spare keys for the laundry quarter boxes and around $600 worth of quarters, Nartker later specified.

Officers in search of the suspect estimated the weight of the quarters to be about 50 pounds, according to traffic on emergency scanners. Additionally, the suspect stole equipment.

The man initially left the business on foot carrying the stolen goods, which prompted responders to believe the suspect could not have traveled far in the 20 minutes it took officers to arrive at the scene and begin the search, emergency scanners reported. However, after a half an hour of searching, an officer believed that the suspect prepared a getaway vehicle near the business, seeing tire tracks on a nearby road.

On social media, the business said they will reward $500 for information given to the Riverside Police Department that leads to the arrest of the driver and included an image of the suspect vehicle.

Riverside Dispatch contacted Huber Heights Police for additional help during the search, Montgomery County Regional Dispatch confirmed to News Center 7.

The suspect was last seen wearing a blue, zip-up fleece sweater, blue jeans, blue mask, camouflage beanie, and black backpack, Nartker described. The blue mask was a winter-type that covered his face and neck.

No one was at the business during the time of the break-in, Nartker said.

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There were no reported injuries; however, there was evident property damage, Nartker continued.

The owner is seeking help from law enforcement and the public to retrieve her stolen property.

It was a huge hit for us, Nartker said. Its just my husband and I who own this business and we support our five kids with it.

Riverside Police Investigators led the investigation into the break-in.

We will update this story as it develops and more information is released.
President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden. AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta

Hunter Biden's attorney sent notices to 14 people at the center of the laptop scandal.

The notice requires them to preserve documents and data related to President Joe Biden's son.

Rudy Giuliani's attorney told Insider that Biden's counsel is "acting out of desperation."

Hunter Biden's attorney sent letters this week demanding that at least 14 individuals involved in publicizing and politicizing the contents of his laptop without his permission preserve documents and data in case of future litigation.

According to Politico, letters were sent to former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Giuliani's attorney Robert Costello, and Brian Della Rocca, the attorney who represents the former owner of the computer repair shop where Hunter Biden's laptop was sent in 2019.

Former President Donald Trump's former political adviser Roger Stone and exiled Chinese businessman Guo Wengui also received a letter, according to Mother Jones, but it's unclear who else it was sent to.

"You have made various statements and engaged in certain activities by your own admission, or that have been publicly reported in the media, concerning our client, Robert Hunter Biden," Hunter Biden's attorney Abbe Lowell wrote in two of the letters, one of which was obtained by Politico and the other obtained by Mother Jones. "This letter constitutes notice that a litigation hold should be in effect for the preservation and retention of all records and documents related to Mr. Biden."

"It may be necessary to produce this material in litigation," it adds, without explicitly detailing which type of litigation.

The personal life and business dealings of Hunter Biden, President Joe Biden's middle child, have been the center of Republican criticism. Twenty days before the 2020 election, the contents of Hunter Biden's laptop became a controversial and confusing political scandal, New York Magazine reported.

Hunter Biden is also pushing for a criminal probe into Trump loyalists involved in the data breach. A letter was sent to the Justice Department and the Delaware attorney general, requesting an investigation into those who may have violated federal and state laws for distributing information contained in Biden's personal laptop.

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"Instead of gossiping with reporters and leaking this stuff to the press, Abbe Lowell should focus on the facts because the facts don't support his allegations," an adviser to Giuliani, Ted Goodman, told Politico about the litigation hold notice. "This is yet another failed attempt by Mr. Lowell to silence and intimidate Mayor Giuliani and Mr. Costello. That's why he made sure to send this letter to you guys."

Costello echoed Goodman's sentiment.

"The litigation hold notice is nothing more than an intimidation tactic designed to try to dissuade witnesses to the truth from speaking that truth," Costello told Insider, adding that Biden's counsel is "acting out of desperation because they see Judgment Day is coming for the Bidens."

Bannon's attorney, David Schoen, declined Insider's request for comment. Rocca, Lowell, Wengui's attorneys, and an attorney for Stone, Bruce S. Rogow, did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Subscribers can reserve a Hyundai Ioniq 5 or a Kona Electric. Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

At a Thursday auto show, the South Korean car manufacturer announced the launch of Evolve+.

The subscription program will allow users to rent an electric car for as low as $699 per month.

Insurance, maintenance, and 1,000 miles are included in the monthly fee, according to a news release.

Hyundai has launched a car subscription service for those considering a switch to an electric vehicle or those who just don't want the commitment of leasing a car.

The South Korean car manufacturer announced the start of its Evolve+ electric vehicle subscription service at the 2023 Chicago Auto Show on Thursday. A press release from the company describes the month-to-month subscription as a flexible and affordable alternative to leasing or owning a car.

Using the Evolve+ app, customers can reserve a Kona Electric for $699 per month or a Hyundai Ioniq 5 for $899, and later pick it up from a participating dealership. Unlike a standard car lease, the monthly subscription fee includes insurance, maintenance, and 1,000 miles of driving, according to the release. The service is currently only available in six states although the company did not name them in the announcement.

The Evolve+ app is available on the Google Play store and the Apple App Store. Courtesy of Hyundai

Hyundai recommends the program to college students home on summer break, workers on remote assignments, and "snowbirds" who need transportation while visiting their winter homes. It's also advertised as a way to test out an electric vehicle with no long-term commitment.

"As we know, living with an EV is really an educational process," said Gary Rome, president Gary Rome Auto Group and an Evolve+ pilot dealer. "Evolve+ gives our customers the opportunity to try an electric vehicle and see if it is right for their lifestyle. Evolve+ makes it really easy for a consumer to drive an EV in a more flexible way."

However, Hyundai is still working out the kinks of renting out electric vehicles. At this time, the company says, there's no support for installing a home charger or inclusion of access to public chargers, CNN Business reported. A Hyundai spokesperson told the publication they were "currently exploring ways to include the charging with the subscription."

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In March 2022, rental car startup Kyte announced a similar subscription service for users to rent a Tesla Model 3 for $995 per month for one year, Insider's Tim Levin reported. Unlike Kyte's plan, Evolve+ users can cancel their subscription any time and return the car.

"With no paperwork, no commitment and no long-term loan, Evolve+ is an optimal solution for the 'EV-curious' car shopper," said Olabisi Boyle, a product planning vice president at Hyundai Motor North America.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Blessed Stanley Rother comes to life  from his days on an Okarche farm to his ministry as a mission priest in Guatemala  in a special collection of exhibits at the shrine bearing his name.

That's the premise of the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine Museum designed by Ohio-based Exhibit Concepts.

Michael Manrique, the museum's project manager, said the museum is an immersive experience created so that pilgrims will feel they are walking with Rother on his journey from Catholic school to Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala, where he served for 13 years until his death.

The museum, which opens to the public at the Feb. 17 shrine dedication, includes numerous images depicting the priest's life and ministry; stories and quotes that help provide context to his journey; and artifacts and detailed reproductions like a replica of a one-room hut like those where many of Rother's impoverished parishioners resided.

The museum at the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine in Oklahoma City focuses on the life and ministry of the martyred priest for whom the shrine is named.

"'Immersive' is definitely the word that I would use to describe this," Manrique said. "You could just probably sit in one room for a half hour just reading all the text and quotes from people and stories on his life. You probably have to come here a couple times and each time, you'll probably see something different."

He said his design team wanted pilgrims to walk away feeling inspired.

"Probably the most important thing is understanding the story, and our design team fully embraced the story because it's really an inspirational story about an inspirational person who is obviously very important to the community here in Oklahoma, as well as Guatemala," Manrique said.

"So, that's where Exhibit Concepts started with trying to understand the story, understand his timeline history of all the things that he's done, and incorporate that into the design and layout of an interactive concept for pilgrims or patrons that are going to come here and want to find out about the story of Stanley Rother."

More:Oklahoma's largest Catholic Church ready to honor Oklahoman priest on path to sainthood

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George Rigazzi, archivist for the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, led the effort to pack up and transport Rother's artifacts, mementoes and other items to the shrine at 700 SE 89. He said he and other archdiocese leaders worked with Exhibit Concepts for several years to successfully ensure the museum's quality.

The archivist said some aspects of the museum will help inform pilgrims of some key details that factor into Rother's story. These include a room that focuses on the Guatemalan war and all the things that were happening in the Central American country when the priest was serving there as a missionary. Another area highlights the beatification process and what Rother's canonization will mean.

"It's going to be a big surprise for a lot of people to see how nice it is," Rigazzi said.

A crew member works on an exhibit featured in the museum at the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine in Oklahoma City.

Company also has ties to OKC National Memorial & Museum

Rigazzi said one of the reasons the shrine museum shines is because Exhibit Concepts "is one of the best in the business."

He said the company's reputation preceded them because it has ties to another museum in Oklahoma  the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum. Rigazzi was part of the committee that helped select Exhibit Concepts to create the shrine museum, and the company rose to the top of the committee's list for a variety of reasons, including positive feedback from Kari Watkins, the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum's executive director.

"We did the usual process of taking bids, but the fact that they were highly recommended to us and we knew the work that they did, it was a kind of a no-brainer when the committee decided on using them," Rigazzi said.

Watkins said she was pleased to learn that Exhibit Concepts was working with the archdiocese on a museum focusing on Rother's life.

As shown in an Exhibit Concepts artist's rendering, Blessed Stanley Rother's life in Guatemala will be the focus of some areas of the museum at the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine.

"We've had a 20-year plus partnership with Exhibit Concepts, and we still work with them," she said. "We're thrilled the archdiocese is using them, and I look forward to seeing it."

Watkins said one of the things she liked about working with Exhibit Concepts was its ability to work within a budget and create exhibits that will last for many, many years.

"I mean, if you walked through our museum today, there are many items in the museum that were made 20-plus years ago at least, and they're still in great condition, she said.

"I say this all the time to designers and design schools: Your design is only as good as it can be maintained."

Watkins said Exhibit Concepts typically has a "keen eye and understand what's going to work" and that bodes well for the new shrine museum.

"I think it's going to be spectacular," she said.

Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine Dedication

When : Dedication Mass, 11 a.m. Feb. 17. The shrine campus will be open to the public at 8 a.m., but those without reserved seating for the Mass will not be permitted to enter the shrine church until 10:30 a.m. The dedication Mass will be shown on large outdoor screens for the public gathered outside the shrine church. After Mass, the shrine campus will be open to the public, including Tepeyac Hill, the museum and pilgrim center, until 5 p.m.

Where : 700 SE 89.

Admission cost : Free.

Livestream : http://archokc.org/live; also available on Archdiocese of OKC Facebook Page and YouTube Channel; also broadcast on Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN).

Information: https://rothershrine.org/dedication



This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine Museum to open at complex's dedication
There is an old saying in the water world that it is better to be upstream with a shovel than downstream with a law book, which is the position California finds itself in as it stands apart from its neighbors on the Colorado River in negotiations over the use of the rivers water.

On Jan. 31, representatives for the six other basin states submitted a proposal to the Bureau of Reclamation describing the measures by which the supply deficit on the Colorado River should be closed in the near term. Not surprisingly, the other basin states have asked that California reduce its water use beyond that which the state had previously proposed last fall. California was right to decline its neighbors' new proposal notwithstanding its position on the river.

As many readers know, California water users have priority rights to Colorado River water that allow them to receive water first in times of drought. These rights are derived under the appropriative rights doctrine known as first in time, first in right that has been a mainstay of western water law for more than a century and a half. Those without such rights are legally bound to reduce their use.

Not surprisingly, those without such rights have developed a new theory of law that effectively says the priority system of water allocation is no longer applicable because of climate change.

The new buzzword describing this change is aridification. The terms shortage and drought that have historically been used they claim are no longer relevant to describing water conditions. The reason for this change in nomenclature is because existing law is very clear that water is apportioned based on priority during times of shortage and drought.

They argue that aridification is somehow different. It is not.

If state and federal courts were to interpret a distinction in such terms, water law would not only be upended along the Colorado River system, but indeed across the entire United States.

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The Upper Basin states of Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico have joined the chorus of Nevada and Arizona in arguing that aridification demands the priority system be ignored. They also argue that the requirement under the 1922 Colorado River Compact among the basin states guaranteeing a fixed quantity of water be delivered to the Lower Basin states should be ignored on the same grounds. Their fears are that such a requirement will limit their existing and proposed future diversions of Colorado River water. To date, these states diversions have been well below their junior allotment. The imbalance on the Colorado River they argue is a Lower Basin concern, not an Upper Basin concern.

But such a position is inconsistent and self-serving. If in fact, aridification demanded that the priority system be ignored along the river, wouldnt it make sense that all water users within the Colorado River basin take a reduction, not just those in the Lower Basin as Upper Basin users have proposed? It is noteworthy that Upper Basin states thus far have not meaningfully participated in reducing demands on the Colorado River. Yet they should.

Why havent Arizona and Nevada looked harder at the Upper Basin states to reduce their water use to balance demands instead of focusing on California? Perhaps they are hoping that Californias Imperial Valley will once again come to the rescue of the rivers water users as was done in 2003 when the Imperial Irrigation District signed the Quantification Settlement Agreement (QSA) and reduced its water use by more than 15 %. As the rivers biggest water user (and least politically potent), surely, they must have more water to spare.

The residents of Imperial Valley are right to be concerned about the future of their community. In 2003, the Imperial Irrigation District, despite holding senior water rights to the river for the benefit of its farming community, succumbed to the political pressures within California and from other basin states to reduce their demands on the Colorado River.

The argument made at the time by the rivers other water users was that the district was wasting water. However, the fact of the matter was that the districts water use was no different than that of other irrigation districts across the west. The QSA water transfers have created significant hardships on the local communities and an ecological nightmare for the Salton Sea.

As the basin states and federal government move forward in crafting solutions to the water shortage problem on the Colorado River, they must consider the sacrifices that have already been made by those living in Imperial Valley: Sacrifices that have been made by those holding senior water rights. They must also consider the damage that would be done to the legal structure governing water use across the west if the priority system is to be ignored.

Craig William Morgan is a water resources engineer who served as consultant to farmers opposing the QSA. He is the author of the recently published book about the QSA and the fight for Imperial Valleys water called The Morality of Deceit, available at www.moralityofdeceit.com and on Amazon. His email is craigmorgan@avalex.info

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Imperial County has made enough sacrifices in water rights war
JERUSALEM (AP)  Israel's president on Sunday appealed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to delay a contentious plan to overhaul the country's judicial system and instead seek a compromise with his political opponents.

President Isaac Herzog issued the appeal in a prime-time nationwide address a day before Netanyahu's coalition is to take its first steps toward implementing the plan in parliament.

The proposed reforms have triggered mass demonstrations and opposition from wide swaths of Israeli society. Even President Joe Biden has offered veiled criticism, saying Sunday that Israel's democracy is built on consensus and an independent judiciary.

I feel, we all feel, that we are in a moment before a collision, even a violent collision, a barrel of explosives before a blast, Herzog said.

Herzog's job is largely ceremonial. But the president is meant to serve as a moral compass and unifying force, and his words can carry great weight in a deeply divided country.

There was no immediate response from Netanyahu.

Netanyahu and his supporters say the proposed changes are needed to rein in a judiciary that wields too much power.

But his critics say the plan, which include proposals to weaken Israel's Supreme Court, will damage the countrys fragile system of democratic checks and balances. They also say that Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption charges, is motivated by a personal grudge against the legal system and has a deep conflict of interest. Netanyahu has said he is a victim of a witch hunt.

They want to destroy the system because the system wasnt nice to them, said Eliad Shraga, chairman of the Movement for Quality Government in Israel. This is a hostile takeover by a bunch of crooks.

Shraga's movement has planned a mass demonstration outside the Knesset, or parliament, on Monday, when Netanyahu's coalition is expected to introduce the first legislation for its sweeping overhaul. Tens of thousands of people are expected to attend.

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Herzog urged Netanyahu to put off Monday's vote and begin dialogue with his opponents, including the president of Israel's Supreme Court. Saying that both sides have valid points, he offered a five-point plan as a basis for dialogue.

An agreement can be reached, Herzog said, offering to assist with negotiations.

Any way you choose. Any time you choose, so long that we move on to a constructive and sustainable discourse and abandon the deceiving, insulting and dismissive discourse, he said.

Israeli media quoted Netanyahu's justice minister, Yariv Levin, who has led the charge for the proposed overhaul, as saying he was open to dialogue but would not delay the legislation. However, Channel 12 TV quoted anonymous officials as saying the government would delay a preliminary vote by one week.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid called Herzog's suggestions a reasonable framework.

Netanyahus proposals call for a series of sweeping changes aimed at curbing the powers of the judiciary.

On Monday, a parliamentary committee is expected to approve legislation on a plan that would give lawmakers the power to appoint judges. Under the current system, appointments are made by a committee that includes lawyers, lawmakers and judges.

A second proposal being introduced this week aims to take away the Supreme Courts authority to review Basic Laws  which serve as a sort of constitution  approved by parliament.

Another proposal in the works would give parliament the power to overturn decisions by the Supreme Court.

Critics say that taken together, this package of changes would weaken the independence of the judiciary and give absolute power to the countrys most right-wing government in history. They expect the campaign to eventually result in the dismissal of the criminal charges against Netanyahu.

The proposals have triggered unprecedented opposition. Tens of thousands of people have gathered in Tel Aviv and other cities each Saturday night over the past six weeks.

Influential groups, including high-tech executives, retired military brass, former judges and attorneys general and national security advisers, and teachers and students have all protested the plan.

On Sunday, Biden weighed in on the debate, making a rare foray by an American president into domestic Israeli affairs.

The genius of American democracy and Israeli democracy is that they are both built on strong institutions, on checks and balances, on an independent judiciary, Biden told the New York Times. Building consensus for fundamental changes is really important to ensure that the people buy into them so they can be sustained.

Committee approval will send the legislation to the full parliament for the first of three votes of approval  a process that is expected to take several months.

But it would reflect a determination by Netanyahu and his allies to press ahead in the face of deep divisions in Israeli society. Netanyahu has accused his opponents of incitement against him.

Critics say the plan is putting the country on an authoritarian path similar to the democratic backsliding that has taken place in Poland and Hungary.

Amir Fuchs, a senior researcher at the Israel Democracy Institute, a Jerusalem think tank, said the proposed legal overhaul could lead to a heavily politicized judiciary that is loyal to the prime minister and loses its traditional oversight over the legislative branch.

In sum, the overhaul could open the way for the ruling party or coalition in government to pass any laws they chose unchecked, he warned.

They will have total power. They will have the power in order to enact anything, he said.
The Institute for the Study of War said in its latest update on Feb. 11 that the Russian military appears to have been unable to prepare its mobilized personnel to conduct effective mechanized offensive operations in the short period of time since their call-ups.

"The lack of adequate vehicles and ammunition is likely contributing to the ineffectiveness of Russian mechanized maneuver tactics thus far," the ISW added.

"The Russian military is unlikely to be able to scale its approach from the Bakhmut area to the wider (war) theatre because the tactics it is using in Bakhmut are more suited to dense urban environments and because Russian forces lack the number of elite formations needed to conduct a larger offensive in eastern Ukraine in the same fashion."

The Russian military command is deploying its most elite units to the Bakhmut area in smaller formations using urban infiltration tactics, according to the limited footage of Russian tactics in the area that ISW has observed.
ROME (Reuters) -Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi would not seek a meeting with Volodymir Zelenskiy if he were still head of government, because he blames the Ukrainian President for the war with Russia, he said on Sunday.

Berlusconi, 86, often boasted of his friendship with Russian President Vladimir Putin until Russia's invasion of Ukraine and created a storm last September when he said Putin had been pushed into the war and wanted to put "decent people" in charge of Kyiv.

Berlusconi, leader of the conservative Forza Italia party that is part of the country's ruling coalition, was speaking after Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Friday accused France of jeopardising EU unity on Ukraine by organising a Franco-German dinner in Paris with Zelenskiy that excluded other European allies.

"I would never have gone talking to Zelenskiy because we are witnessing the devastation of his country and the slaughter

of its soldiers and civilians," Berlusconi told journalist after voting at a polling station for a regional election in Lombardy.

Berlusconi said that if Zelenskiy had stopped attacking the two separatist republics of the Donbass the war would not have happened. "So I judge, very, very negatively, the behaviour of this gentleman", Berlusconi added.

Meloni's office said the Italian government's support for Ukraine is "firm and convinced, as clearly stated in the programme and as confirmed in all the parliamentary votes of the majority supporting the executive".

Berlusconi also urged the United States to put pressure on Zelenskiy and threaten to stop sending arms to Ukraine, while also promising a massive aid programme if it agreed to an immediate ceasefire.

Italy's Foreign Affairs Minister Antonio Tajani, also a member of Forza Italia, said on Twitter the party "has always stood for the independence of Ukraine, on the side of Europe, NATO and the West."

(Reporting by Giselda Vagnoni; Editing by David Holmes)
The author with her child. Courtesy of Thao Thai

The Beatles have always been part of the soundtrack of my life.

My daughter has begun listening to the Beatles and talking about the songs she likes.

Beatles song lyrics bring me back to essential moments of motherhood.

"I'm John," my 6-year-old daughter announced. "And you're Paul. Dad will be Ringo."

"I don't think he wants to be Ringo," I said doubtfully. He'd consider himself a John for sure.

She shrugged. "Someone has to be Ringo."

We'd just listened to the Beatles' best-of playlist and had been belting out the lyrics to "All You Need Is Love" while speedwalking down the street. She wanted to know everything about the iconic foursome. How'd they get together? What's with the goofy haircuts? Most important: What's the best Beatles song?

I'm no music aficionado, but the Beatles are like auditory air  they exist in the world around us, immovable from their cultural pedestal, a constellation of satisfying pop-rock bops. And in the six years since my daughter was born, I've leaned on the Beatles for all the most achingly tender, fraught, and frustrating milestones of motherhood.

Their music was just what I needed

While pregnant, I listened to the Beatles more than I ever had in my life. They satisfied my craving for familiarity. I turned on their songs while I walked to the coffee shop where I ordered my illicit two-shot latte; while I worked at my office job, tapping my footrest so maniacally that my coworkers banned "Eleanor Rigby"; during my bouts of midnight insomnia. I never went deep in the Beatles archives, but I was still able to excavate the exact song I needed for every meaningful moment.

Now, when I hear a Beatles song, the lyrics act like love letters to my daughter, each a note from our shared past whispered into her ears.

They've guided me through every challenge and joy

When I hear "Someone calls you, you answer quite slowly, a girl with kaleidoscope eyes," I think of how we dreamed of our daughter before she was born. My husband knew her name immediately, like an echo floating past a curtain. Or a song half-remembered. It took years for the dream to come into being, but we longed for our child every single day. Each time we visited the doctor's office, hopefully, then with a sense of dejection, we held onto the vision of our baby's kaleidoscope eyes.

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Later, after she came barreling loudly and insistently into the world, we learned that colic was no joke. None of us slept or ate well during those first three months of parenthood. Sometimes I wondered whether our daughter could remember what it felt like to huddle together in the night, pressed like vellum pages, rocking endlessly. The Beatles soothed her then, especially the song "Hey Jude," about taking a sad song and making it better. It felt like an apt metaphor for those hard, long nights.

We'd lived in three places before our daughter was 3 years old, nomads in search of a forever home. From Texas to Ohio we traveled, our moving truck piled high with countless rockers and muslin blankets that smelled of Dreft. Each time we left a place, we held hands and promised each other, "Home is us." In the background, we played "I Want to Hold Your Hand" as a reminder of how connected we were, despite the miles we left behind.

Our girl's first word was "Dada," which makes perfect sense, because he stayed at home with her every day. Chasing her around the house on all fours. Cutting her fruit into meticulous bite-size pieces. That first word was like a stopper released. After that, our toddler had so much to share with the world; exclamations of joy, one-word questions, cries of frustration. We cherished each communication, each new word. When I heard the lyrics, "Words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup," I thought of how many conversations lay ahead.

Her first day of school was an exercise in quiet grief for me, even as I cheered her on, walking into her classroom with an oversize backpack and a new mermaid lunchbox. I counted down the minutes until I could pick her up, feeling as if I had misplaced something essential. And then, when she ran into my arms at the end of the day, ponytail flying behind her, the lunchbox dropped, and we stood still as crowds streamed around us. Just grinning at each other. I felt that I could truly understand the lyric from "Here Comes the Sun." Her return will always be reason enough for my smile.

There will be more songs as she grows older. Perhaps when she packs up for college, her dad and I will play "Yesterday," asking ourselves why she had to go away. Or maybe, much further down the line, when we're losing hairlines and memories, a chord from "When I'm Sixty-Four" will make us think of our girl. I'll dream about renting that cottage in the Isle of Wight, the three of us on vacation again, promising myself: "Mine for evermore."

They say all you need is love. That's true enough. But sometimes, a perfect Beatles song can help too.

Read the original article on Insider
Jada Pinkett Smith opens up about her alopecia diagnosis. (Photo: MICHAEL TRAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Jada Pinkett Smith's baldness  the result of alopecia, an autoimmune disorder that triggers hair loss  may have been the butt of a Chris Rock joke that set off husband Will Smith and derailed last year's Oscars, but the Red Table Talk host says her diagnosis has been "a great teacher."

Speaking to the Guardian, the actress, 51, opened up how having alopecia has challenged her expectations about beauty as a Black woman.

"Its been a hard one, a scary one  because specifically as Black women, we identify so much of ourselves with our hair," she told the U.K. newspaper. "And it was scary. I had to really dig deep and see the beauty of myself beyond my aesthetics.

She added, "When you get to my age, you get so settled in your skin, so comfortable in the knowingness of you, that you dont get concerned about what other people have to say. The elders earn that.

Rock's joke  and her husband's angry reaction to it  did result in a lot of people having a lot to say about the Girls Trip star's hair loss. While the comedian has claimed to not have known that the actress had alopecia, many criticized him for commenting on her looks  which he likened to G.I. Jane, referencing the 1997 in which Demi Moore shaved her head to play a female Navy SEAL recruit  in the first place.

I learned a lot about detachment," Smith, who deals with bald patches by shaving her head, said of having her condition thrust into the spotlight following the Oscars skirmish. "And I learned a deeper beauty within myself, being able to let my hair go.

Currently promoting the Netflix docuseries African Queens, which she narrates and executive produces, Smith also reflected on aging  "you've been through enough trials and challenges"  and looking to daughter Willow, 22, to blaze her own trails.

I see my younger self in her," Smith said of her daughter. "Shes so fiery, so ready to go. Ready to take on the world. ... Then, as you get older, you dont hold on to that stage. You pass the torch and settle into your new understanding.

Her diagnosis has been a great teacher. Wellness, parenting, body image and more: Get to know the who behind the hoo with Yahoo Lifes newsletter. Sign up here.
New Zealand reporter shares travel experiences on Con Dao Island

Brett Atkinson, a reporter of The New Zealand Herald, has published an article sharing his interesting experiences when visiting Con Dao Island in the southern province of Ba Ria  Vung Tau.

According to Atkinson, from the late 19th century to 1975, the strikingly beautiful destination was viewed as hell on earth due to the extremely harsh conditions imposed on political prisoners, particularly those incarcerated during French colonial rule.

A corner of Con Dao Island.





He suggested that visitors pay a visit to Con Dao Museum to gain a comprehensive overview of this tragic period in the islands history.



With minimal traffic, Con Dao island is one of the best places in Vietnam to ride a scooters. Sweeping coastal roads are shadowed by forested peaks, and trailheads lead to remote beaches, the reporter noted.



Atkinson added that most guesthouses and hotels are able to arrange speedboat and snorkeling trips to Con Daos smaller islands, with March to September being the best time to go diving with the Con Dao Dive Centre.



Furthermore, according to the New Zealand reporter, visitors should not miss out on sampling some of the delicious food on offer on the island, with Con Son towns covered central market being the best place for breakfast.



Begin the day with banh tieu (Vietnamese doughnuts) and an iced coffee, or get your noodle fix with bun thit nuong (grilled pork and vermicelli) crammed with fresh herbs, he stressed.



Sizzling steak and egg platters served with a crunchy baguette offer good sustenance if youre going hiking, and there are also banh mi sandwiches to take away, Atkinson added.



For those looking to enjoy a lighter meal, Atkinson recommended Chays Day Vegetarian Kitchen that is a simple place serving up meat-free renditions of Vietnamese classics such as pho (noodle soup), spring rolls, and banh xeo savoury pancakes.



For fresh Con Dao seafood, head along for hot pot at Thu Ba, he concluded.
Jeff Ballard. courtesy of Brad Bessey

Courtesy of Brad Bessey

Jeff Ballard, a veteran publicist who represented Charlie Sheen and various other stars throughout his career, has died. He was 64.

Ballard died on Jan. 30 at the UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center following a five-year battle with lymphoma, his friend, Brad Bessey, tells PEOPLE.

In a statement shared with PEOPLE, Sheen, 57, remembered Ballard as an "equally loyal and generous" friend.

"As my publicist of 37 years, it's no secret that he had his work cut out for him. He met every challenge head on with class and patience," the actor said. "As my dear friend of 40 years, he was equally loyal and generous to a fault. Safe travels JB, you are sorely missed, now and forever."

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https://www.instagram.com/jeffballardpr/. Jeffrey Ballard/Instagram

Jeffrey Ballard/Instagram

Ballard also represented the likes of Lori Loughlin, Johnny Depp, Paula Abdul, Matthew Perry, Cuba Gooding Jr., Zac Efron, Ryan Seacrest, Jared Leto and Willie Aames, among others.

The veteran publicist got his start after signing Eight Is Enough stars Adam Rich and Dick Van Patten as a teenager, when he "crashed the set" of the television series as a high school journalism student, a bio about Ballard provided to PEOPLE by Bessey states.

After working his way into publicity, he launched Jeff Ballard PR in 1982, which led him to eventually rep Sheen's Oscar campaigns for 1986's Platoon and 1987's Wall Street. He later also played a role in Nancy Reagan's "Just Say No" campaign.

Ballard would regularly share throwback photos with his clients on his Instagram page, as well as a few updates on his cancer treatment.

"American Idol" Season 5 - Paula Abdul, judge and Jeff Ballard, publicist for Paula Abdul *EXCLUSIVE* ***Exclusive*** (Photo by Ray Mickshaw/WireImage for Fox Television Network)

Ray Mickshaw/WireImage for Fox Television Network

"There are no words to describe the very special friendship that Jeff and I have had over the last 4 decades," Abdul, 60, shared in a tribute to Ballard on Instagram. "We were teenagers when we met and forged a mutual admiration as people and professionals that lasted from my Laker Girls days to present day. We worked together, played together and knew we were always there for each other."

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"The word love hardly describes my feelings for Jeff and the compassion I've had for all he has soldiered through, but I truly loved him so much," she continued. "He will be missed by all whose lives he touched. His long suffering is over now and my prayer is that he rests in peace for all eternity."

Underneath Abdul's post, several other stars shared messages of support, including Debbie Gibson, who commented, "Ohhhh I didn't know Jeff passed. Loved him. So sorry to hear ."

Longtime friend Loughlin, 58, visited Ballard in the hospital during his final days, Bessey tells PEOPLE.

The Full House alum shared in a statement obtained by PEOPLE that Ballard "was a great friend and could always lift your spirits with his wicked sense of humor, which he maintained even in his darkest hours."

"Jeff was thankful for his blessed life, the many friends he made along the way and the opportunities that were afforded to him," Loughlin continued. "I miss him very much."
As the old adage goes, "Wednesday's child is full of woe." Which is, coincidentally, exactly how Jenna Ortega felt bringing the Addams Family's daughter to life on screen in Wednesday.

The actress revealed during a recent Netflix Q&A that the Tim Burtondirected series' intense shooting schedule  in addition to the multiple cello and fencing classes she took to properly embody the character  pushed her to the breaking point.

"It was show up to set two hours early, do that 12- to 14-hour day, then go home and then get on a Zoom and have whatever lesson that I had," Ortega recalled, per Variety. "Or show up to my apartment, [and] my cello teacher was already waiting for me. It was just constantly going, and if you could on a weekend, if we weren't shooting the sixth day that week, it was, 'All right, well then, we'll get your lessons in on that day.'"

Wednesday. Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams in episode 104 of Wednesday. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix  2022

Courtesy of Netflix Jenna Ortega in 'Wednesday'

While she began her fencing and cello lessons months before arriving in Romania to shoot the series, Ortega explained that the scene in which her character performs the Rolling Stones' 1966 hit "Paint It Black" on cello was particularly difficult because it required her to play a piece meant for two cellos all by herself.

"I did not get any sleep. I pulled my hair out," she said. "There's so many FaceTime calls that my dad answered of me hysterically crying."

The actress said she was "very adamant about being as well prepared" for the performance as possible because she wanted Burton to be able to use footage that prominently featured her playing. She added, "That's so much more believable if you could see your face."

Burton, of course, had full confidence in Ortega. The actress said the director and executive producer attempted to alleviate some of her stress by telling her, "Oh, don't worry, you're going to do great. It's gonna look great."

Wednesday Addams

Netflix Jenna Ortega in 'Wednesday'

That didn't make actually playing any easier, though. "I didn't know where my hands were even supposed to go," Ortega said. "And then I had to make two cellos come out of one cello, which was ridiculous."

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The "Paint It Black" performance wasn't the only Herculean task Ortega pulled off while filming the show. The actress notably crafted her viral Wednesday dance in just two days  again, with very little sleep  by drawing inspiration from rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees and Denis Lavant in the 1999 film Beau Travail. And, to make matters worse, Ortega also discovered she had tested positive for COVID-19 while shooting the dance sequence.

Last October, Ortega called her experience becoming Wednesday "the most overwhelming job I've ever had" during a conversation for Interview magazine with her Wednesday costar  and previous Wednesday Addams  Christina Ricci.

"I would call my parents every night in a panic because I felt like it was different from any job I had ever done before where I typically have that time to sit into the character," she said at the time. "We didn't really have time for rehearsals. I remember it being very stressful and confusing. I did the best I could, but that's probably the most overwhelming job I've ever had."

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Nettie's House of Spaghetti (not pictured) said its decision to ban children under 10 wasn't "made lightly." Getty Images

An Italian restaurant in New Jersey says it will ban kids under the age of 10 from next month.

One commenter on Instagram said: "I didn't think I could love Nettie's more but here we are!"

However, another called the policy "a complete a slap in the face to families."

An Italian restaurant in New Jersey has courted controversy after announcing a plan to ban children. Some on social media called it a "fantastic idea," but others have accused staff of being "child haters."

Nettie's House of Spaghetti in Tinton Falls, New Jersey, said on Thursday that it "will no longer allow children under 10 to dine in the restaurant" from March 8.

In posts on Facebook and Instagram stated: "We love kids. We really, truly, do. But lately, it's been extremely challenging to accommodate children at Nettie's. Between noise levels, lack of space for high chairs, cleaning up crazy messes, and the liability of kids running around the restaurant, we have decided that it's time to take control of the situation."

Some social media users appear to love the idea. One wrote on Instagram: "Never been to Nettie's but knowing I won't have to deal with children at a restaurant makes this establishment much more attractive. Will be coming soon!" Another said: "I didn't think I could love Nettie's more but here we are!"

However, others called it "a complete a slap in the face to families," and a symptom of how "America hates children."

It's unclear how the policy will be enforced. One Instagram user wrote: "Will you be checking birth certificates at the door? My 8 year old is the size of a 11 year old."

If the point of the exercise was to generate publicity, the policy seems to have been a success. The restaurant's Facebook post has had more than 28,000 reactions and been shared almost 8,000 times.

In September 2021, a family-owned restaurant in California banned all patrons under the age of 18 from dining without an adult. The Red Rooster Burgers and Grill said the decision was made with "great sadness" following a series of bad behavior by teenagers that damaged property, upset staff, and drove away customers, NBC News reported.

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Some diners may just want to get away from kids for a while. In January, a TikToker divided opinion by suggesting there should be a adults-only town that lacks noisy kids. Meanwhile, Insider's reviewer was recently "blown away" by an adults-only cruise on Virgin Voyages' Scarlet Lady.

Nettie's House of Spaghetti did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider, sent outside normal working hours.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Abolitionist John Brown, left, and President Abraham Lincoln, right, were both moral crusaders. Hulton Archive/Getty Images & Stock Montage/Getty Images

One of the most underappreciated figures in the nations history, John Brown, was re-introduced to Americans by the Showtime series The Good Lord Bird, based on the James McBride novel of the same name.

Too often dismissed as a failed zealot, Brown was an unconventional anti-slavery leader who blazed a trail that Abraham Lincoln would follow just a few years later.

Commentators then and now are more likely to see differences between Lincolns and Browns approaches to civic leadership. Lincoln was cautious and deliberate; Brown was a revolutionary on fire.

Though this contrast is instructive, theres another way to look at both men. In the end, they were both moral crusaders who exercised uncompromising moral leadership.

Unwavering commitment

John Brown was a leading white abolitionist who engaged in many peaceful efforts to free and assist enslaved African Americans before the Civil War.

But his methods eventually shifted. In 1856, a 55-year-old Brown joined two of his sons in the Kansas territory and led anti-slavery paramilitary forces to victory in the violent period that became known as Bleeding Kansas.

In 1859, Browns abolitionist efforts culminated in a raid on a federal armory at Harpers Ferry in what is now West Virginia. This was the first step in Browns broader plan to emancipate slaves throughout the South. The attempt was unsuccessful, and Brown was captured, tried and hanged shortly thereafter.

In a speech delivered at Harpers Ferry more than 20 years later, abolitionist Frederick Douglass claimed that John Brown began the war that ended American slavery and made this a free Republic.

An 1863 broadside entitled A Song for the Times or John Brown, telling the story of a man who insisted that slaves should be freed and treated like everyone else. JHU Sheridan Libraries/Gado/Getty Images

Defending his positive view of Browns turn to violence, Douglass explained that Brown was an agent of Gods retributive justice. Douglass argued that a higher logic  what Brown referred to as the law of God  provided a special justification and vindication for Browns actions.

As I have explored at length elsewhere, such higher-law arguments to justify actions are more than mere rhetoric in the service of political causes. They have been carefully developed throughout the history of political thought by some of the most profound thinkers from around the world, and from ancient times to our own.

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Brown possessed  or, perhaps better, was possessed by  a clarity of moral principle that simply ruled out inaction or compromise in the face of grave injustice. One of Browns refrains was Whenever there is a right thing to be done, there is a thus saith the Lord that it shall be done.

When questioned about his motives by federal authorities following his capture, Brown said simply: We came to free the slaves, and only that.

In stark contrast to the great American political leaders of his day, Brown shunned compromise and accommodation and instead was driven by an unwavering commitment to moral principle.

Statesman versus radical

The greatest American political leader of the mid-19th century was Abraham Lincoln, who was elected to the presidency the year following Browns famous raid. If Brown began the war that ended slavery, Lincoln is the man who finished it.

The inextricable link between the two anti-slavery leaders was forged, in fact, years earlier and hundreds of miles away on the plains of Kansas. The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 and its repeal of the Missouri Compromise was like a fire bell in the night for both Brown and Lincoln. By allowing slavery to be legalized by popular vote in new states north of the Missouri Compromise line, this law sparked a flood of settlers to the Kansas territory who were determined to tip the scales either for or against slavery.

Given the highly polarized nature of the issue of slavery by this time, many of these new settlers were prepared to engage in violence to influence the outcome of the vote. The ensuing conflict drew Brown into direct, violent confrontation with proponents of slavery for the first time.

And the federal governments new openness to slaverys extension beyond the existing states transformed the issue of slavery from being a minor question in Lincolns mind to the centerpiece of his political thought and career.

While debating political rival Stephen Douglas a few years later, Lincoln stated the importance of moral principle to his campaign with Brown-like simplicity and clarity:

The real issue in this controversy is the sentiment on the part of one class that looks upon the institution of slavery as a wrong, and of another class that does not look upon it as a wrong.

In other words, according to Lincoln, abstract legal doctrines relating to states rights or the nature of the constitutional union were, at best, secondary. Opposite opinions about the morality of slavery drove the controversy that would result in the Civil War.

And yet, in his Cooper Union Address in 1860  the speech that would catapult him to the presidency  Lincoln was at pains to distance himself from Brown.

John Brown was no Republican, said Lincoln, the partys leader. He was a deluded madman who convinced himself that he was commissioned by Heaven to liberate the enslaved.

Lincoln presented himself as the clearheaded, prudent statesman who would work within the legal framework to combat the moral evil of slavery; Brown was the dangerous radical who would indiscriminately destroy both.

Lincoln fought tirelessly for House passage of the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery. National Archives

Distance vanishes between Lincoln and Brown

Yet five years later, as Lincoln unknowingly entered what would be the final weeks of his life, his differences with Brown appeared to narrow.

Lincoln had fought tirelessly in January 1865 for the passage in the House of Representatives of the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery, using every tool at his disposal to influence reluctant members.

In the first week of February, Lincoln approved Congress resolution to move the 13th Amendment forward to ratification and rejected a Confederate peace proposal. As the Civil War raged on and thousands of additional lives were lost, Lincoln seemed to focus his energy not on securing the peace, but on abolishing slavery.

Lincoln had achieved just what Brown had attempted in Kansas and at Harpers Ferry: abolition through violent conflict with slaveholders.

Lincolns second inaugural address the following month, moreover, framed the Civil War in precisely the same terms Brown had used to justify his actions. In this speech, Lincoln casts himself as a mere agent in the service of Gods providential plan to punish the evil of slavery.

With the 13th Amendment on its way to ratification, all that remained was the fulfillment of divine justice, Lincoln said  a mystical moment of equilibrium when all the wealth piled by the bond-mans two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and every drop of blood drawn with the lash, shall be paid by another drawn with the sword.

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In his final words on the defining event of his political career, the distance between Lincoln and Brown all but vanishes. Browns thus saith the Lord echoes clearly in Lincolns concluding prayer: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.

Lincoln appreciated the prudent statesmanship of pre-Civil War politicians such as Henry Clay, but the defining quality of Lincolns leadership was forged of less pliable stuff. Lincoln was ultimately more crusader than compromiser.

In this way, he and John Brown share a model of moral leadership that is still worthy of study, even in the 21st century.

This article is republished from The Conversation, a 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: Adam Seagrave, Arizona State University.

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Adam Seagrave does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
The only monsters that had ever scared Michelle Renee's 7-year-old daughter Breea were make-believe. But on Nov. 20, 2000, just a day before three masked men broke in 

Michelle Renee: She calls me. 'Mom, there's somebody outside the window'  I looked out there. I didn't see anything. I didn't see anybody.  So, I just brushed it off.

Michelle and Breea Renee / Credit: Michelle Renee

Michelle had chalked it up to her child's imagination. But this time was different.

Michelle Renee: She saw them looking through the window. They were there the night before.

The same men now held Michelle and Breea at gunpoint in the living room. The gunmen said they'd been following the 35-year-old bank manager for months.

Michelle Renee: It was very much that mind control thing that they were doing, that "we know everything about you."

Michelle would recount the events inside the house for investigators:

FBI VIDEO OF MICHELLE RENEE AT CRIME SCENE: "We're going to be here all night with you to make sure you know exactly what you're going to do or you will die."

Throughout the night, the ringleader gave specific instructions about how he wanted Michelle to rob her own bank the next morning:

FBI VIDEO OF MICHELLE RENEE AT CRIME SCENE: "We're going to go over this again. This is what you're going to do  When Brinks gets there, you're going to get Brinks' money."

As she huddled with Breea on the couch, now duct taped, Michelle could hear him talking to a woman on a two-way radio.

Michelle Renee: Money One to Money Two were their 

Tracy Smith: That's what they called each other.

Michelle Renee: Yeah, they called each other Money One to Money Two.

Money One was the ringleader. Around 11, the voice on the walkie-talkie got his attention: "Car coming up the driveway. The roommate's there."

It was their roommate Kimbra.

Michelle Renee doing a videotaped walkthrough for investigators of what happened when she was held hostage at her former house. / Credit: North County Superior Court

FBI VIDEO OF MICHELLE RENEE AT CRIME SCENE: And they put the gun right here in her face, right up her nose, and said, "don't make us f***ing use this."  I pushed the guy's hand out of her face and said, "don't do this, don't hurt her." And he just pointed it right at me and said, "don't ever f***ing touch me again "

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Michelle realized this might be the last night she ever spent with her daughter.

MICHELLE RENEE VIDEO WALKTHROUGH: It was almost morning.  I just rubbed her hair so she could try to get some sleep.

Michelle Renee: Wondering if that was gonna be the last time I was gonna get to touch her hair and see her sleep  was pretty tough.

In the morning the nightmare would continue.

Michelle Renee: It was like 6 a.m.  he said "Get up. It's time to get ready for work."

FBI VIDEO OF MICHELLE RENEE AT CRIME SCENE: I got dressed and started doing my hair when he came in and stopped me and said, "we need to put the dynamite on you now."

In a reenactment for investigators, Michelle and Breea Renee are seen wearing the fake dynamite that the kidnappers strapped to their backs. / Credit: North County Superior Court

Michelle, her roommate Kimbra, and Breea would all be strapped with dynamite. Then Money One showed Michelle what looked like a doorbell.

Michelle Renee: "This is a detonation device.  you will disintegrate. Your daughter will go first."

FBI VIDEO OF MICHELLE RENEE AT CRIME SCENE:: "One false move, I push this button." 

And they sat me right here and said, "now we're going to take your daughter."

The gunmen put Breea in her bedroom closet.

FBI VIDEO OF MICHELLE RENEE AT CRIME SCENE: I was just telling her I'd be right back, that everything is going to be fine.

Michelle Renee: "Be brave, Mommy"  that was the last thing she said  before I walked out to go to the bank.

Tracy Smith: Did you feel brave?

Michelle Renee: No.

As two of the gunmen stayed in the house, Money One handed Michelle a briefcase stuffed with a duffle bag before he crouched in the back of her Jeep. With dynamite on her back and a gun to her side, she drove to work.

Tracy Smith (outside of the bank): So, you pull up into your spot  What does he tell you before you get out of the car?

Michelle Renee: "Don't  don't f*** this up."

Tracy Smith: The Brinks truck came at  8:50?

Michelle Renee: I believe right around 8:50 was the drop, right over here (poins to the left side of the building from the entrance).

That's when Michelle grabbed her briefcase and headed to the vault.

Michelle Renee: I brought my teller in the vault with me, said  "I'm getting ready to clear out this vault, or my daughter and I are gonna die. This is what's happened all night."

Tracy Smith: And you whispered to her "I have dynamite on my back"?

Michelle Renee: Yes. Yeah, I whisp  I pulled my shirt up.

Tracy Smith: And then you just opened up the duffel bag and started shoveling in money?

Michelle Renee: I did.  My heart was racing. My "am I fast enough?"

Michelle's colleagues would alert the authorities, but not before she walked out with $360,000.

Michelle Renee:  Just get to the Jeep. Hurl it in the Jeep 

Tracy Smith: And go.

Michelle Renee:  and just do what's next.

Money One directed Michelle to get out a few blocks later.

Michelle Renee: And that I would find my Jeep down the street.

She found her car and raced home.

Michelle Renee: I don't know if Breea's gonna be there. I don't know if she's gonna be alive when I get there  And I went to open the door, and I was just screaming  "Hello? Hello?"  It was eerily silent.

Breea Renee: And I just heard "Breea," and I remember screaming, "We're back here, we're back here."

Breea was still in the closet right where Michelle had left her.

Tracy Smith: What was that like to hear and see her?

Michelle Renee: Oh my gosh  She was alive. ... "I did it. We did it.  we didn't die."

Breea Renee: Probably the happiest moment of my life.  But then I could still see the panic on her face.

Michelle Renee: The dynamite's still on me.

Before leaving, the gunmen had ripped the dynamite off of Kimbra and Breea. So, they cut it off of Michelle's back before running to the nearest neighbor.

Rick Brown lived up a steep hill.

Rick Brown | Neighbor: I opened the gate, went down the hill real fast, helped them up to the house. I called 911 right away.

911 DISPATCHER: Sheriff's Department, can I help you?

RICK BROWN: Yes, some neighbors of ours were held hostage  I need somebody out here right away.

Soon, the place was crawling with investigators from the FBI, San Diego Sheriff's Department, and the bomb squad.

Tom Manning: This is the dynamite that was taken off of Michelle.

San Diego County Prosecutor Tom Manning would lead the task force investigating the case. They quickly figured out the dynamite was fake.

Tom Manning: They realize that it actually is two painted dowels or broomstick handles  But as you can see from a distance and the lighting, plus it's on your back with the stress of the situation, you're not gonna take a chance that it isn't real.

But during the very real 14 hours they were held hostage, Michelle had held onto any detail that might help identify the attackers.

Michelle Renee: Remembering details is just sort of this part of my DNA about people. That was kinda my superpower.

Details like Money One's eyes.

A sketch of Money One by Michelle Renee. During the 14-hour hostage situation, Renee had recognized the ringleader's eyes because he had posed as a customer at the bank earlier that day. / Credit: CBS News/Michelle Renee

FBI VIDEO OF MICHELLE RENEE AT CRIME SCENE: When I turned the light on to go to the bathroom  and I saw his eyes in there I said "those eyes were at my desk; those eyes were at my desk today. Oh my God."

Michelle says it was a man with whom she'd had an odd encounter at the bank hours before being taken hostage.

Michelle Renee: And he sat at my desk for a really long time asking sorta the same questions over and over.  and then a woman walked in and said, "Chris, we need to get going." And they got up and left.

The man had handed Michelle his business card.

Tracy Smith: And the name on the business card was?

Michelle Renee: Christopher Butler.

THE EVIDENCE LEFT BEHIND

After hours of police questioning, Michelle and Breea were sent to a hotel. Michelle called her brother Dave.

Dave Estey: It didn't sound like her  it was  someone, you know, heavily traumatized.

Dave, who lived three hours away, rushed to his sister's aid.

Dave Estey: What I saw when I opened that door  it scared the daylights out of me.  "Are you OK?" And she would shake.

Tracy Smith: How about Breea?

Dave Estey: Same thing.

In the days ahead, Michelle struggled to hold it together for her daughter  "She was the strongest person for me," says Breea  while investigators wanted answers.

They grilled her about that odd encounter with Christopher Butler.

Tracy Smith: Why was he in the bank? What was he saying he was there for?

Michelle Renee: He came in to say that he was a potential client. And that he wanted to talk about investments.

Before Butler handed Michelle his business card, a woman he introduced as Lisa came in and whisked him away.

Michelle Renee: "Hey, Chris, we need to go."

It was the same voice Michelle says she heard later that night on the walkie-talkie.

Michelle Renee: I kept saying it over and over.

Tracy Smith: "Check my desk. Get that card."

Michelle Renee: "Check my desk. Get that card. I know that it's them."

Tom Manning: Through that card, they started the investigation.

The ringleader had been at the bank hours before the break-in posing as a customer. He had talked to Michelle Renee, the bank manager, about opening a new account and had even left behind a business card before a female companion had whisked him away. / Credit: North County Superior Court

The FBI soon discovered Butler was a convicted felon with a history of robbing banks.

Tom Manning: They figured out where he was staying  then the team that I work with set up surveillance.

Butler and his fiancee, Lisa Ramirez, lived in a house just a few miles from the bank.

Tom Manning: Some of the people in the house were tellin' the police who was there, when they planned it

Within days, detectives identified the two other men. Christopher Huggins 

Tom Manning: He was a big guy, maybe  maybe 6'4" he's  gang ties.

And the man who'd held a gun to little Breea  a gang member called "Bones"  real name Robert Ortiz.

Tom Manning: Ortiz was the connection  who got the guns.

On Dec. 1, they decided to arrest Butler and Ramirez during a traffic stop.

When Christopher Butler and Lisa Ramirez were arrested 10 days later at a traffic stop, investigators found physical evidence tying them to the crime, including a BB gun that matched one of the guns Renee had described. / Credit: North County Superior Court

Tom Manning (in evidence room): In the glove compartment was a weapon  it's actually a BB gun  if you look at that in a stressful situation, that looks as real as it can get.

Tracy Smith: What'd they find when they popped the trunk?

Tom Manning: A plethora of evidence.

Tracy Smith: All this.

Tom Manning: All this.  They found the black bag that Michelle described the money being carried in, several pairs of black gloves  and a homemade ski mask.

Tracy Smith: Oh, yeah. Look at the eyeholes there that they clearly cut themselves.

Tom Manning: Michelle's credit cards were all found in the trunk of the vehicle  and then of course the money straps from the bank.

Also in the trunk, that doorbell "detonator". And there was even more at the house.

Tom Manning: They found all the ingredients to make the fake bomb.  There were broom handles, which were cut up into small dowels which actually were used in making the fake dynamite.  They also recovered the actual spray cans  Ramirez's fingerprint was on one of those cans.

Tom Manning: It was crazy. I've never seen that much physical evidence left at a crime scene.

Tracy Smith: They thought they'd gotten away with it.

Tom Manning: Yeah.

One thing investigators didn't find on Butler and Ramirez  any of the bank's $360,000. But after arresting Huggins that same day, they did recover $93,000 of the cash that he'd stashed away. Huggins confessed and said he'd already spent several grand on a trip to Vegas. The fourth suspect, Robert Ortiz, was on the lam.

When authorities arrested him three months later in Wisconsin, Ortiz still had $32,000 of the bank's money and gave a full confession.

Tracy Smith: Did Huggins and Ortiz's confessions corroborate each other?

Tom Manning: Yes, very much so.

Tracy Smith: So, did Huggins and Ortiz's confessions corroborate what Michelle had told investigators?

Tom Manning: Yes, almost identical.

In his interview with investigators, Christopher Butler denied everything to police and tried to protect Lisa Ramirez. / Credit: North County Superior Court

Butler denied everything, even when confronted with direct evidence: his thumbprint on the fake dynamite sticks.

DETECTIVE: We've got fingerprints that are yours that link you to the bank robbery.

CHRISTOPHER BUTLER: I doubt that because I wasn't involved in the bank robbery.

He tried to protect Ramirez.

CHRISTOPHER BUTLER: Lisa wouldn't have been involved with that.

But Ramirez was about to start talking. She admitted she was the female voice on the walkie-talkie.

LISA RAMIREZ: That was me.

DETECTIVE: That was you?

LISA RAMIREZ: Mm-hmm.

In her interview with investigators, Lisa Ramirez admitted she was involved in the plot, and that she was the female voice on the walkie-talkie. She even took credit for the idea to use fake dynamite and kidnap the bank manager. But during that interview, Ramirez also falsely claimed that Renee had been in on it. / Credit: North County Superior Court

She even took credit for the idea to use fake dynamite and kidnap the bank manager.

LISA RAMIREZ: I honestly know whose idea it was, about eight months ago.

DETECTIVE: Who?

LISA RAMIREZ: Jokingly, mine.

Ramirez said they'd split the money three ways, but that her and Butler's share  more than $100,000  had been stolen. And to everyone's surprise, she said Michelle was in on the plot.

LISA RAMIREZ: Supposedly from what they had told me this Michelle lady was helping them.

Tom Manning: We walked out of that thinking, "OK, Lisa's the mastermind behind all this. And, is it possible Michelle's involved?"

Manning says, ultimately, he knew Michelle was innocent.

Tom Manning: The first time I interviewed her, she had Breea with her. And  I saw that bond and relationship. And when she left, I went, "She's not involved in this."

But that wouldn't be enough in court. San Diego County Sheriff's detectives Rudy Zamora, Dale Martin and Randi Demers would have to rule Michelle out as a suspect.

Rudy Zamora: Every time we pushed a button, she would react in a way  a true victim should.

They recreated the dynamite packs and strapped them on Kimbra, Michelle and Breea.

Dale Martin: She was very upset.

And Michelle was emotional when asked to revisit the horrific details of the kidnapping.

FBI VIDEO OF MICHELLE RENEE AT CRIME SCENE: And then they  I had to put her in there and they just shut the  shut the closet.

Dale Martin: She was shaken up. I thought she was gonna have a nervous breakdown.

Tracy Smith: When Michelle did those reenactments, were her story, Kimbra's story, and Breea's story consistent?

Tom Manning: Yes. Completely consistent.

In fact, investigators couldn't find any evidence Michelle was involved. Still, they worried as they took a deep dive into Michelle's life.

Rudy Zamora: She was not our normal victim.

Tracy Smith: What did they find out about Michelle's past?

Tom Manning: She didn't hide anything.

Including the fact that for years she had worked as a stripper.

Michelle Renee: I'm not embarrassed or ashamed by any of that.

Michelle says it was one of the choices she had to make for survival at a young age.

Michelle Renee: I ran away at 15.  I worked really, really hard to get to where I was.

In 2000, Michelle Renee was a single mom working as a bank branch manager.

With no high school diploma, she had climbed the corporate ladder all the way to regional vice president before taking the bank manager job to be home more with Breea.

Tracy Smith: And while you were working at the bank, you were still dancing, still stripping for a while?

Michelle Renee: I was for a while The money was really great.

But more worrisome were things that went directly to Michelle's credibility.

Tom Manning: She falsified resumes  claimed she had various experience, various education which she didn't have.

Tracy Smith: Bounced a check, filed for bankruptcy.

Tom Manning: Right.

Tracy Smith: That doesn't look good.

Tom Manning: It doesn't look good. And if you're a defense attorney, you're lickin' your chops.

ATTACKED AT TRIAL

By spring of 2001, the suspects were in custody awaiting trial for kidnapping and bank robbery charges, but Michelle and Breea were still reeling from that night of terror.

Michelle Renee: I could still hear them. I could still hear the sounds  I couldn't get it to turn off.

Breea Renee: I just wanted to hide. I thought they were gonna find us. They were gonna kill us still.

In June, Michelle decided to move Breea to Alaska to live with her grandmother.

Michelle Renee: I was gonna fly her up there and get her to safety  I was gonna figure out what to do from there.

After a few days, Michelle says she had an epiphany.

Michelle Renee: To go back to San Diego and get rid of everything I could possibly get rid of and drive back to Alaska.

With a dog, some cash, and a camcorder, in July she embarked on a 9-day drive to the Last Frontier.

Tracy Smith: You had a deadline.

Michelle Renee: I had a deadline. Breea's birthday was in nine days. And I'd promised her I'd be back before her birthday party.

Michelle and Breea Renee's reunion in Alaska was captured by Michelle's car dashboard camera. / Credit: Michelle Renee

That's when Michelle and Breea say they began to heal.

Tracy Smith: Did you feel safe in Alaska?

Breea Renee: Safer  I could be a kid again.

By the time they returned to San Diego a year later for the trial, Michelle says she was ready.

Michelle Renee: There was so much evidence. There was no way I thought that this trial was gonna be anything but  slam dunk.

Butler and Ramirez would be tried first.

Tracy Smith: When her case came across your desk what did you think at first?

Herb Weston: She's guilty.

Tracy Smith: You thought she's guilty?

Herb Weston: Well, yeah.

Herb Weston, who represented Lisa Ramirez, had a problem. His client had confessed on camera.

DETECTIVE: There was a female voice that came out on one of those walkie-talkies.

LISA RAMIREZ: That was me.

Herb Weston: If they play that tape, saying that she wasn't involved woulda been difficult.

Weston proposed a plea deal, hoping to save Ramirez from a potential life sentence. But the prosecution turned him down.

Tom Manning: We thought we would definitely get the key statements in that she was involved.

But, since Ramirez had also implicated Butler, the judge ruled her entire statement inadmissible.

Herb Weston: We now can at least argue to the jury that she wasn't involved.

Without her confession, the case against Ramirez relied almost entirely on Michelle  a fact Manning was keenly aware of during his opening statement to the jury on June 3, 2002.

Tracy Smith: You told the jury that this case was about credibility.

Tom Manning: Right  Michelle's background was gonna be an issue  I knew there were issues  but I believed her.

Tracy Smith: And you thought  the jury would believe her.

Tom Manning: Right.

But not if the defense had its way.

Tracy Smith: What was your strategy going into trial?

Herb Weston: My strategy was to beat the hell out of the victim and show all these inconsistencies that the victim is saying.

Tom Manning: It got very confrontational.

Michelle Renee: I was really, really pissed off.

That played right into Weston's hand.

Herb Weston: Angry witnesses don't come across as credible.

Michelle Renee: I was treated like I was the criminal.

During his cross-examination, Weston implied Michelle was lying about recognizing Lisa Ramirez' voice on the walkie-talkie.

Herb Weston: Well, wait a minute, ma'am. I've looked at all this stuff.  isn't this the first time you've said that?

In fact, he pointed out it wasn't in any of the FBI reports. But Michelle insists she told them.

Michelle Renee: I did  I 100% did.

And Manning says she identified Ramirez's voice to him before taking the stand.

Tracy Smith: Does it bother you that Lisa actually admitted that that was her voice on the walkie-talkie?  the fact is it was Lisa.

Herb Weston: But that's not the issue.  for me it made a great opening to attack her credibility.

Weston then grilled Michelle about bait money  the traceable bills banks keep in their vaults to trap bank robbers.

Tracy Smith: You didn't take the bait money.

Michelle Renee: Did not take the bait money.

Tracy Smith: Why not?

Michelle Renee: They said  "no funny money."

Tracy Smith: You say that's suspicious, that she must have been in on it.

Herb Weston: Correct.

Maybe worst of all for Michelle, Weston questioned her maternal instincts.

Herb Weston: Would a mother run  to a place where her daughter was  if she believes that "I have a bomb on my back?"

Tracy Smith: She wasn't sure whether her daughter was dead or alive. Don't you think it's possible she wasn't thinking straight?

Herb Weston: Sure  But also what could be true is she knew there wasn't a bomb, and so she didn't have to worry about it.

Tracy Smith: Did you feel like you were on trial?

Michelle Renee: 100% felt like I was on trial.

Dave Estey: I would be sitting in the front row. And all I could think about was  it's gonna take me  maybe six seconds to get from this point to the offender.  that is how irate I was.

Tracy Smith: Day after day, listening to this.

Dave Estey: Listening to this.

Tracy Smith: Is it fair to beat up the victim.

Herb Weston: Oh absolutely, absolutely.

While Weston hammered on every decision Michelle made that day, the attorney representing Butler went after everything else.

Tracy Smith: What was the worst thing they asked you?

Michelle Renee: About my sex life.  They were trying to paint me as somebody that was irresponsible  A selfish, terrible mother  that  would do anything for money.

And they picked apart Michelle's finances.

Tom Manning: She's in  financial distress, and that could be the motive.

Tracy Smith: Isn't it kinda odd that we're talking about motive when we're talking about a victim?

Tom Manning: It is.  The defense in the case was to make Michelle a culprit here.

After Michelle's grueling three-day testimony, it was Christopher Butler's turn. He protected Lisa Ramirez on the stand, claiming Michelle was the mastermind, and that they'd had an affair.

Tom Manning: I was shocked.

Michelle Renee: It's almost laughable.

Tracy Smith: What was his story about how the two of you met?

Michelle Renee: From what I understand  we met in a grocery store and that I recruited him.

Christopher Butler and Lisa Ramirez aka

Butler claimed that he'd gone to Michelle's house that night with Huggins and Ortiz. He said that in the early morning hours while smoking pot, Michelle brought up the bank robbery idea again and decided they should do it that morning.

Tracy Smith: His evidence of this, his proof of this?

Tom Manning: Zero  If any of this were true, he woulda thrown Michelle down in a heartbeat in his (police) interview.

The jury deliberated for five days before finding Butler guilty of the bank robbery and Breea and Kimbra's kidnapping. But they hung 9-3 on the charges of kidnapping Michelle.

Tom Manning: When we talked to the jurors, you know, we discovered  it was one juror who completely believed Butler and the other two jurors  were unsure.

And they found Lisa Ramirez not guilty on all counts.

Herb Weston: Oh, it was the best verdict I ever got in my life.

Michelle Renee: Mind-boggling. The fact it was her idea to do this to a mother and a child and laughing and proud of it.

Tracy Smith: How involved do you think she was in this?

Tom Manning: Very involved  the investigators kept saying  she was the brains of the outfit.

Tracy Smith: So, the brains of the outfit walked.

Tom Manning: Right.

The second trial would go very differently, with Huggins and Ortiz easily convicted.

Tracy Smith: In so many of the stories that we tell, the ending is the conviction. But in your case, in a lot of ways, that's just the beginning.

FACING NEW CHALLENGES

Even though the men who had terrorized them were now serving multiple life sentences, Michelle and Breea would never be the same.

Breea Renee: There's aspects of that night that are gonna be with me for the rest of my life.

They were treated for post-traumatic stress disorder for over two years. Michelle says dealing with the break-in led to a breakthrough.

Michelle Renee: It was two choices.  call them monsters and stay angry  and blame everything in my life on them  Or  I can take this other road.

Michelle Renee: The best thing I could do for Breea is to be an example.

Michelle wrote a book, "Held Hostage," which was made into a TV movie. And she and Breea went on speaking tours to discuss their experience with trauma.

Tracy Smith: A lot of people coming out of this would want to just forget about it, put it behind them. But you and your mom  talked openly about it.

Breea Renee: Yes. And I think it was the best decision for us.

Breea Renee said by talking about her experience with trauma,

Breea Renee: I was showing people that it's not always the end-all, be-all when something bad happens to you. You can come out of it stronger.

And by 2011, the girl who had hidden from everything was a high school senior and competitive cheerleader.

Michelle Renee: She really turned the corner and started enjoying her life again.

Michelle Renee: She loved it. It was her absolute passion.

Tracy Smith: You're thriving. You're living the dream. You said you dreamed of this. You were living the dream.

Breea Renee: Yes, I was.

Then suddenly 

Breea Renee: Senior year in December, I started feeling a little off.  I was dropping things.

Michelle Renee: Showed up at my work at 6 o'clock, dragging her leg  going "Mommy, something's really wrong. Something's wrong. I don't know what's happening."

Breea Renee: I said  "Mom, I'm really scared."

They had no idea Breea was in for the fight of her life.

Michelle Renee: We rushed her to the hospital. And they started pricking her leg and she couldn't feel it. And her heart rate started going crazy.

Tracy Smith: Oh my gosh.

Breea Renee: By 8 p.m. that night, I was paralyzed on my left side, couldn't talk, couldn't swallow, blind in my left eye.

Michelle Renee: "We found abnormalities in the brain" is all they could tell me that night.

Tracy Smith: It almost sounds like there's that same feeling of helplessness that you had the night that you were held hostage.

Michelle Renee: Completely.

The next morning, Breea was diagnosed with an acute onset of multiple sclerosis, an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system attacks its own tissues.

Michelle Renee: Based on the scans, she has  tumefactive MS, which is not only rare in and of itself, but people Breea's age at 18 rarely get MS.

Breea says she was told she might never walk or talk again.

Tracy Smith: Just like that.

Breea Renee: Just like that.  My life just ended again  I was 18 trying to go off to college, do cheer in college, and that was never gonna happen for me.

Tracy Smith: So much of your healing had been talking . and now you couldn't talk?

Breea Renee: Now I couldn't talk  I couldn't feed myself anymore.

Michelle Renee: She had to relearn all of that.

Diagnosed with a rare form of multiple sclerosis at age 18, Breea Renee was told she might never walk or talk again. / Credit: Michelle Renee

But it was as if they had been training for this for years.

Tracy Smith: Do you think in some way what happened to you when you were seven prepared you for battling MS?

Breea Renee: Yes  I think it made me strong enough to go through what I went through with MS.

Michelle Renee: It was here we go again, here we go again.

Breea would spend six weeks in the hospital.

Breea Renee: Two to three times a day of physical therapy, occupational  therapy, speech therapy.

Michelle Renee: After she could talk again  she turned to me and said, "Kidnapping was a piece of cake compared to this."

And just as with the kidnapping, Breea wanted to inspire others.

Michelle Renee: She wrote her college essay from her hospital room, from her wheelchair and said, "I'm going to college. I am going to be the first person in my family to graduate college no matter what."

BREEA RENEE (video of her reading college essay in the hospital): I now know that there is no time to waste. Life can change so suddenly.

She chronicled her journey on her Facebook page.

Michelle Renee: She fought tooth and nail every single day for every single step she took. She walked outta the hospital.

This time it was Michelle doing the cheerleading.

Dave Estey: The rehab started  in the hospital. But the real rehab was Michelle constantly on her, "we're gonna do this."

Michelle Renee: We were a total team. We just ended up going into full gear. We lived in a house with stairs.  She couldn't do stairs anymore.

Tracy Smith: So once again, you're out of a home that you've been living in?

Michelle Renee: Right, and I had to  become her full-time caregiver for about a year-and-a half, two years.  and rebuilding our life, again.

Despite the odds, she made it to college.

Michelle Renee: She relapsed three times her first year in college and had to come home. But she did it.

Dave Estey: She follows in her mom's footsteps  I mean with the tenacity, and the never give up  philosophy that they have.

Breea is walking, talking proof.

Tracy Smith: So, they told you would never walk again?

Breea Renee: Yeah. I'd never walk again, never see again, never anything like that

Tracy Smith: And?

Breea Renee: I would say I beat the odds.

Tracy Smith: Yet again.

Breea Renee: Yes, exactly.

But 20 years after their world first came crashing down, they'd be faced with the unimaginable once again. Christopher Butler could be released.

SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT

From the very beginning, the case hit close to home for prosecutor Tom Manning.

Tom Manning: The fact that there was a little girl. My daughter was the same age as Breea when this happened.

Nearly 20 years later, in June 2020, Christopher Butler was up for parole.

Michelle Renee: He's the one who lied about me.

Manning made sure he was at the hearing.

Tracy Smith: And you had a plan going in.

Tom Manning: I did.

He saw a chance to set the record straight by asking Butler about the story he'd told on the stand.

Tom Manning: I told Michelle if I felt it was right, I was gonna go for it.

Tracy Smith: What'd you think  about that?

Michelle Renee: Go for it  ask away.

Tracy Smith: Even though that's risky?

Michelle Renee: It's a little risky  this guy could go to the grave with these lies.

The risk paid off. Butler recanted his whole story, admitting he and Michelle never had a relationship.

Tracy Smith: How did that feel to hear that?

In January 2020, when Christopher Butler became eligible for parole under California sentencing laws, prosecutor Tom Manning saw an opportunity to ask him about the story he'd told on the stand. Butler recanted his entire testimony, admitting he and Renee never had a relationship. Butler was denied parole, but Renee was free.

Michelle Renee: Hmm  it's about time  I wanted everybody who ever doubted me to read this parole transcript. I wanna blast it all over the internet  that there was never, ever a chance  that I would ever, ever have been involved in anything like this, ever.

Breea says it's a bittersweet victory for her mom.

Breea Renee: It feels good, but it's a little too late.  You can search my mom's name and it can come up on the internet. You can't take that back.

Dave Estey: Why is it take him so long to come clean? And it's probably because he had an opportunity to be free.

Even though Butler was unequivocal that Michelle was not involved 

Michelle Renee: He still hasn't really taken responsibility.

He blamed his old flame Lisa Ramirez. But Butler said he was sorry for what he'd put his victims through, and even said he'd read Michelle's book more than once.

Tracy Smith: He  said some of the passages in your book really got to him.

Michelle Renee: Yeah  on the road trip to Alaska  I really started to think about what it would be like to try to just understand.

Michelle says that's when she started to wonder about the people behind the masks.

Michelle Renee: This is someone's son.  This is someone's brother. This is someone's grandson. What happened to them in their life that got them to the point where they thought  the only option was to attack a mother and her daughter?

Tracy Smith: Do you accept Christopher Butler's apology?

Michelle Renee: I do  Yeah, 1000%.  I appreciate him finally being honest after all this time  I hope he keeps digging deeper.

Breea Renee: Yeah. I forgave him a long time ago and I accept his apology.

But neither Breea nor Michelle want Butler released. He's already been denied parole twice. The irony isn't lost on Dave.

Dave Estey: All he really did is free everybody else  he's held hostage with his lie.

Michelle Renee: In a very weird  way, I could breathe  I could exhale finally after all this time.

Robert Ortiz, left, and Christopher Huggins / Credit: ZUMA

While they don't believe Butler has changed his ways, they feel very differently about the other two men who held them hostage.

Breea Renee: They confessed  they take accountability for what they did. And that's a big thing.

Tracy Smith: Are you actually rooting for these guys to succeed at this point?

Breea Renee: Yes, yes.  They were younger  than what I am now  if they are doing the work, I want nothing but the best for them.

Especially Robert Ortiz.

Michelle Renee: At the sentencing Robert Ortiz is the only one that turned around and looked at me and said, "I'm sorry"  he mouthed it.

They wrote to Ortiz back in 2011 and received a reply 9 years later.

Michelle Renee: Out of respect for him, I'm not going to say everything that's in the letter.  I can say that  it's beautiful.  It's heartfelt.  And  I can't wait to see where that leads.

Tracy Smith: This is the young man who held a gun to your daughter's head.

Michelle Renee: Yes, and she spoke at his parole hearing in his favor.

In the meantime, Michelle has written her follow-up book about the road trip that changed her point of view.

Michelle Renee: It is about healing  it's called "Nine Days," which is how long I was on the road to Alaska.

Dave Estey: I do believe that through this terrible  tragedy that something beautiful was meant to come about.  It has built these people into these incredible human beings.

And through it all, they say they wouldn't change a thing  even the kidnapping.

Tracy Smith: So, if you look back at the last 20 years, what has this journey been about?

Michelle Renee: Raising a remarkable daughter  It's the best thing I've ever done in my life, is be her mom.

Tracy Smith: It seems like both of you look at this at least a tiny bit as a gift.

Breea Renee: Uh-huh. Yeah  I wouldn't change it.  it  gave us the chance to

build the bond that we have today. And it's just gotten stronger  Yeah.

Robert Ortiz was granted parole in January 2021.

Learn more about MS from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Produced by Gayane Keshishyan Mendez. Michael McHugh is the producer/editor. Emma Steele, Lauren Turner Dunn, and Danielle Arman are the associate producers. Greg McLaughlin and Diana Modica are the editors. Peter Schweitzer is the senior producer. Nancy Kramer is the executive story editor. Judy Tygard is the executive producer.

Prime Minister Marin | Sunday on 60 Minutes

U.S. risks default as soon as July if Congress does not raise debt ceiling

Portions of Georgia grand jury report on Trump released
Two unidentified objects have been shot down over North America in the past two days in the aftermath of the Chinese surveillance balloon that was taken down over the Atlantic Ocean after crossing the United States last week.

The U.S. military shot down the first object in Alaskan airspace on Friday, causing it to land in U.S. waters, while Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ordered the North American Aerospace Defense Command to shoot down an unidentified object over the territory of Yukon on Saturday.

Officials are working to recover the wreckage of both objects, which they hope will give more information about their origins and purposes.

John Kirby, the White Houses national security spokesperson, said the object that was flying over Alaska was traveling at 40,000 feet, which is about the maximum height that commercial airliners fly at. He said the height the object was traveling at caused it to pose a reasonable threat to civilian flight safety.

President Biden ordered it shot down, and U.S. Northern Command took it down at 1:45 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

A U.S. official told CNN that F-35 fighter jets started investigating the object on Thursday. Kirby said the jets could gain only limited information about the object, as they travel at fast speeds.

Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, the press secretary for the Pentagon, told reporters in a briefing that the object was about the size of a small car and was not similar in size or shape to the Chinese balloon seen last week.

Kirby said the object did not appear to be self-maneuvering and was at the mercy of prevailing winds, causing it to be less predictable than the Chinese balloon. Officials said they believed the balloon shot down last weekend had some amount of self-maneuverability.

Officials added that the object was taken down by an F-22 fighter using an AIM-9X, which are the same type of aircraft and missile that took down the Chinese balloon, according to CNN. An official told the outlet that the object did not appear to have any surveillance equipment.

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Northern Command said in a press release on Saturday that arctic conditions, including wind chill, snow and limited daylight, are a factor in the recovery operation. It said personnel are adjusting their operations to ensure safety.

Trudeau announced the second object was shot down on Twitter. He said the North American Aerospace Defense Command took it down over Yukon, a Canadian territory that is sparsely populated.

The White House said in a statement that it was aware of the object for the 24 hours leading up to it being shot down, and Biden continuously received briefings on it.

Biden and Trudeau spoke by phone and agreed that the object should be recovered for U.S. and Canadian officials to learn more about its origin and purpose.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
will kopelman

will kopelman/instagram Alexandra Michler and Will Kopelman on their honeymoon in Italy

Drew Barrymore's ex-husband Will Kopelman is expecting a baby boy with his wife, Alexandra Michler.

Michler shared a post on Instagram Saturday, confirming that she is pregnant and expecting her first baby with Kopelman, 44.

"The year of boys!! ," the proud mom-to-be captioned the shot, which shows her holding her baby bump while taking a stroll with a dog.

Michler's art consultant beau shared a sweet but simple message in the comments section, posting three blue heart emojis.

Never miss a story  sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

RELATED: Savannah Guthrie, Drew Barrymore on Empowering Their Daughters: It's 'Where You Put the Emphasis'

After four years of marriage, Barrymore, 47, and Kopelman divorced in 2016, multiple source confirmed to PEOPLE at the time.

In August 2021, Kopelman married the Vogue director of fashion development in Massachusetts, where Olive and Frankie acted as flower girls during the ceremony.

For Halloween 2021, Barrymore shared on her daytime talk show that she spent the holiday with her ex, their daughters and his new wife.

"I went trick-or-treating on Sunday with Will and his beautiful wife Allie, my daughters' wonderful stepmother. I think, honestly, this is so ideal. It is the dream. And I love seeing this, I really do. It's very positive," Barrymore said at the time.

RELATED: Drew Barrymore Reveals Why She Doesn't Get Her Daughters Christmas Gifts: 'They Don't Love' It

will kopelman

will kopelman/instagram Will Kopelman and Alexandra Michler enjoying their honeymoon in Italy

In October 2015, Barrymore spoke to PEOPLE about how much she enjoys watching Kopelman with their two little ones.

"Honestly, I don't know how it is for other couples but really I like watching him be a father," Barrymore said. "I know everyone says you're supposed to put your coupledom first. But I really love it being all about the kids. Maybe that's my compensating for not having parents myself or a childhood but right now, the focus is about how we're figuring things out as parents."
Jerald J. Jaeger has always been a fan of mystery. So much so, that when he semi-retired four years ago, he attempted to write a book about the Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 that disappeared on March 8, 2014.

Author Jerald Jaeger said his wife, Ellen, who is a doctor, is the main proofreader for all his novels.

After a great deal of research, however, he realized that writing such a book could be harmful to the families who lost loved ones. Instead, he decided to use his newfound knowledge for another story.

"I had all this research on the Boeing 777-300, and I just decided to use the airplane in a different way," the author said. "It became part of this novel in which it was used to transfer illicit diamonds to avoid customs and taxes."

Third time's the charm

Jaeger received a great deal of positive feedback on his first two novels, "The Resort" and "Infinite Justice," but he's never written anything as intense as his latest book, "Red Diamond Justice," which was released in December.

One reader, actress Ellen Travolta, summed it up as follows, as printed on the back of the book: "The glamour, greed and atrocities that come wtih a diamond obsession are vivid in Jerry Jaeger's Red Diamond Justice. His attention to detail makes the journey exciting and riveting. History comes to life in this thrilling cliffhanger."

Jaeger, a seasonal La Quinta resident, has long been fascinated by Russia  way before the current war with Ukraine, he noted  and so naturally, he landed on a story centering on a corrupt Russian oligarch, a "treacherous fellow" named Demitri Denipaska, who aims to corner the world's diamond market with his granddaughter.

Unlike his first two books that were written under the pen name of JJ Hunter, this novel is the first to bear his government name, and Jaeger took the process of writing it quite seriously.

Writing is something he's enjoyed since his sophomore English teacher helped motivate him in high school. She'd have the students read Reader's Digest, he recalled, and while turning those pages, something clicked. Although his eventual career was in business  Jaeger is the co-founder of a hospitality company based in his other seasonal home of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho  he's written columns that have appeared in newspapers, industry magazines and several other publications.

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"While I was actively working every day, I really didn't have a lot of time (to write), but I still wanted to do it," Jaeger said. "And so the first two, they were done while I was working full time, which took a while because I couldn't devote as much time as I wanted to."

This time around, however, Jaeger had recently taken a step back from the business he founded with his wife and the late publishing and resort magnate Duane Hagadone, which gave him more time to focus on "Red Diamond Justice."

An extensive research process

Jaeger is nothing if not detail-oriented. The research process for this book took four years because he was determined to get it right, but even though it was a huge challenge, he said he sincerely enjoyed it.

"It was very laborious. It took a lot of time because Soviet law is totally different than ours ... and I'm not a lawyer," Jaeger said. "I talked to three airline pilots when I was researching the airplane, and I talked to a couple of attorneys. So it was challenging and difficult, but it was also really rewarding. I think it adds to the book."

Jaeger and his wife, Ellen, are avid travelers who have been to the majority of places mentioned in the novel, and they even went on a few trips during Jaeger's research phase to add a layer of authenticity and "local flair."

During a research trip to Istanbul, the couple hired a personal guide to show them the famed Spoonmaker's Diamond, an 86 carat, pear-shaped diamond housed in the Imperial Treasury exhibitions at the Topkapi Palace Museum.

"He was a pretty well-positioned person over there, and he was able to get access to some places that really weren't open to the general public," Jaeger said of their guide. "During the second day, he said 'now what is your interest in the Spoonmaker's Diamond?' ... And I said, 'Well, to be honest, you've been very helpful to me, and I plan to steal it.' You wouldn't believe the look on his face. ... I said 'well, in a novel," and he said 'oh, well don't use my name!'"

How to purchase: If you'd like to read "Red Diamond Justice," you can purchase a print copy online at barnesandnoble.com, or amazon.com, or in e-book form on scribd.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: La Quinta author's world travels inspired 'Red Diamond Justice'
OTTAWA COUNTY  A group of students from the Careerline Tech Center learned about the West Michigan automotive industry while helping showcase area employers.

Students in the media and communications program at CTC worked with The Mosaic Film Experience, Gentex and the Kent Career Tech Center to produce a student-created video showcasing West Michigans ties to the auto industry.

A group of students from the Careerline Tech Center learned about the West Michigan automotive industry while helping showcase area employers.

CTC is a program of the Ottawa Area ISD, serving school districts throughout Ottawa County and northwestern Allegan County. A team of 32 students from the center produced the video.

Real projects with real products create a genuine experience where the potential for learning grows exponentially and supports students in preparing for future education, said Bill Wolbrink, media and communications instructor for the CareerlineTech Center.

The process of going out to the different businesses and seeing how they operate was eye-opening for our students. Their visits also dispelled some of the students perceptions about the manufacturing industry.

Students interviewed leadership and filmed footage at five West Michigan automotive employers  Gentex, JMAX Transportation, Royal Technologies, Techno-Coat and Shoreline Container.

Jenison High School senior Joey Heyboer served as lead editor for the project. He said the project provided a look into the field of digital media. Heyboer plans to pursue video and editing work after graduation.

In addition to learning about West Michigans role in the automotive industry, I learned a lot of key editing skills that I can use in my future, Heyboer said. I like that I was involved with many different companies and people throughout the project. It was a great experience that not every student has the opportunity to do.

Kent Career Tech Center student Yejin Jeon produced the graphic overlays used throughout the video.

A student-made video produced by Careerline Tech Center students was screened at the Gentex booth of the Michigan International Auto Show.

The five-minute video was streamed at Gentexs booth at the Michigan International Auto Show from Feb. 2-6 at DeVos Place in Grand Rapids. It's available to view on YouTube. The project is part of the Mosaic Film Experiences STEAM partnership with Gentex, aimed at inspiring the next generation of professionals in arts and technology.

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Students will now use the footage to produce individual recruiting videos for each company. They will detail what each employer is looking for in prospective team members.

 Contact reporter Mitchell Boatman at mboatman@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter @SentinelMitch.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Local students learn about, promote auto industry with video project
Turkish teams work alongside a Los Angeles County Fire Department Urban Search and Rescue team to remove a girl who was trapped for 117 hours inside a home in Adiyaman, Turkey. (Tom Nicholson / For The Times)

It was early Sunday evening in California, and Joshua Svensson was driving home with his family from Mammoth when an app on his phone began to ping: A magnitude 7.8 earthquake had jolted southern Turkey and northern Syria, pulverizing tens of thousands of homes and killing thousands of people in them.

At that point, you get that sinking feeling in your stomach, and it scares you, he said. Because when you see things on social media, you think, Im going to probably be there in a couple of days.

He was right.

A mother is removed from the home where she and her two children were trapped. One child died. (Tom Nicholson / For The Times)

Svensson, 43, a civil engineer with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works, doubles as a structures specialist with the county Fire Departments Urban Search and Rescue team.

By Wednesday morning, the L.A. team, under the aegis of the U.S. Agency for International Development, known as USAID, had arrived in Adiyaman, Turkey, a hard-hit city some 60 miles northeast of the earthquakes epicenter.

Since their deployment, the crew members have engaged in a dozen searches a day and undertaken hours-long tunneling efforts at buildings where they detected strong signs of life. They have consulted with local personnel on rescue attempts, in one case providing an assist with a rescue. They have also surveyed some 2,000 buildings to determine their suitability for habitation.

But first they had to get here.

Members of the L.A. County Urban Search and Rescue team hold a meeting at their headquarters in Adiyaman, Turkey. (Tom Nicholson / For The Times)

At 9 p.m. last Sunday, the call went out to see who was available for immediate deployment; once the sun came up Monday, Svensson and 76 others  firefighters, structural engineers, emergency management planners, paramedics, doctors, technical experts and six K9 dogs  assembled at the Urban Search and Rescue headquarters in Pacoima.

Just before midnight, they were wheels-up, winging  along with 65,000 pounds of equipment  to Turkey as part of a sprawling 141,000-strong search-and-rescue effort that includes 8,619 workers from 68 countries, even as estimates of the dead Saturday climbed past the 28,000 mark, with potentially thousands more unaccounted for.

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Such teams, along with masses of local volunteers, medical professionals, rescue personnel and miners have become a ubiquitous presence on streets across Turkeys ravaged southern provinces, working 24-hour shifts to locate and extricate survivors or carry out the dead.

Its one of those things where you train so long to do this job, and then youre given the opportunity to go do it. Its almost a culmination of all your efforts, said the teams task force leader, Bryan Wells, 52, a firefighter for more than three decades. Then you get people who are deeply entombed in concrete. And its a matter of utilizing our skills.

Whether theyre a medical specialist, a hazmat expert or a whiz at rescues, their skills are being tested in Adiyaman.

Buildings here are a smorgasbord of urban destruction. Multistory apartment blocks have been squashed into pancake stacks of concrete; others were ground down to irregular mounds of rock detritus and distressed rebar. Still others stand dangerously askew, with bottom floors pulverized while the rest of the structure appears liable to tip over at any moment.

All force rescuers to participate in a life-size, lethal game of Jenga as they burrow into the unstable structures, where any mistake could mean catastrophe for not just anyone still alive inside but those around as well.

Only two teams in the United States qualify for missions as international disaster assistance response teams under the USAID program, and both have come together to Turkey: the one from L.A. County and one from Fairfax, Va.

A site in Adiyaman where the L.A. team searched for signs of life. (Tom Nicholson / For The Times)

On Friday, a squad from the L.A. team maneuvered through neighborhoods of Adiyaman to assess the horrific damage. Less dramatic than rescues, yes, but no less crucial: Thousands of residents remain on the street in tents, contending with freezing temperatures yet afraid to risk moving back inside the buildings that remain standing.

Its a major psychological challenge, Svensson said. Its a heavy responsibility, but we will go to these houses and say, I would sleep here. Offering people that peace of mind is a big deal.

Working with local authorities, the team helped divvy up the city blocks into manageable chunks to determine how livable the structures were. That information would be filtered back using smartphone apps tied to a central database.

Other rescue personnel across Turkey feed into the database as well, said Brad Weisshaupt, the teams technical information specialist and a self-described data nerd.

Essentially, this creates a common operating picture, he said. This is a snapshot of everything thats going on in the entire country, search-and-rescue wise.

The L.A. crew and Turkish searchers celebrate after removing the mother and daughter from the rubble. (Tom Nicholson / For The Times)

As it drove around the city, the L.A. team received calls from rubble sites where crews suspected that someone remained alive.

One such request came in the early afternoon.

Jason Vasquez, a burly, 48-year-old fireman and search team manager whose glasses made him look like Rod Steiger (More like Kim Jong Un, his colleagues joked), led the squad to what had been an apartment building but was now a chaotic maw of pancaked floors and detritus.

The smell of human remains was pungent, but workers believed they had heard something through one of the openings.

Vasquez was accompanied by Sean Quigley, a canine specialist, and Gino, a black Labrador. Behind them was Matt Arledge. They would survey the site for signs of life while Carlos Slythe, a structures specialist, would monitor closely to make sure they werent in danger.

Quigley released Gino from his leash, commanding him to walk atop the structure. The dog trotted to one opening, then another, where one could see the remains of a human body whose back had been broken by the collapsing floors. The mission was rescue and not cadaver recovery, though, and Gino couldnt detect anyone who was alive, so Quigley called him off.

Arledge was up next. Vasquez, clearly worried about the state of the structure, said, You have 30 seconds.

Arledge unspooled a long wire with a rugged, hyper-sensitive microphone at its end and donned a pair of headphones.

If you did this, he said, tapping his finger very lightly on a nearby rock, I would be able to hear it.

He moved toward the opening, fed the microphone in and put on headphones. Slythe kept constant watch. After several attempts, Arledge shook his head. Nothing.

Vasquez thanked the foreman at the site for his work and told him they had detected no sign of life, but the crew should operate carefully.

A young onlooker named Bilal walked up to ask if they had heard anything. He pointed to an older man with a tired, stress-lined face.

My uncle. His two children were inside, he said in halting English. When he was told they had heard nothing, his eyes moistened for a moment, then he blinked, thanked the team and turned back to the site with his uncle.

A lot of it is ghost stories at this point, said Vasquez. Often people just want closure.

Id do the same, he added.

By the time darkness fell, the squads had surveyed no fewer than 1,500 buildings and went back to base.

Just a few hours later, though, came a call to a six-story building with potentially dozens of people inside.

A group of miners working on the collapsed structure thought they had heard something and discovered 33-year-old Ozlem Yilmaz and her two daughters, Zeynep, 11, and 6-year-old Zeliha, wedged  virtually squashed  between two floors. Zeynep had died, but Yilmaz and Zeliha were responding; Turkish personnel were taking the lead but wanted technical and medical support from the American teams.

For hours, the crews worked in 29-degree weather, carefully removing debris while shoring up the passageway with logs. At one point, the Turkish miners asked for jacks they could use to further prop up the structure.

Then, Dr. Brad Haywood, a paramedic with the team from Virginia, administered a solution of electrolytes to help stabilize Yilmaz. She was rescued soon after and rushed to an ambulance. She started crying when she was told she had been inside for five days.

That left Zeliha, who was blocked by her siblings lifeless body. An hour passed, as dozens of onlookers sat arrayed around the opening as if in an amphitheater.

Finally, early Saturday, a miner emerged with the girl on a stretcher, her black hair streaked with dust, her eyes blinking in the floodlights. The crowd seemed to collectively exhale, then followed as the medics carried her to an ambulance.

When the ambulance drove away, it was high-fives and smiles among the various crews. Dogan Can, the lead Turkish paramedic, shook hands with Haywood.

The crews trudged away from the site as a food truck arrived and dispersed steaming-hot lentil soup and bread to the crowd that lingered behind, still basking in the afterglow of a brief moment of joy in a city all but bereft of it.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Manchester City fans drowned out the Premier League anthem with boos prior to kick-off against Aston Villa (Martin Rickett/PA) (PA Wire)

Manchester City fans drowned out the Premier League anthem with boos prior to kick-off of their clash with Aston Villa at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

The match was the champions first outing since they were charged with 115 breaches of the competitions Financial Fair Play regulations on Monday.

The club have strongly denied any wrongdoing and the fans protest echoed their long-standing booing of the Champions League anthem over perceived injustices from European governing body UEFA.

Manager Pep Guardiola had urged the club and fans to move closer together than ever in a passionate defence of the club on Friday.

There were further chants deriding the Premier League and songs in support of owner Sheikh Mansour.

A banner was also unfurled bearing a message, Pannick on the streets of London, in reference to Lord Pannick, the lawyer City have hired to fight their case.
ABC News

A Minnesota man has died after being attacked by dogs he was watching for a family member, police said. Officers secured a garage door and began rendering aid to the victim, who "had most of his clothing ripped off and had extensive bites on most of his body," the Brooklyn Center Police Department said in a statement. The victim did not own the dogs -- identified by police as American pit bull terriers -- but had been taking care of them at his home for a family member, police said.
Getty Images

Alexandria Mavin, 33, borrowed $117,000 in student loans, has paid back over $70,000 of it, and still owes $90,000.

She would qualify for the full $20,000 amount of Biden's broad student-debt relief plan.

She said she's tired of playing "the unfair game" with opponents of student-loan forgiveness.

Alexandria Mavin, 33, is disappointed  not only with the lawsuits that have blocked President Joe Biden's student-loan forgiveness, but with the way other people have reacted to the idea of debt relief.

When Insider first spoke to Mavin in 2021, she had paid back $70,000 of her original $117,000 student-loan balance from her undergraduate education since 2013, but still owed $98,000. Now, Mavin owes $90,869 on her student loans  three of which are privately owned, and one of which is a $30,862 federal loan. She said she has been paying all of them off diligently, even as interest has kept accumulating on her balance.

When Biden announced his plan to forgive up to $20,000 in student debt for Pell Grant recipients making under $125,000 a year, and up to $10,000 for other federal borrowers under the same income cap, Mavin was cautiously optimistic because she would qualify for the full $20,000 amount of relief on her federal loan  but she recognized it was not yet set in stone.

"As soon as I saw the announcement pop up on the TV, my heart skipped a beat. I felt extreme relief," Mavin said. "And then the realism in me kicked in since it was a plan, it wasn't written in law. So my heart skipped a beat with excitement and feeling a rush of relief, and then the light bulb came on that it was a plan. I was like, 'Oh, someone's gonna mess with this.'"

Alexandria Mavin, 33, has $90,000 in student debt. Alexandria Mavin

Her suspicions were correct  just months after Biden's August announcement, two conservative-backed lawsuits succeeded in halting the implementation of the plan. The Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments in the cases on February 28. In the meantime, many conservative and liberal groups and advocates have filed amicus curiae briefs making their opinions known to the nation's highest court on whether Biden can legally cancel student debt for millions of borrowers.

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A common thread among opponents of the debt relief plan is that it's unfair to those who have already paid off their loans, or funded their higher educations on their own. Mavin said that argument is too simplistic  she said she was told when she was younger that the only way to succeed in life and achieve the American dream was to go to college  and now that she got her degrees, she's being blamed for the debt she took on.

"They forced the idea in our heads of going to college, and now the same people are saying, 'Oh, you're saddled with the debt, well you chose to go to college.' So you told us to go, and now you're telling us it's unfair that we need this fix," Mavin said. "There needs to be an understanding between the generations on what the real issues are, and not just play the unfair game. It's just something really good that needs to happen to help everybody, because everybody deserves a future."

The student-loan payment pause 'has helped me afford life'

Having a daughter in 2020 added to Mavin's expenses, but the pause on federal student-loan payments has saved her nearly $400 a month to put toward home and car repairs, basic necessities, and food and clothes for her daughter. Mavin said the pause on payments "has helped me afford life." That pause is set to end 60 days after the lawsuits blocking Biden's debt relief are resolved, or 60 days after June 30, whichever happens first, and Mavin said she's already preparing for that financial strain.

"With the freeze and being able to save that money, I'm not worried about random expenses that pop up with my home, my child, my husband, nothing. But now that's coming to an end soon," Mavin said. "I just got a raise, but I'm just going to pretend I didn't get it and put it in my savings. So instead of being able to enjoy that, I'm going to have to pretend I have my previous year's salary so I have it saved up for when payments resume."

A recent report from the Penn Wharton Budget Model found that the the student-loan payment pause has cost the federal government $210 billion, with 23% of the pause's benefits going to households in the bottom 50% of income distribution. Many Republican lawmakers have blasted the cost of the payment pause to taxpayers, with some introducing legislation to end the pause and put borrowers back into repayment.

On Wednesday, Republicans on the House budget committee even proposed eight areas to cut spending, two of which included ending the student-loan payment pause and reversing Biden's broad debt relief plan.

But Mavin said she's also a taxpayer, and the pause has been critical for her and her family.

"They're so out of touch. They keep saying this forgiveness is unfair. It's so illegal. And then they keep talking about taxpayers, but we are taxpayers," Mavin said.

"It's crazy to see with just this one student loan being gone, how much financial freedom I'm finding just from one measly $400-a-month student loan," she added. "I'm able to take care of my personal things without wanting to throw up every time a bill comes."

Student-debt relief and reforms to repayment would be 'life-changing'

The White House has made clear it is not deliberating a backup plan if the Supreme Court strikes down Biden's relief, and it anticipates resuming payments this year regardless of the outcome of the litigation.

But to ease the repayment process, the Education Department proposed reforms to income-driven repayment (IDR) plans, which are intended to give borrowers affordable monthly payments based on their income with the promise of loan forgiveness after at least 20 years. The department's proposal would cut monthly payments for undergraduates in half and shorten the timeframe for borrowers to receive loan forgiveness, and Mavin said it would be "life-changing."

Still, as Insider previously reported, IDR plans have failed to work properly over the past decade and if it's not implemented correctly, it could add onto the student-loan industry's continued failures. But now, Mavin is "remaining hopeful that something happens because this is too big of an ongoing issue."

"Let's say 45 people are in this situation with the massive amount of debt. That's a handful of people, you know, out of 1000. But when it's 45 million people," Mavin said, referring to the number of Americans with student debt, "that's a scam."

Read the original article on Business Insider
Caroline Flack's mother has reportedly received an apology from the Met Police about the handling of her case. (PA)

Caroline Flack's mother has reportedly received an apology from the Met Police over how it handled her daughter's assault charge before her death.

The apology comes after an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct into Flack's mother's concerns over the probe.

Caroline Flack, 40, took her own life in her flat in London in February 2020 after she was charged with assaulting her boyfriend.

An inquest found she had committed suicide after her mental health suffered due to the impending case and media attention.

An inquest found Flack committed suicide at her flat in London. (Getty)

It has since emerged that the Crown Prosecution Service had recommended she should be given a caution, but Flack was charged by the Met Police with assault.

Flack's mother Christine launched a formal complaint against the force, prompting an investigation into the decision to press charges.

Read more: Firefighters race to rescue cows stuck in 4m slurry pit

The force initially found that there had been no wrongdoing, but the presenter's mother escalated her concerns to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

Its findings have now prompted the Met to write to apologise to Christine Flack for the fact that full records hadn't been kept on why the decision had been made to charge her, explaining that it had improved record keeping as a consequence.

Flack's mother said the apology she received should have gone to her daughter. (Getty)

But Flack, from Norwich, Norfolk, told the Eastern Daily Press that the force should be apologising for the way her daughter was treated.

She said: "They have apologised for how they handled my complaint  but what they really should be apologising for is the way Carrie was treated.

"The fact new guidelines have been brought in means something was wrong. I believe if I had not said anything, nothing would have changed either."

In a statement, the Met said complaints had been made relating to the "quality and proportionality" of the police investigation that led to Flack being charged with assault, prompting an investigation by its professional standards team.

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Read more: Couple rowing across the Atlantic launch fundraiser so they can afford to get home

That probe did not identify any misconduct, prompting a request by the complainant for a review of the findings by the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

"Following a review, the IOPC agreed with the Met that the service was acceptable in relation to seven areas of the complaints relating to the response and handling of the incident by the Met," it said.

"The IOPC directed the Met to reinvestigate one element of the complaints, and a further complaint made by the close relative of Ms Flack.

"Both relate to the process involved in appealing the Crown Prosecution Service decision to caution Ms Flack."

Watch: Caroline Flack's mother condemns Jeremy Clarkson's column against Meghan Markle

It said that investigation, which concluded in May 2022, found that service provided was acceptable, but the Met had identified "some learning around using IT systems to record appeal decisions and the use of decision models for cautions", which were being implemented.

It said that in June 2022 a review had been carried out by the IOPC following an appeal over the outcome of the investigation.

The statement added: "The review did not identify any misconduct but concluded that an officer should receive reflective practice.

"This was about the requirement to review all case material and record a balanced rationale, demonstrating objective decision making by exploring aggravating and mitigating factors, when appealing a CPS decision.

"The IOPC also asked the Met to apologise to Ms Flacks family about there not being a record of the rationale to appeal the CPS decision. We have done so and acknowledged the impact that this has had on them.

"We wait to hear whether the IOPC will make any recommendations for organisational learning.

"Our thoughts and sympathies remain with Ms Flacks family for their loss."
Facebook parent Meta conducted its biggest-ever layoffs last November, shedding about 11,000 workers. But more jobs, it appears, are about to be axed.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg noted in a Facebook post on Feb. 1, We closed last year with some difficult layoffs and restructuring some teams. When we did this, I said clearly that this was the beginning of our focus on efficiency and not the end. During an earnings call that same day, he announced 2023 will be Metas year of efficiency.

While Meta workers wonder who will be deemed inefficient, the company has delayed finalizing multiple teams budgets, according to the Financial Times. Employees who spoke to the British paper on condition of anonymity said morale at the company was low and little work was getting done on some teams as they await abnormally slow budget decisions.

Meta declined to comment when contacted by Fortune.

Honestly, its still a mess, one employee told the FT. The year of efficiency is kicking off with a bunch of people getting paid to do nothing.

Other workers told the paper the next job cuts are expected next month.

Middle managers have reason to be nervous.

'More proactive about cutting projects'

Zuckerberg wrote in his Facebook post, Were working on flattening our org structure and removing some layers of middle management to make decisions faster, as well as deploying AI tools to help our engineers be more productive. As part of this, we're going to be more proactive about cutting projects that aren't performing or may no longer be as crucial, but my main focus is on increasing the efficiency of how we execute our top priorities.

One of those priorities is the metaverse, a largely unrealized virtual world that has underwhelmed users and could take years to become profitable, if it ever does. The companys metaverse division, Reality Labs, notched a loss of $13.7 billion for 2022, up from a $10.2 billion loss in 2021.

Investors have tried pressuring Zuckerberg to scale back the metaverse investments, to no avail.

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In December, John Carmack, a virtual reality pioneer, left his high-level consulting role at Meta, where he worked on the metaverse. He tweeted on the way out, I have always been pretty frustrated with how things get done at FB/Meta. Everything necessary for spectacular success is right there, but it doesn't get put together effectively.

Slow going with the metaverse and three consecutive quarters of year-over-year revenue declines, however, are not stopping stock buybacks at Meta. In its latest earnings statement, Meta said it had increased its share repurchase authorization by $40 billion, noting that last year it bought back about $28 billion.

Many tech companies that over-hired during the pandemic, as demand surged for the services, have conducted large layoffs in recent months, leading to a sense of clashing headlines as the latest U.S. jobs report shows the lowest unemployment in 50 years.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

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A part of Montana airspace was temporarily closed due to a radar anomaly, then later reopened, after an unidentified object was shot down over Canada, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said Saturday.

A fighter jet was deployed to investigate the radar situation, the U.S. military said.

North American air defense (NORAD) detected a radar anomaly and sent fighter aircraft to investigate. Those aircraft did not identify any object to correlate to the radar hits, the North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command said in a statement.

A part of the airspace over Havre, Montana by the U.S. border with Canada was briefly closed, then shortly after reopened to air traffic. The military said that officials will continue to monitor the situation.

The radar development came after a U.S. F-22 fighter jet shot down an unidentified cylindrical object over the Yukon Territory in Canada on Saturday, the third such occurrence this month.

I ordered the take down of an unidentified object that violated Canadian airspace.

@NORADCommand shot down the object over the Yukon. Canadian and U.S. aircraft were scrambled, and a U.S. F-22 successfully fired at the object, Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau tweeted Saturday.

Last Saturday, the Biden administration finally shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon off the Carolina coast, after it was permitted to enter American airspace and drift over an intercontinental ballistic missile storage area in Montana. Some Republicans speculated that the spy device might also have transmitted top-secret data back to Beijing.

Air Force General Glen VanHerck, commander of North American air defense, said last week that the military has had blind spots for balloon incursions in the past and is still trying to improve its apprehension capabilities.

I will tell you that we did not detect those threats and thats a domain awareness gap that we have to figure out, General VanHerck said at a Monday media briefing, according to the Wall Street Journal.

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On Friday, another high-altitude airborne object was removed from the sky off the northern coast of Alaska, U.S. Northern Command said in a statement. Multiple agencies such as Alaskas command, the Alaska National Guard, and the FBI have been conducting search and recovery activities on sea ice. Those operations have had to be adjusted, however, due to arctic weather conditions, including wind chill, snow, and limited daylight.

We have no further details at this time about the object, including its capabilities, purpose, or origin, U.S. Northern Command said.

Spokesman John Kirby said Friday that the origin of the object had yet to be determined.

More from National Review
BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe (AP)  West Indies left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie took seven wickets to help dismiss Zimbabwe for 115 in the second test before the visitors finished the first day on 133-4 for an 18-run lead.

The hosts were missing batter Gary Ballance through illness and their first innings lasted only 40.5 overs on Sunday after choosing to bat first. Opener Innocent Kaia top scored with 38.

Motie took full advantage of the spin-friendly conditions at Queens Sports Club, relying on turn of the ball, variation and change of pace for his career-best bowling figures of 7-37 in 14.5 overs.

Its a great feeling, it means a lot to me, the 27-year-old Guyanese said. I really enjoyed bowling in these spin-friendly conditions. Hopefully we can get a good total tomorrow.

Motie's seven victims were Zimbabwe interim captain Craig Ervine (22), Milton Shumba (3), Tafadzwa Tsiga (0), Wellington Masakadza (1), Brandon Mavuta (1), Victor Nyauchi (2) and Tanaka Chivanga (6).

Zimbabwes batting lineup, weakened by the absence of all-rounder Sikandar Raza and regular captain Sean Williams, was dealt another blow after former England batter Ballance, who scored a historic century on debut last week, was ruled out because of migraine.

Look, its a challenge not having your senior guys  Sikandar (Raza), Sean (Williams) and now Gary Ballance after the way he batted in the first test, Ervine said.

Its challenging but, like Ive said before, its opportunities for others. Its a privilege for them to play test cricket and see how its like.

Left-hander Raymon Reifer (53) led his sides reply with a half century, and shared a second-wicket partnership of 73 with opener Tagenarine Chanderpaul (36).

Its a great feeling, we want to build a lead as big as possible, Reifer said.

Reifer, who was run out after a mix-up with Chanderpaul, said it was "disappointing not to be coming back tomorrow to get that hundred.

Zimbabwes slow bowlers were also relatively successful in the conditions, with Mavuta and Masakadza sharing the other three wickets.

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Ervine defended his decision to bat first.

When we looked at the wicket we knew it was going to turn, Ervine said. West Indies hit the right areas and made it difficult for us to score.

"We chose to bat first because the wicket was dry and batting last was going to be difficult. We are hoping to keep their lead under 100 runs.

The first of two tests was drawn.

___

More AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Oleksiy Honcharenko

 What is being said on the sidelines of the Rada about Zelenskyy's visit to Europe? How satisfied are the parliamentarians with what they managed to bring back from there? And what do you personally think about this visit? What are the consequences? Have we done enough to push our partners to provide Ukraine with the weapons to win?

 It's hard for me to give any final assessment of the visit yet. It seems that in any case, it was successful. It is good and right that the president continues his foreign policy activities after his visit to Washington.

I have actually been saying this since last summer. Back then, I was campaigning and advocating that the president should have attended the G7 meeting in Bavaria, followed by the NATO summit in Madrid. At the time, I participated in this NATO summit, and I was the only Ukrainian MP there  not a single minister was present, no President. And I think it was worth starting back then. But that was the decision that was made.

However, it is right that the president is starting to leave the country. Of course, many people have been traveling to Kyiv and will continue to do so, but it is also very important to go to them. Ukraine has a lot of issues  weapons, financial support, sanctions  and the president, as the head of state, the head of the diplomatic front, as a person who is extremely popular in the world today, should use this popularity and this reputation that the entire Ukrainian people have created together to benefit Ukraine.

Read also: Rada ticks all boxes needed to start EU membership talks with European Commission, says Stefanchuk

 In fact, the European Parliament was Ukrainianized. Everyone responded well with "Glory to the Heroes!"

 Absolutely. It's fantastic. And the accents are very well placed. Washington is first, which is also right. Then London, Paris, Brussels. I think the accents and signals are correctly placed.

That's why I think the visit was successful. And this small tour was a success.

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We do not yet fully understand whether the issue of warplanes has been resolved. But we already understand that there will be training. This is very good because it is the beginning.

Did we manage to increase the number of armored vehicles that Ukraine will receive? A total of 80 or even 150 (tanks) is not enough to turn the tide at the front. It's very good, it's better than zero, obviously, but we need more. Whether we have succeeded or not, we cannot state this yet.

Did we manage to resolve the issue of long-range missiles, which is very important for us today? (This) is something that could dramatically change the situation at the front. Again, we do not know the answer yet. But I'm sure that an attempt has been made, and we'll see what happens next. That's why I am positive about it.

Read also: Ukraines Rada appoints Kubrakov as deputy PM and head of two merged ministries

 The president said that there will be good news, which cannot be announced yet.

 God willing. I think this visit was definitely not in vain. And I think there are really significant, tangible results.

 You are one of the co-authors who submitted a draft resolution to the PACE to recognize the Wagner PMC as a terrorist organization. Which countries are ready to support this draft resolution? And what will it do? Will it complicate the activities of these terrorists?

 This is important. First, it is the discussion at the level of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Let me remind you that the Council of Europe itself unites 46 countries after we finally kicked Russia out. That is, the entire European Union plus other countries. This is a very important platform. The very fact of discussions on this platform is important to remind everyone who is who. We need to promote this Ukrainian agenda constantly.

Of course, this will not have any direct legal consequences, but it is a step towards making the legislatures of these 46 countries do so.

Let me remind you: when we made a decision on the tribunal in PACE, a certain chain reaction began in other parliaments, which began to follow suit. Or when we began to say that this is genocide at the PACE level, then European parliaments began to pick up on it. Because PACE sets the tone. If we talk about it at this level, then the parliaments of the countries begin to adopt it and use it, to move forward. So I think this is an important resolution.

Read also: How Kyrylo Tymoshenko lost the war for survival in the Presidents Office, and how it involves Andriy Yermak

 What should be the next box to be checked? What will be the next task of the PACE for you personally?

 We have a lot of tasks there. The January session recently ended, where we adopted, I think, a very important resolution that speaks of a tribunal for Putin and Lukashenko.

This is also a political signal. By the way, it's important that Lukashenko is also there. Somehow we often forget him here, but Belarus is occupied, Lukashenko is simply a criminal and Putin's puppet who is fully responsible for everything that is happening. That is why this was an important resolution.

We have to raise all the issues that Ukraine needs at the PACE level. The legal front: the tribunal, freezing of Russian assets, their seizure, compensation for Ukraine. This was also spelled out in the relevant resolutions, but we will need to continue to raise these issues.

The fate of Ukrainians in Europe is also something that we have spelled out in resolutions at the PACE level, and we need to go further. And today there are millions of Ukrainians abroad, especially in the member states of the Council of Europe. The Council of Europe is an important platform for protecting their rights.

Read also: EU Parliament president calls for long-range systems, jets to be sent to Ukraine

 You mentioned the freezing of Russian assets and their transfer to Ukraine. Certain such processes have already begun in Estonia and the United States. Can we conclude that the process is ongoing in this regard?

 Yes, it is definitely underway. Of course, we would like it to be much faster, but the situation is unprecedented. Now we need to understand that a new chapter of international law is actually being written, and significant changes are taking place in international law. And what seemed impossible yesterday is beginning to happen.

And it is very important that the United States (started the process), because we understand that private property is an absolutely sacred cow for the United States, and this country is built on it. But at the same time, they have already set the first precedent by adopting the relevant legislation: assets worth $5.2 million have been seized and confiscated and will be transferred to Ukraine. And this is very important.

A similar law was passed in Canada. Europe is very important here, because there are huge Russian assets, both state and private, ranging from oligarchs to (propagandist Vladimir) Solovyov with his villa on Lake Como, and many others. That is, there are tens and hundreds of billions of euros worth of assets that Ukraine desperately needs, because the country is devastated, and we need to rebuild. And it is obvious that it is not the taxpayers of the United States, France or Germany who should pay for this, but Russia, which has done all this.

That is why this is a very important process, and it has started. It will be difficult. There will be more debates and trial rollercoasters. Legally, it is all very complicated, especially when it comes to the sovereign assets of Russia as a state. It will be a very difficult process. However, we have to push through it, because for us it is a matter of rebuilding our country.

Read also: Zelenskyy presents Ukrainian pilot helmet to UK parliament  video report

 You said that an interesting draft law has been registered in the Ukrainian Parliament, which would punish MPs for breaking news from the Rada. Could you explain what it is about, what are the provisions of this document?

 I think this story is both absurd and ridiculous. But the trend we see is actually very disturbing. Unfortunately, this is not the only thing that manifests itself.

A little bit of background. It will soon be a year (since the full-scale invasion started). The Verkhovna Rada has always been, for all its shortcomings, the most open body of state power in Ukraine. It has always been. Because the sessions are broadcast online, anyone can turn on the TV and watch. There were a lot of journalists working behind the scenes, and then during the COVID (pandemic), it was complicated a bit, but then it was brought back. And that's the way it should be. Transparency is the only way to the result, to the fact that we are a democracy. Otherwise, this is the Russian Federation.

Unfortunately, the Verkhovna Rada sessions have not been broadcast for a year. At first, this was absolutely understandable. But it's been a year now. The Verkhovna Rada meets, but there is no broadcast.

I have repeatedly raised this issue from the rostrum of the Verkhovna Rada (but people do not hear it). They explain it by security: "What if Russia finds out that we are meeting live and attacks us with missiles?" First of all, I want to remind you that we gathered in the Verkhovna Rada building when the Russian army was physically located 30 kilometers away from the building itself. I was one of those who said at the time that we should gather in the Verkhovna Rada building, not in a shelter or somewhere else, because we needed to show Ukrainians and the world that the Verkhovna Rada is alive, the country is not beheaded. The president is in Kyiv, which is a very good example. But the parliament is in Kyiv, and it must also show this. And this was, I think, very important.

So I don't understand why. Okay, Russian planes take off, air raid alert, let's go down to the shelter then. I'm not even talking about the fact that Opposition PlatformFor Life MPs are sitting in the Verkhovna Rada building and attending the meetings. So to think that Russia doesn't know when we are going to meet, I think, is a bit ridiculous. Until recently, Medvedchuk received invitations to our meetings, he was a sitting MP. But we pretend that Russia doesn't know something.

Read also: Security services complete investigation into ex-SBU chief, reports RFE/RL

 What is the real goal then? Who exactly do they want to restrict? You say that you and Zheleznyak who have been tweeting and posting on Telegram.

 Because we (me and Yaroslav Zheleznyak) are the ones who inform on our Telegram channels, Facebook, and so on about what is happening in the Verkhovna Rada, what decisions the Verkhovna Rada is making.

Let me reiterate this. Even if we take the security format, what prevents us from recording the entire session of the Verkhovna Rada (it is recorded anyway) and showing it two hours after it ends in full, so that people can see everything that is happening in the Verkhovna Rada?

At the same time, we have the Rada TV channel, which shows anything but the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. I think this is wrong. So I'm trying to open up the authorities, to show what's going on. And here comes this law, which aims to prohibit us from informing during the meeting and for an hour afterwards. But after an hour, you can inform. It seems absurd to me. It's not clear why they need to close it.

Read also: Ukraines SBU says Medvedchuk wifes companies financed Russian security forces in occupied Crimea

 What penalties do you face?

 The proposed penalties are as follows: the lawmaker who informed has thus violated the law (if this becomes law), and such an MP should be removed from the meeting and banned from working for up to five session days. It's a complete absurdity.

Okay, I won't report it myself, I'll send it to you, and you will report it as NV. Then it's okay? It's absurd.

I am just very pleased with the signatories of this bill. Among them are such "fighters" for parliamentary as (oppositionists) Yuriy Boyko and Nestor Shufrych. They continue to be Ukrainian members of parliament. They, along with our Speaker (Ruslan) Stefanchuk, First Deputy Speaker, and others, signed this bill to slightly shut down the Verkhovna Rada. It's a stupid initiative, and of course it won't work. But it is very indicative.

Read also: Ukrainian PM submits motion to tap Klymenko as interior minister

 It's just a bill for now, right?

 It's just a draft law, but it's signed by the Speaker of the Parliament and the First Deputy Speaker. And there are quite a few signatories. So, to be honest, I see it as having quite high chances (of being passed).

The adoption of this bill will not change anything for me. I will certainly inform the public. I respect any law, but I will continue to inform about what is happening in the Verkhovna Rada.

But tell me, are we moving in the right direction at all? It seems to me that the right direction is to become more transparent, not to close as many government agencies as possible. Because as a result, we end up with eggs at 17 hryvnias a piece in the procurement of the Defense Ministry or some other such things. The more transparency, the better.

Read also: National Police chief Klymenko appointed acting Interior Minister

 Ukraine has completed an internal investigation into the former head of the Security Service, Ivan Bakanov. It is known that he is now in Ukraine. Do you know if any violations were found in Bakanov's activities?

 This is the first time I'm hearing about this from you. I missed this news. Finally. I raised this question many times: what about Bakanov? Because we were told that he had violated the military regulations, and the consequences were human casualties, so it was extremely serious. But I don't know.

 This was reported by MP Fedir Venislavskyi on Feb. 11. He says that special procedures for checking Bakanov have been completed, and the public will be informed when it is timely. Because there are some classified materials, checks with limited access. In fact, this is all that was in his statement.

 So what is the problem with saying whether Bakanov is guilty of something or not? The checks have already been completed, but we won't tell you the results because it's a military secret? Well, tell us, did Bakanov violate the military charter, which led to human casualties? That was the wording of the presidential decree. I'm not making this up off the top of my head. Or did he not?

 We wanted to find out from you.

 You will not find out from me, because no one tells us about it.

We have not had a question hour for the government since Feb. 24. No one comes to us. The last time, when they voted to appoint Vasyl Malyuk as the new head of the SBU, Malyuk himself came as a candidate and answered some questions from the rostrum of the Verkhovna Rada. But he did not tell us anything special.

So, unfortunately, as a member of the Ukrainian parliament, I don't have any information (to share). But we did raise the question: what about Bakanov? Now we are told that the investigation has been completed. We spent six months trying to obtain information. Now I hope that it will not take six months for us to find out whether Bakanov has violated anything or not.

Read also: SBU charges Russian Chairman of Investigative Committee for involvement in repression

 Ihor Klymenko and Vasyl Malyuk are now the new heads of the Interior Ministry and the Security Service. A few days ago, David Arakhamia said that there would be some reshuffling in the government in the near future. But this hasn't happened yet. What information do you have? Maybe there are some backstage rumors about who might be dismissed and appointed?

 Actually, I do have some insights.

I once posted (information) that Kyrylo Tymoshenko would be dismissed. I was the first to report it. Kyrylo Tymoshenko said it was not true. As it turned out, I was absolutely right.

I think there will be these changes. There are questions about a number of ministers. We are talking about the Minister of Energy, the Minister of Education. The question is whether they will remain in their positions. We will see. I think there will probably be some changes in the near future.

And we still have an unclear situation with the Minister of Defense. It was no longer some kind of inside (rumor)...

 Journalists are told that the Rada wants to change the law on the appointment of the Minister of Defense. This is all allegedly being done for the current head of Ukrainian intelligence, (Kyrylo) Budanov.

 We saw this in an interview with (MP) Mariana Bezuhla, where she said this.

Let me remind you that the law says that the Minister of Defense must be a civilian. As it is in all civilized countries and in the free world, which we aspire to, in the EU, which we want to join. The Minister of Defense must be a civilian. Yes, it can be a former military man, but it cannot be an active military man. And here we are told that they want to change this.

Read also: Ukraines parliament appoints Malyuk as SBU chief

Again, in which direction are we moving? The direction of Russia, where this pseudo-marshal (Sergey) Shoigu is? Or are we moving towards Europe, where the Minister of Defense is exclusively civilian? So I don't understand the point of this idea.

There are such talks, rumors... This is not even a rumor: Budanov refuses to resign as a serviceman. He is a serving general today. And, according to the law, he cannot become the Minister of Defense, cannot be appointed. In order for him to be appointed, there is a way: he must be dismissed from military service, become a retired general, and then he can be appointed defense minister. But Budanov does not want to do this, he does not want to resign from military service.

And then these things appear  that we may amend the law.

But I would go back a step. Now we are talking about Budanov, but we still have Reznikov. We still have the current defense minister. And I really don't like the situation when Reznikov is in limbo". We do not understand what will happen next. The minister of defense, especially of a country at war, should not be a lame duck. He shouldn't be in limbo.

Either you fire him or say "we've changed our minds" and Reznikov will work for a long time. He's going to Ramstein on Feb. 14, and they'll all be looking at him. The first question his colleagues will ask him is: "Who will come to the next Ramstein? Is it still you? Or someone new?" It shouldn't be like this, that the defense minister is "in limbo", this is the wrong way. Either dismiss him or say that there are no issues, he will continue to work.

I really don't like this whole situation.

If we go back to Budanov, I don't really understand the idea of appointing Budanov as defense minister. Budanov is a real fighting general for whom I have respect. And I know some very cool operations that he has organized, even personally participated in some of them.

However, should the minister of defense be a combat general? Today, the minister of defense is a manager and a diplomat. The minister of defense does not plan any military operations, let alone participate in them. The task of the minister of defense is to provide food for the army, to provide everything the army needs, and today it is also to negotiate for weapons.

It seems to me that if we take a combat general (no matter what his surname is) and put him in charge of the defense ministry, we lose a combat general because he will no longer be able to engage in operations. On the other hand, we will not get a strong minister, because the minister's tasks are completely different. That's why I don't understand it.

Read also: Main facts about newly appointed head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office Oleksandr Klymenko

 The SBU has served a notice of suspicion of treason to MP (Oleh) Voloshyn. How will the story with the traitorous legislators pan out? Do you think they will take away the mandates of all Opposition Platform MPs?

 I do not think so. I submitted a relevant draft resolution to the Verkhovna Rada back in August, and it is still lying around. Unfortunately, we see that they do not want to do this. Some (mandates) are being taken away gradually, but for the most part they are kept.

Shufrych is still the head of the Committee on Freedom of Speech. It is he who is now defending your freedom of speech on Radio NV  Nestor Shufrych. I don't know how this can be explained a year after Feb. 24, but it remains the same.

The petition on the president's website that I registered garnered 25,000 votes. They actually responded to it. And MPs from the Opposition Platform are still sitting in parliament. That's all. Thus, creating a great threat to the national security of Ukraine. I'm not talking about the issue of justice, but once again, creating a huge threat to the national security of Ukraine.

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast / Reuters

It was just about noon on June 7, 2021, when South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh burst through the doors of his familys prominent personal injury firm. It was a balmy early summer day and the tall 53-year-old was in Lowcountry business casual garb: khakis, a sea-foam polo, and a blue sport coat.

His midday arrival that Monday did not faze his colleagues because Murdaugh was known in the office as a frenetic employee who kept different hours than the other attorneys. Murdaugh had a good clientele list, but co-workers felt the key to his success was his gift of the gab and not his work ethic or organizational skills.

I refer to Alex as the Tasmanian Devil, Murdaughs long-time paralegal, Annette Griswold, would later say. He has always been hard to sit still and get answers from. He was rarely there and when he was, the door was closed.

What happened that June 7 in Colleton Countyat the Murdaugh family hunting estate, not the law officewould fling open a lot of closed doors in the coming months. His wife, Maggie, and son Paul, 22, were shot to death near dog kennelsand prosecutors say he was the killer, bent on diverting attention from his financial crimes.

The elder Murdaughwho has since been disbarred and admitted to staging a hit on himself so his surviving son would get an insurance payoutis now on trial for the two murders. Testimony in the case, along with other evidence revealed in court, has allowed The Daily Beast to piece together his movements on a day that began with his frenzied arrival at the law office and ended in pools of blood at his homestead.

Aerial view of the Murdaugh estate Colleton County Court

The defense team has told jurors that Murdaugh had no reason to murder his wonderful family.

But prosecution witnesses have painted a portrait of a man who was riddled with worry about a lawsuit that threatened to wreck his reputation in the community and expose a secret two-decade addiction to opioids.

Griswold, the paralegal, testified that she first noticed a change in Murdaughs demeanor in 2019, after Paul allegedly drunkenly crashed a boat, resulting in the death of 19-year-old Mallory Beach. (At the time of his murder, Paul was facing charges in connection with the crash and his father had been named in a wrongful death lawsuit that sought information about his finances.)

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He was just harder to reach, and there were a couple [of] instances in which I referred to him as having his ass on his shoulders, Griswold testified. He just wasnt himself with us anymore He came in and would yell our names, and just didnt treat us the same as before the boat accident.

The familys long-time housekeeper, Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson, testified that the boat crash also weighed heavily on Maggie. She said that Maggie had once admitted she believed her husband wasnt telling her the truth about what was really going on with the lawsuit.

We dont have that kind of money, Turrubiate-Simpson recalled Maggie telling her through tears.

Jeanine Seckinger, who said she knew Alex Murdaugh in high school and is in charge of bookkeeping for the law firm, told jurors he was so preoccupied with the suit that he confided he was moving money under Maggies name to hide assets.

We were very concerned that he was trying to do that, and we didnt want to be a part of it, Seckinger said.

That concern prompted Seckinger to corner Murdaugh outside his office on June 7, 2021, and demand to know the whereabouts of almost $800,000 in missing legal fees for a case he handled. The conversation was cut short when Murdaugh got a call and said his ailing father had received bad medical news and that he was needed at the hospital.

Hours later, around 4 p.m. Murdaugh approached Seckinger in the office asking for information about his 401k, explaining that he was working on his financial records for an upcoming hearing in the boat lawsuit scheduled for later that week. Its not clear exactly when Murdaugh left the office for the day, but Turrubiate-Simpson said he was not home by the time she left the estate after 6 p.m.

Earlier that day, after seeing Murdaugh off to work, Turrubiate-Simpson said she received a text from Maggie saying that she and Paul had been summoned to their hunting estate that evening.

Maggie told me she had to go to a doctors appointment, and she said...in the text she said Alex wants me to come home, Turrubiate-Simpson testified on Friday. She kind of sounded like she didnt want to come home.

Turrubiate-Simpson said she cooked cubed steak with white rice, gravy, and green beans before texting Maggie to let her know dinner was left on the stove and that she was leaving.

At around 7:56 p.m., Paul sent a Snapchat to at least one of his friends that showed Alex Murdaugh looking at a small tree that was falling under its own weight. In the background, Paul can be heard laughing and muttering something to Murdaugh. Friend Will Loving testified that Paul and his dad were extremely close and that relationship was often featured in Pauls Snapchat videos.

SNAPCHAT VIDEO - Here is the snapchat video Paul Murdaugh took about an hour before when prosecutors say the murders happened. Paul recorded his dad and laughig at the tree. #AlexMurdaugh @LawCrimeNetwork pic.twitter.com/8gkx9BhVVB  Cathy Russon (@cathyrusson) February 2, 2023

Maggie finally arrived at the house at around 8:15 p.m. and she ate a quick dinner with Paul and Murdaugh. By 8:30 p.m., according to cellphone data detailed by prosecutor Creighton Waters, Paul had walked over to the dog kennels.

Around 8:40 p.m., Paul chatted with his friend Rogan Gibson about his chocolate Labrador who was staying at the Murdaugh familys dog kennels and possibly had an injured tail. After a four-minute and four-second phone conversation with Gibson logged on his phone, Paul recorded a video at 8:44 p.m. trying to capture the dogs tail. Prosecutors and several witnesses say Alex and Maggie can be heard in the background.

Hes got a bird in his mouth, a woman believed to be Maggie is heard saying in the 50-second video sent to Gibson. Come here, Bubba! the mans voice responds. Come here, Bubba!

Murdaugh later told investigators that at the time this video was recorded, he was asleep in the main house.

Pauls video of a friends dog in the kennel, shortly before he was killed. Colleton County Court

Lt. Britt Dove, who works in the computer crimes center for the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, testified that Maggies phone data showed that the last text messages she read came before 8:49 p.m. Among those was a group text from her brother-in-law, John Marvin Murdaugh, asking if the family was going to see her ailing father-in-law the following day.

Prosecutors allege that about a minute later, around 8:50 p.m., Murdaugh killed his son with a rifle, then fatally shot his wife. Authorities say Paul had two gunshot wounds and Maggie was shot six times with a weapon prosecutors believe to be a .300 Blackout semi-automatic. Neither weapon has been recovered.

Neither Paul nor Maggie had any defensive woundsas if they didnt see a threat coming from their attacker, Waters said last month in court. Both Maggie and Paul were both shot at very close range.

One of the shell casings found after the murders Colleton County Court

Cellphone data presented to jurors by several law enforcement agents show the steps Murdaugh allegedly took to cover up the crime and establish an alibi. Starting around 9 p.m., he began calling people close to him, including his ailing father, several friends, and even his dead wife.

At 9:06 p.m., data from Murdaughs 2021 Chevy Suburban reported that the vehicle drove for about 16 minutes, FBI electronics engineer Dwight Falkofske testified this week. Prosecutors say Murdaugh was driving to his ailing mothers house in Almeda, calling friends and family along the way.

Going to check on M. Be right back, Murdaugh texted Maggie around 9:08 p.m. that night, referring to his mother, according to Dove.

Chris Wilson, one of Murdaughs former close friends and law school roommate, told jurors that in a brief call around 9:11 p.m., he told Murdaugh he was working on a broken pool pump while he and his wife watched The Bachelor on their porch. Wilson added that at 9:20 p.m., he called Murdaugh back, who said he had just arrived at his mothers house and would call back.

The visit to Murdaughs mom, who is in the late stages of Alzheimer's, is the crux of the defense claim that he did not kill his family. Mushell Shelley Smith, who was the caretaker for Murdaughs mother, found it unusual that he came to visit that evening because he normally would come during the day. FBI electronics engineer Dwight Falkofske said that Murdaughs SUV data suggests he arrived at the house at 9:22 p.m.

Murdaugh was fidgeting during the 20-minute visit and then abruptly left, Smith told jurors. Later, she testified, Murdaugh told her that if anyone asked she should say he had been at his mothers house for about 30 to 40 minutes.

At 9:43 p.m., Falkofske said Murdaughs SUV was taken back out of parkcorrelating with other data and testimony that he left his mothers house and drove back home. Along the way, data shown in court reveals, Murdaugh was again texting and calling friends and family.

Call me babe, Murdaugh texted his wife at 9:47 p.m., cell data shows.

At around 9:52 p.m., Murdaugh texted Wilson to call me if youre up. Wilson testified that he called back his friend immediately and eventually got Murdaugh on the phone. He said Murdaugh told him he had just visited his mom and was almost on his way home.

A schematic of the Murdaugh property and where the bodies and other evidence were found. Colleton County Court

In a police interview, Murdaugh said he originally went straight to the main house before he noticed that Paul and Maggie were not home and drove down to the dog kennels to find them. Falkofske says his SUV data correlates with this story, showing that the car went in and out of park several times before 10:06 p.m. Because Murdaughs phone was connected to his car, the SUV also logged the two 911 calls he made at that time after he claimed he found his wife and son not breathing.

Ive been up to it now. Its bad, Murdaugh said in a seven-minute 911 call played in court.

Several first responders recounted to jurors that they saw an upsetbut not teary-eyedMurdaugh at the dog kennels. In body-camera footage played in court, Murdaugh almost immediately tells a law enforcement officer that he believes the motive for the murders is retaliation for the boat crash.

By this time, several of Murdaughs closest friends, family, and co-workers had descended upon the estate. In his first police interview about three hours after he called 911, Murdaugh became extremely emotional about losing his family while detailing to officers that he was nowhere near the kennels at the time of the murder.

I pulled up and I could see them, I knew it was something bad, Murdaugh said on the tape before breaking down in tears.

Alex Murdaugh sits in a car for his first police interview after the murders. Colleton County Court

Witnesses have detailed the days that followed the double homicide that sent shockwaves through the Lowcountry. Griswold told jurors that she and others in the office immediately went into momma bear mode around Murdaugh, and Wilson stressed that friends and family never left his friend alone out of fear he would try to kill himself.

The murders also did exactly what prosecutors say was one of Murdaughs main motivations: stop all questions about his financial shenanigans.

Alex was distraught, upset, not in the office, Seckinger testified. We didnt want to harass him.

In the coming days, jurors will hear testimony about how Murdaughs reprieve was short-lived. By Labor Day 2021, he had lost his job, admitted to his addiction, and attempted to stage a bizarre coverup.

I dont think I ever really knew him, Seckinger said. I dont think anybody knows him.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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A state of emergency has been imposed in Nevada after a leak was detected in a pipeline that supplies fuel to Las Vegas.

Nevada governor Joe Lombardo announced the state of emergency late on Friday night to mitigate the impact of the California fuel pipeline leak in Southern Nevada.

The leak was detected in the pipeline on Thursday at a pumping station in Long Beach, California, Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, the operator of the affected pipeline, stated.

A company spokesperson announced that both the station and the pipeline were isolated and shut down.

In a subsequent statement on Saturday, the spokesperson mentioned that the leaks source had been isolated, and restart activities had commenced.

We expect these pipelines to resume operations this afternoon and begin delivering fuel to their respective market areas later today, the companys spokesperson Katherine Hill said.

Officials in Clark County, Nevada have said that the emergency declaration would enable the state to relax restrictions on trucking and other delivery methods to transport fuel into the county.

This leak has not impacted the supply of fuel, but rather the method in which this fuel normally comes into Southern Nevada, county officials said in a tweet.

Clark County is in regular communication with Kinder Morgan and they are working as quickly as possible to repair the leak.

Updated statement from Clark County.#ClarkCounty Declares Fuel Emergency.



This is in the wake of the leak in a Kinder Morgan gas pipeline in So. California. pic.twitter.com/3RUJIPTUy7  Clark County Nevada (@ClarkCountyNV) February 11, 2023

Mr Lombardo urged residents not to indulge in panic buying to avoid unwarranted shortages. However, social media videos and local media reports showed queues of cars lining up at local gas stations.

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Tonight, I declared a state of emergency to help mitigate the impact of the California fuel pipeline leak in Southern Nevada.



Please see the executive order and my full statement below. pic.twitter.com/rLKpgtUGQQ  Governor Joe Lombardo (@JosephMLombardo) February 11, 2023

Nye County officials announced to its residents on Saturday afternoon that fuel systems were returning online following the shutdown.

Fuel should be flowing within the next few hours, the county tweeted, telling residents to delay fuel purchases if possible to allow supply to refill due to recent panic purchasing.

Update: The pipeline leak has been located, and systems are now coming back online. Fuel should be flowing within the next few hours. Residents are encouraged to delay fuel purchases if possible to allow supply to refill due to recent panic purchasing. pic.twitter.com/lDhemaGG6I  Nye County, Nevada (@nyecounty) February 11, 2023

The operator has confirmed that it is still investigating the leaks cause and quantity and has notified the appropriate regulatory agencies.
A black plume rises over East Palestine, Ohio, as a result of a controlled detonation of a portion of the derailed Norfolk and Southern trains Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

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.

The Associated Press reported that about 50 cars, including 10 carrying hazardous materials, derailed in a fiery crash in East Palestine around 9 p.m. Friday as a train was carrying a variety of products from Madison, Illinois, to Conway, Pennsylvania, according to rail operator Norfolk Southern and the National Transportation Safety Board.

No injuries to crew, residents or first responders were reported.

Here's the latest on what we know about the East Palestine train derailment, according to the AP:

What's the latest on the East Palestine train derailment, explosion?

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.

According to the National Weather Service in Cleveland and television meteorologists, the plume was visible on satellite imagery and radar.

Impressive smoke plume from the East Palestine, OH Train Derailment showing up on the Power of 5 High Resolution Radar. Officials have initiated a controlled burn of several train cars containing toxic chemicals#ohwx @wews pic.twitter.com/oGiMR665TI  Trent Magill (@TrentMWeather) February 6, 2023

Peggy Clark, director of the Columbiana County Emergency Management Agency, said around 6 p.m. Monday that vinyl chloride, a precursor to the production of PVC plastic, was released from five derailed tanker cars into an area surrounded by a hastily constructed dike. Explosive charges on the tankers caused ruptures that allowed the chemical to flow into the area, which contained flares that ignited the flammable, carcinogenic substance.

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She said other tanker cars containing the chemical had been removed from the area over the two days since the derailment.

A representative from Norfolk Southern said Tuesday afternoon that all five of the cars containing vinyl chloride were no longer burning. Four were already cleared from the wreckage, with crews working on getting to the fifth car, he said.

The representative said the cars will be inspected by the NTSB before theyre cut up and removed from the site.

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.

The controlled release  which happened as the situation became more unstable  was done to prevent an uncontrolled explosion at the site.

In a news release issued around 8:30 p.m. Sunday, DeWine said that within the previous 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."

East Palestine train derailment:Toxic chemicals being burned off in 'controlled release'

What's the air quality after the East Palestine controlled release?

Representatives from the U.S. and Ohio EPAs said Tuesday that air and water quality monitoring remain ongoing, with nothing of concern detected as of Tuesday afternoon.

The village fire chief said Tuesday that residents wouldnt be able to return to the evacuation zone until testing determines its safe, saying he could not provide an estimate on when that testing will be complete and when residents can return.

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.

I just spoke with an East Palestine resident who is concerned the chemicals that are burning a mile away from his home could be seeping in. Hes taping his doors and windows shut. @WEWS pic.twitter.com/x5Yahz624I  Bryn Caswell (@BrynCaswellTV) February 6, 2023

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.

A black plume rises over East Palestine, Ohio, as a result of a controlled detonation of a portion of the derailed Norfolk and Southern trains Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

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.

East Palestine train derailment:50-car train derailment causes big fire, evacuations in Ohio

What is vinyl chloride, and what is vinyl chloride used for?

Five of the cars 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.

Officials said Sunday afternoon that cars involved also carried combustible liquids, butyl acrylate and residue of benzene from previous shipments, as well as nonhazardous materials such as wheat, plastic pellets, malt liquors and lube oil.

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.

Where is East Palestine, Ohio, the site of the train derailment?

East Palestine is a village of 4,761 residents located in northeastern Columbiana County, about 65 miles east of Akron, close to the Pennsylvania border and north of the West Virginia panhandle.

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.

This is what they call a "controlled release" The train derailment in Ohio at a little town called East Palestine had at least 5 tanker cars full of toxic flammable chemicals, apparently the only options were to let it burn like this or it would go off like a bomb. pic.twitter.com/SfogMDO9hd  _Imposter_ (@Imposter_Edits) February 7, 2023

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.

Stark County hazmat:Stark County hazmat, IMAT teams deployed to East Palestine after train derailment

What caused the train derailment in Ohio?

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.

Were there evacuations in East Palestine before the controlled release?

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.

A map of the evacuation ordered following the derailment of a train containing vinyl chloride in East Palestine. Residents in the red who do not evacuate are risking death and those in the orange risk permanent lung damage if exposed to the controlled gas release planned for 3:30 p.m.

Police cars, snow plows and military vehicles from the Ohio National Guard blocked streets leading into the area.

According to Beacon Journal news partner News 5 Cleveland, people were asked to evacuate and shelter at the East Palestine Junior and Senior High School, according to Clark, the director of the Columbiana County EMA.

East Palestine evacuation:Officials urge evacuation near derailment, fearing explosion

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: What we know about the East Palestine, Ohio train derailment
Andrew Mitchell said aid money shouldnt be given to worlds second biggest economy - James Manning/PA

Britain should not be sending any foreign aid cash to China, the development minister has insisted.

Andrew Mitchell said he was surprised to learn 50 million was spent there in 2021 and wants to put a stop to such payments.

He added taxpayers money could be better used to help other countries rather than the worlds second biggest economy.

Beijing has spent tens of billions on its space programme in recent years and has a defence budget more than four times the size of the UKs.

We shouldnt be giving aid to China and were looking to make sure that aid is best spent, Mr Mitchell told Sky News.

There will have to be a very strong case indeed and it will have to be an open and public case if were to spend aid money in China.

Asked whether limited foreign aid cash could be better spent in other countries, he replied: That is my starting point, yes.

Much of the money funded scholarships for Chinese students to come to the UK, as well as work by the British Council building cultural links.

Virtually impossible to defend

Mr Mitchell said he wants to see development spending return to 0.7 per cent of GDP and as far as Im concerned, that cant come soon enough.

It was cut to 0.5pc back in 2021 to reflect the huge economic impact of the pandemic, in what the Government described as a temporary measure.

Rishi Sunak, then the Chancellor, set out two tests on the state of the nations finances which must be met before it returns to pre-Covid levels.

They are that on a sustainable basis the country is not borrowing for day-to-day spending and that debt as a proportion of national wealth is falling.

Mr Mitchell has previously described the use of foreign aid cash in China and India as virtually impossible to defend.

He told a hearing of MPs last year that such spending was doing great damage to the reputation of the development budget.

Official figures show that the UK sent a combined almost 150 million to the two countries in 2021.

John Glen, the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, is chairing a star chamber investigation into where foreign aid cash is being spent.
After US fighter jets shot down two unidentified, high-altitude objects above Alaskan and Canadian airspace within two days, Republican and Democratic members of Congress are pressing President Joe Bidens administration for answers to better understand what happened and, critically, offer some clarity to a series of incidents that have drawn widespread speculation.

Democratic US Rep Jim Himes, the ranking member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, told NBC News on 12 February that he has real concerns about the administrations transparency on the latest incidents after Congress received extensive closed-door briefings on the suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that was shot down earlier this month.

The congressman  a part of the so-called Gang of Eight leaders on congressional intelligence committees  told Meet the Press that administration officials have not provided the same level of clarity on the two other objects that were shot down in Alaska and Canada, adding that the absence of information could feed into US anxiety and fuel baseless speculation.

Part of the problem is that the second and the third objects were shot down in very remote areas. So my guess is that theres just not a lot of information out there yet to share, he said.

The one thing I see troubling ... is massive speculation about alien invasions and additional Chinese or Russian action, he added. So I do hope the administration has a lot more information for all of us on whats going on.

Democratic US Senator Jon Tester of Montana, who led a Senate panel on Thursday probing the Chinese surveillance balloon, said on Sunday that the Biden administration and US military need to have a policy about unidentified objects in US airspace to recommend to the president to swiftly handle any future incursions.

Whats been going on the last  10 days has been nothing short of craziness, he told CBS Face the Nation. The military needs to have a plan to not only determine whats out there, but determine the dangers that go with it.

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Democratic US Rep Jim Himes (AP)

Two top House Republicans who previously questioned the Biden administrations response to the surveillance balloon have praised the latest response from the White House.

But the officials said that the administrations relationship with China generally presents a much larger challenge than balloons, prompting calls to step up defense spending and scrutinise other forms of espionage.

Republican US Rep Mike Turner, chair of the House Intelligence Committee, said one week ago that the administration had effectively allowed China to surveil military sites in the US by waiting until the craft was over water for a fighter jet to shoot it down.

On CNNs State of the Union on Sunday, he appeared to criticise the president again, this time for being trigger happy by relatively swiftly taking down the two latest objects.

They do appear somewhat trigger happy, although this is certainly preferable to the permissive environment that they showed when the Chinese spy balloon was coming over some of our most sensitive sites, he said. Obviously I would prefer them to be trigger happy than to be permissive.

He said he wants to ensure that the latest action is not the administrations attempt in trying to change headlines.

But what I think this shows, which is probably more important to our policy discussion, is that we really have to declare that were going to defend our airspace and then we need to invest, he added.

Last week, Republican US Rep James Comer, chair of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, baselessly floated the idea that the balloon contained bioweapons in his criticism of the presidents handling of the balloon. He was later forced to admit there was no such evidence.

On ABCs This Week on Sunday, he said the administration should be focusing on Chinas theft of intellectual property and patents and its footprint in academia, research and development.

Republican US Rep Mike Turner (Getty Images)

Chinas a problem and this administration thus far hasnt set a very good example of standing up to China, he said.

Im glad this administration is taking it more seriously with respect to the balloons but we got a whole lot bigger problem with China than the spy balloons, he added.

In March, a new 24-member panel in the House of Representatives will begin studying China in a rare bipartisan attempt to address issues highlighted by both parties.

The House select committee will study human rights abuses, ways to reduce US dependence on China, artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies, and the alliance between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, according to NBC News.

If you were looking at a word cloud about this, the biggest one would be serious. I hear that from everyone. This is a serious committee, and I believe it, Democratic US Rep Mikie Sherrill told the network.

CBS News national security correspondent David Martin describes the two unidentified objects shot down over Alaska and Canada as "balloon-like."@margbrennan: "And the prime suspect is China?"



Martin: "I wouldn't say that, no...There is a lot of what officials call sky trash." pic.twitter.com/w3cLnCRRtQ  Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) February 12, 2023

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has claimed that the latest two objects resembled balloons, following what he said was a briefing from White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan.

The White House, however, has said its still too early to determine what they were, exactly.

CBS News national security correspondent David Martin  describing the two unidentified objects shot down over Alaska and Canada as balloon-like  told Face the Nation that he would not consider China as a prime suspect for their origin.

The prevailing wind brings everything that way, from east, west, across northern Alaska and northern Canada. And there is a lot of what officials call sky trash up there, he said.

That sky trash includes balloons that are put up by governments, that are put up by corporations, put up by research institutes, and probably just by private individuals, and not for nefarious purposes but to just collect scientific data, he said.

In the past, the US didnt pay as much attention to such crafts, he said, but the much-larger Chinese surveillance balloon was a game changer that put the US military and the Biden administration on alert.
A Fountain police officer critically injured in a 40-foot fall from a bridge while making arrests in a carjacking case has died, Colorado officials reported.

Officer Julian Becerra, who had been hospitalized in critical condition since the Feb. 2 fall, died Saturday, Feb. 11, the Fountain Police Department said in a news release.

He fell off a bridge in Colorado Springs while trying to arrest three Pueblo residents accused of carjacking who had led officers on a lengthy chase, KRDO reported.

Police said they announced his death with extreme sadness.

Becerra, a K-9 officer, was a U.S. Air Force veteran who had been with the Fountain Police Department for almost five years, KDVR reported.

Becerra leaves his wife and two young children, an 8-year-old daughter and 1-year-old son, according to a GoFundMe account set up for his family.

The account had raised $58,000 as of Sunday, Feb. 12.

Fountain is a city of 30,000 people about 85 miles south of Denver.

12-year-old shot dead by car owner tracking stolen vehicle, Colorado police say

Three 15-year-olds kill 18-year-old in random carjacking, Colorado police say

Man vanished on Alaska trapping expedition 46 years ago. His skull was just IDd
Ojai Unified School District trustees voted to convert Meiners Oaks Elementary School to an early childhood education center Wednesday night.

Ojai Unified School District trustees voted Wednesday to combine four elementary schools into two and move the district's middle school students to Nordhoff High School.

The financially beleaguered district's plan also allows up to two additional campuses to be converted to preschool and transitional kindergarten and a third could house the district's main office, relocated from its current downtown Ojai digs. The changes will significantly cut staffing while repurposing the campuses for uses other than traditional schools.

Trustees split over some details of the plan  the final motion squeaked by 3-2  but were in lockstep on the need for closures as the district tries to wrangle a shrinking student body and depleted budget.

"The reality is you have a finite amount of resources," board president Rebecca Chandler, who backed the plan, said Thursday. "The goal is to be able to give the best education possible to all of our children, and I feel like this is the first step in that direction.

Trustees Jim Halverson and Shelly Griffen joined Chandler while Atticus Reyes and Phil Moncharsh opposed the motion.

Last month, the board moved unanimously to close two campuses as part of a $3.8 million, county-mandated slate of cuts, but honed its focus during a nearly three-hour discussion in Matilija Middle School's auditorium late Wednesday.

They settled on a proposal from Halverson:

Turn Meiners Oaks Elementary and potentially a second site into early childhood education centers.

Consolidate elementary students at two K-6 campuses, with potential for one to house a K-8 program.

Combine middle and high school at Nordhoff High School's campus.

The decision requires district staff to select two sites from the current Mira Monte Elementary, Topa Topa Elementary, San Antonio Elementary and Matilija Middle school campuses to house the pair of elementary schools.

Superintendent Tiffany Morse said Thursday that the district was working on making some of the changes for the start of next school year, but that some elements might "need to be phased in."

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"We're working diligently on site plans, trying to map out the best options given the many variables involved," she said. "We're trying to minimize the number of transitions and trips across town that families have to make."

Reyes and Moncharsh both indicated they favored an alternate configuration that would split elementary students between campuses dedicated either for kindergarten to third grade or fourth to sixth grades.

Reyes said Wednesday that he was still worried about what could happen to K-6 schools if enrollment continues to drop over the next few years.

"What does it look like in the out years?" he asked, noting that smaller schools could be forced to combine grade levels. "I hope I'm wrong. I hope it all works out."

County oversight

The need for cuts was thrown into sharp focus earlier in the evening by a presentation from Eva Lueck, a fiscal consultant contracted by the Ventura County Office of Education to help the district get its budget in order.

County superintendent Cesar Morales had previously ordered the district to submit a $2.3 million slate of budget cuts by Jan. 20. Trustees quickly submitted a draft of a three-year, $3.8 million reduction plan, but on Wednesday Lueck said it wasn't enough.

She said the district needed to make the $2.3 million in cuts to its unrestricted fund, not to specially earmarked funds, and that approximately $1 million worth of the district's plan "really didn't pencil out."

"There were assumptions in there that we could not validate," she said.

Lueck also said that the county was upping the required cuts to $3 million after further review. The best way to make that progress, she said, was to increase the district's planned nine layoffs to 20.

"When we are talking about reductions of any significance, it is reduction of staff," Lueck said.

Chandler said the board had submitted the plan as a "placeholder" in order to meet the county's tight deadline.

"Now that the staff has that framework to build on, they can analyze what cuts need to be made to meet (the county office's) needs," she said.

Lueck also pointed out that the district had yet to complete its budget audit for last school year, saying it was "very concerning."

Morse said the district's extended audit was "very common," and that the district had missed an earlier window to complete the audit because of a lack of staff.

Isaiah Murtaugh covers education for the Ventura County Star in partnership with Report for America. Reach him at isaiah.murtaugh@vcstar.com or 805-437-0236 and follow him on Twitter @isaiahmurtaugh and @vcsschools. You can support this work with a tax-deductible donation to Report for America.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Ojai school district zeroes in on school cuts
Old man holding stick

Old people in Japan should kill themselves to avoid burdening the state, a professor at Yale University has said.

Yusuke Narita, an assistant professor of economics, has also suggested that euthanasia could be made compulsory.

Last year, official statistics in Japan revealed that over-75s accounted for 15 per cent of the countrys population for the first time. Those over 65 account for 29.1 per cent of the total, making the Japanese population the oldest in the world.

I feel like the only solution is pretty clear, said Mr Narita, 37. In the end, isnt it mass suicide and mass seppuku of the elderly?  referring to the act of disembowelment employed by dishonoured Samurai in the late 19th century.

Prof Narita told The New York Times his comments had been taken out of context, adding that they related to demands for older people in leadership positions to make way for the younger generation. He said his primary concern was how old people dominated positions of influence in Japanese society.

The references to mass suicide and mass seppuku touched a raw nerve in a country which honoured kamikaze pilots during the Second World War.

Prof Narita insisted his remarks about mass suicide were a metaphor, adding: I should have been more careful about their potential negative connotations. After some self-reflection, I stopped using the words last year.

His controversial remarks have generated a large following on social media, as well as triggering an angry backlash.

Masato Fujisaki, a Newsweek Japan columnist, said Prof Naritas supporters believed old people should just die already and social welfare should be cut.

Masaki Kubota, another journalist, described the remarks as irresponsible, adding that people believe: Oh, my grandparents are the ones who are living longer, and we should just get rid of them.

Others fear that Prof Narita is rekindling views that have gained some currency in Japan where deference towards older generations is waning. In 2013 Taro Aso, the countrys finance minister, said the elderly should hurry up and die to spare the nation the cost of their medical care.

The Telegraph had not received a reply to a request for comment from Prof Narita on Sunday night.
(Melanie Lambrick / For The Times)

Over 20 years ago, I covered my face with my hands and shyly told my (now) husband, Im moving away for graduate school and Id love you to go with me, but I want us to be married first.

After he agreed that it seemed like a great idea, we shopped for an engagement ring before he chose one of the two I had liked best. He offered it to me from one knee a couple of months later in a surprise engagement. As a wife, I tell others he proposed. But as a social scientist who studies marriages and engagements, Im not so sure.

Young, heterosexual adults increasingly prefer egalitarian relationships in which both partners work for pay and contribute equitably to child care and domestic labor, even as they struggle to realize this balance. Equalizing the proposal  a single moment in time rather than an ever-changing, lifetime negotiation of labor  should be much easier.

Still, the proposal process remains overwhelmingly a male responsibility  and privilege. The stubbornness of this seemingly last acceptable bastion of male control has a lot to tell us about gender, relationships and the division of labor in 21st century America.

Sharon Sassler, a sociology professor at Cornell, and I interviewed a number of cohabiting couples between the ages of 18 and 34 who were considering or in the process of discussing marriage with their partners. We explicitly asked them which partner should propose. We received a fair number of responses along the lines of whomever wants, especially from college-educated men and women.

But when we changed the question slightly to, Who do YOU want to propose if the two of you get married? the response was overwhelmingly the male partner. And this remained true even among those who otherwise viewed their relationships as equal.

When we asked why, men and women alike expressed concerns that flopping the question would call into question long-established gender roles. Its just a manly job, explained T., a male respondent. Its just natural.

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N. was another man who felt the same way. He had just proposed and was committed to sharing the housework and financial responsibilities equally with his female partner, A. Although A. had been the one to initiate their move-in, he said of the wedding proposal: I think its the guy's job, not to be chauvinistic and old-fashioned. But I think I would have felt kind of like a putz if she would have proposed to me.

Many women agree. One woman, T., told us: I said, If you dont do it by a certain time, Im just going to do it. But I dont mean that, because I dont want to do it cause then Ill feel like masculine, and I dont want to feel masculine. Asked to elaborate, she said, Ive definitely been the initiator in some of our other circumstances that are traditionally I think male roles. This is just a big one. And because everyone will ask, How did it happen? And I dont want to say, Well, I did it. I cant. It would kill me, I think.

Female proposals were not entirely out of the question. D. was one woman who had planned to propose to her male partner, J., only to be dissuaded by both her mother and J. She said, Ive threatened to propose to him a few times. Hes like, No, the man does it. I think he would feel unmanly if he didnt do it. Yeah, I know that sounds weird from a guy thats really liberal, but I just feel like he wants to  he wants control of the situation. J.s explanation was simpler: I just see it as the guy should propose  the classic way.

All of this, for one simple question. But the power to propose is not merely picking out the right place or time to ask those four little words. Its the ability to determine the pace of the entire relationship. It stands to reason that if the male partner is the only one who can move the couple's union into marriage, the female partner has only two choices: wait to be asked or leave.

In this way, the mans timeline determines the seriousness of the relationship, with couples often scarcely realizing just how much control that gives him. In fact, this kind of hidden power, which makes certain gender roles seem natural or inevitable, can continually and insidiously reinforce patriarchal norms without ever really being questioned.

So whats a modern straight couple to do? What might a more equal proposal look like?

Well, for one, heterosexual cis couples could certainly look to their gay and lesbian counterparts, who often leave the power of the proposal to a decision reached through discussion or to the partner who most wants to advance the relationship. Such a change would require couples to push aside centuries of tradition and internalized sexism.

More recently, dual proposals have begun to show up on social media. In this model, each partner proposes, and each accepts. Though, of course, this is not without its own challenges: Need the proposals occur on the same day? Who goes first? And is the engagement official after the first yes?

As the age of marriage has risen over time in the U.S. to just over 30 for men and 28 for women, the institution has become more economically elite. Committed couples now typically have established their own households, with three-quarters living together before marriage.

After discussing whether they wish to marry, couples could simply decide that they are engaged, no proposal needed. By now, the marriage proposal ritual as a male prerogative should feel as archaic as the idea of giving away the bride.

Amanda Jayne Miller is a professor of sociology and director of faculty development at the University of Indianapolis and an OpEd Project Public Voices fellow. She is the co-author of Cohabitation Nation: Gender, Class, and the Remaking of Relationships. This article was produced in partnership with Zocalo Public Square.





This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Section 28 just got hidden under the carpet like a dirty shameful secret, says McEwen (Getty)

When Rosy McEwen was filming the Eighties-set lesbian drama Blue Jean, something strange started happening in the middle of the night. Id wake up and burst into tears, says the actor, her icy blue eyes wide at the memory. My breathing would start to go and Id just sob uncontrollably. It happened a few times, and I didnt even feel sad. There was just something that needed to come out.

McEwens feelings were quite literally spilling out of her because, for every day of the three-month shoot, she was pushing down all the fear and frustration felt by her character Jean, a gay PE teacher working in the time of Section 28. The law was brought in under Thatcher in 1988 to prohibit the promotion of homosexuality in schools. It had a crippling effect on queer communities and effectively slammed the closet door on generations of LGBT+ people. Im not a method actor or anything, says McEwen, but I go in. And I was so exhausted. The level of fear that Jean must have felt, from even the tiniest interactions... In normal life, if youre upset, you just cry and experience it. But with Jean, its all forced away. I was trying to replicate that for a few months, so how people lived that life, for years, is beyond me.

On screen, the result of McEwens commitment is flat-out tremendous. Against the evocative backdrop of 1980s Newcastle, between squeaky gym floors and smoky gay clubs, the actor quietly displays the battle between Jeans confusion and shame, and her determination to be herself. Shes too gay to show her true colours at school, but not gay enough for her liberated girlfriend Viv (Kerrie Hayes).

The film is one of the few about gay women that was written and produced by lesbians, and McEwen  who doesnt discuss her own sexuality  believes its breaking new ground. A lot of lesbian films are about desire, the 29-year-old tells me, as we walk loops around her local London park. Theyre wistful, and theyre about longing. But you dont really see two gay women in a couple who happen to be gay, and I think thats rare and something Im proud to be a part of.

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Blue Jean avoids stereotypical depictions of lesbians  there are no long-haired beauties or women with no dress sense here. In this world, they dont conform to a certain aesthetic, but they are undeniably very cool. The film shares its title with the 1984 Bowie song, and Jean has his androgyny and poise. Viv, meanwhile, has a shaved head, a nipple tattoo and is clad head-to-toe in leather. Its the feature debut from writer Georgia Oakley, and is McEwens first lead film role, too. But in practically every review of McEwens work so far  from serial killer series The Alienist to the National Theatres Othello  shes the one who critics cant rip their eyes away from. At the British Independent Film Awards in December, McEwen took home the prize for Best Lead Performance for Blue Jean, fending off competition from Florence Pugh and Bill Nighy, among others.

McEwen and I meet on a crisp January day, her short blonde waves poking out from under her grey woolly hat. Petite and nimble, with a soft, quick voice, she is almost sprite-like. She seems composed and confident, but tells me that she suggested a walk because its really hard to talk about yourself for so long across a table. When I tell her Ive seen shes been compared by critics to both Nicole Kidman and Rosamund Pike, she nearly bursts. Have I?! she says, breathless. Honestly, Im thrilled with anything like that, I love them both. Surely shed read that herself? No, I dont read a lot because Im very sensitive to it all.

Despite being at school when Section 28 was abolished in 2003, McEwen didnt know it existed until she was cast in Blue Jean. Nothing was really said about it, it just got hidden under the carpet like a dirty shameful secret, she says. The laws sheer vagueness only added to its power. It was confusing for teachers  what did promotion of homosexuality mean? asks McEwen. Did it mean you couldnt be gay? That you didnt say you were gay? That you couldnt just talk about it at all in class? Then when it was abolished, without clarification, teachers were probably still like, Can I now be gay or talk about it? They didnt know what it meant. It was so absurd and peoples fear levels were sky-high.

McEwen is intoxicating in Blue Jean (Altitude)

Hilariously, she says, in a way that makes it clear she doesnt find it funny at all, there is very little about Section 28 on the internet. A few interviews are out there with men, but very few with lesbians. While researching the role, McEwen was introduced to two lesbian netball teachers whod lived Jeans life. The first thing one of the women said to me was, I wish Id been braver, says McEwen. And you just felt how much she meant that. Were all shouting at Jean, Just f***ing say it! Be gay! But everything were shouting at her, shes shouting at herself.

Once shed read everything she could find about Section 28, McEwen threw herself, peroxide-pixie-cut-first, into the role. To perfect Jeans Geordie accent, Londoner McEwen watched hours of footage of former Girls Aloud star Cheryl. She says she can partly relate to Jean because, as a woman, she is always hiding a part of herself. All the time, she says. Theres so much pressure to be a certain thing, whether its well-spoken or funny or beautiful. But we just want to exist and be free. Its something I try to do every day, and it doesnt always work.

We all watch Love Island, and that cant be good for us

In the film, Jean spends her nights after school watching Blind Date, the lucky-dip dating show with a lorra lorra laughs courtesy of host Cilla Black. Every episode hammers home heteronormative ideals and perpetuates stereotypes about femininity. There are so many things like that, even from five or six years ago, which showed that if you were a woman you had to be feminine, and if you were a man you had to be masculine, and thats where you were safe, says McEwen. Everything was painting that picture. She laughs. I mean, we all watch Love Island, and that cant be good for us either.

When Cilla Black quit Blind Date live on air in 2003, McEwen was just about to start at an all-girls Catholic secondary school in south London. I didnt wear makeup until I was like 18, didnt have boobs until I was like 18  I was just running around in my crop tops, she says, flashing snow-white teeth as she smiles. She studied history of art in Leeds and, having enjoyed drama at school, finally took the plunge and did a play in her final year of university. She loved it so much that she ended up applying for theatre school, and got into Bristol Old Vic (the training ground of Olivia Colman and Daniel Day-Lewis).

Deathly stare: McEwen in The Alienist (TNT)

From there, McEwen did theatre for a few years, spending some time at the Royal Shakespeare Company, and soon enough was offered her first screen role as a psychopathic child murderer in period drama The Alienist. My parents watched it and they were like, Who are you? she says, laughing. Next, shes starring in the Rosemarys Baby prequel, Apartment 7A, alongside Julia Garner. Im the bitchy one, which is so fun, she says. Villains are always the best. Theyre so liberating to play.

Shes made some shrewd early career choices but hasnt always found it easy to decide between projects. She knows, though, that shell never regret doing Blue Jean. If you pick the big shiny thing, and youre on set in Timbuktu, being paid loads of money but not really that happy, then youve only got yourself to blame, she says. But if youre freezing cold in Newcastle in January, and you love the part so much, then you have nothing to complain about at all.

Blue Jean is in cinemas

Othello was filmed live on stage and will be available to watch in UK and Irish cinemas via National Theatre Live from 23 February

Read more of our Rising Stars interview series here
Phoenix police.

Police identified the victim in a fatal shooting that happened Saturday near 15th Avenue and Garfield Street.

"Just after 10:30 a.m. we responded to a call of a shooting near 15th Avenue and Garfield Street," Sergeant Melissa Soliz said. "Officers found a man suffering from gunshot wounds. He was pronounced deceased on scene."

Phoenix police identified the victim as 68-year-old Winston Shieh.

Detectives took over the investigation, as the suspect remains at large.

Anyone with information can contact the Phoenix Police Department, or Silent Witness (480-WITNESS or 480-TESTIGO for Spanish).

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Suspect still loose after shooting dead 68-year-old man Saturday
Several law-enforcement agencies were involved in the chase.

A shooting west of downtown Phoenix left one man dead Saturday morning.

Around 10:45 a.m. officers responded to a call of a shooting near Garfield Street and 15th Avenue and found a man suffering from gunshot wounds said the Phoenix Police Department. He was pronounced dead on scene.

No further information regarding suspects or what lead up to the shooting were released.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Downtown Phoenix shooting leaves 1 man dead
Sepehr Khosravi, left, and Nasrin Nav, right, shout slogans against the Iranian government during a rally outside Los Angeles City Hall on Saturday. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

For the record:

1:50 p.m. Feb. 14, 2023: For the record: A previous headline on this gallery had 80,000 attending this rally. That figure was a prediction of expected turnout.



The Iranian community and human rights advocates gathered Saturday in front of Los Angeles City Hall to protest against the Iranian government.

Many carried signs and flags to the rally in downtown L.A. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

A demonstrator with the Iranian colors painted on his cheeks. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Iranian flags from the pre-Islamic Revolution era, featuring a lion and a sun, are paraded at the L.A. demonstration. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Demonstrators in costume at the L.A. rally in support of the anti-government protests in Iran, which were sparked by demands for women's rights. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

A demonstrator carrying a pre-revolution Iranian flag walks down Spring Street in downtown L.A. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
The loved ones of a missing Ohio woman hope new searches will bring them closer to finding answers.

Cierra Chapman, 30, was last seen in the early morning hours of Dec. 27, 2022, after leaving her ex-boyfriends suburban Dayton apartment in Trotwood, according to the Dayton Police Department's Violent Crime Bureau. This Saturday, law enforcement officials and volunteers will gather for a very large search for the missing woman, according to Dayton Police Maj. Brian Johns.

We have identified locations based on our investigations that we are going to search, Johns told CBS Dayton affiliate WHIO-TV.

RELATED: Five Years After Escaping 'House Of Horrors' Jordan Turpin Says She 'Usually' Cries Each Day

The search will consist of approximately 50 people with a lot of boots and a lot of law enforcement, Cincinnati-based Equusearch-Midwest director Dave Rader told Oxygen.com. The team will be equipped with customized drones, ATVs, and cadaver dogs to be bussed in from Detroit.

Rader said he hopes to help bring closure to the family, referring to the searches as a process of elimination.

A handout photo of Cierra Chapman

Cierra Chapman Photo: Dock Ellis Foundation

Were going to cover as many areas as we possibly can that makes the most sense, Rader told Oxygen.com. You always want to keep hope that shes still alive. Thats always the hope, and when you dont find them, you start thinking, is there a possibility? But if we come up empty-handed, at least we know where shes not.

Of course, being without answers has been trying for Chapmans loved ones.

Its been very rough, Chapmans aunt, Regina Chapman, told Oxygen.com. A lot of mixed emotions.

Chapman, a mother of one son, reportedly left her ex-boyfriends Trotwood residence in a 2014 SRX silver Cadillac SUV, according to the Dayton Police Department. The vehicle was located on Jan. 6  10 days after Chapman vanished  in Middletown, Ohio, about 20 miles south of Trotwood.

Police stated, Ms. Chapman was nowhere to be found.

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Cierras purse and other personal items were located inside her vehicle, said police.

A police handout of missing woman Cierra Chapman

Cierra Chapman Photo: Miami Valley Crime Stoppers

We went numb, Regina told Oxygen.com. Where would she be? She doesnt know anyone in Middletown.

The aunt said the family fears foul play.

Her belongings were found in the car by law enforcement, and she doesnt go anywhere without those items, nor would she go a day without calling her son or picking him up, she told Oxygen.com.

In an interview with ABC and Fox Dayton affiliate WRGT-TV, Maj. Johns stated that Chapmans disappearance was not random.

She didnt go missing by accident, said Johns. This was a very well-planned out, well-orchestrated incident, and people know. We know that they know, and they know that we know.

In January, Maj. Johns categorized Chapmans disappearance as very strange behavior, adding theyre worried that something bad has happened to her, according to the Dayton Daily News.

However, it remains unclear if investigators are looking into any suspects at this time.

Halyna Hutchins attends the Snowbound Movie Event

The Dock Ellis Foundation, an organization aimed at empowering minority victims of human trafficking, domestic violence, and families of missing persons, is helping the familys efforts to find Chapman.

The Dock Ellis Foundation hopes to bring Cierra Chapman home to her family, most importantly, her son, Chief Strategist Officer Tanya Frazier said in a statement to Oxygen.com.

Chapmans sister, Latisha Lofton, created a GoFundMe campaign for the missing womans son.

Cierra has a son who is in need of assistance, said loved ones. He will require help with daily living needs and help with the continued search for his mom. This truly has been a difficult and traumatic time for him and the family; the uncertainty of not knowing what will happen day to day is taking a toll on everyone.

Cierra, if youre watching, please reach out to your son, Regina said she would say to the missing woman, telling Oxygen.com that the child wants his mom.

Oxy App

Chapman is five feet, five inches tall and weighs around 115 pounds, according to police. She has brown hair and brown eyes.

On Friday, the Miami Valley Crime Stoppers announced a $5,000 reward for tips leading to the case being solved.

Police say her disappearance is considered suspicious.

Anyone with information can contact the Dayton Police Department at 1-937-333-COPS (2677) or the Miami Valley Crime Stoppers at 1-937-222-STOP (7867). The Chapman family also says anyone with information can reach out to the Dock Ellis Foundation.
Police are searching for the mother of a 12-year-old girl and 3-year-old boy who were left alone for two months late last year in their house in Roman Forest, Texas. The mother, Raven Yates, is believed to be in the area of Mobile, Alabama, police in Texas said in a Facebook post.

An arrest warrant has been issued with two counts of abandonment without intent to return, Roman Forest police said.

On Nov. 14, 2022, the father of the 12-year-old girl called police when he became concerned the children were home alone, police said. The father, who lives in California, told police he had been ordering food to the Texas house for the children, when family members told him that Yates had been spotted alone in Mobile, Alabama.

An undated photo of Raven Yates, a mother of two young children were left alone in a home in Roman Forest, Texas, in November of 2022. Police are searching for Yates. / Credit: Roman Forest Police Department

The father became suspicious after the conversation that their mother had left them in Texas alone, and after calling Roman Forest police, flew to Texas from California, officials said. When police arrived at the house, they found the children alone inside without food or medical supplies.

"There was no food in the house. Everything was emptied," Roman Forest Police Chief Stephen Carlisle told WEAU-TV. "There were some dried beans and some spices, that's about it."

The house was left in deplorable conditions, and the 3-year-old's bedroom smelled heavily of urine, police said.

Investigators said the girl didn't call police because she was scared that her father would take her and leave her baby brother. The two children have different fathers, police said.

Both children were not registered in school, and police said they had been alone from Sept. 28 until Nov. 14  almost two months in the rented Texas home.

"A 12-year-old can not take care of a three-year-old for a long period of time," Carlisle told WEAU 13. "That's dangerous."

The two children are said to be safe with family members in Mobile, Alabama, police said. Roman Forest police are working with Mobile police to find the missing mother, police said.

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A Porsche SUV crashed into a Colorado home, then landed upside down while partially inside the house, police said.

The 42-year-old male driver was still inside the vehicle when first responders arrived, according to the Boulder Police Department.

Police said they were called to the home in northwest Boulder early Saturday, Feb. 11, alongside fire and rescue crews.

Incredibly there were no major injuries as a result of this crash, police said.

The driver was rescued from the SUV and medically cleared, then he was booked into jail on charges of careless driving, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and texting while driving.

Fire and rescue crews helped shore up the home, which authorities said sustained significant damage.

A Porsche SUV struck the house & was partially inside. The SUV was upside down with the driver still inside. In addition to BPD, @boulder_fire , AMR & @MVFireRescue responded to assist with the technical rescue & shoring up the house, which sustained significant damage 2/4 pic.twitter.com/U9tlCUOJeh  Boulder Police Dept. (@boulderpolice) February 12, 2023

Driver of stolen car slams into building, causing fatal collapse, Baltimore cops say

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Elimination of the consequences of a large-scale accident in a high-voltage network

However, if consumption increases, emergency blackouts may occur in some regions.

Read also: Ukraine starts electricity imports from Europe to reduce deficit  DTEK

Later, Energy Minister German Galushchenko noted that restrictions may still be applied in some regions.

Electricity consumption in Ukraine today remains significant due to lower temperatures. However, power is used less than on a weekday. So thanks to the round-the-clock work of repair crews, the commissioning of two nuclear power units and a decrease in consumption on the weekend, there is no power deficit today.

Read also: Power generation improves, reducing deficit, says Ukrenergo

Although Ukrenergo did not set consumption limits, emergency shutdowns may still be applied today if consumption increases. In particular, this applies to Odesa, Kyiv, Khmelnytskyi, Zhytomyr oblasts and the city of Kyiv. There, emergency outages are possible if there is increased consumption due to grid restrictions.

Ukrenergo stresses that the lifting of consumption limits applies only to Feb. 12. With the beginning of the working week and the typical increase in consumption, restrictions may return.

Read also: Iranian Shahed flying bombs hit three energy facilities in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast

On Feb. 11, the Rivne NPP in western Ukraine started operating at maximum capacity, as the fourth power unit was connected to the grid. Thus, nuclear generation added 1,220 MW of capacity to the grid.



Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Thousands gathered to protest for regime change in Iran during a rally outside Los Angeles City Hall on Saturday. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Thousands of people gathered outside Los Angeles City Hall on Saturday, calling for regime change in Iran and rallying in solidarity with the country's female-led protest movement.

Protesters chanted, Zan, zendegi, azadi, or Woman, life, freedom  words that have become a rallying cry since the death in September of Mahsa Amini sparked an enduring protest movement. Amini, 22, died in detention after being arrested by the countrys morality police for allegedly not wearing her headscarf correctly.

Mona and Tamanna, two Iranian American sisters in their early 30s who declined to share their last name because they feared for their family in Iran, said they were inspired to be part of the chorus of voices around the world demanding change in Iran. They'd carpooled to Los Angeles from Orange County with 15 family members in tow.

"I personally would love to see in my parents' lifetime that the Iran they remember is restored," Tamanna said.

"An Iran that was stolen from them," Mona interjected.

Saturday's demonstration coincided with Iranians' Feb. 11 commemoration of the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, which overthrew Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlavi's pro-Western monarchy.

Sepehr Khosravi, left, and Nasrin Nav, right, shout slogans against the Iranian government during a rally outside Los Angeles City Hall on Saturday. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Held aloft in the wind, draped over shoulders and affixed to strollers, a sea of pre-revolutionary Iranian flags filled Grand Park. The flags, which feature a lion and sun at the center instead of the stylized red symbol of the Islamic Republic, were banned after the revolution and have become an emblem of opposition to the theocratic government that has ruled since.

"There's a powerful hope amongst all of us Iranians these days," declared Pezhman Ghiassi, a 33-year-old hairstylist wearing beaded necklaces in the colors of the Iranian flag. Regime change feels closer with "every single second that passes by," Ghiassi said.

Several demonstrators said they had traveled from Northern California to attend, with organizers saying others had come from as far as Arizona and Nebraska.

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"Los Angeles stands with you in your fight for democracy and respect and dignity and human rights," Los Angeles City Council President Paul Krekorian told the crowd, saying he hoped the message would carry from Los Angeles to Tehran.

Hours into the program, the surprise appearance of Reza Pahlavi, the son of the late shah, drew overwhelming excitement, with demonstrators cheering and filming as he waved and raised his arms to them in support.

Times staff writer Laura Nelson contributed to this report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Photograph: Tomas Bravo/Reuters

The blockbuster trial of one of Mexicos top former law enforcement officials is drawing toward its conclusion in a Brooklyn court, with the prosecution likely to rest its case next week after providing explosive accusations from convicted criminals but little in the way of hard evidence.

Genaro Garcia Luna, who once led Mexicos security ministry and its bloody war against powerful cartels, is standing trial accused of conspiring to traffic drugs into the US and of taking multimillion-dollar bribes from the violent Sinaloa cartel in exchange for impunity.

Related: Sinaloa cartel launches violent response as Mexico recaptures El Chapos son

Over nearly three weeks of proceedings, jurors have heard testimony from top cartel operators, an ex-police officer and a former state attorney general. Their accounts include a million-dollar cash drop at a Guadalajara car wash and a brazen kidnapping, and have even implicated a former Mexican president, Felipe Calderon, in the scheme granting the Sinaloa cartel protection.

But despite the parade of witnesses, the prosecutions case has been surprisingly thin in terms of compelling evidence regarding Garcia Lunas activities, relying instead largely on the testimony of people who have themselves been convicted of graft or drug trafficking.

Were getting a load of quite entertaining drug dealers tell us, I know that he was in the pay of the Sinaloa cartel, said Benjamin T Smith, professor of Latin American history at the University of Warwick and author of The Dope: The Real History of the Mexican Drug Trade. But no one seems to ever give him a bag of money, because hes not stupid.

Arguably the most explosive accusation from the trial to date came on Tuesday, when the former attorney general of Nayarit state, Edgar Veytia, implicated former president Calderon in the effort to grant state support to the drug lord Joaquin El Chapo Guzman Loera, the imprisoned former leader of the Sinaloa cartel.

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But the accusation, in which Veytia alleged that in 2011 both Calderon and Garcia Luna had instructed the Nayarit state governor at the time to support El Chapo, was a secondhand account. Veytia was convicted on drug trafficking charges in 2019, and is serving a 20-year sentence.

Calderon, who appointed Garcia Luna to his cabinet as security secretary in 2006, was quick to deny the allegation.

Pictured in 2012, former Mexican president Felipe Calderon, right, has been implicated in the trial of Genaro Garcia Luna, left. Photograph: Alfredo Estrella/AFP/Getty Images

I categorically deny the absurd statements reported by the press made today by the witness Veytia, the former president said on Twitter. What he says about me is an absolute lie. I never negotiated or made pacts with criminals.

The accusation against Calderon was just one in a series of wild cartel stories heard in the Brooklyn courthouse.

Jurors also heard from a former drug trafficker known as The Rabbit who fondly recalled his white cat named Perico, slang for cocaine, and was reportedly brought to tears when shown a video of his former mansion in Mexico, as well as the wild animals it housed.

Witnesses testified that at one point, the cartel kingpin Arturo Beltran Leyva had Garcia Luna kidnapped for refusing to take his side in an increasingly violent war against El Chapo and his allies. Another former cartel leader claimed he personally gave Garcia Luna $2.5m at an office above a car wash in the city of Guadalajara in exchange for protection.

Even the Mexican press has been implicated: on Monday, a former official in the state of Coahuila testified that Garcia Luna paid the owner of the national El Universal newspaper millions of dollars for favorable coverage.

In a subsequent editorial, the newspaper denied the allegations, saying that witness testimonies are only serious and credible when they are accompanied by supporting evidence.

The newspapers response appeared to echo the opening statement from Cesar de Castro, Garcia Lunas lead lawyer, who said the prosecutions case was based on rumors, speculation and the words of some of the biggest criminals in the world, rather than believable evidence.

Theres a lack of a direct smoking gun, said Nathan Jones, an associate professor of security studies at Sam Houston State University. Its the descriptions of him being in the room with other people, but its not necessarily a wiretap or a signal intelligence or something along those lines.

Either the Americans have some more solid piece of evidence, or the case could be really fragile Gustavo Mohar, former general secretary of Mexicos top intelligence agency

Still, the barrage of blockbuster cartel stories may be enough to swing a guilty verdict given the way Mexicos corruption-fueled drug wars are portrayed in in US media.

Either the Americans have some more solid piece of evidence, or the case could be really fragile, said Gustavo Mohar, who under Calderon was general secretary of Mexicos top intelligence agency, Cisen. What I fear is that a jury like that must have very little information about the complexities of the fight against drugs, of corruption.

Whatever the final verdict, there is at least one person who appears to be benefiting from the trial: the current Mexican president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, or Amlo as hes known.

Amlo is delighted that Genaro Garcia Luna is being prosecuted because he says, Right, thats the old regime, thats all the corruption that went beforehand, said the Dope author Smith. Its playing directly into Amlos hands.

On Thursday the head of Mexicos anti-money-laundering unit accused Garcia Luna of embezzling more than $745m through government technology contracts while he was in office and for several years afterward.

The former security secretary wove a web of corruption and money laundering to benefit himself and his close associates, said Pablo Gomez Alvarez, the head of Mexicos financial intelligence unit, during a news conference.

Back in New York, prosecutors have said they planned to show the jury a series of photos depicting Garcia Lunas plush lifestyle while in office as he was allegedly receiving money from the Sinaloa cartel, including a photo of the defendant driving a Lamborghini taken in 2010.

The prosecution said it will probably rest its case on Tuesday morning, with the defense then set to call its own witnesses  including possibly members of US law enforcement and, potentially, Garcia Luna himself.

If hes got a half-decent defense lawyer, were going to have an entire week of him pulling in character witnesses from the DEA, said Smith. In any case, jurors may finally hear from people who havent been in jail for drugs.

Oscar Lopez is a fellow of the Alicia Patterson Foundation
Prue Leith has opened up about the personal reason why she is campaigning to make assisted dying legal in the UK.

The Great British Bake Off star has been supportive of the legalisation of assisted dying since 2012, when her brother, David, died from bone cancer.

She said that watching David suffer in pain made her question why those who are dying are not able to die on their own terms.

Speaking to The Times ahead of her new Channel 4 documentary, Prue and Dannys Death Road Trip, Leith recalled how her brother was given morphine every four hours, but the pain relief only lasted for three hours.

As a result, he was crying out, screaming, in absolute agony for six hours each day.

The Bake Off judge said that when David was full of morphine, he was delightful.

He would be chatting to his family and telling them he loved them, and he was quite happy to die because he had a great life, she said of her brother, who was 74 when he passed. They are the sort of memories they should have been left with.

Leith said that the request to increase his morphine doses was declined because morphine is addictive. She argued that it doesnt matter if he gets addicted as he was reaching the end of his life.

Why, if you can prevent it, would you allow somebody to insist on somebody having six weeks of pain and misery? Theyre going to die anyway, she said. They want out now, and when the familys memories are good ones.

Leith also revealed that if she were to be diagnosed with a terminal illness and given just a few months to live, she would get my things in order and top myself.

Prue Leith and Danny Kruger (Getty / PA)

She added: Ive had a wonderful life. A really happy, successful, pleasurable life. I dont want the last six weeks, or whatever, to be horrible. Not just for me, but for everybody around me.

Assisted dying and euthanasia are illegal under English law. The NHS says that a person approaching the last stage of their life has a right to high quality, personalised end-of-life care that helps you live as well as possible until you die.

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Campaigners from Dignity in Dying, which wants to change the law, argue that the UK should give people the option to control their death and they are not suicidal  they dont want to die but they do not have the choice to live.

In her new Channel 4 documentary, Leith and her son Danny Kruger, the Conservative MP for Devizes in Wiltshire, discuss their opposing views on the topic. Kruger is against legalising assisted dying and wants to improve palliative care.

He told the newspaper: My uncle had very bad quality care, Im afraid to say. The issue was the protocols about the administration of morphine, and he was in and out of hospital.

Too many people die like that, and they shouldnt. They should be dying with proper care.
Anna Conkling

LVIV, UkraineVladimir Putin has consistently used the oppression of Jews to justify his full-scale invasion of Ukraine. While countless Ukrainian cities are burned to the ground, and civilian casualties continue to rise, the Russian president has claimed that his war has been made in the name of de-nazifying the neighboring country. Instead, it has invoked the horrors of World War II into the lives of Russias public.

Few Jewish communities in Ukraine have been depleted like that in Lviv, the once vibrant cultural hub for the religion. But, with a population of just 1,500 before February 24, the war in Ukraine raises concerns about the future of the city's ties to the community and if it will be able to survive, and a fear of what Putins wrath might bring.

He wants to restart the spread of communism in the world, and he wants to establish a bank system in the Soviet-style, Meylakh Sheykhet, Director for the Ukraine Department of the Union Council of Soviet Union Jews, told The Daily Beast. Ukrainian people, we already tasted the taste of freedom. We dont want to be under Putin. And especially, were afraid of him coming back. And bring back the Soviet system of watching people, monitoring people, and leaving [us] afraid to not have any justice to keep their freedom.

Behind the curtains

The plight of the Lviv Jew began during World War II, which essentially erased the religion from the city's streets. Jews in Lviv made up one-third of the city's population, with 150,000 calling it home. But while in other European countries, Jews were forcibly sent to concentration camps, those in Ukraine were often rounded up and shot on their streets.

At first, some Ukrainians were involved with the Organization of Ukrainian Nationals, which allied with the Nazis, helping round up Jewish people in Lviv and other cities. That paved the way for Putin's claims of Neo-Nazis running the country, despite President Volodymyr Zelenskyy being Jewish. But the support quickly changed in Ukraine, and alongside Poland, no two countries suffered more from the Nazi regime.

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Then came the rule of Joseph Stalin, and in Soviet-controlled Ukraine, atheism was the designated religion, and practicing Judaism was forbidden. What resulted from the oppression was a lack of understanding of Jewish culture, and after the Iron Curtain fell, many lost all ties to the religion.

That's the Phenomena of Jewish people, says Dr. Vladyslava Moskalets, a Jewish Historian with The Center For Urban History in Lviv. At Soviet Union, you know that you are Jewish, but what does it mean? You don't know prayers. You don't know the language, you know, perhaps some Jewish jokes. So they knew that there was something like Yiddish language, but they stopped being interested in it.

Only a small percentage of families defied Soviet laws, but Sheykhet recalls his family practicing Judaism in secret. There was horrible oppression. We were able to [observe] behind the curtains, we kept it in secrecy, but we observed. It was very difficult. Whoever was observant was fired from their job. Jews suffered in the Soviet Union the second holocaust, which was spiritual. Nazis killed millions of Jews physically. The communist ideology killed them spiritually.

Sheykhet spoke with The Daily Beast at Turei Zahav Golden Rose Synagogue, which is operated by Lviv's Hasidic community. Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, it has operated a soup kitchen, which provides two meals a day for the country's refugees. It's 10 in the morning and snowing, but the dining hall of the Synagogue offers shelter from the storm, and I am handed a warm coffee and a bowl of soup. There is a saying: First you invite a guest to eat, and then you ask him to pray, Sheykhet said.

(L-R) Mariya Maksymovych, Emilia Kovalchyk and Olga Lozynska prepare Shabbat service dinner and the second meal for the Synagogues soup kitchen. The majority of refugees the kitchen serves are homeless and coming from the east. Anna Conkling

Women in the kitchen of the Synagogue run around in a hurry, checking to make sure the borscht is just right and that the bread has been made, and laughing with one another while they work. They then bring out trays of food to those huddled around a large brown table to receive their free mealmany refugees are homeless and coming from the east. But most of them are not Jewish, and the activity cannot make up for the numbers that the Synagogue has lost.

In an office on the building's grounds, Anatoliy Melamed tells me that the Golden Rose has become desolate since the war began. According to Jewish law for reading Torah, at least ten men should be present, but in our community, it is a problem. Most of the religious services, three, four, five men are present, he says. The depleting size, in addition to an increase in ethnic Jews who do not observe, is a concern for Melamed.

I worry about the future of [my] community. I would like for more young people to be active in religious life, he said.

Anatoliy Melamed worries about what the depleting size of his community means for the future of Jews in Lviv. Anna Conkling

Pulling together

Echoes of a Ukraine with a depleting Jewish population are felt throughout the country. Alla Zaitseva was three-years-old when World War II began. Her family was Jewish and lived in Sevastopol, Crimea. Zaitseva's father worked in Ukraines Ministry of Internal Affairs, and her mother was an accountant. Sevastopol fell under military bombardment in just days, Zaitseva recalls, and her mother brought her to her grandparents in the small town of Belogorsk, under two hours away. The attempt was to bring Zaitseva somewhere safe, out of reach of the Nazi Regime.

But no part of Crimea was spared from German occupation, and Zaitseva's grandparents, who were Krymchak, ethnic Crimean Jews, were In the view of the German fascist subject to destruction, she says. Zaitseva says her grandmother knew that Everyone was doomed to death and tried to save not her children, but her granddaughter, who did not have a Jewish name, thus had a chance of surviving.

As Nazis took Zaitsevas family to mobile gas chambers, her grandmother screamed: This is not my child, someone else's, a Russian child. And the police took Zaitseva away, saving her from the fate of her family.

I ended up in the [police] office where I sat for a long time, unimportant to anyone. The translator who worked there took me to his family. His name was Vsevolod Semenovich, he and his wife, Ekaterina Venediktovna, were teachers. My memories of that time are very fragmented, as I was very small.

Holocaust Memorial and TV Tower Attacked in Putins Sham Anti-Nazi War

She added: They saved me, a risk of their lives. It was very dangerous to hide Jews, and they passed me off as their daughter, although they were no longer young in age, and I did not look like them.

Zaitseva was seven when the war ended and was able to reunite with her parents, who thought she had died along with the rest of their family. They remained in Ukraine throughout the Soviet Union, but Zaitseva never practiced Judaism. After the Soviet Union collapsed, she tried to expose her children to their Jewish heritage, but it was very difficult. I wanted my children to go to Israel, but there were no documents confirming Jewish roots. All archives of Belogorsk were burned by the Germans, who tried to hide their crimes, Zaitseva says.

Women attend Shabbat service at the Turei Zahav Golden Rose Synagogue on a Friday evening. Anna Conkling

Much like the Nazi regime, Putins war appears to be aimed to erase Ukraine from existence. President Joe Biden has characterized the Russian leader as a dictator and accused him of causing a genocide. Fear of meeting Russia's wrath has caused nearly eight million Ukrainians to flee their homes. Though many have flocked to Lviv, at least twenty-five percent of the Jewish community have left, according to Oleksander Nazar, Head of the Lviv Society for Jewish Culture.

But Nazar is adamant that Jews will return to Lviv when the war ends, breaking away from its past. The community has pulled together more in the face of the challenges of the times. In my opinion, the Jewish community has great prospects in a free and strong Ukraine, and there is a lot of work for the members of the community. he said. But for this to happen, we need to win the current war.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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By Khalil Ashawi

JANDARIS, Syria (Reuters) - An eerie silence lay over the courtyard of Ramadan al-Suleiman's nursery in northern Syria on Sunday as he picked his way through smashed cinderblocks, twisted metal and broken plastic swings.

The modest nursery in the town of Jandaris - about 70 km (44 miles) from the city of Aleppo - once hosted 100 toddlers, whose dusty pictures now lay strewn among the debris caused by Monday's devastating earthquake. Some of those children and teachers would not be coming back, Suleiman said.

"We lost two of the female teachers from the important cadres at the school. We lost seven or eight students that we know of," he told Reuters.

They were among more than 2,600 people reported so far to have died in the earthquake in opposition-held parts of northern Syria. More than 3,500 were killed across Syria in total and nearly 30,000 in Turkey.

Children's education in Syria was already hard hit by the war that has raged since 2011. For years, schools would regularly shut because of fighting, mortar fire by rebel groups or air strikes by the Syrian government or Russia.

The earthquake destroyed more than 115 schools in Syria and damaged hundreds more, according to a United Nations update published Saturday.

More than 100 others were being used as makeshift shelters to host thousands displaced by the earthquake, which brought apartment blocks and even tiny rural homes crashing down on residents' heads.

Suleiman has been trying to track down some of the nursery children from whose families he has not heard.

"I went around to buildings where I know some of the students live - and 90% of them were destroyed. There are some pupils that I suspect are dead because we cannot reach their families at all," he said.

Jandaris was particularly devastated, with many concrete buildings pulverised.

Rescuers across Syria, including in the north, have been pulling young children out from under the rubble - some of them miraculously alive even almost a week after the quake, but orphaned.

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Others did not make it.

Mohammad Hassan said he still doesn't know what happened to his seven-year-old daughter Lafeen's friends and classmates.

"We asked around and discovered that one of her teachers died, may God bless her soul," Hassan told Reuters as Lafeen played quietly in his lap.

"She is shocked, she asks me to go see if something happened to the kindergarten. I'm telling her nothing happened and I will take you there once it reopens."

(Reporting by Khalil Ashawi; Writing by Maya Gebeily; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)
Usually, when one insider buys stock, it might not be a monumental event. But when multiple insiders are buying like they did in the case of Molten Ventures Plc (LON:GROW), that sends out a positive message to the company's shareholders.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

Check out our latest analysis for Molten Ventures

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Molten Ventures

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Independent Interim Chair & Senior Director Grahame Cook for UK98k worth of shares, at about UK2.86 per share. We do like to see buying, but this purchase was made at well below the current price of UK3.78. While it does suggest insiders consider the stock undervalued at lower prices, this transaction doesn't tell us much about what they think of current prices.

Molten Ventures insiders may have bought shares in the last year, but they didn't sell any. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

Molten Ventures is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Does Molten Ventures Boast High Insider Ownership?

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Our data indicates that Molten Ventures insiders own about UK4.4m worth of shares (which is 0.8% of the company). Whilst better than nothing, we're not overly impressed by these holdings.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Molten Ventures Tell Us?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. But insiders have shown more of an appetite for the stock, over the last year. The transactions are fine but it'd be more encouraging if Molten Ventures insiders bought more shares in the company. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Molten Ventures. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Molten Ventures you should be aware of, and 1 of these is significant.

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Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions, but not derivative transactions.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Open Road Films

It would be easy to take a look at the director of one of the most outwardly steamy film franchises this century and think, Ah, that guy knows a thing or two about sex! With the Magic Mike films, Steven Soderbergh ignited an entire generation of horny moms, repressed gays, and good-time guys who just wanted to see a dramedy about hanging with your buds. Its rare that film can traverse those three highly specific demographics, but thats what happens when you harness the mesmerizing power of Channing Tatums rock-hard nipples.

But the Magic Mike trilogy was simply Soderbergh at his most overt. As a feature film director, Soderbergh has been dissecting sex and sexuality across his entire 34-year, storied filmography. Movies like Magic Mike XXL and 2009s The Girlfriend Experiencestarring pornstar turned actress Sasha Greyexplore sex on a fundamental level; what it means to have it, who wants it, and what theyll do for it. But things havent always been that fundamental.

Side EffectsSoderberghs small 2013 thriller about a woman who kills her husband while in an antidepressant-induced sleepwalking hazequietly meandered into theaters 10 years ago this week. And it toted plenty of unassumingly sexy baggage with it. The film had all of the trappings of a 1990s erotic thriller: Violent crimes of passion, sultry subterfuge, and plenty of twists.

But Side Effects was different. It steered away from the predictability of its genre tropes, in favor of a commentary far sharper than just, Women can be just as bad as men. The film was so smart, it was almost prescient. Soderbergh saw the way that the conversation around mental health was changing, and how the influx of social media-based sharing began to lift the veil around antidepressants and SSRIs. Side Effects explored how we trade in secrets, using them as our own powerful, mind-altering tools to get what we want. Somehow, its seduction is even more beguiling a decade later.

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Steven Soderbergh Craved One Last Magic Mike Lap Dance

Like most Soderbergh films, Side Effects boasts an incredible cast of devious players, including Tatum, working with the director again after Magic Mike catapulted his career to new heights. Tatum isnt around for long, though. Soon after his character, Martin, is released from a four-year prison stint he served for a little white-collar insider trading, he dies by a knife to the gut from his wife, Emily (Rooney Mara). Except theres just one problem: Emily awakens to find Martins lifeless body, and cant remember a thing.

Prior to the murder, Emily found herself restless and depressed after Martins homecoming. Her despondency comes in short wavesfoggy, but potent enough to put Emily so low that she decides to drive her car into a wall. Following her suicide attempt, Emily agrees to see Dr. Jonathan Banks (Jude Law) once a week and start taking a new SSRI called Ablixa, in exchange for him not holding her for a psych evaluation. Ablixa does wonders for Emilys sleep and sex drive. If only it didnt also cause those pesky homicidal sleepwalking incidents.

Rooney Mara and Channing Tatum. Open Road Films

Murder while sleepwalking isnt exactly an impossible tragedy. There have been several cases tried where defendants were acquitted by arguing that they were somnambulant at the time of the death. Emily certainly doesnt seem like the perfect suspect for murder, and the only thing pointing to her guilt are her prints on the knife and Martins dried blood on her feet. Theres no insurance policy for Martin, no history of abuse, and no viable reason for Emily to want him dead. Even Emilys medical history, with her former Connecticut psychiatrist Dr. Victoria Siebert (Catherine Zeta-Jones), reveals nothing but a model patient.

While all of that is good for Emily, it doesnt bode well for Dr. Banks, who refused to change Emilys Ablixa prescription after Martin complained about her first sleepwalking incident. Reporters show up on his doorstep, uncovering allegations about malpractice from a patient in his past, similar to Emily, while an internal investigation leaves him locked out of his swanky Manhattan office. Suddenly, the good doctor is in as compromising of a position as his patient, and neither party is going to come out of this a winner.

Rooney Mara. Open Road Films

Side Effects might sound distinctly Gone Girl-ian in the scope of its mystery, but be assured that Rooney Mara drove her car into a wall so Rosamund Pike could knock herself in the face with a hammer. Soderberghs film is so effective because it remains grounded in a believable reality. There is a real-life case to point to in each twisted instance, especially when the film allows the audience to wonder if Emily was treated differently by her psychiatrist because shes a woman. Soderbergh keeps an undercurrent of commentary about medical malfeasance running throughout the film, alluding not just to the gendered differences in medical treatment but the racial prejudices that permeate healthcare.

Despite those conversations, Side Effects never takes a turn so grave that it cant juggle its critiques of a fractured system with its scripts innate sensuality. Law and Mara are a perfectly matched doctor-patient dyad. They push and pull on each other with an intensity so smoldering that it remains detectable even in the films most narratively complex moments. Mara, in particular, is a joy to watch as she navigates a mystery of her own making, transforming from a kind of archetypal wounded bird into a slinking vulture.

Jude Law and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Open Road Films

For a film that so clearly enjoys toying with its audience, Side Effects makes space to pose legitimate questions about personal healthcare. While its central mystery twirls the viewer around its finger like a lock of tousled hair, Soderbergh and screenwriter Scott Z. Burns are throwing out keen criticisms of the sliminess of Big Pharma and societys perception of mental illness. Its a tricky matter to construct a puzzle that skewers drug companies and how doctors operate without falling into a nasty Medication Is Bad hole. But Side Effects deftly navigates that tightrope without plummeting into holistic fear-mongering.

Magic Mikes Last Dance Is a Sexy-as-Hell, Spellbinding Farewell to the Franchise

Unlike a good amount of the thoroughly adult thrillers that have been released over the last decade, Side Effects attaches social commentary to its narrative with a power drill, not a screwdriver. Its difficult to extricate the ideas that the movie poses from the film itself. Whereas, if you gaze at something like The Menu or Dont Worry Darling for too long, their ideas about sexuality as currency and disparity between social classes begin to fall apart. Side Effects has remained so taut because of Soderbergh and Burns reluctance to cut corners. They know how to entertain while seering a fascinating critique into their films, so that we can still smell the smoke a decade later. More filmmakers would do well to worry less about rote retreadsupdated for the current cultural momentand care more about crafting keen genre subversions like this one.

At face value, Side Effects winding mystery may not seem as sexy as the rippling abs, bulging pecs, and all the other things youll find atop a steaming slice of Magic Mike machismo. Channing Tatums shirt even remains firmly on his back before a butcher knife goes slashing through it. But Side Effects burns slowly. It has an almost imperceptible sexiness to it, always simmering under the surface. Lies, and the ways we use them to manipulate others and pull them into our suffering, are just as powerful and alluring as the physical body. Duplicity can drive our minds wild with pleasure and pain in equal measure. What could be sexier than a little deception?

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If elected, Lee, 76, would be the only Black woman in the Senate, and only the third in its history.

Rep. Barbara Lee, a California Democrat serving her 12th term, is gearing up to be the states first Black woman to enter this cycles race for U.S. Senate.

A person familiar with Lees plans told the Washington Post that the timing of the announcement is being organized around Black History Month.

If elected, Lee, 76, would be the only Black woman in the Senate, and only the third in its history. Vice President Kamala Harris (D-California) and former senator Carol Moseley Braun (D-Illinois) are the only other two Black women to have served in the role, according to the report.

U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol December 8, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Lee highlighted the lack of Black female representation throughout the U.S. Senates history in a statement to the outlet.

Currently, there are no Black Women in the U.S. Senate, and there have only been two in our almost 250-year history. Our voices are sorely missed in the Senate, Lee said.

My lived experience as a Black woman making true progressive change for Californians will give a voice in the U.S. to those who are currently voiceless, she added.

According to the Post, Lee announced the plans to her colleagues on the Congressional Black Caucus in January.

The lineup of challengers Lee will face upon entering the race include Democratic Reps. Katie Porter, 49 and Adam B. Schiff, 62.

Lees supporters say they expect her campaign to be aided by her experience and perspective as a Black woman who has encountered and overcome discrimination.

According to the report, while in high school, Lee integrated the student cheerleading team. She additionally had an abortion prior to the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that permitted the right to choose whether or not to undergo the procedure.

Congresswoman Barbara Lee (Photo by Leigh Vogel/Getty Images)

In the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, Lee was the lone U.S. congressperson to vote against the authorization that allowed then-President George Bush to invade Afghanistan with military force, for which she faced intense backlash.

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Lees supporters include Tracy Falcon King, director of communications for The Collective PAC, an advocacy organization which works to increase the rate at which Black candidates enter and win political elections.

Black women have been the backbone of the Democratic Party, King told the outlet. We need to have a seat at the table.

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Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said Sunday he'd prefer that Republicans pick a governor to be their presidential nominee in 2024.

Speaking on NBC's "Meet the Press," the Utah Republican said he'd choose a governor "every day of the week" over someone from Congress.

"Yeah, I prefer governors. That's the easy call for me," Cox said in a joint interview with Gov. Phil Murphy (D-N.J.) with host Chuck Todd.

Cox said they were "all fantastic" after Todd threw out some names of Republican governors: New Hampshire's Chris Sununu, Florida's Ron DeSantis and South Dakota's Kristi Noem, as well as former Govs. Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas and Nikki Haley of South Carolina.

For his part, Murphy, who has been pushing for President Joe Biden to run for another term, did suggest that one Republican governor run for president: "Spencer Cox."

Cox, though, said he was running for reelection as governor of Utah.

Murphy and Cox both said they were proud of the cooperation between America's governors on a range of issues at last week's national conference, regardless of their political affiliation. Murphy is the current chair of the National Governors Association, Cox the vice chair.

"We passionately disagree and we're best friends," Cox said of his friendship with Murphy. Cox also said governors are more pragmatic because of their obligation to "get stuff done."

The last current or former governor to be nominated by the Republican Party for president was former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in 2012; Romney lost but is now a U.S. senator from Utah.

Democrats have not nominated a governor since Bill Clinton of Arkansas in 1992. He won that election and then was elected to a second term in the White House in 1996.
The leader of a humanitarian organization helping earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria said on Sunday that aid being blocked along the border between the nations could cause a secondary crisis for Syrians already suffering from years of war.

The International Rescue Committee is one of many groups around the world working to help victims of the 7.8-magnitude and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes that hit southeastern Turkey and northern Syria last week. Rescuers are racing against the clock to get past the damaged infrastructure to dig people out of the rubble.

As of Sunday, the death toll from the quakes had risen to over 33,000  and it is expected to continue to go up as rescuers find more bodies in the destruction.

On the Turkish side of the border, youve got a very strong government. Youve got a massive aid effort underway, IRC President David Miliband told George Stephanopoulos on ABCs This Week.

On the Syrian side of the border, its people whove frankly been abandoned over the last 10 years, he continued. And the grave danger of a secondary crisis  ill health, injuries not treated, economics just out of the window, because the aid is blocked across the Turkish-Syrian border. Only one humanitarian crossing point is open.

IRC President David Miliband tells @GStephanopoulosn Syrians have been "abandoned" and a "secondary crisis" is possible after

massive earthquake.



"The aid is blocked across the Turkish-Syrian border. Only one humanitarian crossing point is open." https://t.co/VZNu4XFpzypic.twitter.com/qKhapPX1zE  This Week (@ThisWeekABC) February 12, 2023

The first United Nations convoy arrived in northwest Syria from Turkey three days after the earthquake. The quakes impacted heavily populated government-controlled cities and the rebel-held enclave centered on the Idlib province, displacing millions of Syrians for a second time since the countys uprising-turned-civil war began 12 years ago.

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According to the White Helmets, a Syrian rescue worker group, the earthquake death toll in the countrys northwestern rebel-held region has reached 2,166. Syrias overall death toll was last recorded at 3,553 on Saturday, though the nearly 1,400 deaths reported for government-held areas had not been updated in days.

The U.N. said the Syrian government is going to allow aid to go into rebel-held areas from the government-controlled region, but Miliband said the route is indirect and caught up in politics.

The critical thing is that the U.N. has said that the most direct route to help people is across the Turkish-Syrian border, north to south, opening up more crossing points, some of which were closed by Russian veto at the U.N. Security Council two years ago, he said.

Our teams on the ground are saying, look, the needs are absolutely evident. People havent gotten food. They havent gotten medicines. They havent gotten basic hygiene supplies. The water and sanitation is in ruins, he continued. So this is a community for whom the earthquake was one massive hit. But the grave danger they face now almost affects more people.

Personnel and civilians conduct search-and-rescue operations Sunday on collapsed buildings in the Etarip district of Aleppo, Syria, after the 7.8-magnitude and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes.

Personnel and civilians conduct search-and-rescue operations Sunday on collapsed buildings in the Etarip district of Aleppo, Syria, after the 7.8-magnitude and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes.

U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths said on Sunday that Syrians have been left looking for international help that hasnt arrived, adding that the countrys people have so far been failed and rightly feel abandoned.

Miliband said the United States government has a really critical role in helping Syria receive aid due to its massive diplomatic and political presence.

The U.N. Security Council needs to be meeting now to open up further border crossing points. Secondly, the U.S. financial commitment and resource commitment can lead the world in this area, he said.

And thirdly, theres a critical role for the U.S. in saying, Dont forget these people again, Miliband continued. The Syrian civil war has been going on for now a dozen years. The world has moved on, but the crisis has not been resolved, and a forgotten crisis is not a resolved crisis.
Food tech firm Lunchbox and OpenAI have launched the AI Food Generator Screenshot

Generative AI is now being used to create menu photos when restaurants lack images.

Startups Lunchbox and SWIPEBY recently launched image tools using OpenAI, the firm behind ChatGPT.

Images of menu items can boost sales.

Generative AI has been utilized to write articles and Tinder messages and create recipes and art of all kinds.

Now, it's being used by some restaurant owners to spit out pictures of food for their digital menus.

Nabeel Alamgir, CEO of restaurant tech startup Lunchbox, recently introduced a free AI-powered food photo generator with the help of OpenAI, the firm behind the viral bot ChatGPT. Lunchbox, a restaurant management software company that works with about 200 brands, built the tool using OpenAI's text-to-image tool DALL-E.

A month later, food tech startup SWIPEBY created a similiar text-to-photo tool using tech from OpenAI and Stability AI. Each tool generates images based on menu item descriptions.

"This saves significant time, expense, and effort by the restaurant owner," Carl Turner, SWIPEBY's CEO and founder, said. SWIPEBY's tool is only available to its clients.

Alamgir said Lunchbox pays OpenAI a "small fee" per query. Since its January 19 launch, it has generated 175 million AI photos, he said. Lunchbox is not able to track which restaurants or brands are using the tool.

Like ChatGPT, users describe what they're searching for to generate content  in this case, a food photo. Insider asked it to create an image of "a burger with blue cheese and bacon" on a "brown" background. Style and background suggestions are optional.

The request proved tricky for the bot.

It cranked out four images, including a burger with light blue buns, giving them a moldy look. Another picture showed an artisan-looking burger with a thick slice of blue-colored cheese.

Alamgir said the food photo generator aims to help restaurants boost sales. Citing Grubhub data, he said restaurants that add pictures to their menu items receive upwards of 70% more orders and 65% higher sales compared to restaurants that do not.

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"We launched this free generator to provide small and new restaurants access to the very same tools that bigger platforms offer for a fee," Alamgir said.

Even DoorDash insists on good photography, according to food tech writer Kristen Hawley, who first reported about Lunchbox's photo generator tool last month.

"Since the menu is the main online touchpoint, an unattractive or poorly organized menu can have a huge negative impact on a merchant's online conversion rate, regardless of the quality of the food," the delivery operator said in a 2020 blog post.

Online ordering startup SWIPEBY introduced a gen AI text to image tool for restaurants. SWIPEBY

In today's social-media-obsessed world, a picture is not only worth a thousand words  it could be worth 100,000 views or likes. But how will diners respond when the dish they order looks nothing like the one in the picture?

While tools like the food photo generator are new, historically, customers tend to expect their dishes will look as advertised. Chains have even been sued when menu items don't live up to their advertisements.

"We understand maintaining menu integrity is important," he said. "The reason we launched the food image generator is because it can get profoundly close to the real visual of your more simple dishes, but it carries out the marketing component that many new and small restaurants cannot afford."

Alamgir said the tool is meant to fill in gaps for restaurants that don't have access to professional food photography.

Julie Zucker, a partner and chief marketing officer at Branded Hospitality Ventures, said "mouth-watering" food photos may certainly drive a guest to order.

The food tech VC firm, which also runs a string of restaurants in New York, invests in startups that solve problems for restaurants. Branded Hospitality Ventures is not an investor in Lunchbox.

"There is no question that photos sell, and there is tremendous data to back that up," Zucker said. "However, operators did not open restaurants to become food photographers, so if there is an AI tool to accurately represent real dishes that does not mislead guests, then that tool is going to be a surefire winner."

Still, fake food photos might not work for DoorDash. On its website, the company said it rejects photos on their app if they do not "properly represent the item."

"Customers should see a realistic representation of what they will receive when ordering online," DoorDash told Insider. "Showcasing high-quality, accurate menu images are crucial for maintaining customer trust and generating sales through DoorDash."

If restaurants lack food photos, DoorDash said it offers complimentary photo shoots.

Read the original article on Business Insider
By Maiya Keidan

TORONTO (Reuters) - A recent rise in Canada's shareholder activism faces a reality check next month when a new law that gives more powers to investors to pick board nominees will be put to the test and could spur more campaigns this year, lawyers say.

Canada is a perfect environment for activists with advantageous regulatory rules, but has failed to attract huge swathes of activists to its shores.

The country has lagged the rising trend of activism seen globally, but that could be about to change, lawyers say. Some 53 Canadian companies faced activism campaigns in 2022, a 17.8% rise over the previous year, compared with a 10.6% rise in the U.S to 511, showed data from Insightia, a Diligent brand.

Last August, Canada changed federal laws allowing investors to vote 'for' or 'against' each director nominated to a company board. Previously, shareholders could only vote 'for' a candidate or 'withhold' their vote, meaning a majority was not legally a necessity.

While not enshrined in law, majority voting was often adopted by companies in their policy, prior to the change. But directors previously faced no legal requirement to resign if they did not secure a majority of 'for' votes, said lawyers.

"If I were an activist, this makes things easier," said Heidi Reinhart, partner at Norton Rose Fulbright.

Reinhart said if an investor now calls for an 'against' campaign and secures enough votes, the person doesn't get elected. "So, I think there will be more targeted campaigns against specific directors. That gives some leverage to a shareholder," Reinhart added.

While the rule change came in August, lawyers point out this is the first proxy season where the amendment will be tested.

Next month, in activist campaigns from Luxor Capital Group and Sandpiper Group against Ritchie Bros Auctioneers and First Capital Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), respectively, both will face the scrutiny of fellow investors.

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Luxor is opposing Ritchie Bros' $6 billion acquisition of IAA Inc while Sandpiper is aiming to overhaul First Capital REIT's board.

Activist hedge funds are likely to be further emboldened after bets on M&A deals globally landed them an outsized 8.5% gain in January, making them the best-performing strategy for the month, after losing 17.23% on average in 2022, showed data from Hedge Fund Research.

When it comes to wins and losses, however, only 22% of public activist demands in Canada were at least partially satisfied in 2022, lower than 26% in the U.S. and 34.1% in Europe, according to Insightia.

Canadian campaigns were more successful in the preceding four years, with a rate of 34% in 2021 and 43% in 2018.

A pick up in activism is expected to not only increase transparency on deals, but drive stock performance.

In the case of Elliott Investment Management calling for a strategic review and board changes at Suncor Energy Inc, for example, the stock has risen 56% since the activist first announced its involvement in April.

By contrast, Canadian energy stocks rose 3.14% over the same period.

And oil and mining companies could continue to be the sector that faces activism, say market participants.

"There are a lot of resource companies (in Canada) and those sectors often face dislocation and they're often facing challenges in their business," said Adam Givertz, partner at law firm Paul Weiss.

"Those challenges, (even) if they're a good company, can attract the attention of an activist."

(This story has been refiled to drop extraneous words in the last two paragraphs)

(Reporting by Maiya Keidan; Editing by Denny Thomas and Chizu Nomiyama)
Then-Rep. Ron DeSantis of Florida leaves the US Capitol in 2014. Congressman DeSantis' voting record could pose problems for his presidential campaign. Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call

Ron DeSantis is coming under fire from both parties as he weighs a presidential campaign.

Trump has made it clear that he will attack DeSantis' past support for changes to Social Security and Medicare.

DeSantis' time in Congress could become a further source for future campaign fodder.

It seems everyone wants to go after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump took shots at him just this week, even though the popular Republican governor has yet to announce a presidential campaign.

These early attempts to define DeSantis also underline how one of this biggest liabilities may be his past as a rank-and-file conservative in Congress before his meteoric rise as a Purple state governor. The frequent Fox News guest is popular with some of Trump's populist base.

Even a brief review of DeSantis' record showcases the vulnerabilities that could lie ahead.

Here's a look at some of the key topics DeSantis' anticipated presidential campaign is almost certain to have to contend with:

DeSantis went even further than Paul Ryan on changing Social Security and Medicare

As a congressional candidate, DeSantis repeatedly expressed support for Rep. Paul Ryan's proposed overhaul to entitlement programs by privatizing aspects of Medicare and Social Security, as CNN's Andrew Kaczynski and Em Steck uncovered earlier this week.

Congressman DeSantis went even further than that position. As Josh Barro wrote, DeSantis supported the even more drastic Republican Study Committee's budget proposal that aimed to balance the federal budget in four years, instead of Ryan's decade. To achieve such cuts, as the Committee for the Responsible Budget detailed back then, required changing Medicare to a partially private system by 2019 and raising the retirement age to 70. It would have also increased the full retirement age for Social Security to 70 as well.

There's a reason why changing these massively popular programs is regarded as one of the "third rails" of American politics. The AARP tore into Ryan's proposal at the time, particularly for its proposed changes to social security. The Obama campaign later delighted in bashing Republicans over Ryan's ideas after then-former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney tapped him as his 2012 running mate. And DeSantis endorsed changes that went beyond what Ryan wanted.

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Normally, this would be considered a general election vulnerability. Republicans for decades proposed all sorts of changes and cuts to entitlement programs.

But Trump is not an average Republican. He has certainly never been a movement conservative unlike DeSantis or former Vice President Mike Pence, who chaired the influential Republican Study Committee less than a decade before DeSantis arrived in Washington. How else would you explain someone who used to be a registered Democrat, flirted with the reform party, and once explained his pro-abortion views as a product of living in New York and not Iowa?

Trump has made it clear that he would not propose cuts to Social Security and Medicare and is ready to attack 2024 nomination challengers who have in the past.

He backed a nationwide sales tax to replace the current tax code.

Like other 2024 contenders, DeSantis supported a nationwide sales tax system known as the "Fair Tax." Less than a month after joining Congress, the Floridian co-sponsored a bill that would have abolished the IRS and empowered states to collect what would start out as a 23% national sales tax*. (Different calculations could mean that the tax would be 30%) There would have also been some monthly rebates for certain families that met size and income standards.

Then-Rep. Ron DeSantis flips through a packet about the IRS during a 2016 hearing. Andrew Harnik/AP

The idea has been around for decades. The once-fringe proposal has received renewed focus amid the possibility that Speaker Kevin McCarthy may allow a floor vote on it.

Outside of conservative circles, the idea is viewed as politically dicey. On its very face, the tax would be far more regressive than the current system. A Tax Policy Center analysis found from 2012 found that middle-class households would see a net tax increase while wealthier Americans would bank a "sizable cut."

But once again, this might not just be a general election problem. Trump, as Semafor previously reported, is keen to remind Republicans who used to support this idea.

He voted against renewing the Violence Against Women Act

This is not a new potential attack. Florida Democrats hammered DeSantis when he first ran for governor over his 2013 vote against reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act. Insider couldn't find any comments he made at the time, but he was far from the only Republican or even the only Florida Republican to vote against the bill.

Sen. Marco Rubio said then that he opposed the bill due to new provisions, including what he viewed as an improper shift from domestic violence programs to sexual assault programs, Politico reported at the time. Other House Republicans were also opposed to the Democratic-led Senate bill that would have expanded access to certain visas to non-citizens who were victims of domestic violence, CNN reported at the time. This provision was later removed from the bill.

Biden, who was then vice president, later took aim at House Republicans whose opposition slowed the renewal by a year, saying they were "this sort of Neanderthal crowd."

US Republican presidential candidate John McCain and his daughter Meghan McCain (L) attend a campaign rally at Otterbein College in Westerville, Ohio on October 19, 2008. ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images

Republicans haven't had to deal with a nominee with a voting history in a long time.

It is expected that DeSantis may not announce until after Florida lawmakers complete their regular session in May. In the meantime, his potential future rivals, including Biden, will continue to attack some of his current actions. The president went after DeSantis earlier this week for blocking Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act. Florida is just one of 12 states that haven't expanded Medicaid.

Republicans haven't faced the possibility of nominating someone with a congressional voting record in over a decade. Besides DeSantis, Pence, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem all served in Congress. South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott is reportedly weighing a campaign too. While his colleagues Sens. Ted Cruz, and Marco Rubio both ran in 2016.

Trump had made a plethora of public statements over decades, but roll call votes lay bare critical issues in a way few other things can. Even now-Sen. Mitt Romney carried the GOP banner as a former governor and executive. It was Ryan's history that gave the Obama campaign more positions to tear apart.

This being Congress, votes often take place for messaging bills that stand little chance of becoming law or massive compromises that include a bunch of unrelated policies.

In recent years, Republicans have taken a number of votes that could age poorly in a general election. Voters are looking at abortion positions with fresh scrutiny. After years of failing to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Obamacare now enjoys majority support. And some of the ways the GOP tried to repeal the law, including a last-ditch so-called "skinny repeal," may be tough to explain.

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Mike Sullivan wasnt sure how Los Angeles would respond to the ceremony celebrating former captain Dustin Brown that delayed the start of the Kings game against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Crypto.com Arena Saturday night.

Such events before a game, he said, are emotional and can affect people different ways.

Some teams, Sullivan noted, are energized by them, while others are distracted.

Read the full story from our partners at Sports Now Group Pittsburgh here.

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KYIV, Ukraine (AP)  Russian forces over the weekend continued to shell Ukrainian cities amid a grinding push to seize more land in the east of the country, with Ukrainian officials saying that Moscow is having trouble launching its much-anticipated large-scale offensive there.

One person was killed and one more was wounded on Sunday morning by the shelling of Nikopol, a city in the southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region, Gov. Serhii Lysak reported. The shelling damaged four residential buildings, a vocational school and a water treatment facility.

In Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city, one person was wounded after three Russian S-300 missiles hit infrastructure facilities overnight, regional Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said. The Russian military said they hit armored vehicle assembly workshops at the Malyshev machinery plant in the city.

Ukrainian forces also downed five drones  four Shahed killer drones and one Orlan-10 reconnaissance drone  over the partially occupied Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions on Saturday evening, Kyiv's military reported.

Overall, Russian forces carried out 12 missile and 32 air strikes in Ukraine over the past 24 hours, as well as over 90 rounds of shelling from multiple rocket launchers, Ukraine's General Staff reported in its daily update.

The attacks come as Russian forces push to take over more land in the eastern industrial heartland of Donbas, comprised of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Ukrainian and Western officials have warned that Russia could launch a new, broad offensive there to try to turn the tide of the conflict as the war approaches the one-year mark.

But Ukrainian officials say that Moscow is having trouble mounting such an offensive.

They are having big problems with a big offensive, Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraines National Security and Defense Council, told Ukrainian television on Saturday night.

They have begun their offensive, they're just not saying they have, and our troops are repelling it very powerfully. The offensive that they planned is already gradually underway. But (it is) not the offensive they were counting on, Danilov said.

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A U.S.-based think tank noted that it is also Russias pro-Kremlin military bloggers who question Moscows ability to launch a broad offensive in Ukraine. They continue to appear demoralized at the Kremlins prospects for executing a major offensive, the Institute for the Study of War said in its latest report.

Earlier this week the owner of the Russian Wagner Group private military contractor actively involved in the fighting in Ukraine said that the war could drag on for years.

Yevgeny Prigozhin said in a video interview released late Friday that it could take 18 months to two years for Russia to fully secure control of Donbas. He added that the war could go on for three years if Moscow decides to capture broader territories east of the Dnieper River.

The statement from Prigozhin, a millionaire who has close links to Russian President Vladimir Putin and was dubbed Putins chef for his lucrative Kremlin catering contracts, marked a recognition of the difficulties that the Kremlin has faced in the campaign, which it initially expected to wrap up within weeks when Russian troops invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24.

Russia suffered a series of humiliating setbacks in the fall when the Ukrainian military launched successful counteroffensives to reclaim broad swaths of territory in the east and the south.

On Sunday, Prigozhin said that Wagner fighters have taken over the Krasna Hora settlement north of Bakhmut, a strategic city at the epicenter of the fighting in recent months.

___

Follow APs coverage of the war in Ukraine: https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
Smoke rises from a Russian tank destroyed by the Ukrainian forces on Feb. 26. Anatolii Stepanov/AFP via Getty Images

In the last 2 weeks, Russian casualties are likely the highest since the war began, the UK said.

The Ukrainian General Staff estimated that the mean average for the last seven days was 824 Russian casualties.

Western officials estimate that Russia could be approaching nearly 200,000 casualties.

In the last two weeks, Russia has likely suffered its highest rate of casualties since the first week of its invasion of Ukraine, according to the UK Ministry of Defence.

The Ukrainian General Staff said that the mean average for the last seven days was 824 Russian casualties per day, which is over four times the rate reported in June and July 2022, the UK ministry said in an intelligence update on Sunday.

While the department said it could not verify Ukraine's methodology, it said that the trends are likely accurate.

The reason for the increase in Russian casualties is due to various factors, including a lack of trained personnel, coordination, and resources across the front, which the ministry notes can be seen in Bakhmut and Vuhledar.

The Ministry of Defence noted that Ukraine has also suffered high losses.

Ukraine claimed on Tuesday that 1,030 Russian troops had been killed in the previous 24 hours, which would have marked the deadliest day for Russian forces in the war so far.

While it is difficult to accurately track the death toll of the war, Western officials estimate that Russia could be approaching nearly 200,000 casualties.

That toll, in less than a year of the war, is eight times higher than all American casualties in two decades of war in Afghanistan.

A Ukrainian soldier fires towards Russian positions outside Bakhmut, Ukraine, on November 8, 2022. Bulent Kilic/AFP via Getty Images

In recent months fierce fighting has been raging in the eastarn Ukraine, with Russia trying to take the city of Bakmut in Donetsk Oblast.

Mercenaries from the Russian private military company Wagner Group have played a large role in the war in Ukraine, particularly in Bakhmut and its surrounding areas.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Wagner Group, said in a video published on Friday that he believed the fighting in Ukraine could continue for several years, Reuters reported.

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He said that it could take one and a half to two years for Russian forces to completely capture the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine, which Moscow last year claimed as "republics" of Russia in an internationally condemned move.

However, if the goal was to occupy territory up to the Dnipro River, this could take about three years, he said.

Although Prigozhin does not speak for the Russian military, his comments provide insight into Russian expectations of the war.

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The Russian occupiers allegedly engaged foreign mercenaries to organise Shahed drone attacks on the territory of Ukraine on 10 February.

Source: Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine's Ministry of Defense

Details: The Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine's Defence Ministry has released an interception of conversations of the Russian occupiers during the mass attack on Ukrainian territory by Shahed kamikaze drones on 10 February.

Quote: "This is a short dialogue between two Shahed drone operators who specify the coordinates of the target. In doing so, the interlocutors communicate in a dialect of the Kurdish language interspersed with words in Farsi.

That is, the command of the occupying forces involves not only Iranian instructors who teach Russians how to use drones in attacks on the territory of Ukraine. This interception may indicate that Kurdish mercenaries with combat experience in the use of Shaheds are also fighting on the Ruscist side.

During their operations in Syria, Russian troops have already engaged armed units consisting of Kurdish and Afghan mercenaries."

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Russia's Progress 82 cargo craft, packed with 3 tons of food, fuel and supplies, is pictured shortly after docking to the International Space Station's Poisk module on Oct. 28, 2022.

For the second time in two months, a Russian spacecraft docked with the International Space Station (ISS) has sprung a leak.

Mission controllers in Moscow have noticed "a depressurization" in the robotic Progress 82 cargo craft, Russia's federal space agency Roscosmos announced on Saturday (Feb. 11).

The depressurization occurred in the Progress vehicle's coolant system, NASA officials said.

"The reason for the loss of coolant in the Progress 82 spacecraft is being investigated. The hatches between the Progress 82 and the station are open, and temperatures and pressures aboard the station are all normal," NASA officials wrote in a blog post on Saturday. "The crew, which was informed of the cooling loop leak, is in no danger and continuing with normal space station operations."

Related: Hole in leaky Soyuz spacecraft not caused by Geminid meteor

Progress 82 arrived at the ISS on Oct. 28, 2022 and was scheduled to depart on Feb. 17. It's unclear if the freighter will still leave on that date or if mission controllers will keep it around longer than originally planned to continue the leak investigation. (Progress vehicles are designed to burn up in Earth's atmosphere when their missions are over, so engineers won't be able to examine the vehicle on the ground.)

Coincidentally, the depressurization was noticed on the same day that another Russian freighter, Progress 83, arrived at the orbiting lab. Progress 83 docked successfully early Saturday morning, unaffected by the travails of its sibling ship.

Related stories:

 Meteoroid strike may have caused Soyuz spacecraft leak, Russian state news reports

 The International Space Station: Facts, history and tracking

 How Russia's Progress spaceships work (infographic)

Progress 82's leak follows on the heels of a similar incident involving Russia's MS-22 Soyuz spacecraft, which carried three astronauts to the International Space Station in September and was supposed to haul them home again in March.

Story continues

But Soyuz MS-22 leaked away all of its coolant on Dec. 14, a dramatic event that Russian mission controllers eventually traced to an apparent micrometeoroid strike. The vehicle is now unfit to carry astronauts except in case of an emergency aboard the ISS, so Roscosmos plans to launch another Soyuz later this month to take its place.

That replacement Soyuz, known as MS-23, will launch uncrewed. It will bring the MS-22 crew  cosmonauts Dmitri Petelin and Sergey Prokopyev and NASA's Frank Rubio  back to Earth, likely in late September.

That's the current plan, anyway. It's unclear at the moment if Roscosmos and the other space station partners will adjust it, perhaps to allow more time to conduct a Progress leak investigation and consider the implications of its results.

Mike Wall is the author of "Out There" (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a book about the search for alien life. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Instagram.
At least 10 articles condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine have appeared on the website of the Kremlin-aligned news outlet Komsomolskaya Pravda (KP) on the evening of 11 February.

Source: Meduza, a Latvia-based Russian media outlet, citing Prodolzheniye sleduyet (To be continued) project

Details: Among the headlines of these articles (which are currently deleted) were the following:

Crimea is Ukraine. Russia must give the peninsula back

Russia has become a victim of occupation by Putins regime

The Russian Federation committed crimes in Bucha, Izium and Hostomel

The Kremlin regime released convicts with weapons

Peace does not come because of Putin: Zelenskyy signed a decree banning talks with Putin personally

Torture of Navalny: How political prisoners are treated in Russian prisons

At least some of the publications began with the following words: "The material was not approved by the editorial board of Komsomolskaya Pravda and is aimed at exposing the lies of the Kremlin regime led by the bloody dictator Putin and his gang of cynical thieves in power who committed genocide against civilians in Ukraine".

The articles were posted by Vladimir Romanenko, a news editor at KP. Prodolzheniye sleduyet project posted his monologue. The journalist said that he was 24 years old and that he was against the war, but in September 2022 he had to accept a job at KP because he needed money.

Romanenko said that he posted texts criticising the authorities as an action to mark the anniversary of the beginning of the war, and the managing editor wrote to him saying that she "did not expect this" and blocked him on Telegram.

The journalist called his actions "atonement".

Quote: "I decided to dedicate my statement to the one-year anniversary of the outbreak of the war: during my work shift, I simply uploaded publications that describe the crimes of the Russian government and troops in Ukraine to the administrative version of the site.

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[Articles] About the number of civilian casualties. About how many people the Russian army has actually lost in this war and about how much money Putin is pumping into the war. I wrote all of them myself, based on official data from Ukrainian government agencies and materials published by independent Russian and Western media.

<...> For me, such a step is a leap into the abyss. I'm looking for some kind of job; I don't have much savings left. But I see it as atonement. In my opinion, being left without a job is proportionate payback for my lying.

I apologise to the people of Ukraine for taking part in all this. My statement is about the fact that there are people in propaganda who still resist. I hope that the staff of other Kremlin-aligned media outlets will notice my action."

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Russian forces attacked Kherson hromada 20 times on Sunday, 12 February 2023 [Hromada is an administrative unit designating, in this case, the city of Kherson and its adjacent territories - ed.]. An injured man has been taken to hospital in serious condition.

Source: Kherson City Council

Quote: "The Russian army attacked Kherson hromada 20 times on 12 February. One person was injured; the man was taken to hospital in serious condition.

[The village of] Antonivka, the Ostriv district of Kherson and the city centre of Kherson came under fire.

The enemy damaged the building of the Yuvileinyi cinema, attacked the Kherson Sea Port and the Svoboda (Freedom) Square. Private houses have also been damaged."

Details: Kherson City Council added that Kherson hromada has been attacked 1,991 times since 20 November 2022, with 80 people killed and 222 more wounded since then.

Background: It was reported earlier that the occupiers attacked the city centre of Kherson on the morning of 12 February, striking the building of the Kherson Oblast State Administration.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Russian forces attacked Nikopol district in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast three times on Sunday, 12 February 2023, using tubed artillery and multiple-launch rocket systems (MLRS).

Source: Serhii Lysak, Head of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Military Administration, on Telegram

Quote: "The aggressor attacked Nikopol district with tubed artillery and MLRS three times today. The city of Nikopol and the hromadas of Marhanets and Myrove came under fire [Hromada is an administrative unit designating a town, village or several villages and their adjacent territories - ed.]. One person was killed, and two more were wounded."

Details: The occupiers attacked Nikopol on the morning of Sunday, 12 February. A 53-year-old woman was killed. Two more people were wounded, as was clarified later. They are an 88-year-old and a 76-year-old woman. One of them is currently receiving outpatient care, and the second one is taken to hospital.

Six multi-storey residential buildings, a waterworks and a college premises have been damaged in the city.

Russian forces attacked Marhanets hromada in the afternoon. There were no casualties. Twenty private houses, three cars, three power transmission lines and a gas pipeline were damaged. Two outbuildings were destroyed, and a further 15 were damaged.

There were no casualties in Myrove hromada.

Background: It was reported earlier that Russian occupying forces had attacked Nikopol in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast on the morning of 12 February, killing a woman and injuring another.

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Experts from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) have come to the conclusion that the Russian military has not managed to prepare conscripts for effective offensive operations in a short period of time.

Source: ISW

Details: Ukrainian military officials and Russian pro-war nationalist voices are downplaying Russias ability to launch a sweeping large-scale offensive in Donetsk Oblast in the current circumstances of the Russian Armed Forces.

Russian forces reported culmination and tactical failures around Vuhledar, Donetsk Oblast, have likely further weakened the Russian ultranationalist communitys belief that Russian forces are able to launch a decisive offensive operation.

The disparity between the limited but significant Russian advances in the Bakhmut area and the lack of meaningful advances elsewhere in Ukraine may support milblogger and Ukrainian observations that Russian forces are unable to secure rapid advances through traditional mechanised manoeuvre warfare.

The analysts have pointed out that the Russian military command is deploying its most elite units to the Bakhmut area in smaller formations using urban infiltration tactics.

These tactics seem to be resulting in significant tactical Russian advances in the Bakhmut area that could lead to operational gains if Ukrainian forces choose to withdraw from Bakhmut.

Russian offensive operations elsewhere in Donetsk Oblast and along the Svatove-Kreminna line have resulted in marginal advances without operational significance thus far.

ISW has noted that all the [Russian - ed.] formations so far observed were rendered combat-ineffective in earlier phases of the war and have very likely been reconstituted with mobilised personnel.

The analysts have assumed that the Russian military appears to have been unable to prepare its mobilised personnel to conduct effective mechanised offensive operations in the short period of time since their call-ups, as ISW forecasted.

Story continues

The lack of adequate vehicles, ammunition, and other materiel is likely contributing to the ineffectiveness of Russian mechanised manoeuvre tactics thus far.

The Russian military is unlikely to be able to scale its approach from the Bakhmut area to the wider theatre because the tactics it is using in Bakhmut are more suited to dense urban environments and because Russian forces lack the number of elite formations needed to conduct a larger offensive in eastern Ukraine in the same fashion.

ISW has highlighted that Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Wagner Group financier, is trying to salvage his declining influence in Russia as the Kremlin continues to sideline him and his mercenaries.

Moreover, Prigozhin notably confirmed that Wagner has stopped recruitment in prisons because of the expiration of an agreement permitting such recruitment with an unspecified agency  likely the Russian Ministry of Defence.

The Kremlin is continuing to dim Prigozhins star by depriving him of the right to recruit in prisons and by targeting his influence in the information space.

Prigozhins criticism of the Kremlins military campaign resembles the rhetorical approach of the former Russian militant Igor Girkin.

"[...] it is possible that Prigozhin is also turning into a bitter zealot who is losing his ability to leverage his parallel military to obtain political influence.

If the current Russian offensive stalls rapidly, on the other hand, the star of the conventional Russian military may once again wane, possibly re-opening a path for Prigozhin to regain significance and opportunities," ISW summed up.

Key Takeaways as of 11 February:

Ukrainian military officials and Russian pro-war nationalist voices are downplaying Russias ability to launch a sweeping large-scale offensive in Donetsk Oblast in the current circumstances of the Russian Armed Forces.

Russian forces reported culmination and tactical failures around Vuhledar, Donetsk Oblast, have likely further weakened the Russian ultranationalist communitys belief that Russian forces are able to launch a decisive military effort.

The disparity between the limited but significant Russian advances in the Bakhmut area and the lack of meaningful advances elsewhere in Ukraine may support milblogger and Ukrainian observations that Russian forces are unable to secure rapid advances through traditional mechanised manoeuvre warfare.

Prigozhin is trying to salvage his declining influence in Russia as the Kremlin continues to sideline him and his mercenaries.

Russian forces targeted southern Ukraine with air, missile, and aerial and maritime drone strikes overnight on 10-11 February.

Russian forces continued offensive operations near Svatove and Kreminna.

Russian forces continue to prioritise offensive operations in Donetsk Oblast.

Russian occupation authorities are likely draining the Kakhovka Reservoir north of occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

Prigozhin confirmed that the Wagner Group stopped recruiting inside Russian prisons due to the expiration of an agreement between the Wagner Group and the Russian Ministry of Defence.

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Oleksii Reznikov, Minister of Defence of Ukraine, has stated that Ukrainian defenders have deprived the Russians of their domination in the Black Sea and taken away their possibility to "approach Odesa from the sea".

Source: Reznikov at a press conference in Odesa, quoted by the Naval Forces of Ukraine on Facebook

Quote: "I really dont like giving any predictions and assessments, but in order for the risk of capturing Odesa and its oblast to appear, Russia has to obtain dominance in the Black Sea.

But we have deprived them of this possibility. Among other things, after we have used our Ukrainian Neptunes [coastal defence missiles that are produced in Ukraine - ed.] to sink the Moskva cruiser.

In addition, Harpoon anti-ship missile systems are on duty, so I have zero chance of them [the Russians] coming close to Odesa from the sea."

Details: Reznikov has said that the Russians did not manage to approach Odesa by land last time, and this time, Ukrainian defenders have bashed them out to the left (east) bank of the Dnipro River, which is a strong natural barrier with its destroyed bridges and crossings.

"As for the south of Ukraine on the left bank, the enemys grouping there is able to replenish weapons, equipment and manpower; therefore, the situation there is more intense," Oleksii Reznikov added.

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Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Liza Weisstuch/Wikimedia Commons

The Rakija Museum is only 15 miles from the center of Belgrade, but it can take an hour to get there if your taxi driver hasnt been there before. Its up a network of roads that are so narrow and hilly and unmarked that at some points, Google Maps cant even be bothered. Occasionally youll pass a tractor or a fruit stand, but for the most part, the landscape looks the same as it did 100 years ago.

The taxi driver can be forgiven, though. Locals dont really need to go to the Rakija Museum. Spend a few days in Belgrade and it feels like the whole city is a rakija museum. From fine dining restaurants to cocktail bars to kafanas, the Balkan answer to the pub, you can try a variety of the native fruit brandy.(This is a good moment to note that brandy is any alcohol distilled from fruit, so Cognac, Armagnac, Pisco, and applejack all fall under the classification.)

Sljivovica, the most common rakija, is distilled from plums, one of Serbias main exports, and its so integral to the local culture that in December it was inscribed on UNESCOs List of Intangible Cultural Heritage. But rakija can also be made from quince, pear, apricot, apple, or even grapes. Ask anyone about ityoung or oldand theyll tell you about the person (typically a grandfather or uncle) in their family who makes it on an improvised still in their kitchen. And probably about how another family member (typically a grandmother) administered tiny amounts of it to them as a child to treat everything from cuts to colds. These days, however, a generation that watched a grandparent or uncle casually cook up sljiva at home is fine-tuning the recipe and turning the age-old craft into a modern business. Quality rakija is easier than ever to find on the shelves throughout Serbia today. And its starting to arrive in the U.S., too

Dejan Momcilovic, the museums director, greeted me when I finally arrived. He wasnt bothered that I was 40 minutes late to our appointment. As I would quickly learn over the few weeks I spent in Belgrade this fall, its rare for anyone to be upset if youre late. Serbians have famously perfected the art of sitting around and talkingbe it over coffee, tea, burek (think: spanakopita, but with a lot of meat), charcuterie, or rakija. And if youre late, the only one who loses out is you.

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Rakija is distilled and drunk throughout the Balkans, but most expertsand, of course, Serbiansagree that it originated in Serbia, where its been made since at least the 15th century. Thats the museums claim, too. Among many vintage bottles, it features the original 1909 patent for a rakija still, the first patent ever awarded by the newly opened patent office of the nation, which was then known as the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. Dejan catalogs international politicians and notables whove been spotted with the spirit. Hes particularly keen on sharing how the Serbian prime minister gifted a bottle to Bill Gates when he was in Belgrade to plan a Microsoft office.

The museum is also the site of a distillery thats been producing Bojkovcanka since 1985. It was an early entrant on the growing premium commercial rakija market, Dejan led me to a wood table in a courtyard and poured a few varietiestart quince, jammy apricot, and vibrant plum, each a vivid, pure expression of its fruit. The heat of the alcohol wasnt an interference as much as a mere reminder to take it in slowly.

Rakija is to Serbia what pisco is to Peru and what rum is to the Caribbean, which is to say: ubiquitous. For generations it was known as a peasant drink and much of the commercial products were mass produced and evoked moonshine. But with the growth of awareness of the rich heritage of native spirits around the world, Serbians realized they were sitting on a sleeping giant. And instead of shelling out on pricey tequila, Scotch or American bourbon, a younger generation turned to parents and grandparents to discover more about the heritage that theyd long looked past as they cast their gaze the the rest of the world.

My formal introduction happened around 35,000 feet above the Atlantic. On a direct Air Serbia flight from New Yorks John F. Kennedys International Airport to Belgrades Nikola Tesla Airport I had the choice of five rakijasplum, quince, apricot, Williams pear, and honey. I ordered the plum, or sljivovica. As he poured it, the flight attendant asked if it was my first time trying rakija. Yes, I said. It wont be my last, he assured me. Proudly. His uncle, he went on, made sljivovica and would drop off plastic bottles full of it the first weekend of every month. He smiled as if speaking about an old friend, a tone that becomes the default when people reminisce about the drink, which is often conflated with reminiscences of childhood.

In Belgrade, you dont find rakija. It finds you. At the bar at The Square, a fancy modern restaurant in the posh Square 9 Hotel, I tried four different rakijasmost memorably a floral muscat and an angular cuveeeach custom made for Square 9 at a farm about 40 miles away. The bartender walked me through a tasting as he would if he were offering high-end single malt Scotch. At a lively night market, amid vendors selling handmade soaps, sweaters, jams and jewelry, I met Nikola Stojnic, who makes wine and rakija at this vineyard 23 miles from Belgrade. He and his father manned a table displayed with bottles of grape, quince, and apricot rakijas. They were pouring samples of apricot in tiny plastic cups and offered me one. Then before long, a third. The language barrier was intense, but the rakija was gentle, aromatic and vivid. The best! one of them said, pointing to the medals on display. And at Townhouse 27, a stylish boutique hotel that was my homebase, Kristina, a blond woman in her twenties who helmed the front desk, told me about her father, a police inspector who lives in a village in North Serbia and makes sljivovica on a still in his backyard with plums his uncle grows. Next time Im in Belgrade, shell bring me some. Its the best, she assured.

Cocktail bars are in on it, too. At Riddle Bar, a handsome den with art nouveau flourishes and a steady soundtrack of ice clanking around in shakers, it was a rakija-spiked Manhattan and several riffs on a negroni. And on the cobblestone street outside, a wood stall housed a table arranged with glass vessels of rakijaapricot, quince, walnut, raspberry. A young woman in a purple denim jacket dispensed them through a spigot. Club-goers in miniskirts shimmied by and forked over cash for shots in tiny plastic cups.

Pevac Cellar. Liza Weisstuch

But no matter how many different rakijas I tasted in Belgrade,it took a trip to the countryside to truly understand why the drink is so important here.. A local friend and I arranged to meet Emina Vidosavljevic, a guide from City Tourist Organization of Kragujevac, Serbias fourth-largest city, located 95 miles south of Belgrade in Sumadija, a region named for its forested (suma) landscape. She took us on a sljivovic-fueled spree across the region. Stari Hrast, a bucolic winery with vast vineyards, produces rakija that we tried in a stone-walled tasting room, where the snacks come courtesy of a septuagenarian who lives down the street and uses her generations-old recipe for the pickled veggies. At Pevac Cellar, a young restaurant-industry veteran in a black Dolce & Gabbana bomber jacket showed us around his distillery, a sleek building with huge windows that has a nightclub-like appearance on approach and a Brooklyn loft-like vibe at the bar inside, what with rustic wood tables and velvet couches. If I needed any proof that a new generation of rakija producers was among us, this was it.

The beating heart of the region is in the mountains of Goc. Pine tree forests are dense on both sides of the dirt road that leads to Destilerya Tok. This is Ljuba Urosevics turf, and people make pilgrimages here to seek advice from the Jedi-master-like figure, who can taste sljivovic and identify the type of plum its distilled from and even the region where its made. Ljuba spent decades as chief technical officer at what was the biggest distillery in the former Yugoslavia. Now retired, he built this mountain-set sanctuary distillery in part as a hobby and in part for his sons, Jovan, 27, and Ivan, 43, to carry on his legacy.

Ljuba is like some kind of living legend. When he retired, he came to Goc and now people travel here to ask him questions. Professors call on him to make presentations, Jovan told me. He has incredible knowledge of production and aging, but its not in his nature to brag. Hes really a lone wolf.

The family only uses plums they harvest from the nearly 3,000 trees on their property, and only once theyve ripened enough that theyve fallen from trees, guaranteeing the highest sugar content and aromatic compounds, the peak moment for fermentation. (He taught us how to collect at a very early age, when all of our classmates were on holiday, said Ivan, noting that Ljuba grew up on the property and started gathering the fruit when he was 6.)

Distiller Ljuba Urosevic. Liza Weisstuch

Ljuba, who looks like Hemingways good-humored Balkan cousin, showed us his still, which he heats by open flame fueled by wood that he and his sons chop. Then he led us to his office (a gazebo) because the fresh air is best for tasting, and gazed across a valley to where Ljuba grew up. The mountain has its own microclimate, thanks to the pine oil that permeates the air and influences the plums as they grow. The pine note in the sljva is slight, but unambiguous.

The simple tour and tasting I had planned for my visit that Tuesday in October turned into a night-long bacchanal in a kitchen-equipped cozy cabin across the path from the distillery. Lillian, the familys matriarch, brought out course after course. We were interrupted by a visit from Igor, a local forest ranger and bear of a man who arrived with a tray piled high with wild boar prosciutto and deer-thigh sausage, both made from animals he hunted. As the night got later, the rakijas got older. Ljuba trotted out a sljivovica aged 10 years, then one aged 15 years, then finally a 20-year-old, each more honeyed and raisin-y and with a fuller sense of itself than the last.

Ljuba and his sons also make Yebiga, a sljivovica they developed for Bill Gould, who was on tour in Europe with his band, Faith No More, in the 1990s when he fell in love with the stuff. Frustrated with not being able to buy quality sljiva in the U.S., he founded his own to import. Its currently sold in eight sates and online. In recent years, he has taken part in the harvest at Tok, learning from Ljuba just as Jovan and Ivan have.

The Urosevic family at Destilerya Tok. Liza Weisstuch

Spending time in Belgrade and seeing young people interested in what their grandfathers were making blew my mind, Bill told me. I was having more and more discussions about rakijas origin and terroir. Its ready for international prime time.

Bill met Jovan through tasting events with Ilija Malovic and Zoran Radoman, college friends who both teach high school in Belgrade. As they observed the renaissance of heritage spirits around the worldbourbon, mezcal, cachacathey realized rakija is of similar cultural importance and poised for an artisanal awakening.

Not long ago, youd do an image search for rakija and all youd see is toothless people and moonshine production in the mountains. But there is so much beautiful spirit being made. We need to change that image and do something about how it was presented, Zoran told me. It deserves better. Rakija is ready for the world.

In 2008, they created a blog, Rakija, Mostly, traveled to distilleries around Serbia and wrote about them, creating whats arguably the biggest modern rakija resource. They recently published a book. Bigger rakija champions may not exist.

Rakia Bar & Shop. Liza Weisstuch

I met the pair at Belgrade Urban Distillery, a hip destination in Dorcol, an artsy neighborhood known for its bars and cafes. Its in a cavernous old warehouse updated with colorful walls and antique lighting. Barrels are everywhere. Ilija and Zoran suggested meeting here so they could introduce me to Branko Nesic, the founder and distiller who, Ilija said, was the first to make rakija accessible and intriguing to a younger generation. He is a rakija crusader of the highest order. He opened Rakia Bar, his shop/bar, in 2006 in the basement of his grandfathers apartment. The next year, he organized a festival, then competitions. He opened franchises of the store in Canada and Hong Kong. The distillery launched in 2016. Fifteen years ago, Branko said, the rakija industry was a wild west. While there are still countless home-distillers around Serbia, there is a growing structure, which is helping it make its way to other parts of the world.

Rakia Bar sells over 150 rakijas, all from small producers, including BUD. It also offers coffee paired with Brankos bright, aromatic sljiva, a play on the Serbian tradition of drinking coffee with sweet fruit jam on toast.

In Yugoslavian times, big amounts of Big Rakija was produced. Now its about craft. Now is the perfect time if youre looking for small-batch spirit. The market has no place for amateurs, Branko told me. I expect that between five and 10 years from now, well have distilleries that are competitive on the European market. Rakia Bar is heritage, the future is Belgrade Urban Distillery.

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A Boston private school that has stood for nearly 140 years will permanently shut its doors in 2023.

Citing insurmountable financial pressures the Saint Joseph Prep Boston Board of Trustees announced Friday the current school year would be the last in the history of the 137-year-old private school.

While the strength of our academic program, the caliber of our faculty and staff, and the vibrancy of our community life are beyond question, unfortunately, this does not make SJP immune from the financial challenges that come with a commitment to ensuring an exceptional and accessible education, said the board in a statement.

According to the schools website, 247 students are currently enrolled in a student body representing 48 different communities.

The Saint Joseph Board of Trustees was unable to find a strategic partner who could support the long-term sustainability of the school.

Those with questions or concerns regarding the decision contact the Board of Trustees at sjpboard@saintjosephprep.org

As devastating as closing this 137-year-old institution is, we will work to ensure that this process is one that conveys the maximum possible respect and support for everyone whose lives and careers are impacted, said the Board

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

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A South Carolina man was sentenced to more than a decade in prison after pleading guilty to a drug charge, the 8th Circuit Solicitors Office said.

Travis ONeal Pressley Jr. was found with a large amount of crack cocaine at the Johnson Detention Center in Laurens County, Solicitor David Stumbo said in a news release.

Pressley, a 37-year-old Clinton resident, was being held at the jail on an unrelated charge, according to the release. Information about the original charge was not available.

When Pressley was changing from his clothes to a jumpsuit, jail officers spotted a large baggie concealed in his buttocks, the Solicitors Office said.

When they entered the holding cell, officers found a large amount of crack cocaine spread out on the floor, and Pressley also appeared to be chewing something, according to the release. Officers had to wrestle Pressley to the ground to keep him from swallowing what turned out to be another large amount of crack, the Solicitors Office said.

A jury was selected and ready to be seated for a trial last week when Pressley changed his plea to guilty on the drug distribution charge, according to the release.

Pressley, who has prior drug distribution offenses, pleaded guilty to the intent to distribute crack cocaine (second offense) charge and was sentenced to 15 years in prison, the Solicitors Office said.

I am pleased to see another career drug dealer behind bars, Stumbo said in the release, and hailed the jail officers. The actions of Lt. (Josh) Cogdill likely saved Travis Pressleys life in addition to preserving evidence.

Senior Assistant Solicitor Josh Thomas handled the case for the state with assistance from 8th Circuit Investigator Jared Hunnicutt, while Pressley was represented by Frank Eppes Jr. of the Greenville County Bar, according to the release.
Why do we need to wear black, why do we feel we cant go to the pub and laugh really loudly what is it thats making us feel this way? (iStock)

There is a chapter in Cariad Lloyds new book You Are Not Alone that considers the concept of a digital archive of memories left behind after a persons death. It prompted me to call my dead friends voicemail in the hope I could hear their voice again. While I have photographs of us together, video footage on a dusty CD of us drunk and giddy at Sydney Harbor, it was the seemingly mundane and impersonal message on their mobile phone I craved. But when I called, the line was dead.

Thats happened to a lot of my guests, Lloyd tells me, of the stars whove joined her on her multi-award winning Griefcast podcast. Phone companies sell dead peoples numbers and people dont realise. [So they] call the number and some random person picks up. We mistakenly think these messages are still out there in the ether.

Like many of us, Lloyd  a comedian, actor and writer  is grieving. Her father died when she was 15 years old of secondary pancreatic cancer. It was sad, but my story isnt tragic, its depressingly everyday, she writes in her book. Eighteen years later, she created Griefcast as a space to discuss death  guests have included Romesh Ranganathan, Jon Ronson, Sara Pascoe and Jayde Adams. Now, shes written You Are Not Alone as a result of all the conversations and information I gathered trying to find my way through my own grief.

To describe it as essential reading doesnt go far enough for such an important subject. Despite this, Ill admit to a certain degree of trepidation upon turning the cover, something Lloyd understands. No one wants to pick it up, she says. Like, Who died? And they wrote a book about it? Why? Your heart sinks: Im going to have to read the sad book.

Mercifully, the book takes a humorous and accessible approach to a subject she calls both universal and unique. In addition to the lessons learnt by Lloyd and vignettes about her own experiences of grief, perhaps its most important function is skewering so many of the entrenched ideas around death that still hold enormous sway today. Take, for example, the five stages model of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Or, as Lloyd calls it, the worst boyband ever made. Made famous by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross in her 1969 book On Death and Dying, the theory was actually created for people who were dying of a terminal illness, not those who were left behind. Yet it became a touchstone that people like to return to again and again. For Lloyd, this is a problem  it envisages an end point that encourages us (and those around us) to see our continued grief as a failure.

Story continues

Lloyds initial belief in the model led her to believe that she was doing grief wrong. She says: I never liked [it], but it wasnt until I was doing Griefcast that I decided to do some research and actually read the book. And its a great book for 1969! But it made me sad that so many grieving people were relying on it and using it. We wouldnt take any womens rights advice, mental health advice or medical advice from 1969  the world has moved on so much. But with grief, because we dont talk about it, its frozen in that period. Its like, this is really bad for you; out-of-date food; do not eat this. But, slowly, more people are aware that its not that helpful.

Funerals are such a good way to gently start a conversation about death

Its the Victorians we can blame for many of our archaic attitudes to death and dying. So much of our grief vocabulary comes from the nineteenth century, laments Lloyd: having a finite time to mourn; wearing black; being polite and respectful. Let us free ourselves from the stigma of behaving inappropriately, she declares. Is such a prospect possible for us buttoned-up Brits? Lloyd believes so.

I think we have to constantly question everything, especially [when it comes to] grief, because we havent questioned it for so long, she says. Why we need to wear black, why we might feel we cant go to the pub and laugh really loudly what is it thats making us feel that way? Wearing black well, you might feel sombre, but if you need to laugh with your friends, go and laugh with your friends! If you want to not cry at the funeral because actually that day you feel OK, dont cry at the funeral. Whenever you say [a] sentence beginning I should be doing this, thats exactly when we need to question it.

Lloyds emotional literacy around death hasnt just been developed by self-reflection, or her podcast, but also her conversations with death industry professionals such as palliative care nurses and death doulas. Essentially, shes just talked a whole lot about it. Its an ambition she feels we can all aspire to. Grief is not a mental health problem, but it definitely comes under the talking about emotions umbrella, she says. Generally speaking, were not good with uncomfortable emotions.

What we really need is practice, she thinks. When grief does arise in your life  and everyone knows someone who has lost someone  dont change the subject when its [talked about], she advises. Sit with that discomfort. I interviewed Rob Delaney a while ago and we were talking about his amazing book about the loss of his son, Henry, and what happens when you talk about loss to someone whos uncomfortable. What youre really asking for is about four seconds. Four seconds of dont change the subject, look me in the eye, and accept that what has happened to me is awful.

Cariad Lloyd: We need to get better at being uncomfortable (Matt Crockett)

Its OK to find death hard to talk about, she says. Feeling frightened or nervous is perfectly natural. What matters is that you try. Fear and social awkwardness drive us to seek to contain grief, tidy it up, run away [from it]  as if tears were petrol and were all holding matches, she writes in You Are Not Alone. We need to get better at being uncomfortable, at not knowing what to say and admitting that were scared.

And its also OK to get it wrong, she insists. Dont worry. Therell be another time! You can even say to that person, Im really sorry  last time you brought this up, I had a real panic and didnt know what to say. But Im here. Ive had that with friends whove experienced grief that isnt in my wheelhouse, especially with child loss. Ive had to really learn to fight my own fears and my own panic and realise its not about me, its about them. Its hard. Youre trained from a very young age not to do that. [But] you can be kind to yourself if youre getting it wrong. Its unnatural to get it right.

Cariad Lloyds You Are Not Alone (Bloomsbury Tonic)

As well as pages of grief resources, the back of You Are Not Alone also includes a list of what Lloyd calls funeral chat icebreakers: questions designed to start conversations about a persons wishes after they die. These can include whether a person wishes to be buried or cremated, what kind of music they might want, whether they want flowers, or whether anyone is not invited. If reading this strikes you as morbid, blame those pesky Victorians again.

Funerals are such a good way to gently start a conversation about death, says Lloyd. People dont seem to mind talking about what music they want at their funeral as much, because its a bit party-planning, isnt it? she laughs. She acknowledges that this can be hard if someone doesnt want to have this conversation, however. The urge to run away from death is pretty universal, she writes. Its not as simple as rudeness or cruelty; its self-protection.

But grief  and death  is coming for us all. Whether we repress this fact or not, removing the stigma from conversations about dying can only be a good thing.

You Are Not Alone is published by Bloomsbury Tonic and is available to buy now
Seal Beach police are searching for a hit-and-run driver involved in a collision that left five people injured. (Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times)

Seal Beach police are searching for a hit-and-run driver who was involved in a high-speed collision with another vehicle Saturday night that left five people injured.

Police responded to the collision about 7:15 p.m. at the busy commercial intersection of Pacific Coast Highway and Main Street, authorities said.

An unidentified driver of a Mercedes 300D Class smashed into the side of another vehicle with five people inside, police said. The suspect then abandoned his car and fled on foot into a residential neighborhood known as the Hill.

Police searched the area but failed to find the suspect, authorities said.

All of the occupants in the other vehicle  two unidentified women and three teenage girls  sustained serious injuries and were transported to hospitals, police said. Two of them have since been discharged.

The other three patients  all 17-year-old girls from Orange County  remained in the hospital as of Sunday morning but were listed as stable.

Police said the suspect  whom they described as a man age 18 to 20  remains at large. It is unknown whether drugs or alcohol factored into the crash. But the suspect appears to have been speeding as he raced through the intersection.

You can definitely infer it was a high rate of speed, Seal Beach Police Lt. Julia Clasby said of the crash. Police released a video that shows the suspect's speeding car plow into the side of the other vehicle, which had a green light and was moving through the intersection at the time of the crash.

Before the collision, Huntington Beach police had received calls Saturday evening of a reckless driver heading north on Pacific Coast Highway.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Chris Holtmann was in the opening stages of his first run in Big Ten play when Michigan State went to Value City Arena. It was early January 2018, and Ohio State was a surprising 12-4 and perfect in three league games as the top-ranked Spartans came to town.

With multiple recruits in attendance and a sellout crowd filling the arena, Ohio State closed the first half with a bang, rode four starters in at least their third years of college basketball and set off a court storming with a decisive 80-64 win that on the day felt like a long time coming after consecutive years of missing the NCAA Tournament in the final seasons of Thad Mattas celebrated tenure.

On Sunday, the two programs met once again on Ohio States campus. The similarities to what transpired and the game played five years prior ended there, as a crowd of 15,110 found only a few moments near the midpoint of the second half to sustain its cheering in what would become a sixth straight loss and 11th in 12 games for the Buckeyes, this one a 62-41 defeat that dropped them to 11-14 overall and 3-11 in Big Ten play.

Ohio State Buckeyes: Join the Ohio State Sports Insider text group with Bill Rabinowitz, Joey Kaufman Adam Jardy

The culprit this time? An offense that a month ago was the nations most efficient posting its second-lowest adjusted offensive efficiency rating since KenPom.com started tracking the statistic in the 2001-02 season. The result? Ohio State now has seven games remaining in a season that could finish without even an NIT berth if things dont turn around.

Its hard, coach Chris Holtmann said. Its going to be a general response: growth is the biggest thing. Growth in the areas of sharing and moving the ball. I thought we had some really good defensive possessions today. I thought we played good enough defense for 30 minutes to give us a chance to win. Our offense was just, you know, rough.

Ohio State center Zed Key leaves the court during Sunday's loss to Michigan State.

Growth in the areas of moving the ball, sharing the ball, finding the open man, rebounding the ball a little better consistently and then having consistent defensive 40 minutes with multiple sustaining efforts.

Story continues

Ohio State led for 5:02, but Michigan State took the lead with 9:06 left in the first half and never trailed again. Ohio State needed a last-second 3-pointer to get to five first-half field goals, and the most sustained stretch of optimism came when Ohio State put together a 7-0 run to pull within 38-33 with 11:24 left and had the ball with a chance to make it a one-possession game.

Instead, Brice Sensabaugh missed, Zed Key pulled down the rebound and had his put-back attempt interfered with. Joey Hauser then hit one of his six 3-pointers  equaling Ohio States team total  and the Buckeyes never got closer than six points again as the Spartans pulled away.

When we have a chance to cut it to three, thats very critical, freshman guard and captain Bruce Thornton said. After that, they went on a run. Youve got to capitalize.

Holtmann was asked what hes seen from his players in those moments where they could potentially cut further into a deficit only to have the game flip back the other way again.

Maybe theres some degree of tentativeness, but some of it is weve not always had quality possessions, he said., When weve been (within) 4-6 well take a contested shot. In some cases I probably need to slow them down more than what we do. Our understanding right now of winning possessions when its a two- or three-possession game is just not where it needs to be. Thats my responsibility to get them there.

Michigan States defense has something to do with it. The Spartans are ranked 16th nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency, but their tempo also came into play. Michigan State is 306th in tempo according to KenPom and is playing at its slowest pace since the 2014-15 season.

It created a recipe for trouble.

Their tempo is much different than what its been in the past, Holtmann said. Were playing the fastest weve played in our six years but were the second-least efficient weve been. Theres a multitude of reasons. Today they played more deliberate.

It frustrated us when we werent making shots and then we were playing 24 seconds of defense. This group has gotten frustrated with that a couple of times. In the Minnesota game, we got frustrated with that.

Six games remain in the regular season, and Ohio State will now go back on the road. Dates at Iowa (Thursday) and Purdue (Sunday) loom on the calendar.

Roddy Gayle moves into starting lineup as Brice Sensabaughs slump continues

For the third time this season, Ohio State went with three freshmen in its starting lineup. Thornton has been a mainstay and is the only player to start all 25 games this season, and he was joined by Brice Sensabaugh and Roddy Gayle. Sensabaugh had come off the bench for the last two games while struggling with his offensive efficiency and also battling some foul trouble while Gayle had started just one game earlier this season.

Gayle replaced West Virginia transfer Sean McNeil, whose only game off the bench was necessitated by a dental emergency that elevated the freshman. Sensabaugh replaced fifth-year Oklahoma State transfer Isaac Likekele, who has started 14 games.

Id like to play Roddy and Sean together quite a bit, Holtmann said. For us moving forward Im going to give that a look, adding more ball handling. Roddy can make open shots. I shouldve played him more last game. I liked the blend of defense with the offensive group we had, that mix of a starting lineup. Obviously it was young but well see if that continues.

Gayle finished with 5 points on 2 of 6 shooting and had two assists, a steal, two rebounds and a turnover in 26:28.

At this point hes not really like a freshman no more, Thornton said. Were in the back end of the season s, youve been through the fire. Us three starting, weve been working hard in practice. Were just trying to get the job done and try to win.

Ohio State's Brice Sensabaugh scored 8 points on 3-of-14 shooting with three turnovers against Michigan State.

Likekele played a season-low 5:41 off the bench and had one rebound and one steal. McNeil led Ohio State with 10 points on 4 of 13 shooting and was 2 for 8 from 3-point range.

Sensabaugh continued his recent slide, finishing with 8 points on 3-of-14 shooting with three turnovers in 26:41. After leading Ohio State in scoring for 13 straight games, a freshman record, Sensabaugh has now averaged 8.7 points in his last three games while shooting 22.2% (8 for 36) from the floor.

Weve got to get Brice, this is a few games here where we have to continue to get him back into a better rhythm, Holtmann said.

Buckeyes feeling the stress as the losses pile up

Given whats happened since a decisive win at Northwestern on New Years Day, just one of two Ohio State wins in 2023, is this team finally feeling the strain of this losing streak?

Yeah, how could they not? Holtmann said. Its part of it. Its part of being in the public eye. Its part of playing at a major university. I think they do a good job to some degree of blocking it out, but thats a lot to ask. All you can do is throw yourself into your work and focus on the work.

Thornton, a captain who has spoken to the media after each of the last three losses, said he tries to limit his social media consumption.

You just know the amount of games weve lost, all the stuff from the outside world is just going to try to come in even harder, he said. All the hate comments are that come with losing. Youve got to do your best to mature real fast. Thats what I had to do, just block out the noise. It can really mess up your mental if you feed into it or reply back. The only thing I do is look forward and move onto the next day.

Ohio State guard Bruce Thornton defends Michigan State's Tyson Walker.

Completely avoiding social media is a challenge, he said.

I still have friends I talk to, he said. All the comments, I make sure I stay away. Me looking at it messes with me mentally and I hope nobody on our team looks at it. We still can do things. We just need to stay positive.

Zed Keys shoulder still affecting his play

Ohio States stretch of woe started when third-year center Zed Key went down with a left shoulder injury during the first four minutes of a Jan. 5 game against Purdue. Officially announced as a shoulder sprain, Key missed the next game at Maryland and returned for the Minnesota game with a protective black brace on the shoulder.

He's not had the same shooting touch or productivity while wearing the brace, and in each of the last two games Key has gone down clutching the shoulder on non-contact plays.

Feb 12, 2023; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes forward Zed Key (23) is consoled by teammates after leaving the court during their NCAA Mens Division I Basketball Game at Value City Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brooke LaValley/Columbus Dispatch

The only way wed shut it down is if he had another significant injury or multiple significant injuries with it, Holtmann said. Right now, its at the point where its strong enough as determined by our medical team for him to continue playing. Sometimes when he extends it or when he gets hit, its painful for him.

Key played only 19:33 against the Spartans, his least playing time in a game minus the Purdue one. He finished with 4 points, a team-high eight rebounds and three turnovers, two on the first two possessions of the game.

I give him a lot of credit for fighting through it, Holtmann said. Clearly hes not at his best, but hes fighting through that particular injury.

ajardy@dispatch.com

@AdamJardy

Get more Ohio State basketball news by listening to our podcasts

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Growth atop Ohio State goals list after loss to Michigan State
Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) said on Sunday there is a possibility of an object flying over Montanas airspace after a search for a radar anomaly was called off yesterday due to darkness, but added the alert could be a false alarm.

There was an anomaly and theyve investigated  I think it got dark last night so they couldnt fully check it out, Tester said on CBSs Face The Nation. There may still be something up there, it may be a false alarm.

Testers comments come after airspace was temporarily closed over central Montana on Saturday after surveillance spotted a radar anomaly over the state.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command, also known as NORAD, said in a statement late Saturday that it detected a radar anomaly and sent fighter aircraft to investigate but the aircraft could not identify any object to correlate to the radar hits.

The U.S. shot down two more aerial objects over American and Canadian airspace on Friday and Saturday. It is so far unknown what the objects were and where they came from.

But speculation has whirled in the aftermath of the suspected Chinese spy balloon that was shot down off the coast of South Carolina earlier this month.

Tester said if there is an object flying over Montana, his expectation is that it would be shot down by the military after determining potential damages.

My guess is itll get shot down, but the military will make an assessment as to potential collateral damage, Tester said.

Tester admitted that he did not know whether the objects shot down in the last few days belonged to China. NORAD said it had no further update on the situation in Montana on Sunday.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Sending aircraft to Ukraine would not be an easy decision to make, Polands president has said.

Speaking to the BBC in an interview broadcast on Sunday, 12 February, Andrzej Duda told Laura Kuenssberg that sending F-16 jets to Ukraine would be a serious problem as the country has fewer than 50 in its air force.

It comes after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky urged allies to provide aircraft for his country to fight Russia more effectively.

To donate [jets] outside Poland is a very serious decision, Mr Duda said.

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Sergey Brin at the Vanity Fair Oscars party in March 2022 in Beverly Hills. Evan Agostini/AP; Marianne Ayala/Insider

Sergey Brin last month appeared to make his first request in years to access code, Forbes reported.

The Google cofounder made the request on January 24 following the release of ChatGPT.

It follows reports of Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai asking Larry Page and Brin for help in the AI battle.

Google cofounder Sergey Brin appeared to make his first request in years to access code, according to a Forbes report, as the artificial intelligence battle continues to heat up.

Brin, who stepped down from his executive role at Alphabet in 2019, made a request on January 24 for the data that trains Google's natural language chatbot, called LaMDA, according to screenshots seen by Forbes.

LaMDA, or Language Model for Dialogue Applications, is an AI that analyzes human speech and recognizes commands in it. Google announced its existence in 2021 and released its beta version last year.

The release of OpenAI's ChatGPT has prompted Google to prioritize its own AI activities. The CEO of Google's parent company Alphabet, Sundar Pichai, announced Monday the release of its direct ChatGPT competitor: Bard, an AI that is powered by LaMDA.

In December, Pichai called Larry Page and Brin following a "code red" following the release of ChatGPT. The cofounders, who remain on the board of Alphabet, had "several" meetings with executives to strategize about Google's AI, and approved plans to incorporate more chatbot features into its search engine.

While Brin's code access was followed by a small technical change, some employees didn't welcome his request, Forbes reported. One commented "Fix Google First," while another said "At least talk to us."

The first comment could be a reference to Google's decision to lay off 6% of its global workforce last month.

Brin's request also underlined Google's sense of urgency in its efforts to compete with ChatGPT.

Meanwhile, Microsoft, in collaboration with OpenAI, unveiled on Tuesday the release of the "new Bing," its AI-powered search engine claiming to be "more powerful than ChatGPT."

Google didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider, made outside normal working hours.

Read the original article on Business Insider
WASHINGTON  For several high-profile House committees, their first hearings were dominated by partisan food fights over the Pledge of Allegiance, guns in meetings and a celebritys expletive-filled tweet about Donald Trump.

Thats unlikely to be the case with the new select committee on China. Republicans and Democrats on the panel say it could be the one bright spot of bipartisan cooperation in a Congress brimming with partisan bickering.

If you were looking at a word cloud about this, the biggest one would be serious. I hear that from everyone. This is a serious committee, and I believe it, said one member, Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J., a former Navy helicopter pilot.

The China committees two leaders  Chair Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., and ranking member Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill.  are setting the tone early, identifying areas where they say they expect to find bipartisan agreement on policy and legislation.

Those areas include spotlighting human rights abuses by the Chinese Communist Party, or CCP; what Gallagher calls economic statecraft or devising a strategy to reduce U.S. dependence on China; making investments in artificial intelligence, robotics and other new technology to compete with China; and investigating the alliance between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, especially as it relates to defending Taiwan.

Theyre engaged in a de facto alliance against the West. Putin is Xis junior partner. He is Xis tethered goat, and Xi is sort of using him to sow chaos in Europe, said Gallagher, a retired Marine Corps captain who served in Iraq.

I think Republicans and Democrats are largely committed to helping Taiwan defend itself and ensuring that Taiwans future doesnt resemble Ukraines present.

The 24-member panels first hearing will likely take place in early March, and Gallagher said hed like to lead a delegation of committee members overseas in the near future, though nothing concrete has been planned.

Story continues

Mike Gallagher (Carolyn Kaster / AP)

The committee was thrust into the spotlight this month, as tensions with Beijing heated up over the China surveillance balloon that hovered over the continental U.S. for several days before it was shot down by Air Force pilots on Feb. 4. The military on Friday shot down a second high-altitude object flying over Alaskan airspace, though the U.S. was not certain it was foreign owned.

While it wont be the focus of the China panel, Gallagher said the balloon breach elevates  pun intended  the threat posed by the CCP and helps illustrate why Americans should care about China.

So obviously, Ive been critical of the Biden administrations response, and I dont expect my Democratic colleagues to join in that criticism, and I wouldnt use the committee to shove it down their throats, Gallagher said of the balloon incident. But I think our focus is always going to be on the party [CCP] and the threat the party poses.

Two Midwesterners

Gallagher and Krishnamoorthi have had a history of working together since they both arrived in Congress in 2017. That year, the two teamed up to launch a new jobs caucus, and they have served alongside each other on the House Intelligence Committee, where they received media attention after pressing Pentagon officials on other mysterious flying objects  Unidentified Aerial Phenomena, more commonly known as UFOs.

Despite the fact that hes a Green Bay Packers fan and Im a Bears fan  sworn adversaries  we actually share a lot in common in terms of our Midwest heritage," Krishnamoorthi said in a phone interview Friday. "We formed the Middle Class Jobs Caucus together in our first year in Congress. And so weve done a lot of work together in the past.

We know each other pretty well, we get along, and I think that will help with having collaboration going forward.

(Francis Chung/E&E News/POLITICO via AP Images) (Francis Chung / Politico via AP file)

The House made a big bipartisan statement by creating the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party on an overwhelming 365 to 65 vote at the beginning of this Congress; 146 Democrats voted yes.

When Democratic leaders approached Sherrill and asked if she would serve on the panel, her first question was: Is this going to be a serious committee addressing China competition or just some partisan mudslinging?

Her concerns were alleviated after Speaker Kevin McCarthy unveiled his GOP roster for the panel, which included steady hands like Reps. Rob Wittman of Virginia, Andy Barr of Kentucky, Darin LaHood of Illinois, Dusty Johnson of South Dakota and Michelle Steel of California.

Soon after, Sherrill said Gallagher approached her with a series of questions: Who are you guys going to appoint? You guys are putting on serious people, right?"

So it was funny because I had some concerns about them for my leadership.  He had some concerns for me, and then I assured him that that was our intention, she said.

Sherrill participated with Gallagher last year in a war-game exercise of what could happen if China attacks Taiwan. The two later joined a panel discussion about the exercise on NBCs Meet the Press.

Others also applauded McCarthy's and Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries' picks for the panel. Among the Democrats selected were Reps. Kathy Castor of Florida, Andre Carson of Indiana, Ro Khanna of California and Haley Stevens of Michigan.

Im pleasantly surprised how the committee has been populated with thoughtful, substantive, serious members that take the issue of China and their malign activities in a serious way, said LaHood, who serves with Gallagher, Krishnamoorthi and Carson on the Intelligence panel.

I look at this committee as not a Republican or Democrat issue, but an American issue," LaHood added. "And I think thats reflected by the folks that are on there.

A new Cold War?

It hasnt been all smooth sailing for the panel. Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J., a former State Department official in Afghanistan who also served on the national security team in the Obama White House, is calling out Republicans who have portrayed war with China as inevitable. And he singled out Gallagher by name for writing that the U.S. needs to win the new Cold War against China.

If Chair Gallagher keeps talking about this as a new Cold War, that is not helpful. When I hear people on the other side of the aisle refer to China as the enemy, that is not going to be helpful in the long run, Kim told NBC News. Theres a fine line between deterrence and provocation, and you are crossing over that in a way that is only going to inflame and create greater escalatory challenges."

Kim continued, If youre going to signal to the American people that were at war, thats a problem. And thats something that I think is unnecessarily provocative; its also just false.

Rather than get defensive, Gallagher said he would try to sit down with Kim and have a conversation to address his colleague's concerns.

If nothing else, Gallagher said, a cold war paradigm reminds us that we should endeavor to make sure it stays cold and doesnt turn hot and that our core function is deterrence and preventing hot war.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Citing an increase in juvenile-related crimes, New Smyrna Beach city leaders are considering adopting a youth curfew.

>>> STREAM CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS LIVE <<<

Read: The unintended consequences of Marsys law

Police said they had seen a dramatic increase in nighttime juvenile crime, particularly during holidays when younger people from other areas visit the citys beaches.

The proposed ordinance would establish a citywide curfew from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. Friday and Saturday for anyone under 18.

Read: Disney eliminating 7,000 jobs in cost-cutting measure

Parents of children who violate the curfew would receive a written warning for the first violation and a $50 fine for each additional instance.

The first reading of the ordinance will be held Tuesday, Feb. 14, at 6:30 p.m. at city hall.

Read: Violence in schools: The trend affecting teachers & students

If passed, a second reading will be held Feb. 28.

A copy of the proposed ordinance can be found here.

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Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Reuters

The Democratic National Committees decision to move South Carolina to the front of the presidential primary linedisplacing both Iowa and New Hampshirehas created a stir over race and entitlement. Despite the hoopla, the practical benefit for the state Democratic Party is a purely symbolic onethats because if Joe Biden runs, as expected, he is unlikely to face a challenger.

Nonetheless, for Black political culture, the selection is like listening to a soulful tune by the South Carolina native James Brownit triggers the emotional memory of a peoples journey through separation, pain, hope, and pride. Understand that the state holds a special place in our political historywhere race has been key to wielding power since the days of slavery.

Heres How U.S. Black Leaders Can Open Trade Doors With Africa

The partys validation of Black voter concerns is an extension of the march to freedom codified in the 1964 Civil Rights Act and 1965 Voting Rights Act. For the Democratic Party, the elevation of diverse voices in the primary helps to transform a major political party steeped in the countrys history of white supremacyand nowhere more than in South Carolina.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE

While slavery in Virginia evolved gradually to replace indentured white servants, the South Carolina colony was intended as a slave society from the beginning. In 1670, Africans were forced to Charleston by British slave traders and planters from Barbados seeking cheap land. They used Africans to clear the swamps, build the town, and grow ricea familiar crop to farmers in West Africa.

Africans comprised a majority of the population of colonial South Carolina and planters relied on brutal methods to control enslaved workers. They lived in encampments with concentrations that enabled the preservation of elements of African language, spiritual, and cultural practices. They were the ancestors of the Gullah Geechee people of coastal South Carolina and Georgia.

Story continues

Over two centuries, Africans fled the rice plantations for freedom in isolated swamps and islands. The settlements were known as maroon colonies and ranged from small groups to towns with defensible walls, as historian Timothy James Lockley detailed in his book, Maroon Communities in South Carolina.

A group of slaves in front of buildings on Smith's Plantation, Beaufort, South Carolina in 1862. Library of Congress

During the Civil War, the Blacks of coastal South Carolina and Georgia were awarded ownership of the abandoned lands. In 1865, Union Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman issued Field Order No. 15 to grant ex-slaves with plots in reparation for servitude.

It was a controversial decision that did not survive the murder of President Abraham Lincoln, but may justify Blacks staking a claim in the states.

By 1865, the experiment in self-governance was cut short as land awarded in reparation was deemed illegal and restored to seditious planters; families that had established farms on the plots were evicted. The South Carolina Democratic Party arose as an instrument of white supremacy in opposition to the victorious Republican Party and what it saw as Negro rule.

South Carolina led the way in the enactment of race laws known as Black Codes meant to restore conditions of slavery. By 1867, the federal army intervened to give Blacks a chance at freedom. Yet, by 1876, South Carolina was once again under the control of the Democratic Party and Gov. Wade Hampton, a former commander of Confederate forces. Black citizenship was crushed under layers of Jim Crow laws and violence.

One of the most noxious state leaders was Ben "Pitchfork" Tillman (1847-1918), who served as governor and senator, and a voice of repression. In 1900, he defended white supremacy on the floor of the U.S. Senate, saying, We of the South have never recognized the right of the negro to govern the white man, and he never will. We have never believed him to be equal to the white man.

By the 1940s, the South Carolina Democratic Party was led by Strom Thurmond (1902-2003), who served as governor and U.S. Senator for a record 46 years. He was governor when President Harry Truman signed an executive order in 1948 ending segregation in the military. Thurmond lashed out in a speech, saying, I want to tell you, ladies and gentlemen, that theres not enough troops in the army to force the Southern people to break down segregation and admit the Negro race.

5 Ways Rick Steves Europe Can Do Better for Black People

That year, he campaigned for president as a protest candidate against Truman. He ran under the States Rights Democratic Partyor Dixiecratsan alliance of southern Democrats disaffected with the national partys stance on civil rights. He won South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana in the general election, and the states 39 electoral votes.

Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina in 1970. Jerry Siskin/Reuters

Until that point, national Democratic party leaders had managed to hold together a sectional coalition by turning a blind eye to Jim Crow as a local issue. The party rewarded southern allies by delivering vast federal investments like military bases and infrastructure projects.

PAPA DONT TAKE NO MESS

The civil rights movement made it impossible for the nationand the Democratic Partyto continue to ignore racial injustice in the South.

The sit-ins, demonstrations, and petitions brought about a heightened awareness in South Carolina and especially in Orangeburg, a majority Black city and home to two colleges.

During the 1960s, students began to challenge the citys Jim Crow restrictions. Among them was the current South Carolina Democratic leader, Rep. James Clyburn, elected in 1993 as the first Black congressman from the state since the Reconstruction era. He met his wife Emily England Clyburn, a descendant of the Gullah Geechee community, in the Orangeburg jail in 1960 during a civil rights demonstration.

In February 1968, students rose up in opposition to a segregated bowling alley that denied entry to a Vietnam War veteran. About 300 from South Carolina State College and Claflin University engaged in peaceful protest. As local police attempted to stop the demonstration, however, a melee ensued. Democratic Gov. Robert McNair ordered state police and the National Guard to restore order. As 200 students returned to the campus of S.C. State, a fire truck with an armed escort followed them and shotgun fire wounded 28 and killed threealmost all were shot in the back in an incident known as the Orangeburg Massacre.

The civil rights movement forced the national Democratic Party to shift from coddling the southern wing to championing racial justice. It did so with the understanding that racial equity would rupture its alliance with the white South, but bet that it could offset the losses with enfranchised Black voters. With enactment of the 1965 Voting Right Act, Blacks in the South flocked to the Democratic Party.

In response, southern white Democrats stampeded to the Republican Party, which embraced the states rights agenda of disaffected segregationists. The former Democrat-turned-Dixiecrat Sen. Strom Thurmond joined the Republican Party and helped to forge a realignment known as the "Southern Strategy." By the 1980s, the political parties in the South served as yet another signifier of race.

People wait in line to cast their ballot for the presidential election during early voting in Sumter, South Carolina, Oct. 9, 2020. Micah Green/Reuters

In recent years, Blacks have been the foundation of the Democratic Party in the Southbut their political influence is limited to the predominantly Black cities, towns, and congressional districts. White Republicans, by contrast, hold power over city, county, state, and federal elected offices and government agencies.

Joe Biden Must Uphold the Law and Keep His Promise to Black Labor

Today, the long-standing barrier to Black statewide influence has begun to ease. The progress is due to demographic shifts, economic expansion, federal election laws, and Black Democratic organization. The transformational inclusive states are Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, and Georgia.

South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley (C) watches as the Confederate battle flag is permanently removed from the South Carolina statehouse grounds during a ceremony in Columbia, South Carolina, July 10, 2015. Jason Miczek/Reuteres

Not so in South Carolina, where Blacks comprise 30 percent of the population, but remain largely shut out of state power. Still, the effort of state Democrats to forge inclusive coalitions has moved the state Republican establishment to expand its footprint. In 2011, Nikki Haley took office as governor with the backing of the Tea Party; in 2013, she appointed Tim Scott to a vacant seat in the U.S. Senate and he was re-elected to two full terms (and, at the present date, is one of the only three Black U.S. Senators in office).

Despite the notable exceptions, the reality is that major state offices and legislative seats remain in the hands of conservative white men, as always.

The Democratic Partys selection of South Carolina to lead-off its presidential primary is a symbolic gesturebut one with real significance in Americas political saga. To be the first voice heard in the primary process is a tribute to the Black communitys long struggle for justice.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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The Ukrainian military destroyed two Russian boats in southern Kherson Oblast, Natalia Humeniuk, spokesperson for Ukraine's Southern Operational Command, said on Feb. 12.

Russian forces were allegedly preparing the boats for sabotage groups to maneuver in the Dnipro River delta, Humeniuk told the national television, as quoted by Ukrainian news agency Interfax-Ukraine.

In addition, Ukraines forces hit a Russian temporary ammunition depot in occupied Kakhovka and a fuel depot in occupied Oleshky in Kherson Oblast.In its morning briefing on Feb. 12. The Ukrainian General Staff said Russia had lost 18 boats since February 2022.
By Elena Rodriguez and Michael Gore

MADRID (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of Spain's health workers protested in Madrid on Sunday over what they say is the destruction of the public health system by the conservative regional government.

The Madrid government has been the target of criticism in recent years, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic started in 2020, over poor staffing in hospitals and primary healthcare centres. Protesters say it is dismantling public health services and favouring private health providers.

"They have cut our wages instead of raising them. We are overwhelmed with work and do not have any support. We are in danger of extinction," Lilian Ramis, 61, a matron at the El Molar health centre in Madrid, told Reuters.

Demonstrators filled the Plaza Cibeles area in the city centre, chanting and waving flags. One demonstrator sported a huge model of Isabel Diaz Ayuso, the right-wing leader of the Madrid regional government, with a Pinocchio-like nose attached.

Regional governments in Spain are responsible for a large part of the health budget as part of the country's devolved political system.

A regional government spokesman put the number of people who marched through the streets of central Madrid at 250,000 while organisers put it at closer to 1 million.

Ayuso denies the accusation that her administration is dismantling public health services in favour of the private sector.

"We all believe in public health," she wrote on Twitter on Saturday.

Thousands of health workers also demonstrated in Santiago de Compostela, in northwestern Spain on Sunday, calling for the preservation of the public health system. Police said 20,000 took to the streets.

In November, tens of thousands of people marched through Madrid in support of health workers calling for better working conditions.

(Reporting by Graham Keeley, Elena Rodriguez, Michael Gore and Violeta Santos; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
In January, Florida returned more than $26 million in unclaimed property to its residents and businesses, Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis said.

Metro Orlando alone accounted for $5.8 million of that total.

READ: Winner! One winning ticket for $754M Powerball jackpot

But there are still billions of dollars that have yet to be claimed statewide.

Currently, Florida has unclaimed property accounts with a total value of nearly $2.7 billion. I am encouraging every Floridian to search now for unclaimed property for yourself, your friends, your loved ones, and even your business, Patronis said.

The state defines unclaimed property as a financial asset that is unknown or lost, or has been left inactive, unclaimed or abandoned by its owner.

READ: Composer Burt Bacharach, known for hits like I Say a Little Prayer, dead at 94

Patronis noted that the most common types of unclaimed property include:

Dormant bank accounts

Unclaimed insurance proceeds

Stocks

Dividends

Uncashed checks

Deposits

Credit balances and refunds.

The Division of Unclaimed Property said that since 2017, Florida has returned $1.9 billion in unclaimed property to its residents.

To check if you have unclaimed property, click here.

Patronis reminded Floridians, Its your money, claim it today!

READ: Brevard County woman claims $2 million Powerball prize

January 2023 Unclaimed Property Returns by Region:

Tampa/St. Pete - $6.4 Million

Miami - $5.88 Million

Orlando - $5.8 Million

West Palm Beach - $2.97 Million

Fort Myers/Naples - $2.25 Million

Jacksonville - $1.1 Million

Tallahassee - $761,299

Pensacola - $663,804

Gainesville - $373,096

Panama City - $339,390

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A man accused of assaulting a 4-year-old girl was arrested in Washington County.

Pennsylvania State Police say they went to a house on Washington Street in Cokeburg Borough at around 8:25 p.m. on Saturday to arrest 33-year-old Matthew Mance.

Authorities say Mance was wanted for assaulting the child.

26-year-old Shalee Schnore answered the door when police arrived. Police say when they asked if they could search the home but say Schnore told them Mance was not there.

When troopers were able to search the house they found Mances phone in a bed in the upstairs bedroom. They say they took the phone to Schnore and told her she needed to tell them where Mance was hiding but she continued to tell them he was not there.

Eventually, troopers said they found Mance hiding inside a small closet. He was allegedly covered under boxes and clothing. Troopers said Mance refused to come out of the closet when they told him to so an officer tased him.

Mance and Schnore were both arrested.

Schnore was taken into custody for hindering the arrest and Mance faces multiple charges of aggravated assault.

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Local teacher charged after investigation into alleged inappropriate relationship with student SWAT, police on scene for barricaded man in Garfield Uber, Lyft drivers announce strike across Pittsburgh region VIDEO: Sen. John Fetterman released from hospital DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts
I paid $85 to stay one night at Sweets Hotel Ruby, a dessert-themed love hotel in Tokyo.

Though the hotel is marketed toward couples, I thought it was also suitable for a solo traveler.

I could've done without the over-the-top theme, but my room was spacious, clean, and quiet.

Tokyo's love hotels are marketed toward couples, but I wanted to see what it would be like to stay in one as a solo traveler.

I spent a night at Sweets Hotel Ruby, a love hotel in Tokyo. David McElhinney

To those unfamiliar with modern Japanese society, love hotels can seem seedy, discomforting, and highly unconventional. However, they're a regular part of life here, and have been around for centuries, even supporting the local economy.

In densely packed cities like Tokyo, most people live in small apartments and share space with parents, children, extended family members, or roommates. Plus, the walls in some Tokyo apartments are about as soundproof as a microphone.

So, it's standard for couples to book a love hotel for a night or a couple of hours during the day to enjoy each other's company in peace. Both parties have to be 18 and older to book.

Love hotels tend to be a pretty good value and typically have better amenities than standard business hotels. So even though they're technically lovers' dens, staying in one alone can be an enjoyable experience. I decided to try it for myself.

I stayed at Sweets Hotel Ruby in Dogenzaka, a neighborhood in Tokyo's Shibuya district.

A sign for Sweets Hotel Ruby in Dogenzaka. David McElhinney

Dogenzaka is a hotbed of love hotels and other mizu-shobai establishments, which are generally sex-related businesses (mizu shobai literally translates to "water trade").

Home to an area called Love Hotel Hill, Dogenzaka has a slightly different vibe than a lot of the other neighborhoods in the pristine capital.

I've never felt unsafe there, and I think one of its most alluring qualities is that it feels a little rough around the edges.

Sweets Hotel Ruby is dessert-themed and has one of the neighborhood's most arresting exteriors.

The outside of Sweets Hotel Ruby. David McElhinney

I've stayed in so many boring business hotels that I never pass up the opportunity to lay my head somewhere unusual, and Sweets Hotel Ruby definitely fits the bill.

Story continues

When I arrived at the address, I found a pink building covered in decorative desserts, with oversized ice-cream cones and doughnuts surrounding the entrance.

I entered Sweets Hotel Ruby through a pink, windowless hallway that had fairground music filling the air.

The hallway had giant lollipops hanging as decorations. David McElhinney

Some love hotels don't have a reception desk. Instead, the entire process  from room selection to booking to payment  is conducted through machines. This setup can be helpful for people who want to keep their stays more private.

At Sweets Hotel Ruby, the reception window was partially concealed, meaning I could only see the receptionist's hands and vice versa.

Adjacent to the reception window, there was a free service corner filled with sweets.

The hotel had an area filled with complimentary sweet treats. David McElhinney

I don't particularly like sweets, but I'd imagine this feature is a bonus for guests with a sweet tooth.

I booked my room online, but I also could've selected my room via a selection panel beside the elevators.

The candy theme continued throughout the hotel. David McElhinney

Prices can vary drastically in a love hotel depending on the room size, the day of the week, the time frame for which the booking is made, and the duration of time the room is booked.

Rest options, usually two- or three-hour stays, are often the cheapest, especially if they're between Mondays and Thursdays. Booking at a peak time, like midnight on a Saturday, costs more.

Most love hotels only allow guests to book rest options during the day and require those arriving in the evening to pay for an overnight stay.

I stayed at Sweets Hotel Ruby on a Tuesday night, so the $85 I paid was in the midrange for this particular hotel.

One of the primary advantages of staying at love hotels is that they're open 24/7, meaning you can book a slot at any time as long as rooms are available.

Being open around the clock can come in handy in a city like Tokyo, where the trains stop running around midnight and late-night taxi prices can be extortionate.

I stayed in room 303, which looked like it belonged inside a gingerbread house.

My room was brimming with dessert-shaped pillows, furniture, and decor. David McElhinney

The double bed and abundance of doughnut pillows on top of it were comfortable, but the cake-and-wafer bench was not. Made out of a rigid metallic material, this piece of furniture seemed way more stylish than it was practical.

My room initially appeared windowless, but I later found a window behind cupboard-like doors in the wall, which is a standard feature in love hotels.

Most importantly, the room felt clean, though this comes as little surprise in a country as fastidious as Japan. To put it bluntly, cleanliness is an absolute must when sleeping in a room that's typically used for sexual encounters.

Most love hotel rooms have fans built into the roof to maintain ventilation and block out excessive sound on nights when the hotel and surrounding areas are busy. You can usually turn the fans off if you find them irritating.

Various menus were scattered across the coffee table in my room.

I found several menus on the coffee table. David McElhinney

The menus listed things I could buy, like food, alcohol, toiletries, contraceptives, costumes, toys, and more.

There was also a TV in my room that showed standard Japanese programming, like sumo.

Sumo happened to be playing when I flicked on the TV. David McElhinney

The TV also had streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube. Adult-only options were also available.

My room had different lighting options that I could turn on and off.

The lights in the hotel room changed colors. David McElhinney

If you fiddle around with the buttons on the console in a love-hotel room, there's a chance you'll be surprised.

The bathroom was one of the room's nicest features and felt spacious for one person.

My room had a full-sized bathtub in the bathroom. David McElhinney

I'd say one of the principal reasons to stay in a love hotel is the luxurious bathrooms.

They're made for couples, so individual travelers get to enjoy more space and larger bathtubs than those often found in run-of-the-mill accommodations.

The bathroom in my room featured a deep pink tub nestled in the corner of a multicolored shower room. I also found a collection of bubble-bath products and shower creams.

There was also a sink and a screen on the bathroom mirror, but I couldn't figure out the latter's purpose.

Before bed, I went for a stroll in the neighborhood and realized that the hotel's back entrance was just as over-the-top as the front one.

The back entrance to Sweets Hotel Ruby. David McElhinney

At night, the exterior of Sweets Hotel Ruby was lit up from below. The exterior looked like it was covered in cookies and lollipops.

Dogenzaka is near a lot of other bustling neighborhoods and has access to all types of entertainment.

A shop selling sex toys in Dogenzaka, Shibuya. David McElhinney

A lot of the businesses in Dogenzaka are indeed love hotels, but the neighborhood also rubs shoulders with the central avenues that funnel traffic into and out of Shibuya.

Nearby, I found craft-beer bars; nightclubs; yakitori joints, which sell grilled chicken; cosmopolitan bistros; standing sushi shops; and traditional izakaya, which are Japanese gastropubs.

Because I wasn't bothered by the idea of a love hotel, I enjoyed staying in one as a solo traveler and would do it again.

The Dogenzaka neighborhood at night. Shutterstock

I'm not someone who usually chooses places to stay based on decorations, so this was the first time I've stayed at a love hotel that has such a distinct and overt theme. It didn't necessarily bother me, but I do tend to be more drawn to simple designs.

I've had an equally comfortable experience with the same amenities at less embellished love hotels, and they usually cost less too.

If you want to stay at a themed love hotel but the Sweets Hotel Ruby isn't what you have in mind, there are plenty of other options.

Dogenzaka has other love hotels that are inspired by the swing era of the 1930s and 1940s, tropical climates, cheap American motels, and more.

Kinshicho, an area in northeast Tokyo, is also full of love hotels. But in my opinion, Dogenzaka has the most impressive selection, and people shouldn't automatically write these spots off.

Read the original article on Insider
Priah Ferguson

Priah Ferguson has been a fan favorite on the hit Netflix series Stranger Things since her first appearance in season 2. Her character runs around the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana with her brother and his friends as they fight off several supernatural monsters.

Ferguson makes a splash in an ad airing for General Motors during this weekends Super Bowl.

The Atlanta native began acting as a child after being inspired by movies including Daddys Little Girls and Spike Lees Crooklyn. She acted in several locally-produced short films before snagging a role on an episode of the FX series, Atlanta.

Ferguson now plays Erica Sinclair, the sassy, sarcastic little sister to Lucas Sinclair on Stranger Things. She became a regular character in season 3, stealing the scene every time she appeared.

While Erica has no problem rattling off crafty one-liners and dropping a curse word now and then, Ferguson says that wouldnt have worked in her real life.

Im not as sassy as Erica, but I think I would have a little fun with her, she told Blavity in a recent interview. I dont remember if I was like that at ten years old. I possibly was. I know I wasnt as dramatic, but I definitely was a little quick at the mouth. But I definitely didnt cuss as much as Erica did. She laughed, stating that her mom wouldnt have let her get away with that.

The post Stranger Things Star Priah Ferguson Talks GM/Netflix Super Bowl Commercial With Will Ferrell appeared first on Blavity.

Fergusons transition to a regular character was a change for the young actress, but she was ready to put in the work.

When you become a series regular, its like youre working every day, she said. I wasnt used to that. So I had to make adjustments so I could put myself there.

Her adjustments paid off because she got a chance to shine as the lead in the Netflix original movie, The Curse of Bridge Hollow. She starred alongside Marlon Waynes and Kelly Rowland in the family-friendly Halloween movie. Ferguson plays their spirited teenage daughter, Sydney.

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One of the common themes between the characters and Ferguson is their confidence in being an outspoken Black girl, which she doesnt take lightly.

I feel like I definitely have a responsibility because young girls, especially young Black girls, get inspired when they see themselves on screen, she said. And I realize I represent that. Not only are my characters sassy, but most are into science and sci-fi and would classify as STEM-girls in this era. And I think its important for girls of color to see themselves more in those spaces.

Although the high school junior admits history is her favorite subject, her roles have made her grow in interest in chemistry. However, she isnt rushing to buy the latest edition of Dungeons & Dragons.

She continued to speak about the importance of representation and how she hopes her characters teach young girls to embrace themselves.

I think it [my characters] are relatable to a lot of young girls of color, the actress explained. They see me, and they are like, oh, its OK for me to like science. Its okay for me to be a nerd. Its okay for me to like Dungeons & Dragons! And because the show is popular and centers around kids who are seen as nerds, it embraces everyone. It encourages people to walk in their own skin more and be themselves. Its universal.

Ferguson takes inspiring young Black girls seriously on and off the screen. Her creative production company, Bold Honey, aims to center Black girls in spaces where they can see themselves in any role.

There are so many areas young Black girls are into that we havent tapped into or heard about, she continued. So, I want to share those stories and get them out there, so other girls can see them and relate to them. I want them to feel comfortable in their own skin and know its okay to be them and different. You know we all want something or someone we can relate to. I know when Im watching something, thats what I want.

Outside of her own companys productions, the young actress is part of a campaign for one of the nations largest automobile companies.

General Motors joined forces with Netflix to showcase electric vehicles (EVs). GM is committed to an all-electric future, planning to eliminate tailpipe emissions from new light-duty vehicles by 2035 to establish a cleaner, better world. Netflix jumped on board to spread the message and brought Fergosun along for the ride.

The Super Bowl-debuting commercial stars Will Ferrell and also features Netflix talent like Vanessa Lachey, Jonathan Van Ness and Antoni Porowski.

Netflix is taking steps to make their productions more sustainable, and teaming up with a company that wants to spread that message was a great thing to be part of, she said. I think its important that we take care of the planet, not just to be considerate but for our future. And what better way to spread the message than at the Super Bowl and with Rihanna performing? Thats a big deal!

Ferguson is passionate about Rihanna and the initiative. Shes looking into an EV as her first car while anticipating getting her drivers license.

While Stranger Things fifth and final season is coming eventually, Ferguson is also excited to branch out.

Yes, you will definitely see me in more acting roles, she teased. Older acting roles! Growing my production company, and I also want to get more into fashion.
Adriana Kuch, via YouTube/NBC New York

A New Jersey superintendent who sparked outrage with his comments about a 14-year-old students death by suicide has resigned, the school district announced Saturday.

Central Regional School District superintendent Triantafillos Parlapanides stepped down less than two weeks after freshman Adriana Kuch took her own life following a vicious episode of bullying captured on video.

The Central Regional family continues to mourn the loss of one of our children, the school district said in a statement announcing the school board had accepted Parlapanides resignation Saturday.

Kuchs death rocked the community in Berkeley Township after she was found dead at her Bayville home on Feb. 3. Just two days earlier, video was circulated among students at Central Regional High School that showed Kuch being brutally attacked by a group of students as she walked down the hallway, while other students cheered off camera.

The teenagers father, Michael Kuch, blasted the school for failing to protect his daughter. Hundreds of students sided with him and staged a walkout earlier this week to call attention to what they described as rampant, unchecked bullying.

Adriana took her own life because nobody at the school was able to help or care or step in, sophomore Roman Valez told NBC New York at the demonstration.

The school did not call police after Kuchs assaulta decision Parlapanides insisted was in line with school policy.

My daughter actually blacks out and they dont call an ambulance, they take her to the nurses office, a heartbroken Michael Kuch told ABC 7.

The four girls allegedly involved in the attack have since been charged, but Kuchs family says the school dragged their feet in taking any kind of action against her assailants.

Its devastating how they were allowed to continue on, Adrianas brother, Jacob, told NewsNation this week, questioning why it took more than a week for the school to suspend her alleged attackers.

In the midst of backlash over the schools handling of the incident, Parlapanides publicly tried to shift blame to Kuchs famillyblaming her suicide on an affair he said her father had had years earlier that he claimed led her mother to kill herself, and suggesting the 14-year-old had a drug problem.

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Her grades and choices declined in 7th and 8th grade. We offered her drug rehab and mental services on five occasions but the father refused every time, Parlapanides said in comments to The Daily Mail.

Hes pretty much blaming her, Kuch said of Parlapanides comments to The New York Post. My daughter was attacked in your school and you did nothing. And now you want to blame this on everyone else except yourself because you failed and you suck at your job You should probably resign and maybe even become a greeter at Walmart.

Following the superintendents resignation on Saturday, Kuch shared a copy of the school districts announcement on Facebook and kept his reaction brief: I will let this speak for itself.

If you or a loved one are struggling with suicidal thoughts, please reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741. You can also text or dial 988.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Swiss Prime Site (VTX:SPSN) Full Year 2022 Results

Key Financial Results

Revenue: CHF827.8m (up 7.1% from FY 2021).

Net income: CHF404.4m (down 20% from FY 2021).

Profit margin: 49% (down from 66% in FY 2021).

EPS: CHF5.27 (down from CHF6.68 in FY 2021).

All figures shown in the chart above are for the trailing 12 month (TTM) period

Swiss Prime Site Earnings Insights

Looking ahead, revenue is forecast to stay flat during the next 3 years compared to a 2.2% decline forecast for the Real Estate industry in Switzerland.

Performance of the Swiss Real Estate industry.

The company's shares are down 1.8% from a week ago.

Risk Analysis

You still need to take note of risks, for example - Swiss Prime Site has 3 warning signs (and 2 which shouldn't be ignored) we think you should know about.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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By Khalil Ashawi and Timour Azhari

JANDARIS, Syria (Reuters) - As an excavator claws at the shattered remains of yet another home in Syria's rebel-held northwest, Abdel Qader Abdelrahman surveys the debris in the hope of spotting people who might - against all the odds - still be alive underneath.

The former school principal joined the White Helmets in 2022 as a medic, drawn to its humanitarian mission through a 12-year war that has carved Syria into cantons held by rival armed groups.

Monday's deadly earthquake - which has so far killed more than 2,000 people in the rebel-held enclave and more than 3,500 in total across Syria - forced him to take on a more direct search and rescue role.

"We have been working for five days," he told Reuters, having not returned home or seen his family in that long. "We are answering all the calls for help."

"When we remove someone alive, we forget all the pain and the fatigue and everything that is happening to us... Our goal is to save people from this destruction."

Established in 2014, the group - known formally as Syria Civil Defence - won praise in the West for their daring operations to pick people from the rubble of buildings destroyed by Syrian government and Russian bombardment.

Drawn from society, they count bakers, pharmacists and engineers among their members and work in areas outside government control in areas held by Islamist rebel groups that came under heavy air strikes and shelling.

They say they have lost hundreds of volunteers over the years - including four in the earthquake - but have rescued thousands of people, earning them praise in the West, which also provides a large part of their funding.

CATASTROPHE

Ismail Abdallah, head of the group's media center in Sarmada, Idlib, said even years of responding to aerial bombardments had not fully prepared them for the massive scale of the earthquake's damage.

"There is a vast difference between the natural disaster we faced and the bombing in the past. The shelling is catastrophic... but the scale of the tragedy and destruction and the number of impacted locations never exceeded 10 or 20 at any one point," he said.

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But the earthquake simultaneously left more than 100 locations in northwest Syria in need of their immediate attention, he said.

The overwhelming scale of the disaster has been met with a trickle of help from the international community, who have donated money but sent little physical aid and none of the heavy equipment required to save lives in the week since the quake.

Raed al-Saleh, the group's founder, who sold electrical equipment before the war, has accused the UN of failing in its response to the crisis, an allegation to which the United Nations has not responded.

Two regional diplomats said international support to the region was limited by the fact that it was a conflict zone outside of government control, and discomfort with the area's ruling faction which has links to Al-Qaeda.

Aid organisations have said they face security problems operating in the region, while the European Union's envoy to Syria said it was "absolutely unfair" to accuse the EU of failing to provide enough help.

MEDIA WAR

Stuck in the middle of the conflict, the White Helmets' members say they are neutral humanitarians. They say on their website that they receive funding from governments including the United States, France, Germany and Qatar.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his backers, including Russia, have dismissed them as Western-sponsored propaganda tools and proxies of Islamist-led insurgents, even claiming they have staged rescue operations.

Those allegations - which the group says are part of a disinformation campaign aimed at discrediting them - have led the White Helmets to set up a polished media operation drawing attention to the plight of those living in the region.

"All of this made us put more effort into monitoring and following up and publishing (content)," Abdallah said at the Sarmada media center as a dozen people worked to download and publish images brought in from the field.

Volunteers sifting through rubble in their brick-yellow vests and trademark white helmets are almost always accompanied by other members with cameras, he said.

As rescue operations wind down, the group's work is shifting to the grim, demoralizing task of recovering the dead and clearing rubble.

Abdelrahman, the White Helmet medic, said: "We will keep working until we remove the last person from under the rubble."

(Reporting by Khalil Ashawi in Idlib and Timour Azhari in Beirut; Writing by Timour Azhari; Editing by Jan Harvey)
An Ohio middle school teacher has resigned after a display of a racist image during Black History Month morning announcements sparked student walkouts and widespread condemnation.

The Bexley Middle School teacher supervised the display of an image of an orangutan eating a watermelon on a green screen background, the Columbia Dispatch reported.

Bexley City Schools Superintendent Jason Fine announced the teachers resignation in a letter to parents on Friday.

The teacher, who has not been identified, had earlier been placed on administrative leave.

We know this cannot be treated as any sort of ending or closure and we are steadfast in our commitment to our continued efforts to eradicate racism in Bexley Schools, Mr Fine wrote.

Mr Fine acknowledged in a heated public meeting on Wednesday that the school district was aware that students had also been widely sharing racist imagery on social media, WSYX reported.

Parents said that Bexley, a suburb of Columbus, had a history of racist and offensive behaviour within its school district.

The incidents have sparked threats of lawsuits and a student walkout on Friday, WSYX reported.

A 7th-grader told the news site that students felt compelled to act after being left hurt and disgusted at having to view the racist imagery.

I was confused. I was angry. There were so many emotions going on in my head, the student told WSYX.

Preschoolers at Studio Kids Little River daycare centre in Miami had their faces painted black by a teacher for Black History Month, parents say (WSVN)

Bexley Mayor Ben Kessler and Council President released a joint statement on Friday acknowledging that the series of racist incidents had caused a tremendous amount of pain and hurt.

For many of us, this week has been marked by profound sadness and dismay, and for others it has only reaffirmed a truth that has been felt within our families for generations, the statement read.

The racist trope of African Americans being excessively fond of watermelons exploded in American popular culture after the end of slavery, historian William R. Black wrote in The Atlantic in 2014.

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Free black people grew, ate, and sold watermelons, and in doing so made the fruit a symbol of their freedom, Mr Black wrote.

Southern whites, threatened by blacks newfound freedom, responded by making the fruit a symbol of black peoples perceived uncleanliness, laziness, childishness, and unwanted public presence.

On Friday, a parent said she had withdrawn her children from a Miami daycare centre after a teacher painted preschoolers faces black for Black History Month.
An 1899 photograph of the pressroom of the Planet, a newspaper in Richmond, Va. Everett Historical/Shutterstock.com

The internet has upended the journalism industry  and not in a good way.

Over the past decade, over 100,000 journalism jobs have been shed, while advertising revenue has fallen US billion since 2004.

Sponsored content is on the rise. Reporters have been suspended for fabricating aspects of their stories. And, yes, entire stories have been made up out of thin air.

Not surprisingly, trust in the media has plummeted.

As a media historian, I see a lot of similarities to another era of soaring inequality: the Gilded Age of the late 19th century.

Back then, the media market was oversaturated; revenues were down; pay was poor; and publishers were locked in circulation battles, working to one-up one another for more subscribers  even if it meant engaging in some unsavory practices.

When I was researching my book Before Journalism Schools: How Gilded Age Reporters Learned the Rules, I learned that if Gilded Age reporters adhered to one rule, it was to do whatever it takes to get the story  even if it meant making things up.

A booming news biz goes bust

After decades of sustained growth, many newspapers found themselves in financial trouble in the late 19th century.

The reports on printing and publishing that accompanied the 1880, 1890 and 1900 national censuses shed some light on the issue: Newspapers had saturated virtually every possible geographic market.

According to the 1900 census, 451 daily newspapers were published in the nations 50 largest cities  about nine newspapers per city. These newspapers competed for smaller and smaller slices of advertising revenue. Even some tiny communities had more than one daily newspaper duking it out. As early as 1880, Tombstone, Arizona, for instance, had two dailies serving a population of 973.

Newspapers also were locked in expensive battles over who could acquire and deploy the latest technologies in typesetting, illustration and printing.

These technologies were costly to purchase and operate. For instance, the linotype, a new mechanical typesetting device, cost ,000. More significantly, trained technicians who belonged to unions needed to be hired to run the machines. These technicians couldnt be easily fired like young reporters, known as cubs.

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To cut labor costs, publishers hired novice reporters, but didnt train them. They left it up to these raw recruits to learn basic news work on their own.

Most of these workers were not salaried employees, so during slow news periods, editors would routinely lay off reporters. Editors also paid reporters on the space system, which meant the longer the story, the more the reporters got paid.

News executives did start hiring more women than they had in the past, but the aggregate industry data from the census reports show that these women earned about 2 a year in 1900  half as much as men.

Editors hoped women reporters writing soft news for society pages would attract more female readers and more advertisers. They also hoped to exploit women reporters as stunt girls  a term used for female reporters who undertook risky reporting ventures. A popular one involved being admitted to an insane asylum and then writing about the experience, as undercover reporter Nellie Bly famously did.

Journalistic delinquency

Even with the industry struggling, men and women were still pursuing careers in the news business. One industry trade publication, The Journalist, estimated in 1889 that 100,000 people were seeking news jobs.

To survive in a Gilded Age newsroom, cubs would have to hustle to get by  even if it meant deviating from standard practice.

They might produce fakes, stage events or abandon hazardous and time-consuming assignments from their editors. Theyd also share work with reporters from competing newspapers, a tactic known as combination reporting.

In an era with few university-level courses in journalism, cubs learned how to master these strategies by observing more experienced reporters. They sometimes witnessed truly colossal fabrications.

Florence Kelly, a former Boston Globe reporter, recorded one of these fabrications by a co-worker in her 1939 memoir. After doing some research at the public library and concocting an interview with an imaginary ship captain, the co-worker produced a story about a volcanic eruption somewhere in the South Pacific. He then sold the story to the Globe, and the Globe turned around and sold it to European newspapers. Those newspapers sold the story once more to American newspapers.

Eventually, the story was discredited. But Kellys co-worker was able to keep his job by arguing that his story was based on authentic accounts of real eruptions.

He used the money he earned to buy a train ticket.

Staging a story

Fakes became so common that an article in an 1892 issue of The Journalist estimated that the majority of stories supplied to newspapers by local news bureaus and press associations were fiction.

While some stories were made out of thin air, other practices, like staging, required deliberation and planning.

Samuel G. Blythe described the unfolding of such a story series in his 1912 autobiography, The Making of a Newspaper Man.

At the time, Blythe worked for a Buffalo, New York, newspaper. One of the newspapers more experienced reporters purchased a cadavers hand and arm from a medical student. He severed some fingers and cut the arm into pieces. He then dropped fingers in a nearby canal, returned to the newsroom, and wrote a story about discovering one of the fingers.

He speculated graphically on the problems of where the finger came from, whose finger it was, and why the police had not reported a missing man, Blythe wrote.

More appendages in local waterways followed and so did more stories until the authorities investigated. At that point, the reporter wrote a final story exposing the hoax and criticizing police for taking so long to take action.

Our era of error

None of this delinquent newsroom behavior was extraordinary by 19th-century standards. Rank-and-file reporters openly discussed it with colleagues, none of whom reported it to their superiors. Newspaper economics and the advent of new technologies encouraged this behavior.

Todays news environment shares some parallels with the 19th-century news world. Digital media have changed how fast and how accurately stories are written and edited. Continuous news cycles, shrinking newsroom staffs and the multiple, simultaneous demands for content have produced what Washington Post writer Paul Farhi referred to as the Era of Error.

The lack of formal gatekeepers on the internet has made it easier for the creators and disseminators of fake news to spread their deceptions and force out legitimate news.

Perhaps the best advice on ethical behavior for todays reporters and editors comes from a 19th-century source.

After surviving his initiation into reporting as a 14-year-old cub and later becoming an influential news executive, Moses Koenigsberg drafted his own Newspapermans Seven Commandments.

At all times and in all things the editor must serve the reader to the exclusion of everyone else, Koenigsberg wrote.

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. The Conversation is trustworthy news from experts. Try our free newsletters.

It was written by: Randall S. Sumpter, Texas A&M University.

Read more:



Randall S. Sumpter does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) said in an interview aired on Sunday that President Biden has earned an incomplete grade on the U.S.-Mexico border amid humanitarian concerns and partisan discord over immigration policy.

I think the grade would be incomplete, right? Theres plenty to do. We know that its a humanitarian issue down at the southern border, Aguilar told ABC News contributor Maria Elena Salinas on This Week.

Aguilar said he thinks Biden is trying to find balance between dealing with an overwhelmed immigration system and respecting migrants seeking refuge within U.S. borders by increasing the pathways that people have to declare asylum, so they can declare asylum in their home countries or while they are in transit.

But the California representative said his party still has work to do  not only on the issues, but on communicating to voters on the topic.

Theres no cookie-cutter way to talk about Latino issues. We need to realize that. We need to have a plan to talk to those voters and those individuals. And I think that we need to do a better job of that, Aguilar said.

Aguilar, who has long been a proponent of helping so-called Dreamers achieve citizenship, said more friends and allies are needed in the Senate to get legislation passed.

I can respect that at certain times, you know, the House has been at fault and the Senate has been at fault, but in the last ten years, Democrats have continually put these bills on the floor, and Republicans have stood in the way on the House side to see any real reform happen, Aguilar said.

With their new control of the House, Republicans have homed in on Bidens border policies as a target of their probes into the president and the administration.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Rep. Jim Himes (Conn.), the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said on Sunday that he has real concerns about the Biden administration not being more forthcoming about the recent shoot-downs of objects flying over American airspace.

The U.S. military earlier this month at the direction of President Biden shot down a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon after it spent days traveling across the U.S.  and two more aerial objects were shot down over North America Friday and Saturday.

I have real concerns about why the administration is being not more forthcoming with everything that it knows, Himes told moderator Chuck Todd on NBC Newss Meet the Press.

But part of the problem here is that both of the second and the third objects were shot down in very remote areas. So, my guess is that theres just not a lot of information out there yet to share.

Himes said the Gang of Eight, a group of Democratic and Republican House and Senate leadership plus top lawmakers from Intelligence committees in both chambers got a very extensive briefing on the first suspected surveillance balloon shot down off the coast of South Carolina, which was followed by a full congressional briefing.

So were pretty good on that one. You lose track of these things. Since then, of course, theres been the shoot-down over Alaska and the shoot-down over the Yukon. Congress has been out of session, and so we have not been directly briefed on that, Himes said.

The top Intelligence Democrat said hes troubled about a pattern of all-of-a-sudden massive speculation about alien invasions and concerns about Chinese or Russian action.

In the absence of information, peoples anxiety leads them into potentially destructive areas. So I do hope that very soon the administration has a lot more information for all of us on whats going on, Himes said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Allirajah Subaskaran, Chairman, Lycamobile Group - Shutterstock

One of the Conservative Partys top donors has been plunged into a row with accountants as his mobile phone empire faces a 100m demand from the taxman over alleged VAT irregularities.

Allirajah Subaskaran, the British-Sri Lankan tycoon behind Lycamobile, has been issued with an unusual disclaimer of opinion verdict by auditors of the UK arm of his business.

Auditors to Lycamobile UK Limited said that they had been "unable to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence" in relation to 18m of loans made by the company to Mr Subaskaran and Mrs P Subaskaran  believed to be his wife, Premantharshini Subaskaran.

A further 169m of debts owed by a complex web of related party companies could similarly not be verified, auditors from PKF Littlejohn found, according to recent corporate filings.

Mark Ling, senior statutory auditor at PKF Littlejohn, concluded: These matters individually and together represent a material and pervasive issue.

Gavin Pearson, a managing director at Quantima Advisory who specialises in forensic accounting, said: It is extremely rare for an audit report to include a disclaimer opinion, given this means that the auditors are saying that they cant form an opinion on the accuracy of the financial statements.

The issue leading to the disclaimer was that the auditors had been unable to satisfy themselves that the company would, in some scenarios, be able to collect sufficient liquidity from related party companies and directors in order to remain a going concern [to continue trading solvently].

Lycamobile was founded by Mr Subaskaran in 2006, specialising in cheap pay-as-you-go sim cards for people wanting to make calls in the UK and abroad.

Lycamobile lays claim to being the world's largest international mobile virtual network operator with over 16 million customers and a new customer joining every two seconds.

Mr Subaskaran, whose net worth was estimated at 170m in 2018, donated more than 2m to the Conservative party between 2011 and 2016.

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He also supported Boris Johnson during his re-election campaign for London mayor by giving him the use of Lycamobiles Canary Wharf offices to coordinate telephone canvassing sessions.

In recent years it has been embroiled with a dispute with HM Revenue & Customs.

HMRC issued demands against Lycamobile UK Limited over corporation tax returns between February 2013 and December 2018. HMRC later dropped the determinations following an appeal by the company.

HMRC does, however, continue to dispute Lycamobile UK Limiteds treatment of VAT. The company has estimated that it could owe the taxman 105.5m, including penalties and interest, according to the businesss accounts for 2021, published by Companies House in the middle of last month.

Bosses at Lycamobile said in the accounts that they do not expect the VAT dispute to be resolved within the next 12 months.

PKF Littlejohn declined to comment. Representatives for Lyca Group, which owns Lycamobile, did not respond.
Brunei media highlights PM Chinh's visit as testament to close-knit ties with Vietnam

Brunei media have ran numerous articles highlighting Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinhs visit to the country as a testament to the close-knit bilateral diplomatic ties with Vietnam.









Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah (R) welcomes Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh



The website borneobulletin.com, in its article, described the Vietnamese Government chiefs visit as a testament to the strong diplomatic relations established between Brunei Darussalam and Vietnam 30 years ago.



It underlined that since joining the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Bandar Seri Begawan in 1995, Vietnam has become one of the fastest growing economies in the region.



Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah hailed Vietnams achievements, including the national digital transformation programme, saying that the signing of an action plan between the two sides aims to bolster bilateral cooperation and support preparation to respond to global challenges.



The Sultan of Brunei expressed his satisfaction that despite facing plenty of challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the two nations have still maintained their cooperation in the fields of energy supply, production and trade with the two way trade exceeding the US$ 500 million target set in 2017.



Brunei desires to further develop trade ties with Vietnam, especially through joint ventures operating in the aquaculture sector, to help build the capacity of local industries and ensure food security, he went on to say.



The article quoted Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah as saying that the continuing educational partnership between the University of Brunei Darussalam (UBD) and FPT University in the central city of Da Nang, as well as visa exemption, will bring people closer together as well as facilitate the movement of goods and services.



The Sultan of Brunei thanked Vietnam for backing his country during its ASEAN Chair term in 2021, expressing his hope that the two countries will step up cooperation towards an ASEAN Community Vision by 2025.



He congratulated Vietnam on its election to the UN Human Rights Council for the 2023-2025 term, expressing his confidence in Vietnam's contributions to solving human rights issues.



Brunei media also cited Minister of Finance and Economy II of Brunei Dato Seri Setia Dr Awang Haji Mohd Amin Liew Abdullah, stressing that Brunei places importance in its close-knit relations with Vietnam.



He touched upon huge potential to enhance economic and trade ties between the two nations.

The minister affirmed that at the regional and international level, the two countries' activities through ASEAN and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum as well as agreements such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), help increase the access to global markets, incentivize rules-based trade and economic activities, and facilitate efficient, diversified and flexible supply.



Brunei seeks mutually-beneficial partnerships with countries that it has close ties like Vietnam to ensure prosperity, especially through cooperation projects in key areas and priorities of the country such as oil and gas, food, tourism, information technology - communication and services, he added.
Photo: TOWN OF QUALICUM BEACH Qualicum Beach Mayor Teunis Westbroek.

Qualicum Beach Mayor Teunis Westbroek has issued a public apology and agreed to pay $130,000 to settle a defamation suit brought against him by two local prominent businessmen.

The apology was published in Wednesdays edition of the Parksville Qualicum Beach News.

Other than confirming that the civil matter was settled, Westbroek had no other comment on Friday.

Ken Schley, John Briuolo and Kelland Foods Holdings Ltd., a company they control, initiated the lawsuit against Westbroek in April 2021, filing a claim in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver.

The businessmen are well-known as the founders of the Quality Foods group of supermarkets. The group included the Qualicum Food store which in 2002 went through a devastating fire.

As of 2017, the Jim Pattison Group became the sole owner of Quality Foods. It has 13 Vancouver Island stores and an office and distribution centre.

In his published statement, Westbroek apologizes to Schley and Briuolo for defamatory statements I made to members of the council and members of the senior staff of the Town of Qualicum Beach in late 2020 and early 2021.

Westbroek said that on multiple separate occasions he repeated the statements. At the time Westbroek was a council member for the town. He was elected as mayor in 2022, a position he held previously from 1999 to 2018.

On multiple separate occasions I stated that Mr. Schley and Mr. Briuolo had burnt down their grocery store (Qualicum Foods), Westbroeks statement says. I retract these statements and publicly acknowledge that neither Mr. Schley nor Mr. Briuolo played any role in causing the fire.

Westbroek said it was wrong to have have made the statements he did.

I am remorseful for my actions, he says in his statement.

I sincerely apologize to both Mr. Schley and Mr. Briuolo, both of whom I acknowledge to be successful businessmen and pillars of the community, for the very significant damage my defamatory statements have caused to their otherwise impeccable and well-deserved reputation for honesty and integrity.

Westbroek said he had ample opportunity to apologize but did not do so until an examination for discovery on Oct. 18, 2022. I failed to make the apology public until today, on the eve of trial, which was set to proceed on Feb. 21, 2023.

The trial is not going ahead because Schley and Briuolo have discontinued the action in exchange for the public apology, $100,000 in damages and $30,000 to reimburse legal fees and out-of-pocket expenses relating to the court case, Westbroek said.

Schley said in a statement released through his lawyer Bryan Baynham that he is relieved that to receive the apology.

We proudly supported and funded many charities and projects in Qualicum Beach from minor sports, many fundraisers to major initiatives, the statement says.

Everything John and I did we took into consideration on how it would impact our community from hiring, buying and building. It was our passion to build a beautiful sustainable community.
The following is a transcript of an interview with New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu that aired Sunday, Feb. 12, 2023, on "Face the Nation."

MARGARET BRENNAN: Welcome back to Face The Nation. We're joined now by the Republican governor of New Hampshire, Chris Sununu. And it's good to have you here--

GOV. CHRIS SUNUNU: Thanks.

MARGARET BRENNAN: --in person.

GOV. SUNUNU: Great to be here. Better here than the rest of Washington, because this whole town gives me the- it gives me the chills sometimes.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, you might need to go get over that if you're gonna run for 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, as apparently you are considering doing.

GOV. SUNUNU: Well look, a lot of opportunity to change things, right? I think New Hampshire has this awesome model of Live Free or Die: limited government, local control, individual responsibility, really putting the voters first. Send up some money, which is nice, but send them the regulatory authority to so little decentralizing out of Washington, and maybe a little better attitude would be- would be a good thing for America.

MARGARET BRENNAN: What's the proactive reason you want to be president, not something that President Biden is doing wrong--

GOV. SUNUNU: Sure

MARGARET BRENNAN: --But something you want to achieve?

GOV. SUNUNU: Yeah- Which is the right question you're asking, by the way, because I- I- it drives me crazy when Republicans talk in an echo chamber about, you know, how bad the President is, and Democrats-- we got the memo as Republicans. You gotta be for something. What I'm trying to do is kind of show that New Hampshire model, show the opportunity to get stuff done. I've had Republicans in my legislature, I have Democrats in my legislature, I always get my conservative agendas done. All- we always cut taxes, we always balance a budget. And I can explain to folks in Washington what a balanced budget actually means. So there are paths. And I think America is looking for results. We need results driven leadership, not just leadership that--

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MARGARET BRENNAN: Like what?

GOV. SUNUNU: Look, whether it's cutting taxes, being pro-business, the regulatory reform, the immigration stuff that we were told was gonna happen in 2017 and 2018, as Republicans and it didn't. We were told health care reform would happen, it didn't. We were told we're going to secure the border, and we didn't. So, there's all this great opportunity that has a domino effect, they're not just things to check off a list, but those things have huge impacts on the American economy, and most importantly, American families, right? They just want flexibility to do what they do and frankly, they're tired of the nonsense in D.C., they're tired of- of extreme candidates, they're tired of gridlock. They want somebody to come to the table, and it could be myself, it could be other governors, it could- but it has to be leadership with proven results. I've been in the private sector, as an engineer and a business leader, I've been in the public sector. You got to be able to deliver, and you got to, hopefully, be inspirational and hopeful as opposed to all this negativity, you see.

MARGARET BRENNAN: But you still have to get the Congress to work with you to do that very long laundry list of things you just read off to us. So, when you were here in November, you told us that President Biden would not run for President, in your estimation. You just saw him up close for the past few days. Is that still what you believe?

GOV. SUNUNU: Well, I know other people will definitely run, they're gonna get in the the race--

MARGARET BRENNAN: Democrats, you believe, will challenge him.

GOV. SUNUNU: Oh absolutely, yeah, yeah, because--

MARGARET BRENNAN: Why do you say that? Did someone tell you that in the last few days?

GOV. SUNUNU: Well, Joe Biden has tried to move the first in the nation primary from New Hampshire, right? But we're gonna- we're going first whether the President likes it or not. And so that's going to be a huge opportunity for anybody who wants to step up and challenge him. And if you look at the polls across the country, the average Democrat says, yeah, thanks for your service on one term, but let's keep it to one term, President Biden and I just don't believe that Democrat, left wing Elite is going to sit on the sidelines, knowing you could come to New Hampshire, get all the earned media, all the attention, without a whole lot of money, all that political momentum. He's opened up his political flank, so to say, to give someone else a huge opportunity to charge right through and take that nomination from

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, we'll see if your- if your projection plays out. You've been talking about trying to sort of remind the party that Republicans are about limited government. You said recently, 'Republicans are almost trying to outdo Democrats at their own game of being big government and having a solution and a say on everything.' Who were you thinking of when you say that?

GOV. SUNUNU: Oh, there's a lot- I think there's a lot of leadership out there that forget that forgets- at heart, I'm a principled free market conservative. Let the markets decide. So there's no individual per se, but there's a lot of leadership that says, you know what, when we're not getting that result out of a private business or locality we'll just impose from the top-down our conservative will.

MARGARET BRENNAN: You're not talking about the Florida governor and Disney for example, are you?

GOV. SUNUNU: That's a bad example. Yeah, that's- one of the many examples-

MARGARET BRENNAN: Ron DeSantis may be running for president as well.

GOV. SUNUNU: Sure, yeah, yeah. Look, Ron's a very good governor, he is, but I'm just trying to remind folks what we are at our core. And if we're trying to beat the Democrats at being big government authoritarians, remember what's going to happen. Eventually, they'll have power in a state or in a position and then they'll start penalizing conservative businesses and conservative nonprofits and conservative ideas. That is the worst precedent in the world. That's exactly what the founding fathers tried not to- tried to avoid. And so I'm trying to remind my conservative friends about federalism, free markets and being for the voter first, being for the individual. Do I like what every private business says? No, I hate this woke cancel culture. But it's a cultural--

MARGARET BRENNAN: What does that mean to you then?

GOV. SUNUNU: Woke cancel culture?

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah.

GOV. SUNUNU: Oh, it's- it's- look, it's--

MARGARET BRENNAN: Because you're not a culture warrior, really--

GOV. SUNUNU: No, no, but it's there.

MARGARET BRENNAN: What does woke- What does that mean in your platform?

GOV. SUNUNU: It's the- it's the divisiveness- divisiveness, we see not just in our schools, but in our communities. Where it is me versus you. Whereas if you are not adhering to my ideals, then I'm going to cancel you out. It is us versus them. It is this binary, where everything's a war. That's a cultural problem we have to fix in America and it starts with good leadership, good messaging, more hopeful and optimistic, but government never solves a cultural problem.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay. well--

GOV. SUNUNU: We can lead on it but we never solve it.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Interesting idea, but you are contradicted by the Republican governor of Arkansas, who gave the response for your party after the State of the Union, who embraced culture war. She says America's in one.

GOV. SUNUNU: Yes we are.

MARGARET BRENNAN: She says it's been waged by the left-wing, 'a woke mob that can't even tell you what a woman is.'

GOV. SUNUNU: That's absolutely right--

MARGARET BRENNAN: Are you going to engage on things like this? Like- like Sanders and DeSantis has in terms of issues on gender and issues of race?

GOV. SUNUNU: There should be absolute leadership on that, about what that's about. And this idea that, you know, you have to- you know, we have forced language, that we have forced ideas on our kids that we're going to force anything-

MARGARET BRENNAN: So you are going to be a culture warrior?

GOV. SUNUNU: No, we have to talk about that, but it isn't the government's role to solve it. The government is not here to solve your problems. It's not. The government is here to--

(Crosstalk)

MARGARET BRENNAN: So, governors shouldn't be actually talking and engaging and telling school boards and doing things like this or trying to pass laws like they are?

GOV. SUNUNU: I don't think governors should be trying to pass laws to subvert the will of the voters that know better than us. Voters are no more than I do. The voters on that school board know, the voters in those towns know a lot more. And if- that's the free market of politics. If they don't like the school board, they get- they go to town meeting, they fire them.

MARGARET BRENNAN: You are- you call yourself a pro-choice Republican. You still have to win in a Republican primary. Is there room for someone who calls himself a pro-choice Republican?

GOV. SUNUNU: Look, that issue is- look, that issue is going to change three different ways now that Dobbs has happened, right? States can decide what they want to do, right? So I think the definition of pro-life and pro-choice and pro-abortion are going to be very different. Because if you're a pro-life Republican, that's fine. That's- as a governor, you can do that. You can ban it in your state, and you can stay- stand behind those ideals, and maybe that's exactly what your state wants, no problem. I'm a pro-choice Republican in a very pro-choice state. But at the end of the day, you're going to have the pro-life over here, pro-abortion over here, and then the rest of us are, well, 'We have a 24 week ban and you have a 22 week and an 18 week ban.' So the rest of us are kind of in this spectrum of debating about weeks, so that the whole conversation is going to change.

MARGARET BRENNAN: We want to talk about some of these issues in-depth with you in a moment, so stay with us governor. And we're going to bring in a panel of bipartisan governors with us.

4 governors on the issues facing their states

Sununu previews potential presidential bid, says Americans are "looking for results"

Death toll from earthquakes in Turkey and Syria continues to climb
The following is a transcript of an interview with GOP Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas that aired Sunday, Feb. 12, 2023, on "Face the Nation."

MARGARET BRENNAN: We go now to Congressman Michael McCaul. He is the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Good morning to you.

REP. MICHAEL MCCAUL: Morning, Margaret. Thanks for having me.

MARGARET BRENNAN: I want to start on this unusual activity, three takedowns in eight days. In the case of the spy balloon, this was Chinese surveillance, according to the administration. On Friday, they put restrictions on six Chinese companies that allegedly helped China's military build that balloon. Is this the right move to just try to make it harder for them to get U.S. technology? Or does Congress need to do something that's more broad?

REP. MCCAUL: Well, it's certainly the right move. It will be one of my number one priorities as the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in this Congress, to stop the export of technology to China that then goes into their most advanced weapons systems. In this case, a sophisticated spy balloon that went across three nuclear sites, I think it's important to say, in plain view of the American people. You know, in Montana, the triad site, air, land, and sea nuclear weapons, in Omaha, the spy balloon went over our Strategic Command, which is our most sensitive nuclear site. It was so sensitive that President Bush was taken there after 9/11. And then finally, Missouri, the B-2 bomber, that's where they are placed. It did a lot of damage.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Is that what U.S. intelligence told you? They have been saying they mitigated the impact.

REP. MCCAUL: They say they mitigated it but my assessment, and- and I can't get into the detail the intelligence document, is that if it was still transmitting going over these three very sensitive nuclear sites, I think- I think if you look at the flight pattern of the balloon, it tells a story as to what the Chinese were up to as they controlled this aircraft throughout the United States. Going over those sites, in my judgment, would cause great damage. Remember, a balloon could see a lot more on the ground than a satellite.

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MARGARET BRENNAN: So, you said you want to try to stop the export of technology that can be used by China's military. As a conservative though, how much- this has to make you a little uncomfortable to have government try to control private business investment. How do you do that?

REP. MCCAUL: Well, we have what's called an entity's list, the Department of Commerce had jurisdiction over the office within their- the Department of Defense has one. We need to harmonize those, make it more security focused. You know, capital flows is one issue, but technology exports into China that they use to turn- that maybe eventually turn against us. We have to stop doing that. And I think we can do it by sectors, they do by companies now. Obviously, they identified the six. I think shockingly, when the balloon was recovered, it had American-made component parts in there with English on that. It was made- you know, parts made in America, that were put on a spy balloon from China. I don't think the American people accept that.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Do you believe that this was a strategic choice by Xi Jinping's government in Beijing, or do you believe that it was just the left and right hand not knowing what was going on?

REP. MCCAUL: When I saw the sites that it was flying over, it was very clear to me this was an intentional act. It was done with provocation to gather intelligence data, and collect intelligence on our three major nuclear sites in this country. Why? Because they're looking at what- what is our capability in the event of a possible future conflict in Taiwan. They're really assessing what we have in this country. I find it extraordinary the timing of this flight as well, you know, right before the State of the Union speech, and also, you know, right before Secretary Blinken was scheduled to meet with Chairman Xi. I think it was very much an act of belligerence on their part and perhaps they don't care what- what the American people think about that.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Before I let you go, I want to ask you, you voted in the last Congress to provide a lot of assistance to Ukraine, but this past week, at least 10 of your members Republican members introduced a bill called the Ukraine Fatigue Resolution to try to cut off aid. How hard is it going to be to have a Republican-led house continue to help Ukraine?

REP. MCCAUL: I still believe Margaret, there are many on both sides of the aisle, a majority of the majorities, in support of this. We have- we have factions on the left and right, that do not support Ukraine--

MARGARET BRENNAN: This is a Republican bill.

REP. MCCAUL: --and that will probably continue. Right, and I do think, for me, particularly, it's- we have to educate, where has the money gone. You know, the audits that are in place right now, there are four of them on Ukraine funding. And we have to explain why is Ukraine so important. You know, what happens in Ukraine impacts Taiwan and Chairman Xi, that China's aligned with Russia, Iran and North Korea, against freedom, democracy in the West. And, you know, I think that's a debate we'll have, but I still feel very confident that we will give them the assistance they need. I'd like to see it faster, so they can win this faster.

MARGARET BRENNAN: So you- you think Matt Gaetz, Marjorie Taylor Greene, others who signed this, need to be educated?

REP. MCCAUL: You know, look, we took Marjorie Taylor Greene into a briefing. She was satisfied, I thought, with what- the controls that have been put in place on the spending, but I don't think that they will be- ever be persuaded that this cause is something that they would support. I think they have this false dichotomy that somehow we can't help Ukraine, you know, beat back the Russians who invaded their country, and- and secure the border. We can do both. We're a great nation. And the fact of the matter is, unfortunately, this administration has chosen not to secure the border. He can't even control and secure our airspace now, it looks like.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Congressman McCaul, thank you for your time today.

REP. MCCAUL: Thanks, Margaret. Thanks for having me.

Full panel: 4 governors on the state of their states

Full interview: New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan"

Full interview: Rep. Michael McCaul on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan"
A still from Robert Greene's "Bisbee '17"

A serious cultural milestone inches closer on the Columbia calendar.

With its return March 2-5, the True/False Film Fest will mark its 20th edition. What started as a homemade collaboration, a creative conspiracy shared by co-founders Paul Sturtz and David Wilson, stretched out to touch the entire filmmaking world  while somehow still feeling homemade.

Ostensibly a documentary film festival, True/False has explored the nature of reality through hundreds of offerings that twine techniques and avoid simplistic labels. These films imprint personal experiences and global issues upon their viewers, changing Columbia's perspective one story at a time.

With True/False's 20th anniversary looming, I thought it worthwhile to look back at my favorite films from the festival so far. Before I share my ledger, two important caveats: One, I didn't start attending True/False until 2008, my first spring in Columbia. So several years' worth of offerings are lost to me.

Second, this truly is my personal list. Every viewer cuts a different path through True/False, responding to uplifting crowd-pleasers, innovative shorts, slow and lyrical meditations (the latter tend to be my favorite). So 20 other lists might only share a film or two, if that. That's the beauty and the draw of a festival like this.

With all that in mind, here are my 20 favorite True/False films so far, in chronological order.

More:These 9 stories shaped Columbia's arts and culture scene in 2022

"The Order of Myths" (T/F 2008)

The film that made me a True/False believer and opened my eyes to what the festival can be. Director Margaret Brown excavated history  both her own, and that of her Mobile, Alabama hometown  to understand the how and why behind a community's two, segregated Mardi Gras celebrations.

"The Red Chapel" (T/F 2010)

Certain filmmakers become key characters at True/False, and this piece of documentary as performance art  or is it the other way around?  introduced me to merry Danish prankster Mads Brugger, who would show up at the fest with subsequent titles "The Ambassador" and "Cold Case Hammarskjold." Here, Brugger and his cohorts pass behind North Korean lines under the guise of presenting a theater performance. The film both mocks the country's authoritarian style and questions when you've gone too far in such a pursuit.

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"Troll Hunter" (T/F 2011)

The jig was up for anyone still clinging to notions of True/False as a purely nonfiction fest when this Norwegian film played its screens. Using a found-footage documentary style, writer-director Andre vredal created a deliciously silly, ever-satisfying romp in which a team of student filmmakers find more than they bargain for on a trek alongside local hunters.

"Searching for Sugar Man" (T/F 2012)

As a journalist and a music obsessive, I was all in on the late Malik Bendjelloul's Oscar-winning quest to find long-reclusive Detroit musician Sixto Rodriguez. "... Sugar Man" might be the best embodiment of what former colleague Pete Bland and others have described as the True/False gasp, a collective response to a film's reveal. Rodriguez's relationship with Columbia would extend, as he performed at the Roots N Blues festival that fall.

"The Act of Killing" (T/F 2013)

Initiating a story that would continue with a second True/False selection  2014's "The Look of Silence"  director Joshua Oppenheimer takes an unflinching, often grotesque look at an Indonesian national tragedy, seeking to foster something like forgiveness and reparation by asking killers to dramatize their crimes on-screen. The power of art to change, or perhaps simply better resemble, reality  a key theme of True/False  has never been better or more strikingly examined.

More:How 'Elvis', 'Marcel the Shell' and 'Tar' shine in 2022's best films

"Cutie and the Boxer" (T/F 2013)

"Cutie and the Boxer" co-star Ushio Shinohara makes an action painting across from the Missouri Theatre after the film's last screening on Sunday, March 3, 2013. Shinohara was in town with his wife, Noriko Shinohara, for the festival.

As adorable as they are irascible, artist couple Ushio and Noriko Shinohara from the center of this exploration of a decades-long marriage, creative competition and what it means both to be yourself and fit into your love. Come for beautiful explorations of art, stay for the quieter and more difficult look at human connection.

"Stories We Tell" (T/F 2013)

The stories we tell ourselves about ourselves shape so much of our living. In this quietly staggering offering, director Sarah Polley discovers the plot twist in the story of her parents' marriage, and her own coming into the world, and sifts the implications with honesty and the kind of fearlessness that only comes from facing your anxieties.

"Twenty Feet From Stardom" (T/F 2013)

Another eventual Oscar winner, this one from director Morgan Neville, shines the spotlight on all-time great background vocalists such as Merry Clayton and Darlene Love. Neville and Co. tell a powerful story about who the music industry keeps in the shadows, and the film offers more than a few breathtaking musical moments.

"Boyhood" (T/F 2014)

Known for films such as "Dazed and Confused" and the "Before ..." trilogy, writer-director Richard Linklater's decade-long labor of love came to True/False, weaving together a fictional family narrative with real risk and reward. Linklater filmed his cast (Ellar Coltrane, Ethan Hawke, Patricia Arquette and more) for more than a decade, observing how we age, change, separate and return to each other with soulful accuracy.

"Dusty Stacks of Mom" (T/F 2014)

Perhaps the True/False flick my friends and I still recall with the greatest fondness, Jodie Mack's completely original, completely enchanting project is several things at once: a love letter to her family's business, an innovative animation of real life, a test of our copyright system and a longform music video that rocks its entire runtime.

"Jodorowsky's Dune" (T/F 2014)

True/False loves audacious creators, and no filmmaker comes off more audacious than Alejandro Jodorowsky in this chronicle of his attempt to bring "Dune" to the big-screen long before David Lynch and Denis Villeneuve pulled off the task to varying degrees. Jodorowsky's grand, nearly impossible visions both inspire and madden, making the film a surprisingly glorious thrill ride.

"The Overnighters" (T/F 2014)

A North Dakota pastor's efforts to ease the busted promises of an oil boom leads to an unexpected collision between his past and present selves in director Jesse Moss' layered masterpiece. Faith, sexuality, the Biblical idea of loving one's neighbor, and distinctly American economic fractures come both into greater focus and obscurity.

More:Gang of Youths, Wild Pink, Florence and the Machine lead favorite albums of 2022

"Cartel Land" (T/F 2015)

This real-life action film from director Matthew Heineman documents the impact of local do-gooders and suspect militia types on the complex drug wars along the United States-Mexico border. "Cartel Land" features some of the most heart-pounding footage in True/False history, as well as a surprisingly thoughtful exploration of the tendency toward hero complexes.

"I Am Not Your Negro" (T/F 2017)

James Baldwin in "I Am Not Your Negro," a Magnolia Pictures release. [Courtesy Photo / Magnolia Pictures, photo credit Bob Adelman]

True/False typically keeps talking-head style documentaries to a minimum. But when the talking comes via historical footage of the forever-electric James Baldwin, the fest has something special on its hands. Raoul Peck's film makes an airtight case for Baldwin as the quintessential American writer and a social critic we must still heed today.

"Bisbee '17" (T/F 2018)

You can't tell filmmaker Robert Greene's story without mentioning True/False. Now the filmmaker-in-chief at the University of Missouri's Murray Center for Documentary Journalism, Greene was a frequent visitor, and a public cheerleader for the festival, before ever moving to Columbia. His work embodies the wonderful tensions at the core of True/False, examining whatever lines still exist between emotional and historical truth, performance and reality. To choose just one of Greene's films here feels diminishing, but perhaps this one  which finds residents of an Arizona border town recreating their community's worst moment in a gesture toward repentance and redemption  best represents his relationship with True/False.

"Shirkers" (T/F 2018)

Director Sandi Tan's autobiographical film examines the spark of creativity and decades-long effect of betrayal on her and her peers after an older mentor-type figure absconds with the film they all made together. Tan nimbly weaves interviews and recreations together, crafting a sad-eyed, stylized, sometimes thrilling narrative about the narratives we create.

"Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets" (T/F 2020)

The True Vision Award-winning, brotherly team of Bill and Turner Ross staged an on-screen wake for a dive bar in a film that wasn't necessarily fiction or documentary  more an inventive third thing  but rang true all the same. As I wrote at the time of its appearance, the Ross Brothers (whose lyrical "Western" is another of my True/False highlights) created one of the great 1970s character studies, approximately 50 years later.

"Dick Johnson is Dead" (T/F 2020)

This image released by Netflix shows Dick Johnson in a scene from "Dick Johnson is Dead." (Netflix via AP)

A miracle of tone and empathy, director Kirsten Johnson's effort portrays mortality on-screen in a way few filmmakers could. Staging her father's death, faking his funeral, and imagining the afterlife as a way of staving off the end, Johnson both offers a gorgeous tribute to a life still being well-lived, and inches toward the beautiful unknown, uniting appropriate measures of bravery and apprehension.

"Time" (T/F 2020)

A slow-burning blues rendered in beautiful black-and-white, Garrett Bradley's film follows a real-life superhero, Sibil Fox Richardson, and her family as they work from the outside in to see their family patriarch released from prison after an exorbitant sentence. Subtly stunning on both a visual and human level, Bradley makes us part of the family, stoking our outrage at the prison industrial complex, helping us feel every ounce of the Richardsons' affection and fatigue.

"Fire of Love" (T/F 2022)

Film still from "Fire of Love," directed by Sara Dosa

Real-life Wes Anderson characters move within an explosive natural drama in Sara Dosa's portrait of French volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft. "Fire of Love" is a romance picture  portraying the Kraffts' love story, and showing how it's inextricable from their shared love of these dynamic, fire-breathing features. As with the best True/False films, Dosa's work introduces us to people we might not get to know apart from the big screen.

More:True/False filmmaker Q&A: Sara Dosa on how 'Fire of Love' tells the 'ultimate love story'

Aarik Danielsen is the features and culture editor for the Tribune. Contact him at adanielsen@columbiatribune.com or by calling 573-815-1731. Find him on Twitter @aarikdanielsen.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Before True/False turns 20, a list of 20 terrific festival picks
Donald Trumps latest batch of documents turned over to the US Justice Department came after another subpoena was issued for the material, according to a new report.

The Guardian reported on Saturday that Mr Trumps handover of a laptop as well as an empty folder marked classified evening briefing and one document marked classified occurred after at least one of the items, the folder, was observed by an FBI source in the former presidents private residence.

That would likely mean the materials were not secured in the same fashion that others taken from a storage area and Mr Trumps private office were held; if so, it could potentially mean that prosecutors looking into whether Mr Trump or others mishandled classified materials have more ammunition to use. According to multiple news reports, the laptop seized by investigators was owned by one of Mr Trumps current aides.

The existence of a second subpoena is notable because it was the former presidents defiance of a previous subpoena that led to a shocking September FBI raid of his Mar-a-Lago resort and residence, an incident which kicked off a one-sided war of words between Mr Trump and the Justice Department.

The decisions of both Joe Biden and former Vice President Mike Pence to comply with investigators looking for similar materials at their respective residences has been credited by experts for the FBIs markedly different demeanour towards them. Both Mr Pence and Mr Biden recently submitted to FBI searches of their residences, after both men had previously announced the discovery of some classified materials and handed them over to the FBI.

A federal grand jury is reportedly hearing evidence related to the Mar-a-Lago documents search; Mr Trump also remains at the centre of other criminal investigations thanks to the efforts of the Justice Department to prosecute the participants in the January 6 insurrection, and the work of investigators in Georgia to examine the Trump campaigns efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

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Mr Trump remains a candidate for the presidency once again in 2024 and, as a result, the Justice Department has appointed a special counsel to determine whether he will face any criminal charges. His lawyers are now expected to fight the special counsels attempt to subpoena Mr Pence for testimony related to January 6.

The Houses now-defunt January 6 committee recommended that he be charged with several criminal counts, including giving comfort to an insurrection.

The former president has insisted that the investigations currently enveloping him are actually part of a long-running campaign by his various political enemies to stop him from seeking office, though he was handily defeated by Mr Biden in the 2020 election. His chosen candidates also suffered key defeats in November, leading to Republicans failing to capture the US Senate in the 2022 midterms.

His rhetoric against the FBI and Department of Justice was blamed last year in a joint FBI/DHS memo for rising threats of violence against federal law enforcement personnel.
Former President Donald Trump. Brandon Bell/Getty Images

The Trump campaign commissioned a firm to probe the 2020 election, but researchers came up empty, per The WaPo.

Roughly a dozen people at the Berkeley Research Group were part of a team analyzing Trump's claims.

The research didn't deliver what the Trump campaign sought and the findings were kept undisclosed.

A research firm hired by former President Donald Trump's 2020 campaign to validate the former president's claims of election fraud instead was unable to find evidence to support his theories, nor were the findings released to the public, according to The Washington Post.

The Berkeley Research Group was commissioned by the Trump campaign to analyze the voting data from six states to probe whether voter fraud or any irregularities had occurred during the 2020 election. Areas of focus for the probe were voter machine malfunctions, allegations that a mass of deceased individuals had voted in the election, and other evidence that could point to a Trump victory, per the report.

The Trump campaign envisioned using evidence from the report to bolster the then-president's claims in the public arena and in court.

But individuals with knowledge of the situation told The Post that the results didn't line up with what the Trump team had sought, and the research group's findings were subsequently not disclosed to the public.

Roughly a dozen people at the Berkeley Research Group were part of a team analyzing the Trump campaign's claims, per the report, which included econometricians, who utilize mathematics and statistics to model outcomes.

The work was completed after the November 2020 election, during the remaining weeks of that year, and right before the January 6, 2021, riot at the United States Capitol.

Since his loss to President Joe Biden, Trump has continued to insist that he was the true victor in the contest, despite the lack of evidence of any widespread fraud.

Biden won the key swing states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin  which were part of the Berkeley analysis  but all were long deemed to be highly competitive during that presidential cycle.

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"They looked at everything: change of addresses, illegal immigrants, ballot harvesting, people voting twice, machines being tampered with, ballots that were sent to vacant addresses that were returned and voted," said an individual familiar with the research who spoke with The Post.

"Literally anything you could think of. Voter turnout anomalies, date of birth anomalies, whether dead people voted. If there was anything under the sun that could be thought of, they looked at it," the individual added.

According to four individuals who spoke with the newspaper, the findings were not what Trump officials were expecting from the analysis.

The researchers felt that there were some voting anomalies in several of the states and pointed to particular laws which may have been sidestepped, but they didn't feel as though it was enough to change the outcome of the election.

An individual with knowledge of the findings told The Post that the Trump team pushed for at least a dozen hypotheses to be tested.

"None of these were significant enough," the individual told the newspaper. "Just like any election, there are always errors, omissions and irregularities. It was nowhere close enough to what they wanted to prove, and it actually went in both directions."

A spokesperson for Berkeley Research Group told The Post: "Our experts provide independent and objective factual analysis and as a matter of firm policy, we do not comment on client engagements or on privileged and confidential matters."

After the November 2022 midterms, which saw many pro-Trump election deniers stumble at the ballot box, the former president proceeded to launch his 2024 campaign.

Trump is so far the only declared major Republican in the contest. But it won't be for long, as former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is expected to join the GOP field on Wednesday at a campaign launch in Charleston.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Donald Trumps legal team recently turned over a folder bearing classified markings to the Justice Department that it said was found at the former president's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, a senior law enforcement official told NBC News.

Trump's lawyers told the the Justice Department it came from Mar-a-Lago, so they are going under that assumption, the official said, adding that the folder was found last month and Trump's lawyers turned it over voluntarily.

It is unclear what level of classification markings were on the folder or what it may have contained.

The folders discovery was first reported by ABC News on Friday.

The Justice Department has been engaged in ongoing efforts to recover classified documents from former presidents after a series of such documents were found in Trump's possession.

Last August, FBI agents executed a search warrant and recovered boxes containing more than 100 documents with classification markings after Trump's lawyers said hed returned all documents with classified markings from the White House, Justice Department officials said in court filings.

The FBI discovered an additional classified document at former Vice President Mike Pences Indiana home during a voluntary five-hour search of his house Friday.

Pence had reported finding a small number of classified documents in his home last month. That came after Obama-era classified documents were found in President Joe Biden's Delaware home and an office he used in Washington, D.C., during the Trump administration.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
By Tarek Amara

TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisian police on Sunday arrested two former judges who were dismissed by President Kais Saied last year, a lawyer and local media said, in the second day of a wave of detentions of prominent people, including politicians and a businessman.

Bechir Akremi and Tayeb Rached, who were among the dozens of judges and members of the judiciary sacked in 2022, were detained by police, Anouar Awled Ali, a lawyer close to the cases, told Reuters.

The local Mosaique FM radio network said Akremi's arrest was linked to the investigation into the assassination a decade ago of Chokri Belaid, a political activist. It added that Rached's arrest was due to suspicion of financial corruption.

On Saturday, police detained a number of people on suspicion of conspiracy against state security. Among those arrested was former Finance Minister Khayam Turki, Abd El Hamid Jlassi, a former senior official in the Ennahda Islamist party, and Kamel Ltaif, a businessman with close ties to successive coalition governments.

A spokesperson for the Interior Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the arrests.

Ennahda, the biggest opposition party, said the arrests were aimed at intimidating opponents of Tunisia's president.

Rights groups have voiced increasing concern over political freedoms in Tunisia since Saied's seizure of most powers in 2021 and his moves to assume ultimate authority over the judiciary.

Saied's political opponents, whom he has labelled traitors, have accused him of a coup aimed at dismantling the democracy built after a 2011 revolution.

The president has denied those accusations, saying his moves were lawful and necessary to save Tunisia from chaos. He has promised to uphold rights and freedoms won in the revolution.

Over recent months, authorities have arrested or opened investigations into several of Saied's political opponents.

(Reporting by Tarek Amara; Editing by Paul Simao)
ANTAKYA, Turkey (Reuters) - A Turkish soldier climbed into the bucket of an excavator on Saturday to search an earthquake-damaged home in Antakya for a cell phone belonging to a 75-year-old woman who feared her son was dead after five days without contact.

The woman, who gave her name as Mama Busra, had asked aid workers to find her phone and was waiting to call her son in a nearby park where tents were set up for those left homeless by last week's devastating earthquake.

Responding to her plea, Murathan Adil, a special ops soldier who had come to the southern city from Ankara to help with rescues, was raised to the second-floor balcony of the remains of her building.

On a narrow street turned into a cul-de-sac by the quake's destruction, the building's basement had collapsed, its facade had partially caved in, windows were smashed and cracks exposed.

Once Adil reached the balcony, another rescue worker inside handed him a red bag containing Mama Busra's belongings, including her phone, before the excavator lowered him back down.

Pausing briefly to help load bodies dug from neighbouring buildings onto a hearse, Adil headed to the park where Mama Busra waited anxiously.

The phone's battery had died before she could call her son. But another person in the small building in the park heard the name of her son and said he knew him, and that he was alive and well.

The person dialed the son's number on his phone. He answered - and Mama Busra broke into tears hearing her son's voice for the first time since the earthquake struck five days earlier.

"It's like you gave me the world," Mama Busra said of the moment she heard her son's voice.

(Reporting by Ali Kucukgocmen; Writing by Jonathan Spicer; Editing by Jan Harvey)
Photo: The Canadian Press Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau

UPDATE: 11:25 a.m.

Canadian recovery teams are searching the Yukon wilderness for the remnants of an object shot down by American military planes Saturday afternoon and which the United States is now identifying as a small surveillance balloon.

"Recovery teams" are searching for the downed object, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Sunday, so they can analyze it.

"There's still much to know about it," he said. "That's why the analysis of this object is going to be very important."

The prime minister spoke to reporters briefly at the airport before boarding a plane bound for Yukon on a trip that was planned before Saturday's incident but will now include meetings with local government and Indigenous leaders about what happened.

Defence Minister Anita Anand said Saturday the object was "potentially similar" to the Chinese spy balloon destroyed off the coast of South Carolina on Feb. 4.

That belief was confirmed Sunday morning by U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who told ABC"s Sunday morning news show that U.S. national security officials believe the Yukon object, and another one shot down over Alaska Friday, were also surveillance balloons.

"They believe they were, yes, but much smaller than the first one," Schumer said on "This Week."

The undercarriage of the first balloon, which contains the surveillance equipment, was located mostly intact in the water on Friday, but efforts to extract it were delayed until at least Monday because of rough seas.

That first balloon was described as being about the size of three school buses and weighing about 450 kg.

The second object that was shot down over Alaska Friday was said to be about the size of a small car. It has not yet been recovered.

No size estimate has yet been given on the third one shot down over Yukon. Anand's office did not immediately respond to queries Sunday about the recovery mission.

The initial balloon was flying at about 18,000 metres, which is higher than most civilian aircraft. The second and third were spotted at altitudes of about 12,000 metres, which is at the top end of the normal cruising height for more commercial airplanes.

Trudeau said at that height, the object over Yukon "represented a reasonable threat to civilian aircraft, so I gave the order to take it down."

The object was about 160 km from the Alaskan border when it was destroyed. It was first detected Friday night over Alaska, and two U.S. F-22 fighter jets were scrambled to intercept, identify and track it.

The North American Aerospace Defence Command publicly revealed its presence over northern Canada on Saturday afternoon. Both American and Canadian military jets were scrambled to take it out under the command of NORAD.

It was shot down a short time later by one of the U.S. F-22s.

Canadian and U.S. authorities have had little to say about the objects or their intended purpose beyond surveillance. China has insisted the first balloon was a meteorological surveillance balloon that accidentally drifted off course and into the U.S.

U.S. officials said the first balloon originated in China, and over the course of less than a week travelled across Alaska, through parts of Canada into Montana and then across the continental U.S. until it was shot down off the coast of South Carolina near Myrtle Beach.

Trudeau spoke to U.S. President Joe Biden Saturday about the situation, but had little to say to Canadians watching the events with concern.

"You can know that this is something that NORAD and Canada and the United States are taking extremely seriously, and we will continue to keep people informed as we know more," he said.

UPDATE: 8:05 a.m.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he ordered an unidentified cylindrical object shot down over central Yukon Saturday because it posed a threat to civilian planes and potentially to Canadians.

Trudeau says Canada and the United States are taking the situation "extremely seriously."

Saturday's incident marks the third time this month the U.S. military shot down an object, but the first time one was destroyed over Canadian territory.

A suspected Chinese spy balloon was shot down off the coast of North Carolina on Feb. 5, and on Friday the U.S. military shot down an object described as being the size of a small car over Alaska.

Trudeau says after the North American Aerospace Defence Command identified a third object flying over northern Canada Saturday afternoon, he made the order to have it shot down as well.

Trudeau is leaving for Whitehorse this morning on a trip planned before the object was destroyed, but his meetings will now include discussions with leaders there about the incident.

ORIGINAL: 7:35 a.m.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to answer questions about a "cylindrical object'' shot down over central Yukon when he visits the territory Sunday for a previously scheduled trip to Whitehorse.

Shortly after North American Aerospace Defence Command publicly revealed the presence of the object over Northern Canada Saturday afternoon, Trudeau tweeted he had ordered it taken down, posting both Canadian and U.S. aircraft were scrambled, and a U.S. F-22 successfully fired at the object.

Trudeau added that he had been in touch with U.S. President Joe Biden, and a summary of the conversation released by the White House said the two leaders authorized the object be shot down at the recommendation of their militaries.

The Canadian Armed Forces is in the process of recovering and analyzing the wreckage.

At a hastily arranged news conference Saturday evening, Defence Minister Anita Anand said it was too early to tell whether the object was from China, although she did say it was "potentially similar" to the Chinese spy balloon destroyed on Feb. 5 off the coast of North Carolina.

Chief of the defence staff Gen. Wayne Eyre referred to the object as a "balloon'' during the same news conference.

The object is the third known to have violated North American airspace in the past two weeks, but the first whose presence has been revealed while it was flying over Canada.
Two people were rushed to the hospital for stab wounds after an alleged double stabbing in Jaimaca Plain Saturday afternoon.

According to police, officers responded to reports of a person stabbed at 5 Woodside Ave in Jamaica Plain.

Before police arrived at the scene, two victims ran into the District 13 police station located at 3347 Washington Street, Jamaica Plain suffering from stab wounds.

Both victims were transported to separate Boston hospitals.

Victim 1, an adult female, was stabbed multiple times and was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Victim 2 was also stabbed multiple times and is expected to survive.

Investigators were later spotted in the backyard of a house at the intersection of Forest Hills Road and Glen Road.

Police say they arrested one minor in the area of Glen Road.

She was taken to the hospital and charged with murder.

According to the Suffolk County District Attorney, she will be arraigned on murder charges in the Roxbury location of Boston Municipal Court Monday morning.

The investigation into the incident is ongoing.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Boston Police at (617) 343-4470.

Here is a crime scene in the backyard of a house at the intersection of Forest Hills Road and Glen Street in #JamaicaPlain #Boston25 pic.twitter.com/3vWincjPq9  James Cullity (@JCullityNews) February 12, 2023

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
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. James Park/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The U.S. military shot down an "unidentified object" in Canada's Yukon Territory, officials from both countries said late Saturday.

In a series of tweets, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that he "ordered the takedown of an unidentified object that violated Canadian airspace." Following Trudeau's order, "Canadian and U.S. aircraft were scrambled, and a U.S. F-22 successfully fired at the object," the prime minister said.

Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand added that the object had been flying at about 40,000 feet when it was shot down about 100 miles north of the U.S.-Canada border.

Trudeau added that he spoke with President Biden about the incident, and Canadian military officials will begin efforts to recover the object.

Details about the object have not been revealed, though it was described as a "small metallic balloon" carrying an unspecified payload, senior U.S. officials told Fox News on Sunday.

According to a statement from the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), the object was first detected over Alaska on Friday before it moved into Canadian airspace. USA Today noted that the Pentagon operates a number of military facilities in Alaska, including radar systems designed to track and intercept unknown flying objects.

It is unclear if the events in Canada were related to a series of other objects that have been shot down in recent days.

This includes a separate unidentified object shot down over Alaska on Friday, as well as a Chinese spy balloon that was shot down last weekend off the coast of South Carolina. Details on all three incidents remain slim, but NORAD said it will continue to monitor for any additional activity in the skies.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) told ABC News' This Week that he believed all three objects were balloons, though military officials have not confirmed this.

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The Great Lakes of North America. Planet Observer/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

U.S. military officials on Sunday told NBC News that a U.S. F-16 fighter jet had shot down an unidentified object over Lake Huron  the fourth flying object to be downed in North American airspace in under two weeks.

The operation was additionally confirmed by Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), who first tweeted that the military was keeping "an extremely close eye on the object above Lake Huron," and later added that the object had been "downed by pilots from the U.S. Air Force and National Guard."

This marks the third day in a row that an unidentified object was destroyed in the skies of North America.

This past Friday, officials said President Biden had ordered a "high-altitude object" flying over Alaska to be taken out by fighter pilots. The mystery continued on Saturday when U.S. fighter pilots shot down another unidentified object that had entered Canada's Yukon Territory, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said.

All of this comes on the heels of a Chinese spy balloon that was shot down last week off the coast of South Carolina, after making its way across a wide swath of the United States. This balloon was recovered by the U.S. Navy, and officials said it will be examined by the American intelligence community.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) told ABC News' This Week prior to the Lake Huron incident that he believed all three objects shot down were balloons. However, this has not been confirmed by U.S. officials.

Schumer added that lawmakers should look into the origins of these objects.

"I think our military, our intelligence is doing a great job, present and future," Schumer said. "I feel a lot of confidence in what they are doing. But why as far back as the Trump administration did no one know about this?"

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The U.S. military on Sunday shot down another unidentified object, this time over the Great Lakes region, federal and state officials said Sunday.

A congressional source briefed on the matter told CBS News the Defense Department is confident there has been no collateral damage. Later Sunday, the Defense Department confirmed there was no collateral damage.

On Feb. 4, the U.S. downed a balloon over the coast of South Carolina that had drifted across the U.S. over several days. That balloon had originated in China, and the U.S. said it carried surveillance equipment. China has insisted the balloon was an airship that had blown off course and that the U.S. had "overreacted" by shooting it down. A U.S. official on Monday said the salvage operation off the coast of South Carolina has recovered a "significant" portion  about 30 to 40 feet  of the Chinese balloon's antenna array from the bottom of the ocean.

Sunday's shootdown marked the third unidentified object to be shot down over the U.S. and Canada in three days and fourth overall this month. U.S. officials downed a "high-altitude object" flying over Alaska on Friday, and an unidentified object was shot down by Canada on Saturday.

China on Monday claimed U.S. balloons have entered its airspace "more than ten times" since 2022, Agence France-Presse reports. Foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said during a briefing that the U.S. should "change its course and introspect itself rather than smear and accuse China."

But the White House quickly denied the allegations. "Any claim that the US government operates surveillance balloons over the PRC is false. It is China that has a high-altitude surveillance balloon program for intelligence collection, that it has used to violate the sovereignty of the US and over 40 countries across 5 continents," National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson tweeted, referring to China's formal name of the People's Republic of China.

Story continues

The Pentagon is seen from Air Force One as it flies over Washington, March 2, 2022. U.S. officials say an

Melissa Dalton, assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense and hemispheric affairs, said Sunday that the recent objects did not pose a military threat, but their path and proximity to sensitive Defense Department sites, and the altitude they were flying, could be a hazard to civilian aviation.

Both Dalton and Gen. Glen VanHerck, commander of U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORTHCOM/NORAD), said that the U.S. military has not been able to determine what these objects are. When asked by reporters if the objects could be extraterrestrials, VanHerck said they haven't "ruled out anything."

Dalton said that since the original Chinese spy balloon was spotted, the U.S. has been more closely scrutinizing airspace at higher altitudes, including enhancing the radar.

A senior Biden administration official said that NORTHCOM/NORAD on Saturday had detected another radar contact over Montana. By Sunday, the military acquired a radar contact, and detected that the unmanned object from Montana was over Wisconsin and Michigan. VanHerck said it was likely, but not yet confirmed, that it was the same object over Montana and the Great Lakes region.

The object was about 20,000 feet over Lake Huron, the senior administration official said.

The object's path and altitude raised concerns, the administration official said, and, out of an abundance of caution, President Biden ordered it shot down. There was no indication that the object had surveillance capabilities  but that cannot be ruled out, the official said. It was not assessed to be a military threat to anything on the ground, the official added.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said the Michigan National Guard "stands ready," and that she has been in contact with the federal government about the object.

"I've been in contact with DOD regarding operations across the Great Lakes region today," tweeted Rep. Jack Bergman, who represents Michigan's Upper Peninsula and other northern parts of the state. "The US military has decommissioned another 'object' over Lake Huron."

Rep. Elissa Slotkin said the "object has been downed by pilots from the U.S. Air Force and National Guard."

"We're all interested in exactly what this object was and it's purpose," Slotkin tweeted. "As long as these things keep traversing the US and Canada, I'll continue to ask for Congress to get a full briefing based on our exploitation of the wreckage."

On Saturday, the Federal Aviation Administration temporarily closed some airspace in Montana for "Department of Defense activities," starting around 4:20 p.m. PT for about an hour.

NORAD later said in a statement that the closure was due to the detection of a "radar anomaly," and that NORAD "sent fighter aircraft to investigate." However, the aircraft "did not identify any object to correlate to the radar hits."

Canada's Defense Minister Anita Anand tweeted Sunday that they "unequivocally support this action.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told "This Week" on Sunday that it was "wild" that the U.S. was unaware of these balloons until now.

"Now they are learning a lot more," Schumer said. "And the military and the intelligence are focused like a laser on, first, gathering and accumulating the information, then coming up with a comprehensive analysis of what went on before, what's going on now, and what could go on in the future. You can be sure that if any, any American interests or people are at risk, they'll take appropriate action."

David Martin, Eleanor Watson, Faris Tanyos, Rebecca Kaplan, Kristin Brown and Nancy Cordes contributed to this report.

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Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Reuters/Wikimedia Commons

The U.S. military on Sunday shot down an object over Lake Huron in Michiganthe latest takedown of an unidentified vessel flying over North America in the last week, U.S. officials said Sunday.

The object was shot down over concerns about its potential surveillance capabilities, the Department of Defense said Sunday in a statement. But the Pentagon has yet to determine where the object came from and what it was doing, according to two U.S. officials.

The DOD said it downed the object at approximately 20,000 feet altitude with an F-16. Prior to engaging, Canadian and U.S. aircraft both investigated the object, Canadas minister of national defense, Anita Anand, said Sunday. Lake Huron borders Michigan and the Canadian province of Ontario.

The DOD clarified that the objects path and altitude raised concerns, including that it could be a hazard to civil aviation, noting that it did not appear to pose a kinetic military threat to anything on the ground.

The location chosen for the shoot down minimized the chances of civilian injury while maximizing those of debris recovery, according to the Pentagon. There are no indications of any civilians hurt or otherwise affected, it said.

This is the fourth object the U.S. military has taken down in the last week. The unprecedented flurry of activity has raised questions about the U.S. governments capability to track potential threats in American skies, and what nationor other entitymay be responsible for the objects. Pressure has mounted for the Biden administration to secure U.S. airspace following the appearance of a Chinese spy balloon earlier this month over the continental United States, which the military shot down after allowing it to float across the country for a few days.

Although the DOD assessed the first object as a spy balloon, questions remain about the other recently downed objects, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Hemispheric Affairs Melissa Dalton told reporters in a briefing Sunday evening.

Story continues

We have not yet been able to definitively assess what the objects are, Dalton said.

Suspicions have grown about whether the DOD is shooting down alien-linked objects in the absence of other assessments about their nature and purpose. When asked Sunday evening about whether the objects were extraterrestrial in nature, the commander of NORAD and USNORTHCOM, Gen. Glen VanHerck, declined to rule out alien origins and deferred comment to the intelligence community.

Ill let the intel community and the counterintelligence community figure that out. I havent ruled out anything, at this point. We continue to assess every threat or potential threat unknown that approaches North America with an attempt to identify [it], VanHerck said.

The DOD declined to categorize other recently downed objects as balloons on Sunday, noting that there are still unknowns about the objects and how they are moving that the Pentagon is trying to determine.

I am not able to categorize how they stay aloft, VanHerck told reporters in the same briefing. It could be a gaseous type of balloon inside a structure or it could be some type of propulsion system. But clearly, theyre theyre able to stay aloft.

On Friday, the U.S. military shot down an object over Alaska, and then shot down another one over Canada the next day. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) confirmed on Sunday morning that those two objects are believed to be more surveillance balloons, based on his briefing from President Joe Bidens national security adviser Jake Sullivan.

As questions bubble up about what objects are floating over the country, the United States government has increased its attempt to track U.S. airspace since the Chinese spy balloon appeared last week, which may help to explain the increase in shoot-downs of objects over the United States, Dalton said.

In light of the Peoples Republic of China balloon that we took down last Saturday, we have been more closely scrutinizing our airspace at these altitudes including enhancing our radar, which may at least partly explain the increase in objects that we've detected over the past week, Dalton said.

Chinas Spy Balloon Isnt as Low Tech as You Think

Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) seemed to indicate in a tweet that the item shot down on Sunday is the same one that had invaded Montanas airspace and triggered a brief closure of airspace over the state on Saturday.

The DOD said that it could reasonably connect the Lake Huron object to the radar signal in Montana, which flew in proximity to an unspecified number of sensitive sites.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Today more than 300 sailors returned home to Naval Station Mayport as the U.S.S the Sullivans docked.

Loved ones reunited after a long-awaited back-to-back deployment. Family and friends gathered at Naval Station Mayport with open arms and tears of joy.

Its surreal, said Channie Jones.

>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<

This means everything to me, said Juliette Dozier.

Juliette Dozier came with poster in hand, waiting for her sons arrival. She said this is a special moment.

I can really celebrate him and let him know that Im celebrating him for everythings hes done for his country for his family and how much I love him, said Dozier.

Today marked the end of several missions in the Middle East.

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

Im ready- just to have him home, doing normal stuff, you know, being there for everyday life, said Jones.

The ship traveled on three back-to-back deployments, and now its back at Naval Station Mayport.

The crew navigated over 29,000 nautical miles to help ensure maritime security and stability in the middle east.

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The commanding officer of U.S.S the Sullivans said they had some complex operations, but the team handled it really well.

The team came together and crushed it from start to finish, said James Diefenderfer. Really proud of them. Glad that theyre getting to see their families today. Its fantastic to be home.

Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
By Michelle Nichols

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States on Sunday called for the United Nations Security Council to "vote immediately" to authorize the delivery of U.N. aid to rebel-held northwest Syria through more border crossings from Turkey after last week's deadly earthquake.

Since 2014 the U.N. has been able to deliver aid to millions of people in need in the northwest part of war-torn Syria through Turkey under a Security Council mandate. But it is currently restricted to using just one border crossing.

"Right now, every hour matters," Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., said in a statement to Reuters. "People in the affected areas are counting on us."

"We cannot let them down - we must vote immediately on a resolution to heed the U.N.'s call for authorization of additional border crossings for the delivery of humanitarian assistance," she said. "It's time to move with urgency and purpose."

U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths, who is in Turkey and is due to visit Syria, told Sky News on Saturday that he would ask the Security Council to authorize aid access through two more border crossings, arguing there is "a very clear humanitarian case."

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday pushed for more access.

'FAILED'

On the 15-member Security Council, Brazil and Switzerland take the lead on negotiating any action related to the Syria humanitarian aid access issue. Diplomats said no draft resolution has yet been circulated to authorize more crossings.

The death toll from the earthquake last week in Turkey and Syria passed 33,000 on Sunday. Of the 3,500 deaths so far reported in Syria, where the number has not been updated for two days, the bulk occurred in the northwest part of the country.

A resolution would need nine votes in favor and no vetoes by Russia, China, the United States, Britain or France to pass. Syrian ally Russia has said that the existing council mandate for a single border crossing was sufficient.

Story continues

The Syrian government views aid deliveries across its border without its approval as a violation of sovereignty and says aid should be delivered across the frontlines of the 12-year-old civil war. On Friday it approved aid deliveries across frontlines.

But the U.N. said on Sunday that earthquake aid from government-held parts of Syria into the northwest part of the country has been held up by "approval issues" with one hardline group.

The ambassadors of Brazil and Switzerland said on Friday they wanted Griffiths to brief the Security Council before any action was discussed. Diplomats said Griffiths is likely to speak to it on Monday.

Griffiths on Sunday visited the one Turkish border crossing that the U.N. is currently authorized to use to deliver aid to northwest Syria, where the some 4 million people needed help before the earthquake struck the region.

"We have so far failed the people in northwest Syria," Griffiths said in a post on Twitter.

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Paul Simao)
On March 10, 2012, in his third professional fight, Yair Rodriguez won by a triangle choke, submitting Carlos Ricardo in Monterrey, Mexico.

On Saturday in Perth, Australia, as he was warming up for an interim featherweight title bout against Josh Emmett in the co-main event of UFC 284, he thought of that triangle choke.

And a few minutes later, he went out and, in the performance of his lifetime, pulled off that exact submission to tap out Emmett and become the interim featherweight champion.

I did that in one of my fights a long time ago, and I learned the adjustment the same day of the fight, Rodriguez said after getting the submission at 4:19 of the second. And I remembered that today.

Yair Rodriguez submits Josh Emmett to claim interim featherweight gold  #UFC284 pic.twitter.com/96CEpFEhh4  ESPN MMA (@espnmma) February 12, 2023

The way Rodriguez fought, though, it was only a matter of time before he got Emmett. He was brilliant, better than hes ever been, and was beating a highly respected opponent all over the cage.

He threw all sorts of kicks, hurting Emmett twice with thudding shots to the body. He threw punches and elbows and knees, and even when he was down, he worked from a closed guard and continued his offensive attack.

Yair Rodriguez of Mexico reacts after his submission victory over Josh Emmett in the UFC interim featherweight championship fight Saturday in Australia. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

It was one of those performances in which very good fighters raise their games when the stakes are highest and ascend to the next level.

Even when Emmett cracked him with a blistering right counter in the first, Rodriguez remained calm and in control. He fought off his back for the last 50 seconds of the first, and, if nothing else, he sent a message to Emmett that there would be no easy moments in the bout.

Right before the finish, he caught Emmett with a leaping knee to the side of his face. Both went down, with Emmett on top. But showing the poise of a veteran, Rodriguez worked calmly and did some damage before throwing up the triangle.

Story continues

It was only his fourth submission and his first in the UFC.

And it came at the best possible time.
British weapons and military equipment could be made in Ukraine, with negotiations already underway.

Source: The Telegraph

Details: The Telegraph has reported that senior UK defence industry officials are discussing the plans with their counterparts in Kyiv, with any deal likely to be seen as a significant strengthening of Britains relationship with Ukraine.

It is also noted that British executives have travelled there with a view to setting up joint ventures that would manufacture arms and vehicles locally under licence.

Other European defence companies are also in talks with Ukraine, with British companies keen not to be beaten to the punch by French and German rivals. A race is on to put the UK "at the front of the queue".

Any joint venture is likely to require sign-off from UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Russia has repeatedly threatened retaliation against the West for sending arms to Ukraine, and any manufacturing support is likely to further inflame tensions.

On Saturday night, Downing Street and the Ministry of Defence declined to comment, saying it was a matter for industry.

Background:

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak signed the UKUkraine Declaration of Unity (London Declaration) during Zelenskyys visit to the UK on Wednesday, 8 February. The declaration aims to deepen cooperation between Kyiv and London.

Zelenskyy has also said the United Kingdom is ready to provide Ukraine with a powerful defence package, which includes inter alia long-range weapons.

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What Ukraine needs to defeat Putin in 2023 Ukraine tank soldiers - Mustafa Ciftci/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Its possible to take a dark view of the Ukraine war. The astonishing courage and sacrifice of the Ukrainians has stopped the Russian onslaught when very few, initially, thought this could be done. But now the fighting has stabilised into an attritional bloodbath. Putin is assembling a new invasion army, ready to launch a fresh offensive in the spring. Some Western experts believe that Russian successes are imminent.

And yet the war in Ukraine has also exposed Russias weaknesses. Firstly it has become clear that Russian air power is a mere shadow of what the West had thought it to be. Neither side has been able to make much use of the skies during the fighting, which has created a unique, strangely old-fashioned combat environment on the ground  one very different to that seen in recent conflicts such as the Gulf War, the Iraq invasion and the destruction of Colonel Gaddafis army in Libya.

Russias air forces were thought to have some of the worlds most advanced aircraft, weapons and sensors at their disposal, together with the knowledge to employ them effectively above Ukraine.

Yet those forces have made little contribution other than in the wars earliest days. Ukraines occasional air sorties across the battle lines have proved so costly that they, too, are rare.

So far there has been a lot of talk about supplying Ukraine with Western jets  but only talk, despite President Zelenskys difficult-to-refuse requests for English planes this week.

Sadly the practical reality is that getting Ukrainian pilots and ground crew trained to operate Western planes would take a long time: and Britain, at least, simply doesnt have any suitable jets to send. This week the Prime Minister suggested nothing is off the table when it comes to supplying the Ukrainian air force, although in reality the timescale for producing combat-ready pilots trained to fly and fight with Nato procedures is measured in months or even years.

In this unique situation there may be purely ground-based ways to break the current stalemate - or at least to knock the Russians back. Some in the West believe that the Russians might be driven back not just to their start lines of 2022, but those of 2014. That means recapturing the Crimean peninsula and the Donbas.

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One way the West could perhaps help Ukraine achieve this lofty ambition is to supply the Ukrainians with more powerful battlefield weapons than it has done so far. Among other things, the Ukrainians have asked for 300 modern, Western-built main battle tanks (MBTs). The West has pledged to hand around 130 such vehicles to Ukraines armies to date.

Shock action: speed and power

Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a former British tank officer, believes that a division-sized armoured force equipped with Western tanks could mean a swift Ukrainian victory.

If there are 130 Western tanks, a brigade, I think the Ukrainians can successfully defend against any spring offensive that the Russians might mount, he says.

When it comes to defeating the Russians, I think that's where you need a tank division, which is 300 tanks. A division can move very rapidly through static Russian lines to get behind them in the Crimea and the Donbas and cut off their lines of communication: attacking them in effect from the rear where they're weakest.

That could all happen very rapidly. The whole thing about shock action is its speed and power. But it's essential that tanks are supported by infantry and artillery.

That is why I'm being fairly upbeat and saying, yes, an armoured tank division could defeat the Russians. A tank brigade would at least prevent the Russians getting any further. I think there is a chance for optimism.

Col de Bretton-Gordon is not alone. Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, a former commander of the US Army in Europe, also believes that a division-sized Ukrainian armoured force could sweep the Russians out of Crimea, especially if it had long-ranging ATACMS missiles at its disposal. Gen Hodges does not think that the Ukrainians would need all 300 tanks to be Western: he considers that many could be Ukrainian tanks or captured Russian ones.

The decision by the UK to send a limited number of our current Challenger 2 MBTs is to be endorsed, even by those who doubt that MBTs in general and Challengers in particular are a sensible way for the West to spend its money.

Unleash the Leopards

Leopard 2 tanks will dramatically boost Ukraine's firepower - Alex Kraus/Bloomberg

The decision may be no more than a gesture  and at the moment Britain has committed to sending just 14 Challengers  but it is the right gesture to make. It shows that we stand with the Ukrainians: that we are not cowed by Putins bluster.

Rishi Sunaks pledge of Challengers also helped jostle timid German politicians into making the right decisions regarding the hugely more important German-made Leopard II MBT. Many nations apart from Germany have the Leopard, but are bound by their purchase agreements not to pass their tanks on to anyone else without German permission.

International pressure has helped bounce German chancellor Olaf Scholz into doing the right thing, argues William Alberque, director of strategy and arms control at the International Institute of Strategic Studies. There may also be internal political factors in play.

Scholz is trying to position himself against an incredibly popular foreign minister, says Alberque.

Now that the Germans have finally agreed, hundreds of Leopards have potentially become available to the Ukrainians.

It is also important to point out that MBTs and their various supporting weapons and systems are things that the Ukrainians can credibly operate for themselves, and do so soon. Armoured force on the ground is perhaps the most powerful technology the Nato powers can give to Ukraine quickly.

Its also worth noting that the Challenger 2, as far as the UK is concerned, is now obsolescent. Very few tank experts outside the UK were supporters even when it was new. It finally struggled into service with the British army at the end of the 90s after being held up for years by failures in reliability testing  and, unlike the highly regarded German Leopard, failed to find much of an export market.

The Omanis did buy 38 Challenger 2s off the drawing board but once the tank was actually in operation, nobody else could be persuaded to take any.

Col de Bretton-Gordon has previously argued that the Challenger 2 is reliable and that his own command tank once went 2,500 miles without breaking down. Nonetheless, spare parts availability is an absolutely crucial factor in armoured warfare.

Ammunition supplies are also vital, adds General Sir Richard Shirreff, former British tank officer and ex deputy commander of Nato.

Remember that what we're seeing here is usage on a Second World War, if not higher, scale, says the general.

Particularly artillery; massive use of artillery. And the challenge here is that the Western armies post-Cold War have effectively revised down their war stocks, their anticipated requirements and their daily ammunition expenditure estimates. Defence companies have reduced production. And so there's going to be a big gap.

Gen Shirreff is nonetheless bullish on the prospects for a substantial armoured force in Ukrainian hands, saying that Western MBTs will wipe the floor with the Russians.

I think what the Ukrainians are going to aim for is a couple of targeted attacks to break the Russian lines in the areas where theyre weakest and run into their rear areas and be able to roll them right up towards the Russian border in the Donbas region, he says.

Diverse Western tank offers bring their own set of challenges, however, as Gen Shirreff and others have cautioned. Nobody really wants to operate an armoured division with many types of MBT in it. The point of Britain and Americas promises on Challenger and Abrams was to get the Germans to unleash the Leopards, as the Ukrainians put it.

We were getting rid of our Challengers anyway

Until quite recently, Britain had no plan to replace the Challenger when it retired. Since 2021, the aim has been to modify and upgrade 148 of our 270-odd Challenger 2s, creating the Challenger 3. Our remaining MBTs will be sent to the boneyard, occasionally to be mined for spare parts to keep the Challenger 3s serviceable.

We are effectively sending the Ukrainians cast-offs, even as they charge around the plains of Bovingdon to familiarise themselves with their new steeds. Indeed, if the Ukrainians get enough Leopards they may not need to use British Challengers: nor the US Abrams, which is very powerful but as high maintenance as the Challenger, and extremely fuel-hungry owing to its gas turbine engine.

The Ukraine war bears little resemblance to a conventional conflict between Nato and Russia, which is what the tanks being supplied to Ukraine were largely designed to fight in. It is unlike any occasion in living memory when Western forces have faced Russian/Soviet tanks in battle.

During the fighting in Libya in 2011, and in the Iraq invasion of 2003, and during the first Gulf War of 1991, Western countries including the US, the UK and various other nations went to war against Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi. The dictators armies were equipped with ex-Soviet armour, like the Ukrainians and the Russians today  albeit the Russians today have somewhat more up-to-date models.

Britain's Challenger 2 is effectively a high maintenance cast-off - Ben Birchall/PA Wire

In all three wars, Western air power swiftly smashed the enemy air defences and took control of the skies above the battlefield. This was increasingly done with advanced weapons such as the Tomahawk cruise missile. Libyas air defences were neutralised almost entirely by Tomahawk.

Control of the skies mattered as the smart weapons age dawned in 1991. It became possible at that time for Western forces to make a direct hit on a pinpoint target (such as a tank) from high altitude, above the reach of all but the heaviest enemy anti-aircraft missiles, almost every time. Over the last few decades, manned jets have become largely unnecessary for this sort of mission: drones such as the Reaper nowadays do a lot of the tank-busting.

The enemy armour in all three of those post-1991 wars was wiped out en masse from the sky. Smart weapons had not yet become ubiquitous at that point and a limited amount of tank-on-tank fighting did take place back then, but even in 1991 the enemy armour was defeated mostly from above.

Its reasonable to suggest that in Britain we should be buying Tomahawk missiles and Reaper drones, not Challenger 3s: nor the planned Tempest optionally manned jets, either. And we should perhaps stop using so much of our shrinking army in attempts to man up our own largely fictional division-sized tank force, the more so as our generals openly admit that only a third of it  one brigade  is actually combat-worthy. Our previous plan, of not bothering with MBTs any more after the Challenger 2, made perfect sense in the pre-Ukraine War world.

The situation is different for the Ukrainians, however. Initially, most experts expected Russia to dominate Ukrainian airspace as the West did above Iraq and Libya, leading to a similarly inevitable defeat for the Ukrainian ground forces. Russia had, and still has, hundreds of apparently powerful combat aircraft stationed in the region. The Ukrainian air force was, and still is, tiny and obsolete.

But it turned out that Russian air power is largely mythical. Rather than strong Russian air-dominance forces systematically hunting and smashing Ukrainian air defences, so allowing their strike aircraft to operate freely above the battlefield, Russian planes to this day go over Ukrainian-held territory only in handfuls.

As a result Russian ground attack pilots fly very low because they fear being shot down by Western-supplied Ukrainian surface-to-air missiles. Surviving Ukrainian pilots and drone operators, surprisingly active despite the odds against them, must also fly low, as Ukraines airspace at high levels is menaced by heavy, long-ranging Russian anti-aircraft missiles, the S-300 and S-400, mainly based over the borders in Russia and Belarus.

Neither side can make effective use of the air. This is why Ukrainian officials have said that the Ukrainian air force wants modern Western jets. The Netherlands has already made noises about potentially offering Ukraine some of its US-made F-16 Vipers.

Ukraines president Volodymyr Zelensky has made it clear this week that he wants Western planes to break the current stalemate in the skies. As with the Challenger, any British commitment on these lines is likely to be useful mainly for breaking loose more useful things from other nations, although experts are unanimous that sending some of the RAFs obsolescent Tranche 1 Typhoon fighter jets is a non-starter. Simply sending jets and training pilots wont magically let the Ukrainians fight like the US-led West.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky met PM Rishi Sunak last week to urge allies to send combat aircraft - Andrew Matthews / POOL / AFP

When Nato conducts air operations you have a Combined Air Operations Centre, managing airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft, aerial refuelling and penetrating aircraft, says Jack Watling of the Royal United Services Institute, the defence think-tank.

And you have your fighter wings, with the full panoply of munitions, and those are all operating collectively. There is no viability to get the Ukrainian Air Force to operate all of those components. And so they don't have and they cannot have the tools to conduct Nato-like air operations.

The last decisive tank battle was in 1973

Its fairly clear, then, that even if the West collectively decides to furnish Ukraine with airpower capable of pushing Russia back, this would take a long time. Perhaps the current situation where neither side can employ air power at scale might restore the MBT to its dominant 1980s position on the battlefield.

MBT dominance is certainly questionable in any other situation. General Sir Rupert Smith, the last man ever to command British armour in combat at division strength, wrote after the 1991 Gulf War: The last real tank battle known to the world, one in which the armoured formations of two armies manoeuvred against each other supported by artillery and air forces, one in which the tanks in formation were the deciding force, took place in the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.

Use of the tank as a machine of war organised in formation, to do battle and attain a definitive result has not occurred during three decades [now five]. Nor, for that matter, is it ever likely to occur again.

Tank aficionados would doubtless suggest that Ukraine tends to prove General Smith wrong, but has it really?

Certainly Russia sent in plenty of tanks - so many, to begin with, that they hugely outnumbered the Ukrainian ones opposing them. The Russians mostly had T-72s or later models, considerably more advanced than the main Ukrainian tank, the T-64.

The much-modernised T-72B3, the primary Russian tank in theatre, has many of the features that are put forward as advantages for Western tanks like the Challenger and Leopard, such as thermal gunsights which let it fight effectively at night. Later Russian types also to be found on the front line, such as the T-90, are supposedly better still.

Conventional armoured warfare thinking, of the sort which is now leading former Western armour soldiers to say that 300 Western MBTs could defeat the Russians by speed-and-power shock action, would have predicted an immediate Russian victory on the battlefield as soon as the invasion began.

Its quite clear that having large numbers of tanks  even ones significantly more advanced than the enemys  has not been a decisive factor in the war so far, as Russias battlefield showing demonstrates. Neither has this been because of air power, which has been mostly absent.

In other words, Gen Smith is still right: the tank still hasnt delivered a definitive result in battle since 1973.

Nonetheless, Watling believes that success or failure on the battlefield this year will hinge on the Ukrainians ability to build up an armoured striking force without it getting sucked into defensive operations.

If the Russians can succeed in making the Ukrainians commit their reserves, then the Ukrainians will have had their offensive pre-empted, he says.

It's not going to be Leopard is here, there's nothing the Russians can do. Yes, it's more survivable than a T-64. But it's not invulnerable. The numbers really matter.

It doesn't guarantee victory, especially if you don't invest in being able to replace the barrels on them, maintain the spares and keep them in service.

Kryptonite for the Russians

There are reasons to doubt, then, that Western tanks  no matter that they are better than many of the Russian ones  will win the Ukraine war this year. And there are those who doubt the idea that any likely number of Western tanks could remove the Crimean peninsula from Russian control.

Rear Admiral Chris Parry, a Falklands veteran and former head of the British militarys in-house forecasting think-tank, the Development, Concepts and Doctrine Centre (DCDC), says: Ukraine will do well to leave Crimea alone for now. It is absolute kryptonite to the Russians, and they will die in numerous ditches to hold onto it, even if they lose everything else.

The admiral also suggests that Russia might resort to nuclear weapons if its hold on Crimea becomes untenable. This may be a step too far even for Vladimir Putin, but the spectre of a mushroom cloud billowing over Simferopol as part of a scorched-earth retreat by Russia will concentrate minds in Kyiv, London and Washington alike. Crimea is Ukrainian, and Ukraine has been clear that it will regain possession of the peninsula, but now is not the time while Russian forces continue their offensive in the east.

The coming year will show whether Western tanks can change the game in Ukraine or not.

But the Ukrainian situation is unique and strange, not at all the same as a Nato confrontation with Putin. The greatest care should be taken by Nato nations such as Britain when trying to learn lessons from it: particularly if those lessons seem to involve setting the clock back to the 1980s and the heyday of the MBT.
Ukraine's medical infrastructure has suffered significantly in the full-scale Russian invasion, with 1,218 healthcare institutions damaged.

In particular, 540 hospitals were partially destroyed, and 173 were completely ruined.

Source: Viktor Liashko, Minister of Health of Ukraine, in an interview with Ukrinform

Details: As Liashko states, the Ukrainian government does not plan to rebuild the hospitals that have been destroyed by more than 90%. These hospitals will be built from scratch, according to a new project, he added.

Quote: "We have estimated the average price of all the facilities, and now we can actually talk about the amount of up to US$1 billion needed to rebuild medical institutions to the state they were in before 24 February," the minister emphasises.

Photo: FlashMovie/Depositphotos

Liashko also reported that many medical institutions are currently unavailable due to the war. For example, the damage in Mariupol is estimated using footage from video shootings.

Viktor Liashko adds that experts from the World Bank and the World Health Organisation estimate the losses to Ukraine's healthcare system at tens of billions of dollars. The most recent figure they presented was US$26 billion at the end of September 2022.

He emphasises that medical institutions in Kharkiv Oblast and the cities of Donetsk, Luhansk, Mykolaiv, and Kherson have suffered the greatest destruction due to active hostilities. Most healthcare facilities of various levels, from rural outpatient clinics to city hospitals, have been affected.

Viktor Liashko says that the infrastructure in the city of Kherson and Kherson Oblast is currently suffering the most, as the city is under constant fire. He added that on 29 January, the invaders hit the surgical building of the oblast hospital. A nurse and a nursing assistant were injured. They underwent surgery on the spot.

Background: Russian occupiers are obstructing the supply of medicines to the temporarily occupied territories and threatening medical workers with persecution, doing everything to ensure that Ukrainians have no chance of survival.

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Ukrainian servicemen

Ukrainian forces struck 19 times at Russian concentrations of forces, two times at the positions of anti-aircraft missile systems, and hit 14 enemy clusters of infantry.

Read also: Russian offensives observed on five areas, Ukraines General Staff says

Russian invasion forces continue to prioritize offensive actions on the Kupyansk, Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiyivka, and Novopavlivka sections of the front.

The General Staff said that on Feb. 11, the Russian army launched 12 missile strikes, three of which targeted civilian infrastructure in Kharkiv, and 32 air strikes, six of which involved Iranian-made Shahed-136 flying bomb drones. The enemy also fired over 90 times from multiple launch rocket systems.

Read also: Ukrainian defenders destroy 20 of Russias Iranian Shahed drones in one night

No significant changes or signs of the formation of offensive groups were detected on the Volyn, Polissia, Siverskyi, and Slobozhanskyi sections of the front in the north of Ukraine. More than 20 settlements came under enemy fire, two of which were targeted by the Russian air strikes.

On the Kupyansk and Lyman sections of the front in the east, the enemy fired mortar and artillery shells at more than 25 areas of settlements in Kharkiv and Luhansk oblasts.

On the Bakhmut section of the front in Donetsk Oblast, over 25 localities came under tank, mortar and artillery fire, including Chasiv Yar and the city of Bakhmut itself.

Read also: Different scenarios for Bakhmut possible, including capture by enemy, says Donetsk regional governor

On the Avdiyivka and Novopavlivka sections of the front, areas around 25 localities came under tank, mortar and artillery fire, including at Avdiyivka and Vuhledar. Enemy air strikes were recorded near Avdiyivka, Vesele, Nevelske, and Maryinka.

On the Zaporizhzhya section of the front, Vremivka and Novopil in Donetsk Oblast and six settlements in Zaporizhzhya Oblast itself came under fire. The enemy also conducted air strikes in the areas of Mala Tokmachka and Kamyanske.

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On the Kherson section of the front in southern Ukraine, Russian artillery fire hit the suburbs and Kherson city itself, as well as areas in the vicinities of ore than 30 other settlements, including Beryslav and Stanislav in Kherson Oblast.

Read also: Russia launches almost 40 attacks on Kherson Oblast in past day, killing three and injuring four

The invading forces also launched an air strike near Zymivnyk.

Ukraines General Staff added that in the Russian-occupied towns of Brylivka and Novokyivtsi in Kherson Oblast, the occupation "local administration" is trying to seize housing from the locals.

In particular, the Russian military are actively going door-to-door and checking citizens' residence permits and documents for housing ownership. Abandoned houses are sealed with notices stating that the premises have become the property of the so-called occupation "local administration."



Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
United States and Canadian military shot down a new "unidentified object" over Canadian airspace, Justin Trudeau has confirmed.

Aircraft were scrambled to track down the object which was shot down by a US F-22 fighter jet, the Canadian prime minister said.

It comes after a Chinese balloon was found in US airspace and later destroyed, and an object the size of a small car was taken down off Alaska.

Mr Trudeau confirmed on Twitter that he had ordered the takedown of "an unidentified object that violated Canadian airspace" and spoken with Joe Biden.

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Canadian Prime Minster Justin Trudeau, gestures as he speaks at a joint press conference Monday, March 7, 2022. Alberto Pezzali/Associated Press

A US F-22 fighter jet has shot down an "unidentified object" flying over northern Canada.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he ordered NORAD to shoot it down Saturday.

Canadian forces will recover and analyze the object's wreckage, Trudeau said.

Acting on the orders of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, a US fighter jet shot down an "unidentified object" flying over northern Canada on Saturday.

"I ordered the take down of an unidentified object that violated Canadian airspace," Trudeau said, adding that both Canadian and US aircraft were scrambled, and a US F-22 successfully took down the object.

Trudeau said the object was shot down over the Yukon, a Canadian territory, adding that Canadian forces will recover and analyze the object's wreckage. He also said he spoke with President Joe Biden on Saturday afternoon.

Canadian Defence Minister Anita Anand described the object as cylindrical in shape, and smaller than the Chinese spy balloon shot down last week, according to Reuters.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command, operated by both the US and Canada, had confirmed earlier on Saturday that a "high-altitude airborne object" had been detected in Canadian airspace.

In a statement Saturday evening, the White House described the object as an "unidentified, unmanned object" that NORAD had been closely tracking and monitoring over the previous 24 hours.

The statement said Biden and Trudeau "discussed the importance of recovering the object in order to determine more details on its purpose or origin."

Saturday afternoon's incident was the third time within the span of just a week that a US jet took down objects flying at high altitudes over the US or Canada. On Friday, the US shot down another unidentified object flying roughly 40,000 feet over Alaska, and one week ago, the US took down a Chinese surveillance balloon off the coast of South Carolina.

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NORAD said in a statement earlier Saturday afternoon that recovery operations are still underway for both the Alaska object and the Chinese surveillance balloon.

US officials have said the Chinese balloon was part of an operation to gather intelligence on global militaries, and was studying "strategic bases" in the US.

The Chinese government criticized the US for downing its balloon last week, saying its balloon was "of civilian nature and used for flight test."

Read the original article on Business Insider
WASHINGTON (AP)  U.S. officials on Sunday were trying to precisely identify the latest two objects blown from the sky by F-22 fighter jets during a week of unprecedented incursions over the United States and Canada, carefully working to determine whether China was responsible as concerns escalate about what Washington says is Beijings large-scale aerial surveillance program.

The object shot down Saturday over the Yukon was described by U.S. officials as a balloon significantly smaller than the three school bus-size balloon hit by a missile Feb. 4 while drifting off the South Carolina coast after traversing the country. A flying object brought down over the remote northern coast of Alaska on Friday was more cylindrical and described as a type of airship.

Both were believed to have a payload, either attached or suspended from them, according to the officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation. Officials were not able to say who launched the objects and were seeking to figure out their origin.

U.S. officials said the two more recent objects were much smaller in size, different in appearance and flew at lower altitudes than the suspected Chinese spy balloon that fell into the Atlantic Ocean after the U.S. missile strike. They said the Alaska and Canada objects were not consistent with the fleet of Chinese aerial surveillance balloons that targeted more than 40 countries, stretching back at least into the Trump administration.

That large white orb first appeared over the U.S. in late January, and since then Americans have been fixated on the sky above them. U.S. authorities made clear that they constantly monitor for unknown radar blips, and it is not unusual to shut down airspace as a precaution to evaluate them.

On Sunday, the U.S. briefly closed the airspace over Lake Michigan; on Saturday night, that was done over rural Montana. Officials Sunday said they were no longer tracking any objects over those locations.

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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told ABCs This Week that U.S. officials were working quickly to recover debris from all the sites. Using shorthand to describe the objects as balloons, he said the U.S military and intelligence officials were focused like a laser on gathering and accumulating the information, then compiling a comprehensive analysis.

The bottom line is until a few months ago we didnt know about these balloons, Schumer, D-N.Y., said of spy program that the administration has linked to the Peoples Liberation Army, Chinas military. It is wild that we didnt know.

Eight days ago, F-22 jets downed the large white balloon that had wafted over the U.S. for days at an altitude of about 60,000 feet. U.S. officials immediately blamed China, saying the balloon was equipped to detect and collect intelligence signals and could maneuver itself. White House officials said improved surveillance capabilities helped detect it.

Chinese Foreign Ministrys said the unmanned balloon was a civilian meteorological airship that had blown off course. Beijing said the U.S. had overreacted by shooting it down.

Then, on Friday, North American Aerospace Defense Command, the combined U.S.-Canada organization that provides shared defense of airspace over the two nations, detected and shot down an object near sparsely populated Deadhorse, Alaska.

Later that evening, NORAD detected a second object, flying at a high altitude over Alaska, U.S. officials said. It crossed into Canadian airspace on Saturday near the Yukon, a remote province, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ordered it shot down.

In both of those incidents, the objects were flying at roughly 40,000 feet, posing a potential threat to civilian aircraft that fly at that height.

The three cases have increased diplomatic tensions between the United States and China, raised questions about the extent of Beijings American surveillance, and prompted days of criticism from Republican lawmakers about the administrations handling.

Rep. Mike Turner, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said the administration was looking somewhat trigger-happy.

Although that is certainly preferable to the permissive environment they showed when the Chinese spy balloon was coming over some of most sensitive sites, Turner, R-Ohio, told CNNs State of the Union.

After the shootdown last weekend, Chinese officials said they reserved the right to take further actions and criticized the U.S. for an obvious overreaction and a serious violation of international practice.

Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, urged the administration to be as forthcoming as possible, saying the lack of solid information was fueling online speculation.

Himes said one thing that was clear from briefings in recent years was that there is a lot of garbage up there in the sky.

The truth is that most of our sensors and most of what we were looking for didnt look like balloons, he told NBCs Meet the Press.

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The military shot down another aerial object on Sunday, this time over Lake Huron, marking the third day in a row the U.S. has taken down an unidentified aircraft over North American airspace, Michigan lawmakers said on Sunday.

Rep. Jack Bergman (R-Mich.) said he was in contact with the Department of Defense throughout the day, and confirmed in a tweet that the military decommissioned another aerial object.

Ive been in contact with DOD regarding operations across the Great Lakes region today. The US military has decommissioned another object over Lake Huron. I appreciate the decisive action by our fighter pilots. The American people deserve far more answers than we have, Bergman tweeted.

Bergman told Fox News Sunday afternoon that he was told the object was octagonal and hovering at about 20,000 feet.

Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.) also said that he spoke with the Department of Defense and said in a tweet that the Air Force took down the aerial object.

The Air Force has shot down an unidentified object over Lake Huron. Thank you to the U.S. military for their immediate action. I will keep seeking information about the incident in the coming days, Kildee tweeted.

Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) said in a tweet that an object had been downed by pilots from the U.S. Air Force and National Guard.

As long as these things keep traversing the US and Canada, Ill continue to ask for Congress to get a full briefing based on our exploitation of the wreckage, she said.

The Federal Aviation Administration briefly closed some airspace over Lake Michigan earlier on Sunday to support Department of Defense activities, the agency said in a statement to The Hill. The airspace has since been reopened.

In a press briefing, commander of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), Gen. Glen VanHerck, said it first detected the object Saturday evening in Canada airspace before it traveled into U.S. airspace that night.

He said NORAD scrambled F-16 fighter jets and a tanker to investigate the object, but identifying it was initially unsuccessful. Then the command detected the object again moving toward Wisconsin on Sunday, at which point it put together a gameplan.

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We wanted to scramble with the best position to intercept if we needed to engage with the lowest collateral damage and that was in the eastern portion of Wisconsin just prior to Lake Michigan, he said.

He said that the small size of the objects makes tracking them hard.

He confirmed that the military shot down the object over Lake Huron, where remnants of the object may be in Canada waters. He said recovery missions will be underway soon to determine what the object was.

He said as of Sunday that he is unaware of any other objects on the radar at this time.

The Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Hemispheric Affairs Melissa Dalton said that the object posed no threat to people on the ground, but posed a threat to civilian aviation, which is why they shot it down.

The third takedown in three days comes after President Biden just over a week ago ordered the downing of a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that traversed much of the U.S.

On Friday, the U.S. shot down a high-altitude object over Alaska and then on Saturday Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ordered the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) to take down an unidentified object over the territory of Yukon.

Updated at 8:03 p.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Valmeyers police chief was off-duty on Friday night when he called 911 to report a van moving erratically on Bluff Road in Columbia, Illinois, before he saw it collide head-on with a truck driven by a Monroe County man who died from his injuries, police said.

Dennis Fitzwilliam, 68, of the Waterloo area was pronounced deceased at Mercy Hospital South in St. Louis County, according to Columbia Police Chief Jason Donjon.

The driver of the van, Zachary D. Sloan, 31, of Collinsville, was listed in critical condition in St. Louis University Hospital on Saturday, Donjon said.

Sloan was flown to the hospital in a helicopter on Friday night.

Sloan was charged with improper lane usage in connection with the crash, Donjon said. Toxicology test results are pending, the police chief said.

On Monday, Columbia officers had arrested Sloan on charges of unlawful possession of a controlled substance and operating an uninsured vehicle, Donjon said.

Sloan posted a $1,000 cash bond on Wednesday, according to online Monroe County court records. His bond had been set at $10,000, with 10% cash needed for release.

A court date on the possession of a controlled substance charge is scheduled for Feb. 16.

The vehicle that Sloan had on Monday was different from the one he had on Friday, Donjon said.

Fatal crash

Donjon said Fitzwilliams death is an absolute tragedy.

Our hearts and prayers go out with his family and friends and everyone else, Donjon said.

Donjon gave this account of what happened Friday:

Valmeyer Police Chief Marty Seitz was in his private vehicle when he called 911 about a 2010 Ford van going north on Bluff Road near Sand Bank Road at 5:45 p.m. in Columbia.

Seitz saw the van driven by Sloan cross the center line and collide with a southbound 2019 Ford truck driven by Fitzwilliam, Donjon said.

He noticed the van driving very erratically, running other cars off the road, Donjon said. He actually witnessed the van cross into the lane and hit the truck that was going southbound.

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Columbia firefighters had to extricate both drivers from the vehicles.

A regional police team that does accident-reconstruction investigations also was called to the scene.

Bluff Road was closed until 10 p.m. when investigators cleared the scene.
Fernando and Margarita Ruiz visit their 15-month-old son, Ricky, on Feb. 6, 2023, at La Rabida Children's Hospital. Ricky, who was born prematurely and has a tracheostomy tube connected to a ventilator, had been unable to go home without pediatric nursing care. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)

Ricardo Ruiz could have left the hospital two months ago. Instead, the toddler waited while his family searched for a nurse who could help care for him at home.

Ricky, as his parents call him, was born prematurely at 27 weeks with underdeveloped lungs. The 15-month-old has a tracheostomy tube in his neck connected to a ventilator that helps him breathe. He needs 24-hour-a-day, specialized care, which is why his family hoped to find an in-home nurse.

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But after two months of searching without success, the Ruizes decided to take their son home and do their best, on their own.

Rickys parents are now caring for him in five or six-hour shifts, switching off throughout the day so his dad can go to work, and so they can take turns sleeping. Someone must be awake and watching Ricky at all times. They took classes on how to care for him and use his equipment.

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Hopefully in the next few weeks, something comes up and we can get a nurse to come in and at least cover a few hours a week, said Rickys mom Margarita Ruiz, of Chicagos Ashburn neighborhood.

The Ruizes are not the only Illinois family thats been left in the lurch. Across the Chicago area, children with complex, chronic conditions are finding themselves stuck in hospitals longer than they should be because its so difficult to find in-home pediatric nurses. That, in turn, can mean fewer available hospital beds for all kids, something that became a serious problem in the fall as respiratory illnesses in children surged.

Margarita and Fernando Ruiz spend time with their sons Ricky, 15 months, and Tony at their home in Chicago on Feb. 10, 2023. Ricky, who was born prematurely, had to stay at a hospital two months longer than necessary because his family couldn't find an at-home nurse. They decided to bring him home without a nurse. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)

Its been harder for us to be able to send our patients home, said Sue Corbet, a nurse case manager at La Rabida Childrens Hospital, where Ricky recently stayed. I think its very discouraging to a lot of families, and it makes them upset because they want to have their children come home, and children do better in the home. Once they go home, they thrive.

At La Rabida, about one-fourth of the hospitals 27 patients are stable enough to go home but cant because they cant find nurses to help them once they get there, Corbet said. At Almost Home Kids, which has three locations in Illinois, 26 children spent nearly 2,600 extra days at the sites last year because of a lack of in-home nursing care, said President and Executive Director Deborah Grisko. Almost Home Kids provides transitional and respite care for children.

Other childrens hospitals in the Chicago area say theyre seeing the same thing.

In the (neonatal intensive care units) I would say at least once a month we have kids who need a high level of skilled care and we just cannot find nursing care for them, said Dr. Frank Belmonte, chief medical officer at Advocate Childrens Hospital.

Theres long been a lack of enough at-home, pediatric nurses, but the problem has gotten worse in recent years, health leaders say.

Part of the problem is a nationwide shortage of nurses that deepened as many nurses retired or chose new professions amid burnout from the pandemic.

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Another reason its so difficult to find pediatric, in-home care nurses is because they have a very specialized skill set.

Only a small percentage of the world of nursing has those skills, said Jeffrey Emrich, owner of agency BrightStar Care North Suburban based in Northbrook.

There is also a limited number of nursing agencies that offer pediatric, in-home nurses for children on Medicaid, health leaders say. Many of the children who need at-home nursing care in Illinois are on Medicaid, a state and federally funded health insurance program, because the cost of in-home nursing would be overwhelming for most families, even those with decent incomes. Private insurance plans dont always cover in-home nurses for as long or as much as patients may need them.

Typically, when a child in Illinois needs in-home nursing care and has equipment such as a ventilator, a feeding tube or tracheostomy tube, the family works with the Division of Specialized Care for Children at the University of Illinois Chicago to get a waiver for Medicaid to pay for shift-based, in-home nursing. The division acts on behalf of Medicaid in Illinois. Once the waiver is approved, the division gives the childs family a list of approved nursing agencies, and the family or childs hospital calls those agencies to try to find a nurse.

Margarita Ruiz visits her 15-month-old son, Ricky, on Feb. 6, 2023 at La Rabida Children's Hospital. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)

There are more than 1,000 kids in Illinois who now have such waivers and about 80 nursing agencies are approved to work with them, said Molly Hofmann, director of care coordination and systems development at the division.

Thats more agencies than in the past but still not enough to meet demand, especially as advances in medicine increasingly allow children and adults with complex medical needs to live longer, Hofmann said.

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Agencies can also have a hard time finding nurses to work with Medicaid patients, given Medicaids relatively low reimbursement rates, said Keisha Ballard, nursing manger at agency Divine Home Care Services.

They feel like, I can go to the hospital for three days and do 12-hour shifts and make way more money than at agencies,  Ballard said of nurses.

Though agencies can offer some flexibility with scheduling, they can have a hard time competing with childrens hospitals for nurses, said Emrich, of the BrightStar agency.

Even if we could pay comparably, its really almost impossible for a nursing agency like ours to match the pay and benefits that someone would get for Lurie (Childrens Hospital), Emrich said.

Its also possible that many nurses may not think of a career in home nursing as an option, Hofmann said.

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Its not a well known ... area for work, Hofmann said. These are not things that are taught to most nurses as youre going through school. You dont learn about the fact that there are children surviving on ventilators in their living rooms at home.

When families cant find in-home nurses, theyre left with what can seem like a daunting challenge.

When you have an artificial airway, seconds can mean the difference between life and death, Hofmann said. Its an awesome responsibility thats been put on these families.

Its a frustrating situation for not just for families like Rickys, but also for childrens hospitals trying to make sure they have enough space for all kids who need care.

If a child is stable but cant leave the hospital, that child fills a bed that cant be given to another patient who may need it. A lack of enough beds can, in turn, back up hospital emergency departments as children wait there for beds elsewhere in the hospital.

It can also create delays transferring children between hospitals. Many of La Rabidas patients come from other Chicago area hospitals. La Rabida focuses on rehabilitation and care for children with complex medical needs. But if one-fourth of La Rabidas beds are filled with kids who cant go home because of a lack of in-home nurses, those are beds that cant go to patients waiting in other hospitals for them.

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The entire system is feeling the pressure of this, said Brian Stahulak, senior vice president and chief nursing officer at Lurie Childrens Hospital.

Fernando and Margarita Ruiz spend time with their son, Ricky, on Feb. 6, 2023, at La Rabida Children's Hospital in Chicago. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)

That pressure came to a head in the fall, when respiratory illnesses among kids spiked in the Chicago area and across the country, sending waves of children to hospitals. The surge filled the Chicago areas largest childrens hospitals, forcing doctors to delay some surgeries and to say no to hundreds of requests from other hospitals to transfer kids to them. During that surge, childrens hospitals needed every bed they could find.

Because we couldnt get patients who were ready to go home out  those beds werent available for patients who needed them, Stahulak said.

Moving forward, Hofmann, with the Division of Specialized Care for Children, is hoping that recent changes and new initiatives will make it easier for some families to find in-home nurses.

For one, during the pandemic, Illinois began allowing in-home nurses working through the program to be paid overtime. Illinois also started allowing parents who are nurses to be paid by Medicaid for taking care of their children at home. Illinois recently made those pandemic-era fixes permanent, Hofmann said. In the past year, Illinois also made it easier for nursing agencies approved to work with kids on waivers in one county to work with kids in other counties as well.

Almost Home Kids is also working with the division to offer free training on ventilators, feeding tubes and tracheostomy tubes to in-home nurses.

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Health leaders hope the training and recent changes will mean that fewer families have to make the type of decision Rickys family recently made.

On Tuesday, Ricky went home for the first time. Until Tuesday, he had spent his entire life in hospitals, first at Advocate Childrens Hospital and then at La Rabida.

His mom Margarita Ruiz is relieved to be done commuting each day to La Rabida, and hopes that it will now be easier to juggle the needs of Ricky and his 8-year-old brother. When Ricky was in the hospital, it felt like having two lives, Margarita Ruiz said.

She and her husband Fernando Ruiz know it will be challenging to care for Ricky without a nurses help. But they feel that Ricky is finally where he needs to be  with his family.

(We wanted) to bring him home so he can actually grow with us as a family, his mom said.

lschencker@chicagotribune.com
Evgenii Prigozhin, founder of Russias Wagner paramilitary group, said on Feb. 12 that its mercenaries seized a small town of Krasna Hora, two kilometers north of the outskirts of Bakhmut in the eastern Donetsk Oblast.

Photos and video posted on social media on Feb. 12 showed Wagner mercenaries in front of a sign reading Krasna Hora.

In its morning briefing on Feb. 12, the Ukrainian General Staff said it recorded Russian shelling in the Krasna Hora area, implying some Ukrainian presence in the settlement.

A photo purporting to show Wagner Group mercenaries on the outskirts of Krasna Hora in Donetsk Oblast, posted to social media on Feb. 12, 2022.

Prigozhin also claimed on Telegram that the Wagner Group is the only Russian force stationed within 50 kilometers near Bakhmut.

The Russian conventional army doesnt support the Wagner Group in the area, Prigozhin said, continuing an ongoing effort to claim Russian success as exclusively achieved by Wagner.

With relentless attacks by small, squad-level assault teams, Wagner has undeniably played a leading role in the months-long fierce battle for Bakhmut and surrounding areas in Donetsk Oblast, where Russia has made its first significant gains since summer 2022.

Capturing Bakhmut would allow Russia to disrupt Ukraines supply lines in the area and open up the main road leading to the two key Ukrainian cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.
Joe Biden's top congressional backer, Jim Clyburn, wants him to run again in 2024.

Fresh off his State of the Union address, Mr Biden's allies in the Democratic Party are working hard to tamp down on speculation that he isn't up for the task of facing Donald Trump or another Republican in the next election cycle.

Mr Clyburn's key endorsement in 2020 was crucial to saving Mr Biden's flagging campaign ahead of the South Carolina primary. The congressman spoke in an interview with the Financial Times, telling the newspaper that the presidents advanced age should not be a factor in his reelection bid.

I want him to run ... I see no reason for him not to run, said the congressman. And I am very hopeful that he should run. I think he is deserving of a second term. I do not believe that anybody can do a better job of trying to get us back on track.

His endorsement is hardly a surprise; Mr Clyburn is a top cheerleader of the president and has dismissed calls for younger generations in the party to take over before. However, he asceded to those calls and did not stand for a leadership position in January, allowing top spots in the Democratic caucus to be taken by comparatively younger lawmakers.

Though he would not say if the president should run again when asked prior to the 2022 midterm elections, the Democrats strong performance allowing them to expand their Senate majority is likely behind at least part of Mr Clyburn and other Democrats enthusiasm for sticking with Mr Biden in 2024.

In January, Mr Clyburn made similar comments in an interview with CBS News and expressed confidence that the president would be able to effectively campaign against any Republican challenger.

Im all in for President Biden, he said. I think hes demonstrated in these two yearsthat he is deserving of reelection. And I do believe he will be reelected irrespective of who the Republicans put up.

Donald Trump remains the frontrunner for the GOP nomination, having been the first prominent Republican to announce a bid for the 2024 cycle. Polls show him generally leading the field, though Floridas Ron DeSantis remains competitive.

Mr Clyburns home state of South Carolina is now set to be the site of the Democrats first primary contest in 2024 after the party approved a shakeup of the primary calendar earlier this month; the matter is far from settled, however, as legislatures in some states must approve the process of changing their respective state primary dates.

Officials in New Hampshire in particular say the new calendar violates a state law requiring New Hampshire to hold the first primary contest  excluding caucuses  in the nation.
Both generational Akronites and those recently transplanted here often tout our city's advantages: great parks, a phenomenal housing stock that's affordable, arts and culture institution and venues, and a sizable university with many highly rated programs. The weather is neither too hot, nor too cold. And the people are friendly.

Other mid-sized cities located outside the sunbelt have become desirable post-industrial places, hotspots even. Consider Overlook Park, Kansas; Fort Collins, Colorado; Boise, Idaho; Omaha, Nebraska; Madison, Wisconsin and more. But few in this list have the combined geography, climate and arts, educational and cultural institutions Akron enjoys.

Holly Christensen

Unlike those cities, however, Akron is like a promising runner stuck at the starting block. Without invested, visionary leaders, the city's potential remains unharnessed and less able to attract people and businesses that would make our community thrive.

Part of the problem is the three-decades-long stranglehold one man had on the top leadership position. Don Plusquellic was so secure in his position as mayor of Akron that when he abruptly announced his retirement in 2015, few, if any, leaders had been cultivated to fill his shoes.

Similarly, Akron's city council has far too many representatives who have been there for far too long and become ossified to change. Motivated primarily to protect their positions rather than develop a bold, long-term vision of the city, council as a whole does not have what Akron needs.

How long have Akron's elected officials touted the decommissioning of the Innerbelt to make way for vibrant development along the city's western flank? A quarter of a century. And yet the road to nowhere remains. It is a concrete barrier between downtown and the neighborhoods brimming with possibilities on the other side.

Yes, some interesting work is happening downtown, particularly on Main Street. But it started before the COVID pandemic and has progressed at a snail's pace, forcing businesses to close and increasing vacancy rates  stifling, rather than invigorating, downtown. Just who exactly benefits from this never-ending project?

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Meanwhile over at Akron Public Schools, where I tutor elementary students, we have a school board with too many members who do not spend real time in the buildings and an administration that, until a teachers strike became imminent, seemed deaf to the concerns of faculty, staff, students and parents.

Three of my children have graduated from Akron Public Schools and I have two more whom I hope will. But I am far from alone in stating I won't keep my kids in the district if substantive improvements do not happen in our schools beginning now.

A strong public school system is an essential component of a thriving city. Without it, middle-class families leave for better school districts. Without middle-class families, cities become donuts with big holes. Neighborhoods decline, tax revenues decline, the quality of city parks decline, businesses relocate.

A quality workforce is one of the top things businesses look for when considering locating in a community and one of the surest ways to grow a solid workforce is through education.

Before becoming Akron's chief of police in August of 2021, Steve Mylett's last job was chief of police for Bellevue, Washington, a well-to-do, mid-sized city in the same county as Seattle. Bellevue has a median income near $115,000 and its population is 63% white and 2% Black.

Less than a year into his job, it was clear that Mylett's previous experience and acumen did not prepare him to run a police department in a city with far fewer resources and far greater diversity than the one he'd left.

It is impossible to avoid a comparison between the Memphis police chief's response to the recent police killing of an unarmed Black man there with Mylett's response to the police killing of Jayland Walker here seven months ago.

Within days after an unarmed man in Memphis was beaten to death by police after a traffic stop, the names of five of the officers involved were made public. In a few short weeks, those five officers were fired from the department and prosecutors filed murder charges.

Meanwhile, more than seven months after eight police officers shot Walker 46 times, also an unarmed Black man stopped initially for a traffic violation, we still do not know the names of those officers. The officers not only were not fired, they were returned to administrative duties little more than four months after the killing.

Lawsuit filed: Beacon Journal asks Ohio Supreme Court to order release of Akron police records

Akron's police department owes Akron's citizens transparency, not obfuscation; accountability, not entrenchment. Without transparency and accountability, neither of which anyone expects from Mylett, our community has a festering wound that will not heal.

Akron has so much promise, but a fish rots from the head down. Our city will not sprint from the starting block and head toward a better future unless we, its citizens, sweep out ineffectual leaders and support the election (or hiring) of people with innovative thinking, energy and a commitment to all of Akron's citizens.

The primary for the mayor's race is May 2 and incumbent Dan Horrigan is not running. As many believe the Democratic winner will be our de facto next mayor, it's important not to forgot this spring's election.

Akron primary May 2: These eight people want to be the next mayor of Akron

This fall, three school board members will be up for re-election. Look closely at their actual involvement in our city's schools and decide at the polls if they should keep their positions.

Fall is also when Akron's citizens choose their city council representatives. As three incumbents are vacating their seats, we will certainly have three new representatives. Hopefully there will be more than those three. Several new voices, many from younger generations, are clambering to replace current incumbents. Listen to what they have to say.

Rise up, Akron. We, her citizens, are her lifeblood. It's time to clear out the rot and race toward the future we know is possible.

Contact Holly Christensen at whoopsiepiggle@gmail.com

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Holly Christensen:Akron Public Schools needs to enforce real solutions to behavior issues

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron needs real leaders to prosper again
Nearly two months after becoming the alleged target of racist graffiti, the Wayland Schools Superintendent is filing a discrimination complaint.

The Wayland School Committee was unable to specify the allegations but says Superintendent Omar Easy filed a formal complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination.

As this is a pending legal matter, we are unable to comment on the specific allegations. However, the School Committee wishes to reiterate that the Wayland Public Schools seeks to foster a welcoming, inclusive, anti-racist environment; our actions have and will continue to demonstrate a commitment to those principles, said the school committee in a Saturday statement. We are asking the members of our school community for their patience during this time.

On December 21, Wayland police discovered racist graffiti painted on the Wayland Community Pool building. Police said someone painted the word Omar alongside a racial slur.

Racist graffiti seems to target Wayland School Superintendent

Waylands acting police chief, Ed Burman, said in December investigators were consulting with the Anti-Defamation League of New England.

Easy had previously been the target of an investigation by the school committee over allegations he used intimidating language in a meeting with school administrators in October. The former NFLer-turned-Superintendent denied the charges.

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Kim Erickson stands near the Dimmick Building, used for Wayne County offices, next to the courthouse. The commissioners approved locating a proposed Womens Veteran Monument near the Dimmick, a project Erickson is undertaking.

A monument honoring local women who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces has been announced for Wayne County.

Wayne County Commissioners recently approved a site next to the Dimmick Building in Honesdale for a grass-roots citizen's project, which is still in development.

Kim Erickson of Cherry Ridge Township, who is active in volunteer activities and spearheaded the recent Hometown Heroes banner project in Honesdale, approached the county with this latest project at a recent commissioners' workshop.

Mary Lou Murray updated the commissioners on the plans. As currently envisioned, the monument will consist of a steel figure of a woman veteran coated in brass. A medallion for each branch of military service will be mounted on the bottom.

Local service members:Poconos sees innovative approaches to mental health care for veterans

According to Murray, a final design has not been settled. Originally, Erickson proposed superimposing the figure on a steel sculpture of a tree with spreading branches, six to eight feet tall. Murray said there was concern, however, with safety should children try climbing on the tree.

Donations are being collected to pay for the monument, Erickson said. The full cost hasnt been determined and the funds need to be raised before construction starts.

The commissioners approved locating the monument to the right of the 9/11 memorial and over towards the side of the Dimmick Building next to the courthouse. This is at the corner where 9th and Court streets meet.

The Dimmick Building originally served as the county hospital, and many women who served in the Armed Forces in earlier years were nurses  thus the location choice for the monument, Commissioner Chairman Brian Smith said.

"There has never been to our knowledge in Wayne County a memorial honoring female veterans," Smith said after speaking with the county's director of Veterans' Affairs. "Female veterans have been a big part of fighting for our freedom and being engaged in active warfare ever since the 2nd World War, a lot of them were nurses in the 1st World War."

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Anger, loss and a tentative peace:Northeast Pennsylvania veterans describe life after the military

It is meant to recognize both women who previously served or are currently serving. The monument is to be secured in cement and flowers can be plated near it, Erickson said.

The hope is to have the monument completed by June 12, 2023, which is "Women Veterans Day."

Explaining her passion, Erickson said that she loves a challenge to see if she can do it. She considered joining the military when in high school but didn't follow through, and she respects those who did make that commitment to their country.

The monument, she added, can help educate the youth that women can serve just as well as men. It can also remind them, she said, that some people give up four years of their life in the service so they we can have freedom.

As part of the project, Erickson is asking the public to share military stories and photos of women, living or deceased, veterans or active duty, who served in the military. They may have connections to Wayne County, but Erickson said she wasn't limiting the entries. She said someone from here may want to include a relative from outside the area who served.

These stories and photos will be put into a booklet to further honor them, which will be made available. Stories and photos need to be submitted no later than April 30, 2023 and emailed to Kimeric1967@yahoo.com, or call 570-251-7741 with any questions.

Donations for the Women Veterans Monument can be made through the Wayne County Community Foundation, applying your donation to "Honoring Our Heroes", by going to bit.ly/3HUcvt1. For more information about Women Veterans Day, visit: bit.ly/3RuFkPX.

This article originally appeared on Tri-County Independent: Northern Poconos to get women veterans monument
Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) has had a rough three months with its share price down 13%. However, a closer look at its sound financials might cause you to think again. Given that fundamentals usually drive long-term market outcomes, the company is worth looking at. In this article, we decided to focus on Archer-Daniels-Midland's ROE.

Return on Equity or ROE is a test of how effectively a company is growing its value and managing investors money. In simpler terms, it measures the profitability of a company in relation to shareholder's equity.

See our latest analysis for Archer-Daniels-Midland

How Do You 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 Archer-Daniels-Midland is:

18% = US$4.4b  US$25b (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2022).

The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. One way to conceptualize this is that for each $1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made $0.18 in profit.

Why Is ROE Important For Earnings Growth?

Thus far, we have learned that ROE measures how efficiently a company is generating its profits. We now need to evaluate how much profit the company reinvests or "retains" for future growth which then gives us an idea about the growth potential of the company. Assuming everything else remains unchanged, the higher the ROE and profit retention, the higher the growth rate of a company compared to companies that don't necessarily bear these characteristics.

Archer-Daniels-Midland's Earnings Growth And 18% ROE

At first glance, Archer-Daniels-Midland seems to have a decent ROE. Especially when compared to the industry average of 14% the company's ROE looks pretty impressive. This certainly adds some context to Archer-Daniels-Midland's exceptional 20% net income growth seen over the past five years. We reckon that there could also be other factors at play here. For instance, the company has a low payout ratio or is being managed efficiently.

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We then compared Archer-Daniels-Midland's net income growth with the industry and we're pleased to see that the company's growth figure is higher when compared with the industry which has a growth rate of 6.9% in the same period.

The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. The investor should try to establish if the expected growth or decline in earnings, whichever the case may be, is priced in. Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. What is ADM worth today? The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether ADM is currently mispriced by the market.

Is Archer-Daniels-Midland Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

Archer-Daniels-Midland's three-year median payout ratio is a pretty moderate 35%, meaning the company retains 65% of its income. By the looks of it, the dividend is well covered and Archer-Daniels-Midland is reinvesting its profits efficiently as evidenced by its exceptional growth which we discussed above.

Additionally, Archer-Daniels-Midland has paid dividends over a period of at least ten years which means that the company is pretty serious about sharing its profits with shareholders. Based on the latest analysts' estimates, we found that the company's future payout ratio over the next three years is expected to hold steady at 31%. However, Archer-Daniels-Midland's future ROE is expected to decline to 10% despite there being not much change anticipated in the company's payout ratio.

Summary

In total, we are pretty happy with Archer-Daniels-Midland's performance. Particularly, we like that the company is reinvesting heavily into its business, and at a high rate of return. Unsurprisingly, this has led to an impressive earnings growth. With that said, on studying the latest analyst forecasts, we found that while the company has seen growth in its past earnings, analysts expect its future earnings to shrink. Are these analysts expectations based on the broad expectations for the industry, or on the company's fundamentals? Click here to be taken to our analyst's forecasts page for the company.

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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President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that the small restriction of electricity supply on Saturday and Sunday testifies to the professionalism of power engineers, but it is not yet a decisive victory on the energy front.

Source: President's evening address

Quote: "The majority of Ukrainians spent today and yesterday without many shutdowns. Of course, there were still restrictions in some districts and cities, where the degree of destruction is too significant. Of course, with the start of the new week, consumption will increase, and therefore there will be outage schedules.

But the very fact that we can have such calm days in terms of energy, after the constant terrorist attacks with missiles and Shahed drones, after the large-scale missile attack this week, proves the professionalism of our power engineers and the extraordinary dedication of everyone who works to preserve our energy system."

Details: At the same time, the president called on people to realise that "this is not yet a decisive victory on the energy front".

"Unfortunately, there may be new terrorist attacks from Russia. There may be new restrictions if there is more destruction or consumption growth. But today and yesterday are yet another proof that by working together and helping each other, Ukrainians are able to do great things," Zelenskyy said.

Background: There was no restriction of electricity supply on Sunday, 12 February, as a result of the decrease in power consumption over the weekend and the commissioning of two nuclear power plant blocks.

At the same time, Dmytro Sakharuk, Executive Director of DTEK [leading Ukrainian energy company  ed.], stated that the increase in electricity consumption due to the beginning of the working week would lead to the return of outage schedules.

DTEK reported that on Monday, 13 February, there would be no limits in power supply in the city of Kyiv, Kyiv, Odesa and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
The heart of the largest shopping district on Chicago's South Side, photographed looking north on Halsted Street from the 63rd Street elevated train platform, circa May 12, 1945. (Chicago Tribune historical photo)

The twists and turns of Englewoods history have left the South Side neighborhood a checkerboard of rubble-filled blocks and streets lined with tidy homes.

On either side of Normal Boulevard between 57th and 59th streets, mounds of dirt laced with building parts form pyramids, some 20 feet tall. To the east and west of the hollowed-out section are single-family homes, some brick, others wood framed. A similar mix of residences once occupied the blocks now piled high with rubble.

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Deborah Paynes house was buried under one of those mounds. I thought I was going to stay here forever, she told the Tribune in 2021. Its a raggedy thing to you but its my home.

The leveling of those homes wasnt due to the natural cycles affecting much of Englewood: owners growing old and unable to maintain their property, or moving on and replaced by people of limited means.

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The destruction along Normal was deliberate and organized by the Norfolk Southern Railway, which runs freight trains along an adjoining embankment.

The railroad, armed with the power of eminent domain, acquired the homes of Payne and many of her neighbors. Generally, eminent domain is associated with the governments power to take over property needed for projects in the public interest, such as a highway. Railroads were granted the right on the theory that they foster commerce that benefits all Americans

Joyce Edwards didnt think it fair that the Norfolk Southern could make her sell it her home. She and her family fought for years, including by filing a counter lawsuit. Legal papers flew back and forth, until the railroads police and local law enforcement evicted the family on Aug. 6, 2021.

[ [Dont miss] Hundreds of Englewood homes were razed for a railroad expansion. Those who remain on Chicagos South Side want clean air, green space and jobs. ]

Her son, and the wheelchair hes confined to, were set outside side on a sweltering hot day, according to her lawsuit.

Who would do that to an elderly woman and a disabled son, knowing how hard it was for Black people to get a home in the 50s and 60s? asked Ald. Jeanette Taylor, 20th. And you took it from them to do what, to park trailers?

The railroad needed to expand the yard where it stores the shipping containers that have replaced boxcars for transporting freight. The expansion plans took in the blocks piled high with rubble that included the remains of Edwards home.

To be fair, it was the railroads that get credit for creating the community. In the 1850s, eight lines laid their tracks in the area long before there was a village of Englewood, let alone a Chicago neighborhood so named.

Children run in the street near the Englewood elevated train station and an interurban car at 63rd and Halsted streets, circa 1920. (Chicago Tribune historical photo)

The place where several tracks met was originally called the Junction, and a passenger station was built there in 1852. A cluster of homes sprang up around it, a product of the emotional mix that gives rise to suburbs: A taste for a citys cultural opportunities coupled with a longing for a quieter life.

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To confirmed urbanites, the parlay was incomprehensible. When a forthcoming teacher-training facility in Englewood was announced, Chicago newspapers lampooned the Cook County Normal School as being built next to a frog pond.

City slickers could giggle, but the locals got what they were looking for. Sleighing parties on the ice of the sloughs were occasions of merriment and innocent enjoyment to the people, an old settler recalled in The Story of Englewood, a history of the years 1835 to 1923 published in 1924 by the Englewood Business Mens Association.

Picnics in the different groves that surrounded the little town were of weekly occurrences in summertime, and the same catastrophe followed the young gallants, who in their white duck trouser sat down in the succulent custard pies.

But the landscape was changing. A well near what is now the intersection of 63rd and Halsted streets was a place to exchange gossip. Farmers sold produce there off their wagons. Stores followed,

Old residences were moved back in the lot to make room for business fronts and every available foot of ground between 55th Street and 69th Street was soon occupied by prosperous business concerns, recalled another contributor to The Story of Englewood.

The Englewood business district, centered at 63rd and Halsted streets, in 1922 when it was the largest business district in Chicago outside of the Loop. (Frank M. Hallenbeck)

Soon immigrants were disembarking at Englewoods train station. Many were lured by the nearby Union Stockyards, which offered jobs that could be performed by those who didnt speak English.

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In 1920, there were 533 newcomers enrolled in English and Americanization classes at Lindblom High School. They chose to live in Englewood rather than in tenements surrounding the slaughterhouses for the same reason the towns early residents had settled there.

Englewoods boosters bragged that while a substantial police force was needed to keep the peace in the crowded Stockyards district, Englewood had only a few cops. They had little to do other than to ornament the landscape and see the cows were not disturbed in their peaceful pastures, an early resident recalled.

[ [Dont miss] While Norfolk Southern touts benefits expansion will bring to Englewood; residents and contractors reject railroad promises ]

That didnt last. As Englewood urbanized, its virtues and vices mimicked Chicagos, which had annexed the area in 1889. In 1910, for example, the Tribune reported that Ralph Hoffman, 13 years old, weak from hunger and exposure, staggered into the Englewood station last night during the storm, leading his crippled mother, and between sobs told how they had been deserted by the husband and father.

On the other hand, Englewood had stately hotels and luxurious apartments. The seven-story Yale Building at 6565 S. Yale Ave. is listed in the National Register of Historic Places as a pioneering residential high-rise.

The Yale Building in the Englewood neighborhood of Chicago 2017. It was built in the 1890s as luxury apartments for visitors of the World's Columbian Exposition. (Chris Walker / Chicago Tribune)

A visitor walks along the interior atrium of the Yale Building in 2017. It was built in the 1890s as luxury apartments for visitors of the World's Columbian Exposition and it is now used as low-income housing for senior citizens. (Chris Walker / Chicago Tribune)

Halsted and 63rd had become a major retail center, exceeded in Chicago only by the Loop and anchored by Sears and Wieboldts stores.

There was a small Black community. It was sort of an elite neighborhood, Marilyn Frizzle, 75, recently told John Lippert, a freelancer for the Tribune. The shopping district on 63rd Street was like being downtown on Michigan Avenue. Everything you needed was there.

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But racial harmony eluded Englewood as more Black families moved in. The Chicago Defender reported on Aug. 1, 1963: Extra police have been keeping watch in the area of 5659 S. Morgan after a crowd estimated at 1,500 milled around the 30 year red brick building into which the Reginald Williams family moved Monday night.

As other Blacks joined the Williams family, whites moved out of Englewood, taking a significant portion of the neighborhoods buying power with them. Storefronts were vacated on 63rd and Halsted.

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., left, addresses the crowd gathered at 63rd and Halsted streets in Englewood as he headed a non-partisan "get out the vote" caravan which toured Chicago from the South Side to the North Side on Oct. 29, 1964. (Al Phillips/Chicago Tribune)

Englewood Hospital closed in 1988 and its building was later razed. A grand theater that opened as the Hippodrome in 1912 and was later named the West Englewood, where Bob Hope had emceed shows in the 1920s, was knocked down in 1962.

Two train stations in Englewood were closed despite protests from the community.

Crime soared, as did the poverty rate. Renewal programs were repeatedly announced. The most successful was Kennedy-King College at 63rd and Halsted. Others came and went.

Vintage Chicago Tribune Weekly The Vintage Tribune newsletter is a deep dive into the Chicago Tribune's archives featuring photos and stories about the people, places and events that shape the city's past, present and future. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy >

Frizzle, her son Jeff and daughter-in law Alicia hung on. Now they face the side effects of a transportation revolution that benefits the rest of us.

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Goods were traditionally packed and unpacked repeatedly as they moved from producer to consumer. But under the intermodal system, goods are packed only once into large shipping containers. There they stay as a container is carried by ship from, say China, to America. Then theyre transferred to railroad flat cars, really just a set of flanged wheels. Lifted off those cars, the container may finish its journey in a truck, atop pneumatic tires.

Chicago is the nations intermodal epicenter. But its success has required ever more places to store those shipping containers. Stacked on top of each other they look like a metal riff on the Great Wall of China. The railroad calls its current Englewood collage the 47th Street Intermodal Yard. Another will soon be built on those blocks covered with pyramids of rubble.

Which leaves Alicia Frizzle with a question:

Seeing those piles makes me think, what happened, and how is it that a community that once was vibrant has been turned into a rail yard? 

An earlier version of this story misattributed a quote made by Ald. Jeanette Taylor.

Have an idea for Vintage Chicago Tribune? Share it with Ron Grossman and Marianne Mather at rgrossman@chicagotribune.com and mmather@chicagotribune.com.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Sunday dismissed concerns over an apparent lack of enthusiasm among Democratic voters for President Joe Biden's possible reelection campaign.

"Listen, six months ago, there were people who were writing political obituaries for a lot of Democratic governors. We won, overwhelmingly," Whitmer said on CNN's "State of the Union." "We had a great midterm. I thank the White House for that."

Biden has not announced a reelection campaign. An AP-NORC Center poll released last week showed 37 percent of Democrats want him to run again, compared with 52 percent in the lead-up to the last midterm elections.

Whitmer noted that the poll question was not conducted as a matchup between candidates. Former President Donald Trump, who lost to Biden in 2020, has been the only Republican to announce a campaign  though others in the Republican Party have also teased potential 2024 ambitions, some more clearly than others.

Whitmer and the White House have both pointed to the Biden administration's legislative accomplishments and Democrats' performance in the midterms as proof of his ongoing electability, despite the recent polling.



Speaking on NBC's "Meet the Press," Gov. Phil Murphy (D-N.J.) said support for Biden is likely to catch up to his achievements.

"I think there's a lead lag factor here. I think we underestimate the trauma of the past several years," he said, adding: "I don't think you snap back from that overnight."
Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Warner Bros

Its no mystery why the Magic Mike franchise appeals to women, and it should have little problem enticing them back to theaters for the third and final installment in the series, Magic Mikes Last Dance, this weekend. What many may not realize, however, is that director Steven Soderbergh and star Channing Tatums trilogy isnt just a ribald sexual romp tailor-made to raise the temperatures of female moviegoers.

No, its allure is far greater than that. Because Magic Mike islet it be heard from club to shining strip club!also for the guys, the dudes, and the bros.

When it debuted in 2012, Soderberghs original Magic Mike appeared to be merely a raunchy dramedy based in part on its headliners early days as an exotic dancerabout a group of male strippers taking it all off to the delight of hooting-and-hollering ladies in Tampa, Florida. As it turns out, it is about that, but its also considerably more: a funny and engaging story about a guy, Mike (Tatum), using his magnetic charisma and sultry moves to both indulge his hedonistic urges and to achieve his dream of becoming a custom furniture maker.

Along the way, he falls for a girl (Cody Horns Brooke) and contends with the push-pull between who he is, what he does for a living, and where he wants to gostruggles that are as relatable as he is, and transform the film into a universal saga about work and identity.

Warner Bros.

With style and humor to burnmuch of it thanks to Matthew McConaughey as Dallas, the Xquisite club proprietor who serves as Mikes mentor and partnerMagic Mike is a character study of a man figuring out which direction to head. Its 2015 sequel Magic Mike XXL, meanwhile, is a bawdy road trip comedy that stuffs Mike and his buddies (played by Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello, Adam Rodriguez, and Kevin Nash) into a food truck headed to a stripper convention for one last big-ticket hurrah.

Operating at a boisterous pitch, and thriving on the energy of its hetero bromances, its an episodic boys-will-be-boys adventurefixated on its characters mending fences and banding together on a titanic missionthats marked by ripped torsos, steamy seductions and show-stopping numbers that are as impressive as they are hot. Its arguably the most gleefully testosterone-y film of the past decade.

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Magic Mikes Last Dance Is a Sexy-as-Hell, Spellbinding Farewell to the Franchise

Despite the fact that their stripping centerpieces are designed to turn women on, both Magic Mike and Magic Mike XXL are fundamentally about men. Their stories are told expressly from their perspectives and concern their ups and downs, and they function as fantasies about being superhumanly desirable to the opposite sex. Moreover, on a basic level, theyre consistently charming and amusing, led by Tatums understated performance as a male entertainer with a heart of gold (and an ambition to be more than merely a sexual object), and bolstered by an ensemble that enhances the materials spirit of himbo camaraderie and working-class struggle.

That Soderbergh also shoots the hell out of themdrenching them in enveloping colors and staging them for maximum eroticized impactonly further casts them as odysseys about the types of drinking-partying-screwing macho studs that women want to be with, and men want to be.

Warner Bros.

Whereas its predecessors tapped into a strain of exuberant bacchanalian virilityand a yearning to make it endure for as long as possibleMagic Mikes Last Dance is a more romantic and melancholy trilogy capper, charting Mikes time in London with Salma Hayeks recent divorcee, who hires him to put on a lavish theatrical stripping show. Its muted and sweet nature is a significant departure from Mikes earlier exploits, proving to be a fable about a pushing-forty playboy learning to grow up, both personally and professionally, without losing sight of his fundamental self.

That makes it an intensely relevant tale for any man over the age of twenty, suggesting that uninhibited juvenilia can be retrofitted into something mature, meaningful and lasting. Plus, it imagines a happily-ever-after in which Mike finds true love and artistic fulfillment with an immensely wealthy Salma Hayeka plot point that makes it akin to the ultimate male fairy tale.

Warner Bros.

Consequently, dont be fooled by the cowboy, fireman and police-officer costumes, the gyrating, hip-shaking moves, or the screaming-with-delight womenthe Magic Mike movies are for every guy whos ever wanted to hang out with their friends, felt unsatisfied at a job, been unlucky in love, or sought to rock a womans world. Embrace them, dudebros!

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Russian dictator Vladimir Putin

Read also: Putin miscalculated on West, Ukraine, and Russia itself, says former Ukrainian foreign minister Klimkin

Ukraine will end the war with either political or physical assassination of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, Davydiuk said. Here is more of what he told told Radio NV:

The time of empires, the age of empires is over. Russia has survived. The fact that it stumbled over Ukraine shows that this (flow of) time will accelerate.

Ukraine will end this war either with the political assassination of Putin, or with his physical assassination as a human being. And it will definitely happen. Because (otherwise) the war will not end, Putins convulsion allows him to give orders. The elites accepted a simple thing. Why dont we believe in elites rebellion or murder? The elites say: And what depends on us? And it doesnt matter whether they are London-based elites-oligarchs or Moscow plutocrat officials who say that nothing depends on them.

And they are angry at two political entities. The first is Ukraine: Why didnt you, bastards, give up? The second is the West: Why are you helping them? We would quickly conquer them, kill them, shoot them. You would say that we are bad, and we would give you a discount on gas.

Read also: So long as Putin is in the Kremlin: What awaits Russia and what the West is striving for

I spoke with a foreign journalist who came from Moscow (a few days ago). He was doing a story for a UK publication. He said that there is anger (in Russia) with Ukraine because you did not give up and because of you we are humiliated. This is the kind of doubly degraded fascism, when because we didn't kill you, we are angry with you, you are bad.

But it is a brain disease, when the people who run the country there think like that. They have no remorse for the murders in Bucha, Kherson, and Mariupol. They do not understand that these are uncivilized methods of fighting. They are angry that they could not kill us in two or three days, that the whole world spits on them as the last scum.

Story continues

In order for Russia to change its mind, it must lose. Each countrys reflection after a loss results in the country changing for the better if it works on that reflection. Or it simply disintegrates, disappears. There are countries that have disappeared.

Russians say that empires cannot disappear. Where is the British Empire, why is India independent today? Why do we see Pakistan, Hong Kong? The Russians say that a nuclear state cannot lose, but the (United) States lost in Vietnam being a nuclear (state). Russia lost in Afghanistan, being a nuclear (state).

Read also: A look at the trio who convinced Putin to invade

We must teach the world not to make Russia small. Russia, even being large, was moderately safe. Let me remind you that (first Russian President Boris) Yeltsin, when he was going to the elections and he was also quick to blame, he attacked Russia itself. He attacked Chechnya. However, the first time he failed to win, he had to retreat and attack again. But when Russia is weak, it attacks itself. When Russia is strong, it attacks its neighbors. It is necessary to make Russia weak.

Therefore, in addition to making Russia small again, it also needs to be made weak again. And be left in this state. There are several tools here. The first is the dismantling of the regime. Super sanctions that will crush it (are needed), but so far there are none, 10 packages did not do it. Next is the demolition of the dictator by physical means. And the fourth is its collapse, separatism.



Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
A woman was looking for her lost cat when she stumbled across human remains, according to authorities in Oklahoma.

The Tulsa Police Department said investigators were called to a burned building in an eastern Tulsa neighborhood on Thursday, Feb. 9, where they confirmed human remains were inside the structure.

The building was set on fire in September, police said in a Feb. 10 Facebook post.

Authorities have not said if the remains are believed to have been in the building at the time of the fire.

Homicide detectives are investigating the case as a murder, police said.

The remains were taken to a medical examiners office as part of the ongoing investigation. They have not been identified as of the news release.

Anyone with additional information is asked to call Tulsa Crime Stoppers at 918-596-2677.

Human skeleton discovered in shuttered building on UC Berkeley campus, police say

Hunter stumbles upon remains of man missing for three years, North Carolina cops say

Worker finds hand sticking out of grave behind abandoned home, Michigan reports say
ATLANTA (AP)  Trae Young had 24 points and a season-high 17 assists, DeAndre Hunter added 24 points and the Atlanta Hawks beat the reeling San Antonio Spurs 125-106 on Saturday night.

The Spurs (14-43), losers of a season-high 12 straight, are a half-game ahead of last-place Houston (13-43) in the Western Conference. Atlanta (29-28) has won two straight and four of six. The Hawks are eighth in the East.

The losing streak is San Antonio's longest since the 1988-89 club dropped a team-record 13 in a row.

They play their (butt) off," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. They do everything they can. Well just keep forming good habits and hope that this builds and builds as the weeks and months and next season come along."

Atlanta never trailed after Youngs layup early in the third made it 65-64. The Hawks went on a 12-0 run to take a 75-64 lead, the games first in double digits, on a pair of free throws by John Collins. A dunk by Clint Capela made it 82-70 at the 4:39 mark of the third, and the Spurs called timeout.

San Antonio is always going to play hard and always play the right way, meaning theres going to be five guys out there connected," Atlanta coach Nate McMillan said. Theyre going to be moving the ball. Theyre going to be working hard trying to outscrap you. Thats just the way they play.

"It took us 24 minutes to start establishing and coming with that urgency that we needed on both ends of the floor."

Young hit two free throws to make it 93-77 entering the fourth with Atlantas biggest lead. San Antonio was just 5 for 22 from the field in the third and was outscored 32-17. The lead swelled to 23 in the fourth.

I think we just picked up the pressure defensively and got out and ran more and got some better shots and some faster shots," Young said. I think we were going too slow in that first half, and they were pushing the pace and pushing it at us. We just knew we had to pick up the pressure."

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Keldon Johnson, San Antonios leading scorer this season, was back in the lineup after missing Fridays double overtime loss at Detroit with left ankle soreness and finished with 25 points. Jeremy Sochan added 18.

Capela finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds, and Collins added 17 points for the Hawks.

The Hawks led 61-60 at halftime as Hunter had 17 points, Capela had 12 points with eight rebounds and Young 12 points with 10 assists. Johnson and Sochan each scored 18 before intermission for San Antonio.

Atlanta outscored the Spurs 25-12 in points off turnovers.

TIP-INS

Spurs: One night after scoring 31 points to set a franchise record in a San Antonio debut, Devonte Graham, acquired in Thursdays trade with New Orleans, finished with nine points off the bench. ... G Tre Jones was back in the lineup after missing four straight games with left foot soreness and scored eight points. ... Sochan returned after missing four straight games with lower back soreness. He scored 11 points in the first quarter and finished with a career-high nine rebounds.

Hawks: In his first game against his former team, Dejounte Murray scored 18 points. ... Young passed Lenny Wilkens for fourth place on the Hawks' career assists list with 3,050. ... Newly acquired C Bruno Fernando and G Garrison Mathews were not in uniform, but McMillan hopes they will be ready to debut Monday at Charlotte. ... Hunter had 12 points and Young had six assists in the first quarter.

ON SITE

McMillan said Saddiq Bey sat on the bench as the newly acquired swingman was in limbo with Thursdays four-team trade uncertain because Gary Payton II allegedly failed a physical with Golden State. Payton was supposed to return to the Warriors from Portland. Bey was acquired from Detroit. Golden State has until Sunday to decide whether to go forward with the deal or nix it.

UP NEXT

Spurs: At Cleveland on Monday.

Hawks: At Charlotte on Monday.

___

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
(Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Sunday hailed efforts to restore power generation systems damaged by Russian attacks but warned the population it was too early to declare victory on the energy front.

Zelenskiy said power workers had done such a good job repairing the damage caused by Russian missile and drone strikes on Friday that most people had not had to face too many outages on Saturday and Sunday.

"The very fact that ... after a massive missile strike this week, we can have such peaceful energy days proves the professionalism of our energy workers," he said in an evening video address.

"We have to realize: this is not yet a decisive victory on the energy front. Unfortunately, there may be new terrorist attacks from Russia. There may be new restrictions if there is further destruction or growth in consumption."

Zelenskiy said scheduled energy outages would once again be in place when the working week started on Monday.

Russia has carried out repeated waves of attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities in recent months, at times leaving millions of people without light, heating or water supplies during the cold winter.

Energy Minister German Galushchenko said the power deficit after the attacks had been significantly reduced thanks to "an ultra-fast repair program" which ensured that all nine nuclear power units on Ukrainian controlled territory were working and connected to the grid.

"This is the best response of Ukrainian energy workers to enemy shelling," he said in a statement.

(Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Dzyuba was responsible for the rear and was the head of logistics at the National Guard.

Read also: Lawmaker explains why intel chief can't be appointed as defense minister

The decree does not give the reason for the dismissal. Earlier, Zelenskyy announced that he had held a number of meetings with representatives of the security and defense agencies, news agency Suspilne reported.

Zelesnkyy said the meetings concerned various areas, in particular personnel policy, interaction between state institutions, and the effectiveness of the work of state structures

Read also: Security services complete investigation into ex-SBU chief, reports RFE/RL

Dzyuba was awarded the III class Order of Bohdan Khmelnytskyi back in 2008. He held the position of Head of the Financial and Economic Department of the Main Directorate of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs since 2005 (now the National Guard), and since 2014 he had held the same position, but in the National Guard.

In addition, with another decree the head of state changed the composition of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine. The president appointed Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko to the council and approved as a member SBU security service chief Vasyl Malyuk.

Klymenko was appointed acting Interior Minister on Jan. 18 after the death of former Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskyi in a helicopter crash in Brovary. Previously, he headed the National Police of Ukraine.

Read also: World leaders and diplomats react to helicopter crash in Brovary and death of interior ministry leaders

Malyuk has been acting head of the Security Service since July 18, 2022, after Zelenskyy dismissed Ivan Bakanov.

Before that, he served as the first deputy head of the agency.

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed a decree on 12 February 2023, putting into effect a decision by the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine (NSDC) on imposing personal sanctions against 199 Russian citizens.

Source: Zelenskyy's decree

Details: It is noted that sanctions were imposed after the NSDC's decision.

The list of Russians has been proposed by the Security Service of Ukraine.

Apart from the 199 Russians, there is one Ukrainian on the list, Yurii Chernichuk, born in 1971, a traitor and a chief engineer at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant who sided with the occupiers.

Among the representatives from the occupying country are Andrey Petrov, the Head of Rosenergoatom, as well as Putin's foreign policy assistant Yuriy Ushakov.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
BEDFORD  People lined the streets of Bedford on Saturday morning to welcome home a group of National Guard soldiers who recently returned from deployment to the Horn of Africa.

Soldiers of Alpha Company 1st Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment, 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team 29th division, we welcome you home, Kenneth Parker, a founder and curator for the Bedford Boys Tribute Center, said to begin the ceremony.

Loud cheers and claps ensued from community members, family members and overall supporters of the soldiers.

The Bedford Boys Tribute Center, a nonprofit, hosted a Welcome Home Parade on Main Street on Saturday afternoon to celebrate Alpha Company's return.

The deployment was a part of Task Force Red Dragon. The task force of about 1,000 soldiers from across Virginia and Kentucky provided security forces throughout the Horn of Africa, maintaining a presence in Djibouti, Somalia and Kenya.

Linda Parker, wife of Kenneth Parker and founder of Bedford Boys Tribute Center, said she thought the ceremony turned out absolutely wonderful.

They [Alpha Company] haven't had a welcome home parade in a long time, and it was just an honor for them to be here and to show  the love this town has for their company, Linda said.

Town Mayor Tim Black said it was a great event.

They're our citizens and they are part of our community. They have chosen to serve our community through the Virginia National Guard, and it's important that we recognize their service and honor them with this type of welcome home ceremony, Black said.

Staff Sgt. George Winters said it feels really good to have the community come out in support.

This is my third deployment, and this is the first time weve ever had the community come and show their support, and Bedfords been great about that, Winters said. It means a lot and its something that I think all of us will remember in the future.

Winters has been with the National Guard for 16 years. He said the group generally did security operations in multiple locations in the Horn of Africa and they also supported other branches of the military.

According to Winters, the support from the community during deployment is important.

My immediate thoughts made me think of decades ago when there wasn't necessarily support like this for a lot of units. You know, a lot of guys coming back from, I guess even as late as Korea and Vietnam, never saw anything like this. It means a lot, Winters said.

Cpl. Gerald McNally said he was almost at a loss for words, when reflecting on the support they received from the community at the parade.

It's hard to even find words for this because I've never seen anything like this before. I've never even heard of any of this before, so it's just eye opening, McNally said. I can't thank the community enough for showing up and supporting us. I really don't think they know how much it means to us.

He joined the military in 2018 and joined the current unit in 2019. This was his first deployment.

McNally said mail day was a day they looked forward to. He said the group received letters and small items, such as a deck of cards.

The Bedford Boys Tribute Center started Operation Bedford Remembers" prior to their deployment, to get members of the community to send care packages and letters to the soldiers while they were in Africa.

Kenneth Parker said in his speech the response was overwhelming as more than 200 people signed up.

Following the ceremony Saturday, soldiers had the opportunity to meet with some of the community members who sent letters and care packages at Bedford Virginia National Guard Armory.

It meant a lot to us, McNally said. We would all gather around, and it was like Christmas, and it was like opening presents. That dopamine rush would last for weeks until the next mail run wed get.

Sgt. Brian Roach explained that, at first, it was kind of hard to get mail, but once they received all of the mail, they had a lot of packages from the community. He said everyone was happy just to see a package.

You have a little piece of home with you. Seeing that package and knowing somebody cares about you, having that support definitely helped us out a lot, said Roach, who has been a National Guardsman for nine years. This marked his second deployment.

He said seeing the community welcoming them back was awesome.

The community supporting the military is just great, Roach said.

Kenneth Parker ended the ceremony by saying to the soldiers, to us today, you will forever be known as our 'Bedford Boys of Alpha Company.'
Bedford residents came out to share the love Saturday for the Bedford Humane Society, supporting its Happy Valen-Tails fundraiser. The event was a collaboration between the Humane Society, Goose Creek Art Studio and ElectricCo Art, and featured a pet photo contest, chance auction, carriage rides, food, and music. All proceeds benefit the Bedford Humane Society.
This undated photo shows Emmett Louis Till, who was kidnapped, tortured and killed in the Mississippi Delta in August 1955 after witnesses claimed he whistled at a white woman working in a store. Till's cousin, Patricia Sterling, filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023, to compel the current Leflore County sheriff, Ricky Banks, to serve an arrest warrant on Carolyn Bryant in the kidnapping that led to the brutal lynching of Till, a Black teenager. She has since remarried and is named Carolyn Bryant Donham. (AP Photo/AP)

A relative of Emmett Till is suing to try to make a Mississippi sheriff serve a 1955 arrest warrant on a white woman in the kidnapping that led to the Black teenagers brutal lynching.

The torture and killing of Till in the Mississippi Delta became a catalyst for the civil rights movement after his mother insisted on an open-casket funeral in Chicago and Jet magazine published photos of his mutilated body.

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Last June, a team doing research at the courthouse in Leflore County, Mississippi, found an unserved 1955 arrest warrant for Carolyn Bryant, listed on that document as Mrs. Roy Bryant.

Tills cousin Patricia Sterling of Jackson, Mississippi, filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against the current Leflore County sheriff, Ricky Banks. The suit seeks to compel Banks to serve the warrant on Carolyn Bryant, who has since remarried and is named Carolyn Bryant Donham.

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We are using the available means at our disposal to try to achieve justice on behalf of the Till family, Sterlings attorney Trent Walker told The Associated Press on Friday.

The AP left a phone message for Banks on Friday, seeking comment. The sheriff did not immediately respond. Court records showed that the lawsuit had not been served on him by Friday.

Till, who was 14, had traveled south from Chicago to visit relatives in Mississippi in August 1955. Donham accused him of making improper advances on her at a grocery store in the small community of Money. A cousin of Till who was there has said Till whistled at the woman, an act that flew in the face of Mississippis racist social codes of the era.

Evidence indicates a woman, possibly Donham, identified Till to the men who later killed him. The arrest warrant against Donham was publicized in 1955, but the Leflore County sheriff at the time told reporters that he did not want to bother the woman since she was raising two young children.

Weeks after Tills body was found in a river, her husband Roy Bryant and his half-brother J.W. Milam were tried for murder and acquitted by an all-white jury. Months later, the men confessed in a paid interview with Look magazine.

Now in her late 80s, Donham has lived in North Carolina and Kentucky in recent years. She has not commented publicly on calls for her prosecution.

The U.S. Justice Department announced in December 2021 that it had ended its latest investigation into the lynching of Till, without bringing charges against anyone.

After researchers found the arrest warrant last June, the office of Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch said in July there was no new evidence to try to pursue a criminal case against Donham. In August, a district attorney said a Leflore County grand jury had declined to indict Donham.

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Walker, the attorney for Tills cousin, said Friday that the South has a history of cases of violence that were not brought to justice until decades later  including the 1963 assassination of Mississippi NAACP leader Medgar Evers, for which white supremacist Byron de la Beckwith was convicted of murder in 1994.

But for Carolyn Bryant falsely claiming to her husband that Emmett Till assaulted her Emmett would not have been murdered, Sterlings lawsuit says. It was Carolyn Bryants lie that sent Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam into a rage, which resulted in the mutilation of Emmett Tills body into (an) unrecognizable condition.
Moroccos strategic positioning and its involvement in all the dynamics of the Mediterranean region were highlighted in Rome at a meeting attended by economic, political and diplomatic personalities.

Morocco has never ceased to consolidate its anchorage in the Mediterranean, positioning itself as a bridge between Europe and Africa and between East and West, said Ambassador to Italy Youssef Balla during the meeting.

The Kingdoms geostrategic potential, as well as the reforms undertaken and the quality of its infrastructures, place it at a high level in global value chains, the Ambassador stressed, adding that Morocco has always been committed to the emergence of a stable and prosperous Mediterranean area for the benefit of all.

Euro-Mediterranean cooperation contributes not only to socio-economic development, but also to the promotion of shared values and the establishment of conditions of stability for the entire Mediterranean region, the diplomat stressed.

He further noted that a strong regional partnership can be an important lever for the development of Euro-Arab and Euro-African relations.

In terms of security cooperation, Morocco, an exporter of expertise in the fight against terrorism, has always been a reliable interlocutor, an active player and a credible partner in eliminating threats in its immediate environment, especially in the Mediterranean, he said.

The Moroccan diplomat also highlighted Moroccos holistic approach to counter-terrorism, which combines surveillance measures, regional and international cooperation and counter-radicalization policies.

Morocco also continues to make a substantial contribution to the regional management of the migration issue and plays a leading role in several Mediterranean dialogues aimed at further strengthening existing partnership frameworks, such as the UfM, the 5+5 and the Two Shores Summit, he added.

Morocco, under the leadership of King Mohammed VI, has also endowed itself with modern and democratic institutions, as enshrined in the 2011 Constitution, making it a model of institutional and political stability, as internationally recognized by all its political and economic partners, the diplomat stressed.

Many countries have repeatedly highlighted the importance of the role played by Morocco as a pole of democracy and stability in the Mediterranean region.
King Mohammed VI has reiterated Moroccos unwavering commitment to the Palestinian cause and to al-Quds, pointing out that he considers the Palestinian cause just as important as the Kingdoms foremost national cause and warning that the stalemate in the Palestinian-Israeli peace process gives radicals an opportunity to exacerbate the conflict, stir up religious feelings, and increase tension and agitation in the city of al-Quds.

This came in a message that King Mohammed VI, Chairman of the Al-Quds Committee, addressed to the participants in the High-Level Conference on the Protection and Support of the City of Al-Quds held in Cairo Sunday.

The Kingdom of Moroccos participation in todays conference attests to my countrys renewed commitment to the Palestinian cause in general, and to al-Quds in particular, in keeping with my sacred duty as Chairman of the Organization of Islamic Cooperations al-Quds Committee. Indeed, the Palestinian cause is just as important to me as my countrys foremost national cause. As it has been pointed out on various occasions, it is also one of the enduring pillars of our foreign policy, states the Sovereign in the message that was read out by Head of Government Aziz Akhannouch.

The King who underlined the special meaning of this conference as it is taking place at a difficult juncture as regards the Palestinian cause and the question of al-Quds and of Islamic and Christian holy shrines there, foremost of which is the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, called on Arab states to close ranks, take joint action, and shoulder a collective responsibility in order to face up to the violations committed in the Holy City, and the attempts to obliterate its unique cultural identity and change its legal character, which the relevant UN Security Council resolutions have pledged to protect.

The unilateral measures designed to create illegitimate facts on the ground in al-Quds and its surroundings represent a threat to the citys legal status, its demographic make-up, and its historical character, which is rooted in a diversity of cultures and faiths, the Sovereign pointed out, warning that the systematic measures taken do not help build trust. Rather, they undermine the chances of reaching a permanent solution based on two states living side by side, in peace and security.

The King underlined further that the difficult reality prevailing in al-Quds cannot be considered separately from the general context relating to the evolution of the Palestinian cause.

The interruption of negotiations between the Israeli and Palestinian sides, and the continuing impasse and stalemate in the peace process, give radicals an opportunity to exacerbate the conflict, stir up religious feelings, and increase tension and agitation in the city of al-Quds. As a result, there is a risk that this political conflict might turn into an ideological one, with potentially dire consequences for the entire region, the Sovereign stated in his message.

He made it clear that protecting the city of al-Quds from plans to change its historical and legal status should be an honest and sincere endeavor, far from empty slogans, useless outbidding tactics, and narrow-minded calculations.

Therefore, defending al-Quds should not be a momentary, circumstantial act. Rather, it should involve effective diplomatic actions and actual work on the ground, inside the Holy City.

King Mohammed VI then surveyed the tangible field work carried out for more than 25 years by the Bayt Mal al-Quds al-Sharif Agency, which is the operational branch of the OIC al-Quds Committee, to support the Holy City and preserve its cultural specificity through the implementation of social and development projects that concern all segments of the Citys population.

The Agency has managed to implement more than 200 projects, at an estimated cost of about $65 million, a funding totally provided by the Moroccan state (70 percent of the budget) and contributions from institutions and individuals.

Calling for the need for concerted Arab and Islamic efforts to protect and support the Holy City of al-Quds, and to facilitate a political detente that can open up prospects for optimism, so that peace, security and prosperity would prevail in the region, the King explained that commitment to the principles of coexistence and the perception of cultural, religious or sectarian differences as common sources of enrichment, would bring communities together, rather than separate them.

The King recalled in this vein the Al-Quds Appeal he signed in Rabat on 30 March 2019, with Pope Francis, in which they stressed that it was important to preserve the Holy City of Jerusalem / Al-Quds Acharif as the common patrimony of humanity and especially the followers of the three monotheistic religions, as a place of encounter and as a symbol of peaceful coexistence, where mutual respect and dialogue can be cultivated.

With that in mind, I reiterate the call for setting up a global alliance of all driving forces that are committed to peace and that believe in the values of tolerance and coexistence. The aim is to save the City of Peace and preserve its common cultural and human heritage, in keeping with the appeal I made in Rabat, in 2009, on the occasion of the International Conference on al-Quds, King Mohammed VI stated.

The Sovereign vowed that Morocco, convinced that peace in the Middle East region remains an inescapable strategic option, will keep up its efforts and leverage its capabilities and its outstanding relations with all the influential international parties and powers so as to contribute to any international effort aimed at re-launching dialogue and negotiations. That is, indeed, the only way to put an end to the conflict and achieve security, stability and prosperity in the Middle East region.

King Mohammed VI who renewed full support for the Palestinian National Authority, under the leadership of President Mahmoud Abbas, and for the efforts it is making to achieve the aspirations of the Palestinian people and their quest for freedom, independence, unity and prosperity, urged the high-level conference to provide strong support for al-Quds and its inhabitants, and shed further light on the fairness and centrality of the question of al-Quds al-sharif.
The North Platte Public Schools Board of Education will vote to approve the Certified Master Agreement in order to set district employee salaries at Mondays meeting.

The evening will begin with a public hearing on the required American civics presentation at 5:30 p.m. followed by the regular board meeting.

The Certified Master Agreement will set the base salary for the 2023-24 contract year at $40,000, which is up $950 from 2022-23.

Health care continues to be provided by the district and teachers will get an added personal day. A number of factors are in play that includes experience and ongoing education and placement on the salary schedule which is determined by the superintendent or a designee, according to the boards agenda.

The meeting will include the monthly reports by the Public Schools Foundation, committee reports, and a FFA presentation.

The board will receive the revised strategic plan and the regular monthly financial and budget report.

In other action, the board will consider approval for membership with the Nebraska Association of School Boards; request approval for the McDonald HVAC bid; request approval for sale of a Type A bus; request approval of the efforts of the Committee on American Civics to meet state statute requirements and request approval of district line of credit if needed.

The total bid for the McDonald Elementary HVAC bid is $2,447,492.76, which will come out of ESSERS funds.
The Opelika Police Department is requesting the publics assistance in identifying a suspect involved in a theft of property, third degree, which occurred at Party City, located at 2534 Enterprise Drive.

The suspect used cash to purchase gift cards, and when the register was open and the employee was not looking, the suspect took money from the register, according to the police report.

Police said the surveillance video shows the suspect to be a white female with dark hair, wearing black clothing and black shoes.

Anyone with information on this incident or the identity of the suspect is asked to contact the Opelika Police Department Detective Division at 334-705-5220 or the Secret Witness Hotline at 334-745-8665. Anonymous tips can be submitted through the Opelika Police Mobile App.

Tips can also be forwarded through Central Alabama Crime Stoppers at 334-215-STOP(7867), toll-free at 1-833-AL1-STOP, or via their Facebook page: www.Facebook.com/215stop or their website: www.215STOP.com.
The performing arts centers in Auburn and Opelika are collaborating together for the first time by scheduling a group to perform in both cities this month: the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.

This orchestra of 32 members was first established in 1972 by a group of young New York freelancers, and they became trailblazers for a collaborative leadership style in which they rehearse and perform without a conductor.

What started as a radical experiment in musical democracy has stood the test of time as the orchestra is currently celebrating its 50th anniversary. The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra showed whats possible when exceptional artists gather with total faith in the creative process.

Within its first decade, Orpheus made Carnegie Hall its home and became a global sensation through its tour of Europe and Asia, the Orpheus website stated.

The orchestra will be traveling to the Auburn-Opelika area with 16 musicians and Italian pianist Alessio Bax will also be joining the tour. Orpheus will be playing different programs in Auburn and Opelika.

The first performance will be at the Opelika Center for the Performing Arts on Feb. 23 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $20-$59 and are available online at eastalabama.org.

The next day, Feb. 24, the orchestra will perform at the Gogue Performing Arts Center in Auburn at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $30-$65 and are available online at goguecentertickets.auburn.edu.

Phillip Preston, director of East Alabama Arts, and Chris Heacox, executive director of the Gogue Performing Arts Center, said theyve been looking for ways to work together for several years.

Heacox said theyd been talking about such an endeavor since he moved to Auburn in 2017 to become the director of the Gogue Center, which opened in 2019. Preston, whos in his 35th season with the EAA series and has been director since then, said they just needed the right project.

The opportunity arose when Preston got a call from Orpheus as the group was looking for a stop between Virginia and Texas. Then Preston called Heacox.

This was a really great opportunity because the cost to be able to book an American touring orchestra is very expensive, Heacox said. To be able to bring one of the quality of Orpheus here for our community and have them do two different programs 20 minutes apart in our venues was just something we couldnt pass up.

Preston added: With everything else thats happened in the world, an orchestra that operates and rehearses and conceives of how they do what they do, based on a democratic process, thats just irresistible.

Democratic orchestra

Jim Wilson, 58, is a cellist and one of the artistic directors for the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.

In 1972, during the time the orchestra was forming, Wilson said even small chamber orchestras had conductors, so it was unusual for Orpheus not to have one.

While a symphonic orchestra can have 80 to over 100 musicians, a chamber orchestra is much smaller with about 20 to 35 musicians.

Orpheus really became kind of a model of conductorless chamber orchestras, and many of them exist now all around the world, he said.

At the age of 14, Wilson remembers seeing the orchestra perform in his hometown, Ann Arbor, Mich.

I thought that they were amazing, he said. At that time, they were just kind of at the start of their meteoric rise.

By the time Wilson went off to college, he said the orchestra had begun touring all over the world and making recordings for Deutsche Grammophon, Nonesuch and other labels. Over time, the orchestra recorded more than 70 albums.

In 2004, Wilson moved to New York and got connected to this orchestra.

One nice thing about Orpheus is that were a democratic ensemble, so a lot of our leadership positions are done through elections, Wilson said. So, Ive been a substitute player, Ive been a full member, Ive been a musician trustee on our board of directors and Ive been an artistic director for five years.

While rehearsing and performing without a conductor presents challenges, Wilson said there are many benefits in not having one.

He said the key is communication skills. Its important to listen to one another and use overt body language while playing to keep everything together, which are skills that everyone in the orchestra has.

Heacox said its almost like an orchestra of soloists because thats the level each musician must be able to perform at or the whole thing could fall apart.

I play in orchestras also that are conducted, and when you have a good conductor, its really wonderful and you feel very satisfied, Wilson said. But, not all conductors are great, and it can be quite frustrating when somebodys setting the music and its not to your liking and you dont have a say in whats going on.

Within the democratic, collaborative style Orpheus uses, the members are able to voice their opinions during rehearsals and the floor is always open for anyone to speak. The orchestra created their own way of rehearsing called the Orpheus process, which provides a structure for how communication is shared.

We have a concertmaster like a symphony orchestra, but in our case the concertmaster is a little bit like a referee where they kind of control the flow of the rehearsal and the times of the rehearsal. They have the last say maybe in how things go, but they dont lay down the interpretation themselves, Wilson said.

Below the concertmaster is the core, which is a smaller group within the orchestra made up of the principal string and wind players. Wilson said the core rehearses together first to work out the basic interpretive vision for the piece. Then the entire orchestra rehearses together to work out the other fine details.

Wilson said they also have a designated listener at all times during rehearsal. This is a member who puts down their instrument to sit where the audience would and listens to the orchestra play, providing feedback.

Usually people think of leadership as somebody at the top saying how it goes to everybody underneath. In Orpheus, we kind of have a circular approach, Wilson said.

Leadership comes from members in the front or the back or on either side. The orchestra doesnt rely on ranking members in seating positions, like first chair, but rotates roles according to the piece theyre playing.

Another very important thing about our orchestra is that everybody is engaged no matter where they sit. Everybodys engaged about 200% in whats going on and play to their fullest, Wilson said.

Orpheus showed the world that it was possible to play without a conductor.

I cant give enough credit to Orpheus for starting this kind of tradition and this innovation because I think its led to a lot of personality in small orchestra playing and its also given a lot of agency to the musicians themselves, Wilson said.

Wilson played with Orpheus when they performed in Opelika in 2018, and he said theyre excited to return to the area. After their two performances, the orchestra will travel to Texas, Kansas and Nebraska.
Yeah its definitely been happening for a while considering there were at least 3 confirmed ones that Tr*mp ignored. Wild times.

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This is so different from your usual pics and gifs. 

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I don't only post cats!! (but yes mostly lol)

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Jean Jacket!

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Havent surveillance balloons been traveling around for years? Didnt seem to be an issue when 45 was in charge.



Heck the Chinese probably didnt even need to use balloons, they probably could have sent him a burnt steak with ketchup, tell him how virile and strong he was, pass a bag of cash to Jared, and that damn fool would have given any and all information they wanted.



Oh wait that already happened.

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https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattnovak/2023/02/04/yes-chinese-spy-balloons-flew-over-the-us-when-president-trump-was-in-office-too/amp/ There were actually several balloons that went unreported when trump was president lol

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I'm going to go with that "opening filters" explanation because the alternatives are either "manufactured consent for US war with China" or UFO kookbabbling. No thanks!



Also Senator Jon Tester is the only intelligent rep my state has now  hate to see it



Edited at 2023-02-12 05:16 pm (UTC)

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I dont understand whats happening, is China mad at us so they are spying with balloons now? Or is there nothing really happening and politicians want to make it political?

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Your mothership came looking for you to take you home

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yikes

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there was a derailment in Ohio that has the potential to cause an enormous ecological disaster.

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China has spied on us for a very long time and balloons are cheaper than satellites. They use them to spy on other countries as well, and people abroad have noticed them. This isn't new, but it is new to the American public. The Dept of Defense either has not noticed or not cared to deal with them in the past; they say the monitor hundreds of balloons, mostly weather balloons, and unless something weird is going on, it isn't kicked up the chain of command.



Because Republicans threw an absolute shitfit about not shooting down the first balloon in the news, other objects are being shot down, especially if they're closer to the altitude of air traffic. For fighter jets to observe objects on radar and determine if they need should be shot down, then shoot them down, they have to send out a Notice To Air-Men (NOTAM) to alert air traffic to that activity. And because everyone is free to see and report on those NOTAMs they assume it's another balloon or aliens or evil government conspiracy to distract us from the earthquake or train derailment or hunter biden, pick your poison.



Basically, it's a thing that matters but shouldn't cause panic, and the military gets to do something in the US that isn't sporting event flyovers.

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US government right now, Ohio? More like OH HI BALLOONS FROM CHINA. CHINA YALL.

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What the actual fuck is happening?

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Feels like a distraction from the train catastrophe.

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Must be working bc I don't know what this train catastrophe is.

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a train with vinyl chloride derailed in east palestine ohio causing them to evacuate the citizens of that town. basically the train company cut corners & this happened. a reporter that went there to cover it was arrested, they told the citizens they could come back but a lot were worried & when they did return they found their livestock & pets dead bc of it & there's also the fact that it will effect several different states not just that town bc of how big the fire was. the drinking water wasn't contaminated but creeks, rivers were effected.

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Some articles in case anybody is interested



https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/11/health/ohio-train-derailment-white-noise/index.html



https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/02/12/east-palestine-ohio-derailment-residents/



https://www.levernews.com/rail-companies-blocked-safety-rules-before-ohio-derailment/



https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/02/10/dnbp-f10.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/08/us/ohio-train-derailment-reporter-arrested.html



https://qz.com/norfolk-southern-is-giving-25-000-to-an-ohio-town-wher-1850094599?utm_source=YPL

What labovm said!Some articles in case anybody is interested

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And the Transportation Department isn't going to change any rules/regulations to prevent future accidents like the train catastrophe from happening.

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i think so too.

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Pretty nefarious of people to notice and freak out about a balloon floating over the US days before the derailment. What did those Montanans know and when?



It's been on twitter and in the mainstream news since last Friday. It's perfectly normal for two things to happen at the same time, and for people (especially the right-wing nutjobs who basically act as assignment editors for msm) to focus on a quasi-mystery that they can attack their favorite boogiemen -- China and Democrats -- for rather than something where we know how and why it happened (unchecked corporate greed.)

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I don't want to take my kids back to that, a resident of East Palestine said. None of us have the money to completely start over somewhere. We're not going to have a choice but to take our children back to that place, and it's not fair.https://t.co/oazQNtK3Qy  philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) February 12, 2023



I don't know if that embeds but a quote of a resident saying how they don't want to go back or take their kids back to that but will have no choice. The animals have all died there and it's not going to be safe now or for many years and it hasn't received as much coverage.



Edited at 2023-02-12 07:10 pm (UTC) I don't know if that embeds but a quote of a resident saying how they don't want to go back or take their kids back to that but will have no choice. The animals have all died there and it's not going to be safe now or for many years and it hasn't received as much coverage.

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I don't think they need to distract - it's not really even being covered. I don't think corporate America wants people hearing that this is the kind of result that the train workers have been warning about for some time or reminded that they were trying to strike but it was averted without their concerns really being addressed. It's not good for Republicans because they are always anti-union and it's not great for Democrats because the strike would have been disastrous for the midterms, hence all the work trying to prevent it.

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honestly nobody was reporting on it before these started showing up so i don't really think it's that

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Nah cause we have telescopes that can see whole ass galaxies and shit but we don't have the tech that can easily verify if something flying over a damn country is a fucking balloon or not? Uh uh, my spidey senses are fucking tingling.

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Mte, like we know for a fact that the NSA was monitoring regular people but the government isn't monitoring their own airspace? Sure Jan.gif

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It's much easier to monitor humans who cluster in relatively small areas of the world and willingly carry around internet-connected devices in their pockets than it is to detect unpowered UAVs floating around 10-20km above some of the most sparsely populated parts of the world.

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I was hoping for our aliens overlords to finally make a grand entrance and save us from ourselves, but this is just politics as usual.



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you had one job @ aliens

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Can we please have the apocalypse after my summer vacation? I didnt have any since covid.

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Ever since Ukraine and the uptick of the talk of nuclear war Ive had random daydreams of super advanced benevolent aliens watching us and facepalming going Welp, time for us to head in and unite them by giving them a common enemy (a la Zack Snyder Watchmen)



Edited at 2023-02-13 03:23 am (UTC)

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it's probably aliens tired of our shit. They're starting drama so that we all get into a war and kill each other and that way they won't have to deal with us anymore.

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I mean, that's the smart way. If you've figured out interstellar travel you've probably got colonialism down pat.



Maybe the Vulcans decided they'd rather not deal with us having emotions at them.

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Yours is probably more likely than my pipe dream, but Im still lowkey hoping its aliens coming to rapture the suffering and leave the rich and powerful to rot on the planet they helped destroy 

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I like my planet earth, Id rather they come beam up the rich instead and, idk, absorb them like human batteries, leaving us the resources to clean up and save all the beautiful animals 

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I binged Resident Alien last month so this has definitely been my theory

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The Monster Balloons Are Due On Maple Street

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Welp, they better save the animals though

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I havent been keeping up with this, but if the countries want to spy on each other, why not go with something more inconspicuous?

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If they wanted to be inconspicuous they would. They wanted these balloons found. I think this whole thing is being blown out of proportion.

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This is a great song, it aged so well lol

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Everyones been talking about green hydrogen as a potential gas and fuel replacement as the world transitions away from fossil fuels. But one alternative, pink hydrogen, produced using nuclear power, has been largely overlooked. Governments worldwide are once again discussing nuclear power, with plans to construct several new power plants around the globe. This is largely in response to the Russia-Ukraine conflict and resulting energy insecurity, which has demonstrated the worlds ongoing reliance on a few select powers for their oil and gas needs. Many countries are looking to become more self-sufficient when it comes to energy, with a wider array of renewable energy options now on the table. So, could pink hydrogen be one of the major power sources of the future?

In recent years, companies have been racing to develop green hydrogen projects, to remain competitive, as more countries look for alternatives to natural gas, diesel, and jet fuel. Green hydrogen is widely seen as a renewable energy source that has the potential to replace fossil fuels as it can be applied for a number of uses. While grey and blue hydrogen use natural gas in the production process, green hydrogen relies on electrolysis powered by renewable energy sources, where water is split into hydrogen and oxygen. In contrast, pink hydrogen is produced using nuclear power, also making it carbon-free, although not technically green due to the classification of nuclear energy as non-renewable.

Related: Teslas Huge Model 3 Discounts Lift Car Sales In China

At present, most hydrogen production continues to rely on natural gas, as green hydrogen operations are extremely expensive to run in comparison. In 2021, low-emissions hydrogen production accounted for less than 1 percent of hydrogen output worldwide, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). Rachael Rothman, the co-director of the Grantham Centre for Sustainable Futures at the University of Sheffield, believes pink hydrogen could offer a much-needed alternative to green hydrogen, supporting a more rapid expansion of the industry.

Rothman explained, If you split ... water, you get hydrogen and oxygen. She added, But splitting water takes energy, so what pink hydrogen is about is splitting water using energy that has come from nuclear. Therefore, the whole system is low carbon, because  theres no carbon in water  but also the energy source is also very low carbon because its nuclear.

In the U.K., EDF Energy is discussing the idea of pink hydrogen production at its recently approved 3.2 GW Sizewell C nuclear plant. EDF states on its website, At Sizewell C, we are exploring how we can produce and use hydrogen in several ways. Firstly, it could help lower emissions during the construction of the power station. And Secondly, once Sizewell C is operational, we hope to use some of the heat it generates (alongside electricity) to make hydrogen more efficiently, it adds. The firm believes that hydrogen produced using nuclear power will play a major role in the energy transition.

In the U.S., the Department of Energy (DoE) is investing billions to help reduce the costs and increase the scale of clean hydrogen, looking to the countrys nuclear plants to support production. Traditional and advanced nuclear reactors can provide the constant heat and electricity required to produce low-emissions hydrogen. The DoE believes this could also help garner support for the development of new nuclear plants. It is estimated that a 1,000-MW reactor could support the production of 150,000 tonnes of hydrogen a year. This hydrogen could be used for fertilisers, oil refining, steel production, material handling equipment, fuel cell vehicles, and carbon-neutral synthetic fuels.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has developed a Hydrogen Economic Evaluation Program(HEEP) to support the development of pink hydrogen projects worldwide. It is a free tool that assesses the economies of large-scale pink hydrogen production. Meanwhile, the Nuclear Energy Agency, the Nuclear Energy Institute, the Idaho National Laboratory, the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation, the IAEA, and non-government members from Canada, Finland, France, Japan, Korea, the UAE, the UK, the US, contributed to the 2022 Nuclear-Hydrogen Digest: Nuclear Energy in the Hydrogen Economy to encourage the development of more pink hydrogen projects.

The major benefits of nuclear power use in hydrogen production include driving down production costs and reducing emissions. For pink hydrogen production, electricity would be generated using nuclear power to electrolyze water. While green hydrogen is produced using renewables at a 20 percent to 40 percent capacity factor, pink hydrogen would use nuclear power at a capacity factor of 90 percent, thereby reducing costs. Further, the carbon footprint of pink hydrogen is thought to be similar to that of green hydrogen using renewables.

Despite little talk about pink hydrogen at present, we are likely to see a significant rise in nuclear-powered hydrogen projects in the coming years, as governments once again look to increase their nuclear energy capacity as part of a green transition. Pink hydrogen will likely gain traction in much the same way as green hydrogen has, as energy firms and governments worldwide look for fossil fuel alternatives, with hydrogen being a versatile fuel for a variety of applications.

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By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
After giving a virtual showing of a home in Chicagos Lincoln Park neighborhood, Compass realtor Tony Mattar records video on his phone on Feb. 3, 2023, for the client to use in considering purchasing the property. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)

Would you buy a home before seeing it in person? First-time homebuyers Kari and Nolan Greiter did.

The Greiters lived in Wrigleyville for almost two years after moving from Florida. Kari, 33, who is a schoolteacher, and Nolan, 32, who works in advertising, had no real estate experience other than renting. They started looking at properties through online sites and eventually connected with Tony Mattar, real estate agent at Compass.

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Then the pandemic hit. As the world temporarily shut down, the Greiters moved to Iowa to be near family but continued searching for a home in Chicago.

Nolan was surprised at how easy it was finding online properties they liked. If one interested them, Mattar set up a FaceTime call for a walk-through. We could experience the condo and Tony could give us his take and impression, Nolan said.

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The process wasnt anxiety free. We were on a timeline because I was pregnant, Kari said. With the pandemic, I was learning how to do my career in a completely different way. Plus, her previous experience moving into an apartment that shed not seen before made her nervous.

After giving a virtual showing of a home, Compass realtor Tony Mattar records a second walk-through video on his phone, showing the facade of the house on Feb. 3, 2023, for the client to use in considering purchasing the property. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)

Trust is the key. I dont think it would have worked as well virtually, if we didnt have a partner that we could fully rely on, Nolan said.

Ultimately, after looking at 10 different properties virtually from Iowa, the Greiters made an offer on a condo in Logan Square in May 2020. It was accepted without a counter.

It felt right, Kari said of the first time they stepped into their home after buying it sight unseen. We experienced everything that Tony had talked about. I dont think there were any specific details that we had not covered in our virtual tour, which made us feel like, OK, Tony did it. We were very happy.

During COVID-19, virtual showings started snowballing and became much more common, said Mattar, whose team focuses on the North Side of Chicago. Initially, he showed properties using FaceTime or GoogleMeet with his phone, followed by a video of a second walk-through. The video helped, because spatially, homes arent always represented 100% accurately through photos. Its hard to get a sense of flow from room to room.

He estimates his virtual showings during the past two years to be tenfold over the previous seven years combined.

Its been across the board in terms of ages, genders, all kind of demographics. Its not only people under 30. It seems to be a very broad trend, Mattar said of those who buy homes virtually.

The National Association of Realtors first started collecting data on virtual real estate transactions in April 2020, according to Jessica Lautz, deputy chief economist and vice president of research. Virtual home sales, which are sometimes referred to as blind offers or sight unseen sales, peaked at 13% of all transactions in January 2022. By November 2022, that number dropped to 9%.

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After giving a virtual showing of a home, Compass realtor Tony Mattar records a second walk-through video on his phone on Feb. 3, 2023, showing details of the house for the client's further consideration. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)

After giving a virtual showing, Compass realtor Tony Mattar uses his phone on Feb. 3 to record a second walk-through video showing details of the house for the client to use in considering purchasing the property. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)

Lautz sees two drivers for virtual sales, beyond the pandemic. Its not only because inventory is tight, but people are moving longer distances. It might be very difficult to make your way to that home before it is under contract, she said. If youre moving to a different state, the ability to quickly book a flight because that perfect home has just come onto the market may be impossible.

Although virtual sales are occurring all over the country, its difficult to compare activity between cities. Tabitha Hippolyte, a real estate agent in Atlanta, Georgia, with Coldwell Banker, has closed four virtual home sales. Once she learned how to use tools like WhatsApp and Zoom and Matterport photography services, which offers 3D space photography, Hippolyte found that the process for each transaction depended on which tool was preferred by the client. She estimates that 90% of her clients are millennials.

Corey Booth, with Monument Realty in Rockwall, Texas, closed seven home sales virtually during the pandemic. All seven were out-of-state buyers from New York, Chicago and California.

The trend isnt limited to large cities. Stephanie Arnett, with Mississippi Magnolia, in Starkville, Mississippi, a college town in a country of roughly 50,000, has been in real estate for 20 years. Virtual tours are customary for all of her listings: Every single house, regardless of dollar value, thats part of what (sellers) get offered. Anyone can put on an Oculus headset and walk through the entire house.

For buyers, Arnett conducts a live virtual showing as well as a second recorded walk-through. The pandemic dramatically increased her virtual business. She estimates 15% to 18% of the nearly 200 closings her team processed in 2022 were virtual or blind offers. When it comes to homes that sold virtually, she sees no pattern in the income or education of the buyers or price of the home. It merely comes down to whether the client is comfortable with technology, she said.

Lautz sees virtual transactions continuing, even if theyre less frequent. If you had asked me that at the start of the pandemic, I would have thought it was a fluke. But it seems to be here to stay.

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Virtual transactions may reflect another shift, as the National Association of Realtors sees the median distance folks relocate increasing to 50 miles. It makes sense because of housing affordability, people are moving farther out because of hybrid or remote work, Lautz said. Being close to friends and family is top priority for so many buyers today, so they may be moving to a different area to seek that.

After giving a virtual showing of a home, Compass realtor Tony Mattar records a walk-through video on his phone on Feb. 3, 2023, showing the neighborhood outside for the prospective purchaser's consideration. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)

Hippolyte prefers to meet clients in person, but says tying more technology into her business has helped her work with more people. Plus, if the market becomes tight again, she sees virtual showings and blind offers resuming, because if they dont get to see a house in the first 48 hours, theyll be outbid.

Our team is doing more virtual showings now than I experienced pre-COVID, Mattar said. Theres definitely a lot more willingness and readiness from buyers to use technology as part of their real estate transaction.

Similarly, Booth, in Texas, recognizes that theres a whole generation of buyers so used to doing things online that its almost second nature. I dont think its going to dissipate, but it definitely takes a special person.

Real estate agents say the past several years have reinforced that they can function as resources beyond the basics of the transaction. Its the ability for a seasoned real estate professional to speak to the nuances of a city, the transportation, the different neighborhoods and school districts, how neighborhoods relate to each other, and what changes are occurring that can guide people, Mattar said. An understanding of how a city works goes far beyond my job as someone who sells a piece of real estate, and bleeds into an expertise on Chicago, the market, the geography, and all of the things that make our city tick.

Although virtual real estate transactions may become more common, technology has not yet replaced everything, particularly the element of trust. Whether in Chicago or elsewhere, that aspect remains a critical aspect of buying a home.

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How do the Greiters feel about the virtual homebuying process today, especially now that they have two young children? I kind of enjoyed it, honestly, Nolan said. It gave us the freedom to be specific.

Yet, perhaps a blind offer would only be a matter of necessity.

I would definitely do some virtual tours to start, Kari said. But as I get down to my final view, I would have to go in person.

John W. Bateman is a freelance writer.

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Chinas oil demand is rising with the reopening from Covid restrictions after nearly three years. The initial demand trend suggests a reopening in fits and starts, but analysts say that it will be China that will account for half of this years global oil demand growth, with total world oil demand reaching a record.

And while Chinas oil demand is set to rebound, the leaders of the OPEC+ group, Saudi Arabia and Russia, will be competing to meet the growing demand in the worlds largest crude oil importer.

Saudi Arabia sells its crude oil under long-term contracts, so it has a guaranteed share of the Chinese market. But Russia, having pivoted to Asia for crude and fuel sales after the Western sanctions, is offering its oil at discounts and could attract more Chinese buyers who dont abide by the G7 price caps.

The Saudis are signaling expectations of a strong rebound in Chinas demand by unexpectedly raising their prices for Asia. But these prices cannot compete with discounted Russian barrels, and Chinese buyers may opt for requesting the minimum volumes from Saudi Arabia allowed under the long-term contracts OPECs top producer, Reuters Asia Commodities and Energy Columnist Clyde Russell argues.

This week, Saudi Arabia surprised the oil market by raising the official selling price (OSP) of its flagship crude going to Asia in March. Saudi 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, the benchmark, off which Middle Easts oil is priced in Asia.

Related: Teslas Huge Model 3 Discounts Lift Car Sales In China

The surprise price hike was the first increase in Saudi oil prices for Asia since September and likely reflected Saudi expectations that demand in Asia will be rising from the second quarter onwards.

It is not only Saudi Arabia that is optimistic about Chinas oil demand recovery.

The reopening is putting upward pressure on global oil demand, and half of this years demand growth is set to come from the Chinese growth in consumption, the International Energy Agency (IEA) says.

The agency said in its Oil Market Report for January that global oil demand was set to rise by 1.9 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2023, to a record 101.7 million bpd, with nearly half the gain coming from China following the lifting of its Covid restrictions.

China will drive nearly half this global demand growth even as the shape and speed of its reopening remains uncertain, the agency noted.

The EU ban on Russian oil products  in place from February 5  could soon mean that the well-supplied oil balance at the start of 2023 could quickly tighten however as western sanctions impact Russian exports, the IEA said in its January report.

Russias exports to China, however, are soaring to an estimated 2.03 million barrels per day (bpd) in January, up from 1.52 million bpd in December, per Refinitiv Oil Research data cited by Reuters Russell. To compare, Chinese imports of Saudi crude averaged around 1.77 million bpd last month.

The state giants of China, including PetroChina and CNOOC, have recently bought more Russian crude oil and could further ramp up imports from Russia to meet demand with cheaper oil, according to an Energy Aspects note this week carried by Bloomberg. If China moves to fill its reserves, the intake of Russian oil could jump to 2.5 million bpd, Bloomberg notes.

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In addition, Russia had already diverted most of its fuel oil and vacuum gasoil (VGO) exports to Asia and the Middle East even before the EU embargo on Russian petroleum products came into effect on February 5. And independent Chinese refiners are now big buyers of Russian fuel oil to process into gasoline and diesel, considering the cheap Russian product and the lack of crude oil import quotas for many of the private refiners, trade sources tell Reuters.

With Chinas reopening, Saudi Arabia will face stiffer competition from its OPEC+ partner, Russia, for market share in the worlds top crude oil importer.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Walentine O'Toole, LLP is pleased to announce that John M. Kivett has been promoted to partner within the firm. John holds a J.D. from the University of Denver - Sturm College of Law, with a certificate in corporate and commercial law, and received his undergraduate degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. John practices in the firm's banking and financial services section. He is admitted to practice in both Nebraska and Iowa.
Shed been clipped by a car more than once, messed up her face tangling with a raccoon and avoided capture for years.

Nobody could get close to the yellow Labrador retriever, even all those who fed her around Eppley Airfield.

Several times, a concerned citizen would spot her walking near there, sometimes carrying a fast food bag, and would call the Nebraska Humane Society. But shed vanish as soon as a white truck appeared.

Muddy Paws Second Chance Rescue couldnt nab her either. Thats how she got one of her many nicknames  Lightning.

She had a following. There are so many stories about her, Muddy Paws founder Terri Larson said. She was just a phenomenon around the area how she avoided capture.

Then last May, a Lincoln couple spotted her late at night as they were leaving the airport.

She got sick, had just given up and was found almost drowning in a ditch, Larson said.

That couple took her home, cleaned up the ticks, posted about her on the Lost Pets of Omaha Area Facebook page and then took her to the Capital Humane Society in Lincoln. A woman who had been feeding her spotted the Facebook post and asked Muddy Paws to help.

Nine months later and now named Piper, the once-elusive dog is ready for a home. Shes survived treatment for a bad case of heartworm and has begun to learn that she can trust humans.

Shes had nothing but 24-hour care and room service and anything she could want, foster Colleen VanScoy said.

Piper had been on the lam for so many years that she was basically feral at first, VanScoy said. Shes lost teeth and, at around 8 years old, is bothered by arthritis. Although shes still jumpy around strangers, she enjoys treats and a pat.

The one thing she isnt is skinny. Shed been spotted as far west as 30th and Lake Streets and apparently had food stops all along her route.

She was quite a little celebrity down there, VanScoy said. She had been well-fed for several years.

Its going to take a special person who has a lot of patience and time to adopt Piper, VanScoy said

Thats not always easy to find, but she says miracles do happen.

Until then, she has a home with me, VanScoy said. Shell just be a forever foster and that will be fine, too.

If interested in adopting Piper, go to muddypawssecondchancerescue.com and look under available pets, or call 402-515-2570.

Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of February 2023
An Omaha woman was sentenced to 13 years in federal prison after being convicted of possessing over 22 pounds of methamphetamine.

Cindy A. Ortiz, 45, was sentenced in the U.S District Court for Southern Iowa on Feb. 1. She was also ordered to spend five years in supervised release after leaving prison.

Prosecutors said Council Bluffs police officers were called to the Ameristar Casino in Council Bluffs on Nov. 21, 2021, for an unresponsive man in a room rented by Ortiz. The man was pronounced dead.

Officers searched the hotel room and bags Ortiz was seen carrying into the room on surveillance footage. They found 22.9 pounds of methamphetamine, empty baggies, a scale and other drug paraphernalia.

The Council Bluffs Police Department and Southwest Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force investigated the case.
Peter Fink sometimes wonders how different his life might have been if hed gotten mom and dads station wagon when he turned 16 instead of the hot rod he bought himself.

That 1970 Pontiac Firebird Formula 400, with its army green paint job, was nothing special at the time. He paid a dealer at 51st and Center $2,200 for it, using money hed saved over the years from a paper route and restaurant and grocery store jobs.

Then a few weeks later, he blew up the transmission.

That got me into transmissions and liking cars, he said. I met my wife through that car. Everything I have or own is because of that car.

Three years later at 19, using the knowledge hed gained from working on the Firebird, he started Certified Transmission. Now, at 62, he has 14 retail stores, five manufacturing plants and 75 distributors across the country. The company produces about 1,000 transmissions a week.

His three adult children are part of a staff of 500.

He still owns the Firebird  its part of one of the largest car collections in the United States.

A total of 125 muscle cars  those with high-performance engines and quick takeoffs  glimmer in a private museum in northwest Omaha. It is open to the public only a few times a year for charitable events.

On Thursday, the museum will be the site of the 25th anniversary celebration of Keep Kids Alive Drive 25. Tickets for the 6 to 8 p.m. event, which cost $100, may be purchased at KKAD25.org.

Fink renovated the building that houses the museum to fit his collection, which has been growing since that first car purchase.

American-made, factory-built muscle cars are his passion  he has 141 overall. Theres only five or six more he covets, unless he decides to let in foreign cars such as a Ferrari, Mercedes or Porsche.

His wife, Carolyn, is OK with the whole thing.

When I went from 70 to 80, I told the wife I had to start selling or get a bigger place, Fink said. She said get a bigger place.

Thats not all that can be found at the former retail store, which some people call Peters Muscle Car Museum.

Guitars from 55 rock bands of the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s  think Led Zeppelin and ZZ Top  are on display. Pin-ball machines play classic rock.

He also has memorabilia from famous people such as George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, the Wright Brothers and Albert Einstein.

All the people who made America great, he said.

Nancy Mackintosh, who grew up loving muscle cars, has been at the museum for three fundraisers. Twice for Chariots 4 Hope and once for Wear Yellow Nebraska, which raises money to support cancer survivors.

She said its much more than she ever expected.

Its just remarkable, she said. If you are a car fan, if you love old American muscle cars, this is breathtaking. He knows the history of every one of his cars.

Mackintosh said she cant imagine how much it costs to maintain the museum and keep each car so pristine. The three Ford GTs that caught her eye are extremely rare. One, a very limited 2018 model, carries VIN number No. 3. It was the first one offered to the public.

Fink declined to say how much money hes sunk into his collection along with the museum, the insurance and a security system. He visits a few times a month and enjoys taking a car out for a spin or to a trade show.

That original Firebird is still in good shape, he said, but its probably the least expensive car in the place.

To him, its priceless.

Im sure a lot of things wouldnt have happened and my life would have been completely different if it wasnt for that car, he said. When I look back, its not an exaggeration. I can guarantee if I didnt own that car, I wouldnt be where I am or have what I have today.

Photos: Muscle car museum in Omaha home to private collection of more than 100 hot rods
WASHINGTON  A U.S. military fighter jet shot down an unknown object flying off the northern coast of Alaska on Friday on orders from President Joe Biden, White House officials said.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the object was downed because it was flying at about 40,000 feet and posed a reasonable threat to the safety of civilian flights, not because of any knowledge that it was engaged in surveillance.

Commercial airliners and private jets can fly as high as 45,000 feet.

Asked about the objects downing, Biden on Friday said only: It was a success.

Kirby described the object as roughly the size of a small car  much smaller than the massive suspected Chinese spy balloon downed by Air Force fight jets last Saturday off the coast of South Carolina after it transited over sensitive military sites across the continental U.S.

The twin downings in such close succession are extraordinary, and reflect heightened concerns over Chinas surveillance program and public pressure on Biden to take a tough stand against it.

Still, there were few answers about the unknown object downed Friday and the White House drew distinctions between the two episodes. Officials couldnt say if the latest object contained surveillance equipment, where it came from or what purpose it had.

The Pentagon on Friday declined to provide a more precise description of the object, only saying that U.S. pilots who flew up to observe it determined it didnt appear to be manned.

Officials said the object was far smaller than the previous balloon, did not appear to be maneuverable and was traveling at a much lower altitude.

Kirby maintained that Biden, based on the advice of the Pentagon, believed it posed enough of a concern to shoot it out of the sky  primarily because of the potential risk to civilian aircraft.

Were going to remain vigilant about our airspace, Kirby said. The president takes his obligations to protect our national security interests as paramount.

The president was briefed on the presence of the object Thursday evening after two fighter jets surveilled it.

Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, told reporters Friday that an F-22 fighter aircraft based at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson shot down the object using an AIM-9X short-range air-to-air missile, the same type used to take down the balloon a week ago.

The object flew over one of the most desolate places on the nation. Few towns dot Alaskas North Slope, with the two apparently closest communities  Deadhorse and Kaktovik  combining for about 300 people.

Unlike the suspected spy balloon, which was downed to live feeds and got U.S. residents looking up to the skies, its likely few people saw this object given the blistering frigid conditions of northern Alaska this time of the year, meaning there are few people outside for a prolonged period of time.

Ahead of the Fridays mission, the Federal Aviation Administration restricted flights over a roughly 10-square mile area within U.S. airspace off Alaskas Bullen Point, the site of a disused U.S. Air Force radar station on the Beaufort Sea about 100 miles from the Canadian border, inside the Arctic Circle.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a tweet Friday that he had been briefed and supported the decision. Our military and intelligence services will always work together, he said.

The object fell onto frozen waters and officials expected they could recover debris faster than from last weeks massive balloon. Ryder said the object was traveling northeast when it was shot down. He said several U.S. military helicopters went out to begin the recovery effort.

The unknown object was brought down in an area with harsh weather conditions and about six and a half hours of daylight at this time of year. Daytime temperatures Friday were about minus 17 degrees Fahrenheit.

The development came almost a week after the U.S. shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the Carolina coast after it traversed sensitive military sites across North America. China insisted the flyover was an accident involving a civilian craft and threatened repercussions.

China on Friday dismissed a U.S. House of Representatives resolution condemning Beijing over the suspected Chinese spy balloon as purely political manipulation and hyping up.

China is strongly dissatisfied with this and firmly opposes it, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a daily briefing.

The resolution, which passed unanimously on Thursday, condemned China for a brazen violation of U.S. sovereignty and efforts to deceive the international community through false claims about its intelligence collection campaigns.

Biden issued last weeks order and was advised that the best time for the operation would be when it was over water. Military officials determined that bringing it down over land from an altitude of 60,000 feet would pose an undue risk to people on the ground.

The balloon was part of a large surveillance program that China has been conducting for several years, the Pentagon has said. The U.S. has said Chinese balloons have flown over dozens of countries across five continents in recent years, and it learned more about the balloon program after closely monitoring the one shot down near South Carolina.
A 26-year-old California man caught with 20 pounds of methamphetamine in a stop on Interstate 80 near Lincoln got 13 years in federal prison for it Friday.

Senior U.S. District Judge John M. Gerrard said Jesus Sanchez-Mezas case wasnt the worst drug transportation case hes seen.

But it also wasnt a case of an innocent, duped mule, he said.

You certainly knew what you were doing and what you were hauling, Gerrard said.

About 3 p.m. on Feb. 18, 2022, a Lancaster County sheriffs deputy stopped Sanchez-Meza for allegedly driving too closely and ended up searching the pickup when he provided false information regarding his travel plans, according to court records.

The search turned up 20 pounds of meth, which hed been hauling across the country in exchange for $4,000.

Hardly worth it at this point in time, the judge said Friday.

Moments earlier in Fridays hearing, Sanchez-Meza said he wouldve liked to have accepted responsibility for his actions sooner.

I know I made a mistake, he said through a translator. All I would ask is that you please give me a second chance.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Mikala Purdy-Steenholdt said law enforcement were able to rewind the clock and see footage of Sanchez-Meza crossing the Mexico border two days before the stop in Nebraska.

While theres no way to know if the meth was with him at the time or he got it afterward, the drugs (nearly 93% pure and wrapped in 1-pound packages) were consistent with coming from Mexico, she said.

Purdy-Steenholdt argued for a nearly 16-year sentence, saying Sanchez-Meza had a limited criminal history but had been caught previously trying to smuggle people into the country illegally.

Defense attorney Cody Miltenberger said Sanchez-Meza was born in the United States but has lived most of his life in Mexico with family and has an admitted substance-abuse issue.

Last year, Lancaster County Sheriff Terry Wagner said deputies found the meth  worth about $450,000 on the street  underneath the rear seat of the Ford F-150.

He said Sanchez-Meza had been headed to Omaha with the drugs.
Jasmin Olvera lights candles next to a memorial outside the Henry Pratt Co. plant in Aurora on Feb. 17, 2019, two days after five employees were killed and five police officers and an employee were wounded during a mass shooting at the facility. A new resolution has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives to honor the victims of the tragedy. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tri / Chicago Tribune)

U.S. Rep. Bill Foster, D-Naperville, introduced a resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives Thursday to honor the victims of the deadly warehouse shooting at Henry Pratt Co. in Aurora as the four-year anniversary of the tragic incident nears.

Five employees were killed and five police officers and an employee were wounded on Feb. 15, 2019, after an angry co-worker opened fire during a termination meeting inside the Pratt warehouse. An additional officer was injured as he entered the building.

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Its hard to believe it has been nearly four years since this tragedy, and our hearts go out to the victims friends and families during this difficult time of remembrance, Foster said in a news release. Im proud to introduce this resolution to honor the victims memories and the courage of the police officers who rushed into danger to protect innocent people, six of whom were injured in the shooting. We cannot forget the events of that day, and we must remain committed to putting an end to these tragedies once and for all.

The resolution honors the five victims who died that day - Russell Beyer, Vicente Juarez, Clay Parks, Josh Pinkard and Trevor Wehner.

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It also honors the service of the injured officers: Adam Miller, Marco Gomez, John Cebulski, James Zegar, Reynaldo Rivera and Diego Avila.

The resolution is co-sponsored by the Illinois Democratic House delegation: Reps. Lauren Underwood, Sean Casten, Danny Davis, Robin Kelly, Brad Schneider, Mike Quigley, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Jan Schakowsky, Jesus Chuy Garcia, Nikki Budzinski, Jonathan Jackson, Delia Ramirez and Eric Sorensen.

The Aurora Historical Society opened its exhibit to honor the victims of the Pratt mass shooting last week. Through Feb. 18, the five white crosses made to honor the victims of the shooting by late Aurora resident Greg Zanis are on display, along with the societys collection of memorabilia left at the Pratt site by mourners.

The exhibit is open from noon to 4 p.m. Wednesdays to Fridays and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays at the David L. Pierce Art and History Center at 20 E. Downer Place in downtown Aurora.

mejones@chicagotribune.com
BLOOMINGTON  The alleged killing of Tyre Nichols by five Memphis Police Department officers last month was protested by several dozen Saturday afternoon outside the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts.

In attendance were around 40 demonstrators chanting no justice, no peace and Black lives matter. One held a sign stating end qualified immunity, and another poster read beware the 'we kill people' industrial complex.

Among initial speakers was Hassan Holcomb, a 27-year-old who is from Normal. They asked the crowd: How long until we talk about how nothing has changed?

Holcomb said enough is enough. They said it was time to call evil evil, and to stop caving in to the fear that has been weaponized against the kind and soft souls of the world.

Following was Linda Foster, president of the Bloomington-Normal chapter of the NAACP. She said Holcombs comments reminded her what their forefathers fought for and dealt with as slaves. Foster said she also was reminded of the Little Rock Nine and the 1908 Springfield race riot.

For years, we have fought against police brutality, and then when it wasnt the police, it was the dogs, she said.

In addition to systemic problems, Foster said, was the culture that comes with the belief you can have the power to do whatever you desire to do.

She said they need to make people accountable, and get the legislatures to speak about humanity and being a community that protects life.

Foster said young people cant drive cars, walk to the store or be in their house without being unsure what they will encounter.

What happened to life and liberty for all? she asked.

Foster said everyone has a mission to do right by others, and in doing so, all would be able to live.

Alexandra Gray, 23, spoke as well, addressing white people. Caring isnt enough. Activism isnt enough. Being an ally isn't enough and empathy isn't enough, she said.

Gray called on white people to continuously educate themselves, she said, because when they stop, they become complicit. She said to speak up when bosses are racist, relatives are bigoted, and co-workers are insensitive. She encouraged recording police interactions and to stay a witness.

Gray said: Learn to make safer spaces for those without your privilege  your privilege to live in a world built for you.

Protest organizer Zachary Gittrich also spoke. He said despite tragedies, activists are slowly winning because the SAFE-T Act was passed by a supermajority in the 2021 state legislature.

Although big government conservatives are legally resisting its implementation, Gittrich said he believes the Illinois Supreme Court will uphold the Pre-Trial Fairness Act provisions and the state will become the first to abolish cash bail.

Zach Carlson, co-organizer and chair of the Bloomington-Normal branch of Communist Party USA, said they convened to celebrate the life of Tyre Nichols, and figure out what to do next.

He advocated for strengthening Bloomington's Public Safety and Community Relations Board, including by making it a directly-elected civilian council. Carlson said current and former officers should be excluded from the board.

He also advised people to know who are running in local elections this year  noting races for Bloomington Ward 4 and Ward 6  and to learn where the candidates stand.

Only 10% of registered voters come out to vote during a local election, he said. People win with 300 votes.

There are at least 30 or 40 people here today  that's 10% of that race, if we all lived in the same area, at least.

In a later interview with The Pantagraph, Carlson said Gittrich reached out to him about holding demonstration.

Photos: Mourners gather for the funeral of Tyre Nichols
Somalia has reopened its embassy in the UK after 32 years, in a ceremony attended by ambassador Abdulkadir Ahmed Kheyr, Olympic champion Mo Farah and Somali-Canadian model Sabrina Dhowre, among others.



The embassy in London is expected to provide consular services to the nearly 500,000-strong diaspora community in the UK who are eligible for Somali citizenship, and other services including travel documentation and marriage certificates.



It will also host cultural and other informative events.



Ambassador Kheyr said that reopening the embassy was a positive step in strengthening UK-Somali relations.



The Somali embassy in London was officially closed in 1991 following the collapse of the central government. However, diplomatic relations have strengthened in recent years.



Britain reopened its embassy in Mogadishu in 2013 after a 22-year absence.

Source: BBC









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Featured Video
Two spiritual leaders have conferred to seek God's intervention to address the current challenges facing the country and the world at large.



That, they said was to ensure that the world became a better place for peace and sustainable development.



The religious leaders at the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Osman Nuhu Sharubutu and the Founder of the Israel King of the Jews Church, Nakoa Prophet Nazareth Ansah Jamson.



Meeting



The meeting of the two took place at the residence of the Chief Imam at New Fadama in Accra when Nakoa Jamson paid a courtesy call on him.



The meeting followed the hullabaloo over the government's debt exchange programme, the challenges with the country's economy and the recent earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria.



Commencing the discussions, Nakoa Jamson said he was at the residence of the Chief Imam to empathise with Ghanaians over the troubling times they found themselves in.



"It is very sad that we do not seek the reason why these things are happening from the Almighty God so that He will show us what to do. "We rather rely on our own knowledge which will obviously lead us to nowhere," he said.



Nakoa Jamson, who is also the Spiritual Leader of the Council of Spiritual Churches, Ghana, said times were indeed hard and it was for that reason "we need to cast our minds back to how our forefathers survived similar situations".



"We can identify instances of difficult times from both Holy Bible and the Holy Quran.



But in all these we can tell or learn how our forefathers patiently waited on the Almighty God to keep and deliver them from such hard and troubling moments.



"We ought to also seek direction and the intervention of Almighty God so we can also sail through these troubling times," he emphasised.



He said it was not time to blame anybody since that was not the solution.



Solution



The Almighty God, he said was the solution, adding that if the country was given all the money in the world without God's intervention and directions, the country would suffer.



"Earthquake and other disasters are natural and signs of the end time, without the intervention of God all our efforts would be in vain. Let's cry out to the Lord Most High to have mercy upon us and minimise all this happenings"



The Chief Imam, Sheikh Osman Nuhu Sharubutu indicated that what Nakoa said was exactly what was going on in the world.



He said what was happening was a remembrance and food for thought for everyone, especially with how to deal with it.



The National Chief Imam said if people found themselves in difficulties, the only solution was to turn to God.



He said the advise had been well taken and gave the assurance that the message would be communicated to Muslim faithful.

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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Charles Owusu has supported the call by Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council (GPCC) on President Nana Addo to downsize his government.



The GPCC has asked the President to cut down on expenditure to build confidence to address the country's economic challenges.



"This should include the government explicitly and verifiably cutting down on its expenditure, including reducing the size of government, among other areas. This is very critical to encourage the buy-in of the public, a communique issued at the end of the GPCCs Conference of Heads of Churches and Organisations (CHCO) Extraordinary National Delegates Conference said.



Making his submissions on Peace FM's "Kokrokoo" programme, Charles Owusu wondered why it is difficult for the President to cut down on his bloated administration.



"Who says we can't reduce it and what will happen when it's downsized?", he queried.



He advised the President to pay a listening ear to the citizenry saying "President Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo should reduce the size. It doesn't matter the margin. He should do something for the people calling on him will know he is a listening President. Once you decide not to listen to the people, if the people refuse to listen to you, there is no way you can govern".



The former Head of Monitoring Unit at the Forestry Minister further questioned the President's appointment of Ministers of State to the Finance and Local Government Ministries, asking "if he hadn't appointed nobody to the Finance Ministry, what would have happened? If there was no Minister of State, what would happen?"





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Former Greater Accra Regional Chairman of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Joseph Ade Coker has justified Razak Avoliyas arrest following an investigation into his viral video in which he incited political violence ahead of the 2024 general elections.



The Suame Constituency NDC Youth Organizer is now in police custody after his video went viral saying the NDC will kill to win power in the 2024 election.



He appeared before the Court on Thursday, February 9, 2023, but was denied bail.



Discussing the issue on NEAT FMs morning show, 'Ghana Montie', Mr Ade Coker said Razak Avoliyas utterances were nothing new.



He explained that Ghana has nutured a toxic political trend by senior politicians.



This is the culture; this is what we have been doing all over the years. It is condemnable but who cause am? he questioned.



He further said, you cant use the small boy as an example. Those who started this trend are walking freely. He should just be warned and asked to go and sin no more.





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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Dr Smart Sarpong, a Senior Research Fellow at the Kumasi Technical University has asked government to listen to the call of pensioners to exempt them from the controversial Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP).



The pensioners have been picketing at the Ministry since Monday, February 6 to be exempted from the Programme.



Dr Smart speaking to Kwami Sefa Kayi on Peace FM's morning show 'Kokrokoo', wondered how "pensioners and their money be our lifeline as a country? Nobody should tell me that...let's look elsewhere and leave our elderlies alone. A state that does not honour its heroes is not worth dying for..."



Listen to him in the video below





Meanwhile, former Chief Justice, Sophia Akuffo has described as "wicked" and "disrespectful" government's decision to include pensioners in the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP).Speaking to journalists after she joined pensioners to picket at the Ministry of Finance in Accra on Friday, February 10, she said: We are over 70 years now, I am no longer government employed, my mouth has been unguarded and I am talking and I am saying that we have failed and it is important that the elderly should be respected. I find this wicked, I find it disrespectful, I find it unlawful, I find it totally wrong.According to her, these are all people who have worked, they have worked very hard, they could have left the country when others were going but they stayed, they worked for the nation...Quite a number of people here today, when they retired last two years they have put everything into government bonds, it is a contract and now all of a sudden, you virtually want to force them to agree with you that the repayment of the yield of their investment should be as you dictate it. Why?Why are we in the mess? Nobody has fully explained to us, yes we took debt, what was it used for? and where is the accountability? Exactly what was it used for? You are not telling us about how you are going to be able to make things better but just that help me and I help you, no, you help yourself first, let me see you doing something serious because we have seen these sort of things too many times" she added.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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" " Jeffrey Dahmer, one of the most notorious serial killers in U.S. history, has 13 letters in his name. Corbis

The number 13 strikes fear into the hearts of many. Considered an unlucky number by many cultures, we tend to avoid poor, maligned 13 because of myriad superstitions. Most of these superstitions are well known, of course  Friday the 13th is an unlucky day, many buildings skip the 13th floor and so on.

You might want to check into the mystical number 13 a little closer to home, though. An old superstition says if you have 13 letters in your name, you'll suffer the devil's luck. Piggybacking on that superstition, conspiracy theorists believe they've found an interesting link between the number 13 and murderers. They posit that most murderers have 13 letters in their names [source: O'Keefe].

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You just added up the letters in your name, didn't you? It's okay, we did, too.

Lots of conspiracy and folklore websites love pointing out the connection between 13 and murderers (or serial killers). They list all the killers with 13 letters in their name, pointing out the eeriness of the phenomenon. Understandably, it's a pretty cool theory. But does it hold water? Let's put it to the test.

Here's a list of some known murderers with a total of 13 letters in their first and last names [sources: Conradt, Law]:

Albert DeSalvo  aka the Boston Strangler, believed to have killed 13 women

Jeffrey Dahmer  murdered and ate his victims; later killed in jail

Charles Manson  cult leader who had his "family" murder actress Sharon Tate

Aileen Wuornos  murdered seven men in one year and said she'd do it again

Saddam Hussein  overthrew the Iraqi government, started wars and committed genocide

Lavinia Fisher  known as the first American serial killer, poisoning over a dozen guests at her boarding house

Osama bin Laden  responsible for the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks which killed 3,000 people

Theodore Bundy  killer and rapist who confessed to at least 30 murders

Jack the Ripper  still unidentified killer of prostitutes in the 1880s London

Yes, it's true all of these murderers have 13 letters in their names. However, as with most superstitions, cause doesn't equal effect. Having 13 letters in your name doesn't make you a killer. It's simply a coincidence. For contrast, here's another list of people with 13 letters in their names:

Mahatma Gandhi  leader of the Indian independence movement, practiced non-violent protest

Shirley Temple  child star during the Great Depression, who later became a humanitarian and diplomat

Nelson Mandela  South African anti-apartheid activist, president of South Africa

Susan B. Anthony  activist and instrumental in securing women's right to vote

We could go on and on. Obviously, none of these historical figures had murderous tendencies. In the case of murderers having 13 letters in their names, it's a neat theory, but based on false data. You can pick and choose among the names you want to use and ignore the ones you don't  Ed Gein, Joel Rifkin and David Berkowitz (Son of Sam) are all famous killers without 13 letters in their names.

To summarize, it's not necessary to avoid anyone with 13 letters in their name. Unless you already find them annoying.

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Originally Published: Jul 1, 2015
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A sculpture from the Hittite Empire, which suddenly crumbled around 1200 BC during the 'Late Bronze Age collapse'

Three years of extreme drought may have brought about the collapse of the mighty Hittite Empire around 1200 BC, researchers have said, linking the plight of the fallen civilization to the modern world's climate crisis.

The Hittites dominated Anatolia in modern-day Turkey for nearly 500 years, even rivaling the power of the Egyptian Empire for a period.

They were one of several influential ancient civilizations in the Eastern Mediterranean and Near East which were all toppled or severely weakened at around the same time, bringing the curtain down on the Bronze Age.

The Hittites mysteriously abandoned their capital and religious center Hattusa around 1200 BC, when the royal line died out and written historical documents dried up.

The empire's centuries-old political and cultural structures ended "quite rapidly," Sturt Manning, an archaeologist at Cornell University in the United States and lead author of a new study, told AFP.

There are several theories for what was behind the "Late Bronze Age collapse", including attacks from naval raiders called the "Sea Peoples", epidemics and faminesas well as a 300-year change to a drier, cooler climate.

But exactly what triggered the demise of these empires has remained unclear.

'Existential threat'

Now, for the Hittites at least, the answer may have come inscribed in the rings of ancient juniper wood.

A dam built by the Hittites, whose power rivalled the Egyptian Empire before mysteriously collapsing.

The juniper comes from one of the world's oldest wooden structures, found at the Phrygian capital of Gordion in central Turkey as part of the excavation of a king's tomb in the 1950s.

By analyzing the rings of the juniper wood, the researchers were able to reconstruct climate conditions more than 3,000 years ago.

In semi-arid Central Anatolia, "the major threat to growth for most plants in the region is a lack of water," Manning said.

Narrower tree rings indicate drier years, when a lack of water meant the trees did not grow much.

The rings showed three-straight years1198 BC to 1196 BCwith "unusually" low growth, suggesting a prolonged and particularly severe drought, according to the study published in the journal Nature on Wednesday.

The researchers suggested that the drought caused severe food shortages, particularly for the land-locked parts of the central Hittite kingdom, which depended on grain and livestock.

The food shortages could have led to political, economic and social unrest, ultimately bringing about the end of the empire.

Manning warned that current global warming means the modern world could face a "multi-year existential threat" similar to the one that affected the Hittites.

Muge Durusu-Tanriover, an archaeologist at Temple University in Philadelphia who was not involved in the study, hailed it as "groundbreaking".

"Now that we know a major climate event might have tipped the Hittite empire beyond its point of no return, there are more questions to ask about climate change, its impact on states and society and, most crucially, what can be learnt from the past during our current climate crisis," she said in a Nature comment piece.

More information: Sturt Manning, Severe multi-year drought coincident with Hittite collapse around 11981196 bc, Nature (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05693-y. www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-05693-y Journal information: Nature

 2023 AFP
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An international team of codebreakers said Wednesday they have found and deciphered the long lost secret letters of 16th-century monarch Mary, Queen of Scots, one of the most argued-over figures in British history.

The long-rumored missing letters, which were found mislabeled in the digital archive of a French library, were hailed by excited historians as the most significant discovery about the Scottish queen in a century.

Mary Stuart, a Catholic, wrote the coded letters from 1578 to 1584 while she was imprisoned in England due to the perceived threat she posed to her Protestant cousin Queen Elizabeth I.

Mary was beheaded in 1587 after being found guilty of plotting to assassinate Elizabeth I, marking the end of a dramatic life since portrayed in numerous movies and books.

But Mary was far from the minds of the three codebreakers who discovered more than 50 of her letters containing around 50,000 never-before-seen words.

They are members of the DECRYPT project, an international, cross-disciplinary team scouring the world's archives to find coded historical documents to decipher. Interview with George Lasry. Credit: Taylor & Francis

The trio were trawling through the digitized archive of France's national library, known as the BnF, when they stumbled onto enciphered documents labeled as being from Italy in the first half of the 16th century.

"If someone wanted to look for Mary Stuart material in the BnF, that's the last place they would go," said French computer scientist and cryptographer George Lasry, the lead author of a new study in the journal Cryptologia.

Lasry told AFP that deciphering the code "was like peeling an onion," for the trio, which also includes German music professor Norbert Biermann and Japanese physicist Satoshi Tomokiyo.

The telltale 'spymaster'

First, the codebreakers realized the text was not in Italian, but French.

It also used feminine forms, indicating a woman. Phrases like "my liberty" and "my son" suggested it was an imprisoned mother.

Then came the breakthrough word: "Walsingham".

Francis Walsingham was Elizabeth I's principal secretary and "spymaster".

Some historians believe it was Walsingham who later "entrapped" Mary in 1586 into supporting the foiled Babington Plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I, Lasry said.

Eight of the 57 letters found by the codebreakers were already in Britain's archives because Walsingham had a spy in the French embassy from mid-1583, Lasry said.

Most of Mary's letters are addressed to Michel de Castelnau Mauvissiere, the French ambassador to England and a supporter of Mary.

Mary was "too smart" to mention any assassination plot in the newly unearthed letters, Lasry said.

Instead the letters show her diplomatically pleading her case, gossiping, complaining of illnesses and perceived antagonists, and expressing distress when her son, King James VI of Scotland, was abducted.

Lasry said he could not help but feel empathy for the queen "because it's a tragedyyou know she's going to be executed".

'Historical sensation'

Historians praised both the code breaking and historical research of the trio, expressing keenness to get stuck into the letters.

"This discovery is a literary and historical sensation," said John Guy, a British historian who wrote a Mary Stuart biography on which a 2018 film starring Saoirse Ronan was based.

"Fabulous! This is the most important new find on Mary, Queen of Scots for 100 years," Guy said in a statement.

Steven Reid, a Scottish history expert at Glasgow University, said it was "the largest discovery of new Marian evidence in the modern era".

He told AFP it would likely alter existing biographies of Mary's life, adding that the cipher could help produce more accurate versions of her other coded letters.

Nadine Akkerman, a professor of early modern literature at Leiden University in the Netherlands, said that for historians it was "like uncovering buried treasure".

Some of Mary's letters are still believed to be missing, with the researchers saying a physical inspection of the BnF's undigitised stock of original documents could be next.

 2023 AFP
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A capybara in the Ibera Wetlands (Esteros del Ibera) of northeast Argentina. Credit: Kylie Nicholson/Shutterstock

Like so many of the planet's natural habitats, wetlands have been systematically destroyed over the past 300 years. Bogs, fens, marshes and swamps have disappeared from maps and memory, having been drained, dug up and built on.

Being close to a reliable source of water and generally flat, wetlands were always prime targets for building towns and farms. Draining their waterlogged soils has produced some of the most fertile farmland available.

But wetlands also offer some of the best natural solutions to modern crises. They can clean water by removing and filtering pollutants, displace floodwater, shelter wildlife, improve our mental and physical well-being and capture climate-changing amounts of carbon.

Peatlands, a particular type of wetland, store at least twice the carbon of all the world's forests.

How much of the Earth's precious wetlands have been lost since 1700 was recently addressed by a major new study published in Nature. Previously, it was feared that as much as 50% of our wetlands might have been wiped out. However, the latest research suggests that the figure is actually closer to 21%an area the size of India.

Some countries have seen much higher losses, with Ireland losing more than 90% of its wetlands. The main reason for these global losses has been the drainage of wetlands for growing crops.

Wetlands are not wastelands

This is the most thorough investigation of its kind. The researchers used historical records and the latest maps to monitor land use on a global scale.

Despite this, the new paper highlights some of the scientific and cultural barriers to studying and managing wetlands. For instance, even identifying what is and isn't a wetland is harder than for other habitats.

The defining characteristic of a wetlandbeing wetis not always easily identified in each region and season. How much is the right amount of wetness? Some classification systems list coral reefs as wetlands, while others argue this is too wet.

And for centuries, wetlands were seen as unproductive wastelands ripe for converting to cropland. This makes records of where these ecosystems used to be sketchy at best.

A wetland is, like this peat bog, a terrestrial habitat where water is held on the land. Credit: Kuttelvaserova Stuchelova/Shutterstock

The report shows clearly that the removal of wetlands is not spread evenly around the globe. Some regions have lost more than average. Around half of the wetlands in Europe have gone, with the UK losing 75% of its original area.

The US, central Asia, India, China, Japan and south-east Asia are also reported to have lost 50% of their original wetlands. It is these regional differences which promoted the idea that half of all the world's wetlands had disappeared.

This disparity is somewhat hopeful, as it suggests there are still plenty of wetlands which haven't been destroyedparticularly the vast northern peatlands of Siberia and Canada.

An ecological tonic

Losing a wetland a few acres in size may not sound much on a global or even national scale, but it's very serious for the nearby town that now floods when it rains and is catastrophic for the specialized animals and plants, like curlews and swallowtail butterflies, living there.

Fortunately, countries and international organizations are beginning to understand how important wetlands are locally and globally, with some adopting "no-net-loss" policies that oblige developers to restore any habitats they destroy. The UK has promised to ban the sale of peat-based composts for amateur growers by 2024.

Wetland habitats are being conserved around the world, often at huge expense. Over US$10 billion (8.2 billion) has been spent on a 35-year plan to restore the Florida Everglades, a unique network of subtropical wetlands, making it the largest and most expensive ecological restoration project in the world.

The creation of new wetlands is also underway in many places. The reintroduction of beavers to enclosures across Britain is expected to increase the nation's wetland coverage, bringing with it all the advantages of these habitats.

Beaver dams and the wetlands they create reduce the effects of flooding by up to 60% and can boost the area's wildlife. One study showed the number of local mammal species shot up by 86% thanks to these furry engineers.

Even the sustainable drainage system ponds developers create on the fringes of new housing estates could see pocket wetlands appearing in towns and cities across the UK. By mimicking natural drainage regimes instead of removing surface water with pipes and sewers, sustainable drainage systems can create areas of plants and water that have been shown to increase biodiversity, especially invertebrates.

Whether the total global loss of wetlands is 20% or 50% doesn't really matter. What does matter is that people stop looking at wetlands as wastelands, there for us to drain and turn into "useful" land.

As the UN recently pointed out, an estimated 40% of Earth's species live and breed in wetlands and a billion people depend on them for their livelihoods. Conserving and restoring these vital habitats is key to achieving a sustainable future.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
The Porter County Board of Commissioners invited Nipsco to its Feb. 7 meeting to address the question of why NIPSCO bills have gone up. Board President Jim Biggs, R-North, frequently cites the high cost of living for Porter County taxpayers during discussions on county spending and has been talking for months about sitting NIPSCO down at a public meeting.

NIPSCOs Director of Public Affairs and Economic Development Rick Calinski and Public Affairs and Economic Development Manager Denise Conlon addressed the board. We have had definitely a bit of an increase in gas costs over this winter, due to our commodity costs, Conlon started off. The cost of the gas is a lot higher this year over past years.

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She then launched into a laundry list of programs the company offers to assist residents having difficulty paying their NIPSCO bills.

These include the federally-funded Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) which has awarded $94 million in Indiana and may lead to qualification for NIPSCO Customer Assistance for Residential Energy (CARE) a program that offers up to a 26% discount on monthly bills; the one-time $400 SERVE Benefit geared toward veterans needing payment assistance; and the one-time $400 SILVER Benefit for customers 60 and over. The SERVE and SILVER Benefits require customers to be past due on their payment, but do not require a shut-off notice to qualify.

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The help does not have to be repaid, and those who are both veterans and seniors can qualify for both benefits simultaneously. The current LIHEAP benefit averages $517, up from $450 last year.

The first thing we want to do is make sure somebody reaches out to our 1-800 number, goes online, and doesnt wait to need support or help, said Calinski, adding that the company has positioned itself in the past decade to offer the lowest-cost natural gas in the state. He said natural gas prices have gone down in the last two months and may be reflected in NIPSCO bills down the line, as pricing adjustments take about a quarter to reach customers.

Biggs also asked the two to explain why the county seems to have so many power outages on the heels of storms. Calinski said NIPSCO has spent over $2 billion upgrading its infrastructure over the last six years. We are seeing a lot of upgrades that are helping with reliability, he said.

Calinski also explained that 50% of outages are due to trees and that the company has spent millions of dollars on tree maintenance over the last five years. NIPSCO is open to constituent feedback on specific trees that may need maintenance, and that the companys tree department can actually go out into the community to give talks on the types of trees recommended for planting under power lines.

Biggs then steered talk to the 2,200-acre solar farm that has been proposed south of Valparaiso by NextEra Energy. He asked what relationship NIPSCO would have buying any energy produced there if the farm was developed.

I do not believe that we have any particular relationship with that farm that is being proposed, Calinski said. He added that NIPSCO does have solar farms in its southern territory and that while becoming carbon-neutral is a laudable goal, NIPSCO believes that by investing in renewable assets that it will stabilize prices for our customers in the future.

He explained this is because wind and sunshine are free and once the infrastructure is in place to capture their energy, costs should stabilize, unlike continually acquiring natural gas or coal commodities, which are not free and have aged infrastructure involved in their use and delivery.

Youve already had some public meetings about the proposed 18% increase to cover the cost of alternative energy in other counties, not Porter County, and Im just wondering if you could comment on that, said Commissioner Barb Regnitz, R-Center. She said the commissioners had run the numbers on such an increase based on the countys energy bills from last year and found they could expect an increase of nearly $213,000.

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Calinski acknowledged the investment is taking up a lot of capital, but that renewable energy credits had not been used by the company to date. He said an announcement could be expected in a month or two of tens of millions of dollars in refunds to customers due to those credits.

Biggs told Calinski and Conlin its important for Porter County to maintain its rural flavor. Thats what I hope were able to hold onto, Biggs said. Thats why Im not in favor of solar. He said it uses a lot of land.

For help exploring whether your household qualifies for payment assistance through Nipsco: call 211 or 1-800-464-NIPSCO, or visit NIPSCO.com.

Shelley Jones is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
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This undated photo released by Roscosmos State Space Corporation shows the International Space Station (ISS). An uncrewed Russian supply ship docked at the International Space Station has lost cabin pressure, the Russian space corporation said Saturday, noting that the incident doesn't pose any danger to the station's crew. Credit: Roscosmos State Space Corporation via AP

An uncrewed Russian supply ship docked at the International Space Station has leaked coolant, the Russian space corporation and NASA reported Saturday, saying the incident doesn't pose any danger to the station's crew.

Roscosmos said the hatch between the station and the Progress MS-21 had been locked so the incident didn't affect the orbiting outpost.

"The temperature and pressure on board the station are within norms and there is no danger to health and safety of the crew," it said in a statement.

The initial statement from Roscosmos left it unclear whether the entire cargo ship or just some of its systems lost pressure, but Sergei Krikalev, head of Roscosmos' crewed programs, later clarified that there was depressurization of the craft's coolant loop.

NASA said its specialists are assisting their Russian counterparts in the troubleshooting of the coolant leak.

"Officials are monitoring all International Space Station systems and are not tracking any other issues," NASA said. "The crew, which was informed of the cooling loop leak, is in no danger and continuing with normal space station operations."

The depressurization of the cargo craft's coolant loop follows a similar incident in December with the Soyuz crew capsule, which Russian space officials said had been caused by a tiny meteoroid that left a small hole in the exterior radiator and sent coolant spewing into space.

This undated photo released by the Roscosmos State Space Corporation shows the International Space Station (ISS). An uncrewed Russian supply ship docked at the International Space Station has lost cabin pressure, the Russian space corporation said Saturday, noting that the incident doesn't pose any danger to the station's crew. Credit: Roscosmos State Space Corporation via AP

Roscosmos has launched a probe into a possible cause of the cooling loop leak, and Krikalev said that experts will closely look at materials and technologies used in spacecraft manufacturing as part of the probe.

"We need to conduct a thorough analysis to make sure that it wouldn't affect similar components that will be used in the future," Krikalev said. "This is the most important task."

Roscosmos noted that before the leak the cargo ship had already been loaded with waste prior to its scheduled disposal. The craft is set to be undocked from the station and deorbit to burn in the atmosphere on Feb. 18.

The announcement came shortly after a new Russian cargo ship docked smoothly at the station on Saturday. The Progress MS-22 delivered almost three tons of food, water and fuel along with scientific equipment for the crew.

Roscosmos said that the incident didn't affect the docking of the new cargo ship and "will have no impact on the future station program."

This undated photo released by the Roscosmos State Space Corporation shows the International Space Station (ISS). An uncrewed Russian supply ship docked at the International Space Station has lost cabin pressure, the Russian space corporation said Saturday, noting that the incident doesn't pose any danger to the station's crew. Credit: Roscosmos State Space Corporation via AP, File

Russian Cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin, and NASA astronaut Frank Rubio were supposed to use the Soyuz crew capsule to return to Earth in March, but Russian space officials decided that higher temperatures resulting from the coolant leak could make it dangerous to use.

They decided to launch a new Soyuz capsule on Feb. 20 so the crew have a lifeboat in the event of an emergency. But since it will travel in automatic mode to expedite the launch, a replacement crew will now have to wait until late summer or fall when another capsule is ready. It means that Prokopyev, Petelin and Rubio will have to stay several extra months at the station, possibly pushing their mission to close to a year.

NASA took part in all the discussions and agreed with the plan.

Besides Prokopyev, Petelin and Rubio, the space station is home to NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada; Russian Anna Kikina; and Japan's Koichi Wakata. The four rode up on a SpaceX capsule last October.

 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
GLENS FALLS  Penko Ivanov has been appointed to a senior role in the Arrow Family of Companies.

Ivanov has been named chief financial officer, executive vice president, treasurer and chief accounting officer of Arrow and its two subsidiary banks, Glens Falls National Bank and Trust Company and Saratoga National Bank and Trust Company, as well as its insurance subsidiary, Upstate Agency, LLC., effective Feb. 21.

As CFO, Ivanov will be responsible for planning and management of all finance, treasury and accounting functions for Arrow, which reported $3.97 billion in assets as of December 31, 2022. He will be based in the companys Glens Falls headquarters and report to Arrow President and Chief Executive Officer Tom Murphy.

Murphy said he was pleased to welcome Ivanov.

His 30 years of experience and expertise in financial planning and analysis, controllership, financial reporting, treasury and more will be invaluable as we build upon Arrows strong financial footing and continued growth, Murphy said in a news release.

Ivanov said he looked forward to assisting the company in its strategic and financial goals.

Ivanov most recently served as executive vice president and chief financial officer of Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. in New Canaan, Connecticut. Prior to that, he worked in various finance positions for Doral Bank, General Electric Company and PepsiCo, Inc. He began his career with Ernst & Young GmbH in Munich, Germany.
SARANAC  Three people died Saturday in an early morning house fire in the town of Saranac, state police said in a news release Sunday.

The victims were Robert D. Velie, 21, of Saranac; Katelynn D. Damour, 23, of Chateauguay; and Diesel A. Cook, 2, of Peru (Clinton County), police said. The three were trapped inside a two-story residence that was fully engulfed in fire, authorities said.

They were located inside the residence and pronounced dead at the scene.

On Saturday about 3:33 a.m., state police responded to a residence on Strackville Road for a report of a structure fire with entrapment. State police worked alongside multiple fire and rescue departments at the scene.

Police were assisted at the scene by Cadyville, Morrisville, Saranac, Ausable Forks, South Plattsburgh, Lion Mountain, Peru and Dannemore fire and rescue personnel, and by members of the Clinton County Sheriff's Office.

State police and state fire investigators are still investigating the scene, but "no evidence of suspicious activity has been found at this time," the release states.

Saranac is in Clinton County, west of Plattsburgh.
From The Post-Star in 1973  50 years ago:

Fifty years ago, Glens Falls Hospital was gearing up for an expected population boom in the hospitals service area over the coming decades.

By 1990, Glens Falls Hospital will service an area of one-third of a million people  and some 193,000 of those will look to us for quality health and hospital care, said hospital Administrator William Philion, according to a Jan. 31, 1973, Post-Star report.

Hospital officials unveiled plans for a $17.7 million  the equivalent of $123.3 million in December 2022 dollars  expansion and renovation project that would include construction of a new west wing.

The project would more than double the hospitals floor space from 193,000 square feet to 400,000 square feet.

Then, as now, mental health was a concern.

The project included $1.5 million to renovate the first floor of the east wing for an advanced mental health unit.

Construction was expected to begin in May, with the new wing ready for occupancy in July 1974.

Celebrating peace: The Whitehall Fire Department blew its whistle for 5 minutes at 7 p.m. Jan. 27 to commemorate the signing of the Paris Peace Agreement to end the Vietnam War. Church bells tolled in Glens Falls for 4 minutes, and, village of Corinth residents were urged to turn their porch lights on from 7 to 8 p.m. As mayor of the village of Corinth, I wish to urge all Corinth residents to turn on their porch lights for one hour to show Corinths happiness and appreciation that this very long war involving our American youth has finally come to an end, Mayor Irving Densmore proclaimed. Queensbury Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 223 held a ceremony Jan. 28 at Pineview Cemetery in Queensbury. Glens Falls American Legion held a ceremony at Crandall Park with former Mayor Milton Tibbets speaking and Glens Falls High School trumpeter David Sharland playing taps.  Jan. 26, 27, 28

Weather: It didnt snow much Monday, but what Sunday night left was more than enough.  Glens Falls Department of Public Works Superintendent Horace Barber, commenting about an 8-inch snowstorm.  Jan. 30

Downtown: The Mohican Council of Boy Scouts of America honored C.V. Peters clothing store in downtown for being a Boy Scout merchandise distributor for 63 years.  Jan. 26

Sports trivia: New York Yankees pitcher Fritz Peterson signed autographs at Glen Ford in South Glens Falls. Peterson was in the area with his family for a snowmobiling vacation.  Jan. 26

Sports trivia: Jim Moose Duggan was 6-0 in the first nine matches of the Glens Falls High School wrestling season. Duggan is the only problem. That problem being that he cant find anyone to wrestle. He has man-handled all opposition this year, fending off all of his opponents in the first period. Duggan now is the professional wrestler known as Hacksaw.  Jan. 30

Big catch: Charles Chuck Gipe caught a 16-pound, 40-inch Northern Pike at Dunhams Bay on Lake George.  Jan. 26

Editorial: He was a southerner  from Texas. It would not have been surprising, therefore, if he had been something less than a champion dedicated to improving the lot of Black men. Indeed, he once voted against an anti-lynching law. Yet, Lyndon Baines Johnson did more than any other president since Lincoln to achieve equality of the races. ... The Congress, where LBJ had been a vigorous and persuasive leader, listened to LBJ and enacted a broad civil rights law. ... Under LBJs goading, Congress provided medical care for the aged, raised the minimum wage, and voted financial help for elementary and secondary schools. ... The nation sorrows over the death of any ex-president. And in the passing of Lyndon B. Johnson there is a particular note of tragedy. He was taken at an age (64) when he might still have served the nation as an elder statesman. ...

Quotable: When the post office gets a letter addressed to someone they dont know, they bring it to me.  Greenwich town Historian Jane Haverly  Jan. 31
Retired New York State Police Investigator Thomas Aiken has made a career out of investigating some of the most egregious assault cases in the area during his 29-years in upstate New York.

But one Washington County case in particular left a lasting impression with him  one which is detailed in Now They Lay me Down to Rest, a book Aiken has written along with his wife, Connie.

Im responsible for the deaths of a lot of people, and I sleep well at night, Aiken said. These were people that have done things that you couldnt even imagine to kids and other people.

It started, for Aiken, in 1994, when he and Granville police Detective Frank Hunt were assigned to reopen an investigation into the death of Howard Hodgie White, a 2-year-old boy, whose death was deemed suspicious, but ultimately ruled accidental in 1973.

He was literally, from the time that he was 5 months old, beaten, abused, tortured, and starved every day of his life, Aiken explained.

Aiken and Hunts investigation led to the conviction of David J. Pope Sr., Hodgies stepfather, in 1995. Pope was sentenced to 25 years to life at the Sing Sing Correctional Facility, where he died in 2012.

For nearly 30 years, Aiken and his wife carried the story of Hodgie with them as they raised their own family including three sons, and three adopted daughters. It even followed them into retirement, where they settled in South Carolina.

I had at least two full totes, big totes, of original files, copies and everything else, Aiken said. We moved them from house to house, and then we moved them down to South Carolina from house to house to house, knowing we someday wanted to tell his story.

Aiken claims that the original investigation into Hodgies death in 1972 was plagued with corruption and neglect from public officials, including a Washington County coroner and Child Protective Services investigators. Due to lack of evidence and falsified testimony, Aiken said that when Pope was tried for the death of Hodgie in 1973, then-Washington County District Attorney Philip Berke could only charge him with assault and reckless endangerment  charges that Pope was acquitted of.

I was very upset with the verdict, actually, Berke told The Post-Star in an interview Friday.

Berke, now a retired Washington County judge, affirmed the claims in Aiken's book that Pope's trial in 1973 was marred by uncooperative county officials, signaling at least negligence on their part, or potentially more.

My main concern, as I said after the verdict, was the lack of cooperation by the Washington County Department of Social Services. I'm still upset by that, Berke said.

Knowing that the department had been called in to investigate Pope's alleged abuse in the past, Berke requested to review the documents from those investigations. However, he was denied access to all documents concerning Hodgie's case.

Despite being denied access to their records, Berke said that the director of Washington County Department of Social Services at the time, as well as an investigator who was involved with the case, both testified during Pope's initial trial.

Their testimony shocked me, Berke recalled. Basically, their testimony indicated that it didn't appear that (Hodgie) had sustained any injuries. ... In fact, they said just a few days before this happened the investigator said she was there and there was no indication of any injuries.

For his part, Berke only had the testimony of a young woman, who claimed to have witnessed Pope's abuse directed at Hodgie. But even that was refuted by the county officials.

The witness testified that she called Social Services from a store, and the director said, 'no call was made,' Berke said.

Berke stopped short of levying any substantial allegations against the department, but he did share his opinion on the matter.

I'm assuming they took the position they did, as far as lack of cooperation, because they were advised by the Social Services attorney. I can't speak to that, but I assume so, he said. But they were involved before the case, so you draw your own conclusions. (Hodgie) was one of the people that (was) under their care.

Resurrecting the case

After the trial, Pope, and Hodgies mother, Mae, were married and together had five additional children, all of whom suffered physical and emotional trauma from Pope.

Because all those people lied, the entities and those people lied during the trial, (Pope) got acquitted of the only two charges he ever faced, Aiken said. The corruption in 1972 that covered up the death of that little boy led to the abuse that they all suffered.

Until, that is, 1994, when Aiken was assigned to resurrect Hodgies cold case.

Pope had been arrested and charged with felony incest and he was being held in the Washington County Jail. Through the course of that investigation, statements emerged in Popes connection to Hodgies death. The body of the toddler was exhumed, and a second autopsy was performed by Dr. Michael Baden, a noted forensic pathologist who had participated in several high-profile investigations, including the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

(Hodgie) didnt even have his own grave. He was stuffed in between two other family plots and David Pope was donated a headstone and refused to put it on and threw it out, Aiken said.

Badens investigation determined that Hodgies death, which was caused by an infection from a ruptured stomach, stemmed from battered child syndrome and was in fact a homicide. That, coupled with testimony from numerous neighbors and relatives, including Hodgie's mother Mae, stating the Pope would often strike and kick the children, led to a jury finding him guilty of the crime.

"Sometimes it takes a while for justice to prevail, I guess," Berke added.

In their book, Aiken and his wife deliver all the horrific details of the case as they unfolded, as well as give readers a glimpse into their personal lives and how avenging Hodgies death affected their family.

My wife and I, we had a vision, we were going between the struggle between heaven and hell, Aiken said. And we felt like we were releasing (Hodgie) through his eternal peace and resting.

Told from the perspective of Connie Aiken, the book also delves into some of the more than 100 homicide cases and 700 child abuse cases that were a part of their familys culture for 30 years.

Now They Lay me Down to Rest is available for print on demand from Dorrance Publishing of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as well as amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com.

For more information about the book, or how to help victims of domestic abuse, search "Hodgie's Hope," on Facebook.
ATLANTIC CITY  Most people have heard of the Tuskegee Airmen, the Black pilots trained at the Tuskegee Army Air Field in Alabama during World War II.

Far fewer know about the Montford Point Marines, the first Black U.S. Marines who trained at a segregated camp called Montford Point from 1942 to 1949, near Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina.

The family of Atlantic Citys Walter J. Johnson, a Montford Point veteran and retired city firefighter who died in 1982, wants to change that.

Johnson, who was born in 1915 and grew up in Atlantic City, went through boot camp at Montford Point and was shipped to the Pacific theater of operations where he participated in the battles for the islands of Saipan, Guam, the Mariana Islands, Guadalcanal and the British Solomon Islands, according to the National Montford Point Marines Association Philadelphia Chapter No. 1.

In January, Johnson and three other Black Marine Corps veterans posthumously received their copy of the Congressional Gold Medal awarded to the Montford Point Marines for outstanding perseverance and courage that inspired social change in the Marine Corps, as the medal reads.

The Philadelphia chapter of the NMPMA held the ceremony, and is looking for more local Montford Point veterans so they or their families can also receive their copy of the medal, said Walter Johnsons son Michael Johnson, of Atlantic City.

Marines funeral befitting a legend of the Corps The Mass of Christian Burial for 94-year-old William French was well attended by the congreg

Of the 20,000 who went through the camp, only 3,000 have received their copies of the medals, said Philadelphia Chapter President Joe Geeter.

We still have 17,000 to go, Geeter said.

Hundreds likely live in the greater Philadelphia area, he said, because that chapter has the largest number of living Montford Point veterans at 11.

The Marines doing the training at Montford Point were all white and didnt want to be there, Michael Johnson said. But his father never complained about his time there, and was always proud of being a Marine.

Michael Johnson graduated from Atlantic City High School in 1960, spent three years in the Army and retired from Atlantic City Electric after 32 years.

He didnt talk about his hardships in training or in war, said daughter Sheila Brown Branch, of Atlantic City, who graduated from Atlantic City High School in 1968 and worked in marketing before retiring.

Instead he talked about the beauty of the South Pacific islands that were not touched by war, she said, and the native peoples he met.

But it must have been a difficult time training at Montford Point, Branch said.

He was one of the first there, she said. They had to help build the camp. When they arrived it was like a swamp.

The recruits were crowded in inadequate housing and were not allowed to go to nearby Camp Lejeune without a white escort, Branch and Michael Johnson said.

Walter Johnson was a hard worker who did his job and didnt complain, they said.

He was a proud Marine, Branch said.

FRENCH, WILLIAM 94 FRENCH, WILLIAM 94 - of Mays Landing, passed away on April 30, 2014. Born and raised in Nort

When he returned from the war, he became an Atlantic City firefighter and had second jobs on the side, including cleaning the old Atlantic City Press building at Atlantic and Ohio avenues, Michael Johnson said.

He and Louise Forrest Johnson, who owned and ran Forrest School of Dance for years in the city, were married before he left for the Marine Corps, Branch said.

Branch now lives in her parents former house where she grew up on McKinley Avenue, and Michael Johnson lives in the Venice Park neighborhood. They have a brother Jaurvon Johnson, who is a retired U.S. Navy pilot and commander who lives in the Washington, D.C., area.

The Montford Point Marines were the first African-Americans to enlist in the U.S. Marine Corps after President Franklin Roosevelt issued an executive order establishing the Fair Employment Practices Commission in June 1941, according to the National Montford Point Marine Association. Roosevelts action opened all branches of the military to Blacks, but until 1949 training camps were separate.

The largest number of Black Marines to serve in combat during WWII took part in the seizure of Okinawa, with approximately 2,000 seeing action, the associations website says.

Montford Point Marines of the 36th Depot Company also landed on the island of Iwo Jima on Feb. 16, 1945.

The Congressional Gold Medal was awarded to the Montford Point Marines in 2011 under President Barack Obama, Michael Johnson said. The first recipients to get their copies were surviving veterans, and now the families are being awarded copies on behalf of the veterans who have died.

There are several documentaries on the Montford Point Marines available on YouTube, including one about Geeters work called Mission Montford Point.

For more information on the medal program, call Geeter at 610-608-5786 or email geeterj@yahoo.com.
ATLANTIC CITY  A city man who fled police was arrested and charged with several weapons and drug offenses, police said last week.

Deshone Dunston, 24, discarded a weapon later identified as a ghost gun during the foot pursuit with police. He also was found to be in possession of drugs following his arrest, police said in a news release.

Dunston was charged with unlawful possession of a weapon, possession of a ghost gun, possession of a weapon during a drug transaction, possession of a controlled dangerous substance, possession with intent to distribute, possession with intent to distribute within 500 feet of public housing, possession with intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of a public school, resisting arrest and obstruction.

At 8:31 p.m. Feb. 9, Detectives Eric Evans, Alberto Valles and Aaron Jones and Officer Ivaylo Ivanov were patrolling Pennsylvania and Mediterranean avenues when they spotted Dunston and attempted to stop him as part of a criminal investigation.

Two Atlantic City men arrested, two guns recovered in separate incidents ATLANTIC CITY  Police arrested two men and recovered two guns in separate incidents, the de

Dunston fled when he was approached, police said. During the chase, officers saw Dunston discard a handgun. He was apprehended a short distance away.

A search revealed Dunston was also in possession of four wax folds of suspected heroin, and the discarded gun was loaded and did not have a serial number, making it a ghost gun, police said.

Dunston is being held at the Atlantic County jail.
ATLANTIC CITY  A city man and a city woman were arrested after police watched them complete a suspected drug transaction, police announced Sunday.

Nathaniel Seldon, 34, and Dawn Gonzalez, 42, were arrested early Saturday morning on multiple drug charges.

Seldon was charged with possession of CDS, possession of CDS with intent to distribute, possession of CDS with intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of a school, and dispensing CDS, police said. Gonzalez was charged with possession of CDS and possession of CDS paraphernalia, police said.

At 12:40 a.m. Saturday, Sgt. Jefferson Rivera and officers Nikolas Cardani, Anthony Nastasi and Zayon Pitts were conducting surveillance in the area of the first block of south Bellevue Avenue when they saw Gonzalez and Seldon engage in a suspected drug transaction, police said. Following the transaction, they saw Gonzalez enter a vehicle that was parked nearby and led the area.

Police broadcast the description of the vehicle, which led to Officer Jesse Oliver-Logan locating the vehicle at the intersection of Georgia and Pacific avenues, where he initiated a car stop. Gonzalez was found in possession of about 2 grams of suspected crack cocaine and two glass pipes commonly used to smoke CDS, police said. She was arrested without incident.

Seldon was located by Officer Williams Luengas-Gonzalez a short time later and arrested without incident, police said. He was found in possession of about 15 grams of suspected crack cocaine.

Both were released on summonses pending future court dates.
PLEASANTVILLE  Chef Andre Murphy has been driven by his faith to feed the community since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Murphy is the founder of the nonprofit Healing for the Soul, which focuses on fighting food insecurity and has helped feed more than 15,000 South Jersey residents.

We focus on creating innovative feeding opportunities, serving the less fortunate and unifying communities with our dish Murphys chicken and potatoes, he said. A fundraiser for my church is what started it all. I started making chicken and potatoes, about 15 quarts a week where the proceeds benefited the church.

Murphy credits his daughter DeAndre with motivating him to share his cooking with the church, but he comes from a family of chefs, and said his mom, Patricia Johnson, taught him his signature chicken-and-potatoes recipe.

I started making it early on for my kids just like my mom made it for me growing up. This recipe has been in my family for over 60 years, he said with a big smile.

Group to serve 400+ meals to Atlantic County first responders Saturday Healing for the Soul, a local nonprofit that has served hot meals to more than 15,000 people

Since 2020, when he launched his first feeding tour due to the pandemic, he has been studying the eating habits of seniors, the homeless, low-income families and kids.

His next projects include a Heat N Eat initiative that will help elementary school-aged children bring home hot meals and an F3 initiative, which stands for Freezer-Filled Friday.

The freezer program would provide residents in underserved areas access to food through a registration program.

Murphy is also collaborating with the states PBS TV network on a documentary project.

For more info on Murphy, follow him on Instagram @healingforthesoulsj and on Facebook by searching Healing for The Soul. You also can email him at murphyscnp@gmail.com or call 609-338-2829.
Organizers of the Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF) kicked off a poster contest on Feb. 8 to find the best design for this year's edition, which is expected to open in April.

An image and message of new year greetings from the Beijing International Film Festival. [Image courtesy of BJIFF]

The Organizing Committee, through the poster collection competition for the 13th BJIFF, calls for works from all over the world that embody unique creativity and artistic standards. Individuals and professional design institutions are all encouraged to participate.

"Film is essentially a kind of comprehensive form of art, and the poster is a demonstration of a film festival's fundamental belief as well as means to present an artistic flare to the festival. It also serves as a bridge between audiences and practitioners and warmly invites them to attend the film festival," organizers explain.

They added that posters that feature an "international level of quality, Chinese characteristics, and Beijing style" are welcome to the BJIFF this year. Meanwhile, the concepts and themes can be freely determined by the designers. However, they hope that the submissions fully reflect the designers' sincerity and enthusiasm for film.

"Your poster should adopt a completely original design without infringement or plagiarism. Designers should fully express their own artistic passion in their works so as to reflect the professional and international orientation of the BJIFF. The design should include the content of artistic rhetoric and highlight the cultural significance of film without any ambiguity. Meanwhile, it should also display the characteristics and logo of the BJIFF, convey its initiative and positive energy, and highlight the unique regional features and culture of the city of Beijing."

Other required elements on the poster are the Chinese characters "" and English words "13th Beijing International Film Festival," as well as the names of organizers and the festivals blade pinwheel logo. More details can be found on BJIFF's official website (https://www.bjiff.com/enHome/). Contributors can submit their posters through the BJIFF Poster Collection System (http://system.bjiff.com/hbzj/) from now until Feb. 28, 2023.

The BJIFF Organizing Committee will organize three rounds of voting: the preliminary selection, secondary selection, and final selection in early March. After the conclusion of the secondary selection on March 8, experts will shortlist 10 posters for the final selection. The public can vote for a winner via various platforms and the best design will receive a prize of 100,000 yuan (tax included). The other nine shortlisted posters will also each receive a creation encouragement fund worth 10,000 yuan (tax included). The final results will be announced on the BJIFF's official WeChat account, official Weibo account, and official website at a later date to be decided by the organizers.

"Draw your dreams into an image with a paintbrush. We sincerely hope that all competing poster designers can integrate their passion for film and film festivals into the beauty of a two-dimensional space and use images and information to achieve a common goal," the organizers appealed.
Actress calls 3 Idiots actor bechara after he praised her at event

Actress Kangana Ranaut trolled Aamir Khan, calling him bechara even after he praised her at an event with author Shobha De. At the launch of Shobhaa Des book, Aamir was asked which actors could play her in her biopic. He said Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra and Alia Bhatt. When De asked him about Kangana, he said, Yea, she would do it well as well. Kangana would do it well. She is a strong actor, shes very versatile. But Kangana thought Aamir tried his best not to take her name.

She tweeted: Bechara Aamir Khan a ha ha he tried his best to pretend like he doesnt know that I am the only three times national award winning actress none of those he mentioned has even one a Thank you @ Kangana trolls Aamir Actress calls 3 Idiots actor bechara after he praised her at event DeShobhaa ji I would love to play you.

She added: Shobaa ji and I have opposing political views but that doesnt stop her from acknowledging my art, hard work and dedication to my craft that is the reflection of ones integrity and value system. Wish you the best for your new book maam. Sorry I have four national awards already and a PadmaShri my fans reminded I dont even remember how many I have.

IANS
#PANAJI The High Court of Bombay at Goa on Friday issued notices to Goa Assembly Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar and eight MLAs who defected from the Congress last year, while hearing a petition filed by former AICC Secretary Girish Chodankar. Chodankar had pleaded to direct the Speaker to decide on the disqualification petition filed against the eight defected MLAs within 90 days. Sources said the high court has directed all the respondents to file a reply within two weeks. The next hearing is scheduled on February 24. On September 14, 2022, former CM Digambar Kamat and others had jumped ship to the BJP.

IANS
#NEWDELHI A Delhi court judge has recused himself from hearing a matter related to 2019 Jamia Nagar violence case citing personal reasons. Due to personal reasons, the undersigned hereby recuses from hearing the matter. Accordingly, let the present matter be put up before the principal district and sessions judge, southeast district, Saket court, for February 13 at 12 pm with a request to transfer the matter, said Additional Sessions Judge Arul Verma, who had recently discharged 11 accused, including Sharjeel Imam and Asif Iqbal Tanha, in the same case.

The accused in the present case include Meeran Haider, Ashu Khan, Qasim Usmani, Mohammad Hassan, Mohd Jamal, Mohd Sahil Muddassir, Faheem Hasmee, Sameer Ahmad, Mohd Umar, Mohd Adil, Roohul Ameer, Chandan Kumar, and Saqib Khan. On February 4, when ASJ Verma had discharged 11 accused, he had pulled up the police, saying that they were unable to apprehend the actual perpetrators behind the commission of the offence, but surely managed to rope in these 11 accused as scapegoats.

The violence had erupted after a clash between the police and people protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in December 2019. The ASJ had said that the protesters were surely there in large numbers and it cannot be denied that some anti-social elements within the crowd created an environment of disruption.

IANS
Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi (in pic), while addressing an election rally in Tripura on Saturday, said that voting for the Congress and the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) would facilitate the return of violence and corruption in the state

#AGARTALA Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi (in pic), while addressing an election rally in Tripura on Saturday, said that voting for the Congress and the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) would facilitate the return of violence and corruption in the state. In a scathing attack against the CPI-M, Modi without taking names said that one party rule existed in the state earlier and the flag of the same party was the only one seen during elections.

At the rally in Dhalai district headquarters, Ambassa, he said that during the previous regime, Tripura had chanda (donation) raj and people had to give chanda to the CPI-M for every affair. The Prime Minister added that the BJP government had implemented the recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission, benefiting more than one lakh state government employees.

The women were subjected to severe atrocities earlier, but the BJP had been empowering them ever since gaining power in 2018, he said. The Prime Minister said that the government had taken up a plan to prioritise the development of 110 districts of the country and Tripuras Dhalai was one among the list.

Urging the people to cast their votes in favour of the saffron party to keep their double-engine government running in the state, Modi claimed that BJP leaders had been working tirelessly to achieve optimum results from HIRA (Highway, I-way, Railway and Airway). All villages of the state would be connected to each other and to the world through an optical fibre cable network, the PM said.

IANS
State govt will provide 60 per cent of funds for flyover in Pune, PMC appointed consultants to prepare DPR

The Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadavis asserted that the sate government will provide 60 per cent funds for infrastructural development in Pune. The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is all set to appoint a consultant to prepare a detailed project report (DPR) for 15 flyovers.

The PMC plans to construct 15 flyovers and six under passes and river bridges. The civic body has sought the help from state government to carry the infrastructural development projects. Municipal commissioner Vikram Kumar will submit the detailed report of the project to the state government; once they finish the DPR of 15 flyovers in Pune city.

The tenders for construction of theses flyovers have been already floated, the tender for three underpass at Ganeshkhind Road is underway due to the metro work in the area, it is important to have all the technical details.

PMC administration said that the land for five flyover is in PMCs possession. For the other ten flyover, PMC needs to acquire lands or remove encroachments form some locations. The civic body is preparing a DPR for these 15 flyovers. Other than these flyover three grade separators and three river bridge is also included in the development project. Of the three river bridges, one will be connecting Wadgaonsheri and Mundhwa. The other will be connecting Koregaon Park and Kalayaninagar and the third will be connecting Sinhagad Road and Karvenagar.
Farmland values continued strong growth in 2022 in the Seventh Federal Reserve District that includes Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin, according to the Agricultural Newsletter authored by economist David Oppedahl of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

Values for good farmland rose an average of 12% in the district during the 12-month period from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2022. That is lower than the increase of 2021 which was 22% for the year.

Oppedahl said the increase of 12% in the district might seem like a letdown after the even larger increase in 2021, but 2022s annual gain was the second largest in the past 10 years.

For 2022, Oppedahl said Illinois farmland values increased by 14%, while Iowa and Wisconsin both saw an increase of 11%. Indiana farmland values increased the most over the year, 23%. Michigans values were not calculated because of an insufficient response to Oppedahls survey.

Oppedahl said district farmland values got a boost from a record year of crop revenues, even though the output of corn and soybeans in the district was down from 2021. Revenues for those crops were up because of higher crop prices.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics, the price of corn per bushel started at an average of $5.58 in January of 2022, climbed to high of $7.38 per bushel in June and ended the year in December at $6.58 per bushel.

Those prices were stronger than in 2021 when corn was selling at an average $4.24 per bushel in January, rose to a high of $6.32 per bushel in August and then ended in December at $5.47 per bushel.

According to the Agriculture Department, in 2022 soybean prices started in January at an average of $12.90 per bushel, rose to a high of $16.40 per bushel in June before ending the year in December selling for an average of $14.40 per bushel.

In 2021, soybeans started in January at an average of $10.90 per bushel, rose to a high of $14.80 in May and ended the year at an average of $12.50 per bushel in December.

Oppedahl said the district's corn yield was up six-tenths of a percent from 2021 to a record 199 bushels per acre in 2022. The district's soybean yield, however, dropped 5% from 2021 to 59 bushels per acre in 2022.

For the final quarter of 2022, from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, Illinois farmland values gained 2% while Indiana's values gained 1%. Iowa's farmland values in the final quarter fell 2% while Wisconsin's fell 1%.
GENESEO  The board of Hammond-Henry Hospital recently named seasoned hospital leader David A. Shannon as interim chief executive officer.

He is a hospital executive with QHR Health, which provides Hammond-Henry Hospital with hospital operations consulting services.

Dave brings us three decades of hospital CEO and CFO expertise, which will help us continue to strengthen our commitment to the sustained well-being of our patients, families and communities, board chair Ann DeSmith said in a news release.

Shannon has served in interim and long-term executive positions with hospitals across the country, most recently serving as president and CEO for five years at Three Rivers Health in Michigan.

In November 2022, HHH was named one of the top 10% of all critical access hospitals in the country, gaining the title of a high-achieving HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) hospital. Additionally, HHH holds a five-star quality rating for patient experience from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and was recently recognized by the Illinois Critical Access Hospital Network for its ongoing commitment to exceptional quality of care.

Shannon replaces Mark Kuhn, who, according to the news release, left by mutual agreement.
Augustana College senior Andrew Leon Sanchez was one of many steppers on the Centennial Hall stage Saturday night, preceding a performance by the global stepping talent Step Afrika!  the first professional dance group dedicated to the rich African tradition of step dancing.

But hes not new to stepping.

In high school, I also was part of the step team; I was president the last three years, Sanchez said. When I came to Augie, I saw all the different dance groups on campus.  I didnt really see anything similar to step.

In short, he missed it. Sanchez, a Naples, Florida, native, shared that he would often practice stepping in his dorm and later took it upon himself to inquire about starting a club at Augie.

I felt like there was this huge part of dance that needed to be explored here, he said. During homecoming week, theres this thing called Yell; the Greek life here would put on a performance of steps that consisted of repetitive, similar beats and styles, so that also sparked my interest. I wanted to showcase how (step) is actually performed and educate them a bit about the cultural significance.

Sanchez acknowledged steppings ties to traditional African culture, and the value of bringing the art form to a predominantly white institution.

Step was a form of expression, he said. A way for them (African Americans) to express their aggression in a way that didnt harm others. I think its cool that this form of dance was used in that way and still performed like that to this day.

Ashley Allen, director of Augies office of student inclusion and diversity, said the student steppers  particularly Sanchez  were instrumental in bringing Step Afrika! to campus.

About a year and a half ago, he mentioned that there was this group called Step Afrika!, she said. I continued talking with him about that, and seeing the heavy involvement the step team had at Augustana, I was like OK, lets try this event. 

Allen said she worked to schedule Step Afrika! and did so after feeling inspired working with the students. Sanchez said hed been a fan of Step Afrika! since high school, and felt Black History Month was the perfect time to host their performance  which he hoped to be eye opening for his peers and others who attended.

Im really excited about it, Sanchez said, adding that he hopes Augies step team teaches the cultural significance of the dance as the group progresses past his graduation.
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Announcements

Corvallis Primary School Kindergarten Registration for the 2023-24 school year is now open. Parents/guardians must register online and schedule a screening appointment by going to the school website, https://www.corvallisschools.org/ and clicking on the Online Registration button. Please call the primary school office at 406-961-3261 for further questions.

Monday, Feb. 13

Bitterroot Public Library, Tea Blending Take Home Kit. First come, first served grab-bag kit. Kit includes all materials and instructions to create at home. The Great Winter Book Battle For Kids, through March 31. Registration required. Join us for this fun 16 books face off. Be there to choose the final winner and see the most popular book. Sign up for the challenge at Bitterrootpubliclibrary.org. Storywalk at Hieronymus Park in Hamilton, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. For more information call 406-363-1670. 306 State St., Hamilton. bitterrootpubliclibrary.org.

North Valley Public Library, Begining Belly Dance, 6-6:30 p.m., (adults). 208 Main St., Stevensville, northvalleylibrary.org.

Hamilton Senior Center, lunch is served 11:45 a.m.-12:30 p.m., $5; Hand and foot (canasta) $2, every Monday, 12:30 p.m. 820 N. 4th St., Hamilton.

Stevensville Senior Center, 8 a.m. Coffee Club, meals at 11:30 a.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Friday; Pinochle at 7 p.m. 100 Mission St., Stevensville.

Golden Age Club, light exercise, 9-10 a.m., $1. 727 S. 5th St., Hamilton.

Hamilton School District special board meeting, noon, District Office Conference Room.

Tuesday, Feb. 14

Bitterroot Public Library, Coloring Club for Adults, meeting room, 10:30 to 1 p.m. Builders Club, 4 to 5 p.m., meeting room, registration required. For more information call 406-363-1670. 306 State St., Hamilton. bitterrootpubliclibrary.org.

North Valley Public Library, The Book Club at NVPL, 10 a.m.-noon. Role playing games, 4-6 p.m., in-person or online (teens). 208 Main St., Stevensville, northvalleylibrary.org.

Stevensville Senior Center, 8 a.m. Coffee Club. Exercise, 10 a.m., Tuesday and Thursday. 100 Mission St., Stevensville.

Journey Through Grief Support, a six-week series for anyone who is grieving the death of a loved one. Tuesdays, Jan. 3  March 28, 2:30 p.m., at St Francis of Assisi, 411 S. 5th St, Hamilton. Please RSVP at stfrancishwm@gmail.com.

Corvallis School District Board of Trustees regular board meeting, 7 p.m., Corvallis High School Library.

Wednesday, Feb. 15

Bitterroot Public Library, Baby and Toddler Story Time, meeting room, 10:30 a.m., registration required. Tales and Tails: Read to Shelter Animals, 4 to 5 p.m., meet offsite at the Bitterroot Humane Shelter in Hamilton. Registration required. Library Board of Trustees Meeting, meeting room, 4 p.m. For more information call 406-363-1670. 306 State St., Hamilton. bitterrootpubliclibrary.org.

North Valley Public Library, Songs & Stories for Preschoolers, 10:30-11 a.m. Library Board Meeting, 3-6 p.m. (adults). Wild & Weird Wednesdays with Science Officer Lisa 4-5 p.m. (children) For more information call 406-777-5061. 208 Main St., Stevensville, northvalleylibrary.org.

Hamilton Senior Center, lunch is served 11:45 a.m.-12:30 p.m., $5; 820 N. 4th St., Hamilton.

Stevensville Senior Center, 8 a.m. Coffee Club, meals at 11:30 a.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Friday; 100 Mission St., Stevensville.

Golden Age Club, light exercise, 9-10 a.m., $1. Pinochle games, 1 p.m., $3, coffee provided. 727 S. 5th St., Hamilton.

Hamilton School Board Governance Committee meeting, noon, District Office Conference Room. The Committee will be conducting this meeting with live participation.

Thursday, Feb. 16

Bitterroot Public Library, Trivia Night at Big Creek Coffee, 5:45 to 7 p.m., Big Creek Coffee in Hamilton downtown. For more information call 406-363-1670. 306 State St., Hamilton. bitterrootpubliclibrary.org.

North Valley Public Library, DIY miniature needle felted owls, 6-8 p.m. (adults). For more information call 406-777-5061. 208 Main St., Stevensville, northvalleylibrary.org.

Stevensville Senior Center, 8 a.m. Coffee Club. Exercise, 10 a.m., Tuesday and Thursday. 100 Mission St., Stevensville.

Bitterroot Back Country Horsemen will host their monthly meeting at the Corvallis Grange Hall at 130 Dutch Hill Rd., just west of the light at Hwy 93 and Woodside Cutoff. Potluck at 6:30 p.m., meeting starts at 7 pm. Adam Onsrud with Bitterroot Weed Management will be discussing toxic weeds, as well as biodiversity and managing animals prior to heading into the backcountry. Guests and new members welcome. For more information, please call Gene at 208-310-6326 or check out the website at www.bchmt.org/bitterroot.

Friday, Feb. 17

Bitterroot Public Library, Preschool Story time, 10:30 a.m., meeting room, registration required. One on One Tech Support, 10 a.m. to noon, reservations recommended. All Ages Chess Club, 3:30 to 5:30 p.m., meeting room/ For more information call 406-363-1670. 306 State St., Hamilton. bitterrootpubliclibrary.org.

North Valley Public Library, Open World Fridays, 4-6 p.m., teens (12-18). Choose to 3D print objects and then paint them, create a craft, explore the Dungeons & Dragons handbooks, or make a zine, its up to you. For more information call 406-777-5061. 208 Main St., Stevensville, northvalleylibrary.org.

Hamilton Senior Center, lunch is served 11:45 a.m.-12:30 p.m., $5; Pinochle games, 1 p.m., $3. 820 N. 4th St., Hamilton.

Stevensville Senior Center, 8 a.m. Coffee Club, meals at 11:30 a.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. 100 Mission St., Stevensville.

Golden Age Club, light exercise, 9-10 a.m., $1. 727 S. 5th St., Hamilton.

Bitterroot North Valley Pachyderm Club will meet at noon at The Frontier Cafe, U.S. Highway 93 in Stevensville. Guest speaker will be Joe Banda who will talk about immigration and the southern boarder crisis. The North Valley Pachyderm Club meets the first and third Friday of each month from noon to 1 p.m. The North Valley Pachyderm Club is an educational arm of the Republican Party. All are welcome.

Saturday, Feb. 18

Hamilton Senior Center, bingo is every first and third Saturday, opens at noon, play begins at 1 p.m. $2 entry fee. $10/15 games. Must be 18+ to play. Flea Market is the 2nd Saturday of every month from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., September to May. 820 N. 4th St., Hamilton.

Stevensville Senior Center, pinochle at 7 p.m. 100 Mission St., Stevensville.

AA Meeting, 6-10 p.m., Bitterroot Public Library, 306 State St.

Further ahead

Monday, Feb. 20

Bitterroot Audubon Program: Studying Montanas Owl Species. If you love owls, Bitterroot Audubons February program is for you. Beth Mendelsohn, field researcher for the Owl Research Institute (ORI) will present an overview and recent findings from the Institutes studies on long-eared owls, short-eared owls, northern pygmy-owls, boreal owls and great gray owls, all species that occur in the Bitterroot Valley. Beth has been studying owls and other raptors in the west for nearly 10 years and has been a field researcher at ORI since 2019. ORI is headquartered in the Mission Valley, and has been studying these and other owl species for over 35 years in Montana, Alaska and other areas. This is a great opportunity to learn about some of these less familiar owl species from an expert!

Beths program is scheduled for 7 p.m., via Zoom. You must register in advance for this meeting at: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIqceGtqD4pG9LNPjrLA41HCUGEpxbd4NVq

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. Please register before 6:00 PM the night of the program.

Tuesday, Feb. 21

Hamilton School Board regular meeting, 6:30 p.m., Washington Elementary, room 4.

Thursday, March 2

Golden Age Club, bimonthly membership meeting, 1 p.m., 727 South 5th St., Hamilton.
The Harpe brothers were the first documented serial killers in the United States. Micajah Big Harpe, and Wiley Little Harpe were murderous outlaws who operated in Illinois, Mississippi, Kentucky and Tennessee in the late 1700s. Though widely known as the Harpe brothers, they were actually cousins.

Their fathers were Scottish immigrants who had settled in Orange County, North Carolina. Soon after arriving in America, the Harpes change of the spelling of their name from Harpe to Harp.

Being first generation Scottish immigrants and staunch Tories, the Harpes were loyal to the British crown. Growing up near each other, the boys were soon identified as Big and Little Harp, as Wiley was much smaller than Micajah. Still children at the time, the Harpe brothers watched from afar as their parents were brutally tortured and hanged for their loyalist affiliations.

This devastating personal tragedy would leave the orphaned Harpes dangerously embittered with the world. Was this incident what set them on a path of unprovoked butchery and depravity?

As they grew up, the pair sided with the British during the American Revolution. However, they seemed more interested in violence and criminal activities than any sense of patriotism. Along with like-minded irregulars, they got thrills burning farms, raping women and pillaging American patriots. When Little Harp attempted to rape a girl in North Carolina, he was wounded by Captain James Wood, but survived.

In 1780, the Harpes joined with the regular British troops and fought in several battles along the North and South Carolina borders. The next year, they left the army and joined up with a group of Cherokee Indians raiding settlements in North Carolina and Tennessee. Recalling what Captain James Wood had done to Little Harpe, the pair kidnapped Woods daughter, Susan Wood, and another girl named Maria Davidson. The women would soon serve as wives to the Harpes.

The Harpes then headed to Tennessee. During the trip, a man named Moses Doss expressed concern for the way the women were being treated. For his concern, he was killed by the Harpes. For the next dozen years, the Harpes, along with their wives lived in then Indian village Nickajack in Tennessee. During this time, the captive women delivered two children each. All four children were brutally killed by their fathers, one having his head crushed for crying.

By the spring of 1797, they were living in a cabin on Beavers Creek near Knoxville. That same year, Little Harpe married a local girl, a ministers daughter, named Sarah Rice. There were now three wives for two men.

A year later, the Harpes began their murderous binge, one of the most violent in the nations history. They first killed two men in Tennessee. By December, they had moved on to Kentucky, where they killed two traveling men from Maryland. Unlike most desperadoes of the time, they seemed motivated more by killing their victims as opposed to robbing them. Frequently, they disemboweled their prey, filled their abdominal cavities with rocks and threw them into a river to sink.

April 1799, the governor of Kentucky proclaimed a $300 reward on each of the Harpes heads. Fleeing northward, the Harpes killed two men and killed three more after coming upon the men who were encamped. The pair then made their way to Cave-In-The-Rock in southern Illinois, a stronghold of the river pirate, Samuel Mason.
Conference discusses development plans for the Red River region

A government conference was held in the northern province of Quang Ninh on Sunday to discuss development plans for the Red River region in 2030, with GRDP per capita expected to reach VN274 million (US$11,600).













PM Chinh visits a booth showcasing local produce of the Red River region on the sidelines of the conference.  VNA/VNS Photo Duong Giang



The meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, was the sixth of its kind held by the Government to discuss measures and directions to implement the resolutions to develop six regions of Vietnam.



The Red River region comprises of 11 provinces and cities: Hanoii, Hai Phong, Quang Ninh, Vinh Phuc, Bac Ninh, Hai Duong, Hung Yen, Thai Binh, Ha Nam, Nam inh, and Ninh Binh. This is considered the northern gateway that connects Vietnam with ASEAN and important region for economic and trade development with China.



At the meeting, Minister of Investment and Planning Nguyen Chi Dung announced a resolution that details 21 socio-economic and environmental indicators, 10 sets of key tasks and solutions, 36 specific tasks and 20 infrastructure investment projects.



The Government has set the target to have GRDP growth of the region at 9 per cent a year, of which the construction and industry sector is still the pillar of the economy, contributing 47 per cent to the growth; the service sector contributes 41 per cent and the agriculture-forestry-fishery sector contributes 3.5 per cent.



GRDP per capita is expected to reach VN274 million (US$11,600) and the rate of trained labourers with qualification certificates is from 48 to 52 per cent.



At the meeting, delegates agreed that it is important to develop the transport infrastructure in a synchronous and modern way to increase regional and international linkages.



The region is also set to become the countrys leading science-technology and innovation centre.



The PM noted that the Red River region holds strategic importance in politics, economy, and culture and is a northern gateway that connects the country with ASEAN.



Stressing that the development of the region is yet to be compatible with its potentials, the PM said that it is crucial to have proper policies and investment as well as coordination between ministries and localities.



He said the ministries, agencies and 11 localities in the region must immediately develop specific action plans and programmes to implement Resolution 30 of the Politburo and the Action Plan of the Government.



Regarding investment, PM Chinh requested the localities to improve the infrastructure, simplify administrative procedures, fine-tune the legal frameworks, as well as have mechanisms to attract investment in priority areas while open to opinions of investors based on harmonious interest and sharing of risk and challenges.



On the sidelines of the conference, planning for Quang Ninh Province in the 2021-30 period with the vision to 2050 and the planning of Ha Long City to 2040 were also announced.



Quang Ninh is set to have GRDP growth rate at 10 per cent a year, and GRDP per capita of $19,000-20,000 a year in the period. By 2050, Quang Ninh will become a modern industrial and service province and an urban area of regional and international scale.



Also during the conference, many cooperation and funding agreements between the Ministry of Planning and Investment and its partners were signed with total capital of $2.6 billion to be invested in the region.



Investment certificates and Memorandums of Understanding between localities in the region and businesses and partners were also signed with total capital of VN171 trillion.
You are here: Business

China's courier sector registered expansion in January, a monthly industry index showed.

China's express delivery development index for January came in at 265, up 1.5 percent year on year, according to the State Post Bureau.

The sub-index for the development scale grew 19.4 percent from a year earlier, and China's express delivery industry handled about 410 million parcels during the recent Spring Festival holiday, approximately doubling the figure during the same holiday period in 2019.

The sub-index for development capacity picked up 0.9 percent year on year, as China ramped up efforts to accelerate the construction of intelligent infrastructure and improve cross-border delivery capacity.

Compiled on the basis of data from major logistics firms' operating delivery services, the development index reflects the overall business activities and trends in the country's courier sector.


The OHara Commons, Montana Natural History Center and Elena Ulev of Blue Heron Nature Tours are offering a Montana Master Naturalist Certification program in the Bitterroot Valley, March 29May 17.

Samantha OByrne of the OHara Commons said collaboration makes it possible.

Ever since OHara was founded in 2015, we have wanted to offer Montana Natural History Centers Master Naturalist Course for community members in the Bitterroot Valley, OByrne said. Our goal has come to fruition. Collaborating with the Montana Natural History Center and Elena Ulev of Blue Heron Nature Tours, we are finally able to host the course. Were hoping to offer two a year.

The Montana Master Naturalist Certification Program increases natural history knowledge and promotes awareness, understanding and stewardship of Montanas natural environment. The course teaches citizens about conservation education and service within their communities.

In the end, youll be a better naturalist, youll have a better eye on all conservation resources, OByrne said. For example, youll see local forests in a new light as you learn about the role they play in coordinated ecology with fire and snow-pack moisture. Youll learn about lichen and the interconnectedness of pollinators and native plants.

She said the Montana Master Naturalist Program is designed for adults who want to learn more about the natural world and give back to their communities in new ways as the course teaches skills to interpret Montanas flora, fauna and landscape.

The 17-session course is taught with lectures, in-class labs, guest presenters, intensive field days and field weekends.

Some of the highlights of the course include botany field trips up Bass Creek, Kootenai Creek and Larry Creek; lessons on geology, hydrology and aquatic invertebrates; tips for birdwatching, and watershed education. There is a full-day field trip about butterflies and bees by guest presenter Marirose Kuhlman from the Missoula County Department of Ecology and Extension.

Elena Ulev of Blue Heron Nature Tours is the instructor and certified interpretive guide for the course this spring. Ulev has spent 23 years in western Montana designing classes for Missoulas Lifelong Learning Center and the Montana Natural History Center. She has conducted many surveys  from songbirds, wolverines and butterflies in the Bitterroot Valley to stream health and noxious weed surveys in the Missoula Valley.

Priscilla Cain is the coordinator between the Master Naturalist Program and the OHara Commons. She is a founding member of a nature journaling group called Naturalists with Brushes and is eager to increase community awareness about nature with this program.

Official Master Naturalist Certification from the Montana Natural History Center is included in the course fee. To maintain the certification, Montana Master Naturalists must log 20 hours of volunteer service and participate in eight hours of continuing education annually.

The Montana Master Naturalist Certification course tuition is $375 for OHara members and $400 for non-members. OHara Commons and Blue Heron Nature Tours can offer one full scholarship. For more information, contact OByrne at 111 S. Fourth St., Hamilton, 406-224-4168 or email info@theoharacommons.org.
Employees with disabilities have the right to be free from discrimination or harassment and also have the right to a reasonable accommodation for their disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act, which covers employers with 15 or more workers.

In 2021, Virginia passed similar protections for people working for an employer of six employees and up.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently issued new guidance specifically addressing the rights of employees with hearing conditions and the impact of the ADA, noting that approximately 15% of American adults report some trouble hearing.

As explained by the EEOC: Individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have other hearing conditions can perform successfully on the job and, under the ADA, should not be denied opportunities because of stereotypical assumptions about those conditions. Some employers assume incorrectly that workers with hearing conditions will cause safety hazards, increase employment costs, or have difficulty communicating in fast-paced environments. In reality, with or without reasonable accommodation, individuals with hearing conditions can be effective and safe workers.

In the guidance, the EEOC provides specific case studies to explain the employers obligations under the ADA for staff with hearing disabilities. Although the guidance is directed at hearing disabilities, it contains excellent advice for employers on making sure they comply with the ADA more broadly.

ADA protections apply not only when an individual becomes an employee, but also during the job application process. Prior to an offer of employment, an employer is prohibited from asking a job applicant about any disabilities, including whether the person has a hearing condition. The employer may ask questions pertaining to the applicants ability to perform the jobs essential functions with or without a reasonable accommodation, including asking whether the applicant can respond quickly to instructions in a noisy, fast-paced work environment; whether the applicant has good communication skills; or whether the applicant can meet legally mandated safety standards required to perform a job, according to the EEOC.

An applicant is not required to disclose a current or past disability before accepting a job offer unless the person requires a reasonable accommodation during the application process itself (for example, a sign language interpreter).

If an applicants disability is obvious, or the applicant discloses the disability during the application process, the employer may only inquire about the condition if the employer reasonably thinks that the applicant will require an accommodation to complete the application process, or to perform the job because of the condition.

As a practical matter, these types of inquiries are best left to human resources, not interviewing managers. This is a tricky area where confusion and misunderstandings can occur.

After a conditional job offer is made, some health-related questions are permissible can be asked, and those are outlined in the guidance.

Once an individual becomes an employee, the ADA strictly limits the circumstances under which an employer may ask questions about an employees medical condition or require the employee to have a medical examination. Once an employee is on the job, actual performance is the best measure of ability to do the job, according to the EEOC.

Disability-related questions may be asked only if the employer has already been made aware of an employees medical condition, and then has observed performance problems and reasonably thinks the issues are related to the medical condition. Often, however, poor job performance is unrelated to a medical condition and generally should be handled in accordance with an employers existing policies concerning performance, the EEOC said.

The EEOC explains that an employer may ask an employee about a hearing condition when there is a reasonable belief that the employee might be unable to safely perform the essential functions of a job because of the condition, or to support the employees request for reasonable accommodation, to enable the employee to participate in a voluntary wellness program, or to verify the employees use of sick leave, so long as this is required of all similarly situated employees.

Information about an employees medical condition should be kept confidential and maintained in a separate file from the personnel file.

Employers cannot disclose that an employee is receiving a reasonable accommodation to co-workers. If co-workers ask why an employee is receiving something that is generally not permitted (such as a modified work schedule), employers should respond by saying: Many employee issues are personal and focus on the importance of maintaining the privacy of all employees.

The EEOC also notes that employers can avoid these types of questions by training employees on the requirements of equal employment laws, including the ADA: This kind of proactive approach may lead to fewer questions from employees who misperceive co-worker accommodations as special treatment.

In a future column, I will discuss the reasonable accommodations considerations.

The guidance is also located at EEOC.gov.
More than 100 attendees from schools across the Richmond region gathered at the Science Museum of Virginia on Sunday to put their engineering talents to the test and to commemorate Celebrate Engineering Ingenuity Day.

At the Dewey Gottwald Center, middle and high schoolers showcased their inventions while exploring careers and educational opportunities available to them in the field of science and engineering. The annual event is hosted by the Richmond Joint Engineering Council.

Organizer Crystal Hill, a local civil engineer, said the competitors participated in two contests: the egg drop experiment, where students test their balloon-rigged shuttles against gravity and inertia, as well as the popsicle stick bridge test, a classic science demonstration that tests all manner of practical engineering questions.

Hill said that for the past two years, CEI Day has had a pretty low attendance due to COVID-related challenges, but this years turnout was much different.

I think its just great to be back in the Science Museum with a large centralized location, Hill said. The Science Museum was so supportive of it. So thats been great to see this many participants.

About 45 high school and 35 middle school teams representing 10 schools took part in the contests. Students, parents and teachers watched eagerly as a team of Bridge Breakers from the American Society of Civil Engineers tested the competitors inventions.

Isabelle Stern, one of the many engineering volunteers from ASCE, said events like this inspired her toward her path in engineering.

I did these competitions when I was in high school, so I thought it would be a cool way to kind of come full circle in my career and help inspire some younger students to be civil engineers, too, Stern said.

She said she hopes this competition is a good way to introduce students to engineering while testing their science, technology, engineering and mathematics abilities.

Such opportunities are especially important for young women, according to Angie Lilly, vice president of the Richmond chapter of the Society of Women Engineers.

The local SWE chapter was one of several technical societies to set up booths in the event hall, where students could ask questions about what it takes to start an engineering career.

You know, anybody could be an engineer, Lilly said. Its not just, you know, for men or boys. Its for anybody who has an interest in math and science.

Inspiring the next generation of engineers is what makes such events even more important, Lilly said: We need people to invent things, design them, be innovative and creative. Thats what it takes to change the world so I hope we inspire at least one person to meet that challenge today.
Nearly 6,000 miles separates Richmond from Syria and Turkey, the ground zero of last weeks devastating magnitude 7.8 earthquake. Yet the heartbreak and agony are hitting close to home.

As first responders spend hundreds of hours sifting through the rubble for signs of life, the death toll as of Sunday had risen to more than 33,000 in the two nations as images continue to circulate around the globe of people buried in the ruins, the homeless and the hungry in the streets, and the injured awaiting aid.

As the humanitarian crisis unfolded, Ali Haynes Ansari, 25, of Richmond watched as his family braved unfathomable conditions in Turkey.

Ive talked to my sister today, Ansari said. She said the house they stayed in is okay, but I cannot say they are safe.

Ansari said his family arrived in Turkey only about five years ago as refugees from war-torn Afghanistan. After trying to find a haven in a number of countries, he said his sister, mother, father and two brothers had settled in a town south of the city of Adana before the earthquake hit.

I lived there before for three-and-a-half years, but I was born in Afghanistan, too, he said. I know physically my family is okay, but its been 10 years since Ive seen them.

Ansari, who has spent his life documenting and working with other refugees, said the other enemy is the unknown.

We hope we can go there and maybe I can see my family again, but they have nowhere to go, Ansari said. They cant go back to Afghanistan or Turkey. Right now, theyre doing fine, but know what could happen.

University of Richmond professor Abdullah Kumas knows firsthand. He was attending college in Istanbul 20 years ago when a magnitude 7 quake ripped through Turkey.

Its a bizarre feeling because I was there years ago when this all happened, Kumas said. It reminds me of those days hearing those crazy noises coming from the earth. It was so heavy and loud.

I thought I was going to die, he recalled.

Kumas, 45, described the fear and confusion of that day in 1999, when the crust of the earth buckled under his feet. People retreated from their homes to find safety. Buildings more than 15 stories high collapsed. Phone lines went dead. Bridges snapped.

It just felt like we were trapped, Kumas said. You cannot reach anyone, you cant call; amenities like electricity, water are all gone. It takes time to recover.

Although Kumas lives in Richmond, his mother and father are in Istanbul.

Theyre fine, but the fear is still there, he said. When you see all those things happen, peoples bodies are buried underneath buildings, the debris and dust. You cant help but be fearful.

Turkeys disaster management agency said more than 29,000 people had been confirmed dead and more than 77,000 injured.

More than 3,300 have been confirmed killed in Syria, bringing the total number of dead to more than 33,000. The bodies of more than 700 Syrians killed in Turkey have been repatriated for burial, said Syrian opposition official Mazen Alloush.

Some 12,000 buildings in Turkey have collapsed or sustained serious damage. Although the United States and the United Nations were quick to send relief and aid, such organizations as the Council on American-Islamic Relations are pleading for other countries to do more.

The devastating earthquake that shook Turkey and Syria left thousands dead and many thousands more in need, said Nihad Awad, CAIR executive director. We urge all American Muslims and the broader public to increase their support for the heroes working to assist those affected by the earthquake.

Various organizations in the Richmond region have stepped up in the time of need. They include the Islamic Center of Virginia, which hosted a clothing and fund drive in Chesterfield County on Saturday.

Photos: Scenes from Turkey and Syria as earthquake death toll reaches 20,000
Apiqroo announces 31 million in expansions and improvements for state docks during 2023

Riviera Maya, Q.R.  The Integral Port Administration of Quintana Roo (Apiqroo) says the state will spend 31 million in projects during 2023. This year, around 31 million peso will be spent on expansions and improvements of states docks and terminals.

Vagner Elbiorn Vega who heads Apiqroo, announced the upcoming projects as a result of a recent meeting in Mexico City. He says the projects, which includes their managed ports, were presented to the General Coordination of Ports and Merchant Marine in Mexico City on February 8 .

For 2023, Apiqroo seeks to increase investments in improvements. He reports in port matters during 2022, 24 projects were carried out with an investment of 18.7 million peso for major maintenance.

However, this year, 25 million peso will be spend for the expansion of the SSA Mexico cruise terminal in Cozumel since it is estimated that 1,154 ships with approximately 3,702,032 passengers will arrive in Cozumel alone during 2023.

For the Isla Mujeres maritime terminal, Apiqroo will allocate 2.5 million peso and for structural studies to the piers concessioned to Apiqroo, a resource of 3.5 million peso will be spent, which he pointed out, adds up to just over 31 million peso.

Apiqroo also plans to qualify Holbox, Chiquila, Xcalak and La Aguada as a port area, as well as the request for incorporation into the Apiqroo concession title for the areas of Xcalak, Holbox and Chiquila.

He also said that the divestiture of the concession title of the area where the Naval Search, Rescue and Maritime Surveillance Station (ENSAR) is located was requested to be assigned to the Secretary of the Navy, for the Naval Search and Rescue Station project in Chetumal.
CHRISTIANSBURG  Del. Marie March, R-Floyd, is looking to sell the property on the eastern end of town that is home to the Bear Dance Market & CBD Cafe.

The less than half-acre property at 3205 Roanoke St. has been listed for sale at a price of $900,000, according to realtor.com.

The listing price is more than three times the entire propertys assessed value of $229,200, according to Montgomery Countys online property records.

March offered few comments on the sale, other than say she hasnt sold it yet and that they have listed many properties.

March, who owns a number of businesses in the New River Valley, previously listed the Big Red Barn in Pulaski County and closed her Fatback Soul Shack restaurant in Christiansburg in late December. She also owns another restaurant in Christiansburg, Due South BBQ.

Despite the listing, Bear Dances owners said they have no intention of closing their business.

I had a bunch of people freaking out, thinking my business was going to close, said Sarah Vogl Reese, who has operated the Bear Dance with her husband Chris Reese since the fall of 2019. Were definitely planning on staying here as long as we can.

Vogl Reese said their lease ends this summer and that, ideally, the future owner of the building will allow them to stay there.

If we have to move, we will. I would like to say here, obviously, because it would be a big pain to set up somewhere else. Were definitely optimistic, she said.

Vogl Reese said she has learned from conversations with some other parties that Bear Dances current home is seen as a good spot for that kind of business, which she added hopes to eventually get into the recreational cannabis industry.

Bear Dance offer typical cafe fare such as sandwiches and smoothies. The business, which formally occupies two buildings, also sells CBD products, which Vogl Reese describes as their biggest money maker.

Without the CBD, the cafe would not be a thing, for sure, she said.

Vogl Reese, however, said she and her husband are not too concerned about the listing of the property, adding that March has otherwise been good to them so far.

What Vogl Reese said she and her husband are much more concerned about right now is the development of legislation for the retail sale of recreational marijuana.

In my eyes, the water is continuously getting muddier. I expect them to kick the can down the road another year, said Chris Reese in reference to the crafting of legislation at the state level.
The line to get into the Big Lick Comic-Con stretched around two sides of Berglund Center at midday Saturday, which made for a vivid display of the elaborate costumes that are a hallmark of the event.

There were scores of Spidermen and women, young and older, waiting patiently next to medieval warriors with swords and Jedis with light sabers. There were Hogwarts students, crew members from the Starship Enterprise, pirates, and a Gandalf or two. And so many, many others.

"Star Wars, Star Trek, Marvel, and anime  those are the mainstays," said Janel Beehner, 34, of Roanoke.

Beehner and her husband Tom, 37, were planning to enjoy what they figured was at least their third Comic-Con together. Tom Beehner wore a Ghostbuster uniform, complete with a proton pack strapped to his back. Janel had held off on a costume this year.

As they waited, the couple praised the finer points of some of the nearby outfits and mused about a cultural shift that seemed to have occurred over the past couple decades.

"People put so much time and effort into it  I think everybody can find something nerdy to love right now," Janel Beehner said.

Her husband agreed: "The whole thing's changed  when I was in high school, being into comics was a negative thing. But everyone goes to see the Marvel movies now."

Organizers expected Comic-Con to draw between 6,000 and 9,000 people to Roanoke through its two-day run, which concludes Sunday. The event features row upon row of vendors selling comic books, of course, but also toys, visual art, jewelry, wigs, stuffed animals, airsoft rifles and any number of other items. There were gaming stations and music and an array of special guests, among them actors Khary Payton and Tyler Mane, artist Sam de la Rosa, and author Timothy Zahn.

But in the long wait to get in, many people listed the costumes as the main draw.

Brothers Craig Fortini, 27, and Scott Mather, 25, both of Roanoke, clanked as they made their way down the sidewalk. They said their Middle Ages-themed outfits were not styled after any particular character, but that they "just armored up" for the day.

Lily Kennedy and Cheyenne Smith, both 20 and from Roanoke, were dressed as Rin and Miku  characters from a music software package, they explained. They planned to switch to characters from the Overwatch game for Sunday's costume contest.

Smith said that she had attended at least 15 similar conventions and both said the effort that went into their handmade costumes was what she and Kennedy enjoyed.

"We just like when people come up to us and ask about what we've put together," Smith said.

Jesse Green had come from Hagerstown, Maryland, and was dressed as Capt. Mango, a character that he said he put together 20 years ago "for Jimmy Buffet tailgating." Green said that the outfit was close enough to Pirates of the Caribbean that in the past he had been tempted to identify himself with the movie franchise, but he now was glad that he hadn't because "you can get typecast."

Green said that Saturday was his first Comic-Con in Roanoke, but that he had attended many events that felt similar in a career as a "heel manager" in professional wrestling. He said that he had ended up in Roanoke on this particular weekend because a friend created the banners for Comic-Con and he rode along to deliver them.

Wife and husband Marie Coy, 22, and Matthew Cash, 23, said that they drove from Luray with a carload of costumes and planned to change characters throughout the day. As the line moved slowly forward Saturday, both were dressed as characters of their own creation. Compliments and requests to take photos were frequent.

Coy was outfitted as Graham, a corgi, and Cash as Dax, who Coy said was "just a canine of some sort" but who sported an 8-foot-long purple tongue.

Inside the Berglund Center, where the density of costumes, comics and collectibles seemed to approach Black Hole proportions, Reagan Elliott's outfit still drew attention.

Elliott, 19, of Clarksville, described herself as "a professional mermaid." She wore what she said was a 35-pound tail. She said she has a health condition that made her rely on a wheelchair some of the time, though she said that she was at ease in the water. Elliott said that she had enjoyed several Comic-Cons before, but this was the first Comic-Con for her boyfriend, Chris Jones, 21, also of Clarksville.

"It's his first time mer-wrangling," Elliott said, laughing.

Elliott said that she created her outfit for parties, boat shows and other events. For about five years, since she was 15, she has worked as "The Country Mermaid," Elliott said.

"I just love making people's day," she said.
The owner of Roanoke's most famed eatery has weathered so many price increases in the past year that he's losing his faith in the food-service industry's future. So now, Matt Bullington's looking to diversify his business empire.
A Chinese mainland delegation was unable to go to Taiwan to pay tribute to Master Hsing Yun due to obstruction from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities, a mainland spokesperson said Saturday.

Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said the mainland has attached great importance to the passing of Master Hsing Yun, founder of the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist order in Taiwan. Master Hsing Yun passed away on Feb. 5 in Taiwan.

At the invitation of Fo Guang Shan, a 38-member delegation comprised of personnel from the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, the National Religious Affairs Administration, the Buddhist Association of China and relevant departments of Jiangsu Province had planned to travel to Taiwan to mourn Master Hsing Yun from Saturday to Tuesday, according to Zhu.

However, the trip could not take place due to the obstruction of the DPP authorities, Zhu said.

Zhu pointed out that the DPP authorities, in disregard of basic humanitarianism, flagrantly rejected the delegation's entry to Taiwan, making the ceremonies to remember Master Hsing Yun incomplete. The acts of the DPP authorities severely hurt the feelings of the believers of Fo Guang Shan, and would find no support, Zhu added.

The mainland will pay respect to Master Hsing Yun on Sunday at the temple he helped develop in Yixing of Jiangsu Province.
SANTEE -- Cotton growers are being told to expect lower prices in 2023.

Nathan Smith, Clemson Extension agricultural economist and agribusiness program team director, said at the South Carolina Cotton Growers Meeting that the outlook for cotton shows a slow economy and reduced demand.

Those are coupled with a carryover increase pushing cotton acreage to an expected 11.57 million acres, according to a Cotton Grower survey, down roughly 1 million acres from 2022. However, the drop could be larger falling below 11 million acres.

All of this is expected to hold down prices, Smith told about 200 South Carolina cotton growers during the meeting in Santee in January. December cotton futures prices were $0.87 on Jan. 24, 2023, compared to $1.24 at the same time in 2022.

The U.S. cotton supply is high and demand is down, Smith said. We have a surplus of cotton left over from 2022 and consumers have cut back on discretionary spending, like buying clothes and other cotton goods, in favor of paying for food and fuel, transportation and housing. This has pushed down cotton prices and we may see some cotton acres shift over to another crop.

Smith said budgets will be important going into the planting season.

Growers need to know what price they will need to cover all of their costs and still have a profit to for living expenses and other expenses on the farm, Smith said. So budgeting is important this year. Growers have already cut back on what they can on their inputs due to the, the supply situation last year and the higher prices.

There is one bright spot on the input side. Smith said fertilizer prices have started coming down and are a little lower than they were this time last year. Prices for diesel also are dropping.

Right now, this looks like its going to be a year where growers will need to continue to be as efficient as they can be, Smith said. Hopefully, well be blessed with good weather so that we can have a good crop for South Carolina cotton growers.

Cotton varieties and seed testing

Mike Jones, Clemson Extension cotton specialist at the Pee Dee REC near Florence, said 2022 was a record year for southeastern United States cotton, with an average 939 pounds per acre harvested. Fiber quality is important and proper selection can ensure cotton growers grow profitable varieties.

U.S. cotton is outstanding in fiber length and strength, Jones said. To continue growing high-quality cotton, growers should do their homework when choosing varieties to plant. Variety selection is one of the most important decisions a cotton grower can make. Choose varieties that have yield potential in various areas.

It is important to spread risks over planting and maturity dates. Varieties that have performed well in the Southeast and in South Carolina include Stonevilles ST 5091B3XF and Delta Pines DP 2127B3XF, DP 1646B2XF and DP 2012B3XF, Americots NG 4190B3XF and Armors 9371B3XF. More variety trial information from Jones studies can be found online at http://bit.ly/3DAIRqe.

New varieties are coming for the Southeast. Industry representatives from BASF, Americot, Bayer Crop Science and Phytogen spoke briefly about new cotton varieties coming from their companies.

When deciding which variety to plant, Jones said purchase quality seed. Clemson Regulatory Services operates the South Carolina Seed Certification Program in which seed producers adhere to rigid standards for purity and germination based on laboratory analyses conducted by the S.C. Department of Agriculture Seed Lab.

Leslie Beaty from the Agriculture Seed Lab said germination and purity testing are conducted in the lab. South Carolina Seed Law requires seed to be tested and meet specific standards before it can be sold, Beaty said. The law also requires anyone selling seed in South Carolina be licensed through SCDA Consumer Protection Division. Information regarding the sale of seed can be found in the South Carolina Seed Law. An application for sale of seed can be found at South Carolina Seed License Application.

Insect pests

As for insects, Jeremy Greene, Clemson entomologist housed the Edisto REC, said the issues are the same but growers now have new control strategies. Greene talked about preventative and reactive options for thrips in cotton, including seed and in-furrow treatments.

Another option is Bollgard 3 ThryvOn cotton. After a successful trial program, Bollgard 3 ThryvOn cotton with XtendFlex technology is now available. Thryvon is the industrys first biotech trait to provide protection against tarnished plant bugs and thrips species. It also may help reduce the need for some insecticide applications.

For insect-management recommendations, go to the 2022 South Carolina Pest Management Handbook, https://bit.ly/3DDlOLA, or contact Greene at greene4@clemson.edu.

In a boll weevil update, Drake Perrow of the states Boll Weevil Eradication Program said this pest has not been detected in the state for some time.

We want to keep boll weevils out of South Carolina, Perrow said. One way to help keep them out is for growers to inspect every piece of equipment they buy from somewhere else to make sure its clean and free of any boll weevils.

Keeping ag No. 1

Agriculture is the states No. 1 industry and cotton is one of the top commodities contributing to agricultures $51.8 billion annual impact on the South Carolina economy. Commissioner of Agriculture Hugh Weathers told attendees his department is working to keep agriculture strong in South Carolina.

These last couple of years have been strong for South Carolina cotton, Weathers said. Our agritourism industry is growing and were helping meat, poultry and seafood processors expand and keep more dollars in the state. Were also looking for projects that will add to production agriculture in our state. Its a good time in South Carolina for agriculture.

Technology, sustainability

Technology use is important to help keep agriculture sustainable. Ed Barnes, senior director of agriculture research at Cotton Inc., encouraged growers to use technology to grow their crops.

One example of this technology is the Husky Harvester, a modified Husky robot made into an autonomous utility tractor with the ability to navigate fields while pulling smart implements behind it. This technology was created by a team led by Joe Mari Maja, a Clemson research sensor engineer housed at the Edisto REC in Blackville.

Technology allows for more precise crop management, Barnes said. At Cotton Inc., we are focusing on research using robotics and AI-controlled (Artificial Intelligence) machines to improve harvest yields and pest management precision. We believe this technology will allow crops to be farmed and harvested more efficiently, and more sustainably.

Sustainability is important. In a report from the National Cotton Council, chairman Ted Schneider said to remain viable, cotton producers should focus on sustainability.

I believe as long as we meet the needs of our customers, cotton has a bright future, but the needs of our customers are changing, Schneider said. We are in a supply chain of a very large industry. Brands and retailers, spinning mills really like U.S. cotton, but they need sustainable cotton  more accurately they need proof were growing cotton sustainably.

Schneider said the Cotton Council is working hard in Washington D.C. to protect Americas farmers and be sure we can get the best bang for our buck from the new farm bill.

In addition to these presenters, other speakers during the meeting were Frank Rogers, chairman of the South Carolina Cotton Board, and Todd Campbell, USDA-ARS research geneticist.
As queues snake outside Cinnabons Raffles City outlet for a chance to buy a maximum of three boxes of Cinnapacks (with four rolls inside), entrepreneurs may be looking out for the next food trend to hop on. After all, this is a comeback story for Cinnabon which exited Singapore in 2002.

This time, Cinnabon is brought back to the Singapore market under a master franchisee, Mr Alvin Ng of the local company, Wabi-Sabi. According to ladyironchef, Alvin Ng is also the master franchisee of Hong Kong bakery Hang Heung, as well as Japanese brands, Tokyo Milk Cheese Factory and LeTao.

Read Also: Setting Up Your First Business: What Is The Difference Between Starting A Franchise Vs A New Business

Cinnabon Is A Franchise Chain

Known for its cinnamon rolls, Cinnabon is an American bakery brand under Focus Brands which is a group of foodservice franchises. According to their franchise brochure, setting up a Cinnabon franchise in the US would cost you US$30,500 in initial franchise fees, with US$120,000 minimum liquid capital and $300,000 minimum net worth.

Read Also: What Do You Need To Know Before Setting Up A 7-Eleven Franchise In Singapore

What Is A Master Franchisee?

However, the above figures are unlikely to apply outside of the US. Instead, it appears that for the Singapore franchise of Cinnamon, a master franchise license has been granted to Wabi-Sabi.

Generally, a master franchisee has the right to recruit new franchisees in a specific area. In exchange, they pay the owner of the franchise brand a price and take on the responsibility to train and support new franchisees in the area. Sometimes, master franchisees are also referred to as sub-franchisors.

In this case, the franchise fee paid by Wabi-Sab is likely to be higher than the normal franchise fee. It is also likely that Wabi-Sabi will be able to recruit and set up new franchises for Cinnabon in Singapore. Depending on the extent of the master franchisee agreement, this may even extend outside of Singapore. However, given that Cinnabon is already present in Malaysia and Indonesia, it is likely that Wabi-Sabis master franchisee agreement is specific to the Singapore market.

Story continues

Auntie Annes Already Has A Master Franchisee In Singapore

Aside from Cinnabon, Focus Brands also manages the franchising for Auntie Annes, the pretzel bakery chain, in the US. However, it is unlikely that Wabi-Sabi will be part of this as there is already a master franchisee for Auntie Annies in Singapore. Instead, they may want to turn their attention to other brands under the Focus Brands group such as Carvel, Jamba and Moes.

In Singapore, Auntie Annes has already been franchised by Alice Sulaeman in 1994 with the first Singapore outlet in 1996. Alice Sulaeman was the first international franchisee of Auntie Anne and the Sulaeman family is also a master franchisee of the brand.

One of the things that the Sulaeman family did as a franchisee that differentiates it from the original US brand is to localise the flavours, such as introducing Seaweed and Chocolate Eclair flavours. They also introduced the smaller Asian sized pretzel.

The post Cinnabon Comes To Singapore Under A Master Franchisee: What Is A Master Franchisee? appeared first on DollarsAndSense Business.
SIOUX CITY  Rick Stewart worked at the Swift & Co. turkey plant in Sioux City for a couple of seasons from 1976 to 1978, when he was in his early 20s. The plant, at the time about 50 years old, remained in operation for only one more season after he left.

In the 43 years since its closure, the condition of the plant -- a long neglected, four-story, brick-and-concrete structure, painted a shade of beige, graffitied and with many of its windows broken -- has declined quite noticeably. The city has come to see the deteriorating building, at 1804 Dace Ave., as a sort of attractive nuisance. It's red-tagged as unfit for occupation and has been ordered demolished.

"Hate to see it go, but it is in bad shape," Stewart, 68, said of the plant, where he worked mostly in the shipping department, driving truckloads of boxed turkeys to cold storage. "Probably, from a safety standpoint, it definitely needs to come down."

Sioux City Code Enforcement Manager Darrel Bullock told the city council recently that the deserted plant "constantly has vagrants in it" and has become "a big play hangout for kids."

Bullock told The Journal recently that the city has repeatedly had to engage contractors to "secure" the building to keep out unwanted visitors, usually by welding its doors shut and putting up yet more boards. Then people pry the doors open again, and the building needs to be secured, again.

During a Journal visit to see the property this past Tuesday, several exterior doors were wide open.

In spite of the severe state of dilapidation, the building itself remains structurally sound, Bullock said, though parts of the interior are not sound. "Unfortunately there are many, many hazards within the building," he said.

An ignominious end now appears likely for one of the last major buildings of the Sioux City stockyards: a plant that was considered highly modern when it was new in the 1920s, but came to be seen as antiquated and inefficient before it closed in 1980. It then went through a succession of owners and a prolonged period of dilapidation.

'An attractive addition to the stockyards'

The Chicago meatpacking firm of Swift & Company came to Sioux City in 1917. In 1924 Swift purchased the assets of the defunct Midland Packing Co. and moved its operations to Midland's state-of-the-art plant in the stockyards, just east of what is now the abandoned turkey plant.

"There was a big packing plant there, comprised of half a dozen buildings or so," said Tom Munson, archives manager at the Sioux City Public Museum.

In 1926, Swift spent $175,000 (or $100,000, depending on the source) to build what the company called a "produce plant," which housed poultry and egg production, and some dairy products. The building was, at the time, located at the corner of Dace Avenue and Chambers Street; the latter stretch of road later became Cunningham Drive.

"They were slaughtering and processing chickens, and turkeys, they were candling eggs that were laid there, they were getting those ready for the market," Munson said. "It's also a dairy and a creamery, so they were producing things like milk, and butter, and cheese."

The first floor of the building housed offices, receiving and shipping, the creamery and the egg-candling and butter-cooler rooms; the second floor was used for dressing, grading and cooling of poultry; the third housed poultry-feeding operations. (It's not clear what the fourth floor was originally used for, but at the time it was much smaller than the first three floors.)

When it was new, the produce plant was heralded as a "Fine New Building" and "an attractive addition to the stockyards district" in contemporary news coverage. A 1926 Journal article described it as "one of the most modern and completely equipped in the country," where "the latest scientific methods of handling cream, eggs and poultry have been introduced."

The produce plant was but one part of the sprawling Swift meatpacking complex, the bulk of which processed hogs and cattle -- "but mostly hogs," Munson said.

At some point during the 20th century the poultry plant began to be used solely for turkey processing. As a turkey plant it operated seasonally -- "usually early fall through late winter," Stewart said. Plant workers were sidelined during the off-season.

"Some of them collected unemployment, some had other jobs. I would usually work another job and then go back as soon as they called me back," Stewart said.

Swift continued operating in the turkey plant through the 1970s before the decision was made to close it permanently during the off-season in 1980, costing about 200 jobs. The nearby meatpacking plant had closed down in 1974 after Swift moved to a new plant.

Management at the time of the closure said the aging turkey plant had been operating at a loss for some time.

"Over the past five years it has become apparent that the Sioux City plant was not profitable. Until now the company need the plant's capacity, though. Since the (turkey) market has changed and Swift has enough capacity elsewhere it is more economical to move the operation," Bill Dillman, assistant director of public relations for Esmark, Swift's parent company at the time, said in 1980.

"It was pretty old and dilapidated," Stewart said of the facility.

The best-laid plans

For a time beginning in the 1980s the building was occupied by a series of businesses: the Apollo Solar Energy Company (a solar panel company), Enviro Safe Air (an asbestos removal company), Pro Pipe Refrigeration, Lacey's Furniture and an auto repair shop, Munson said.

It's also believed to have been used as warehousing during this time period, as several of the occupants likely did not make use of the entire vast building.

Stewart's son played in a band that rented a space in the building after Swift moved out.

"It was actually the old room that we had our freezer in, so that was kind of interesting. But it was leaking really bad and all the windows were broken out," Stewart said.

The last known business occupant was a pet salon, located there circa 2011.

"None of them was there for a very long time," Munson said of all the post-Swift occupants of the building.

Meanwhile, a catastrophic fire in 2006 ravaged the nearby KD Station -- the former Swift packing plant -- leading to its demolition in 2009. Due to its separation from the other buildings of the Swift complex, the turkey plant escaped largely unscathed from the calamities that damaged other Swift buildings, including the legendary Swift explosion of 1949.

With the demolition of KD Station, the turkey plant became one of only two surviving Swift structures in the former stockyards (the other being a nearby, smaller brick structure built circa 1951, that Swift used for offices). One or two building each also remain from the old Cudahy and Armour packing complexes.

"Of all of our big meatpacking plants we had here in Sioux City in the early 20th century, there are little bits of each one still around," Munson said. "Like Armour, which was at the southern end of the old stockyards, there's still one little office building. And Cudahy, which was just to the north of that, there's still part of their cold-storage warehouse that's part of that more-modern meat processing center. And then there's still the two Swift buildings left."

The old turkey plant changed hands on numerous occasions in the decades after Swift moved on; the price declined precipitously over time. In 1999 it sold for $350,000, according to county property records. In 2011 it was sold for $90,000. In 2020 it sold again for $40,000.

The 2020 sale was to a Harrisburg, South Dakota-based entity called DLRS Properties Inc. The Journal was unable to reach the owner.

Bullock said the latest owner of the property, in common with others in the past, had planned to rehabilitate it for a "new use," though what the new use would be was never actually known to the city. For a time the owners had been "cooperative" with city officials, but that ended about a year and a half ago. "They have fallen through on that," he said.

"Several people have come to be the owners of that building, and have done nothing with it. They've had plans of rehabbing the building in some manner, but nothing has come through," Bullock said.

The city has been in touch with the owner to let them know about the planned demolition, Bullock said; the owner's intentions going forward are not known. Demolition could cost as much as $750,000, which would be invoiced to the owners. Should they not pay, the costs would be assessed against the property.

Because the building is not considered an "imminent danger" -- meaning a structural failure or collapse is not believed to be likely in the near term -- the demolition might not take place for another year and a half to two years. Should a more significant structural risk present itself, the demolition could occur sooner, Bullock said.

On the other hand, the property owner could still step in and have a role in the process.

"It just depends on what the owner's going to be doing, or tries to do, with it at this point," Bullock said.
OMAHA, Neb.  The fiery derailment of a train carrying toxic chemicals  sending a huge plume of smoke in the air and forcing residents of a small Ohio town to evacuate  has highlighted the potentially disastrous consequences of train accidents and raised questions about railroad safety.

The railroad industry is generally regarded as the safest option for most goods and federal data show accidents involving hazardous materials are exceedingly rare. But with rails crossing through the heart of nearly every city and town nationwide, even one hazardous materials accident could be disastrous, especially in a populated area.

Rail unions believe the industry has gotten riskier in recent years after widespread job cuts left workers spread thin.

It raises all kinds of questions, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine told Fox & Friends this week when he was asked whether hazardous materials are too dangerous to transport by rail.

Weve seen it up close and personal the last few days," DeWine said. "This is a big, big deal.

About half of the 4,800 residents in the eastern Ohio town of East Palestine and those in the surrounding area, including parts of Pennsylvania, had to evacuate as officials monitored air and water quality following a controlled burn of chemicals released from damaged tank cars. The evacuation order was lifted Wednesday after the air was deemed safe.

Im scared to go back home, resident Brittany Dailey said Monday. Im eventually going to have to go back, but it makes me want to sell my house and move at this point.

Ian Jefferies, head of the Association of American Railroads trade group, said 99.9% of all hazardous materials shipments reach their destinations safely.

Federal Railroad Administration data showed hazardous chemicals were released during 11 train accidents nationwide last year, out of roughly 535 million miles, with only two injuries reported. In the past decade, releases of hazardous materials peaked at 20 in both 2018 and 2020.

Railroads are the safest form of moving goods across land in the country without question, Jefferies said. But railroads are also working to drive toward zero incidents.

Railroads try to route hazardous materials shipments on the safest path. Most of the worst derailments in recent years happened in rural areas, but in 2013 a derailment in Canada killed 47 people in the town of Lac Megantic and caused millions of dollars in damage. A 2005 derailment in Graniteville, South Carolina, killed nine people and injured more than 250 after toxic chlorine gases were released.

Hazardous materials account for about 7-8% of the 30 million shipments that railroads deliver across the country every year. But because of the way railroads mix freight together, at least a couple cars of hazardous materials can be found on nearly any train besides grain or coal trains.

Railroads are a very safe form of transportation from a standpoint of statistics, said professor David Clarke, who previously led the Center for Transportation Research at the University of Tennessee. "That doesnt mean that youre never going to have an accident. That would be unrealistic for any type of transportation to have zero accidents.

Some say that's not enough. An East Palestine business owner and two other residents sued the rail operator in federal court on Tuesday, alleging negligence. Among other things, the lawsuit says the railroad failed to maintain and inspect its tracks and rail cars, failed to provide appropriate employee training, and failed to reasonably warn the public.

Greg Regan, president of the AFL-CIO's Transportation Trades Department coalition, said he worries the chances of a catastrophic derailment are increasing because major freight railroads have eliminated roughly one-third of their workers over the past six years. Companies have shifted to running fewer, longer trains and say they don't need as many crews, mechanics and locomotives.

Before those operating changes, Regan said inspectors used to have about two minutes to inspect every railcar. Now they only get roughly 30 to 45 seconds to check each car. Signalmen who maintain crossing guards and safety signals along the tracks also have bigger territories, making it harder to keep up with preventative maintenance.

Theyre really just trying to squeeze as much productivity out of these workers as they can," Regan said. "And when youre focused on timing and rushing, unfortunately sometimes things can fall through the cracks.

Professor Allan Zarembski, who leads the University of Delaware's Rail Engineering and Safety Program, said railroads are continually working to improve safety and prevent derailments.

Railroads are developing new acoustic detectors being placed along tracks to signal if a bearing is about to fail. Heat sensors also have been in place for years to spot overheating bearings, which is one of the most common causes of an axle failure, Zarembski said.

Railroads and the shipping companies that own tank cars also have been steadily improving them to reduce the chances they will rupture in a derailment.

Railroads also invest about $24 billion per year in maintaining and improving tracks to help prevent problems.

Why the US falls behind in passenger train travel Why the US falls behind in passenger train travel The US has one of the most extensive rail systems in the world, but its primarily used for freight Freight-related delays have limited Amtrak's on-time performance Investment in rail has lagged behind highways and air travel Private and state investment could also expand passenger infrastructure
Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds, saying she is not done cutting taxes, announced Friday it is her goal to abolish the state income tax by the end of her four-year term.

State lawmakers have passed various tax reform measures over the last several years, including establishing a flat tax in the state for personal income tax.

And I can tell you without hesitation, were not done, Reynolds said during a state policy leadership forum in Washington, D.C., hosted by the conservative Cato Institute. My goal is to get to zero individual income tax rate by the end of this second term.

Reynolds, Iowas first female governor who was reelected in November to a term expiring in 2026, received the highest grade for fiscal responsibility among the nations governors in a report issued last year by the institute. The biennial report grades governors on their fiscal policies from a limited government perspective, and awards higher grades to governors whose states have cut taxes and spending, according to the Cato Institute.

The report noted the tax cut legislation passed by Iowa lawmakers and signed into law by Reynolds in 2018, 2020 and 2022, the final of which will phase state income taxes down to a flat rate of 3.9 percent by 2026  meaning every resident with a taxable income will be in the one remaining tax bracket regardless of what they earn.

At that point, the cuts will reduce Iowans state income taxes  and thus also reduce state revenue  by nearly $2 billion annually.

Reynolds and lawmakers also dropped the Iowa corporate income tax rate from 9.8 to 5.5 percent, and eliminated state tax on retirement income.

Democrats argue the wealthiest Iowans will receive the greatest share of benefits, while Reynolds and Republicans say the law will attract new residents and make the state more competitive.

I think Iowans know better what to do with their money than government, Reynolds said. When you let Iowans decide what theyre going to do with their money, we see communities flourish, we see the state flourish, we see revenue grow, so it works.

Seven states  Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Wyoming  have no state income tax. New Hampshire does not tax earned income and is currently phasing out a tax on interest and dividend income. Washington similarly does not have a traditional income tax, instead taxing capital gains of income of high earners.

Seems like a radical idea, but as you know theres nine U.S. states that dont have individual income taxes. And the interesting thing about them is theyre in all different parts of the country and theres red states and blue states, said Chris Edwards, Kilts Family chair in fiscal studies at the Cato Institute. They all managed to survive, and indeed all the states that have no income taxes are prospering and generally have high economic growth rates.

Hearkening back to her Condition of the State address from January, Reynolds argued the tax cuts have helped Iowa better meet the current national economic challenges, while still adequately funding state programs and making large investments in K-12 education, broadband and public safety.

Iowa, though, continues to grapple with a workforce and affordable housing and child care shortage.

Reynolds also defended her successful push creating universal state-funded scholarships that Iowa families can use to send their children to private schools. The nonpartisan Legislative Service Agency estimates that the program, when fully phased on, will cost $345 million a year.

The governor argued the law will give more options to parents and increase the quality of education for all students.

Opponents say it will siphon money from public schools to fund private institutions that arent subject to the same oversight, and devotes tax money to private schools that could reject students with disabilities or families whose values dont align with theirs.

Reynolds pushed back on the notion of a lack of accountability of private schools, noting the law includes a provision requiring students in private schools that use an education savings account to take all applicable federal and state assessments.

I wanted to know what some of the outcomes were in investing in (education savings accounts) and giving parents choice over funding the student and not the system, Reynolds said. But I want to know some of those metrics. We can aggregate the data, but I want to know how theyre scoring, what theyre doing (and) how theyre doing. And weve just got a small set of additional metrics that weve added to that.

Iowa lawmakers this week, however, advanced a bill to loosen testing requirements for students taking advantage of the just-passed program.

Under House Study Bill 138, state-required assessments would be optional for students using the education savings accounts, rather than required. The students still would be required to take all federally required assessments, including the Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress.

Iowa Democratic leaders in the House and Senate decried the move, with House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst, D-Windsor Heights, telling reporters, I told you so.

This is what we said would happen with school vouchers, that private schools would continue to get away with not following the rules, and not following along and not being held accountable, Konfrst said. Were not even three weeks out from passing vouchers, and were already removing accountability from our private schools.

Asked about Reynolds appearance at the Cato Institute forum, Konfrst accused the governor of catering to corporate and special interests and wanting to build her national profile among Republicans.

Senate Minority Leader Zach Wahls, D-Coralville, echoed Konfrst.

"We know that the No. 1 goal of the Iowa Republican Party is the sustained attacks on our public education system, Wahls told reporters Thursday ahead of Fridays forum. That is a goal that is shared by Republicans in Washington, D.C. That is why people from Washington, D.C., have flown to Iowa to take selfies with the governor behind the Iowa Senate on the night the (law) was passed and why they bankroll challenges to some Iowa Republicans in the House and Senate who oppose this plan.

So again, I just another perfect example of Republicans putting politics over the people of the state, Wahls said.

Reynolds last year took the rare measure of endorsing primary challengers to several Republicans who opposed the private tuition bill, successfully ousting several GOP incumbents, including former House Education Committee chair Dustin Hite of New Sharon.

Reynolds said it was a move she did not take lightly.

I was either going to stand by and continue to be an enabler and not get this legislation passed, or intervene to give all parents the choice to decide what environment they want their child to receive their education, be that public or private.

I truly believe with all of my heart it elevates education overall, Reynolds said.
WASHINGTON  As Indonesia's fisheries minister, Edhy Prabowo was tasked with protecting one of his country's most precious resources: baby lobsters so tiny one can fit on the tip of a finger.

The waters off the nation's many islands and archipelagos once teemed with lobster. But overfishing in recent decades decimated the crustacean's population, so much so that fishermen turned to catching the hatchlings. They scooped them up by the thousands and shipped them to Vietnamese lobster farms, where the babies are raised to adulthood and sold mostly to dealers in China to meet its enormous demand for seafood.

Concerned that such harvesting was harming lobster populations, Indonesia's fishing ministry in 2016 prohibited the export of the tiny crustaceans. Shortly after taking office, Prabowo lifted the ban. Court documents show that just a month later, in June 2020, the minister accepted a $77,000 bribe from a seafood supplier to grant it a permit to sell the hatchlings abroad.

The money kept flowing. In his short stint as minister, Prabowo accepted bribes of nearly $2 million. He was arrested in 2020 by Indonesian authorities, having used the graft to purchase 26 road bikes, Old Navy children's clothes, Louis Vuitton bags, Rolex watches and two luxury pens. Prabowo, 50, was sentenced to five years in prison for corruption. His attorney declined to comment.

Prabowo's case is not an outlier. At least 45 government officials were accused of corruption in the past two decades, the AP found. The allegations range from high-ranking officials like Prabowo, accepting large payments from fishing companies to obtain lucrative contracts, to low-level civil servants accepting a few thousand dollars to ignore fishermen bringing illegal catch ashore.

"Fisheries corruption can have devastating impacts on marine ecosystems and local communities that may depend on them," said Ben Freitas, manager of ocean policy at the World Wildlife Fund, based in Washington. "It is a global problem."

The situation is most critical in areas managed by developing nations because many industrialized countries already overfished their own waters, forcing their trawlers to go afar. Many coastal developing countries depend on fish for millions of jobs and to feed their people.

Those wishing to conceal their operations or pay bribes to get around restrictions have found fishing to be a welcoming industry.

"The lack of accountability, I think, is even greater in the fisheries sector than it is in other environmental-related activities," said Juhani Grossmann at the Basel Institute on Governance, which is working on anti-corruption efforts with Indonesia's fishing ministry.

The AP review found that most cases of corruption and graft were low-level schemes, like one in India in which prosecutors last year alleged two fisheries officers extorted $1,100 to approve subsidies for a fish farm. Another involved fishermen said to have bribed Malaysian officers with at least $11,000 for every boat they agreed not to report.

But some involve global financial institutions. In 2021, the Swiss bank Credit Suisse admitted to fraudulently financing a massive loan to Mozambique to expand its tuna fishing fleet. A contractor handling the loan paid kickbacks of $150 million to Mozambican government officials.

And in the "Fishrot" scandal, Namibian authorities allege the Icelandic seafood company Samherji paid roughly $6 million in bribes to Namibian officials to be permitted to fish in the country's waters. Samherji denied committing crimes.

Stephen Akester, a fisheries management adviser who has worked in Africa and South Asia for four decades, cited a long history of foreign companies  particularly from China  forging corrupt relationships with fisheries officials.

"They exploited the weakness of these governments for whom any kind of revenue was big money, even small dollars," he said. "And that still continues today."

In Gambia, a small West African nation nestled along Senegal's coast, the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Fisheries and Water Resources, Bamba Banja, was charged in 2021 with accepting a bribe from a Chinese company to free a vessel detained for illegal fishing. The case is ongoing; Banja's lawyer told AP that the fisheries secretary denies any wrongdoing.

Corruption is not limited to developing countries. Malta's fisheries director in 2019 was linked to a criminal network that sought to launder illegally caught bluefin tuna that arrived in Spain from Italy and Malta via French ports. The newspaper El Confidencial said Spanish police intercepted a phone call in which the director was heard telling a tuna magnate, "You have to pay me." Malta's fisheries ministry said the director was on unpaid leave.

The cases reviewed by AP likely represent a small fraction of the corruption that takes place daily as seafood is transported and sold around the world.
MEXICO CITY  Mezcal is not your ordinary pet. Hundreds of years ago the Latin American Indigenous group, the Nahuas, believed that a hairless dog like him, a Xoloitzcuintle, was a sacred creature who could guide its deceased master through the underworld.

Dozens gathered on a recent day at Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso in Mexico City for a meet-and-greet with Mezcal and three more Xolos, as these slender dogs are locally known. The canines were at the art and culture museum as part of an effort to raise awareness about responsible adoption of Xolo puppies and promoting the significance of the breed.

Can I touch him? asked a woman working security for the museum, as she nervously brought her hand closer to the dogs head

Absolutely! He loves to be petted, said Nemiliz Gutierrez, who was taking care of him for the day.

Her sister and owner of Mezcal, Itzayani Gutierrez, leads a project promoting the breed to the public.

By reviewing ancient codex and records written after the conquest in 1521, experts have determined the religious relevance of the dogs among Mesoamerican civilizations. That fact isnt lost on the sisters.

We are privileged because we have among us some precious jewels of history that are living cultural heritage, said Itzayani, who also owns a playful Xolo named Pilon.

Experts found that the Nahuas believed these dogs represented the god, Xolotl, the twin brother of deity Quetzalcoatl. While the latter personified life and light, the former was an effigy of the underworld and death. The Xolo, thought to be a creature capable of moving through the darkness, was conceived as a guide for their owners soul after dying, wrote historian Mercedes de la Garza in an article published by the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

Burial sites found by archaeologists in central Mexico show the remains of men and dogs lying side by side, which suggests that Xolos may have been sacrificed during their masters funeral rites. It was thought to be a way the living could ensure that when the soul of their loved ones reached the river of the underworld, it could reunite with its dog, mount on his back and cross together.

In the Nahuatl language, Xolo means monster, and though some dislike the physical appearance of these dogs, many find them fascinating. Mezcals hairless skin is dark as a shadow. When touched, it feels soft and warm. His teeth are rarely visible, as Xolos dont bark much. On the recent day, he posed for pictures like a movie star and leaned his head toward visitors wanting to pet him.

Like his predecessors, Mezcal never loses sight of Gutierrez, who constantly pats the loving dog.

Xolos are loyal by nature, said Gutierrez. If one is adopted by a family, it will choose a member to stick with.

The closeness between Xoloitzcuintles and their owners was also noted by the Nahuas, according to experts. To please the gods, some Xolos were sacrificed in order to spare their masters lives.

The dogs were killed in those ceremonies by extracting their hearts. This fact distinguished them from any other animal offered in sacrifice, wrote De la Garza.

The dogs also are a part of modern-day culture in Mexico and beyond. At least a couple of Xoloitzcuintles can be seen in Frida Kahlos paintings. A few more appear in portraits where the artist posed with her husband, Mexican muralist Diego Rivera. Their love for these pets was shared by friend and art collector Dolores Olmedo, whose home in Mexico City became a museum and until recently took care of a few Xolos that visitors could approach.

In 2016, the capitals mayor gave the Xoloitzcuintle a cultural heritage designation, and a year later, a charming Xolo named Dante reached world fame after his appearance in animated film Coco, which portrayed the adventures of a Mexican boy through the underworld.

Back in San Ildefonso, the Gutierrez sisters hope more people will come to appreciate the breeds significance and help it thrive. Once thought by experts to be headed toward extinction, Xolos can be spotted in upper class Mexico City neighborhoods. Nemiliz Gutierrez said some breeders sell the dogs for upwards of $3,500.

Not every Xolo is in demand though, especially the variety with fur.

Almost nobody wants them, said Gutierrez, whose sister works to find caring homes for all Xolos regardless of their coats. Through that process, they enjoy sharing about the breeds historic significance  when Xolos embodied an endless love believed to transcend death.
Whos your Valentine? That question can cause a grade schooler to be crippled with fear and cause great angst over the selection of which Valentine card should go to which classmate. I know there are many who dont experience Valentine anxiety and are able to address cards willy-nilly, without any thought to what the silly sentiment is. I also realize there are those who are so self-confident they have no problem addressing everyone as their Valentine, but then there are those who have to make it a complicated process. Those who read way too much into everything. Those who overthink. I am most familiar with those people, because I am one of those.

St. Valentines identity and history is confusing and incomplete. In fact, there may have been two different people who were actually St. Valentine. The most widely known stories of his history are that he was a priest who performed marriages for lovers who were not allowed to be legally wed. There was a law against marriage because being married might interfere with the number of soldiers who would be available for war. He was then imprisoned and befriended his jailer. His jailer had a blind daughter, St. Valentine helped her with lessons by reading to her.

He found that he was to be executed, and the night before he died, he wrote her a note thanking her for being part of his life and signed it, Your Valentine. Thus giving the first Valentine. As the story goes, word spread of the note and others began writing letters to people they loved and cherished, creating the tradition of sending Valentines.

It seems appropriate that St. Valentines exact history is confusing because if love is anything, it is often confusing. Its not unusual to have difficulty describing why we love who we love. Do we rationally choose to love somebody or are we forced to by Cupids arrow? Some people swear that the person they love isnt a person who matches a preconceived idea of what that person would be like, as if they put a square cookie on a baking sheet and it came out of the oven as a heart. For other people love is a sure thing, as sure as rain falling in thunderstorms.

What attracts us to certain people? Do some people simply draw our attention? Are we captivated by an aura surrounding them, as was said of Daisy in "The Great Gatsby," Her face was sad and lovely with bright things in it, bright eyes and a bright passionate mouth, but there was an excitement in her voice that men who had cared for her found difficult to forget: a singing compulsion, a whispered Listen, a promise that she had done gay, exciting things just a while since and that there were gay, exciting things hovering in the next hour.

Is it a persons eyes which first draw us in? Some might be attracted by eyes that are bright with excitement, others by eyes that are soulful and mysterious. Perhaps a welcoming smile encourages interaction with a person. Some will say its chemistry, or pheromones, or being bitten by the love bug.

Whatever it is that causes us to love one another, deserves to be celebrated! To me, the most important thing about love is that it is made known. Love hidden and secret is a solitary emotion, love shared can change ones world. Let those you love and cherish know about it, make sure they know the impact they have had on your life. Let it be known. Always. Sign it, Your Valentine.
We had to laugh when Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the dividing line in America is no longer between right and left, its between normal or crazy.

If she had been watching the State of the Union Address she was assigned to rebut, she would have seen Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene screaming liar several times during President Bidens speech or another colleague swearing at the president.

If she had watched earlier, Sanders might have caught Sen. Mitt Romney telling Rep. George Santos he didnt belong in the room.

Toss in outbursts that prompted Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy to try to silence his peers and it became clear what Huckabee was talking about. The crazy was there in her party, failing to provide the decorum we once thought was a Republican hallmark.

A new generation of Republican leaders is stepping upnot to be caretakers of the status quo, but to be changemakers for the American people, Sanders said. But many of those new representatives have some real explaining to do.

During Tuesdays rebuttal, Sanders also said she signed an executive order that banned the term Latinx from official use. Why this was a pressing issue in Arkansas is anyones guess  but it did shore up her talking point, which was that a radical left was causing the countrys woes. Most Americans simply want to live their lives in freedom and peace, but we are under attack in a left-wing culture war we didnt start and never wanted to fight.

Had Sanders listened to Bidens speech, she would have learned he was interested in protecting Social Security and Medicare  two planks that are hardly part of a left-wing culture war. Those attacks on LGBTQ issues, minorities and education are ones offered by her and her peers, not those seniors sitting at home. Creating problems instead of solving long-standing ones is the real issue, something those changemakers need to rethink.

No one -- certainly not Sanders, Greene or others -- is expected to agree with Biden. But, rather than spout off in hopes of finding someone who wasnt listening, they should lean in, hear what the president has to say and try to find some common ground.

Around here, we call that governing.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230211/canadas-prime-minister-says-unidentified-object-shot-down-over-yukon-1107347374.html

Canadas Prime Minister Says Unidentified Object Shot Down Over Yukon

Canadas Prime Minister Says Unidentified Object Shot Down Over Yukon

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the unidentified object that was flying over northern Canada has been shot down and the wreckage will be analyzed for further information.

2023-02-11T23:15+0000

2023-02-11T23:15+0000

2023-02-11T23:15+0000

americas

canada

justin trudeau

justin trudeau

ufo

ufo

norad

norad

north american aerospace defense command (norad)

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On Saturday, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said in a statement to Sputnik that it was tracking "a high-altitude airborne object" over northern Canada. "I ordered the take down of an unidentified object that violated Canadian airspace. NORAD Command shot down the object over the Yukon. Canadian and U.S. aircraft were scrambled, and a U.S. F-22 successfully fired at the object," Trudeau wrote on Twitter. A video of the object was also shared to Twitter by user @aviationbrk.In another tweet, the Canadian prime minister said he had discussed the situation with US President Joe Biden. News of the object comes just one day after US officials reported a similar object which they had shot down over Alaska, a US state that borders Yukon. It also comes one week after US forces downed an alleged Chinese spy balloon which has created tensions between Beijing and Washington, DC. That balloon also flew over Canada and US airspace reportedly on January 28, until it was shot down over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of South Carolina on February 4.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230208/us-navy-rolls-out-photos-of-chinese-balloon-debris-recovered-1107069289.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230212/airspace-restrictions-over-montana-lifted-after-unidentitifed-object-scare-1107348836.html

Airspace Restrictions Over Montana Lifted After 'Unidentified Object' Scare

Airspace Restrictions Over Montana Lifted After 'Unidentified Object' Scare

No suspicious objects were detected over the US state of Montana and the airspace restrictions introduced earlier have been lifted.

2023-02-12T05:06+0000

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2023-02-12T07:58+0000

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montana

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The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) closed the airspace around the city of Havre in Montana, near the border with Canada, on Saturday, saying that the closure was implemented to support US Department of Defense activities. US Senator from Montana Jon Tester said on Twitter on Saturday that he was "aware of the object in Montana air space." According to the statement, no suspicious objects were detected. Earlier on Saturday, NORAD said in a statement to Sputnik that it was tracking "a high-altitude airborne object" over northern Canada. Later in the day, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that the unidentified object was shot down by a US F-22 aircraft over the Yukon. The White House said that the downed object had been tracked over 24 hours and was unmanned.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230211/us-v-ufos-whats-known-so-far-about-the-car-sized-object-downed-over-frozen-alaska-waters-1107334176.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230212/another-protest-in-support-of-anarchist-cospito-held-in-milan--1107348586.html

Another Protest in Support of Anarchist Cospito Held in Milan

Another Protest in Support of Anarchist Cospito Held in Milan

More clashes have occurred between Italian law enforcement officers and anarchists who have staged protests in Milan, Italian media reports.

2023-02-12T03:47+0000

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world

milan

milan

alfredo cospito

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About 400 people participated in an unauthorized demonstration in support of anarchist Alfredo Cospito on Saturday, the Italian Rai News 24 TV channel said. Cospito, who is serving a life sentence for organizing a series of extremist actions and who had been on a hunger strike for months, has been transferred from the Opera prison in Milan to a city hospital, according to local media reports. On Saturday, protesters in Milan damaged cars and shop windows and threw bottles, rocks, smoke grenades and firecrackers at law enforcement officers, according to Rai News 24 TV. Police used tear gas to disperse the protesters. At least 11 people were detained after the unauthorized demonstration and six police officers were reportedly injured. The Saturday demonstration was the latest protest held by anarchists in Milan. All of the protests ended in clashes with police.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230212/japan-says-chinese-navy-vessel-enters-its-territorial-waters-near-yakushima-island-1107348962.html

Japan Says Chinese Navy Vessel Enters Its Territorial Waters Near Yakushima Island

Japan Says Chinese Navy Vessel Enters Its Territorial Waters Near Yakushima Island

A Chinese navy survey vessel entered Japanese territorial waters near islands close to the southwestern prefecture of Kagoshima, marking the 10th entry by the country's survey ship into Japan's waters

2023-02-12T05:49+0000

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asia

japan

china

navy

warship

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Such naval activities carried out by China are of national security concern, the ministry added. Japanese media reported, citing the defense ministry, that Tokyo expressed concern over the vessel's actions to Beijing through diplomatic channels.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230212/lavrov-us-officials-admit-that-they-are-responsible-for-nord-stream-explosions-1107353600.html

Lavrov: US Officials Admit That They Are Responsible for Nord Stream Explosions

Lavrov: US Officials Admit That They Are Responsible for Nord Stream Explosions

Earlier this week, Pulitzer Prize winner Seymour Hersh wrote an investigative piece describing in detail how US deep-water divers had planted explosives under... 12.02.2023, Sputnik International

2023-02-12T11:48+0000

2023-02-12T11:48+0000

2023-02-12T12:14+0000

nord stream sabotage

russia

nord stream

nord stream pipeline

nord stream 2

nord stream 1

explosions

sergey lavrov

sergey lavrov's speeches

us

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Officials in the United States admit that they were behind the explosions at the Nord Stream pipeline, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Sunday.Lavrov's comments come on the heels of a bombshell revelation by Pulitzer Prize-winning American journalist Seymour Hersh, who wrote an investigative piece earlier this week into the gas pipeline explosions. Based on information from sources, the journalist wrote that during the NATO Baltops exercise in the summer of 2022, US Navy divers planted explosives under the Nord Stream pipelines, which were detonated three months later at the order of US President Joe Biden. According to Hersh, Biden decided to sabotage Nord Stream after more than nine months of secret discussions with the national security team.Hersh also cited a source with direct knowledge of the US operational planning as saying that Norway played a key role in helping the United States organize the attack and keep the Swedish and Danish navies in the dark. The Pentagon has denied responsibility for the blasts.Sputnik has analyzed Flightradar24 data showing that US and German navy aircraft regularly circled over the sites of future explosions on the Nord Stream pipelines during the NATO Baltops 22 exercise last summer.Between June 8 and June 16, 2022, German and US maritime surveillance aircraft P-3 Orion and P-8 Poseidon carried out regular flights over the sites of future Nord Stream blasts. The military aircraft descended to low altitudes and turned off transponders in almost every flight, so some of their trajectories remained unrecorded.On June 8, the American Poseidon aircraft circled over the sites of three future explosions on the Nord Stream pipelines northeast of Bornholm Island. The German P-3 Orion aircraft then flew over a future blast site east of the island. On June 9, the Poseidon aircraft flew over the sites northeast and east of Bornholm.From June 11 to June 15, the US Poseidon aircraft circled precisely over the sites of future Nord Stream sabotage acts every day, often making many turns and loops at low altitude. On June 16, the German P-3 Orion flew over the area. The minimum flight altitude of US and German military aircraft over the Baltic Sea around the location of the gas pipelines was less than 600 meters (0.4 miles). However, it could have been even lower in those parts of the flights that were not recorded by the open monitoring system.Late last month, US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland hailed the destruction of the Nord Stream pipelines, saying that "the [US] administration is very gratified to know that Nord Stream 2 is now, as you like to say, a hunk of metal at the bottom of the sea.US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, for his part, described the pipeline explosions as a tremendous opportunity, which would enable EU nations to become less dependent on Russian energy.The blasts occurred on September 26, 2022 at three of the four strings of Nord Stream 1 and 2 underwater pipelines built to carry a combined 110 billion cubic meters of Russian gas to Europe annually. The incidents halted gas deliveries to Germany ahead of the cold season, prompting a gas price hike and a scramble for alternative sources in the European Union. Germany, Denmark, and Sweden launched separate investigations into the sabotage, with German media reporting trust issues among the three EU nations. The Russian chief prosecutor's office said it had opened an inquiry into possible international terrorism.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230211/why-hershs-nord-stream-bombshell-may-become-legal-nightmare-for-team-biden--its-nordic-allies-1107344300.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230211/nato-planes-regularly-circled-sites-of-nord-stream-blasts-during-baltops-exercise-analysis-finds-1107334016.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230212/london-kiev-negotiating-plans-for-production-of-uk-weapons-in-ukraine-media-reports-1107349073.html

London, Kiev Negotiating Plans for Production of UK Weapons in Ukraine, Media Reports

London, Kiev Negotiating Plans for Production of UK Weapons in Ukraine, Media Reports

UK defense industry officials are discussing with their Ukrainian counterparts plans for the production of British weapons in Ukraine, which would mark the deepening of Kiev's ties with both London and NATO, British newspaper reported on Sunday.

2023-02-12T06:09+0000

2023-02-12T06:09+0000

2023-02-12T06:30+0000

russia's special operation in ukraine

uk

ukraine

ukrainian crisis

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UK executives traveled to Ukraine with a view of creating joint ventures there that would produce weapons and vehicles locally under license, the report said. In addition, the newspaper reported that other European defense companies are also negotiating with Kiev on the issue, and that UK companies do not want to lose to French and German competitors. A British executive said there is a race to put the UK at the front of the queue, the newspaper said. Ukraine used to produce some types of Israeli and US small arms, such as rifles, under license, and adapted some of its tanks to incorporate Israeli electronics, the newspaper added. According to the media, Kiev would like to produce Western-designed artillery, vehicles and weapons itself rather than buy them. Since the beginning of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine, Western countries have been supplying Kiev with various types of weapon systems, including air defense missiles, multiple launch rocket systems, tanks, self-propelled artillery and anti-aircraft guns.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230206/how-aid-to-ukraine-has-left-britains-military-in-a-sorry-state-1107021034.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230212/massive-cyclone-leaves-about-15000-new-zealanders-without-electricity--1107353168.html

Massive Cyclone Leaves About 15,000 New Zealanders Without Electricity

Massive Cyclone Leaves About 15,000 New Zealanders Without Electricity

Around 15,000 people have been left without electricity in New Zealand's northern city of Auckland due to large-scale outages caused by powerful cyclone Gabrielle, expected to become one of the most serious storms to hit the country this century, local energy company Vector said on Sunday.

2023-02-12T10:53+0000

2023-02-12T10:53+0000

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The firm added that due to the expected deterioration of weather conditions, power outages would continue until Monday. The Auckland Emergency Management, in turn, urged people to prepare for the aftermath of the massive blackouts, including stocking up on food, batteries, blankets, and warm clothing, as well as listening to the news on the radio.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230212/mexico-to-lead-movement-to-lift-us-blockade-on-cuba-authorities-say-1107351695.html

Mexico to Lead Movement to Lift US Blockade on Cuba, AMLO Says

Mexico to Lead Movement to Lift US Blockade on Cuba, AMLO Says

Mexico will lead a movement to defend Cuba's sovereignty and to lift the US blockade on the country, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Sunday.

2023-02-12T09:31+0000

2023-02-12T09:31+0000

2023-02-12T09:33+0000

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The US broke off diplomatic relations with Cuba in the 1960s, after which it announced a trade embargo against the island nation. Former Democratic US President Barack Obama took steps to normalize bilateral relations with Cuba, but the policy was reversed by the administration of former Republican President Donald Trump, which leveled 243 additional economic sanctions on Cuba, tightened travel regulations and placed the island nation back on the list of countries sponsoring terrorism. Current President Joe Biden promised that he would return Obama's policy on Cuba but has instead twice extended all restrictions against the country. Last week, Diaz-Canel said that the damage from the US embargo on Cuba over six decades totaled $144.4 billion.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20160322/obama-cuba-visit-no-breakthrough-1036706635.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230212/moldovas-neutral-status-guarantor-of-regional-stability-russian-ambassador-says-1107354367.html

Moldova's Neutral Status Guarantor of Regional Stability, Russian Ambassador Says

Moldova's Neutral Status Guarantor of Regional Stability, Russian Ambassador Says

In an exclusive interview with Sputnik, Russian ambassador to Moldova Oleg Vasnetsov expressed his concern about growing calls in Kishinev to abandon the country's neutral status, stressing that it guarantees stability in the region.

2023-02-12T13:24+0000

2023-02-12T13:24+0000

2023-02-12T13:24+0000

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Russian Ambassador to Moldova Oleg Vasnetsov has told Sputnik about his concern over growing calls in Kishinev to abandon the country's neutral status, stressing that it acts as a guarantor of stability in the region.Earlier, new Moldovan President Maia Sandu told US media that the country should reject neutrality and join a large military bloc. While she didn't mention NATO, she has previously said that the neutrality amendment in the constitution could be revised if the population votes in favor of rapprochement with the alliance. However, there are many people in Moldova who are against the country's potential NATO membership, including the opposition, consisting of communists, socialists and the Shor party.Despite its neutral status, Moldova has been cooperating with NATO since 1994 within an individual partnership framework.The Russian diplomat stressed that last year's provocations in Tiraspol clearly demonstrated that any militarism is a threat to security.The Russian envoy referred to the terror attacks in Transnistria that took place in April 2022. Vadim Krasnoselsky, the head of Transnistria, said that the terror attacks were traced to Ukraine.Melt the Ice of MisunderstandingDespite Moldova's plans to intensify cooperation with NATO, Russia remains open to discussion of any possible issue with Kishinev. The diplomat stressed that it was officially Moldova that suspended the dialogue with Russia.Diplomatic relations between Russia and Moldova were established in April 1992. However, at the moment they are de facto frozen and are supported only at the level of diplomatic missions.The diplomat noted that the peoples of Russia and Moldova are linked by centuries-old friendship. Opinion polls in Moldova show that more than 60% of the country's population is in favor of close relations with Russia, another 21% believe that at least neutral relations are needed. Also, almost 65% are in favor of developing strong economic relations with the Russian Federation.Search for a Fair SolutionAs for the Transnistrian issue, Russia will adhere to the principle of a fair settlement, without violating the territorial integrity of Moldova, on the one hand, and on the other, striving to reach agreements on a special status for Transnistria, he said.The diplomat stressed that the Russian side is counting on the resumption of negotiations in the established format.The 5+2 format implies the participation of Kishinev and Tiraspol as parties to the conflict, with Russia, Ukraine and the OSCE as mediators, as well as the US and the EU as observers. The last round of negotiations in this format took place in October 2019 in Bratislava.Earlier, the parliamentary majority in Kishinev adopted the amendments to the Criminal Code in the second reading. The amendments imply punishment for "separatism and "conspiracy against the state." The Transnistrian Foreign Ministry reacted negatively to the adoption of these amendments, noting that they undermine the negotiation process on the Transnistrian settlement.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230212/moscow-manama-mull-creating-grain-and-gas-hubs-in-bahrain-russian-ambassador-says-1107354786.html

Moscow, Manama Mull Creating Grain and Gas Hubs in Bahrain, Russian Ambassador Says

Moscow, Manama Mull Creating Grain and Gas Hubs in Bahrain, Russian Ambassador Says

Russia and Bahrain are considering proposals for the creation of grain and gas hubs, as well as a plant for the production of Russian vaccines in the Middle Eastern country, Russian Ambassador to Manama Alexey Skosyrev told Sputnik.

2023-02-12T13:09+0000

2023-02-12T13:09+0000

2023-02-12T13:09+0000

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bahrain

russia

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king hamad bin isa al khalifa

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mir

grain

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A possibility of creating a grain hub in Bahrain was discussed in the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade four years ago, but the project was never implemented.On Cancel CultureSpeaking about the cancel culture against everything Russian now, Skosyrev stressed that there have been no changes in the Russian-Bahraini relations since the start of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine."We appreciate the measured, balanced position of Manama to the crisis in Ukraine, we express our gratitude to the Bahraini leadership for its readiness to assist the political and diplomatic process in case such a need arises, we warmly support the call of the authorities of the kingdom not to allow the media to be used to escalate the situation and promote hatred," the ambassador said.Working Out Meeting Between Putin, Bahraini KingThe diplomat also revealed that Moscow and Manama are working out the possibility of holding a meeting between King of Bahrain Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and Russian President Vladimir Putin.The Russian envoy said that the leadership of both countries assesses the state of bilateral relations as positive. "We maintain a confidential dialogue on a wide range of issues, including a number of general principles of the world order, our views are close or coincide. For us, as we have repeatedly stressed at all levels, Bahrain is an important partner in the Arab-Muslim world; special attention is also paid to interaction with Russia in Manama. As for the economic component of our relations, their potential in this area is far from being fully realized, and trade indicators do not yet correspond to our aspirations. However, this does not mean that interest in mutually beneficial cooperation has waned. We intend to make every effort to achieve a significant increase in trade. To this end, together with our Bahraini partners, we are working on further improving the legal framework of Russian-Bahraini relations and expanding the network of contacts between business representatives, preparing the appropriate logistics and financial infrastructure," he said. The diplomat stressed that the coronavirus pandemic and illegal Western sanctions against Russia had a deterrent effect on the development of trade, economic and investment cooperation between our countries, "but they can only somewhat slow down the process of strengthening our ties, not reverse it."Moreover, Russia encourages Bahrain's participation in the multilateral dialogue, in particular, Moscow welcomed Bahrain joining the SCO as a dialogue partner and supports Manama's interest in participating in BRICS projects, among others, he noted.Meanwhile, the diplomat also said that the two countries are working to intensify interaction between credit institutions of the two countries. In December 2021, a delegation of the upper house of the Russian parliament headed by its chairwoman Valentina Matviyenko visited Bahrain. Following the visit, Matviyenko said that Hamad was waiting for Putin's visit and also seeking to visit Moscow. The last time the leaders of the two countries met in person was in 2016 during the visit of the Bahraini king to Russia.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230102/turkey-launches-work-on-gas-hub-project-proposed-by-russia---energy-minister-1105998438.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20221130/putin-says-russia-promotes-all-art-while-uneducated-people-cancel-russian-culture-1104896838.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230212/russia-tunisia-trade-up-60-in-2022-ambassador-says-1107352528.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230212/nato-fears-uk-too-drained-to-take-over-leadership-of-rapid-reaction-force-1107352060.html

NATO 'Fears UK Too Drained to Take Over Leadership of Rapid Reaction Force'

NATO 'Fears UK Too Drained to Take Over Leadership of Rapid Reaction Force'

NATO military leaders believe that the UK armed forces will not be able to take over the leadership of the alliance's rapid reaction force this year due to the exhaustion of its military resources caused primarily by the country's assistance to Ukraine.

2023-02-12T09:59+0000

2023-02-12T09:59+0000

2023-02-12T09:59+0000

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uk

nato

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The United Kingdom is set to inherit the leadership of NATO's rapid reaction force from Germany in late 2023. However, the alliance has asked Berlin to remain at the head of the bloc's force for another year since London is unable to provide 5,000 soldiers required, the newspaper reported. The UK is now in its most vulnerable position since the Second World War, since the British army is the smallest it has been in four centuries, and the navy is less than half what it was during the Falklands War in 1982, the news outlet reported. In late January, Tobias Ellwood, who heads the UK parliamentary Defense Select Committee, told a different British media outlet that the UK army was "in a dire state" despite two decades of multi-billion dollar investments. UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace also confirmed then that the UK army had "fallen behind its peer group" and needed investments. Despite this fact, Ellwood stated that the UK, already involved in the Ukraine conflict, needed to "face Russia directly rather than leaving Ukraine to do all the work." The UK is among Western countries actively supplying Ukraine with various types of weapon systems and training the Ukrainian military personnel amid Russia's special military operation. On January 15, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that his country would send 14 of its Challenger 2 tanks to Kiev. Later, the UK Defense Ministry said that Ukrainian troops had begun to learn how to operate British tanks.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230206/how-aid-to-ukraine-has-left-britains-military-in-a-sorry-state-1107021034.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230212/pentagon-confirms-take-down-of-airborne-object-over-canada-1107348287.html

Pentagon Confirms Take Down of Airborne Object Over Canada

Pentagon Confirms Take Down of Airborne Object Over Canada

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The Pentagon has confirmed that the unidentified object that was flying over northern Canada has been shot down, following close... 12.02.2023, Sputnik International

2023-02-12T02:11+0000

2023-02-12T02:11+0000

2023-04-13T12:45+0000

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On Saturday, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said in a statement to Sputnik that it was tracking "a high-altitude airborne object" over northern Canada. Later in the day, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that the unidentified object was shot down by a US F-22 aircraft over the Yukon after he ordered the take down. Trudeau said that he discussed the incident with US President Joe Biden. According to the release, NORAD first detected the object over Alaska late on Friday evening and it was monitored by two F-22 aircraft over US airspace. "Monitoring continued today as the object crossed into Canadian airspace, with Canadian CF-18 and CP-140 aircraft joining the formation to further assess the object. A U.S. F-22 shot down the object in Canadian territory using an AIM 9X missile following close coordination between U.S. and Canadian authorities, to include a call today between [US] Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and [Canadian] Minister of Defense Anita Anand," Ryder said. The Pentagon spokesperson added that the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) will work closely with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) as Canada works on analyzing the wreckage to get more information about the object.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230211/canadas-prime-minister-says-unidentified-object-shot-down-over-yukon-1107347374.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230212/russia-tunisia-trade-up-60-in-2022-ambassador-says-1107352528.html

Russia-Tunisia Trade Up 60% in 2022, Ambassador Says

Russia-Tunisia Trade Up 60% in 2022, Ambassador Says

In this article, Russian Ambassador to Tunisia Alexander Zolotov tells Sputnik that volume of trade between Russia and Tunisia increased by 63% in 10 months of 2022, reaching $692 million.

2023-02-12T12:11+0000

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2023-02-12T12:11+0000

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Trade between Russia and Tunisia increased sharply in 2022, Russian Ambassador to Tunisia Alexander Zolotov told Sputnik."The volume of trade grew significantly in 2022 despite the well-known artificial obstacles. In ten months, it exceeded the figure for the same period a year earlier by 63%, reaching $692 million," Zolotov said. The Russian diplomat added that the growth in trade "is a clear example of the ability to successfully interact in the current difficult world situation." Moreover, trade between the two countries is expected to increase further, since many Tunisian goods, in particular from the food and textile industries, are competitive and can replace the products of European countries on the Russian market, Zolotov told Sputnik.The diplomat noted that in December last year, a meeting of the co-chairs of the Russian-Tunisian Intergovernmental Committee on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation was held with the participation of the Russian Minister of Labor and Social Protection Anton Olegovich Kotyakov. During the meeting, it was decided to agree on a program to develop concrete steps to improve the effectiveness of the partnership between the two countries.Russia and Tunisia are also "actively" cooperating in the field of manned space flights and training the first female cosmonaut from Africa and Tunisia.He added that Russia's state space corporation Roscosmos and Tunisian company TELNET are currently conducting work related to the planned mission of the Tunisian female cosmonaut to the ISS.Regarding the Russian tourist flow to Tunisia, Zolotov said: "Here you can experience the best feelings towards Russia and its people. Tunisia has deservedly gained a good reputation as a host country with a rich cultural and historical heritage. All this allows for the expectation of a gradual return of the tourist flow, and this process is already underway."The Russian ambassador noted that the Russian airline Aeroflot announced the launch of direct flights between Moscow and Tunis starting from the end of May with three flights per week.Zolotov concluded by saying that he hopes for deepening relations between the two countries and active cooperation during the Second Russia-Africa Summit, which will take place in the Russian city of St. Petersburg in July.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20210615/tunisia-russia-share-growing-interest-in-space-cooperation-ambassador-says-1083154157.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230212/suspect-arrested-in-assault-on-us-congresswoman-in-apartment-building--1107348082.html

Suspect Arrested in Assault on US Congresswoman in Apartment Building

Suspect Arrested in Assault on US Congresswoman in Apartment Building

DC Metropolitan Police reported that they had arrested a suspect on Thursday morning in connection to an assault on Representative Angie Craig (D-MN), who was... 12.02.2023, Sputnik International

2023-02-12T01:51+0000

2023-02-12T01:51+0000

2023-02-12T01:51+0000

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Kendrick Hamlin, also known as Hamlin Khalil Hamlin, has been arrested after allegedly assaulting Craig in the elevator of her apartment building on Thursday morning. Hamlin was reportedly acting erratic and as if he was under the influence of an unknown substance. The congresswoman was able to escape the attack by throwing her hot coffee at the assailant, who then fled.Hamlin is a 26-year-old man who is believed to be homeless, according to US Capitol Police. They do not believe the attack was politically motivated, but are investigating the attack nonetheless. Representative Craig defended herself from the attacker and suffered bruising, but is otherwise physically okay, said Nick Coe, her chief of staff, in a release the same day she was attacked. There is no evidence that the incident was politically motivated, he added. "Representative Craig is grateful to the DC Metropolitan Police Department for their quick response and asks for privacy at this time.Governor Tim Walz (D-MN) said he had spoken to Craig following the assault and reported that she was doing well.Angie is tough as nails  she immediately got back to work and voted on the House floor. Im glad to have met with her this morning and hear shes doing well, Walz said."We are all very grateful that she is safe and recovering, but appalled that this terrifying assault took place," added House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries who said the caucus was "horrified" by the attack, but thanked law enforcement for their efforts.Jeffries has requested both the House Sergeant at Arms and the US Capitol Police to work with Craig, her wife and their sons to protect them both in Washington, DC and at their home in Minnesota.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230209/probe-launched-after-attacker-punches-us-lawmaker-inside-dc-elevator-1107281871.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230212/us-authorities-briefly-closed-airspace-over-lake-michigan-says-norad-1107359292.html

US Authorities Briefly Closed Airspace Over Lake Michigan Says NORAD

US Authorities Briefly Closed Airspace Over Lake Michigan Says NORAD

US authorities temporarily closed the airspace over Lake Michigan on Sunday to ensure the safety of air traffic in the area during unspecified operations of the NORAD, the binational military command said.

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"With the cooperation of the Federal Aviation Administration, North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) implemented a temporary flight restriction airspace over Lake Michigan to ensure the safety of air traffic in the area during NORAD operations," the release read. The flight restriction has since been lifted, NORAD said, without specifying details of its operations. On Saturday, the United States closed the airspace around Havre, in the state of Montana near the border with Canada, saying that the closure was implemented to support US Department of Defense activities. US Senator from Montana Jon Tester said on Twitter that he was "aware of the object in Montana air space." No suspicious objects were eventually detected over Montana and the restriction was scrapped. The US and Canada shot down a total of three high-altitude airborne objects in February, including one that was taken down on Saturday over Canada's Yukon Territory.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230212/us-knew-nothing-about-chinas-spy-balloons-several-months-ago-senate-majority-leader-says-1107358308.html

US Knew Nothing About China's 'Spy Balloons' Several Months Ago, Senate Majority Leader Says

US Knew Nothing About China's 'Spy Balloons' Several Months Ago, Senate Majority Leader Says

US military and intelligence knew nothing about the existence of Chinese "spy balloons" until a few months ago, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Sunday.

2023-02-12T18:08+0000

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chinese balloon over us

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"The bottom line is  for until a few months ago, we didn't know of these balloons. Our intelligence and our military did not know," Schumer said.The Democratic majority leader also said that he had been briefed on the situation on Saturday night by National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. The US authorities believe that the airborne objects recently spotted and taken down over Alaska and Canada were also balloons, but "much smaller than the first one," the Democratic majority leader specified. At the same time, US military officials have not yet disclosed what exactly was downed in the sky above Alaska and Canada, from which nation, institution or individual they may have originated and why they were put there. Last week, the United States shot down an alleged Chinese surveillance balloon over the Atlantic Ocean, followed by two more high-altitude airborne objects taken down over Alaska and Canada's Yukon Territory this week. The US Defense Department said earlier in February that at least three Chinese balloon incidents had taken place during the previous administration of Donald Trump and one more had taken place in the early days of the Biden administration in addition to the most recent ones. Meanwhile, Trump denies these claims. Washington alleges that the first high-altitude balloon detected in early February was conducting surveillance of potentially sensitive national security sites, while China insists the airship was engaged in scientific research.

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Swift fractions poised the rebounding Ario Hanover as he stormed from off the pace to take the $26,000 featured pace at Woodbine Mohawk Park on Saturday night (Feb. 11).

A :26 scorcher lighted from a first-turn skirmish between Southbeach Hanover and Points North, with Points North yielding for the pocket to the backside. Southbeach Hanover carried his momentum to a :54 half and rolled strongly to three-quarters in 1:21.3.

Highlandbeachlover mounted a first-over bid to the final turn and carried Ario Hanover to within four lengths of the lead coming off the turn. Once driver James MacDonald tipped Ario Hanover wide, the four-year-old Captaintreacherous stallion took flight and scooted to a three-length victory in 1:50.1 under wraps. Southbeach Hanover fought back to take second with Points North finishing third and Highlandbeachlover fading to fourth.

Richard Moreau trains Ario Hanover, an eight-time winner from 24 starts and earner of $146,437, for owner 1876472 Ontario Inc. He paid $7.60 to win.

To view Saturdays harness racing results, click the following link: Saturday Results  Woodbine Mohawk Park.
The Nebraska Dry Bean Growers Association held its annual Dry Edible Bean Day on Tuesday at the Gering Civic Center.

The event opened with the associations annual meeting, during which members got to hear updates on the organizations finances and leadership. Two elections were also held, which saw District I director Trevor Schneider and District II director Dean Keener both reelected for three year terms.

Following the business meeting, presentations were given on a wide range of topics pertaining to the dry edible bean industry. Insight on the domestic and international markets were provided by Samuel Peck, an international marketing specialist with Jacks Bean International, and Darin Aagard, a senior merchandising manager with Trinidad Benham Corporation, with a particular focus on pinto, Great Northern and light red kidney beans.

Pecks presentation focused on the international bean market, and included many of his observations and insights from his daily efforts as an exporter. According to Peck, a recent international development that is heavily impacting the market is an increased focus on growing beans in Argentina.

Argentina took all the business, Peck said. The bottom line is, when you dont have a lot of money, its about price and not quality.

He continued this point by explaining that many of the markets which have traditionally imported American grown beans are having economic struggles. As general consumers can rarely afford the costs associated with U.S. grown products, many forego those products in favor of cheaper alternatives such as lower quality beans or other products.

The bulk of their populations dont have very much, Peck said. When our prices are high like they have been, they find alternatives like pasta and rice, which are cheaper than beans.

Pecks advice for growers was to consult and heed the advice of their dealers and processors when buying seeds for information on whats working in the market and what isnt.

To that end, Aagards presentation recapped the 2022 growing season and used associated data from the USDA to help make some predictions and raise some questions about prospects in 2023.

According to Aagard, Nebraska maintained its place as a major player in the bean market in 2022, coming in fourth in overall production behind North Dakota, Minnesota and Michigan. Nebraska was number two in pinto production with 15% of U.S. totals, trailing North Dakotas 70%. In light red kidney production, Nebraska came in third with a 10% share behind Minnesota and Michigan.

Nebraska remained dominant in the production of Great Northern beans, with a staggering 83% share of the U.S. crop. However, Great Northern beans are seeing an overall decline in production across the U.S. as growers shift their acres toward other beans and crops. Aagard said this is largely due to several years of overproduction, shipping difficulties and stiff competition from growers in Argentina.

Some of the questions raised by Aagard regarding the 2023 growing season regarded whether the supply chain issues that have plagued the bean market over the last few years will continue to see improvement, whether moisture levels will improve in Nebraska compared to last season, and how changing weather patterns will affect the U.S. and Argentinian growing seasons.

That talking point about weather patterns was furthered by Rural Radio Network Weather Analyst Bill Boyer, who said that the La Nina pattern that has persisted for the last few years is likely to transition toward an El Nino pattern over the course of the year.

We seem to do really well coming off of a La Nina pattern before we go back to an El Nino, which is where were getting close to, he said.

Both La Nina and El Nino refer to changes in ocean surface temperatures in the eastern equatorial part of the central Pacific Ocean. The colder La Nina periods and warmer El Nino periods can be indicators of weather changes across the globe, and are commonly used in forecasting.

By all indications, were going to be out of the La Nina pattern around the first of March, Boyer said. It will take some time for that to affect our weather here, but the good news is that were heading that way.

The neutral period between La Nina and El Nino is expected to last through much of 2023, which Boyer said is a good sign that Nebraska will see more precipitation than in previous years as well as likelihood of higher temperatures.

Its been probably three and a half years since weve had an outlook that even showed near normal (precipitation) for a 90-day period for us, so this is good news, he said.

Presentations continued throughout the event, with researchers from the UNL Panhandle Research, Extension & Education Center speaking on topics such as dry bean breeding activities, development of pest management programs and nutrient management for quality dry edible bean production.
Every year, Nebraska 4-H Month brings thousands of young people, parents, volunteers, and alumni together to celebrate all the ways in which 4-H helps youth find a place where they belong. Nebraska 4-H in Box Butte County invites community members to celebrate!

4-H Spirit Week February 1-4

4-H Volunteer & Sponsor Appreciation Week February 5-11

4-H Giving Back Week February 12-18

4-H Project Show & Tell Week February 19-25

4-H Connect Week February 26-28

Box Butte County 4-H will observe 4-H Month this year by encouraging families to enroll youth in 4-H to learn more about what 4-H has to offer. Area schools in grades K-5th will have the opportunity to participate in a coloring contest. Youth and Adults can all take part and enjoy some of the fun themed weeks throughout the month of February. During spirit week, February 1st-4th, youth and adults can wear green or a 4-H shirt if you have one. We encourage our youth to thank a 4-H volunteer, sponsor or supporter and show their appreciation by writing them a thank you note during Appreciation Week on February 5th-11th. Giving Back week, February 12th-18th, we encourage all to give back to their local communities or plan a community service project. 4-H Project Show & Tell week, February 19th-25th, youth can share their past, present or future 4-H projects. During 4-H Connect week, February 26th-28th we encourage those that havent looked into 4-H to connect with a current 4-H member, 4-H alumni or connect with the Box Butte County Extension Office. The Extension Office will be holding a Connect with 4-H Open House on Monday, February 20th from 4-6 PM at the Extension Office on 415 Black Hills. Come create a 4-H clover project, learn more about other projects and programs, get enrolled in 4-H and enjoy some snacks. Sponsored by the Box Butte County 4-H Council.

In addition to celebrating, youth are invited to join 4-H and complete the annual enrollment process during February. By becoming enrolled members, youth have the opportunity to join a club, exhibit projects at the county and State Fair, participate in contests, and apply for special awards and recognition.

4-H is Nebraskas largest youth development organization  empowering nearly 140,000 across the state with the skills to lead for a lifetime. With the support of 12,000 volunteers, Nebraska 4-H helps youth develop and practice life skills through clubs, camps, school enrichment, afterschool, and special interest programs. In Box Butte County, more than 200 4-H members and 50+ volunteers are involved in 4-H.

To learn more about how to get involved, visit https://4h.unl.edu.

About 4-H

4-H, the nations largest youth development and empowerment organization, cultivates confident young people who tackle issues that matter most in their communities right now. In the United States, 4-H programs empower six million young people through the 110 land-grant universities and Cooperative Extension in more than 3,000 local offices serving every county and parish in the country. Outside the United States, independent, country-led 4-H organizations empower one million young people in more than 50 countries. In Nebraska, 4-H is present in all 93 counties through clubs, camps, school enrichment, afterschool programs, and special interest programs. Learn more about 4-H at 4h.unl.edu, find us on Facebook at facebook.com/nebraska4h, on Twitter at twitter.com/nebraska4h, and on Instagram at Instagram.com/nebraska4h.

Contact: Ashley Fenning, 4-H Assistant  astevens4@unl.edu

Melissa Mracek, 4-H Educator  mmracek2@unl.edu

415 Black Hills Ave

Alliance NE 69301
LINCOLN  Lawmakers have yet to reach a compromise on a bill that would allow Nebraskans to carry concealed weapons without a permit.

But committee members advanced the bill anyway Friday, signaling that they remain hopeful an agreement can be reached.

The Legislatures Judiciary Committee voted 5-0 Friday afternoon to push Legislative Bill 77 out of committee and into the first round of debate. State Sens. Justin Wayne and Terrell McKinney, both Democrats from Omaha, voted yes. Sen. Wendy DeBoer, also a Democrat, was present not voting.

Wayne, the committee chair, said Fridays vote reflected the fact that lawmakers are working to reach an agreement with the bills introducer, Sen. Tom Brewer of Gordon, to address some of the concerns expressed during LB 77s public hearing two weeks ago. As of Friday afternoon, however, lawmakers hadnt settled on the terms of the agreement.

LB 77 would allow Nebraskans over the age of 21 to carry concealed weapons without a permit. Such measures are sometimes called constitutional carry in reference to some gun rights advocates belief that the U.S. Constitution gives people the right to carry concealed guns without a permit.

Currently in Nebraska, getting a concealed-carry permit requires passing a criminal background check, paying a $100 fee and taking an eight- to 16-hour gun safety class.

Brewer said he has tried to get the Legislature to approve this issue since he first took office in 2017. A similar bill he brought last year narrowly fell short due to a filibuster.

The recent public hearing on LB 77 lasted hours, with dozens testifying both for and against the bill. Opponents generally argued that the legislation would make Nebraska more dangerous, but Brewer said the agreement is more focused on concerns from local police.

The Omaha and Lincoln Police Departments, along with the Omaha police union, oppose LB 77. Police have opposed previous iterations of the bill, and Brewer has proposed amendments in an attempt to gain their support, but those amendments also failed and were not incorporated into LB 77.

Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer said he was concerned that the bill would make it easier for people with criminal offenses to access firearms. Schmaderer suggested altering the bill to make exceptions for Omaha during the hearing. Such a carveout was proposed last year but it failed in the face of opposition from hard-line gun rights advocates who opposed any exceptions.

Brewer did not specify what could be considered as part of an agreement, but said he hopes legislation on judicial reform will help lawmakers reach a resolution. He declined to elaborate when asked by a reporter.

Though the Nebraska Legislature is dominated by Republicans, accounting for 32 of the 49 total active lawmakers, Brewer said he is invested with resolving the agreement. He said many factors, including the agreement, could impact the bills success on the floor.

Its just one of those issues that  it causes folks to usually kind of polarize one way or another, Brewer said. And you just hope that enough of them are on your side.

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Keno lotteries, which spread across Nebraska starting in the 1980s, had more city or county sponsors and produced more gross proceeds than ever in the 2021-22 fiscal year.

It remains to be seen, however, whether the authorization of casinos at horse tracks under 2020 voter initiatives will slash or choke off what has been a generally reliable source of extra income for participating local governments.

Gross income for the states record 182 keno games totaled nearly $349.8 million in the state fiscal year ending June 30, 2022, according to the Nebraska Department of Revenues Charitable Gaming Division.

Keno proceeds have risen 93% statewide, 31.8% in the Panhandle and 71.8% for games inside Scotts Bluff County since 2004-05, the oldest fiscal year for which annual figures for individual keno games are readily accessible.

Omaha, Lincoln and four Omaha suburbs account for the top six places on the states Top 10 list and bring in nearly half of all keno income.

Keno games sponsored by 18 Panhandle cities, villages or counties took in $10.1 million in 2021-22.

Not leaving it to chance: Keno revenues result in better communities, leaders say Gerings Darrell Bentley is full of praise for the things that he sees that have been done in the community with the help of funds derived from keno.

About $7.12 million of that total came from games sponsored by Scotts Bluff County  one of Nebraskas two oldest local lotteries  as well as Gering, Terrytown, Lyman and Minatare.

Mitchell and Morrill signed interlocal agreements with Scotts Bluff County in 2009 to offer keno in their cities and share the proceeds with the countys game. The city of Scottsbluff did likewise in 2010, according to Charitable Gaming Division records.

Scotts Bluff Countys $4.98 million in 2021-22 ranked No. 15 on that fiscal years list of top-grossing keno games.

The states figures dont account for payouts for winners, state gambling taxes and keno operators share of proceeds. Once theyre deducted, as little as 5% to 10% may be left for the sponsoring governments.

Spending of keno income must involve community betterment purposes, according to the Nebraska County and City Lottery Act enacted by the 1986 Legislature.

Two Panhandle towns that sponsored keno in 2004-05  Hay Springs and Lodgepole  no longer do.

Hay Springs hasnt had an active keno game since 2010. Lodgepoles keno lottery went inactive in 2008, restarted briefly in 2017-18 and has reported no income since then, Charitable Gaming Division figures show.

Bridgeport and Rushville didnt start their keno games until 2011. Big Springs began operating a keno lottery in 2007, but it hasnt been active since 2018.

Even Terrytowns game has been dormant several times in the 21st century. Though keno in the city brought in $120,163 in 2021-22, it doesnt currently have an active game, according to the Charitable Gaming Division.

Thats a typical kind of ebb and flow among Nebraskas roster of licensed keno games, said Brian Rockey, director of the division and the Nebraska Lottery since 2016.

Especially in smaller towns and villages, keno may lapse because a bar closes and someone doesnt want to deal with it, he said.

Seventy-four towns or counties that had licensed keno in 2004-05 either had no license or reported zero income in 2021-22, the divisions figures show.

Even so, the number of licensed keno games has grown 40% since 130 were operating in 2004-05. Twenty local governments have gotten into the act since 2016-17.

The city of Bellevue was Nebraskas first to launch a local lottery in modern times. It began operating video lottery machines in 1983, with Scotts Bluff County quickly following in early 1984 after a judge upheld Bellevues game.

A few other cities and counties jumped in before the Legislature outlawed video lottery machines in the 1984 session. After senators approved other types of local lotteries two years later, Bellevue and Scotts Bluff County were the first two state licensees.

Both of them, which collected a combined $2.88 million in 1986-87, soon settled on keno as their most lucrative alternative. Voters in Lyman approved keno in 1990, followed by Minatare in 1991, Terrytown in 1992 and Gering in 1994.

By 1994-95, statewide gross keno income had ballooned by 7,145.9% to $208.7 million.

But total income plummeted to $153.8 million three years later, which Rockey and Charitable Gaming Division manager Gail Ross traced to Iowas approval of riverboat casinos in Council Bluffs in January 1995. Land-based casinos eventually took their place.

Instead of frequenting keno parlors or buying state lottery tickets, many Omaha-area residents went and bought their groceries and gas in Iowa on the way to the casinos, said Rockey, who was Nebraska Lottery public information officer at the time.

It took until 2007-08 for statewide keno income to top its peak of 13 years earlier. Then the Legislature outlawed indoor smoking in most public places, causing another three-year slump, Rockey said.

Not until 2012-13 did Nebraskas keno games pass their mid-1990s peak for good. Total income fell once more as COVID-19 took hold in 2020 but leapt 42% in the following two years.

Definitely post-pandemic, people are getting out more, Ross said.

Rockey said Charitable Gaming Division leaders will closely study their next quarterly report, expected Feb. 10, which will show gross keno income for 2022s last three months.

That period covers all but the first week of operation of the first temporary horse track-based casino, at Lincoln Racecourse, under the 2020 initiatives allowing racinos. The second opened Dec. 27 at Grand Islands Fonner Park.

Lincolns keno lottery ranked second and the Hall County lottery in Grand Island ninth in gross 2021-22 income. Temporary casinos at horse tracks are expected to open in Omaha (No. 1) and Columbus (No. 10) this spring.

Ross, the Charitable Gaming Division manager, posed the key question for keno operators: People who go to the bar to eat and drink  are they a different clientele than (at) casinos?

We know theres some crossover, Rockey added. In all of them, youre spending money, but at one youre also spending a lot of time. A casino is more of a destination.

That suggests local keno games  especially those far away from current or likely racinos  might not be affected that much, Ross said.

With keno, youre sitting at the bar or youre table, she said. Youre not going there to play games. You go to eat and drink and have fun with your friends, and kenos just there.

The Gering Planning Commission supported a proposed racino on the citys south edge in September 2021. In action during a Jan. 24 meeting, Gerings City Council included its projected site in an area it deemed substandard and blighted for possible future redevelopment with the aid of tax increment financing.

Racinos also were proposed at Kimball, Ogallala and North Platte in 2021. But the 2022 Legislature imposed an effective moratorium on new horse track-casino combinations by requiring market and socioeconomic studies at existing tracks. The Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission currently has until 2025 to complete them.
The need for blood donations is never-ending and this month there are several opportunities to give the gift of life.

Chestnut Grove Community Center will host a blood drive on Feb. 20 from 2-6:30 p.m. The center is at 223 Chestnut Grove Road.

According to the Red Cross, every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs blood. The blood donations are used for trauma victims, transplant recipients and those being treated for cancer and sickle cell disease.

All who come to the drive will receive a $10 Amazon gift card by email, courtesy of Amazon Plus. Those who attend the drive will also be automatically entered for a chance to win a trip for two to Florida. The trip includes round-trip airfare, a three-night stay at the Wyndham Grand Clearwater Beach and a $100 voucher for the resorts Ocean Hai restaurant as well as a $750 gift card for expenses. For details visit rcblood.org/heart.

Other blood drives in the area this month include:

Feb. 13  Beulah Baptist Church, 1851 Old Mountain Road, 3-7:30 p.m.

Feb.15  Career Academy and Technical School, 350 Old Murdock Road, Troutman, 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Feb. 22  First Baptist Church,815 Davie Ave., 1-5:30 p.m.

Feb. 24  Cool Springs Ruritan Club, 1414Old Mocksville Road, 2:30-7 p.m.

Who can donate?

Donation frequency: Every 56 days, up to 6 times a year

You must be in good health and feeling well

You must be at least 16 years old in most states

You must weigh at least 110 pounds

To make an appointment, download the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit RedCrossBlood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS.
The newly elected and re-elected members of the ElectriCities Board of Directors were officially sworn into office at the BOD meeting Jan. 27 in Raleigh.

Statesville Mayor Costi Kutteh, re-elected to the board in November 2022, was also elected to serve as secretary during the meeting. It has been a pleasure to serve on the board of Electricities, said Kutteh. They support our city and its electric department in numerous ways which have improved our service and calls through the years.

Jim Gallagher of Gastonia returned to the board this year. He previously served two terms from 2014 through 2019, chairing the board in 2019.

Re-elected to the board are:

Anthony C. Cannon  Greenville Utilities Commission

Costi Kutteh  Statesville

Charles D. Nichols, III  Laurinburg

Jonathan Rynne  Fayetteville Public Works Commission

The 2023 officers of the Electricities board are:

Chairman: Randy McCaslin  High Point

Vice Chairman: Troy Lewis  Tarboro

Secretary: Costi Kutteh  Statesville

Congratulations to our newly elected and re-elected members and to this years officers, said ElectriCities CEO Roy Jones. A big thank you to outgoing board chairman, Donald Evans, for his distinguished service and leadership this past year.

Many thanks also to Judge Allegra Collins from the North Carolina Court of Appeals for swearing in the newly elected and re-elected board members, said Jones. I look forward to working with this esteemed group to continue ensuring a bright future for public power in our region.

ElectriCities 16-member Board of Directors advises and directs the activities and policies for North Carolina Municipal Power Agency Number One, North Carolina Eastern Municipal Power Agency, and ElectriCities of North Carolina. Board members serve three-year terms.
Time stands still for no one, though it seems to slow to a crawl at times during the formal process of preserving history in Statesville.

That can be frustrating for a number of people, organizations, and local governments as they play their various roles in historical preservation efforts toward a number of landmarks within the city.

Statesville Mayor Costi Kutteh said as much while he thanked the planning departments Marcie Sigmon for her efforts representing the city and its goals in the endeavor during Mondays meeting, noting she made this process thats taking longer than any of us would like more streamlined.

The locations the mayor spoke of include Mount Pleasant AME Zion Church, the former home of Dr. Robert S. Holliday and Mary Charlton Holliday, the site of The Billingsley Memorial Academy, the site of the original Morningside Academy and the Green Street Cemetery.

Progress is being made, even if it isnt as quick as some advocating for it would like.

One of those people who have been encouraging the city in its process is Lisa Mozer, who sees her role as an advocate in the process, and one that makes sure those involved keep pushing toward the preservation and celebration of Statesvilles history.

What Im asking is for the community to come together, for a hometown that we know is historical in nature, that has (more than) 30 landmarks that we formally recognize these five. I dont think thats too much to ask, or too much to want.

She admits she may have ruffled a few feathers along the way, but her efforts began more than a year ago as she worked to motivate others in her cause to preserve five landmarks she felt were of significance and had been overlooked over the years.

The five places of interest are in the area of Garfield and Green streets, a historically Black neighborhood in Statesville near downtown. Last year, the mayor read a proclamation that detailed its history, but the process of official historical recognition involves county and state government as well.

First steps

One of the first tangible steps in the process comes with a grant that the Iredell County Public Library sought for a ground-penetrating radar study of the Green Street Cemetery.

Though there are few headstones that still stand, the cemetery was used until the 1940s as a cemetery for many Black residents. Along with the known history, Statesville NAACP President Todd Scott highlighted that there were a number of veterans there, including one from the Spanish-American War.

The library led the way with support from the city, the Statesville NAACP, and Downtown Statesville as the library secured a $20,000 grant from N.C. Humanities, which will be matched in kind. The library said that it saw the chance to collaborate with the city as the library wishes to increase awareness of local history and genealogy services and to recognize historical sites in the county.

The primary goal of this project is to increase awareness of the cemetery, educate the community on its history and the history of those buried there, and to motivate neighbors and future generations to care for and maintain the location, the library said in its grant application. By educating people about the history of the cemetery, we are connecting the citizens of the area to their heritage and their ancestors.

Director of the Iredell County Library Juli Moore said that along with the radar study, efforts by local history librarian Joel Reese and library program specialist Shellie Taylor to research records and document who is buried there are of benefit to the community.

We just felt it would be really exciting to be able to conduct this survey and to be able to do the research involved and get find out additional information that wasnt known previously. This is just the first step in many to help the cemetery be part as theyre trying to get it on the historic registry, and were assisting with that first step, Moore said.

If weather and other factors cooperate, the survey is set to begin in late March.

Ahead of that, the library encourages the community to join it for its program, Exploring the Green Street Cemetery, where it will discuss the historic significance of the cemetery and the areas around it as well as the current project. The program will take place Feb. 21 at 5:30 p.m., and Feb. 23 at 6 p.m. at the Statesville branch of the library.

Looking ahead

After that, there will be other aspects and other sites that Mozer is encouraging the city to recognize as well as promote the significance of the area to residents.

The city said it is supportive of various aspects of Mozers and others hopes, including the preservation of the Green Street Cemetery.

April Nesbit, the citys public information officer, said discussions on where best to place the signs continued and it was determined that a professional historian would need to research the sites, which prompted it to contact the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) and inquire about appropriate historian professionals to accomplish this goal, along with opportunities to apply for grants.

According to the city, the SHPO has been receptive to exploring the five sites, as well as the area more holistically. That required applying for the area to be placed on the states study list of National Historic Places. The application was completed, and the Garfield and Green streets area was placed on the North Carolina Study List of National Historic Places in June 2022.

With this recognition, it allows the city (or whoever would want to move forward) a great foundation for applying to have the Garfield/Green Street Area placed on the permanent List of National Historic Places, Nesbit said in an email.

There are also plans in the near future she said for city staff to get the councils permission to apply for a grant through the State Historic Preservation Office that would go toward an architectural survey of properties and structures in that area. Nesbit said they would know more in the coming months.

While the citys plans move forward, Mozer said she will continue to push and emphasize why all of Statesville should be interested in the preservation of them.

Sites of the Billingsley Memorial Academy and Morningside School, which no longer have the buildings standing there, can still be marked and celebrated Mozer said.

The home of Dr. Robert Sumner Holliday and Mary Charlton Holliday, two prominent residents who impacted the city and county through their work as a doctor and educator respectively, still stands and Mozer hopes that work can be done to preserve it.

But shes not afraid to point out that the city has dozens of historically registered places, but only Mount Pleasant AME Zion Church could definitively be called part of the citys Black history.

Mozer has also been clean in the fact she would like to see more than just signs to recognize the landmarks, but would like to see memorials, statues, and other ways of celebrating these areas, as well as the funding to do so.

She said that with the cemetery being the resting place of formerly enslaved residents and the area itself once being home to a number of Black teachers, businessmen, and others who found success after their ancestors had been slaves, it was important to celebrate the history for Statesville as a whole.

It doesnt matter if youre white, Scottish, Jewish, whatever, anybody that celebrates freedom can appreciate that journey to come from that, Mozer said. Can we at least come together and talk about the significance and glorification of freedom? If we can do that, American history can be more balanced, and were fooling ourselves if we cant balance out history a little bit better than what we do. It only extenuates and perpetuates biases when we arent teaching our youth a more balanced culture.
A violated a protective order sent a Copper Hill man to jail and an anger management program last week in Floyd County Circuit Court.

Zachery Thomas Carters partner said in court on Feb. 7 that he hit her and passed out from drinking on April 17, 2022, during a family gathering, which was supposed to be peaceful event.

The occasion was approved by a Bedford County judge due to a protective order that required the two to not have contact.

In testimony, Carters partner said she was also drinking at the gathering, which became loud with arguments and threats. That brought two Floyd County deputies to the scene for a domestic dispute complaint.

Presiding on a bench trial Feb. 7, Judge Mike Fleenor found Carter guilty of felony violation of the protective order and sentenced him to 12 months in jail, with 11 months suspended, and an order to enter an anger management program.

He also ordered strict following of the protective order with no contact or future contact, including at family gatherings.

Judge Fleenor found Carter not guilty of a related assault and battery misdemeanor charge.

In a scheduled trial that became a no contest plea on Feb. 7, Charles Edward Lamb of Copper Hill was found guilty by Judge Fleenor of possession of a firearm as a nonviolent felon.

Lamb was sentenced to four years in prison with two months of jail time.

In another matter, charges of assault on children by James Preston Linkous and Junita Quesenberry Linkous of Willis were dropped because of a Virginia Supreme Court ruling that found such punishments may now be considered legal corporal punishment by parents.

Commonwealths Attorney Eric Branscom said the ruling raises serious questions about how far parents can go in physical punishment of their children.

In other cases, before the court Feb. 7:

Judge Fleenor found Christopher Allen Kelley of Floyd guilty for possession of methamphetamine handed down a two-year sentence with two months in prison.

Chase McCoy Johnson, facing a third offense for DWI, was denied bond. The judge ruled he was a threat to the community.

The judge ordered an arrest capias for William Andrew Lusk of Willis after he failed to appear for a plea hearing on a charge of aggravated sexual battery. Lusk was later arrested at the courthouse when he arrived several hours after the scheduled hearing.

Miguel Arnaldo Pastrana of Copper Hill was given a deferred disposition after eluding police on a high-speed chase on New Years Day. If he stays out of trouble through February of 2025, his case can be either dismissed or reduced to a misdemeanor.

The judge accepted a guilty plea by Rodney Lee Rupe of for possessing methamphetamine and gave him a two-year suspended sentence.
Readers of Blue Ridge Outdoors lauded the work of Marion entrepreneurs in the magazines annual readers choice awards.

In the publications Best of the Blue Ridge Awards, readers cast votes for their favorite places, races, and wide-open spaces in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic.

In the category of Best Outdoor Store, Marion Outdoors in downtown Marion earned a runner-up award, following Great Outdoor Provision Co., which has nine locations in Virginia and North Carolina.

The Best Lodging award went to The Merry Inn, adjacent to Marion Outdoors. Both businesses are owned by Andrew and Amanda Livingston.

The Merry Inn is a hostel that hosts eight bunks and two private rooms.

The Livingstons also collected a third award in the magazines contest  that of Best Outdoor Club with Marion Outdoors Group Hikes.

Noting that the businesses serve Appalachian Trail hikers, the awards compilation said, But the shop also engages the local community with its calendar of guided day hikes. Led by store manager Stacy GoAT York, the outfitters hiking group, recently renamed Hiking with Friends, explores places like Mollys Knob in Hungry Mother State Park and Gentry Creek Falls in Cherokee National Forest. In the past, the store has even hosted midnight hikes.

In other awards recognizing Southwest Virginia locations, the Virginia Creeper Trail Conservancy in Abingdon won Best Environmental Organization.

The magazine says, If youre none the wiser, a Creeper Keeper might sound like a macabre monster. However, the moniker actually refers to the dedicated men and women of the Virginia Creeper Trail Conservancy. These volunteers are responsible for maintaining the 34.3-mile rail trail that stretches from Abingdon into the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area.

The Creeper Trail itself got readers nod for Best Biking Trail, while the New River Trail was recognized as the Best ADA Outdoor Experience. Blue Ridge Outdoors observed, Few trails in the Blue Ridge are as long and consistently accessible to folks of all abilities than the New River Trail. Every one of the trails 57 miles are ADA accessible.

The awards were revealed in the February edition of the magazine that is on sale now. Learn more at https://www.blueridgeoutdoors.com/.
In the aftermath of the assassination of John F. Kennedy, U.S. intelligence checked rumors, reports and gossip related to the murder of the president  and one tip led to Longview.

Longview man Burton Kilbourn caught the FBIs attention because they questioned if he left a cryptic message in a Portland hotel months before the fatal events in Dallas. The brief investigation ended without an arrest.

Records of the investigation are available on The Mary Ferrell Foundation, a nonprofit organization with an online searchable database pertaining to the assassinations of JFK, Martin Luther King, Jr., Robert F. Kennedy, and other historic events.

According to the Mary Ferrell Foundation, the documents about Longview were released in the 1980s. Thousands of more documents were released in December, leaving about 3% of the governments 5-million-page records still unavailable.

The records show James A. Lowman of Medford, Oregon, told the FBIs Portland office that while he was staying at the Hilton Hotel in Portland on Sept. 12, 1963, he came upon a note in his room. The note read, President KENNEDY going to Grand Coulee not Hanford.

On Nov. 22, 1963, Kennedy, 49, was shot and killed while riding in a motorcade in downtown Dallas.

After the assassination, the FBI investigated the note, first talking with former Longview Police Chief Ralph Benefiel, who informed the FBI that BURTON KILBOURN has been well known to him for at least 25 years and that he is confident that he wouldnt be involved in a plot to kill the president of the United States.

On Jan. 2, 1964, the FBI interviewed the Kilbourns, the documents report. Their son John Kilbourn, 77, of Longview  a then 19-year-old student at Lower Columbia College  told The Daily News he remembers seeing two FBI agents making an unannounced visit to his home on Louisiana Street.

John Kilbourn said the FBI mistakenly wrote his fathers name wrong as B.P. Kilbourn on the documents, and his name is Burton Cornelius Kilbourn and went by B.C.

B.C. Kilbourn served in the U.S Army Signal Corps during World War II.

According to the documents, B.C. Kilbourn told the FBI he was in Portland for dental surgery, and his doctor advised him not to travel back home, so he decided to get a hotel room and left the following day. He said he had no clue who left the odd message.

John Kilbourn said his father didnt talk much about the FBIs visit nor his time during the war. He told The Daily News the home mentioned in the FBI document  in the 2000 block of Louisiana Street  was in his family since it was built and was sold recently.

More records

The Mary Ferrell Foundation is currently suing the Biden administration and the National Archives alleging that theyre in violation of the 1992 President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act  a law that states all records associated with the 1963 murder of Kennedy would be disclosed to the public by 2017.

The JFK Act came into existence in reaction to the 1991 film JFK, directed by Oliver Stone, which depicts former New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrisons investigation into an alleged conspiracy to kill the president.

In 1964 a commission headed by Chief Justice Earl Warren concluded Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in the assassination.

Since 2017, both former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden have released thousands of documents on the JFK assassination, but also withheld some  documents the Mary Ferrell Foundation believes could shed new light on events leading up to the assassination.

According to Mary Ferrell Foundation Vice President and former Washington Post reporter Jefferson Morley, some of those documents are related to former CIA case officer George Joannides, who, in 1963, was running an anti-Castro front group called the Directorio Revolucionario Estudiantil or DRE. Joannides worked out of the agencys Miami station on the campus of the University of Miami, according to documents he received via a lawsuit against the CIA.

The DRE had a chapter in New Orleans that conceivably came into contact with Oswald months before Dallas, Morley said during a December press conference.

In 1978, Joannides was retired when the CIA asked him to be the liaison between the agency and the House Select Committee on Assassinations, Morley said. According to the files, Joannides never told the committee about his duties in Miami. Many speculate about the agencys role in the assassination.

On Feb. 6, the Justice Department filed a motion to dismiss the case, arguing federal courts lack jurisdiction to impose declaratory or injunctive relief against the President himself.

Editors note: This article has been edited to correct the spelling of Kilbourn.
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Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, meets with Laureano Ortega, advisor on investment, trade and international cooperation at the Nicaraguan president's office, in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 11, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]



Wang Yi, director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, on Saturday met with Laureano Ortega, advisor on investment, trade and international cooperation at the Nicaraguan president's office.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, commended the progress China and Nicaragua have made since the resumption of diplomatic relations more than one year ago. He said that under the strategic guidance of the leaders of the two countries, cooperation between China and Nicaragua has advanced rapidly, bringing the two countries to the forefront of China-Latin America relations.

The resumption of bilateral ties conforms to the trend of history, serves the interests of the two peoples and will open up broader prospects for the all-round development of bilateral relations, said Wang.

Laureano Ortega said that Nicaragua firmly supports China's efforts to safeguard national security and territorial integrity, and opposes external interference.

Nicaragua supports the Belt and Road Initiative, the Global Development Initiative and the Global Security Initiative proposed by China, Laureano Ortega added.
Both an economic driver for Central Nebraska and a leading industry for manufacturing in Grand Island, our community appreciates the diversity of agriculture and readily available resources it provides.

Agriculture and manufacturing lie at the heart of Grand Islands economy. Agricultural manufacturing and food production account for nearly 7,000 jobs in our community. Agriculture is big business; when our farmers and ranchers do well, we all do well.

Home to several agricultural companies, some of Grand Islands largest employers include JBS, CNHi, AGI and Chief Industries  all have an impact in the agriculture sector of Central Nebraska. Other industries represented in our community and surrounding area include seed plants like Corteva and Syngenta, egg production at Hendricks Genetic, and implements with AKRS, Titan and Kubota.

Our commitment to agriculture also evident with our role as a major hub for national livestock shows. Each summer, the Grand Island Livestock Complex Authority hosts national junior livestock shows, boasting thousands of exhibitors along with the thousands of head of livestock in a variety of breeds.

Because the junior livestock shows are youth-based, these shows are scheduled in the summer months and, in many respects, serve as the family vacation. These visitors purchase goods from local retailers, stay in hotels or campgrounds, eat at restaurants and fill their tanks with gasoline. The livestock facilities on the Fonner Park campus are top notch and exhibitors and show organizers are always excited to meet in Grand Island.

Also located on the Fonner Park campus (in the Nebraska Building) is Raising Nebraska, an interactive experience that includes science and innovation, community and culture. This 25,000-square-foot interactive exhibit immerses visitors in the agricultural and Nebraska food production. The mission of merging agriculture with education is made possible by a collaboration of Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the Nebraska Department of Agriculture and the Nebraska State Fair. Raising Nebraska allows visitors to view the impacts of agriculture from a number of perspectives, and better understand and appreciate the innovation of Nebraska agriculture.

Raising Nebraska is a representation of Nebraska agriculture and the states global leadership position in feeding the world.

As well as agricultural manufacturing and livestock shows, crop production exhibits, the latest in equipment and machine demonstrations are a staple at Husker Harvest Days, the largest working farm show in the world. Add in the 11 days of celebration of youth competitors and all things Nebraska at the Nebraska State Fair, the Hall County Fair, and many conventions and pop-up shows in between, it is clear Grand Island leads the way for ag activity.

The Grand Island community is fortunate to have a long and proud heritage of agriculture, making it an important part of the citys culture and identity.

With the increasing number of agriculture shows, education, and industry in the community, Grand Island is making its way to becoming the agricultural hub of Nebraska.
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International search and rescue teams have rushed to Turkiye to assist in rescue efforts after two massive earthquakes jolted the country Monday. Chinese rescuers have successfully saved four survivors so far.

A member from the Blue Sky Rescue Team, a Chinese civil relief squad, participates in rescue operation in Malatya, Turkiye, Feb. 10, 2023. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

An 82-member China Search and Rescue Team arrived in Turkiye on Wednesday to join earthquake relief efforts in the country. Members of the Blue Sky Rescue Team and other Chinese civil relief squads were also in Turkiye to join the international rescue work. On Friday, following a three-hour effort, a woman, the fourth survivor saved by Chinese rescuers, was pulled out to safety from the rubble of collapsed buildings over 96 hours after the earthquake.

The death toll from Monday's devastating earthquakes climbed to 20,213 in Turkiye, while another 80,052 injuries were reported in the country, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced late Friday.
DENMARK  Dr. Cleveland L. Sellers, Jr., 8th president of Voorhees University, was the lyceum speaker for Black History Month on Feb. 9 in Massachusetts Hall.

The American educator and civil rights activist, in an interview-style conversation, discussed his story, Hiding in Clear Sight.

The Denmark native, interviewed by Professor Tywana Chenault-Hemby, highlighted his life and legacy as an activist in the mid-1900s.

In 1960, he organized and led his first sit-in protest at a Denmark lunch counter. Sellers participated in many marches in segregated areas, allowing him to eventually work side by side with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

It was the young people who made a difference in the civil rights movement. I remind young people all the time that they dont need to have their name on the front page. I tell them that they just need to do the work, Sellers said.

Sellers was wounded in the Feb. 8, 1968 Orangeburg Massacre, in which three students were killed and 28 others were injured when S.C. Highway Patrol troopers opened fire on a crowd of protesters following three nights of escalating racial tension over efforts to desegregate the All-Star Triangle Bowl.

Sellers was the only person convicted of a crime from the events leading up to and including the massacre. Nine state patrolmen charged with using excessive force by the federal government were acquitted.

He received a full pardon 25 years after the Orangeburg Massacre but elected to keep the charge on his record as a badge of honor.

Voorhees President Ronnie Hopkins thanked the former president for his contributions to the civil rights movement and for his leadership as a past president of Voorhees University.

Dr. Sellers, we are honored to have you return home to share your amazing historic legacy and contributions to the civil rights movement, Hopkins said.
Orangeburg County Sheriffs Office

Bullets entered a Corona Drive apartment outside Orangeburg at 9:22 p.m. Thursday, according to an incident report.

The bullets struck a portable air conditioning unit, a couch and bookshelf.

There were multiple bullet holes on the exterior of the apartment too.

Three people were in the home, but werent physically injured.

In other reports:

 Someone on Dolly Drive in Cameron heard gunshots at 4:08 p.m. Thursday.

Deputies werent able to find any evidence of anyone firing a gun.

 Someone stole a catalytic converter, radiator, battery and three tires from a 2010 black Lincoln MKT parked on the side of Interstate 95 south, near Holly Hill.

The theft was reported by the S.C. Highway Patrol on Thursday.

The value of the stolen vehicle parts is $2,500.

Orangeburg Department of Public Safety

A Denmark man was arrested early Friday morning on charges of unlawful carrying of a pistol and possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a violent felony.

James Murdaugh Jr., 43, of Byrnes Street, was taken into custody just before 2 a.m. at the Hot Spot gas station, located at 553 John C. Calhoun Drive.

The store manager called police after seeing a man in the store allegedly loitering and placing his hands in his shorts.

She thought he may have been shoplifting, so she called law enforcement.

Officers patted down the man and allegedly found a .357 caliber Taurus revolver loaded with six rounds tucked in his waistband, but no evidence that hed been shoplifting.
CHARLESTON  Thanks to a new partnership with Aflac, patients at childrens hospitals across the state will be able to sign up for self-guided virtual tours of the South Carolina Aquarium, with the help of roving robot technology. Controlled directly from the patients in-room tablet, the robot will allow the patient to create their own path through the exhibits and enjoy an immersive experience from afar.

This program, piloted at MUSC Shawn Jenkins Childrens Hospital, is expanding to work with Prisma Health Childrens Hospital in the Midlands and Upstate. Educators at the Aquarium are working with hospital staff to arrange these robot tours during patients free time, long stays or even during their treatments. "It has been truly amazing to facilitate this experience. The kids are able to take control and drive through the Aquarium on their own exploration, when in many other aspects of their lives, they may lack that sense of being the one at the wheel,' said virtual programs coordinator, Alayna Robertson.

Nature has an enormous impact on well-being, and the telepresence robot offers a bridge to connect patients with water and wildlife. Patients have full control of the robot, letting curiosity guide them as they move forward to visit a sea turtle at its tank window, look up to see a shark swim by or zoom in to get a closer look at the iridescent scales on a fish. They are able to speak and engage with the Aquarium educator teaching them along their adventure. They can even talk to Aquarium guests or wave to fellow kids on a field trip.

A gift from Aflac has made this program possible for patients at these hospitals.

Were pleased to help children in hospitals across the state experience the wonder of the South Carolina Aquarium without ever leaving their rooms, said Bob Ruff, senior vice president, Group Voluntary Benefits. Whether it is through our award-winning My Special Aflac Duck program for children with cancer and sickle cell disease or initiatives like this, providing comfort and joy to kids who are going through medical challenges represents our commitment to be there for families in their times of need.
The South Carolina Beekeepers Association will hold its spring conference this month in Florence.

The annual spring conference will be held Feb. 24 and Feb. 25 at the Florence-Darlington Technical College.

The event will include honey producer and YouTube personality Bob Binnie of the Blue Ridge Honey Company, and Steve Coy, vice president of the American Honey Producers Association.

The conference will feature a special workshop for honey sensory analysis by the only Italian certified honey sommelier in the U.S., Marina Marchese.

For those considering starting a beekeeping operation but not sure they want to attend the full conference, there will be a beginners mini-course on Saturday morning while the rest of the conference attendees tour the Clemson Pee Dee Research and Education Center.

Dozens of vendors will be on site with beekeeping equipment and advice.

Find more information at https://scstatebeekeepers.com

Irrigation, mulch workshop

Clemson Extension is offering a free Drip Irrigation and Plastic Mulch Application workshop from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 17 at the Edisto REC, 64 Research Road, Blackville.

Morning session consists of basic discussions about drip irrigation, irrigation cycles and nutrient management. Field demonstrations will take place after lunch. Two Continuing Certification Hours (CCH) will be offered. Lunch will be provided.

For information, contact Rob Last at rlast@clemson.edu or 803-259-7141, or Gilbert Miller at gmllr@clemson.edu, 803-793-6614.

Preregistration is required. Workshop is limited to first 100 registrants. Register: http://bit.ly/3k7OrcV
The South Carolina State University trustee board approved the development of a Health Equity Research and Training Center, which will house an initiative designed to create the next generation of minority community health workers.

"It is the mission of the HERT-C to improve the health of families by enhancing public awareness, health service delivery and culturally responsive research and services for vulnerable populations and their families," S.C. State Provost Dr. Frederick Evans said.

"The center is designed to seek interdisciplinary collaboration between behavioral, social, family and consumer scientists, community organizations and health care providers," he said.

The university has already secured a $3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services' Health Resources and Services Administration to implement a Community Health Worker, or CHW, Training Program.

The center will house the program and be located in the Y-Hut, which is adjacent to the university's Brooks Health Clinic.

"The center will be under the auspices of the Office of the Associate Provost for Sponsored Programs and Research in the Division of Academic Affairs," Evans said later.

Dr. Audrey McCrary-Quarles and Dr. Ashley Evans Knowell are the center's co-directors. Students will receive training based on the core competencies for CHW and public health certifications that follow state, local and other guidelines to support essential public health services.

"Community members and HBCU students can participate in training programs and apprenticeships for community health workers in addition to receiving reliable health information and resources to reduce health disparities and improve health equity in S.C. rural communities," Frederick said.

"The center will become the training grounds for the next diverse generation of health equity/disparity researchers and educators with a focus on community health. Faculty, staff and students will have opportunities to engage with the community via grant and outreach activities," he said.

The acting provost said the center will benefit not just the university and surrounding institutions, but the community, state and nation.

Trustee Dr. Doris Helms said the university should also look at other opportunities in the health training area that McCrary-Quarles and Evans Knowles are working in, particularly with the absence of a nursing program at the institution.

"I'd like maybe to look at the possibility of having our students graduate with either their CNA or their LPN (certification), both of which are statewide programs," she said.

"They're not institutional programs, but without a nursing program, we could at least get our student to not only get their B.S. degree, but also qualify for an LPN or a CNA (certification), which would give them a job when they get out. So in that health training area, you might look into that," Helms said.

In other matters, S.C. State President Alexander Conyers said his administration would conduct a deep dive analysis of what it will take to make temporary employees full time.

Theres no easy way to answer it. We know we cant, unfortunately, flip a switch and turn all of those positions into full-time positions without look at the cost analysis with those, he said.

Staff Senate President Franklin Pressley said, They are institutional employees, but theyre temporary. So they dont get benefits. I just believe if you invest in your people, your people will invest in you. So, of course, they have a campaign working on trying to get faculty and staff to invest in the university, but we also have to invest in our people.

Conyers also said he will be addressing the number of vacant and interim positions that are at the university. He appointed Evans on Feb. 7 as the universitys provost and vice president for academic affairs. Evans had served in the position on an acting basis since November 2021.

The president said his first order of business would be to have the provost advertise for positions that are vacant or interim.

We do a disservice to so many people when we have interim positions because, first of all, when youve got an interim president for three of four years, that person now thinks that position belongs to him or her because theyve done it so long. The other folks believe that to be true, too, and they may not apply for it, Conyers said.

Public service and agriculture

Dr. Louis Whitesides, executive director of the 1890 Research and Extension Program, gave a 2023 overview of the programs highlights.

Whitesides said Dr. Brandon Huber, a research scientist and extension associate, and Ramoda Pollard, grants administrator, were the years new hires.

Whitesides the development of a container farm will be one of the things Huber works on.

Container farms out there right now may cost you $150,000 to $200,000 to get into. So our smaller folks who want to get into this kind of farming cannot pay $150,000 to get into this business. So his job is to develop a container farm less than $50,000 that can become profitable in a couple of weeks, he said.

Whitesides also reported on the second round of funds the 1890 program received through the U.S. Department of Agricultures Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities grant, which has provided $22 million to S.C. State and $48 million to Clemson for farmers to implement climate smart production practices.

We received notification of another $4.5 million award we got. Its our first in the universitys history of a public-private partnership award with Mixon Seed. Its going to be a really, really big deal, he said.

Mixon Seed of Orangeburg is a leading supplier of a full range of field crop offerings to regional and national brands such as Pioneer.

Whitesides continued, Premium Peanut is building a state-of-the-art facility here in Santee, South Carolina. They invited us down (to Douglas, Georgia) to talk about research opportunities, scholarship opportunities for the university and about internship opportunities.

He said the 1890 program has been approved to accept research projects in areas including: data science and food and agricultural systems; food safety and health; social science in agriculture and urban, indoor and emerging agriculture.

Right now, we have 14 current faculty conducting research right now. Were doing some good cutting edge stuff, Whitesides said, noting that the program anticipates funding six research proposals from faculty with grants this year.

As of Jan. 15, the 1890 program had $26.9 million in pending research and experimentation grants.

In the area of sustainable agriculture, he said high tunnels have been developed to promote it.

We got grants to put high tunnels on our farm. We actually got another grant to put eight high tunnels across the state at different areas to conduct research. These are our first two that have been installed already, Whitesides said in a presentation to the board.

High tunnels, also called high hoops or hoop houses, are temporary structures that extend the growing season. The covered structures are constructed in the field in order to protect crops from the weather and pests.
CHEYENNE  In September, Fredrick Harrison, a Wyoming attorney who represents the anti-abortion group Wyoming Right to Life, began drafting what was to become the most sweeping abortion ban legislation the state has seen.

The effort took several months, about a dozen drafts, and the input of lawmakers, anti-abortion OB-GYNs and lawyers  three from the national anti-abortion advocacy groups the Alliance Defending Freedom and Americans United for Life, and two local Wyoming attorneys, including Harrison, who is a former Wyoming lawmaker. What emerged was a 19-page attempt to assert stringent authority around abortion in a post-Roe landscape, a bill that would delete rape and incest exemptions currently on the books, rewrite the definition of abortion and declare that life begins at conception.

But the potential implications and assertions of the Life is a Human Right bill go beyond abortion. The measure attempts to nudge legislative power into spaces that have been historically designated to the judicial branch and brings into question how much authority the Legislature can claim as one of the three co-equal branches of government.

The bill would provide in statute interpretations of the Wyoming Constitution that affirm an anti-abortion stance. And it attempts to give the sponsor and cosponsors of the bill, by joint resolution, the right and standing to intervene in potential court cases challenging the legislation. Several lawyers told the Star-Tribune they believe that such attempts to assert legislative authority over the judicial branchs powers are unprecedented  and unconstitutional  in Wyoming.

That hasnt been lost on lawmakers. In fact, some anti-abortion legislators have been among those to speak out most adamantly against the bill, arguing that its unconstitutional on multiple grounds. Some also worried that the bill, which would repeal the current abortion trigger law, could create a situation in which Wyoming was left with no abortion ban at all. (That concern was resolved last week with an amendment to the bill that would only enact it if the current abortion trigger ban, which is being challenged in court, is deemed unconstitutional.)

The legislation, Harrison said in an email to the Star-Tribune, is designed specifically to answer allegations made by the abortion-rights side in Johnson v. State, the ongoing case concerning the constitutionality of last years abortion ban. The ban is blocked as the legal case against it proceeds, and abortions up to viability remain legal in Wyoming.

Though House Bill 152 is unique to Wyoming, Harrison said that drafters of the bill consulted statutory language in 19 other states with degrees of abortion prohibition laws, including Texas, South Dakota and North Dakota. Its definition of abortion is modeled after one from the latter state, which also passed an abortion trigger law thats been blocked since August.

Several national organizations were also involved in drafting the bill. Notably, the Alliance Defending Freedom  whose lawyer Denise Harle is representing prospective intervenors alongside Harrison for the Johnson v. State case  helped draft the Mississippi law at the center of the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade. The organization is also active in several lawsuits over abortion laws in other states.

An Alliance Defending Freedom spokesperson didnt return the Star-Tribunes request for comment on House Bill 152 by deadline.

The opening findings and purposes section of the bill, which Harrison said he primarily authored, responds to the questions that the state asked the Wyoming Supreme Court to answer regarding the constitutionality of last years abortion trigger ban, and if the ban is too vague, which plaintiffs in the Johnson v. State case have argued. (The Wyoming Supreme Court rejected the request.)

Its not that unusual to include legislative findings in bills. Its more unusual, at least in Wyoming, to actually put findings into statute, which House Bill 152 would do, Robert Keiter, a University of Utah law professor and expert on the Wyoming Constitution, said. But even so, the federal government and some state governments do this regularly.

What really stands out about this section, multiple lawyers told the Star-Tribune, is the inclusion of constitutional interpretations in those findings, in this case interpretations that seek to answer constitutional questions from pending litigation that the states high court has not yet answered itself. Wyomings Legislative Service Office, the nonpartisan staff office of the Wyoming Legislature, also pointed in a January memo to the unusual nature of this section.

Generally, findings are uncommon in bills, particularly in terms of pronouncing a legal conclusion, which several of the findings appear to do in terms of interpreting the Wyoming Constitution, the memo says, suggesting that it might be prudent to omit that section.

Some lawyers whom the Star-Tribune spoke with were more assertive in their characterization of those interpretations as something out of the ordinary  and perhaps unconstitutional.

I believe that would give a court pause, Alaina Stedillie, a Casper attorney, said of the constitutional interpretations in the findings section. It would certainly give any challenger to the law some big, fat softballs right down the middle to swing at.

The extent of the Legislatures power to declare interpretations of the constitution has been defined in Wyoming case law before. In the 1980 Wyoming Supreme Court case Washakie County School Dist. No. One v. Herschler, which concerned challenges to the constitutionality of Wyomings school financing system, the court wrote that declaring the validity of statutes in relation to the constitution is a power vested in the courts as one of the checks and balances contemplated by the division of government into three departmentslegislative, executive and judicialever since first enunciated in Marbury v. Madison, 1803...and carried forward into Wyoming state government by [the] Wyoming Constitution.

Proponents of the bill have argued that concerns about the constitutionality of the findings and purposes section of the bill is irrelevant, since courts arent obligated to act according to the constitutional interpretations that it lays out.

Legislative findings and intent are generally low on the list of considerations when courts are deciding if a law passes constitutional muster, lawyers said. As for how much consideration courts will give legislative intent, that depends on the court and the judge; some but not all will emphasize legislative intent, but that intent cant force certain constitutional interpretations on the judiciary.

A judge might fall back on legislative findings if the language of the rest of the statute is unclear, in which case, some lawyers said, including the findings could potentially backfire if a judge decides the intent itself to be unconstitutional. And if someone challenging the bill argued that it was adopted with unconstitutional intent, Stedillie said, then the findings would certainly be a place where the court would look.

Lawmaker intervention

In August, Wyoming Right to Life as well as the sponsor and a cosponsor of last years trigger abortion ban  Reps. Rachel Rodriguez-Williams and Chip Neiman  filed a motion to join the Johnson v. State litigation as intervenors. The Teton County judge overseeing the case rejected their motion in November, but Wyoming Right to Life and the lawmakers appealed her decision.

House Bill 152 would attempt to give its sponsor  Rodriguez-Williams  or cosponsors standing to intervene in any court case challenging the act  an inclusion meant as a remedy to the obstacles those trying to intervene in the current abortion lawsuit are facing now.

Some lawmakers have argued that could conflict with separation-of-powers principles by infringing on judicial power. Granting lawmakers the right to intervention could possibly conflict with executive authority as well, since current law requires the state attorney general to defend all suits brought against the state, the Legislative Service Office memo says; the memo cites one case, Buquer v. City of Indianapolis, where a federal district court blocked three lawmakers from intervening in the litigation because allowing this would provide the legislators a trump card with respect to the Attorney Generals statutorily derived discretion in representing the state.

Its not that unusual for lawmakers to give themselves powers of intervention, some lawyers said, though they still have to prove they have standing in the case, something which the bill attempts to circumvent. Whats really unusual about the intervenor powers that are included in the bill is that they are only conferred to the sponsor and cosponsors. Lawmakers pointed this out as something that could be legally problematic.

Rep. Barry Crago, R-Buffalo, is one of the anti-abortion attorneys in the House who have raised concerns about the bills constitutionality. He said on the floor last week that giving this power only to the sponsor or cosponsors could be unconstitutional under a section of the Wyoming Constitution that bars the Legislature from passing local or special laws in situations when a general law could be used instead. He further argued that singling out this group is akin to putting their names into statute, creating a special law for a certain class of people.

Bill Schwartz, a Jackson attorney, said he thought designating that power solely to the sponsor and cosponsors of the bill could violate another section of the Wyoming Constitution that ensures equal political rights of citizens regardless of race, color, sex, or any circumstance or condition whatsoever, with some exceptions.

Coming to the defense of the bills granting of intervention powers, Rodriguez-Williams cited a 2022 U.S. Supreme Court case  Berger v. North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP  in which the court decided lawmakers had the right to intervene.

The case centers around a challenge to a bill that North Carolina passed in 2018 to amend voter identification requirements in the states constitution. The governor had vetoed the bill, but the legislature overrode his veto. Then the North Carolina state conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People sued the governor and members of the State Board of Elections over the legislation. The states attorney general, a former state senator who had opposed an earlier voter identification law, was appointed to defend the law in court. Because of that context, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2022 that lawmakers who moved to intervene in the case and defend the law had standing to do so.

Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote in his concurring opinion that not allowing the lawmakers to participate in what in this case was federal litigation would turn a deaf federal ear to voices the State has deemed crucial to understanding the full range of its interests and encourage plaintiffs to make strategic decisions about selecting defendants who are most sympathetic to their cause or most inclined to settle favorably and quickly.

North Carolina state statute does give the states Senate president pro tempore and speaker of the House power to intervene in court cases challenging an act passed by the Legislature or a provision of the states constitution, a fact which Gorsuch referenced in his opinion.

There are differences between the situation in North Carolina and the one that House Bill 152 would potentially bring about. For one, the right for the Senate president pro tempore and speaker of the House to intervene isnt tied to the defense of a specific statute or constitutional provision, and it doesnt ensure that only supporters of the statute or constitutional provision being challenged are the ones who can intervene.

And of course, at this point we have yet to see what Gov. Mark Gordon, an anti-abortion governor who signed the abortion trigger ban into law last year, will do if the bill comes across his desk. He could use his veto power to block House Bill 152, as he did once in the past to strike down an anti-abortion bill that he felt could have unintended consequences for parents who want kids but have non-viable pregnancies. Gordons spokesperson Michael Pearlman told the Star-Tribune that its generally the governors policy not to talk about bills as they make their way through the Legislature. He said he couldnt share whether or not Gordon would sign the bill into law as its written at this point.

Some lawyers and scholars that the Star-Tribune spoke with said the intervention aspect of the bill seems to reflect what could be a trend across the nation as state legislatures wrangle with contentious issues.

This kind of thing is going to occur widely across the nation now, particularly because we have divided government, David Adler, an Idaho-based constitutional scholar, said. This is the Legislature enforcing its strength, enforcing its power.

Keiter, who was a faculty member at the University of Wyoming law school for 15 years, said he also suspects that attempts by lawmakers to provide themselves with the right to participate in litigation is becoming more common. Thats because as legislatures pass laws around controversial issues like gun rights, religion and abortion, legislators are aware that their bills are likely to be challenged in court.

They want to try to make sure they have a say and a role in the litigation, Keiter said.

For Schwartz, the language in the Life is a Human Right bill recalled debate over the Independent State Legislature Theory, a once-fringe legal theory that claims the U.S. Constitution gives legislatures power to dictate how federal elections are run without the usual sideboards from state constitutions or courts. The idea is currently under scrutiny in the U.S. Supreme Court case Moore v. Harper, which concerns the redrawing of congressional voting districts in North Carolina. (Harrison, the attorney who helped author the Life is a Human Right bill, said he had not heard of the theory.)

Compromise

Several lawmakers attempted last week to bring amendments to the bill that would cut out areas of constitutional concern. The body shot down all but one.

The amendment that survived, sponsored by Crago, doesnt address lawmakers concerns about the constitutionality of the bill. Rather, it makes the legislation into a second trigger bill, one that would only be enacted if courts deem the current abortion ban to be unconstitutional. Crago and some other lawmakers who had brought up concerns about the bills constitutionality voted to pass the legislation out of the House on Wednesday.

I thought it was a good compromise, Crago told the Star-Tribune on Friday.

If Im wrong and the sponsors of the bill are right, then we have this other additional language to strengthen our abortion laws, he said.

When asked if he had concerns that passage of a bill like the Life is a Human Right act could open the door for more legislation that is constitutionally questionable, Crago said he didnt think that would be a problem.

This is just an issue that everybodys super passionate about, so theyre willing to take that stand and take that chance. I dont think thats true in every other area of the law, Crago said.

The bill has time to evolve. While it cleared the House last week, it still has multiple votes in the Senate to undergo before it can be signed into law, though if last year was any example, its likely to experience smooth sailing through that chamber.

Its possible that senators might try to bring additional amendments, or quash the one thats already been added. The Wyoming Freedom Caucus hopes to work through the Senate and do just that, the caucus chairman, Gillette Republican Rep. John Bear, told the Star-Tribune on Friday. Though Bear said he would like the trigger amendment to come off, he said it wouldnt be the end of the world if it cleared the Legislature with the amendment still intact.

At all turns, the bills sponsor, Rodriguez-Williams, has adamantly opposed any amendments, rebuffing lawmakers concerns about the constitutionality of the legislation. When her colleagues first brought up potential constitutional pitfalls at the House Judiciary Committee meeting earlier this month, Rodriguez-Williams became visibly frustrated.

Ive heard the word unconstitutional thrown around so frequently this session, it baffles me, she said, shaking her head. And honestly, I think it is being thrown around to fearmonger. And the people of Wyoming are tired of being fearmongered.

Last week, she went as far as to call Cragos amendment, which doesnt change the language of the bill so much as postpone the date of its potential enactment, unfriendly to the pro-life movement.

Crago, an anti-abortion lawmaker who voted in favor of the abortion trigger ban last year, pushed back on Rodriguez-Williams assertion that his amendment was unfriendly to the anti-abortion cause.

Ill tell you whats unfriendly to the pro-life movement: prolonging the litigation longer than we have to, waiting and waiting, just waiting for another answer years down the road, he said.

But the drafters and some backers of the bill, including Rodriguez-Williams, believe that it would withstand constitutional scrutiny and escape even the fate of being temporarily blocked by a judge amid litigation. They believe, then, that the bill would give anti-abortion advocates an avenue to stop abortions in Wyoming sooner than if they were to wait for the current litigation to conclude. Lawmakers opposing the amendment framed the predicament last week in terms of the number of abortions performed each year, equating this to the number of additional lives lost while they wait for the courts to make their decisions.

Ladies and gentlemen, in my world when lives are at stake, theres two kinds of leaders. Theres those that run towards the threat and extinguish the threat, engage the threat, and theres those that run away and let others handle it, Rodriguez-Williams said on the floor last week, striking a moralistic tone. This bill runs towards the threat and saves the lives of babies.

This story has been updated.

PHOTOS: Both sides of abortion debate gather for protest Abortion protest Abortion protest Abortion protest Abortion protest Abortion protest Abortion protest Abortion protest Abortion protest Abortion protest Abortion protest
Wyoming Republican Party leaders on Saturday passed a resolution condemning Sen. Cynthia Lummis for her vote in support of federal legislation that protects same-sex marriage rights.

The resolution, first passed by the Goshen County GOP Central Committee on Jan. 20, condemns the senator for her vote in favor of the Respect for Marriage Act. It was then adopted Saturday by the Wyoming Republican State Central Committee in Thermopolis.

In November, Lummis broke from her previous stance to vote for the bill, which codified federal protections of same-sex and interracial marriage. The law requires all states to legally recognize these marriages. Wyomings Sen. John Barrasso voted no on the legislation, while former Rep. Liz Cheney voted yes.

For the sake of our nation today and its survival, we do well by taking this step, not embracing or validating each others devoutly held views, but by the simple act of tolerating them, Lummis said on the Senate floor before her second vote for the bill.

Her decision disgruntled some in the Wyoming Republican Party, which sent out an email newsletter the day after her first vote saying that the bill threatens religious liberties and is opposed to the Wyoming Republican Party Platform ...

There have since been attempts by county parties to censure or reprimand Lummis for that vote.

In early January, Casper Republican Rep. Jeanette Ward made a motion at the Natrona County GOP Central Committee meeting to add discussion of Lummis potential censure to the agenda. Another freshman lawmaker, Midwest Republican Rep. Bill Allemand, seconded her motion, but it ended up failing in a 57-89 vote.

A proposed resolution from the Fremont County GOP describes the Respect for Marriage Act as an existential threat to the God-given family structure and the right to freedom of conscience...

It says that Lummis should be censured for not ...faithfully representing either the party platform or the grassroots constituents [sic] whos sincerely and deeply held values and beliefs are codified therein.

Sources who attended the Fremont County meeting said that when the censure failed, one member tried to bring an amendment to change the resolution to an admonishment. But that was also unsuccessful. The body then voted down a proposal to send the senator a stern letter.

Same-sex marriage has been legal in Wyoming since the fall of 2014.

PHOTOS: When Wyoming legalized same-sex marriage Gay Marriage Legalized Gay Marriage Legalized Gay Marriage Legalized Gay Marriage Legalized Gay Marriage Legalized Gay Marriage Legalized Gay Marriage Legalized Gay Marriage in Wyoming Gay Marriage Legalized Gay Marriage Legalized Gay Marriage Legalized Gay Marriage Legalized Gay Marriage Legalized Gay Marriage Legalized Wyoming Gay Marriage
CODY  For many couples, there are five established love languages that can be expressed  words of affirmation, acts of service, gift giving, quality time and physical touch  but for Cody locals Mark and Connie Fisher, there is a sixth  dancing.

The pair, who were college sweethearts in Cincinnati and married in 1979, have been dancing together since 1993. But, both grew up in a world pervaded by dance.

As a child, Connie did ballet, tap and jazz. She was even the drill team captain in high school.

I had done all of the dancing little kids do, she said.

Mark had parents who danced.

His parents were good dancers, Connie said.

But I didnt grow up doing dance, Mark added. I wanted to know how but didnt.

Their interest in dance was sparked by that singular event that comes in every parents life  when children are old enough not to require a babysitter.

We didnt need a babysitter anymore and could go dancing, Connie said with a laugh.

The couple learned to dance while living in Texas and Louisiana.

People in Texas and Louisiana love to dance, Mark said. Louisiana is big on music and dancing, and we had a good dance scene in Houston, too.

It was pretty lush, Connie added.

They would start by picking out a specific dance and learning one dance at a time.

Over the years, their dance repertoire has come to include swing, country/western, the two-step, chacha, the waltz and the West Coast swing.

In no time, dancing became a way of life for the Fishers. It was something that took up space in their lives but in a good way.

For 30 years, the couple has danced at least once a week, and they estimate they spend five hours every week dancing  dancing with friends, in classes or all alone in their home.

We dance all the time at home and whenever we go anywhere, Connie said.

The act of dance has become a passion.

I love music. I love driving, thumping music and being able to move your body, and moving with another person, Mark said.

Connie also enjoys the movement.

Its the use of the mind and body at the same time in a way thats different from other exercises, she said. It never feels like exercise. Its fun.

Until the coronavirus pandemic, the couple held dance parties in their home every Friday night.

When we were having people to our house, wed turn down the temperature in the house about five or six degrees because it would warm up, Connie said.

The parties turned out to be quite the rage.

We had more fun than half the town, Im sure, Mark said.

The group, usually made up of about 10 friends, would dance for an hour and half with Connie and Mark teaching them something new. After appetizers and drinks, the group would head to Cassies to practice what they had just learned.

A year ago, Mark began teaching dance classes at The Colonel Venue and Lounge with Jill Roberts.

This year, however, hell join Connie to teach a Valentines Day Slow Dance Class at The Colonel on Feb. 14 at 7 p.m.

Theyre really easy moves, and we think we can teach all five moves in one hour, Mark said. Itll teach them more than just swaying back and forth to slow music.

The class is free and open to the public, but is for couples only.

This will be for the people who forgot to get their reservations for dinner or for the wives who said, This is what you can do for me for Valentines Day, Connie joked.

Mark ensures the music hes selected  which includes Speechless by Dan & Shay, Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran and Dont Know Why by Norah Jones  will appeal to all ages.

And, no experience is necessary.

We hope attendees leave knowing new patterns they can use for the rest of their lives, Mark said.

And that they realize people can follow you if you can lead a dance, Connie added.
Its not difficult to find fault with actions in the Wyoming Legislature so far this session. As this board has discussed recently, weve observed too much grandstanding on issues of little consequence in Wyoming. Weve seen a concerning turn away from compromise and from local control. One freshman Republican, in arguing against small government, told her colleagues, Sometimes it just makes sense to handle it from the top. Not exactly what youd expect from the party of Ronald Reagan.

But wed be remiss if we focused only on the negative. There have been lawmakers who have put Wyoming first and focused on the real issues facing the state. Theyve also shown bravery to stand up for whats right, even if their political opponents will likely use it against them in the 2024 primary.

Case in point: the Republican House members whove raised concerns about the constitutionality of a sweeping bill on abortion now proceeding through the Legislature. It would have been easy for these lawmakers, who happen to be both lawyers and pro-life, to stay quiet and avoid the prospect that someone will brand them abortion supporters the next time they run for office. Instead, theyve stood tall and pointed out concerns over the bills erosion of the separation of powers between the legislative and judicial branches.

Or return for a moment to the debate that prompted that dismissive statement about local control from a freshman Republican lawmaker. Representatives were discussing a bill that was intended to prevent communities from getting rid of rodeos. But the bill also took away local autonomy, forcing a top-down approach rather than allowing communities to make decisions for themselves. As in the previous example, it would have been politically expedient for lawmakers to support the bill. After all, opposition opens them to an unscrupulous political opponent labeling them as anti-rodeo or against western values. But the House rejected this bill, defending the concept of local control in the process.

There are many examples, meanwhile, of bills that will receive little to no attention, that wont go viral or even be discussed at community breakfasts, that will solve small but important problems in Wyoming. Theyre being sponsored by lawmakers in service to the state, rather than any political ideology.

Finally, we should recognize the veteran lawmakers who have done admirable work trying to support and mentor the wave of newcomers. There have been times when a freshman lawmaker has drifted off topic, failed to follow the rules or occasionally stepped over the line. During those moments, weve seen the old guard nudge them back on track without embarrassing them, demonstrating what true leadership looks like.

This legislative session has already seen many actions that Wyoming will likely not be proud of years from now. Those actions receive plenty of attention (and sometimes, thats the entire point). But its important to recognize the good work that is being done in Cheyenne. The lawmakers who are doing the best to solve Wyomings real problems while navigating an increasingly disjointed, polarized statehouse deserve our thanks.
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.
Doctors tried to resuscitate and save the life of pregnant Chavelle Mitcham and her baby, bu
It is indeed heart-warming and refreshing to have seen the news that the Asa Wright Nature Centre will once again be open for business. Plenty thanks and Gods blessings to the persons who have been given the concession and had a vision for the upgrades. The place looks like a paradise, and it is hoped that all would appreciate and protect it.
Ava Hall, an 18-year-old senior at Canyon del Oro High School, kicks off every morning by working an hour at the CDO preschool at 6:45 a.m. She then attends her regular classes throughout the rest of the morning, and returns to work at the preschool from noon to 5 p.m. each day.

So, Im here most of the day working, she said on a recent Monday morning, as she took a break from talking to various groups of eighth-graders about her schools Early Childhood Education (ECE) program.

Meanwhile, several other high school students, wearing the same bright blue shirts as Hall with the words CDO Preschool on the back, walked around the two preschool classrooms, often kneeling down to help the kids with their activities throughout the morning.

Those students in the blue shirts are all interns in two different programs offered by the Amphitheater Unified School District to encourage high school students to pursue careers in early education by giving them real-world practice, said Tiffany Bucciarelli-Fay, the districts director of early childhood education.

In a perfect world for us, we would have these high school kiddos working as our ECE or preschool interns, they would go to college and get their degree in education, and then they would come back and teach in Amphi, Bucciarelli said. That is our ultimate goal.

Fortunately, she said, the Amphi district had only one vacancy in its approximately 50-person ECE department. But, she noted that preschool teaching positions are often difficult to fill due to the low pay.

She said the Amphi district hires certified teachers for its preschools, so theyre on similar salary schedules as a first-grade educator, as opposed to other early learning centers who do not hire certified teachers.

Bucciarelli added that the districts ECE program has grown exponentially within the past year due to the districts partnership with the Pima County Early Education Program Scholarships (PEEPS), which provides preschool funding to low-income families.

In past years, she said, the Amphi school district only had three preschools. With the creation of PEEPS in 2021, the district has now expanded to a total of 12 preschools and is anticipating adding more in time for the upcoming school year.

We have internships at the majority of our preschools and then we are looking at potentially expanding our preschool options for next year, and that will expand our internship program, as well, Bucciarelli said.

Internship programs

There are two preschool internship programs available at CDO and Amphitheater high schools, she said.

One program consists of students who have completed the first two courses of the ECE program, while the other includes students who have not necessarily taken ECE classes but have a strong interest in working at preschools.

Five years ago, according to CDO Early Childhood Center Director Brande Golden, there were only about four preschool interns at the school. Now, there are a total of 14 interns just at CDO.

In terms of district-wide numbers that also include students at Amphitheater High, there are 37 preschool interns in the two programs, Bucciarelli said. In addition, there are 241 students taking ECE classes this year at both high schools.

Students can choose whether to fulfill the internship to earn an elective course credit, or take them as paid internships and earn minimum wage for the hours they put in. Hall, the intern clocking in about 30 hours per week, said shes enrolled in the paid internship.

Some of the responsibilities that interns take on include guiding the kids through different activities such as arts and crafts and reading, supervising them on the playground, taking them on trips to the school library, helping keep the classrooms clean, and sanitizing toys.

We make a difference in the lives of those preschoolers and their families, Golden said of preschool workers. And having the interns see that, and to be a part of that, is very special.

Full circle moment

Golden said CDO has already had its share of full circle moments, in which graduates have returned to teach at the preschool. That includes Julia Robison, a 20-year-old teaching aid/assistant at CDO Preschool, who took an ECE class as a high school student and returned to work at her alma mater.

I didnt really know what I wanted to do with my career goals, Robison recalled of her time as a high school student. Then I took this class and started working in the preschool with the kids, and I really, really liked it.

Although Robison didnt take part in the internship program, Golden noticed that she connected very well with the material and kids during the ECE class.

So, the summer after Robison graduated from high school, Golden reached out to her to let her know of a job opening at CDO Preschool. Robison returned to the school as a staff member last August.

Asked what the best thing about her job is, Robison said: Seeing the kids out in public, and they just run up to you and will give you the biggest hug I would say it's very emotionally rewarding because you get to experience things for your inner child and rebuild that with them.

She added that she plans to continue her education to become an assistant teacher for preschool. Like Robison, Hall has also been inspired to pursue a career working in preschools.

Hall said she plans to fulfill her general education credits at Pima Community College and will then transfer to the University of Arizona to earn a bachelors in early childhood education.

Honestly, there's so many things this program has taught me, but I think the biggest one is that it taught me what I wanted to do for the rest of my life, Hall said. When I started high school, I didnt know what I wanted to do and the more I dove headfirst into the program, the more I realized that what Im going to do for the rest of my life is teach.

Photos: Early Childhood Center at CDO High School
You may have noticed clamor building around Pima County Supervisor Matt Heinz lately.

It's not just over the Speedo.

Heinz gained international notoriety when, during the Jan. 10 supervisors meeting, a young man wearing what looked like a Speedo swimsuit and a tank top appeared in the background of his video feed. At the time, Heinz was attending the meeting remotely during a Caribbean cruise, he said. Heinz is gay but the man in question is a friend, not a romantic partner, he told me.

The brief incident has garnered millions of views online and is funny in a way that became common during the pandemic. Odd or embarrassing things sometimes happen on camera during video calls: Children toddle in chattering, cats pounce on the keyboard, and, yes, people walk by unaware in their underwear.

Rather than being important itself, the Speedo incident helped bring back to a boil conflicts that have long been simmering around Heinz.

Some conservatives and anti-vax activists despise Heinz because of his strong support for mask and vaccine mandates; some are angry with him because of how he has interrupted citizens as they spoke during call-to-the-public sessions at meetings; and some don't like how he often appears remotely even now that in-person board meetings have resumed.

In short, during his first two years as a supervisor, after his surprise defeat of incumbent and fellow Democrat Ramon Valadez in 2020, Heinz has become a lightning rod for criticism. It's coming not just from citizens who oppose his positions, but also from two colleagues on the board.

"I never want to speak ill of my colleagues, but Matt has not been in attendance (in person), and I find that disappointing," said Supervisor Sharon Bronson, a fellow Democrat and the former chair.

"When he is present, is he present? Thats what you wonder," she said. "Do I love him? Do I hate him? I just want him to do his job."

I counted up the appearances, and of the 20 in-person board meetings since virtual meetings ended in March 2022, Heinz has attended via video feed half the time. That was much more than any of his colleagues.

Then there's the issue of call to the public. At Tuesday's meeting, Supervisor Steve Christy, the only Republican on the five-member board, gave Heinz responsibility for conflicts at these sessions that allow citizens to speak for three minutes each early in every meeting.

"The blame for all of this mess and controversy over call to the public is the sole responsibility and fault of Matt Heinz," Christy said at Tuesday's meeting. "It was Supervisor Heinz who ignited this flame."

Christy and others point back to a meeting in 2021, when Heinz repeatedly interrupted Stephanie Kirk. She is a local resident who lashes out regularly at the board, criticizing them over vaccines, immigration policies, election performance and other issues of the moment.

Heinz interrupted her and would not initially stop, even when told by then-chair Bronson that he was out of order. The next meeting, he held up a sign while another speaker denounced pandemic policies, drawing another rebuke. And he has interrupted Kirk as recently as Nov. 1, demanding three minutes to respond to what he considers her vaccine misinformation.

On Jan. 24, Kirk amped up her frenetic attacks. Riffing on African-American history month, she demanded of Heinz, "Matt can you please look at me," before being interrupted by Supervisor Adelita Grijalva. Then Kirk went after her: "You are literally nobody, Adelita  keep your mouth shut." That set off a long delay in the meeting as Kirk refused to stop or leave the meeting.

Heinz, for his part, noted that he has a 100% attendance rate  even when he is on vacation or visiting his aging father in Michigan. Those visits, he told me, are one of the reasons he has attended meetings remotely so often.

And he disputed Bronson's contention about the attention he's paying.

"I completely disagree with the idea that because Im attending remotely, Im disengaged," he said. "In 2020, all of 2021, we were mostly remote. When we were remote, Ive had some of my most lengthy discussions or debates."

The new board chair, Grijalva, also told me that she doesn't view Heinz as disengaged, saying "he's usually very up to speed."

As to occasionally interrupting speakers during their three minutes before the board, Heinz, who is a M.D. working overnight shifts as a hospitalist, put it this way: "I was watching people die by the dozen, sometimes in one shift, then had to listen to these asinine people who have no idea what theyre talking about mansplaining the pandemic to me."

The call to the public has been particularly vicious since the Speedo video came out. One attendee has twice referred to Heinz as a pedophile.

It is perhaps not surprising, then, that at Tuesday's meeting, Heinz never appeared at the dais during call to the public. Someone took a picture of him eating a bagel in the back room  Heinz blames Christy aide Beth Borozan, who declined to comment  and passed the photo to conservative shock-talk radio host Garret Lewis, who posted it on Twitter.

I don't blame Heinz for taking a stroll during a call to the public when people are applying the worst criminal labels to him. Nobody should have to put up with that. And it is nothing new for supervisors to come and go  current and past board members have disappeared during the call to the public before.

But it is worth questioning whether Heinz's busy schedule as a doctor working overnight shifts is compatible with the job of being a Pima County supervisor. Most supervisors have treated the $76,600-per-year job as a full-time occupation.

And it's not surprising that after antagonizing members of the public, he is getting harsh criticism.

The best response to speakers you think are nuts is to ignore them and do your job.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia  Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Saturday that on his order a U.S. fighter jet shot down an "unidentified object" that was flying high over the Yukon  a day after the U.S. took similar action over Alaska.

North American Aerospace Defense Command, the U.S.-Canada organization that provides shared defense of airspace over the two nations, detected the object flying at a high altitude Friday evening over Alaska, U.S. officials said. It crossed into Canadian airspace on Saturday.

Trudeau spoke with U.S. President Joe Biden, who also ordered the object to be shot down. Canadian and U.S. jets operating as part of NORAD were scrambled and it was a U.S. jet that shot down the object.

Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand told a news conference in Ottawa that the object, flying at around 40,000 feet, had been shot down at 3:41 p.m. EST, approximately 100 miles from the Canada-U.S. border in the central Yukon. A recovery operation was underway involving the Canadian Armed Forces and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Hours later, in the U.S., the Federal Aviation Administration said Saturday night it closed some airspace in Montana to support Defense Department activities. NORAD later said the closure, which lasted a little more than an hour, came after it had detected "a radar anomaly" and sent fighter aircraft to investigate. The aircraft did not identify any object to correlate to the radar hits, NORAD said.

F-22 fighter jets have taken out three objects in the airspace above the U.S. and Canada over seven days, a stunning development. At least one of the objects downed was believed to be a spy balloon from China, but the other two had not yet been publicly identified.

While Trudeau described the object Saturday as "unidentified," Anand said it appeared to be "a small cylindrical object, smaller than the one that was downed off the coast of North Carolina." A NORAD spokesman, Maj. Olivier Gallant, said the military determined what it was but would not reveal details.

Anand refused to speculate whether the object shot down over Canada came from China. "We are continuing to do the analysis on the object and we will make sure that analysis is thorough," she said. "It would not be prudent for me to speculate on the origins of the object at this time."

Anand said to her knowledge this was the first time NORAD had downed an object in Canadian airspace.

"The importance of this moment should not be underestimated," she said. "We detected this object together and we defeated this object together."

She was asked why a U.S. jet, and not a Canadian plane, shot down the object.

"As opposed to separating it out by country, I think what the important point is, these were NORAD capabilities, this was a NORAD mission and this was NORAD doing what it is supposed to do," she said.

Anand didn't use the word "balloon" to describe the object. But later, Gen. Wayne Eyre, chief of the defense staff, said the instructions given to the planes was "whoever had the first, best shot to take out the balloon had the go-ahead."

Trudeau said Canadian forces would recover the wreckage for study. The Yukon is the westernmost Canadian territory and among the least populated parts of Canada.

After the airspace closure over Montana, multiple members of Congress, including Montana Sens. Steve Daines and Jon Tester, said they were in touch with defense officials. Daines tweeted that he would "continue to demand answers on these invasions of US airspace."

A day earlier, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said an object roughly the size of a small car was shot out of the skies above remote Alaska. Officials couldn't say if it had surveillance equipment, where it came from or what purpose it had.

Kirby said it was shot down because it was flying at about 40,000 feet and posed a "reasonable threat" to the safety of civilian flights, not because of any knowledge that it was engaged in surveillance.

According to U.S. Northern Command, recovery operations continued Saturday on sea ice near Deadhorse, Alaska.

In a statement, the Northern Command said there were no new details on what the object was. It said the Alaska Command and the Alaska National Guard, along with the FBI and local law enforcement, were conducting search and recovery.

"Arctic weather conditions, including wind chill, snow, and limited daylight, are a factor in this operation, and personnel will adjust recovery operations to maintain safety," the statement said.

On Feb. 4, U.S. officials shot down a large white balloon off the coast of South Carolina. It was part of a large surveillance program that China has been conducting for "several years," the Pentagon said. The U.S. said Chinese balloons have flown over dozens of countries across five continents in recent years, and it learned more about the balloon program after closely monitoring the one shot down near South Carolina.

China responded that it reserved the right to "take further actions" and criticized the U.S. for "an obvious overreaction and a serious violation of international practice."

The Navy continued survey and recovery activities on the ocean floor off South Carolina, and the Coast Guard was providing security. Additional debris was pulled out Friday, and additional operations will continue as weather permits, Northern Command said.
The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer:

Its difficult to utter the phrase Social Emotional Learning these days without eliciting a strong reaction. This term, otherwise known as SEL, describes lessons and activities that address childrens emotional needs and character development. However, SEL has faced growing criticism in recent years, leaving many parents and community members distrustful and confused about SELs purpose. Just what is it, and why is it being implemented in schools?

I knew relatively little about SEL when our districts schools moved online in March 2020 due to COVID-19. On the first day of remote learning, my 6-year-old's teacher asked students to create a calming corner in their home where they could take a break when feeling overwhelmed. Later, the school counselor showed the class how to use different colored crayons to represent emotions so students could see their feelings on paper. I quickly recognized that these activitiesboth examples of SELprovided comfort and helped my children navigate their complicated emotions during the pandemic.

It turns out, SEL encompasses much more than just emotional regulation. According to CASEL, the Collaborative to Advance Social and Emotional Learning, SEL is intended to help children and adults develop healthy identities, manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions.

A recent survey of 2,000 parents shows that there is broad support for focusing on these practices in schools. Over 90% of respondents endorse teaching children to set goals and believe in themselves, and over 80% said schools should help children understand their emotions and empathize with others.

However, when questioned about Social Emotional Learning by name, 49% of these same parents say that schools should focus on academics and leave SEL to parents and others. This highlights a growing disconnect between SELs stated goals and its public perception. Some critics have alleged that SEL is a guise for promoting sexual education, and Arizonas Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne has called it a front for critical race theory (CRT) and a distraction that must be removed from schools.

With such contrasting opinions out there, how can folks know what to believe about SEL? First, parents can simply ask to see their childs SEL lessons. Chances are, they will find basic character-building activities, but viewing the curriculum can begin to alleviate confusion about SEL programs.

Next, they can examine data on how SEL benefits children both mentally and academically. The CDC found that students who felt close to persons at school had a significantly lower prevalence of poor mental health during the pandemic and reduced their chance of having seriously considered suicide from 25.6% to 14%. One study also reports that students who participated in long-term SEL programs showed an 11% gain in academic achievement.

The tools students gain from SEL transfer to the workforce, too. According to Forbes Magazine, the SEL objectives of emotional intelligence, collaboration, and flexibility are among the top 10 skills desired by employers in the 21st Century. Addressing these skills is part of a well-rounded curriculum that sets students up for success beyond high school.

Unfortunately, society also must consider what can happen when children dont have the tools to regulate their emotions. The fact that America had 300 shootings on school campuses last year shows that the stakes for supporting students emotional well-being have never been higher. It is inappropriate and potentially dangerous to ask teachers to help children manage complex feelings without providing resources to do so.

SEL may not be everyones first choice for fostering students personal growth, and it certainly cant be the only tool schools provide. But cutting entire SEL programs based on a handful of inflated criticisms is unacceptable. Our childrens need for social and emotional support wont go away just because we ignore it. Lets make sure students have access to SEL resources that promote healthy emotional development at school.
The award-winning Rolston String Quartet will perform three concerts during its time in Tulsa, presented by Chamber Music Tulsa.

The ensemble, which formed in 2013 at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativitys Chamber Music Residency, became the first international group to win the Cleveland Quartet Award from Chamber Music America in 2018, and took first prize at the 12th Banff International String Quartet Competition, Grand in 2016.

The quartets debut recording, Souvenirs, recently was named Recording of the Year by BBC Music Magazine. The Rolston Quartet will present a concert of works by female composers for its first concert, 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 17, at the Renaissance Square Event Center in the Campbell Hotel, 2616 E. 11th St. The program will feature works by Vittoria Aleotti, Caroline Shaw, Hawa Kasse, Gabriela Lena Frank and Nina Simone.

For the Saturday Salon concert, set for 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 18, in the Westby Pavilion of the Tulsa PAC, 110 E. Second St., the quartet will perform Dinuk Wijeratnes Two Pop Songs on Antique Poems and Mendelssohns Quartet in E Minor, Op. 44, No. 2.

The Sunday concert, 3 p.m. Feb. 19 in the Tulsa PACs Williams Theatre, 110 E. Second St., will feature Haydns Quartet in E-flat Major, Op. 33, No. 2, the Joke; Jorg Widmanns Quartet No. 3, Hunting Quartet; Punctum by Caroline Shaw; and the Quartet No. 16 in F Major, Op. 135, by Beethoven.

Tickets are $40 for the Friday concert, $70 for the Saturday concert and $25 for the Sunday concert. To purchase: 918-587-3802, chambermusictulsa.org.

Gilcrease in Your Neighborhood

The second artwork in the Gilcrease in Your Neighborhood public art experience can now be found at more than 30 locations throughout the city.

The program is a way to keep Gilcrease Museum and its world-class collection of art of the Americas before the public, as the museum is closed while a new facility is being built.

The work that will be on display is An Island of Redbuds on the Cimarron by Brummett Echohawk (Pawnee), painted in 1968, and presented to Gilcrease as a gift from Tulsa philanthropist Maxine Zarrow.

According to Alison Rossi, director of learning and community engagement at Gilcrease, Echohawk, a decorated veteran of World War II, painted this work with the same Bowie knife he used in combat. He developed this technique by accident, then began experimenting until it became his preferred painting tool.

My knife can turn the color better than a brush, Echohawk once said. It gives me feeling for the subject, and its very massiveness and weight is an asset.

Echohawks work will remain on display through mid-May, and Gilcrease will present a number of public programs throughout that time to provide a richer understand of Echohawk and his work. For a complete list of locations and public programs: gilcrease.org.

Kinky Boots at TCC

The Tulsa Community College Music and Theatre Departments are collaborating on a production of the Tony Award-winning musical Kinky Boots, which will be presented 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, Feb. 16-18 and 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 19 at the VanTrease PACE, 10300 E. 81st St.

Written by Harvey Fierstein, with music and lyrics by Cyndi Lauper, Kinky Boots is based on the 2005 film of the same name, which in turn was inspired by actual events.

The young owner of a British shoe manufacturer, whose line of sensible shoes is not selling, is convinced to shift his factorys focus to creating the sort of flamboyant footwear required by cabaret artists and drag queens.

Mark Frank directs the production, with musical direction by Laura Cowan and Reid Bennett and choreography by Lexie Jo Sweeney.

Tickets are $5-$15. 918-595-7777, pacetickets.tulsacc.edu.

The Magical Lamp of Aladdin

One of the most enduring stories supposedly related during the 1,001 Nights comes to life as Green Country Childrens Theatre presents The Magical Lamp of Aladdin.

Performances are 7 p.m. Friday-Saturday, Feb. 17-18 and 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 19 at the Broadway Theater, 720 S. Kenosha Ave.

The play follows the adventures of Aladdin, who must fend off the attacks of the evil magician Jammal, who wants to steal Aladdins lamp, and the wish-granting genie who lives inside it.

Tickets are $14-$16. greencountrytheatre.com.

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Tulsa chef Paul Wilson had just returned from a lengthy vacation, with a plan to start a new pop-up restaurant concept, when he learned that he was chosen as a semifinalist for the 2023 James Beard Awards.

Wilson is in the running for Best Chef Southwest, which includes Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico, as well as Oklahoma. He is one of five Oklahomans on the awards long list, which includes fellow Tulsa chefs Lisa Becklund of FarmBar and Ben Alexander of Mr. Kims.

Wilson was nominated for his work at Boston Title & Abstract, the chef-driven, speakeasy-style underground restaurant that he and business partner Greg Donnini opened in 2018.

The thing is, Wilson is no longer involved with Boston Title & Abstract. Wilson did not want to go into details about the break, other than to say it was due to a difference in culinary ideas for the restaurant.

I had spent about a month and a half in California and had started working out the idea for this pop-up concept, Wilson said. I was starting to gather the resources for it when I learned about the (Beard Award) nomination.

It was a surprise, because it was never something I went after, he said. I never saw the need to chase after awards or Michelin stars or what have you. Ive been in this business 30-plus years, and Im pretty comfortable in my own skin. But now that its come my way, Im stoked about it.

Wilson came to Tulsa from New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. While in New Orleans, he worked with and studied under chef Rene Bajeux, where Wilson developed his love for, and skill in, French culinary techniques.

During his years in Tulsa, Wilson has served as executive chef for such restaurants as The Kitchen in Brookside, S & J Oyster Co., Juniper, The Chalkboard and Papa Ganouj before opening Boston Title & Abstract.

But his focus is now the new concept, which he is calling Sans Murs (French for without walls), and which debuted Feb. 10-11 at the Silo Event Center, 4629 W. 41st St. It will also be open for dinner service Feb. 14-18. Reservations can be made at eventbrite.com.

This is by-and-large a pop-up enterprise, in that Im moving from one location to another, Wilson said. But there is a good possibility that it could become more permanent. Were kind of feeling things out to see how they work. But Hugo (Gutierrez), who owns the Silo center, wants to work with me, so we will see what comes of this.

The food Wilson plans to serve at Sans Murs will be along the lines of what he created for Boston Title & Abstract  French-inspired with Latin and Creole influences.

The menu he posted, which will be served during February, features nine starters, six entrees, six sides and three desserts.

Im wanting to go in a more avant-garde direction, he said. We have this format where you get an appetizer, then an entree, then a dessert. I want to move away from that, which is why the menu has so many starters. I want people to come in, maybe have four or five appetizers, and make it more of a sharing experience.

As for the entrees, the focus is going to be on the protein and its sauce, and make those as special as we can, he said. And I want the sides to be as interesting and beautiful in their own way as anything else on the menu.

Among the listed appetizers are items such as braised wild mushrooms with tarragon and sassafras; foie gras with roasted pear and a honey-sage brown butter; escargot with garlic, basil and an anise liquor; and a charcuterie board filled with braised meats, pickled fish, artisan cheeses, pickled vegetables, jams, spreads and country breads.

Entrees include a roasted half duck with cherry molasses gastrique; a pot au feu with braised pork, beef and lamb with roasted root vegetables; and a filet mignon with wild mushrooms, truffle and pickled cherries.

I want this to be the sort of experience that encourages people to try new things, to sample foods and dishes they know they couldnt make at home, Wilson said.

He is also inaugurating a practice that he had seen at restaurants in major cities and believes will be coming soon to Tulsa: putting a deposit down when making a reservation.

Some local restaurants that offer unique tasting menus, such as FarmBar and Et al., require guests to pay for their meals in full to reserve a seat.

Sans Murs requires a $25 deposit per reservation, which is non-refundable, but the amount will go toward the diners final tab.

I cant tell you the number of times Ive come in, looked at the reservations and thought we would have a good, busy night, and then the cancellations and no-shows start, and suddenly its not so busy, Wilson said.
Marea, a child, asked why there were no brown princesses that looked like her.

Along with her parents, they set out to create one.

Mareas parents are a film producer (Doug Claybourne) with Tulsa roots and writer-director Laura Napier.

Laura and Marea worked together on the book The Rainbow Prince and then a screenplay, which has become a 35-minute film for children and families.

In their story, a brown-skinned princess, also named Marea, finds and falls in love with Prince Rainbow, and, in a fairytale flip, her kiss of true love saves his life and together they spread love throughout the world.

The Rainbow Prince will premiere Saturday, Feb. 25 at Circle Cinema as part of Black History Month and the theaters 95th anniversary celebration. Fundraising for the film began at Circle Cinema in 2019.

Admission is free but seating is limited and will be on a first come, first served basis. For more info visit CircleCinema.org. All kids will receive free popcorn and 10 autographed copies of the book will be given away.

We are grateful to our friends in Tulsa and to the Tulsa film community for their tireless support for this very personal and important project, Claybourne said in a news release.

Claybourne is a 1974 graduate of the University of Tulsa and a movie industry veteran. He served as special assistant to the producers for Francis Ford Coppola on Apocalypse Now and was assistant director and/or producer on several Coppola films that followed. Among films Claybourne has produced are The Fast and the Furious and The Mask of Zorro.

A news release said Claybourne and Napier drew on their industry experience and worked for six years to make the book and film a reality for their daughter and children of all races, colors and creeds. Claybourne produced The Rainbow Prince, and Napier was the director.

The film includes a diverse cast, including a queen of African descent, who, with her white husband, adopts Prince Rainbow in a kingdom where there exists no prejudice or hate and where they teach him love, truth, acceptance and justice.

Rainbow has skin that changes color to reflect his feelings; brown is his happy color. As a baby, a spell is placed upon Rainbow that can only be broken by a kiss from his true love.

Princess Marea is a talented teacher who comes to help Rainbow educate the kingdoms children. She is just in time, for the spell will send Rainbow into a deep slumber if he does not receive a kiss from his true love before he turns 21. With Rainbows birthday upon him, Princess Marea and Rainbow fall in love. Just as he begins to descend into sleep, Mareas kiss breaks the spell.

This film has so many positive and empowering messages for children, Donna Boswell, a Tulsa-based therapist, licensed clinical social worker and founder of Child Impact Projects, said in the release.

It demonstrates the beauty of love over hate and the life-saving and transformative power of true love and connectivity, one of the key messages I try to convey to the families and professionals with whom I work.

Boswell works to intervene in child trauma, medical abuse and family court cases nationwide. She commended the film for addressing adoption, diversity and the beauty of colorful kingdoms, justice, acceptance, seeing the beauty in the world and its depiction of new kinds of heroes, especially with a brown-skinned princess warrior in a starring role.

The Rainbow Prince is a wonderful film that can help build confidence and self-esteem in children, Boswell said.

The Rainbow Prince was made as a nonprofit short film so it could be shown in school classrooms as a way to discuss diversity and inclusion.

We want young girls and boys to see a new version of the age-old princess fairytale where the princess is empowered, the cast is diverse and which takes place in a community that values diversity, love and acceptance, Napier said. We are proud to offer our familys passion project, The Rainbow Prince, to the many children who do not see their faces reflected in the media they consume and offer new images and situations that better reflect todays diverse communities, their power and possibilities.

For more information, visit therainbowprince.com

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Nobody knew why the cat did it. Maybe it had rabies. Maybe, as some people speculated at the time, it got too close to a bottle of turpentine. But one morning in early January 1895, a drug store owners cute little pet suddenly began attacking customers.

The cat fought so ferociously that eight or 10 grown men stood on top of chairs to get away from it and somebody went to fetch Tom Stufflebeam, the town marshal. But Stufflebeam couldnt subdue the cat either.

The marshal might have been able to face off against outlaws like the Dalton gang, but when it comes to a mad cat he gets his anatomy on top of the most convenient counter in much shorter time than it takes to tell the story, according to a newspaper report from the time.

Stufflebeam was not, of course, a real marshal. Tulsa had not yet been incorporated as a city and had no municipal government that could officially hire a law enforcement officer.

Instead, Stufflebeam got his paycheck from an unofficial group called the Vigilance Committee, which basically made him a private security guard for the towns business owners. Another word for it might be vigilante.

Early Tulsa was a dusty little frontier community, one of the last bastions of the Wild West, where cattle drives came through the middle of town and rowdy cowboys used windows for target practice, according to an early newspaper known as the Indian Republican.

It is not safe at night to light up a store or residence without having that light shot out, the Republican said. Bands of outlaws roam the hills on every side of town.

Stufflebeam seems to have played a vital role in bringing law and order to Tulsa, but not the way he might have supposed, according to the Republican.

He allegedly got drunk one day, fell in the river and nearly drowned before he was pulled out of the water by another Tulsa pioneer, whose name was recorded for posterity as Burrel Cox.

This rather embarrassing incident, highlighting the need for more professional law enforcement, helped convince attorney Harry Campbell and other leading citizens to begin drawing up papers of incorporation.

A delegation from Tulsa took the paperwork to Muskogee, where Judge William Springer interrupted a murder trial to sign them on Jan. 18, 1898  the date often regarded as the citys birthday, as noted by a recent Facebook post from modern-day Mayor G.T. Bynum.

As for Stufflebeam, he was not entirely out of job. The new City Council continued to pay him $10 a week as a night watchman, according to the archives of the Tulsa World.

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Medicare mambo: First District Congressman Kevin Hern tried turning the Medicare tables on President Joe Biden after Biden said in his State of the Union address that some Republicans want to sunset Medicare and Social Security.

Immediately, Hern tweeted that it is Biden who wants to cut Medicare.

Later, Hern said, Bidens audio doesnt match the video on the matter.

The only person we know in Washington whos cutting Medicare is Joe Biden, Hern said separately. Hes cut $4.7 billion from Medicare Advantage.

Hern is referring to a new administration rule aimed at recovering overpayments to Medicare Advantage providers. The administration says Medicare Advantage audits have been too lax for decades and that the money is owed to the federal government.

Providers mostly disagree, and Hern asserted that Biden is opposed to Medicare Advantage because its through private health insurance companies.

Bidens claim that some Republicans want to sunset Social Security and Medicare refers to a broader proposal by Florida Sen. Rick Scott for all federal spending programs. It hasnt gotten much support from fellow Republicans, but apparently discussions were such that they caused former President Donald Trump to chime in.

The Republican Study Committees most recent budget proposal, for which Hern was primarily responsible, proposes many changes, mostly administrative, to Medicare and Social Security but says the programs must be preserved. It does recommend raising the eligibility age for both, which some consider a reduction of benefits.

In any event, if any congressional Republicans were even mildly in support of reducing Medicare and Social Security, they loudly went on the record Tuesday night in firm support of the popular programs.

Deauthorization: Fourth District Congressman Tole Cole was among a bipartisan group refiling legislation to repeal the 1991 and 2002 Authorizations for the Use of Military Force, or AUMFs, which are still being used to deploy military forces in the Middle East.

Opponents say the AUMFs allow the executive branch to circumvent its constitutional and statutory duties to consult Congress before entering the country into armed conflict.

Supporters say modern warfare requires presidents to have discretion in such matters.

With the 1991 AUMF, Congress OKd U.S. involvement in the Gulf War after Saddam Husseins Iraq invaded Kuwait. The 2002 resolution enabled President George W. Bush to invade Iraq.

The new legislation would leave in place a 2001 AUMF authorizing military action against those responsible for the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Over the past 21 years, the resolution has been used to justify deployment of American military personnel to Afghanistan, the Philippines, Georgia, Yemen, Djibouti, Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Iraq and Somalia.

According to the U.S. Constitution, only Congress can declare war. But thats only happened 11 times in the nations history, with the last occurring in 1942, when Axis members Hungary, Rumania and Bulgaria were formally added to the United States World War II enemies.

Dots and dashes: New U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullins Senate Armed Services subcommittee assignments are Airland, Emerging Threats and Capabilities and Readiness and Management Support.  U.S. Sen. James Lankford said new Biden administration emission regulations for heavy-duty vehicles are too tough and will crush smaller trucking companies.  Third District Congressman Frank Lucas called for legislation to squeeze Chinas access to capital markets if it threatens Taiwan.  Second District Congressman Josh Brecheen is among those asking why some South Carolina high school students were kicked out of the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, allegedly for wearing stocking caps with Rosary Pro-Life stitched on them.  Mullin said he cancelled DirecTV after the satellite television provider dropped Newsmax over a contract dispute.  Lucas wants to know about a Russian attempt to hack into Brookhaven, Argonne and Lawrence Livermore national laboratories.  Army Capt. Ben Cohen has joined Coles office on a one-year Department of Defense fellowship.  How close was the 2022 fight for control of the U.S. House? A report by Inside Elections found that as few as 6,675 more votes would have left Democrats in the majority.

 Randy Krehbiel, Tulsa World

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For the first time in 36 years, Jim Inhofe does not have Congressman or Senator in front of his name. Nor do any of the appellations  mayor, state senator, state representative, candidate  by which he has been known for most of the past 57 years still apply.

The man whose political career spanned nearly six decades has indeed retired, at least from elected office. At 88, Inhofe says he intends to remain involved in politics but admits to still suffering the long-term effects of COVID-19. It is the reason, he said, he left the Senate.

Five or six others have (long COVID), but Im the only one who admits it, Inhofe said during a recent interview.

Inhofe spends a good deal of his time these days at the Riverside Airport hangar hes occupied for 40 years, sorting through mementos and refurbishing an office that looks out over the runway.

One of those mementos, leaning against a wall, is a large framed photograph, an aerial image of Tulsa in the 1930s: downtown skyline in the foreground, refineries billowing behind.

When I was chairman of Environment and Public Works, I always hung this picture in the committee room behind Barbara Boxer so when the camera went to her you could see it in the background, Inhofe said, a note of mischief in his voice. She hated it.

Perhaps nothing encapsulates Inhofes years in Congress as concisely as that photograph and Inhofes relationship with Boxer, the liberal California Democrat with whom he traded gavels over the years as chairs of one of the U.S. Senates most powerful committees.

Inhofe and Boxer disagreed on just about everything that came before them  especially the environment. Boxer worried about pollution and the carbon emissions warming the planet. Inhofe dismissed climate change warnings (and still does) as overblown at best and a hoax at worst.

Its become a religion, he said.

For Inhofe, policy is largely about business and industry  this engine we call America, in Inhofes words  as exemplified by that photograph of a Tulsa running at full throttle.

Boxer, who retired in 2017, took pollution more seriously and was less trusting of business. She and Inhofe fussed incessantly. They teased. And still they managed to legislate.

We were known as the committee that got things done, Inhofe has often said.

For all of his fulminating about the other party (Were right; theyre wrong), his bulldog tenacity and blunt plainspokenness, Inhofe got along with political opponents well enough to churn out major defense and infrastructure legislation year after year.

Real friendship exists in the Senate, but nobody hears about it, Inhofe said in his November farewell speech on the chamber floor.

That said, Inhofes 57 years in public life have not been all sunshine and lollipops. From throwing a snowball on the U.S. Senate floor, to charges of dirty pool by vanquished opponents, to his God, guns and gays ideolology, Inhofe consistently attracted controversy and raised blood pressures.

Even in Oklahoma, his approval numbers have generally lagged those of other statewide elected officials.

But while Inhofe has never been the states most popular politician, he has been its most enduring  and arguably its most influential. His career arc traces the ascendency of the Republican Party in Oklahoma from minority party backbencher in the state House of Representatives to one of the most powerful figures in state history.

Fred Davis, Inhofes nephew and longtime political advertising consultant, explains Inhofes longevity thusly: How many (elected officials) is it that what you see is what you get?

With other politicians, Davis said: Most of it is bulls-. Most of it is ego. Most of it is theyll tell this group one thing and another group another.

Inhofe, said Davis, is different.

Jim is just tough as nails. Man, that guy can be a little difficult to deal with, Davis said one prominent Oklahoma Republican once told him, but hes got a moral compass that doesnt waver.

You know hes conservative. You know he isnt going to change. You know if he votes for the giant spending bill ... theres a reason. Hes going to have a good answer for you, said Davis.

Critics may not have liked his policies or even his personality, but Inhofe positioned himself to make material differences in Oklahoma. In that regard, he followed in the tradition of some of his Democratic predecessors such as Sen. Robert S. Kerr and U.S. Speaker of the House Carl Albert, albeit with a narrower scope.

I really wanted to make a difference, and I did, Inhofe said, then added: It always seemed to be unexpected.

The number of bridges built and miles paved because of Inhofe is incalculable. For decades, when an Oklahoma town needed a water or sewer system fixed or a bureaucratic snafu untangled, they turned to Jim Inhofe.

When the Pentagon or Congress or the White House thought about closing or de-emphasizing Air Force bases in Enid or Altus or Midwest City, or the sprawling military complex at Fort Sill, or the ammunition plant at McAlester, Inhofe defended them like a terrier.

Oklahomans may associate Inhofe with military and transportation matters, but in other quarters he is known as one of Africas most steadfast Washington allies. He visited the continent dozens of times during his 28 years in the Senate and became good friends with several African leaders, especially Rwandan President Paul Kagame.

Inhofe helped mediate disputes in Ethiopia and Kenya, navigated alligators on the Congo River and got a little closer than he would have liked to a gorilla. He frequently feuded with the U.S. State Department.

The State Department wants to make every country like the United States, Inhofe said. Africa is not the United States.

Inhofe entered elected politics inauspiciously, through a 1966 special election for the Oklahoma House of Representatives. At the time, he was one of 22 Republicans in a 99-member state House. Two years later he moved to the state Senate.

Some people say they kicked me out of the House, said Inhofe. Technically, I dont agree with that, but I was not popular. I was going to mess things up that had been going on for a long period of time.

From 1966 through 2022, Inhofe went before the voters 31 times  likely a record of some sort. Always, it seemed, there were people who thought they could beat him. Of the 57 who tried, only three succeeded.

The first was David Boren.

According to Inhofe, he and Boren became friends in the state House.

We were the two reformers, Inhofe said. Everyone acknowledged that. There was  in my opinion and his opinion  corruption, and we were going to clean up all the messes.

According to Inhofe, in 1974 they worked out plan a whereby he would become governor.

Inhofe did his part by winning the GOP primary against state Sen. Denzil Garrison of Bartlesville. Boren was to attack embattled incumbent David Hall on the Democrat side. But Inhofe expected Boren to only weaken Hall, not actually win the election.

Instead, Borens Broom Brigade swept away Hall in the primary, favorite Clem McSpadden in the runoff and Inhofe in the general.

I figured it would be Clem, or anybody except David Boren, because at that time the Democrats were not a reform party, said Inhofe.

Boren went on to the U.S. Senate in 1978. Inhofe served another four years in the state Senate, won three two-year terms as mayor of Tulsa, and lost a 1976 race for U.S. representative.

In 1984, Inhofe lost for the third and last time, to Democrat Terry Young, in a bid for a fourth term as mayor. Immediately after, Inhofe said he was probably finished with politics, but two years later he won the first of four terms as 1st District congressman.

If Oklahoma was not quite ready for Jim Inhofe in 1974, 20 years later it would be.

Inhofe entered the 1994 race to replace Boren in the U.S. Senate as a decided underdog. The favorite was polished 4th District Congressman Dave McCurdy, a moderate-to-conservative ally of then-President Bill Clinton.

Davis says he agreed to handle his uncles television campaign on the condition that Inhofe didnt have any say on what went on the air.

The result was a series of innovative ads that included burly convicts in tutus and a dull-eyed family staring at a bug-zapper. Davis said Inhofe originally hated the ads and even accused his nephew of trying to sabotage the campaign, but they helped propel Inhofe to victory and Davis to stardom in the world of Republican TV consultants.

In what became a pivotal year in Oklahoma politics, Inhofe and the state GOP hit Democrats hard on social and fiscal issues, setting the pattern for decades to come. The Republicans won back the governors mansion and, for the first time ever, captured every Oklahoma congressional spot. J.C. Watts, Steve Largent, Tom Coburn and Frank Lucas were all elected for the first time.

Nearly 30 years later, the Republican Party has a hammerlock on every statewide office, huge legislative majorities and all seven congressional seats.

Inhofe isnt solely responsible for that, but he was part of it.

Ironically, the man who was too conservative for Oklahoma in 1974 is now considered too liberal  or at least not enough of whats defined as conservative by his own party these days. His refusal to go along with a scheme to throw the 2020 presidential election and his positions on Ukraine and earmarks are dimly viewed in some Republican quarters.

Inhofe said he knows some of his positions are not really considered to be all that conservative by some of the people who decide such things. But his belief in his own judgment seems unshaken.

I cant figure out why people dont do things that to me are obvious, he said.

Photos: A look back at Jim Inhofe's career Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Inhofe asks for commitment to Tar Creek Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe-snowball Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Republican Watch Party Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Biden and Inhofe Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Inhofe signs 'Greatest Hoax' book at Tulsa Barnes & Noble Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Jim Inhofe Check out our latest digital-only offer and subscribe now March 2019: Get to know Sen. James Inhofe HIDE VERTICAL GALLERY ASSET TITLES
Penny ante: A few cents here, a few cents there, and sales taxes can really add up, as Oklahomans know better than most.

Oklahoma towns and cities heavy reliance on sales  and, increasingly, use  taxes make the states combined rate one of the highest in the country, according to the Tax Foundation.

It ranks Oklahoma fifth for both combined sales tax rate (8.98%) and local sales tax rate (4.48%). Oklahomas state sales tax of 4.5% ranks only 36th.

A previous Tax Foundation study found that despite its high sales tax rates, Oklahomas narrow sales tax base  meaning the tax is assessed on fewer kinds of transactions  results in lower per capita sales tax receipts and a smaller share of sales tax as a percentage of income than the national average or median.

CRT: The Don Ross Lecture Series, named for the long-time Tulsa lawmaker, debuts at 3 p.m. Feb. 19 at the Greenwood Cultural Center, 322 N. Greenwood Ave., with a discussion of critical race theory.

Justin Hansford, executive director and founder of the Thurgood Marshall Civil Rights Center in the Howard University School of Law, will be the featured speaker.

Local author and attorney Hannibal Johnson will moderate.

Three more Don Ross lectures are planned through the end of 2023.

No exceptions: Twenty-four Republican lawmakers, all men, signed onto a pledge opposing any further exceptions to the states abortion ban.

Tulsa-area lawmakers who signed include Rep. Chris Banning, R-Bixby; Rep. Tom Gann, R-Inola; Rep. John Kane, R-Bartlesville; Rep. Clay Staires, R-Skiatook; and Sen. Nathan Dahm, R-Broken Arrow.

Campaigns and politics: The Oklahoma Ethics Commission voted to adopt the federal increase in the campaign contribution limit to candidates but not the increase for other types of committees. The new limit to candidates in elections overseen by the Ethics Commission is $3,300 per election, up from $2,900.

Meetings and events: Second District Congressman Josh Brecheen has several public meetings in northeastern Oklahoma coming up, including:

Tahlequah: 3:30 p.m. Monday, Armory Municipal Center, 100 N. Water Ave.

Muskogee: 6 p.m. Monday, Martin Luther King Center Conference Room, 300 W. Martin Luther King St.

Okmulgee: 9 a.m. Feb. 20, OSU Institute of Technology Student Union.

Claremore: noon Feb. 20, Claremore Conference Center Will Rogers Ballroom, 1400 W. Country Club Road.

Pryor: 2 p.m. Feb. 20, Graham Community Center, 6 N. Adair St.

Bartlesville: 5 p.m. Feb. 20, Bartlesville Community Center Community Hall, 300 S.E. Adams Boulevard.

Third District Congressman Frank Lucas also has several area town halls, all this week.

Mannford: 10 a.m. Wednesday, Mannford Activity Center, 100 Cimarron Drive.

Pawnee: 1 p.m. Wednesday, Pawnee City Hall, 510 Illinois St.

Pawhuska: 11 a.m. Thursday, Pawhuska Community Center, 520 Lynn Ave.

Austin Webb from TogetherOK and Dakota Christian from Yes on 820 will speak to the Creek County Democratic Party at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Bristow Community Center, 417 N. Chestnut, Bristow.

Ukraine specialist Johannes Remy of the University of Toronto will speak at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 22 in the Oklahoma State University-Tulsa auditorium. The event is free and open to the public.

Creek County Democratic precinct meetings will be at 6:30 p.m. March 16 at Booker T. Washington Recreation Center, 209 N. Gray, Sapulpa, and the Bristow Community Center, 417 N. Chestnut, Bristow. Details to follow.

Out of plumb: The Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs retained outside counsel to pursue litigation arising from design and construction of a new $75 million veterans center in Sallisaw.

The ODVA says mistakes by a contractor who has since been fired resulted in $21 million in extra costs on the project, which it says is about half-finished.

Bottom lines: Gov. Kevin Stitt has been in Washington since Thursday attending the National Governors Association winter conference, which includes a White House meeting with President Joe Biden.  Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond joined a group urging the administration to classify Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.

 Randy Krehbiel, Tulsa World

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Moisture seems to be a bit more plentiful these days as upper-level low-pressure systems continue to move through the state bringing rain (and even sleet) to the area.

We can all agree the rain is probably preferred over the mixed wintry weather. But as we continue to sit in a drought, anything is helpful.

This past week we actually set a new daily record for rainfall. On Feb. 7, we recorded 1.09 inches of rain, breaking the previously set record of 0.76 inch of rainfall for that date.

And totals have been actually trending above average. According to the National Weather Service records to date for the month of February, we have accumulated 2.07 inches of precipitation, which is above our average of 0.51 inch to date for the month.

And since Dec. 1, Tulsa has accumulated 5.95 inches of rainfall, exceeding the normal value of 4.57 inches at that point. Within that, since the first of the year we have accumulated 3.4 inches of rain, above the normal 2.14 inches of rainfall.

Still with all of this lies the question:

Are we still under a drought, even though we have seen several rounds of rain lately? And what will it take to get us out of this drought?

 Jim, Tulsa

The short answer is yes, we are still under drought conditions. But according to Nicole McGavock, meteorologist and hydrologist with the Tulsa National Weather Service, unfortunately there isnt a straightforward answer on how many inches it takes to pull us out of the drought.

The slow, steady rain like we had this week does help a lot with improving the various drought indicators, especially this time of year, McGaock said.

According to McGavock, while the drought monitor currently keeps us at extreme drought, or D3, conditions, the data cutoff time for input into the weekly drought monitor is actually around the 6 a.m. hour Tuesday. At that point, it gives the drought monitor author time to analyze all of the data and input for a Thursday morning updated release.

So that means much of the rainfall we saw this past week has not yet been added to the status of our current drought conditions, because it fell after that Tuesday morning timeframe.

I would suspect that there is some improvement seen with next weeks drought monitor once all of the rain from this week (as well as what could potentially fall early next week) is used in the analysis, McGavock said.

There is also a calculation that is used to estimate the amount of rainfall that would be needed to get what is called the Palmer Drought Severity Index to near normal. The PDSI is a monitoring system that uses temperature and precipitation data to estimate relative dryness. It is a standardized index that spans from -10 (dry) to +10(wet). And according to the National Center for Atmospheric Research website it has been reasonably successful at quantifying long-term drought.

For northeast Oklahoma it is estimated that 3 inches of rain would be needed for the next 4 weeks to bring the PDSI back to near normal, McGavock said.

But she noted that PDSI is just one of the indicators used in the drought monitor.

McGavock added, at least that gives an estimate on one piece of the puzzle.

As we head into this week there are multiple systems moving through that will bring an increased chance for rain and possibly even snowfall.

But our next big soaker comes on Monday night into Tuesday. With that we could see an additional inch of accumulation in the area.

Featured video: Stay safe outdoors during extremely cold weather
Vietnams Ministry of Industry and Trade is seeking feedback on a VND23.69 trillion (US$1 billion) battery cell production project within Vingroups VinFast automobile production complex in Hai Phong City. The trade ministry recently sent a document to the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Transport for opinions about the project. The project is expected to be built within the VinFast automobile production complex at Dinh Vu-Cat Hai Economic Zone on Cat Hai Island off Hai Phong City, according to the report of Vinhomes Industrial Zone Investment JSC (VHIZ), a subsidiary of Vingroup. In a document sent to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, VHIZ stated it had completed and supplemented necessary paperwork in accordance with the law on investment, construction, environmental protection, and fire and explosion prevention. The firm asked the trade ministry to appraise the report in accordance with the law. The project will produce cells to supply VinFast's car and motorbike battery assembly factory. The battery production will help VinFast ensure the resources needed for the production and business plans of electric vehicle products. The project will use technology developed by Vingroup's research institute, with the main equipment in the production line imported from South Korea to meet CE and UL standards. This is a high technology that is widely used in the world, has never been applied in Vietnam, and is not on the list of restricted technologies according to regulations. VinFast's battery cell products are also researched, developed, and manufactured to meet international standards, including the UN 38.3 Certification for lithium batteries. In order to ensure an adequate and stable supply of raw materials for production, VinFast has signed cooperation agreements with partners specializing in manufacturing and supplying materials for battery cell production in major markets such as Japan, South Korea, and China. VinES Energy Solutions JSC, another subsidiary of Vingroup, recently initiated the construction of LFP (lithium ferro-phosphate) battery cell factory at Vung Ang Economic Zone in north-central Ha Tinh Province. Costing nearly VND6.3 trillion ($267 million), the project covers an area of 14 hectares and has the capacity of 5 GWh per year, equivalent to about 30 million battery cells a year. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!

Vietnams Ministry of Industry and Trade is seeking feedback on a VND23.69 trillion (US$1 billion) battery cell production project within Vingroups VinFast automobile production complex in Hai Phong City.

The trade ministry recently sent a document to the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Transport for opinions about the project.

The project is expected to be built within the VinFast automobile production complex at Dinh Vu-Cat Hai Economic Zone on Cat Hai Island off Hai Phong City, according to the report of Vinhomes Industrial Zone Investment JSC (VHIZ), a subsidiary of Vingroup.

In a document sent to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, VHIZ stated it had completed and supplemented necessary paperwork in accordance with the law on investment, construction, environmental protection, and fire and explosion prevention.

The firm asked the trade ministry to appraise the report in accordance with the law.

The project will produce cells to supply VinFast's car and motorbike battery assembly factory.

The battery production will help VinFast ensure the resources needed for the production and business plans of electric vehicle products.

The project will use technology developed by Vingroup's research institute, with the main equipment in the production line imported from South Korea to meet CE and UL standards.

This is a high technology that is widely used in the world, has never been applied in Vietnam, and is not on the list of restricted technologies according to regulations.

VinFast's battery cell products are also researched, developed, and manufactured to meet international standards, including the UN 38.3 Certification for lithium batteries.

In order to ensure an adequate and stable supply of raw materials for production, VinFast has signed cooperation agreements with partners specializing in manufacturing and supplying materials for battery cell production in major markets such as Japan, South Korea, and China.

VinES Energy Solutions JSC, another subsidiary of Vingroup, recently initiated the construction of LFP (lithium ferro-phosphate) battery cell factory at Vung Ang Economic Zone in north-central Ha Tinh Province.

Costing nearly VND6.3 trillion ($267 million), the project covers an area of 14 hectares and has the capacity of 5 GWh per year, equivalent to about 30 million battery cells a year.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Despite encouraging results in the cooperation between Vietnam and Brunei, they are not corresponding to the demands, potential, and advantages of the two sides, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said during his official visit to Brunei on Friday and Saturday. The two countries trade has increased sharply and exceeded the target. The potential of further growth in two-way trade is great with both two sides efforts. In 2022, three years after Vietnam and Brunei established a comprehensive partnership, their trade reached US$725.8 million, up 134 percent from 2021, well above the target of $500 million set for 2025. Brunei currently ranks 26th among the 142 countries and territories investing in Vietnam, with a total registered investment of nearly $1 billion for 156 projects. On the other hand, Vietnam has had only two investment projects in Brunei with a total registered capital of over $3.6 million. To contribute to dealing with the imbalance, PM Chinh met with Bruneis leading energy enterprises and ministers on Saturday afternoon. At the meeting, Brunei enterprises also expressed their high hopes for the robust development of Vietnams economy and the relations between the two countries in the coming time. Tran Hoai Nam, deputy general director of PetroVietnam Technical Services Corporation, an arm of Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group, said Brunei is a potential market for Vietnamese enterprises. The corporation had earlier entered into some contracts with Brunei, in which the latter required the firm to create jobs and train human resources for it. However, this country has eased its requirements, making it more attractive. PetroVietnam Technical Services Corporation used to export oil rigs to Brunei, Nam told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper ahead of the meeting. During the talks with the Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah, who concurrently serves as the Prime Minister and Ministers of Defense, Foreign Affairs, and Finance and Economy of Brunei, PM Chinh suggested specific solutions to boost the two countries cooperation in the oil and gas sector. He expected Brunei to continue creating conditions for Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group to provide oil drilling and technical services in Brunei and introduce oil exploration projects to the Vietnamese firm. In return, Vietnam will extend a contract to buy crude oil from Brunei in 2023 and the following years. In addition, Brunei can take advantage of Vietnams strengths in agriculture. Meanwhile, Brunei will be a supplier of fertilizers to Vietnam. Vietnams agricultural products can be used in Bruneis Halal food industry, in which food products meet Muslim standards. If Vietnamese farm produce can enter Brunei, it will be a great opportunity for Vietnam's agriculture. PM Chinh said Vietnam has abundant material resources for Halal food but is not strong in producing these products. However, Vietnam can transport the materials to Brunei. Therefore, the Vietnamese government leader suggested the Brunei Sultan foster the two countries cooperation in this field. On Saturday, PM Chinh and his spouse also visited the Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD), where the Vietnamese language is taught. As many as 71 students of the university have registered to learn Vietnamese. A UBD representative told Tuoi Tre that Vietnamese has been taught at the university since last year. UBD decided to teach Vietnamese as it is one of the representing languages of ASEAN," the representative said. "Furthermore, Vietnamese has become popular among Brunei young people. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!

Despite encouraging results in the cooperation between Vietnam and Brunei, they are not corresponding to the demands, potential, and advantages of the two sides, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said during his official visit to Brunei on Friday and Saturday.

The two countries trade has increased sharply and exceeded the target.

The potential of further growth in two-way trade is great with both two sides efforts.

In 2022, three years after Vietnam and Brunei established a comprehensive partnership, their trade reached US$725.8 million, up 134 percent from 2021, well above the target of $500 million set for 2025.

Brunei currently ranks 26th among the 142 countries and territories investing in Vietnam, with a total registered investment of nearly $1 billion for 156 projects.

On the other hand, Vietnam has had only two investment projects in Brunei with a total registered capital of over $3.6 million.

To contribute to dealing with the imbalance, PM Chinh met with Bruneis leading energy enterprises and ministers on Saturday afternoon.

At the meeting, Brunei enterprises also expressed their high hopes for the robust development of Vietnams economy and the relations between the two countries in the coming time.

Tran Hoai Nam, deputy general director of PetroVietnam Technical Services Corporation, an arm of Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group, said Brunei is a potential market for Vietnamese enterprises.

The corporation had earlier entered into some contracts with Brunei, in which the latter required the firm to create jobs and train human resources for it.

However, this country has eased its requirements, making it more attractive.

PetroVietnam Technical Services Corporation used to export oil rigs to Brunei, Nam told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper ahead of the meeting.

During the talks with the Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah, who concurrently serves as the Prime Minister and Ministers of Defense, Foreign Affairs, and Finance and Economy of Brunei, PM Chinh suggested specific solutions to boost the two countries cooperation in the oil and gas sector.

He expected Brunei to continue creating conditions for Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group to provide oil drilling and technical services in Brunei and introduce oil exploration projects to the Vietnamese firm.

In return, Vietnam will extend a contract to buy crude oil from Brunei in 2023 and the following years.

In addition, Brunei can take advantage of Vietnams strengths in agriculture. Meanwhile, Brunei will be a supplier of fertilizers to Vietnam.

Vietnams agricultural products can be used in Bruneis Halal food industry, in which food products meet Muslim standards.

If Vietnamese farm produce can enter Brunei, it will be a great opportunity for Vietnam's agriculture.

PM Chinh said Vietnam has abundant material resources for Halal food but is not strong in producing these products. However, Vietnam can transport the materials to Brunei.

Therefore, the Vietnamese government leader suggested the Brunei Sultan foster the two countries cooperation in this field.

On Saturday, PM Chinh and his spouse also visited the Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD), where the Vietnamese language is taught. As many as 71 students of the university have registered to learn Vietnamese.

A UBD representative told Tuoi Tre that Vietnamese has been taught at the university since last year.

UBD decided to teach Vietnamese as it is one of the representing languages of ASEAN," the representative said.

"Furthermore, Vietnamese has become popular among Brunei young people.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Many residents and experts have had high hopes for Ho Chi Minh Citys project to develop a 'super walking area' on 221 hectares of land in the downtown area. They said that the super walking area should facilitate local residents' life and feature highlights. Huynh Thi My Chi, a local resident, said the city has had many public destinations for local residents. My friends and I visited the Bach Dang Wharf in District 1 on an afternoon, then reached Ho Con Rua [Turtle Lake] in District 3," Chi recounted. They traveled by public bicycle to experience the service and have a look at landscapes in the downtown area. If the city organizes a 'super walking area' with each street featuring a characteristic, the area will become attractive," Chi said. "However, the walking area should have public transport means, such as bicycles and mini buses, to facilitate locals travel. I hope each pedestrian street will feature a characteristic, such as books, food, and history. "If the super walking area is purely an area for walking, it will be incomplete and boring." Dr. Tran Quang Thang, director of the Institute for Research and Economic Management of Ho Chi Minh City, threw his support behind the project, saying it would help develop a civilized and modern city. The project would also be a solution to reduce private vehicles entering the downtown area during rush hours, thus easing traffic congestion, Thang added. Ho Chi Minh City currently has Nguyen Hue and Bui Vien walking streets in District 1, a pedestrian area in the Ho Con Rua (Turtle Lake) area in District 3, and another in District 10. According to the District 3 Peoples Committee, the super walking area would open from 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm on Saturdays and Sundays in the first half of this year. The area is meant to feature a topic per month, besides food festivals, exhibitions, and a book space. With the experience in building, operating, and managing these walking streets, the city should develop the super walking area in a way that matches the reality and locals demand and would not affect traffic flows. According to Associate Professor Dr. Vu Anh Tuan, who is in charge of the super walking area project proposed by Urban and Transport Traffic Consulting Co. Ltd., walking street models in other countries bring huge economic, cultural, and traffic benefits. In Ho Chi Minh City, the world-class super walking area, once completed, will offer a special destination for visitors. The city can connect it with surrounding public transport to develop residents habit of walking and using public vehicles. The super walking area will be built in the citys downtown area as the streets there are developed in a grid system, the demand for walking of local residents is high, and the connectivity with bus stops and metro stations is favorable, Tuan shared. The super walking area project was formulated on the basis of the local demand and similar models in the world, attaching much importance to traffic and the economy," he said. The project will be executed in phases and connected to the two current walking streets, Nguyen Hue and Bui Vien, to form a bustling walking area network in the inner city to serve local residents and tourists. "There will be seven areas featuring culture, food, and shopping, among others. Tuan said the organization of walking streets will be associated with the traffic regulation to facilitate residents' life and the public transport development while shrinking personal vehicles by connecting the walking area with bus, water bus, public bicycle, and metro services. In addition, the project developer will take advantage of part of the roadways and sidewalks to develop parking lots to generate revenue and deal with the shortage of parking spaces in the citys inlying area. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!

Many residents and experts have had high hopes for Ho Chi Minh Citys project to develop a 'super walking area' on 221 hectares of land in the downtown area.

They said that the super walking area should facilitate local residents' life and feature highlights.

Huynh Thi My Chi, a local resident, said the city has had many public destinations for local residents.

My friends and I visited the Bach Dang Wharf in District 1 on an afternoon, then reached Ho Con Rua [Turtle Lake] in District 3," Chi recounted.

They traveled by public bicycle to experience the service and have a look at landscapes in the downtown area.

If the city organizes a 'super walking area' with each street featuring a characteristic, the area will become attractive," Chi said.

"However, the walking area should have public transport means, such as bicycles and mini buses, to facilitate locals travel.

I hope each pedestrian street will feature a characteristic, such as books, food, and history.

"If the super walking area is purely an area for walking, it will be incomplete and boring."

Dr. Tran Quang Thang, director of the Institute for Research and Economic Management of Ho Chi Minh City, threw his support behind the project, saying it would help develop a civilized and modern city.

The project would also be a solution to reduce private vehicles entering the downtown area during rush hours, thus easing traffic congestion, Thang added.

Ho Chi Minh City currently has Nguyen Hue and Bui Vien walking streets in District 1, a pedestrian area in the Ho Con Rua (Turtle Lake) area in District 3, and another in District 10.

According to the District 3 Peoples Committee, the super walking area would open from 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm on Saturdays and Sundays in the first half of this year.

The area is meant to feature a topic per month, besides food festivals, exhibitions, and a book space.

With the experience in building, operating, and managing these walking streets, the city should develop the super walking area in a way that matches the reality and locals demand and would not affect traffic flows.

According to Associate Professor Dr. Vu Anh Tuan, who is in charge of the super walking area project proposed by Urban and Transport Traffic Consulting Co. Ltd., walking street models in other countries bring huge economic, cultural, and traffic benefits.

In Ho Chi Minh City, the world-class super walking area, once completed, will offer a special destination for visitors.

The city can connect it with surrounding public transport to develop residents habit of walking and using public vehicles.

The super walking area will be built in the citys downtown area as the streets there are developed in a grid system, the demand for walking of local residents is high, and the connectivity with bus stops and metro stations is favorable, Tuan shared.

The super walking area project was formulated on the basis of the local demand and similar models in the world, attaching much importance to traffic and the economy," he said.

The project will be executed in phases and connected to the two current walking streets, Nguyen Hue and Bui Vien, to form a bustling walking area network in the inner city to serve local residents and tourists.

"There will be seven areas featuring culture, food, and shopping, among others.

Tuan said the organization of walking streets will be associated with the traffic regulation to facilitate residents' life and the public transport development while shrinking personal vehicles by connecting the walking area with bus, water bus, public bicycle, and metro services.

In addition, the project developer will take advantage of part of the roadways and sidewalks to develop parking lots to generate revenue and deal with the shortage of parking spaces in the citys inlying area.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
A 24-member rescue team sent by Vietnams Ministry of Public Security has arrived in the southeastern Turkish city of Adiyaman to engage in search and rescue operations for victims of the terrible earthquake that struck Turkey, along with Syria, earlier this week. Adiyaman is among the Turkish localities suffering the most from the magnitude-7.8 earthquake that hit the two countries on February 6, the ministry said. The team reached the torn city early on Saturday morning, one day after they touched down at Istanbul International Airport on Friday, bringing along 15 tons of rescue equipment. Through an arrangement with the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency of Turkey, they began working in an area of collapsed buildings on 531 Street in Adiyaman, where local authorities said 15 people could have been trapped under the rubble. Since arriving at the scene, we have conducted a site survey and worked out a meticulous rescue plan to search for victims in the debris using specialized equipment, in the hope of finding any survivors after five days of the horrible quake, a team member said. Despite a lot of difficult conditions, including a temperature of six degrees Celsius, the whole team is trying their best to fulfill their tasks, the member added. This is the first time that the public security ministry has sent a rescue police team on an international mission in a place far away from Vietnamese territory, the Vietnam News Agency said. The disastrous earthquake has affected about 13 million people across 10 Turkish provinces, where national emergency has been declared, according to Turkeys Anadolu News Agency. The disaster has so far killed over 28,000 people in both Turkey and Syria, The Guardian reported on Sunday. Vietnamese rescuers are seen consulting their foreign colleagues while working in an area of quake-destroyed buildings in the southeastern Turkish city of Adiyaman on February 11, 2023. Photo: Vietnamese rescue team This image shows papers, materials, and books in the debris in an earthquake-torn area in Adiyaman, a city in southeastern Turkish, on February 11, 2023. Photo: Vietnamese rescue team This image shows Vietnamese rescuers using specialized equipment to cut steel and iron structures of collapsed buildings in the southeastern Turkish city of Adiyaman on February 11, 2023 in search of victims of the fatal earthquake that hit Turkey five days earlier. Photo: Vietnamese rescue team Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!

A 24-member rescue team sent by Vietnams Ministry of Public Security has arrived in the southeastern Turkish city of Adiyaman to engage in search and rescue operations for victims of the terrible earthquake that struck Turkey, along with Syria, earlier this week.

Adiyaman is among the Turkish localities suffering the most from the magnitude-7.8 earthquake that hit the two countries on February 6, the ministry said.

The team reached the torn city early on Saturday morning, one day after they touched down at Istanbul International Airport on Friday, bringing along 15 tons of rescue equipment.

Through an arrangement with the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency of Turkey, they began working in an area of collapsed buildings on 531 Street in Adiyaman, where local authorities said 15 people could have been trapped under the rubble.

Since arriving at the scene, we have conducted a site survey and worked out a meticulous rescue plan to search for victims in the debris using specialized equipment, in the hope of finding any survivors after five days of the horrible quake, a team member said.

Despite a lot of difficult conditions, including a temperature of six degrees Celsius, the whole team is trying their best to fulfill their tasks, the member added.

This is the first time that the public security ministry has sent a rescue police team on an international mission in a place far away from Vietnamese territory, the Vietnam News Agency said.

The disastrous earthquake has affected about 13 million people across 10 Turkish provinces, where national emergency has been declared, according to Turkeys Anadolu News Agency.

The disaster has so far killed over 28,000 people in both Turkey and Syria, The Guardian reported on Sunday.

Vietnamese rescuers are seen consulting their foreign colleagues while working in an area of quake-destroyed buildings in the southeastern Turkish city of Adiyaman on February 11, 2023. Photo: Vietnamese rescue team

This image shows papers, materials, and books in the debris in an earthquake-torn area in Adiyaman, a city in southeastern Turkish, on February 11, 2023. Photo: Vietnamese rescue team

This image shows Vietnamese rescuers using specialized equipment to cut steel and iron structures of collapsed buildings in the southeastern Turkish city of Adiyaman on February 11, 2023 in search of victims of the fatal earthquake that hit Turkey five days earlier. Photo: Vietnamese rescue team

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Vietnam wins election as vice chair of UNESCO committee for cultural diversity protection

Vietnam has been elected as vice chair of the 24-member UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee of the 2005 Convention for the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions and will represent the Asia-Pacific region as part of the committees 16th session.



Ambassador Le Thi Hong Van, head of the Permanent Delegation of Vietnam to UNESCO, stressed that taking on the post for the second time continues to demonstrate the countrys increasing position and prestige within the international arena. In addition, it clearly shows the international communitys support for and trust in the nations contribution and management capacity as part of global multilateral institutions.

Ambassador Le Thi Hong Van, head of the Permanent Delegation of Vietnam to UNESCO speaks at a plenary session of the UNESCO General Assembly (Photo:VNA)



The election also recognizes the active Vietnamese contributions to UNESCO and its efforts to promote the role of culture and creativity as part of sustainable, inclusive, and resilient development, she noted.



The 16th session ran from February 7 to February 10 in Paris, France, and brought together nearly 400 delegates and observers from all member nations and nearly 100 other countries, international, and cultural organizations.



During the course of the event, member countries applauded Vietnamese policies and practical measures aimed at optimising the role of culture as an endogenous strength and a driving force for sustainable development. This is along with protecting and promoting the diversity of cultural expressions in the context of culture and creativity being heavily impacted by the pandemic, globalization, and digitization.



They also welcomed the countrys efforts to develop a national cultural index for sustainable development and its creative cities network.



In its new position, the nation will have favourable conditions to further contribute to the implementation of the 2005 Conventions goals and priorities, as well as taking advantage of its knowledge, experience, and external resources for its cultural and sustainable development in the new period, Van said.



The 2005 Convention was adopted on October 20, 2005, and has so far been ratified by 152 countries. Vietnam was first elected as vice chair of the committee during the 2011 to 2015 tenure.
Many local residents and tourists have flocked to Nam O Beach in Da Nang City, central Vietnam to take photos as the rocks there are coated with moss, creating a stunning landscape. Images of the moss-blanketed rocks on the beach have gone viral on social media. The best time to admire the scene is early in the morning, so many people have reached the site from the early morning to wait for sunrise. At 8:00 am on Saturday, Nam O Beach was crowded with visitors. Many people from neighboring Thua Thien Hue and Quang Nam Province have also arrived at the beach to admire and take photos with the moss-coated rocks. The grey rocks have been covered with green moss, which is an interesting natural phenomenon. The site has emerged as a new check-in point for locals and tourists. The moss season at Nam O Beach is an annual phenomenon after the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday. The moss flourishes for 15-20 days before withering. Nam O Beach in Da Nang City, central Vietnam is packed with people taking photos with the moss-covered rocks there, February 11, 2023. Photo: B.D. / Tuoi Tre Moss looks like green coats covering the rocks. Photo: B.D. / Tuoi Tre The moss-coated rocks have attracted many local residents and tourists. Photo: B.D. / Tuoi Tre Moss grows on the rocks and droops to the water surface. Photo: B.D. / Tuoi Tre Moss carpets the rocks. Photo: B.D. / Tuoi Tre Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!

Many local residents and tourists have flocked to Nam O Beach in Da Nang City, central Vietnam to take photos as the rocks there are coated with moss, creating a stunning landscape.

Images of the moss-blanketed rocks on the beach have gone viral on social media.

The best time to admire the scene is early in the morning, so many people have reached the site from the early morning to wait for sunrise.

At 8:00 am on Saturday, Nam O Beach was crowded with visitors.

Many people from neighboring Thua Thien Hue and Quang Nam Province have also arrived at the beach to admire and take photos with the moss-coated rocks.

The grey rocks have been covered with green moss, which is an interesting natural phenomenon.

The site has emerged as a new check-in point for locals and tourists.

The moss season at Nam O Beach is an annual phenomenon after the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday. The moss flourishes for 15-20 days before withering.

Nam O Beach in Da Nang City, central Vietnam is packed with people taking photos with the moss-covered rocks there, February 11, 2023. Photo: B.D. / Tuoi Tre

Moss looks like green coats covering the rocks. Photo: B.D. / Tuoi Tre

The moss-coated rocks have attracted many local residents and tourists. Photo: B.D. / Tuoi Tre

Moss grows on the rocks and droops to the water surface. Photo: B.D. / Tuoi Tre

Moss carpets the rocks. Photo: B.D. / Tuoi Tre

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The house known as 30 Ramsay Street Erinsborough is on the market.

A Neighbours home to the likes of Bouncer, Paul Robinson, Toadie, Joel & Lance (aka House of Trouser), Number 3 Pin Oak Court Vermont is up for private sale, listed at $1.275 million.

It was also home for Steph Scully & the Hoylands, Stingray, Sarah Beaumont, Sonya Rebecchi, Melanie Pearson, Amy Greenwood and more.

The split level floor plan, 4 bedroom home features an elevated pergola overlooking adjacent Billabong Park.

Arguably Australias suburban version of Hollywood, Pin Oak Court stands as a testament to the long running television show which launched the careers of Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan, Guy Pearce and Margot Robbie, a listing suggests.

This is a rare opportunity to stake your claim in that television history, preserving a part of Ramsay Street for yourself  where you can live out the shows premise of a tightknit neighbourhood in the leafy eastern suburbs of Melbourne.

Docking Real Estate director Adam Docking saying they were awaiting confirmation if the property would continue to be used by producers Fremantle when Neighbours resumes filming in April.

A house at 1 Pin Oak Court sold for $1.6m in 2021, while 5 Pin Oak Court, home to Susan & Karl Kennedy, was on the market in 2019 for $1.15 million.

Source: Herald Sun
Prime Video has renewed science-fiction series The Peripheral, starring Chloe Grace Moretz, for a second season.

Based on the novel by William Gibson it centres on Flynne Fisher, living in a 2032 dystopian America. Smart and ambitious, Fisher is burdened with no future, trying to keep her family together, until the future comes calling for her.

Producers Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan said, We are thrilled to continue the journey into Season Two and delve deeper into the incredible world that Gibson created.

On behalf of Scott Smith, Vincenzo Natali, and the entire team, were grateful to our partners at Amazon and, most of all, to the fans.

Amazon Studios Head of Television Vernon Sanders said, Williams mind-bending story in partnership with the brilliant minds of Scott and Jonathan and Lisa, produced an unforgettable journey for our global audience and we are thrilled with how they embraced the series.

We look forward to extending our partnership with Warner Bros. and Kilter Films as this uniquely ambitious series continues to unfold.
More than 25,000 people are known to have died after the 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck last Monday (Image: .)

Over many years during my time as a journalist Ive reported on three earthquakes. Afghanistan in 1998, Kashmir in 2005 and Haiti in 2010. Each and every one of them is indelibly etched in my memory, each and every one of them hitting countries and communities often already on the brink and vulnerable through poverty, civil strife, or war.

Ill never forget arriving at the small city of Balakot in the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan which sat at the epicentre of the Kashmir quake. In less than a minute 16,000 people had lost their lives out of a population of about 50,000. In total some 86,000 people were killed.

I can still recall seeing the limbs of the dead protruding from under pancaked houses, how whole mountainsides surrounding the city had sheared off and the eerie blood red colour of the river that ran through the city resulting from minerals released from the ground after the tectonic rupture. There was the terrible smell of death too and the miracle of watching a toddler being rescued after days under the rubble.

As with every quake Ive covered there is a grim familiarity also in the way events in the immediate aftermath of such disasters play out. There are always the questions raised over building standards, emergency provision and failures over the speedy delivery of aid.

And so it is once again after the world was confronted by the terrible scenes coming out of Turkey and Syria where over 20,000 people are dead following a magnitude 7.8 earthquake that slammed into the region last Monday.

People speaking of earthquakes often refer to them as natural disasters, but this is only part of the explanation.

It was Cameron Sinclair founder of the Worldchanging Institute an organisation that focuses on architectural and design solutions to humanitarian crises who once said that earthquakes dont kill people, bad buildings do. But this too is only part of the story. Earthquakes and their aftermaths play out in other ways too not least politically.

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While last weeks quakes were historic in scale and would be difficult for the best prepared government to manage, the government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has come under particularly sharp criticism.

Writing in the Financial Times in the aftermath of the quake the Turkish novelist Elif Shafak observed that what made it so deadly and the suffering so immense was not nature itself it was human-built systems of inequality and corruption.

Shafak is far from being a lone voice in her criticism. Other critics have pointed to how national funds meant for natural disasters just like this quake were instead spent on motor way construction projects managed by associates of Erdogan and his coalition government.

After a catastrophic earthquake in north-western Turkey killed more than 18,000 people in 1999, authorities imposed an earthquake solidarity tax meant to corral billions of dollars' worth of disaster prevention and relief.

One of the taxes, paid to this day by mobile phone operators and radio and TV, has brought some 88bn lira (3.8bn) into state coffers. It was even increased to 10% two years ago. But the government has never fully explained where the money has been spent. In short, Turkeys reliance on construction-driven economic growth, cronyism and willingness to ignore its own building standards have all played a part here.

According to Pelin Pnar Giritlioglu, Istanbul head of the Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects, Erdogans ruling Justice and Development party (AKP) periodically granted construction amnesties to buildings that blatantly defied earthquake regulations. Up to 75,000 buildings were given such amnesties in the earthquake zone alone, says Giritlioglu.

To make matters worse Erdogans centralisation of Turkeys government has meant a plethora of restrictions on how individual cities and aid organisations can operate in the country making it almost impossible for other organisations, civil society and local leaders to actually help thus hampering overall rescue efforts.

Right now politics might seem far off for those still looking for victims amidst the rubble and there is truth in the view that this is not the time for finger pointing but getting help to people who need it. But Erdogan is if nothing else very much a political animal and knows that a June election is looming. So too perhaps is a day of political reckoning.

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Ukraine: Russia's winter offensive and Elon Musk's Starlink

These days it seems he is never far away from controversial headlines. And so it was again last week when Elon Musks SpaceX Silicon Valley company announced its plans to block Ukrainian troops from using critical Starlink satellite technology with Ukrainian drones that are a key component of their fight against Russia.

SpaceX has privately shipped truckloads of Starlink terminals to Ukraine, allowing the country's military to communicate by plugging them in and connecting them with the nearly 4,000 satellites SpaceX has launched into low-Earth orbit so far.

Governments including the United States and France have paid for other shipments of Starlink terminals on top of those funded privately by SpaceX.

It was last week on Twitter - another company Musk owns  that he said that SpaceX was not allowing Starlink to be used for long-range drone strikes.

This was followed up by a statement from Gwynne Shotwell, Starlinks president and chief operating officer, who said at a conference in Washington that Starlink was never meant to be weaponised.

"We know the military is using them for comms, and that's ok. But our intent was never to have them use it for offensive purposes," Shotwell said.

She went on to say that Starlink had taken steps to curtail the Ukrainian militarys use of the technology for controlling drones, something that not unsurprisingly did not go down well in Kyiv.

Mykhailo Podolyak, a political adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, was among a number of Ukrainian officials who used Twitter to criticise the decision.

A year of Ukrainian resistance & companies have to decide: Either they are on the side of Ukraine & the right to freedom, and dont seek ways to do harm. Or they are on Russia's side & its 'right' to kill & seize territories," Podolyak wrote. SpaceX (Starlink) & Mrs. Shotwell should choose a specific option, he added.

Starlink, which beams internet signals from space to portable satellite dishes on the ground, has been a crucial weapon in Ukraines defence against Russia, allowing drones to monitor Russian troop manoeuvres and adapt their tactics on the ground.

The SpaceX decision came in a week that also saw more Russian strikes against Ukrainian cities and energy structure. During the attack, Russian forces fired 71 cruise missiles, seven Iranian-supplied Shahed attack drones and 35 S-300 missiles, normally used for air defence, Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, chief of Ukraines general staff confirmed. Ukrainian air defences shot down 61 of the cruise missiles and five of the drones, he added.

The Starlink setback for Ukraine came too as the country made urgent appeals for more ammunition and artillery immediately warning it is running short of stocks to defend against a new Russian offensive that Kyiv fears is imminent. Ukraine is estimated to be firing more than 5,000 artillery rounds every day, equal to a smaller European countrys orders in an entire year in peacetime. With or without Starlink the months ahead are set to be tough and testing times for Ukrainian forces.

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Nicaragua: Ortega deports his critics to the US

There was a time when Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega and his Sandinista Party (FSLN) were the darlings of the global left. But those days are long since over as Ortegas increasingly authoritarian regime has intensified its crackdown on political opponents some of whom were once fellow Sandinista members who helped overthrow the dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza Debayle back in 1979.

Having distorted the Sandinista tradition, Ortega has sought to quell dissent by targeting opponents and protestors. Ortegas security forces attacked demonstrators during the 2018 protests resulting in the death of 300 people and 100,000 Nicaraguans fleeing the country. Over the past few days however in a surprise move, Nicaragua has freed almost all of its political prisoners. More than 200 were put on a plane and flown to Washington, D.C.

Ortega later described the surprise release as a push to expel criminal provocateurs and agents of foreign powers who sought to undermine Nicaragua, while the United States hailed it as a "constructive step" toward improving human rights.

In a Thursday evening speech. Ortega confirmed the prisoners release and said his government did not ask for anything in return.

We do not want any trace of those who are mercenaries to remain here in our country, he said.

The freed political prisoners include five former presidential hopefuls who sought to challenge the increasingly authoritarian Ortega in a 2021 election only to be jailed in an unprecedented dragnet and criminalising of political dissent in the Central American country. Erika Guevara, Americas' director for rights group Amnesty International, credited a sustained pressure campaign over years for helping bring about the release of prisoners.

She pointed to courageous and relentless condemnation of Ortega's repression both inside Nicaragua and overseas as a catalyst that generated global awareness of abuses.

The Biden administration has imposed sanctions on the government and family of Ortega in recent years, and as The New York Times reported the prisoner release is likely revive a long-standing debate about whether sanctions work in Washingtons favour.

But while recent events may bolster the argument that sanctions are effective, human rights activists say they remain wary. For now it might have lifted internal political pressure on the Ortega regime but there remains precious little sign of it being willing to loosen its grip on power, permit political dissent and hold free and fair elections.

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The Netherlands: Amsterdam's red light district makeover

According to the city council certain busiest neighbourhoods have become unliveable. Among them is De Wallen perhaps better known as the Red Light District.

The answer it seems is to weed out the weed as Amsterdam moves to ban the smoking of cannabis on the streets.

For years The Netherlands capital city known for its ancient canals, art scene, restaurants and historic buildings, has also attracted tourists because of its liberal attitude toward prostitution and drug use.

"Some businesses misuse Amsterdam's image to sell it as a place of 'unlimited possibilities," Deputy Mayor Sofyan Mbarki said in a recent statement. As a result, some groups of visitors think of it as a city where anything goes. This kind of tourism, as well as offerings specifically targeting these groups, is not considered desirable by the Municipal Executive.

From mid-May smoking joints on the narrow, often jam packed streets of Amsterdams inner city will be outlawed. To show they mean what they say the authorities have stressed that if the nuisance persists, they may ban smoking on terraces of coffeeshops, places that sell cannabis, hash and other edible marijuana products that are decriminalised in the country.

Booze too will be restricted, with stores in the inner city banned from selling alcohol after 4 p.m. Thursday to Sunday and drinking in public will be forbidden.

In mid-May, bars, restaurants and cafes will close at 2 a.m., rather than the currently mandated 3 a.m. weekday and 4 a.m. weekend times. Sex work establishments will also see their hours change as a result of the new legislation, and will now be required to close up shop at 3 a.m., rather than 6 a.m.

Its all a result of the We Live Here campaign which has been used to make visitors aware that ordinary people live in the Red Light District and helped put pressure on the local authorities to act.

Many hoteliers in the city too seem to approve of the moves including the majority of the members of the Luxury Hotels of Amsterdam, an association of 24 four- and five-star hotels according to its chairman Remco Groenhuijzen.

We should get rid of the image of sex, drugs and rock and roll, Groenhuijzen was quoted recently as saying. It's not bad that we have a city that's a little bit on the edge. But that's not a free pass to come here and misbehave. Amsterdams makeover it seems has been given the green light this time round.
Aid workers in Turkey say the security situation is deteriorating, leaving them struggling to help those affected by the recent earthquake.

Monday's 7.8 magnitude quake killed more than 24,600 people in Turkey and another 3,500 in Syria, and brought down thousands of buildings.

Hope is fading for those still buried under the rubble, and frustration is growing among those trying to survive in freezing temperatures with dwindling supplies of food and medicine.

Two German aid organisations have suspended rescue operations and rescuers from the Austrian army also paused their work on Saturday, blaming safety concerns.

Germany's International Search and Rescue (ISAR) told Reuters news agency in an email: "There are increasing reports of clashes between different groups, and shots are said to have been fired."

ISAR operations manager Steven Bayer said the area was getting more unsafe, something he described as typical in such circumstances.

Speaking at a camp for rescue workers in the town of Kirikhan, he said: "That's partly due to the fact that food is now running out, water supply is running out, and then people are out searching for food and water.

"A second thing is that the hope that people had is now increasingly fading, and that hope can then also turn into anger."

Read more:

Turkey-Syria earthquake death toll expected to more than double, says UN aid chief

Family of five trapped for 129 hours pulled from rubble

Horror, brief happiness, then heartache in search for three sisters under collapsed building

ISAR, along with Germany's Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW), has said it will start work again as soon as Turkey's civil protection agency declares the area safe.

Meanwhile, Austria's defence ministry spokesman Michael Bauer said the Austrian Forces Disaster Relief Unit (AFDRU) had resumed their work after the Turkish army promised to protect them.

Lieutenant Colonel Pierre Kugelweis said in a statement on Saturday that there had been "increasing aggression between groups in Turkey".

Story continues

But he added there had been no attacks on the Austrians, who were "all fine" and in good spirits.

Switzerland said it is also watching the security situation closely, adding that it has measures to protect its 87 rescuers and eight dogs in Hatay Province.

Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that there has been some looting, although he did not comment on reports of fighting.

A state of emergency has been declared and, he added, this means that "from now on, the people who are involved in looting or kidnapping should know that the state's firm hand is on their backs".

But, despite the challenges, the rescuers are having some success.

Austria's 82 rescue workers have saved nine people in Antakya, the ancient capital of Hatay, while the Swiss rescuers have saved 11 people, including two babies.

Click to subscribe to the Sky News Daily wherever you get your podcasts

Local and foreign rescuers saved more than a dozen people on Saturday alone, including a family in Kahramanmaras. A seven-year-old girl was rescued in Hatay, and a family of five was pulled from the debris in Gaziantep, near the Syrian border.
FILE PHOTO: The logo of Toshiba Corp. is displayed atop of the company's facility building in Kawasaki, Japan

By Makiko Yamazaki and Ritsuko Shimizu

TOKYO (Reuters) -Toshiba Corp on Thursday confirmed it had received a proposal from a consortium led by private equity firm Japan Industrial Partners, after sources said the investors had secured $10.6 billion in loan commitments for their buyout.

Securing firm commitments from the banks was a major hurdle in the group's efforts to pull together a bid to buy Toshiba and take it private, according to the sources. The offer will now need to go to the conglomerate's board for approval.

"The company has received a proposal from the JIP consortium," Toshiba said in a statement. It added that it would assess the proposal, which had just been delivered on Thursday, and "continue to act in the best interests" of shareholders and other stakeholders.

JIP declined to comment.

Two of the sources said major Japanese banks, including Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, had issued letters of commitment to provide 1.4 trillion yen ($10.6 billion) in loans to the group.

Those loans included a commitment line of 200 billion yen for working capital, the sources said, declining to be identified because the information had not been made public.

The final buyout proposal would also include an equity portion of about 1 trillion yen, they said. Whether that amount had been finalised was not clear, however.

The Nikkei business daily reported the total value of the buyout proposal was around 2 trillion yen.

Sources have previously said the equity would be provided by a number of Japanese companies, including financial services group Orix Corp, chipmaker Rohm Co Ltd and Japan Post Bank.

Shares of Toshiba fell some 3% in Tokyo trade, potentially reflecting investor calculations that a rival bidder - with a higher offer - might now be less likely to emerge, because the financing had been secured.

"There is serious risk here that this doesn't get done. There are lots of people who could say no," said analyst Travis Lundy of Quiddity Advisors, who publishes on Smartkarma. But big Toshiba shareholders "might just accept a sup-optimal result because it gets them out."

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Toshiba named the JIP-led group as its preferred bidder in October. JIP was then asked by Toshiba to provide commitment letters from banks by Nov. 7, something it was unable to do.

The loan deal had taken a few months to finalise, causing a delay in the submission of the bid, as JIP, equity partners and the banks had worked to resolve disagreements over post-buyout restructuring plans, the sources said.

The banks asked Toshiba to promise the sale of underperforming businesses if earnings deteriorated after a buyout was concluded, sources, including those who spoke on Thursday, have previously said.

They also requested Toshiba to agree, following the proposed buyout, to set up a committee including investor representatives to monitor management, according to sources who spoke previously. Furthermore, the banks wanted Toshiba to accept bank executives sent to the company.

Some of the demands are still being discussed.

($1 = 131.31 yen)

(Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki and Ritsuko Shimizu; Additional reporting by Satoshi Sugiyama and David Dolan; Editing by Jamie Freed and Bradley Perrett)
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California. AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana

Kevin McCarthy rallied GOP lawmakers to oust Ilhan Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

McCarthy personally lobbied several holdouts to gain enough votes to pass the measure on the floor.

But uniting Republicans on critical legislation going forward may not come together as seamlessly.

Last year, then-House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California vowed to oust three Democratic lawmakers from key panels  Reps. Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell of California on the Intelligence Committee and Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota on the Foreign Affairs Committee  if the GOP regained a majority in the midterm elections.

After Democrats in 2021 removed Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Paul Gosar of Arizona from their committees for endorsing political violence on social media and for sharing a violent anime video, respectively, conservatives were livid at the move.

And less than a month after McCarthy ascended to the speakership in January, he made good on his promise, removing Schiff and Swalwell from the Intelligence panel. But taking Omar off the Foreign Affairs panel took a good deal more effort on his part.

After a handful of Republicans expressed reservations about booting Omar from the committee, the party's whip operation went into effect, with McCarthy successfully flipping members like Reps. Ken Buck of Colorado, Nancy Mace of South Carolina, and Victoria Spartz of Indiana. Omar was subsequently ousted from the panel in a party-line 218-211 vote over past comments that she had made that were critical of Israel.

The Omar vote was seen as a huge victory for the party, especially coming off McCarthy's protracted 15 rounds of balloting to secure the House speakership. Given that Republicans only control the chamber by a slim 222-212 margin, the California Republican used a lot of political capital to make good on a promise to appease conservatives, as he had few votes to spare.

In a such a narrowly-divided House, McCarthy's arm-twisting tactics got him over the finish line regarding Omar, but will that be enough moving forward?

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Republicans led a successful effort to remove Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota from the House Foreign Affairs Committee. AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

Not 'Tit for Tat'

Congresswoman Omar repeatedly warned against equating criticism of the Israeli government with antisemitism, but she also apologized for an online comment that she made in 2019 which led House Democratic leaders to issue a statement decrying the then-freshman lawmaker's "prejudicial accusations about Israel's supporters."

Democratic leaders didn't take any futher action against Omar in the intervening years, with the lawmaker early on stating that antisemitism was "real" and that she was "grateful for Jewish allies and colleagues who are educating me on the painful history of anti-Semitic tropes."

But Republicans were ginned up to make a statement after citing what they called the "new standard" employed by then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi against Greene and Gosar, where the majority was able to insert themselves committee membership held by the minority party.

"If it was tit-for-tat we would've picked people, took them off all committees and said nothing about it," McCarthy told reporters earlier this month.

While Republican leaders were pleased with the outcome, the behind-the-scenes work to push through a successful vote against Omar took up a lot of political oxygen.

And McCarthy only secured the last-minute support from the GOP holdouts after promising to establish a system for removing members from committees.

Rep. James Comer of Kentucky advanced a GOP effort to disapprove of actions taken by the Council of the District of Columbia on a local voting rights act and a criminal code overhaul. AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

A potential model for the GOP

On Thursday, Republican leaders voted to block two bills passed by the Council of the District of Columbia, wading into the legislative affairs of the Democratic-dominated city, which incensed and worried local leaders.

Most conservatives have made their distaste for DC statehood efforts well known, despite previous support from some prominent Republicans in decades past.

The votes on Thursday centered on two pieces of legislation  one that would allow noncitizens to vote in municipal elections beginning in 2024 and another which overhauled the city's criminal code.

Republicans have remarked that the DC council's actions would threaten voter integrity and public safety in the District.

But while Democrats overwhelmingly back statehood and have largely backed the city's elected government, there were multiple defections on these two resolutions. On the resolution going after the noncitizens voting bill, the vote was 260-162, with 42 Democrats joining a united bloc of 218 Republicans; the criminal code resolution vote was 250-173, with 31 Democrats voting alongside 219 Republicans.

Republicans will undoubtedly push more conservative bills as the 118th Congress proceeds, but McCarthy's best bet for success in such a narrowly-controlled Congress is to peel off Democrats on some of the bigger votes.

While the House resolutions will likely hit a brick wall in the Senate, McCarthy knows that while ultraconservative bills could pass with the slimmest of margins, they would be purely symbolic.

Many GOP members would welcome such actions ahead of the 2024 presidential election, in an attempt to create a foil in President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats. But for McCarthy, continually arm-twisting to pass bills that won't go anywhere may not inspire confidence among Independents that will decide legions of House races next year.

So for McCarthy, it is important to inspire some level of confidence among the electorate. But with the early discord within the Freedom Caucus before he even took hold of the speaker's gavel, it won't be an easy road.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Michelle Yeoh was born in Malaysia credit:Bang Showbiz

Michelle Yeoh didnt understand how she became a minority when she went to Hollywood.

The Everything Everywhere All At Once actress  who was born in Malaysia and moved to the UK when she was 15  had a multicultural upbringing so was confused when she first headed to Los Angeles for her film career and faced questions about her heritage.

She told The Rake magazine We have Chinese, Malays, Indians, English, expats, which is great. So we grew up not really understanding when people ask, What race are you?

How one earth did I become a minority, what does that mean?

How many billions of Chinese people are there in the world? How can we be a minority.

Michelle is thankful for the improved efforts in recent years to tell diverse stories and increase representation on screen.

She said: My African American friends, they are a minority but they have banded together to tell their stories.

That is what were doing now in the Asian community.

What if Crazy Rich Asians didnt work? Jon Chu was so brilliant at telling that story and saying, Hey, its cool, Asian people are really good looking and fun and can play leads.

Yes there are stereotypes and we can laugh with them, but the reality is that these people have dreams and aspirations. They have stories to tell, so how do we tell them?

But Michelle stressed the importance of representation that is more than just ticking the box.

She said: Over the last few years you see true representation  but what is true representation?

You have to talk about inclusivity in the proper way, you cant just tick the box.

Yes, you may have the Asian who does Asian things but that isnt right.

I think because I was in the martial arts genre, where people wanted to see that, they werent afraid to write me in those roles, but I would like to be able to see a woman in that role, no matter what race she is, and having to explain that she learns martial arts. White people learn martial arts too, you know.
artist's impressions of the planned house, and aerial view of the planned landscape around it (Image: application)

A plan for a futuristic six-bedroom mansion built partly into a Herefordshire hillside has been narrowly rejected by councillors  again.

The countys planning committee has been asked to reconsider the plan submitted by a local couple for the Flow House, near the village of Ullingswick between Bromyard and Hereford, which has been many years in preparation.

With a heating and power system described as the first of its kind in the UK, it was to be largely self-sufficient in power, while plans for the grounds included a new traditional perry pear orchard.

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Free-standing new homes in open countryside, as this would be, are ordinarily permitted under national planning rules only if they meet one of several criteria  in this case, that they demonstrate outstanding design.

In September 2021 committee members went against their own officers recommendation and refused the application, on the grounds that the design was not outstanding enough and would harm the surrounding landscape.

But a revised application has come back to them, complete with a new detailed report by Design:Midlands an independent design review panel, which confirms that the design is outstanding, according to an officers report for the meeting which again recommended approval.

Want to stay up to date with all the latest Bromyard news? It's easy, just sign up for our free weekly email newsletter here and all the important stories that matter to you will be delivered straight to your inbox.

Committee member Coun Jeremy Milln questioned whether it was sufficient simply to assert that it is of exceptional design, given that a different experts report submitted with the previous attempt had misgivings and were extremely lukewarm about it.

Coun Sebastian Bowen, also on the committee, said: Mr Albert Speer might have been interested in this building and would probably have given it approval, a reference to Nazi Germanys foremost architect.

Story continues

Local ward member Coun Jonathan Lester remained opposed, saying: Its modern design would be in stark contrast to the largely unchanged nineteenth-century buildings of Ullingswick nearby.

The councils conservation officer had not objected to the plan, saying large isolated house within a designed landscape would be not uncharacteristic, and can be compared to the large estates constructed by landed gentry and aristocracy throughout history.

But Coun Lester said on this: Times have moved on, and new housing should be proportionate to housing need.

Coun Penny Andrews of the committee said: If we open the floodgates, we will have more of them. But Coun Mark Millmore said: I know its subjective, but I cant see how we can refuse it.

Proposing it be approved, committee member Coun John Hardwick said: It would fit in exceptionally well, the landscape will benefit the area, and I note the parish council now supports it.

But his proposal was rejected by seven votes to six, the reasons given being that it would indeed not be of outstanding design given its scale and likely harm to the landscape.
The American picked up two birdies on the front and back nine, along with a solitary bogey on the par-five 13th, en route to recording a round of three under 68. It was enough to lift Scheffler to 13 under for the tournament, two shots clear from a crowded chasing pack. "I just kind of grinded," Scheffler told pgatour.com.

"I didn't hit as many fairways as I wanted to."

Canada's Nick Taylor and Spain's Jon Rahm are hot on Scheffler's heels at 11 under, while Jordan Spieth and Adam Hadwin are also within range at 10 under.

"I have had good finishes, but I've never gone down the stretch into the back nine with a chance to win," said Rahm, whose finished T16 or better in all seven of his starts at TPC Scottsdale, but never won. "For the most part I've actually played a really good back nine to put myself in that top 10. My best finish doing exactly that was when I was an amateur. "So hopefully tomorrow I can get off a better start, play a good front nine and go in that back nine with a solid chance of getting it done." England's Tyrrell Hatton sits a shot further back, after climbing three spots on the leaderboard with a second-straight round of 67.

World number one Rory McIlroy is tied for 28th place after carding a one under 70 on Saturday.

WHAT A PUTT!@JonRahmPGA drains the longest putt of the day on 16 @WMPhoenixOpen. pic.twitter.com/yPIFDfymyh  PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 12, 2023

The article PGA Tour news: Scottie Scheffler takes two shot lead into the final round the WM Phoenix Open appeared first on Planetsport.com.
(Bloomberg) -- The intensity of Russias military actions, both on the ground in eastern Ukraine and via Fridays massive missile barrage, seems to be rising as the invasions one-year mark approaches.

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Top US and Ukrainian military leaders spoke ahead of Tuesdays meeting of the Ramstein group of allied nations in Brussels. A NATO defense ministerial will follow, as well as the Munich Security Conference that starts Friday. Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven will reportedly also meet during the Munich event.

Russia on Friday launched its biggest barrage of missile attacks so far this year as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy seeks more weapons to fend off Vladimir Putins invasion. Moodys Investors Service on Friday cut Ukraines credit rating to the second-lowest score, citing long-lasting challenges to its economy and public finances from the war with Russia.

(See RSAN on the Bloomberg Terminal for the Russian Sanctions Dashboard.)

Key Developments

Macrons Meloni Snub Lays Bare the Strain on France-Italy Ties

Russia Seeks to Gradually Cut Discount to Brent for Tax Purposes

Ukraine Credit Rating Cut by Moodys on Likely Restructuring

Russian Moms-to-Be Flock to Argentina Seeking Safety, Passports

For Fear or Money, Consumer Giants Are Staying in Russia

On The Ground

Dozens of settlements in Donetsk, Luhansk, Sumy, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Mykolayiv and Kherson regions were shelled Saturday with rockets, aviation strikes and drones, the Ukrainian General Staff said. Three rockets hit Kharkiv infrastructure late Saturday, injuring a civilian. Civilian infrastructure was also damaged in Kherson with one injury reported. Five drones were shot down, according to General Staff. Russian troops focus its main efforts on offensive actions in the Kupyansk, Lyman, Bakhmut and Avdiyivska directions in eastern Ukraine, using planes to strike the positions of Kyivs troops.

Story continues

(All times CET)

Berlusconi Blames Zelenskiy for Ukraines Plight (8:15 p.m.)

Silvio Berlusconi, who heads the Forza Italia junior party in Italys coalition government, said Zelenskiy was prolonging Russias invasion of Ukraine and blamed the Ukrainian president in part for his countrys devastation.

If he had not attacked the two autonomous republics of Donbas this would have not happened, the Ansa newswire cited Berlusconi as saying in Milan. I have a very negative view of his behavior. He was referring areas of eastern Ukraine controlled by Russian-backed separatists.

Prime Minister Giorgia Melonis government reiterated its full support of Ukraine after the former premiers remarks. A Berlusconi spokesperson declined to comment.

Ukraine Minister Calls on FATF to Expel Russia (5:25 p.m.)

Russia should be expelled from the 37-member Financial Action Task Force, a global group that aims to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, Ukraines finance minister wrote in a Financial Times op-ed.

Blacklisting Russia would create universal controls and require enhanced due diligence, Serhiy Marchenko wrote. Any transaction with the Russian financial system would be reviewed and scrutinized.

The Paris-based group will have working meetings starting Feb 20 that run through Feb 24, the one-year mark of Russias invasion of Ukraine.

G-7 Foreign Ministers to Meet During Munich Conference (1 p.m.)

Foreign ministers of the Group of Seven nations will discuss Ukraine on Feb. 18, coinciding with the Feb. 17-19 Munich Security Conference, Japans Yomiuri Shinbun reported, citing government sources it didnt identify.

The ministers in Munich are expected to discuss measures to back Ukraine and tighten sanctions against Russia, the newspaper said.

Japan holds the rotating presidency of the G-7 this year. The next formal foreign ministers meeting is scheduled for mid-April.

Russia Wants to Gradually Cut Crude Discount to Brent (12:15 p.m.)

Russia is seeking to gradually narrow the discount on its key export crude oil to the Brent benchmark as the government tries to boost budget revenues amid sanctions.

The government proposes to limit the discount on Urals to Brent at $34 a barrel in April, $31 in May and $28 in June to calculate mineral extraction tax and profit-based tax. From July 1 the discount will be set at $25.

Read more: Russia Seeks to Gradually Cut Discount to Brent for Tax Purposes

Germany Wants Shared Refugee Burden (12:30 p.m.)

Germanys interior minister called for support for Ukrainian refugees to be better shared among EU countries.

Should there be another large wave of people fleeing Ukraine, the refugees should be better spread out in Europe, Nancy Faeser told the newspaper Bild am Sonntag ahead of a summit of German officials Thursday on displaced persons.

To date, Poland has taken in over 1.5 million Ukrainian refugees and Spain has only 160,000. It cant remain like this, she said. Germany in 2022 took in over 244,000 refugees, the most since 2016.

Many Consumer Giants Are Staying in Russia (12 p.m.)

As the Kremlins invasion of Ukraine nears the one-year mark, many goods continue to be supplied by US and European companies with outposts in Russia, including Colgate, Procter & Gamble and LOreal.

Should these firms change their mind about staying in the face of mounting legal and reputational risks, they now have another challenge: the Kremlin is making it more expensive to leave.

While there are no Western sanctions on the everyday consumer sector, restrictions on Russian banks and individuals have made operating in the country more difficult.

Read more: For Fear or Money, Consumer Giants Are Staying in Russia

No Electricity Usage Limits On Sunday, Grid Operator Says (11 a.m.)

Ukraine started the day with no household electricity shortages, grid operator Ukrenergo said on Telegram, after round-the-clock repair work and the resumption of operations at two atomic power plants.

Restoration work continues at thermal power plants damaged during recent Russian missile and drone attacks. The company warned that should consumption increase too much, emergency shutdowns are still possible in the Odesa, Kyiv, Khmelnitskiy and Zhytomyr regions.

Reznikov Sees No Chance of Russia Storming Odesa By Sea or Land (10:30 a.m.)

Ukraines defense chief discounted the possibility of Russia storming Odesa by sea or land, according to a Ukrainian Navy post on Facebook.

In order to threaten the key Black Sea port city, Russia needs to have dominance on the Black Sea, which Kyiv undermined with its sinking of the warship Moskva in the spring, Oleksii Resnikov said.

Russia failed to approach to the city by land and now they are thrown back to the left bank of the Dnipro, which together with destroyed bridges and crossings is a powerful natural protective barrier, he said.

Russian Casualties Likely at Highest Rate Since February, UK Says (8 a.m.)

The UK defense ministry in a Twitter update said that over the past two weeks, Russia has likely suffered its highest rate of casualties since the first week of the invasion as poorly trained and under-resourced troops increasingly take to the battlefield.

As estimated by Ukraine, which the UK said it cant verify but are likely accurate, the mean average of Russian casualties in the past seven days has climbed to 824. Ukraine is also seeing a high attrition rate, the UK added.

US, Ukraine Defense Chiefs Speak Ahead of Ramstein (7 a.m.)

Ukraines defense minister spoke with his US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ahead of a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group.

The Ramstein meeting, named for a US air base in Germany, will be held Tuesday at NATO headquarters in Brussels. A NATO defense ministerial meeting is scheduled for Wednesday. Austin and Mark Milley, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, will attend.

We discussed the current situation at the front, the urgent needs of the defense forces of Ukraine and priorities for the meeting, Ukraines Oleksii Reznikov said on Twitter.

Ukraine Pushes for Sanctions on Russian Atomic Industry (7 a.m.)

UNs nuclear agency, which currency las missions at all Ukrainian nuclear power plants, should help to accelerate the process of imposing sanctions on Russian nuclear industry, Ukraines energy minister said on Facebook after meeting with one of acting IAEA experts group.

Russia must strictly answer for the seizure of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, for missiles and drones near nuclear power facilities, and for neglect of international principles of nuclear and radiation safety, Herman Halushchenko added.

Zaluzhnyi Tells US Joint Chiefs Milley That Ukraine Still Holds Bakhmut (5:40 p.m.)

Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, commander-in-chief of Ukraines armed forces, spoke Saturday with Mark Milley, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff. The previous announced call between the pair was on Jan. 25.

Milley and Zaluzhnyi discussed Fridays massive Russian missile barrage, air defense for Ukraine, and Russias use of underwater drones that may threaten the Black Sea safe-transit corridor, according to a Twitter post.

Kremlin forces are attacking Ukrainian positions as many as 50 times a day in the Donetsk region, Zaluzhnyi told Milley. The Ukrainian commander also said his forces continue to hold Bakhmut under our control.

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BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN  Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh held a roundtable discussion with Brunei energy and oil and gas enterprises in Bandar Seri Begawan capital on February 11, as part of his ongoing visit to Brunei.

Delegates discussed and proposed new business ideas and opportunities to lift bilateral economic, trade and investment ties, especially in energy and oil and gas.

A representative of the Brunei Government shared the vision, socio-economic development strategy and economic restructuring and diversification plans under the Brunei Vision 2035 that turns the country into an economy with dynamic and sustainable development.

PM Chinh committed all possible support for Brunei firms to do business effectively and sustainably in the country. "Your success is also our success, he affirmed.

He suggested both nations focus on promoting emerging economic fields such as green, digital, circular and knowledge-based economies and innovation; diversifying markets, products and supply chains. He asked for measures to step up collaboration in energy, chemicals, and Halal food for Islamic people.

The Vietnamese leader expressed his belief that with determination, efforts and close friendship between the two peoples, trade and investment cooperation will continue to be an important pillar of Viet Nam-Brunei relationship and a driving force to lift bilateral ties to a greater height.  VNS
HA NOI  A 30-member military medicine team, together with about 20 tonnes of relief goods and equipment, are now ready to depart for Turkey to assist the country in emergency and treatment efforts following the devastating earthquake.

During a conference in Ha Noi on February 11, the General Department of Logistics assigned tasks to the military medicine team, among 76 Vietnamese military personnel dispatched to Turkey.

As one of the 30 members of the team, Lieut. Col Van Trong Trung, deputy head of the Military Hospital 354s Orthopedic Department, said all medical equipment such as machinery, medicines and surgery devices as well as personal items have been fully prepared to meet winter conditions in Turkey.

In particular, six working dogs and their nine trainers will be deployed for search and rescue in the European country.

At a conference held on February 10, Chief of the General Staff of Vietnam Peoples Army and Deputy Minister of National Defence Sen. Lieut. Gen. Nguyen Tan Cuong said as there is no direct flight service between Viet Nam and Turkey, units concerned are working with the Turkish Embassy in Viet Nam and the Vietnamese Embassy in Turkey to arrange a flight carrying the Vietnamese soldiers to the country.

The quake was the most devastating disaster to shake Turkey since the 1939 Erzincan earthquake. As of February 11, the earthquake claimed over 24,000 lives, left thousands injured, and destroyed thousands of houses. Local authorities have declared a state of emergency that requires urgent search and rescue missions.

As one of the world's most active earthquake zones, Turkey experienced several strong earthquakes in the past, including the one with a magnitude of 7.4 in 1999 that was the most severe in decades, resulting in over 17,000 fatalities. The most recent 7-magnitude earthquake occurred in October 2022 in Aegean, causing 114 deaths and over 1,000 injured.  VNS
HA NOI  The National Assembly (NA) of Viet Nam is scheduled to host the ninth Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Forum of Young Parliamentarians in Ha Noi this September.

Vu Hai Ha, chairman of the NA Committee for External Relations, the NA Office, said the IPU Secretariat highly valued the Vietnamese parliament hosting this forum.

Agencies of Viet Nam also shared the view that it holds great importance to the implementation of a directive on the enhancement and elevation of multilateral diplomacy, issued by the Party Central Committees Secretariat.

While presiding over a working session with the committee and relevant agencies to discuss the event organisation, NA Chairman Vuong inh Hue noted the forum is a focal event of multilateral diplomacy of the Vietnamese parliament in 2023.

Following the organisation of the 132nd IPU Assembly and the 41st General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA), the coming forum will be a chance for Viet Nam to promote its image among international friends, he went on, asking the committee to make the best preparations for the three-day function.

The forum aims to boost the role of young parliamentarians and youth engagement in parliamentary activities, put forth recommendations based on youth perspectives about the IPUs activities and agenda, build capacity, and expand the youths approach to issues of common concern.

This will also be an occasion to introduce youth movements in Viet Nam and the important role of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union to international friends, the top legislator noted.

The Forum of Young Parliamentarians, founded in 2013, is steered by a board composed of 12 young parliamentarians, one man and one woman from each of the six geopolitical groups. Those from India and Thailand are representing Asia-Pacific in the board.

The forum, held annually since 2014, is represented at the Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians.  VNS
ADIYAMAN  The Ministry of Public Security's Rescue Team in Turkey helped rescue a 14-year-old from a collapsed building in Adiyaman, Turkey, on Saturday.

According to Colonel Nguyen Minh Khuong, leader of the rescue team, at 7.30am local time on Saturday, the team arrived at the scene of the collapsed building, inside which 10 people were believed to be trapped.

With specialised equipment from Turkey, the team cleared most of the area by 6.30pm local time.

The team located signs of life from two different sources with the help of technology.

After analysis, the team concluded that the only way to reach the victims was only wide enough for one rescuer.

They contacted Turkish authorities to coordinate with other teams. A nearby rescue squad from Pakistan arrived, who used ultrasonic technology to locate the victims.

By 10.10pm, the Pakistani squad rescued the victim, a 14-year-old teenager from the rubble.

The Pakistan team thanked the Vietnamese forces for their successful collaboration in the rescue.

According to the Vietnamese team, the rescue mission was supposed to continue until 1am local time on Sunday but was disrupted by an aftershock.

On Saturday, representatives of the rescue team and the Vietnamese Embassy in Turkey met with the Government of Turkey to send aid and medicine.  VNS
GIA LAI  Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang has emphasised the importance of implementing three National Target Programmes in the Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands) region.

The Deputy Prime Minister chaired an online conference with regional leaders to review the results of implementing these programmes which was held in Gia Lai Province on February 10.

The three National Target Programmes, aimed at promoting new rural construction, sustainable poverty reduction, and socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas, have received significant attention from the Party, Government, National Assembly and people.

The Government, Prime Minister, and head of the Central Steering Committee for National Target Programmes have taken various measures to speed up the implementation, including issuing 11 resolutions, two directives, five dispatches, and four conclusions, and holding six online conferences with relevant parties.

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang directed the relevant parties to continue implementing solutions and tasks to overcome any difficulties in the implementation process.

The Central Highlands region, which accounts for about one-sixth of the country's total area and is crucial in national defence and security, has a population of only about 6.3 million people, with 36.5 per cent belonging to ethnic minorities.

Despite efforts, people in some remote areas still face numerous difficulties, with an average poverty rate of more than 8.6 per cent, compared to the national average of 5.2 per cent last year.

The average rate of communes meeting new rural standards in the region in 2022 reached about 52 per cent, lower than the national average rate of about 72 per cent, while the budget revenue was still limited and needed a lot of support from the central budget.

In the period of 2021-25, the central Government has allocated a total capital of over VN11.7 trillion (US$450 million) as development investment to five provinces in the region, accounting for 11.73 per cent of the total investment capital for localities across the country.

Last year, the central budget provided the implementation of programmes in the Tay Nguyen region with funds worth nearly VN3.9 billion ($165 million), with development investment capital accounting for VN2.8 trillion and non-business capital accounting for VN1.1 trillion.

However, the provinces still lacked about VN600 billion ($25.4 million) of the total reciprocal capital of over VN1.4 trillion ($61.7 million) for implementing the programmes. As of the end of last year, the provinces had disbursed more than VN1.3 trillion ($57.2 million), reaching 34.77 per cent of the assigned plan, which was lower than the national average rate of 37.73 per cent.

The online conference in Gia Lai Province was the first of three such conferences to be chaired by the deputy PM with regions of the country to directly monitor the implementation of the national target programmes.

The Central Steering Committee for National Target Programme will have a meeting after these conferences to propose practical solutions to speed up the implementation.

In a recent document dated February 3, 2023, the deputy PM directed the relevant parties to remove any difficulties and obstacles in the programmes' implementation and asked for coordination among relevant parties to prepare reports for the Central Steering Committee's meetings.

The meetings will focus on setting specific tasks and deadlines to remove any difficulties in the implementation process.

Prior to the conference, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang made a survey trip to e Kjieng Village in Ayun Commune of Mang Yang District and A Dok Commune of ak oa District of Gia Lai Province.  VNS
By Anh uc

A friend of mine is an avid action figure collector, and had a collection worth millions in his house. He returned to the house one day and found his collection in tatters. The culprits? His 3rd grader cousin who had come by for the holidays.

When my friend asked the child's parents for damages, the parents shrugged off and said, "You're overreacting. It's just toys, and it's children - they don't know anything."

This phenomenon might seem strange to our many Western readers, but is fairly typical when talking about Vietnamese parents and how they bring up their children.

The lame excuse "children don't know anything", was well encapsulated in two recent events that have been stirring up conversations in social media these past months.

L.H., a college friend of mine, was in a cafe working when a child ran to her table and spilt a cup of coffee onto her Macbook. The child's mother was nearby and seemed okay with paying for the repairs.

H. brought the laptop to a repair service, where she was told that the immense water damage would cost her around VN9 million (US$380). She then called the mother to inform her, but received no reply.

The father of the child later called back H. and denied any responsibility for the laptop, saying his son did not mean it. The parents then agreed to only pay back VN200,000 (US$8.50) to dry the computer.

H. then brought her story to social media, where the community supported her, and the parents were soon shamed into compensating her, paying H. up to VN10 million.

If the first story is a horror to all tech enthusiasts, this second one will bring outrage to animal lovers.

On the third day of the 2023 Lunar New Year, which is designated the Year of the Cat in Viet Nam, U.N., a cat lover, shared on footage on Facebook of the brutal beating of her beloved golden cat.

Around five minutes of CCTV footage posted by N. showed two children, identified as N.'s nephews who came by for the New Year holiday, continuously kicking the cat in his stomach and jumping on the defenceless animal's body multiple times.

The children then saw that the cat laid motionless, and hid the cat in a carton box, thinking the animal was already dead.

N. went home, saw that her cat was missing, and cried for help. After checking the CCTV footage and finding the cat in the box, she demanded her cousin's answers, who replied, "It's just a cat. Is the creature's life worth it? My kids did not know any better."

The golden cat was immediately brought to a veterinarian, where she was found to have sustained multiple life-threatening injuries, including a bruised head, abdominal effusion and broken ribs. Luckily, she was saved in time and is recovering.

Again, these instances are shocking, but they are sadly not new.

Vietnamese families are blessed with close-knit dynamics, but sometimes when parents get overprotective of their children, the blessing can become a curse.

In this country, it is not unheard of for grandparents to physical 'beat' the ground in anger, if their grandchild merely trips over and cries -- a comic state of affairs.

In my youth, when two kids fought, parents always defended their child and were sure to put the blame on the other.

For many parents, their kids are the most benevolent and innocent beings on the planet, and they can never do any wrong. When something goes wrong and their children are involved, it's never the child's fault and other factors are always to blame.

Actions such as damaging personal property and animal cruelty are pardoned with the four magical words: "Children don't know anything."

Sure, young adolescents are still exploring the world and learning about how it works. But one of the most important rules in life is that you must take responsibility for your mistakes. Because if you are not aware of your mistakes by taking responsibility, you are prone to keep thinking that your actions were right and continue to repeat the same mistakes.

Simply thinking "children don't know anything" is wrong. Although their knowledge is limited compared to adults, recent research by Science Daily showed that children can pick up more information faster than adults in the same period. With the way children are handed unprotected access to the internet and social media, the research results could prove worrying.

In the story about the beating of the golden cat, I was startled by how the two kids knew how to hide the cat's body when they presumed it was dead. That's a shivering detail you'd hear from serial killer stories. And the two kids could have been reading stories like that on the internet, unnoticed by their parents.

According to an FBI research, most serial killers, school shooters, and mass murderers tortured animals when they were children.

I sincerely hope that the two kids will learn from this experience, and be aware of their horrendous mistakes. And it seemed that they did when they and their parents apologised to the cat owner days after the incident.

It's a shame that the incidents had to be brought up to the internet for the victims to find social justice. But if these incidents are never brought to light, and the mistakes are shrugged off time and time again, we could see a darker future for these children, and our children.

But it should not always be the public who had to bear the responsibility of correcting the behaviour of children. The responsibility should be upon the parents, and the families, which are always regarded as "the nuclei of the society".

Love and respect for all lifeforms, and taking responsibility for actions are just two of the most basic rules in life that every human being should learn well, before they go out, explore and connect with the beautiful world.

A famous Vietnamese song goes: "The children of today are the world of tomorrow."

Parenting is a lifelong journey, and it does not stop after you give birth to your children. Responsible parents must accompany and guide their children to blossom in their own way and contribute to the future of this society. They must make and let children understand that they are responsible for their actions.

And when we all do so, the world will get better, day by day.  VNS
Waco High School officials are tightening security after multiple students were caught with weapons and other prohibited items in recent weeks.

New security measures starting this month will limit students to a single entrance, require transparent backpacks and stricter enforcement of student identification badges.

Metal detectors will be installed in upcoming weeks, as will vaping detectors in school restrooms. Police with detection dogs will make more frequent visits to campus, and random checks of student backpacks also will increase.

Starting Monday, Waco High students will have to enter through the schools Cooper Wing entrance. Buses that let students off at the 44th Street entrance now will do so closer to the Cooper Wing entrance, and two-way traffic on Colcord Avenue and 44th Street will help access for parents dropping off students.

Transparent backpacks will be required beginning Feb. 21, and the district will work with outside groups to help provide them. Waco High would be the second Waco ISD campus requiring transparent backpacks after Carver Indian Spring Middle School implemented a similar policy before the start of school last fall. The middle school is part of the Transformation Waco charter district within Waco ISD.

A district statement says security measures similar to those adopted at Waco High will be expanded to all secondary campuses, though it does not specify a timeline.

The Waco High security changes were detailed in a letter that Waco High Principal Sterlin McGruder sent to parents and guardians last week. The district statement regarding the new security measures says four weapons had been confiscated since January and school authorities had noted an increase in other prohibited items as well.

No details of the confiscations were given, other than school officials determined students were carrying the weapons for protection outside of school hours and off of the school campus. The district statement says weapon possession on a school campus can lead to criminal charges and student expulsion, but does not say whether any students had been charged or expelled.

Last month, Waco ISD police took a 16-year-old at Waco High into custody after school officials noticed he was not a student there, searched his backpack and found a gun, officials reported at the time. McGruder said in a statement at the time that the teen was there with another student who may be a relative and there was no indication he intended to harm anyone. He was taken into custody on a third-degree felony charge of unlawful carry of a weapon.

Reports of student violence at Waco High have come before Waco ISD trustees at several board meetings over the last year. During a December meeting, they heard several Waco High staff members concerned about fighting, non-Waco High students on campus, unpunished vaping and a lack of personnel to control situations.
McLennan Community College trustees will interview three candidates Monday evening hoping to fill the unexpired term of District 1 Trustee Doug McDurham.

McDurham resigned his position in December after he took a job in Oklahoma, leaving five months left in a term that will end in May.

The three applicants for the post are:

Bridget Fuselier, 51, a Baylor Law School professor in real estate and property law. Fuselier, a first-generation college student and a past president of the Bishop Louis Reicher Catholic High School advisory board, said she appreciates and supports MCCs role in providing an affordable education to area students.

Jonathan Hill, 31, a senior brand strategy specialist for Baylor University. Hill graduated from MCC and Tarleton State University and said he sees working on the MCC board as a way to support its mission and serve the community.

Matthew Polk, 44, the chief operating officer of Waco Family Medicine. Polk has worked with MCC leadership multiple times in his past positions as Rapoport Academy superintendent and executive director of the nonprofit Prosper Waco. He said he sees the colleges mission as consistent with the community support and improvement work he has done in the past.

The MCC board is expected to make its decision after Mondays interviews with the appointed trustee serving through May.

No one has filed for the two MCC seats up for election on May 6, the District 1 position and the District 3 post now held by Pauline Chavez, first elected to the board in 1986.

Filing deadline for the May 6 election is 5 p.m. Friday.

The deadline to register to vote in the May election is April 6, and early voting will start April 24.
Chinese tourists pose for a photo at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya, Feb. 11, 2023. A flight carrying 40 Chinese group tourists arrived at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi on Saturday. This is the first outbound tour group from China to Kenya since China resumed outbound group travel to 20 countries. (Xinhua/Han Xu)

NAIROBI, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- Kenya on Saturday received the first group of Chinese tourists after three years of pandemic-related hiatus at a ceremony in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi marked with pomp and pageantry.

Kenya's senior officials and executives in the hospitality sector were on hand to receive the first batch of 40 Chinese tourists who traveled from the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou to Nairobi using a China Southern Airlines flight.

John Ololtuaa, principal secretary at the State Department of Tourism, lauded the Chinese government for choosing Kenya among three African Nations, including Egypt and South Africa, for piloting outbound group tours after Beijing's optimization of COVID-19 response.

"Today is exciting for us because it means we are now resuming full connectivity with one of our growing source markets for international tourist arrivals," said Ololtuaa.

According to Ololtuaa, Kenya will leverage the Chinese market to boost tourist arrivals, hastening the recovery of a sector that contributes about 7 percent to the country's Gross Domestic Product.

At present, China is Kenya's sixth biggest tourism source market internationally, contributing 5.5 percent of total international tourist arrivals in the country during the pre-pandemic period, said Ololtuaa.

John Chirchir, acting chief executive officer of the Kenya Tourism Board, said marketing the country's scenic attractions like wildlife, sandy beaches and mountainous landscapes in China had intensified.

Chirchir said the government is harnessing social media platforms and exhibitions to market Kenya as an ideal destination for Chinese tourists, adding that January's launch of the Club of Sino-Africa Culture and Tourism in Nairobi will boost arrivals from the Asian Nation.

Betty Olwenyi, director of sales at the Mada Hotels East Africa Limited, said the arrival of Chinese tourists will revitalize the entire hospitality sector in Kenya.

"As a hotelier, I am so excited to see the Chinese tourists back in the country. China is our main market, and it is really exciting for Kenya. I look forward to more Chinese visitors in the July-to-October season when there is wildebeest migration in Masai Mara (National Reserve)," said Olwenyi.

Sherry Xie, managing director of Nairobi-based Long Ren Tours & Travel, said the arrival of the first batch of Chinese tourists in Kenya was a confirmation that the country's travel and hospitality sectors were in a revival mode. 

A Chinese tourist poses for a photo with Maasai performers at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya, Feb. 11, 2023. A flight carrying 40 Chinese group tourists arrived at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi on Saturday. This is the first outbound tour group from China to Kenya since China resumed outbound group travel to 20 countries. (Xinhua/Han Xu)

Chinese tourists interact with Maasai performers at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya, Feb. 11, 2023. A flight carrying 40 Chinese group tourists arrived at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi on Saturday. This is the first outbound tour group from China to Kenya since China resumed outbound group travel to 20 countries. (Xinhua/Han Xu)

A Chinese tourist poses for a photo with Maasai performers at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya, Feb. 11, 2023. A flight carrying 40 Chinese group tourists arrived at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi on Saturday. This is the first outbound tour group from China to Kenya since China resumed outbound group travel to 20 countries. (Xinhua/Han Xu)

A Chinese tourist poses for a photo with a Maasai performer at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya, Feb. 11, 2023. A flight carrying 40 Chinese group tourists arrived at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi on Saturday. This is the first outbound tour group from China to Kenya since China resumed outbound group travel to 20 countries. (Xinhua/Han Xu)

Chinese tourists are welcomed at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya, Feb. 11, 2023. A flight carrying 40 Chinese group tourists arrived at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi on Saturday. This is the first outbound tour group from China to Kenya since China resumed outbound group travel to 20 countries. (Xinhua/Han Xu)

Chinese tourists interact with Maasai performers at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya, Feb. 11, 2023. A flight carrying 40 Chinese group tourists arrived at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi on Saturday. This is the first outbound tour group from China to Kenya since China resumed outbound group travel to 20 countries. (Xinhua/Han Xu)
Baylor organ recital

A memorial organ recital featuring former students of longtime Baylor University organ professor Joyce Jones, who died last February, will start at 4 p.m. Sunday at Truett Seminary, 1100 S. Third St.

All of the performers have become professional organists in various venues. The program is free and open to the public.

Healthy baking class

A Healthy Baking with Texas A&M Agrilife class will run from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the South Waco Library, 2737 S. 18th St.

This class is free and open to the public.

Texas A&M Agrilife Extension will demonstrate how to modify recipes for good health by reducing saturated fats, sodium and added sugars.

Pro-Life Waco

Julie Wilkinson, a former abortion nurse for a late-term clinic in Boulder, Colorado, will speak during Sundays Pro-Life Waco meeting at St. Marys Waco, 1424 Columbus Ave. An Italian buffet will be served throughout the noon hour at a cost of $5. The program will start at 12:45 p.m. Reservations are not required. For more information, email prolifewaco@gmail.com or call 254-644-0407.

Coping 2 Control

Coping 2 Control, a free program for people with Type 2 diabetes, will start Monday at the McLennan County Extension Office, 4224 Cobbs Drive.

The three-week course is geared toward empowering and equipping individuals with Type 2 diabetes to effectively deal with stress and negative emotions. Successful coping with negative emotions is a recommended strategy to enhance diabetes self-management and quality of life.

Classes will run from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Mondays.

For more information, call 254-757-5180 or email Colleen.Foleen@ag.tamu.edu.

Waco Mardi Gras Ball

The Waco Mardi Gras Ball will start at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Base at Extraco Events Center, 4601 Bosque Blvd.

Proceeds benefit the Advocacy Center for Crime Victims and Children. There will be music by Manhattan, food from The Olive Branch, a silent auction and a traditional auction.

Tickets cost $250 per person and are available at advocacycntr.org.

Metaphysical gathering

The third annual Holistic & Metaphysical Spring Gathering will run from noon to 4 p.m. March 12 at Skellington Curiosities, 7524 Bosque Blvd., Suite T.

The gathering will feature an inclusive vendor market with space for 80 local vendors, food trucks, performances and free family fun.
ASHLAND  The Christian Women's Connection will meet at noon on Tuesday, Feb. 14 at Word of Hope Lutheran Church, 157 S. 22nd St., Ashland.

The speaker, Margaret Bideau of Clay Center, Kansas, will share "Headed in the Right Direction." Blend Ashland will provide a presentation on healthy shakes, energizing teas and protein coffees.

Lunch will be catered by Sandy Metz of Ashland. Please call Barb Hart at 402-480-5347 or Mary Ziegenbein at 402-480-3346 for reservations. The price is $10 all inclusive. Babysitting will be provided with prior notification.
CEDAR FALLS  Rose pickers pluck delicate pink petals from thorny bushes with their bare fingers, captured in a photograph.

In a second print, an older white-haired woman totes a heavy bag of freshly picked blossoms over her shoulder as she walks along a dusty track. In another scene, women are up to their elbows in flowers, sorting roses for distilling into rose oil.

One can almost catch a whiff of heady scent wafting through the gallery at Hearst Center for the Arts, where Tales of the Bulgarian Rose: A Journey into the Heart of Bulgaria is on display. Now through March 26, the public can view the photographic exhibit at 304 W. Seerley Blvd.

This is the work of Iowa photojournalist Rick Truax and Bulgarian-born journalist Anelia Dimitrova. The duo will present an artists talk at 7 p.m. Thursday at the center. It is free and open to the public.

Married in 1996, the newlyweds traveled to Bulgaria in 1997 with the desire to document the impact on people as the country continued its transition to democracy eight years after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

They found themselves in Rose Valley, just south of the Balkan Mountains, home to Bulgarias centuries-old rose industry  which was struggling in the 1990s. Since then, the industry has recovered and grown, including opening the Rose Museum in Kazanluk.

Looking at these pictures, I feel they encapsulate some of the pain of that transition. It was amazing to watch the rose pickers work, and they welcomed us, recalled Dimitrova. She is a University of Northern Iowa associate professor in journalism and regional executive editor of Northeast Iowa Publications, including the Waverly Democrat newspaper.

In one caption, Dimitrova wrote: Like starved bees at the end of a long winter, the rose pickers work frantically, bush after bush, bloom after bloom until their fingertips, sore and sticky with the honey of the rose, go numb.

The couple harvested roses alongside the pickers in the early hours of a June morning in 1997, feeling the sharp, itchy prickliness against their own fingers as they inched their way from bush to bush.

Its hard, exhausting work and some of those photographs are very telling. I am thankful today, even more than I was at the time, that the people we worked alongside let us into their lives on a very deep level. They were so open and candid, she said.

Truax confessed it had been years since hed sifted through the images he shot in Rose Valley. Finding himself at loose ends during the pandemic, the web developer and UNI photojournalism/editing/design instructor used the time to scan photos into his computer and decided to print and frame favorites.

We had one picture from Rose Valley hanging in our house for 25 years, and it fell off the wall, breaking the glass and frame. It sat in the basement for 10 years, so I had it repaired and thought, why dont I do some others? Id only planned to do 15, then it was another 15, and then more that I really wanted, too, he said.

He quickly amassed a collection of documentary-quality photographs that demanded a public showing.

And there were too many pictures to hang in our house, Truax noted, laughing. I absolutely did relive it all over again, being in Rose Valley, not only editing the pictures, but working with the Hearst Center and coming up with words and descriptions to put on the walls.

The photo essay depicts rose pickers harvesting blooms, exhausted field workers waiting at the end of the day for a pay packet that might not come, workers in distilleries making essential oil and rose jam, life in the areas small villages and the annual Kazanluk Rose Festival that now attracts tourists from around the world each June to celebrate the history, culture and folklore of the Bulgarian rose.

Bulgarias Rosa Damascena, or damask rose, is prized for its sweet, intensely rose, citrus- and honey-infused oil, an essential ingredient in the worlds finest perfumes. It takes 150,000 flowers to produce a single ounce of Bulgarian rose oil.

Thats something I remember so clearly, being in the jam factory and the distillery. The smell was so intense and overwhelming that Ive never forgotten it. We brought home a souvenir vial of rose water, said Truax.

The couple has been thrilled with their collaboration with the Hearst Center.

I was absolutely blown away and in so many ways, affirmed and excited all at once, Dimitrova enthused. Seeing the once-archived photos displayed with such taste, care and attention to detail, everything in sync and nothing superfluous is exciting. Its a very authentic and dignified display.

Truax had opportunities to watch as Curator Emily Drennan installed the work, but after seeing the completed exhibition, I had to sit there and absorb it. It was a surreal and serene experience.

Capturing the spirit of Rose Valley was a labor of love, Dimitrova said. We didnt just parachute in and out. We werent just observers. It was a privilege and a joy to work in an environment like this on a single story.

Im so grateful for, and so appreciate the richness of it, the layers of the experience. Its like the rose  there are so many petals in the story, and I find that very heartening, she added.
WATERLOO  Stephanie Wright was written out of the history books.

She posted a correction.

The former Cedar Falls resident took out a billboard noting her status as the first African-American assistant U.S. attorney for Iowas northern district.

I almost didnt know they left my name out. It just so happens I was working for something on Black History Month last year and I just happened to look it up, tried to find my name, said Wright, who retired in 2018 and now lives in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

The digital billboard measures 10 feet high by 30 feet wide and is posted atop a downtown Cedar Rapids building not far from the federal courthouse where Wright worked for 24 years.

Wright said her name was excluded from the 2020 edition of History of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa 1882-2020.

The bound 267-page tome was given to court officials as a gift and was filed in law libraries. It features significant cases handled by the courts and historical events, like the 2008 flood that uprooted court operations in Cedar Rapids until a new courthouse was built.

The back of the book includes an appendix listing all the United States attorneys who led the office, the current and past assistant U.S. attorneys who served under them, U.S. marshals, federal public defenders, law clerks and so on.

Wrights listing  a simple line showing her name and dates of service, 1994 to 2018  was supposed to be on page 236. But she is absent from the book, a fact that didnt go unnoticed.

I know that my name was the only name that was not included in the hard copy version, Wright said.

Wright wrote to Northern District Historical Society officials who compiled information for the publication, seeking a correction.

Judge Jane Kelley, with the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, arranged to produce a corrected version of the page with Wrights listing that could be pasted over page 236 of the printed versions, Wright said.

The correction was also made in the digital version that is posted online.

A letter from court official involved in the project said the omission was an unfortunate oversight, and noted the first edition in 1987 didnt include assistant US attorneys, and the second edition in 2000 included only current, but not past, assistant US attorneys.

But Wright said she has her doubts.

It was intentional. It wasnt clearly inadvertent.  Nobodys going to admit it was intentional, said Wright, who cited her sometimes rocky tenure at the northern district.

This includes how she had sided with a coworker  Martha Fagg  who had filed a suit against the Department of Justice in 2012 alleging age discrimination and harassment under their boss, then-U.S. Attorney Stephanie Rose.

Wright said she submitted an affidavit in the case supporting Fagg. Fagg ultimately lost the case in a jury trial. Soon after, Wright said, she was passed up for an opening she wanted  an assignment concentrating on Americans with Disabilities Act compliance cases.

They really did not want me there, she said.

Wright, a Missouri native, received her bachelors degree in business administration from the University of Missouri at St. Louis and landed a job as an engineering analyst with John Deere in Waterloo. When she was laid off, she went to law school, earning her degree from Northwestern School of Law in Portland, Oregon.

She interned with the Waterloo public defenders office and after graduation was briefly an assistant Black Hawk County attorney. Stephen Rapp hired her to work in the criminal division out of Cedar Rapids in 1994. She was the first African-American assistant U.S. attorney for Iowas northern district.

Photos: Stephanie Wright Stephanie Wright Stephanie Wright billboard 071218mp-Stephanie-Wright-2 071218mp-Stephanie-Wright-3 071218mp-Stephanie-Wright-1 071218mp-Stephanie-Wright-5 Stephanie and Charles Wright
WAUCOMA  A Waucoma-based livestock buyer has been sentenced to probation, restitution and a fine in connection with allegations employees cheated hog producers, ignoring earlier agreements with the government.

On Friday, Judge C.J. Williams formalized a plea agreement between Lynch Family Companies, formerly known as Lynch Livestock Inc., and prosecutors that included $3 million in restitution to its customers and a $196,000 fine on one count of failure to comply with an order of the U.S. secretary of agriculture.

The judge also imposed five years probation, which was more than the three-year stint asked for in the plea agreement, according to court records.

The company was given credit for more than $1 million in restitution that was already paid, court records states.

Several employees have pleaded and been sentenced in recent weeks in connection with what defense attorneys admitted was a scheme that robbed pork producers across the Midwest of their hard-earned money.

In a sentencing memo leading up to Fridays hearing, Lynch Livestock attorneys took aim at a former regional buying manager for the company. Steven Shooter Charles Demaray died in a single-vehicle crash near New Hampton in November 2021, days after he was charged in the investigation.

Demaray began working for Lynch in 1999, and defense attorneys said there were no fraud allegations against the company before his arrival.

He began shorting sellers by downgrading hogs brought in for sale in the early 2000s, according to court documents.

Demaray  who was paid, in part, based on the companys profits reduced the weight and classification of hogs so that the company made more money by paying customers less than what they were owed, company attorneys wrote. They said he usually targeted large, corporate producers and even targeted two farm companies operated by Lynchs owner, Gary Lynch, but not smaller farmers.

Demaray used his force of personality and power within the company to silence subordinates, who believed Demaray would fire them if they reported the fraudulent acts Demaray demanded, company attorneys allege.

John Lynch, Garys brother, reported the scheme in 2017, and the Department of Agriculture became involved, finding two producers had been scammed. The company entered into a civil agreement with regulators, fired Demaray and paid $794,378 in restitution at the time, records state.

A second investigation followed in 2021 when an employee reported that manager Tyler Thoms, who had worked with Demaray in the past, was shorting producers at a buying station near Waucoma, allegedly using a crowbar to tip the scales when a hog was near a price break, court records allege.

Company attorneys allege the crowbar use wasnt driven by greed.

In grand jury testimony, exhibits, and proffer interviews, numerous employees explained to the government that Thomss actions were the result of laziness, because Thoms was unwilling to take the time to properly sort and re-sort hogs, and so he used the crowbar as a shortcut, company attorney alleged in court records.

The second investigation led to a second consent agreement with the government. It also led to more restitution based on calculations that concluded the most weight the crowbar could change a scale was 150 pounds.

The company then calculated the difference between the price the company paid the producer and the higher price after adding 150 pounds. Adding these totals, the company and the USDA agreed to a payment of $395,626.18 in restitution to over 100 producers, court records state.

Company officials assisted the government during the criminal investigation and entered into a compliance program, becoming the first in the industry to install video cameras at buying stations.

Thoms was sentenced to one year of probation in January, according to court records. Leland Pete Blue was sentenced to five years probation and a $1,000 fine. Billie Joe Wickham was sentenced to six months in jail and Charlie Lynch was sentenced to five years of probation.

Gallery: Coronavirus impacts meat industry throughout Midwest 051520bp-tyson-rally-1 051520bp-tyson-rally-2 051520bp-tyson-rally-3 Meat locker tyson-waterloo-pig-sign 050620bp-tysons-tour-2 050620bp-tysons-tour-1
CEDAR FALLS  A Waterloo man has been arrested after leading Cedar Falls police on a chase early Sunday.

Jalen Latrell Jones, 22, was arrested for eluding, first-offense operating while intoxicated, possession of marijuana and operating a vehicle without the owners consent. He was also cited for speeding, reckless driving and failure to maintain control.

According to police, a patrol officer attempted to stop a Lincoln MKS driving through the Main Street Parkade shortly before 2 a.m. Sunday.

The vehicle fled down Lincoln Street, and the chase continued until the area of Lincoln Street and Leversee Road. Jones was taken into custody without incident.
Officers were called to a report of gunfire at about 2:24 a.m. Sunday and found a vehicle had been shot. The vehicle was occupied at the time of the shooting, but no injuries were reported.
CEDAR FALLS  The Board of Education will convene for a special work session Monday to learn more about the districts English language arts curriculum.

The 5 p.m. session is at City Hall, 220 Clay St. Board members are slated to consider approval of the curriculum materials at their regular 5:30 p.m. meeting.

No documents were provided with any information about the curriculum that will be discussed and possibly approved.

At 5:30 p.m., the board may also learn about the preliminary version of its budget for the next fiscal year and consider several other items:

A contract with Tyler Ruane as Cedar Heights Elementary School principal effective July 1. His contract wasnt immediately available. He took over as the buildings principal last year, according to the school districts Facebook page.

The resignation of Kim Cross, principal of Bess Streeter Aldrich Elementary School, effective June 30.

A 28E agreement with the Jesup, Denver and Wapsie Valley school districts for a shared English teacher during the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years as part of the Center for Advanced Professional Studies program. Cedar Falls Community Schools would cover $37,165 of the $74,330 in estimated salary cost as well as contribute toward other expenses such as insurance and vehicle mileage.

A $512,073 bid by Black Hawk Roof Company, one of two bids received for roof replacements at Cedar Heights Elementary School and Holmes Junior High over the summer.

Setting a public hearing for the proposed 2023-24 academic year calendar, with classes scheduled to run from Aug. 23 to May 29, 2024. It includes spring break March 11-15 and two inclement weather make-up days following the end of school. Graduation is scheduled for May 26 while May 30 and 31 would be the potential make-up days.

Photos: Waterloo Christian girls basketball vs. North Tama in regional opener GBBall Waterloo Christian vs. North Tama 1 GBBall Waterloo Christian vs. North Tama 2 GBBall Waterloo Christian vs. North Tama 3 GBBall Waterloo Christian vs. North Tama 4 GBBall Waterloo Christian vs. North Tama 5 GBBall Waterloo Christian vs. North Tama 6 GBBall Waterloo Christian vs. North Tama 7 GBBall Waterloo Christian vs. North Tama 8 GBBall Waterloo Christian vs. North Tama 9 GBBall Waterloo Christian vs. North Tama 10
WASHINGTON  A U.S. fighter jet shot down an unidentified object over Lake Huron on Sunday on orders from President Joe Biden. It was the fourth such downing in eight days and the latest military strike in an extraordinary chain of events over U.S. airspace that Pentagon officials believe has no peacetime precedent.

Part of the reason for the repeated shootdowns is a heightened alert following a spy balloon from China that emerged over U.S. airspace in late January, Gen. Glen VanHerck, head of NORAD and U.S. Northern Command, said in a briefing with reporters.

Since then, fighter jets last week also shot down objects over Canada and Alaska. Pentagon officials said they posed no threats, but so little was known about them that Pentagon officials were ruling nothing out  not even UFOs.

We have been more closely scrutinizing our airspace at these altitudes, including enhancing our radar, which may at least partly explain the increase, said Melissa Dalton, assistant defense secretary for homeland defense.

U.S. authorities have made clear that they constantly monitor for unknown radar blips, and it is not unusual to shut down airspace as a precaution to evaluate them. But the unusually assertive response was raising questions about whether such use of force was warranted, particularly as administration officials said the objects were not of great national security concern and the downings were just out of caution.

VanHerck said the U.S. adjusted its radar so it could track slower objects. With some adjustments, weve been able to get a better categorization of radar tracks now," he said, "and thats why I think youre seeing these, plus theres a heightened alert to look for this information."

He added: I believe this is the first time within United States or American airspace that NORAD or United States Northern Command has taken kinetic action against an airborne object."

Asked if officials have ruled out extraterrestrials, VanHerck said, I havent ruled out anything at this point.

The Pentagon officials said they were still trying to determine what exactly the objects were and said they had considered using the jets' guns instead of missiles, but it proved to be too difficult. They drew a strong distinction between the three shot down over this weekend and the balloon from China.

The extraordinary air defense activity began in late January, when a white orb the officials said was from China appeared over the U.S. and hovered above the nation for days before fighter jets downed it off the coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. That event played out over livestream. Since, then many Americans have been captivated by the drama playing out in the skies as fighter jets scramble to shoot down objects.

The latest brought down was first detected on Saturday evening over Montana, but it was initially thought to be an anomaly. Radar picked it up again Sunday hovering over the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and it was going over Lake Huron, Pentagon officials said Sunday.

U.S. and Canadian authorities had restricted some airspace over the lake earlier Sunday as planes were scrambled to intercept and try to identify the object. According to a senior administration official, the object was octagonal, with strings hanging off, but had no discernable payload. It was flying low at about 20,000 feet, said the official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to disusc

Meanwhile, U.S. officials were still trying to precisely identify two other objects shot down by F-22 fighter jets, and were working to determine whether China was responsible as concerns escalated about what Washington said was Beijing's large-scale aerial surveillance program.

An object shot down Saturday over Canada's Yukon was described by U.S. officials as a balloon significantly smaller than the balloon  the size of three school buses  hit by a missile Feb. 4. A flying object brought down over the remote northern coast of Alaska on Friday was more cylindrical and described as a type of airship.

Both were believed to have a payload, either attached or suspended from them, according to the officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation. Officials were not able to say who launched the objects and were seeking to figure out their origin.

The three objects were much smaller in size, different in appearance and flew at lower altitudes than the suspected spy balloon that fell into the Atlantic Ocean after the U.S. missile strike.

The officials said the other three objects were not consistent with the fleet of Chinese aerial surveillance balloons that targeted more than 40 countries, stretching back at least into the Trump administration.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told ABCs This Week that U.S. officials were working quickly to recover debris. Using shorthand to describe the objects as balloons, he said U.S military and intelligence officials were focused like a laser on gathering and accumulating the information, then compiling a comprehensive analysis.

The bottom line is until a few months ago we didnt know about these balloons, Schumer, D-N.Y., said of the spy program that the administration has linked to the Peoples Liberation Army, Chinas military. It is wild that we didnt know.

Eight days ago, F-22 jets downed the large white balloon that had wafted over the U.S. for days at an altitude of about 60,000 feet. U.S. officials immediately blamed China, saying the balloon was equipped to detect and collect intelligence signals and could maneuver itself. White House officials said improved surveillance capabilities helped detect it.

China's Foreign Ministry said the unmanned balloon was a civilian meteorological airship that had blown off course. Beijing said the U.S. had overreacted by shooting it down.
There is so much debate about classified documents, the containers of our governments secrets, that it might be helpful to step back and shed a little more light on the subject without a partisan viewpoint.

Two distinctions at the outset. First, nothing set forth should diminish the importance of our governments need to obtain relevant and highly secretive information about our adversaries strength, weakness and intentions. The first and fundamental role of the United States intelligence services is to do exactly what it is doing and has been doing for generations. Secondly, nothing in this writing should be taken to detract from the outstanding job the Central Intelligence Agency has performed in the Ukraine.

There are three classifications for secret information: classified, secret and top secret. A government employee, including a member of Congress, has to receive approval (clearance) to see any of the three. The greater the responsibility of the individual, the tighter and more restrictive the standards become. Members generally can obtain classified information, those with defense responsibilities even more, but only a few who cover the intelligence agencies have full access. Members do not share intelligence data with other members unless they have same level clearance.

I encountered classified information early during my first term in office. Serving on the Space, Science, and Technology Committee in the House, the subject of the oversight hearing was the International Space Station, who was going to build it and at what cost. It was proposed to be a three-way venture with Japan and Canada being our partners. During a hearing, the Reagan administrations intention to arm the station with nuclear weapons was, I still think inadvertently, presented to the committee. Inadvertently I write because subsequent events revealed that our two building partners were unaware of the administrations goal to make space a war zone. But further questions to the NASA representatives were unanswered. I was told details couldnt be discussed because the information was classified.

I asked to see the classified information, which was then brought to my office by the CIA. Before seeing the information, all staff was removed, including myself; and the rooms were searched for listening devices, like phone taps and electronic listening equipment. Only then was I, and only I, allowed to return and be presented with a one-page document. The rules of viewing it were simple: read it, if you take notes, those go back with the paper, and you cannot disclose to others what information you learned. The first highly sensitive secret was  the administration is trying to construct, with Canada and Japan, a space station. Having learned that, I was supposed to be unable to discuss it further, even though it had been revealed at a public hearing. I ignored that and in fact was rather popular on Canadian radio stations and news outlets for a couple of weeks. We never heard about it again because neither Japan, very understandably, nor Canada wanted to build a warship in space.

Now we need, as a nation, the ability to guard our secrets and disclose them on the basis of need to know. It would be naive, however, to not recognize that all presidents and their staff, plus other government agencies, will sometimes classify information for non-intelligence reasons. For example, to cover up mistakes, protect assets (like personal) or simply feel that it would be premature to unnecessarily alarm the pubic. Hiding what we learned or did is definitely overused, but that is a human element that infects all governments. The documents our present president and former presidents had in their possession are most likely a mixture of the mundane and extraordinary. I have yet to be presented with any evidence of harm that befell us because of their failure to return the papers.

But here is the end of this chapter. After the CIA left my office, I called House security and requested (and they did) they sweep my office to remove the listening devices the CIA left to monitor me. This was standard procedure by the members. Do not be surprised, Washington is a tough town.
Valentines Day is upon us, when most people will express  in some fashion  one, two or three forms of the word love. But, many individuals will completely ignore the fourth type of love  agape  at a time we need that as much as the other three.

The first type of love is eros. It originated from ancient Greek philosophy referring to physical attraction and romantic love.

Storge describes family love, the bond that develops between parents, children, grandchildren, brothers and sisters.

The third form of love is philia. Philia is observed in meaningful friendships as well as when people express their care and compassion for people in need.

The Greek word agape is noted by some as the highest of the four types of love described in the Bible. Agape is perfect, selfless, sacrificial and unconditional love for humankind.

According to Joshua Inwood of Penn State Universitys African American studies department, agape  the moral imperative to engage with ones oppressor  was the central tenant of Martin Luther King Jr.s movement built from 1955 until his assassination in 1968.

King once stated, Agape means nothing sentimental or basically affectionate; it means understanding, redeeming goodwill for all men, an overflowing love which seeks nothing in return. Understanding is the key word.

Today, in our divisive America, we need to embrace agape and try to understand  not debate, ridicule or fight  just understand those who have opposing views. Demonstrating agape for just one day, let alone a week, would be a major step forward.

Ponder this data point as an example of our divisiveness: According to Pew Research Centers Aug. 9 report, the majority of Republicans and Democrats view members of the other party as more immoral, dishonest, unintelligent and closed-minded than other Americans. Really? Immoral? Dishonest? Unintelligent? Close-minded?

Our divisiveness is not necessarily making reference to the political far-right wing wackos or the far-left wing crazies. We are estranged on social issues as well.

Here are some different points of view where if agape was practiced, it might permit us to become a more civilized America:

Vaccinations vs. anti-vaxxers; Americas 98 white supremacist, homophobic, xenophobia groups vs. acceptance-tolerance; voter suppression vs. freedom to vote; immigration reform vs. immigration exclusion; pro-United Nations and NATO vs. isolationism; civil rights vs. human rights abuses.

Economic equality vs. inequality; straight vs. gay rights; homelessness vs. find a solution; affirmative action vs. inequality of opportunity; tax support for public school vs. private school; bipartisan dialogue vs. party before people; disinformation and misinformation vs. truth.

Wild West gun laws vs. sensible gun control; bipartisan debt ceiling resolve vs. faceoff and worldwide economic collapse; climate change advocates vs. environmental change doubters; pro-economic, political, social, cultural and trade globalism vs. pro-nationalism.

Freedom of press vs. book banning; candid history vs. selective history teaching; scientific proof vs. conspiracy theory fiction; integration vs. segregation; pro- vs. controlled-womens medical rights; freedom of speech vs. censorship; democracy vs. authoritarian-fascism.

There are a plethora of other topics tearing Americans apart.

Considering, pondering and exploring where the other side is coming from might be wise to adopt for our long-term survival. Having open discussions of differences and division is the starting point.

May your Valentines Day be filled with eros, storge and philia, loving your family, friends and neighbors who are in need. And in the days ahead, when confronted with opposing opinions, may agape be applied trying to understand (vs. fighting, hating and despising) others who think differently.

Lets truly work together and practice agape to build a better United States of America.
Our General Assembly is contemplating changes to SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). Legislators are concerned that poor families, even those so impoverished that they must be on Medicaid, are squandering public resources on such luxuries as white bread, white rice, and fresh meats. HF3 would codify changes to SNAP, thus saving us from such extravagances as tax-funded refried beans, and has advanced in the Iowa House.

Out-of-state lobbyists are concerned needy Iowans might waste scarce tax dollars on such luxuries as sliced cheese or foods containing white grains. Under HF3 SNAP recipients could purchase 100% whole wheat bread, brown rice and 100% whole wheat pasta. Recipients would be allowed to purchase black, red and pinto beans.

Meanwhile, House Speaker Pat Grassley has been a recipient of USDA subsidies. In three years Grassley has received about $28,771 in unencumbered federal checks! Grassley doesnt have to meet a means test; he may purchase white bread and even fresh meat with his taxpayer-funded largesse. He is also leading the charge against Iowas poor and sick who only want a hand up.

Please contact your legislators and ask that they oppose HF3 as an unChristian, misguided attack on Iowas most vulnerable citizens.

Michael Dargan, Cedar Falls
What got me was the name of the organization where she said those words last Thursday: Moms for Liberty. If those "moms" want liberty, they shouldn't be calling for banning books. More like Moms for Censorship.

Reynolds keeps talking about making sure schools are educating and not indoctrinating a "leftist agenda." However, it seems more likely that she is advocating for indoctrination to a right-wing agenda that encourages kids being afraid of African Americans, LGBTQ+ people, immigrants and "the other" that those at the top of the economic pyramid want us to pay attention to instead of what is really the threat to Americans  economic inequity and growing fascism.
I was shocked and sickened to read that Gov. Kim Reynolds is proposing that if one Iowa school removes a book, all schools will have to remove the book. During her remarks to Moms for Liberty, a national group that advocates for parents' rights in public education, Reynolds said there is a need to restore sanity, to make sure our schools are a place of learning and not indoctrination. The group is 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. Unfortunately, parents are not always willing or able to love their children unconditionally, and to remove the support of teachers and counselors will further isolate, repress, and shame an already marginalized group of students. We should be teaching our children to think independently and live their lives authentically; this requires courage and compassionate support from the adults in their lives. This will literally save lives of vulnerable youths.
Richard Wurmbrand was a 20th-century pastor imprisoned by the Communist government in Romania. Upon studying the writings of Karl Marx, Wurmbrand wrote the book Marx and Satan revealing Marxisms intent of destroying mankind. It seems history concurs with Wurmbrand.

The World Economic Forums Great Reset is to establish global eco-communism via the United Nations 17 sustainability goals, also called Agenda 2030. These are implemented through Marxist dialectics: First, each problem is created, or exaggerated, so people react and facilitate the desired solution.

Gas stoves allegedly harm asthmatic children; now gas stoves must be banned. The Waterloo City Council learned that conversion therapy was blamed for suicides, so they might ban the First Amendment right of those supporting such therapy. But notice no such concern over suicides caused by the guilt from abortion  because virtue signaling is about societal engineering, not justice.

The bankers who recklessly expanded global debt now plan to control your digital social credit scores through environmental, social, governance (ESG). Elite planners want you to eat bugs and monitor your energy consumption within smart-cities in the pursuit of net zero carbon usage while they fly private jets to Davos and feast on steak.

Wake up.

Jeffery Fischels, Cedar Falls
 Top News Today

 The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have launched a massive attack against the crucial power facilities that operated Ukraines defence industrial complex and transport system.

 In Kupyansk direction, the attacks, launched by Ground-Attack and Army aviation, as well as the artillery of the Zapad Group of Forces, have resulted in the neutralisation of the AFU manpower and hardware in LPR and Kharkov region.

 In Krasny Liman direction, the attacks, launched by Operational-Tactical and Army aviation, the artillery and heavy flamethrower systems of the Tsentr Group of Forces, have resulted in the neutralisation of the AFU units in LPR and DPR.

 In South Donetsk direction, Operational-Tactical Aviation and the artillery of the Vostok Group of Forces have been launching fire strikes against the AFU units in DPR.

 Russian Defence Ministry has published footage of D-20 howitzers, Airborne Troops artillery and assault units, and repair units in combat action within the special military operation.

#MoD #TopNews #Russia #Ukraine

@mod_russia_en

WtR
Weather Alert

.Warm temperatures may melt snowpack and increase river flows. ...FLOOD WATCH FOR SNOWMELT REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM SATURDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH MONDAY MORNING... * WHAT...Flooding caused by snowmelt continues to be 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 woman gives riveting testimony about American tragedy: the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, the Vietnam War, Watergate and the AIDS epidemic.

She explores cultural and political milestones from the 90s tech boom, the election of Barack Obama and Roe v. Wade.

Showcasing the resonant voice of mezzo-soprano Susan Graham, the song cycle of A Standing Witness is a ravenously ambitious piece that dares to produce a sweeping retrospective of American history across the last half-century. Starring Santa Fe resident Graham and the Copland House Ensemble, the monodrama comes to Santa Fes Lensic Performing Arts Center on Thursday, Feb. 16.

The piece is a musical collaboration between Grammy Award-winning composer Richard Danielpour, and Pulitzer Prize-winning author and former U.S. Poet Laureate Rita Dove. Danielpour created the work specifically for Graham, a Santa Fe and Metropolitan Opera regular.

Richard Danielpour sought me out in 2018, Graham said in a telephone interview from Los Angeles. He had been talking about this piece that describes the American zeitgeist in 50 years.

He always held me up as some sort of quintessential American artist, she said. I was really honored and flattered about that. He said, Youre the one that got away. Ive written for all of your friends, and he has.

Danielpour has penned music for opera stars Jessye Norman, Denyce Graves and Isabel Leonard.

The song cycle testimonies open with the turmoil of 1968 and its assassinations and riots, Muhammad Ali and the draft, the Nixon presidency and Watergate, and ends with the greed is good 90s, the cataclysm of 9/11 and the coronavirus.

Its an awesome opportunity to revisit things that seem so far away but whose relevance are still present, Graham said. It gives us a new perspective on where we are now.

Each testimony merits a different musical genre. Danielpours writing knits together jazz, bluegrass, elegy and ragtime.

I like the one about Woodstock a lot because it talks about music, Graham said. I was very young; I was born in 1960. I know a lot of people who were at Woodstock. There is that sort of rhythmic resonance. We mention Jimi Hendrix and how he played the Star Spangled Banner at the very end.

We have a whole song about Muhammad Ali, but we never say it was Muhammad Ali. He protested the Vietnam War and he didnt go. Theres one song about Watergate. It has sarcasm and I like that.

The piece was supposed to debut at Tanglewood in 2020, but COVID-19 shut it down. Graham cocooned in Santa Fe during the lockdown and called Danielpour.

When we were delayed, I called him to say, This COVID has changed our world. 

Danielpour and Dove added a section weaving the coronavirus with Black Lives Matter.

The poetry is not literal in any sense, Graham said. Were capturing the social and cultural consciousness around these events. Ritas poetry is so evocative of a time and feeling.

The 70-minute piece features Copland Ensemble flutist Carol Wincenc, clarinetist Benjamin Fingland, violinist Suliman Tekalli, violist Melissa Reardon, cellist Alexis Pia Gerlach and pianist Michael Boriskin.

Copland House is a creative center for American music based at Aaron Coplands New York home.

After every performance when we take our bows and go into the wings, there are tears, Graham said. Its just a very powerful journey.
James Jankos What We Dont Talk About is an enticing work of fiction that is self-identified as a novel but can also be termed a group of connected short stories.

It is generally set in the small fictional Illinois town of Orville in the 1960s. Besides the population, the town, the Illinois River that runs through it, and the farmland can be seen as characters as well.

As the title hints, the book deals with unspoken  indeed at times unspeakable  issues townspeople hardly whisper in public.

Racism is one overarching issue. Orville has the reputation for being a sundown town, meaning Blacks should get out by sunset or likely face the threat of intimidation or worse, violence.

In the opening story, Fenza, a teenage bully, advises an old Black man to leave town in about three minutes.

Fenzas pal Gus, a kind person, steps in. Gus borrows a bucket and helps refill the trucks overheated radiator and a bathtub in the trucks bed holding catfish and carp. He tells the man to take all the time he needs.

Heres how Janko describes the vehicle: A pickup crept along the riverfront road. Fenza saw it first, a Chevrolet missing its front bumper, a heap maybe on its way to the junkyard east of town. Puffs of smoke oozed up from the hood. The muffler scraped and sparked over the crooked bricks of Canal Street. Whose truck, and who was driving? The half-light of dusk left room for wonder.

The authors power of language will magnetize the reader throughout What We Dont Talk About.

Fenza and Gus are two of the recurring dominant characters. The boys are also symbols. Fenza represents a narrow-minded status quo shared by many of the townspeople. Gus represents an open-mindedness of thought and independence of spirit.

We see them and their circle of friends as they come of age, edging toward adulthood.

The boys, as teenage boys will do, try to crazily grab the attention of two of the local girls, the beauty Jenny and the tomboy Pat.

These girls have their own entwined stories to tell. Jennys is about racial identity, Pats is about sexual identity.

Jennys mom doesnt want her inquisitive daughter to look into her own mothers racial makeup, fearing it would be a weakness in the armor of the familys residence in white-only Orville.

Pat isnt so sure she is romantically interested in either Fenza or Gus. She feels a physical attraction to Jenny.

The arrival of the teaching nun Sister Clair is a breath of fresh air, though her ideas about war, civil rights and literature are too liberal for Orvilles older generation of Catholics.

However, she sets in motion events that challenge the towns sundown rule through Kenny, a young Black man she had known in Alabama. While on active duty in Vietnam, Kenny turns his back on the military. Released from the brig and given a dishonorable discharge, he visits Sister Clair in Orville  after dark.

Another social issue highlighted in What We Dont Talk About is mental illness. The character of Crazy Ruth, locked up at home by her husband, rarely escapes. When she does, she wanders through town in bathrobe and slippers banging on a pan and shouting her love for Indians, for Blacks.

Gus finds her body in the river. Her husband, Will, a World War II veteran and church deacon, admits he dumped her body but had killed her in self-defense. Shame and guilt eventually get the best of Will.

Janko, an Albuquerque resident, said in a phone interview, As a novelist, its easier to stick with a few main characters and easier to stay with one or two primary points of view. But that misses the complexity of the lived experience.

He said his writing of the book was informed by Sherwood Andersons classic 1919 Winesburg, Ohio: A Group of Tales of Ohio Small Town Life. It really gave the feeling of the whole town, Janko said.

Janko himself grew up Catholic in La Salle, Illinois, about 100 miles southwest of Chicago. He termed it a hard-drinking, God-fearing town.

Like Gus, the author was encouraged to become a priest but didnt. Like the fictional Orville, La Salle was a real sundown town, one of some 230 in Illinois alone in the 60s, Janko said.

On that subject, he directed readers to James W. Loewens book Sundown Towns: The Hidden Dimension of American Racism.
Todays lesson is Theres no such thing as a free lunch. This saying is generally attributed to economist Milton Friedman, and is in relation to government payouts.

New Mexico residents received payments in 2022 from the state. These payments were connected to their 2021 income tax filings.

I use payments because the exact description varied at different times. Sometimes rebates, other times stimulus payments, still others relief payments.

I use connected to 2021 filings because the state used a 2021 filing to determine who received the payment. The law said that The rebates  may be deducted from  New Mexico income tax liability for taxable year 2021.

Those who did not file 2021 returns were also eligible for the payments. They had to file an application with the Human Services Department.

There may be another round of payments. These will again be tied to the 2021 tax filing, using the same language (but a different due date) than the first payments.

More than a dozen other states have made similar, but not exact, payments. States may say that the payments are not taxable (New Mexico has done so). States may not determine the federal income tax treatment.

Confusion about the federal tax treatment of these payments is sweeping like a Chinese balloon across affected states. People are looking to the Internal Revenue Service to shoot down their concerns.

Im going to take the first shot. Ill limit myself to New Mexico airspace. Remember that the legislation said that you may deduct the payment from your 2021 New Mexico liability.

This language suggests that the 2021 income tax return has some line that treats the payment as a reduction of your tax due. If it exceeds the tax due, the law says you still get the excess.

But there is no such line and therefore no actual reduction of your 2021 tax. Checks were simply mailed to eligible residents.

But no worries; lets just say that the check was deemed to be a reduction of your tax liability, just as the statute implies.

This could allow you to treat the check as nontaxable. You just reduce the deduction you claim for state income taxes by the deemed reduction.

More than 90% of all filers do not itemize deductions. This means they do not deduct state income tax payments.

Of those who do itemize, there is an overall $10,000 limit on income and property tax deductions. So many itemizers get no tax benefit from state income taxes.

If you get no benefit from state income tax payments, reducing the amount you paid by the rebate is of no tax consequence. No tax benefit, no income for the rebate.

This is not clear. It is an argument. I think it has enough weight to allow you to exclude the rebate from income. Whoever signs the tax return is the one who must decide if this is the final answer.

What if you are that person who received more than you owed in state income tax? You have no tax payment to reduce.

For you then, as a smart phones GPS might say, rerouting. Change to Section 139 of the tax law. It has an exclusion for disaster relief payments.

There are several types of disaster relief payments provided for in Section 139. One is a payment determined by  to be made to those who warrant assistance.

There are no regulations for Section 139, which was a 9/11 relief measure. So, no guidance on how a state determined who might warrant assistance.

Section 139(h) has a no double-benefit rule. No tax deduction can be claimed for items funded by excluded disaster relief payments.

Now back to the basic issue. You received a 2022 payment. You may also get a 2023 payment. You do not want to pay federal tax on payments.

This may create some anxiety for you. Maybe for your tax preparer also. But remember, theres no such thing as a free lunch for government assistance.

Its the equivalent of sitting through a timeshare presentation to get tax relief. If reducing your 2021 tax deduction is not an issue, try that approach. If you have no state payment to reduce, do you feel that you warrant assistance?

James R. Hamill is the director of tax practice at Reynolds, Hix & Co. in Albuquerque. He can be reached at jimhamill@rhcocpa.com.
For some Grants residents, the Mount Taylor Winter Quadrathlon is a way of life.

Take Isaac Atencio, for example. When he was a kid, his parents helped organize the event while Atencio tested his mettle in the youth race. As he got older, he progressed to the adult version. Today, everything has come full circle, as Atencio is in his second year as race director. Its a progression that isnt all that uncommon as the Quad celebrates its 40th anniversary on Saturday, Feb. 18.

Its really awesome to have an event going on this long in our area, Atencio said. The Quad has always been there. A lot of the people that are in the committee now, their parents grew up helping and running it. Weve kind of just gone from there. So its really cool.

The Quad tests both endurance and versatility as competitors race up Mount Taylor  the highest point in the Cibola National Forest at 11,301 feet  by foot, bike, ski and snowshoe for a 44-mile round trip. The journey begins with a 13-mile bike ride to the foot of the mountain that features a 1,000 foot elevation gain over the last 2.5 miles. From there, athletes transition to a five-mile run up a snow-packed road, where traction cleats are recommended to navigate the icy terrain. The race moves on to a two-mile ski before concluding with a one-mile snowshoe trek to the summit of Mount Taylor. Then, its time to do it all over again on the way down.

The view is quite breathtaking, so much so that the official Quad website quips that it should post a registration booth for the next year at the top of the mountain. And just to keep things interesting, the course tends to vary from year-to-year due to weather conditions and changing terrain.

Its just a hard race, Atencio said. Theres really nothing out there like it that we can think of in the winter that just tests all your abilities  your ability to bike, your ability to run, your ability to ski and snowshoe. You never know what race day is gonna be like. It may be a beautiful warm day or it may be a blizzard.

As a veteran of the course himself, Atencio has a couple tips for beginners.

I would say the leg of the race that people struggle with would probably be the ski. The course may be icy, or the course may be beautiful, he said. Or we may have to go up an alternate route if we didnt get enough snow. I think thats the one that people struggle with the most.

Its also important to pace oneself, particularly at the outset of the race when adrenaline is running high.

Normally we tell them dont use all your energy right out of the gate on the bike. Try and maintain your good speed on the run, Atencio said. The ski uphill can be a little tough once you get to Heartbreak Hill. Once youre past that, its all uphill until you get to the top.

Not everyone is cut out for the solo Quad, which Atencio calls one of the hardest things Ive done. Team races are also an option, whether its four people choosing one leg apiece, or two to three participants who divide the duties among themselves. Additionally, the kids Quad will be holding its 10th annual race on the same day. Atencio hopes to secure approximately 200 participants for the adult race and another 100 for the kids version.

When all is said and done, the Quad always tends to attract racers of all ages and aptitudes.

We get some very competitive athletes who come down and do this in three hours. You get some other athletes who are going to take eight hours to complete it, Atencio said. We have 80-year-olds racing, we have 16-year-olds racing. Its something for everybody. It really just tests your spirit and endurance.
Q: My daughter is going to start kindergarten in the fall and I was told she is required by New Mexico law to have her chickenpox vaccine to attend school. Isnt it better for her to get the chickenpox naturally?

A: Chickenpox, or the varicella-zoster virus, is one of the previously common childhood viral infections for which there is a safe and effective vaccine.

Many of us remember the chickenpox parties of the past designed to hopefully afflict all the kids in a family with chickenpox at the same time instead of a prolonged course as the virus made its way through all vulnerable family members.

It is spread through contact with the lesions and through the air. While the viral infection is typically associated with a fever, itchy rash, and malaise, it can also cause severe complications and death. Common complications include bacterial infections of the skin and pneumonia. More severe complications include encephalitis (inflammation of the brain), bone and joint infections, necrotizing fasciitis (a severe and sometimes fatal bacterial infection), hemorrhagic conditions, sepsis, and toxic shock syndrome.

Newborns, pregnant women and those who are immunocompromised are at higher risk of severe disease and complications.

Chickenpox cases have declined by over 97% since the initiation of the varicella vaccination program in 1995. There has also been a 94% decrease in hospitalizations and a 97% decrease in deaths in those under 50 years old.

Prior to the initiation of the varicella vaccination program, each year over 4 million people became infected, up to 13,500 people were hospitalized and up to 150 people died. Over 90% of the cases, 70% of the hospitalizations, and half of the deaths occurred in children. It is for all these reasons that the vaccine is now included in the school immunization requirements.

The measles vaccine is another example of a required vaccination for day care and school entry. Measles is a highly contagious virus that is spread through respiratory droplets. The virus can stay suspended in the air and infect another person for about two hours after the infected person initially coughed or sneezed.

Measles causes a high fever, cough, runny nose, red eyes and a rash. Complications of an infection include pneumonia, encephalitis and death. It is also associated with a long-term fatal neurological complication called subacute sclerosing panencephalitis which can occur 7 to 10 years after having recovered from the initial infection.

Measles is a serious viral infection that requires 95% of a community to be vaccinated in order to prevent spread. When vaccination rates fall below this threshold outbreaks can occur.

The varicella and measles vaccines are only two examples of very important required vaccinations.

New Mexico, along with every other state, has laws requiring children entering day care and all schools to have certain immunizations.

The purpose of the requirement is twofold: to keep kids from getting vaccine preventable diseases; and to ensure that vaccine rates in the community are high enough to confer herd immunity and protect those who cannot be vaccinated.

Fortunately, vaccines can be safely given in most instances. Two examples of when a vaccine may not be able to be given are if a person is allergic to that specific vaccine or if they have a compromised immune system.

Vaccines are a safe and effective way to keep your child healthy and to protect others around her. Vaccines do not cause autism. Vaccines can be given even when your child is sick if her symptoms are mild-to-moderate in nature.

If you have any questions about vaccines or whether your child is caught up on her vaccines, please talk to your health care provider.

All New Mexico children are very fortunate to have access to the Vaccines for Children Program. According to the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) website this program is a federally-funded program that provides vaccines at no cost to children who might not otherwise be vaccinated because of an inability to pay.

This program makes vaccines available to public and private vaccine providers to enable them to vaccinate all their patients. The NMDOH also has some other great programs and supports for New Mexico families.

You can access your childs vaccine record and see if they are up to date by checking vaxviewnm.org. The NMDOH also provides free shot clinics typically in July and August to get kids ready to go back to school. Please visit nmhealth.org for more information.

Vaccines are safe and effective. Vaccines are accessible. Vaccines save lives.

Melissa Mason is a general pediatrician with Journey Pediatrics in Albuquerque. Please send your questions to melissaemason@gmail.com.
Copyright  2023 Albuquerque Journal

Nicolle L. Gonzales has dedicated her life to helping others. Through her Changing Woman Initiative, she focuses on renewing Indigenous birthing traditions and culture to ensure Native American people can get proper care and help.

This is the reason the University of New Mexico Native American Alumni Chapter honored the Dine nurse midwife for her contributions to her community.

Half of our graduates stay in the state, and we have seen the expansion of clinical services throughout the state, said Laura Migliaccio, an assistant professor and nurse-midwifery concentration coordinator at UNM College of Nursing. We have also seen at times the contraction of clinical services throughout the state, but our students, our graduates are really important to maintaining the healthcare, the maternal healthcare system throughout our state.

After years of working as a midwife in her Navajo Nation community and seeing many Native American women struggle with the Western health care system, Gonzales felt there was a more effective method to center the needs of the women and families she cared about.

But people were just really impressed as they really like her tenacity, Migliaccio said. Also, she continues to find other creative ways to meet clients where theyre at, for example, a lot of our clients were not getting access to good nutrition so she helped to set up food and food services in an extended way for them.

Gonzales Changing Woman Initiative is a Native American-led womens health collective that is focused on renewing cultural birth knowledge to empower and reclaim sovereignty of Indigenous womens medicine. The organization is committed to promoting reproductive wellness, healing through holistic approaches and to strengthening womens bonds to family and community.

She has been a tremendous alumni for 10 years and is an accomplished, dedicated and hardworking person, Migliaccio said. But she is also very warm and genuine and just lovely, a lovely human being. Things like what clinicians can they do beyond the walls of a political space and how into the community I think is really inspirational.

One of the objectives of Changing Woman Initiative is developing a Native American reproductive wellness and birth center, which would be the first in the country.

We know that theres a large impact from racism and bias and inequities in our health care system, Migliaccio said. Nicolle is approaching it from a community-based and strength-based manner that is really invaluable and sort of innovative in her way of addressing these inequities. I think to draw attention to that and to honor that is important.

Through Gonzales leadership as a midwifery director, the collective has also founded a pilot Indigenous Midwifery Student Fellowship program to help the next generation of Indigenous midwives.

She is inspirational to others, as I brought her in to speak to our students because I think that the work shes doing is innovative, Migliaccio said. We also have some other Native American students and I think for them to see what is possible, is inspiring.

In addition to her job, Gonzales keeps contributing to the community in several ways such as serving on two birth center boards in New Mexico.

She also offers training for Indigenous birth workers in New Mexico and uses her experience and expertise as a consultant to help Native American tribes and health care organizations.
Paramedic shortage is why 6 top pay list

WE BELIEVE the response from Albuquerque Fire Rescue regarding the six AFR paramedics identified as some of the top earners in the city was misleading and painted our citys bravest in a way that needs context.

We want our community to understand why it is possible there is so much overtime available for a firefighter to be amongst the highest paid in the city when the average base pay is still below the Southwest average amongst similar cities.

It is imperative for the city of Albuquerque to have properly staffed apparatus when responding to the abundance of emergencies that occur at any time of day or night in our city. We achieve delivering the highest level of emergency response in one of the busiest cities in the country by having professional trained firefighters that are licensed Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) responding in state-of-the-art apparatus (fire trucks).

The statement from AFR that our department is fully staffed is not only misleading, but also untrue. In fact, AFR has seen a significant decrease in paramedics. This lack of paramedics has led to insufficient levels of staffing on rescue apparatus (ambulance), specifically paramedic officers, with the potential of losing many more in the next few years to retirement. When it was once an anomaly, it is now commonplace for our rescues to be staffed with only one paramedic when there are normally two.

It is no wonder that all six on the list are paramedics and five of six are paramedic officers. We applaud them for their sacrifice to staff our apparatus.

Immediate actions are available to rectify some of these issues, and we look forward to working with the fire chief, city administration and City Council to address the very dangerously low staffing in our department.

Miguel Tittmann, IAFF Local 244 president, Albuquerque

Southern NM leaders support Holtec plan

WE CONTINUE to oppose N.M. Senate Bill 53, which would block a project to store spent nuclear fuel at a proposed facility between Carlsbad and Hobbs. This bill is now headed for the Senate floor. We find it frustrating state officials seem dismissive of the fact the elected bodies of Carlsbad, Hobbs, Eddy County and Lea County, who represent the area around the project, all strongly support the Holtec project.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission concludes the project would be handled safely. Why do we have such a rigorous vetting process if we do not actually consider its conclusions?

The NRC has shown that the canisters that would be shipped to New Mexico can withstand a collision from up to 120 mph. Even in the worst-case hypothetical situations, no radiological leak would take place. Such facts and data, as well as the opinions of those who live in the vicinity of the proposed facility, certainly deserve more consideration.

The Holtec project would represent a $3 billion investment in New Mexico. It would create hundreds of reliable local jobs. And yet, this project is also opposed by those telling us we need to diversify.

Opponents claim an interim storage facility could hurt agriculture or oil and gas in the area, again without addressing the NRCs extensive conclusions indicating that would not be the case.

Those opposed to nuclear projects seem to view them, unfairly, as some sort of burden that has been placed on New Mexico, instead of seeing them as an opportunity and as a solution. We hope all of our legislators will continue to keep an open mind and consider the NRCs extensive research as they weigh this issue on the Senate floor.

Dale Janway, Mayor of Carlsbad
With the latest statistics showing that New Mexicos 2021 chile production dropped considerably from the previous year, the states chile experts identified a primary  and familiar  reason.

Labor, labor, and more labor, said Travis Day, executive director of the New Mexico Chile Association. He spoke in an interview Tuesday from the foyer of the convention center in Las Cruces, which hosted this years annual New Mexico Chile Conference held Feb. 6 and Feb. 7.

Our 2020 season was a lot better than 2021, said Day.

While U.S. Department of Agriculture records show that in 2021 New Mexicos total agriculture production grew 5% from 2020 to $3.17 billion  with chile and pecan production ranking in the top two spots in the nation  New Mexicos chile production value dropped from $50.1 million in 2020 to $44.9 million in 2021.

Notably, the states chile production dropped from 65,600 tons in 2020 to 51,000 tons in 2021, a 22% decrease.

New Mexicos chile production has fallen from a 2004 all-time high of 106,850 tons.

With that production shortfall affecting the New Mexican chile industry, the buzz at this years conference continues to be on a new chile variety, the New Mex Odyssey, a product of 10 years of selective breeding and field testing that has produced a green chile rugged enough for a fully mechanized harvest, bypassing the need for human labor.

So we have the variety now that can be picked with the machine, said Day. We have a machine currently being developed, and so far it has worked very well. It doesnt bruise the plants and it doesnt ruin the crop, and were excited about it. We think thats the future of the industry moving forward, said Day. Its a huge game changer for us.

Stephanie J. Walker, a vegetable scientist with the Cooperative Extension Service of New Mexico State University and the lead researcher for the Odyssey chile variety, said it was important for the chile to have three characteristics: the chiles had to hang high in the plant, the plant needed a strong central stem to withstand the mechanized harvest, and the chiles needed to detach easily from the plant.

But its also really important that we can preserve the good New Mexico flavor of green chile, she said, adding that the New Mex Odyssey achieves it all.

In addition, the correct type of mechanized harvester needs to be used to provide the highest yield of unbroken fruit.

That harvester, Walker said, is a double helix machine, specifically one made in Israel.

For other New Mexico farmers looking to mechanize their harvests with the New Mex Odyssey variety, Walker said the seed has been patented to the Gillis family farm in the Hatch Valley.

But it can also be a pricey endeavor. The equipment to maximize the New Mex Odyssey mechanized harvest ranges from $55,000 to a four-row machine of about half a million dollars, Walker said. So thats a bit of a hurdle for some growers.

The role of research

Leslie D. Edgar, the associate dean of the College of Agriculture, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, credits the states investment into research and development with the successful New Mex Odyssey chile variety.

The more funding the state provides, the more opportunities our scientists have, she said, adding that the last funding session was the most successful for the College of Agricultures research in 20 years. More than $4 million was provided, in addition to $1.5 million in recurring dollars. That, together with grants and contracts secured by the colleges research team, meant more than $24 million devoted to agricultural research last year, she said.

She touted that success when she spoke to conference attendees.

Im going to brag just a little bit, she joked from the podium as she reported the numbers to about 200 people in attendance. She also reported that the number of NMSUs weather stations  which report weather data critical to crop production planning  with state funding had reached 215 across New Mexico, making it the largest continuous weather station network of any state in the nation.

Water concerns

Also a topic of discussion among conference attendees was the November settlement reached in the decade-long legal fight between Texas and New Mexico over the Rio Grandes water rights.

New Mexico claimed in the 2013 suit that Texas was illegally diverting water from the Rio Grande between Elephant Butte Dam and Hudspeth County, which resulted in Texas unfairly receiving more water than New Mexico, an alleged violation of the 1938 Rio Grande Compact.

Day said he believed the settlement was favorable for New Mexico, but added that we are concerned with what unintended consequences there might be. Top among those concerns, he said, is that we dont want to see land being taken out of production long term.

Were watching those settlement documents, and those initiatives that the state is going to move forward with, and were really getting heavily involved in those discussions, he said.

Soil health

After hearing a presentation on GMO growing techniques, Cecilia Baca, an owner of the Baca Family Farm in Valencia County, shook her head.

We are regenerative and organic farming, she said about her family farm. So some of what they were saying with the GMO, I dont buy into it.

She said her farm was growing one acre of chile, and the rest is pasture because an important part of healthy soil is incorporating your animals, she said.

Using organic methods  like planting Marigold flowers amid her tomato plants to keep away pests, or balancing the magnesium in the soil with an egg-shell based spray  is producing healthier products that provide better nutrition and dont tax the environment, she said.

Baca said she received a grant from the New Mexico Department of Agriculture to aid her in her mission of having natural, healthy soil.

On site at the conference was Juan C. Sanchez, a marketing specialist with the New Mexico Department of Agriculture, who agreed that the NMDA healthy soils program is a valuable asset for people interested in improving their soil naturally for farming.

Thats why it is good to be here, to hear from experts in different areas. They have a lot to share.

For Day, New Mexico chile is a powerful state ambassador all on its own. New Mexico chile has a national and international following, he said.

When you hear New Mexico, it is chile that people think of, and that they want. Even in New York or California restaurants, your consumers are asking for New Mexico chile, he said. We have people during the chile festival fly in from Hawaii just to buy their New Mexico chile. And so there is a huge nationwide interest, even on an international scale.
Some chile conference attendees noticed that New Mexico chile garnered some air time on the late night TV talk show circuit.

Earlier this month, Late Show host Stephen Colbert spent a few minutes talking about New Mexico chile. On the Feb. 2 episode, he begins:

Theres a story out of New Mexico where theyre considering making the roasted chile its official state aroma, Colbert said, adding that a New Mexican senator visited a class of fifth graders and they sparked a conversation about these savory hot peppers and the potential for New Mexico to become the first state in the nation to have an official state aroma.

Colbert joked about how he had assumed that the official New Mexico aroma was an abandoned RV that a bobcat is living in which riled a few New Mexicans who were watching.

No Steven. Dont talk like that about New Mexico, posted @cynthiaridgeway1100 on the Late Night Youtube clip. And @margaretfensterer3550 posted: Stephen, you joke about NM (chile) aroma as you have never been here during harvest and dont know anything about it. Come and experience!

Others also invited Colbert to the state to enjoy the chile aroma.

Hey man! Im from New Mexico and the smell of hatch green chiles roasting outdoors in the fall is the greatest thing ever. You gotta come out here, Stephen, and try that smell for yourself, posted @JeffreyGillespie.

And @alfwatt posted: Anyone whos ever lived in New Mexico will know exactly what the state aroma is and have fond memories of driving by the grocery store during (chile) harvesting season when the roasters are tumbling and the smell of fresh roasted Hatch Green (Chile) just wafts in the air Its enchanting.

State Sen. William Soules was that senator, and is sponsoring Senate Bill 188, a bill that indeed declares the aroma of green chile roasting in the fall as the official aroma of New Mexico.

He said the idea of the bill started when he visited a fifth grade class at Monte Vista Elementary school as an invited speaker.

Im a former teacher, and so Im trying to get them engaged, so I started asking them, so does anyone know whats the official bird of New Mexico? and someone knew it was the road runner, and so we went through a couple others, he said.

The students chimed in about the smell of roasting chile in the fall, he said, and he implored the class: Lets see about putting the smell of chile roasting as our official aroma for the state of New Mexico. Would you all help me? he recalled asking the students. And then it became this kind of rapid fire  what about this? And we could do that!

So began the effort for New Mexico to become the first state in the nation to have its own aroma.

The fifth grade students served as expert witnesses during the bills first hearing, and have been writing letters to committee members encouraging them to support this, and giving reasons why it is good for tourism, good for the state, and good for the chile industry, said Soules.

Theyre full into lobbying mode, he said. I dont think theres going to be much, if anything, thats going to stop it.

The end of the states session is March 18, and, if all goes forward with the bill, the governor would then sign it by this summer.

I have told the students that I will do what I can to get the governor to go and sign the bill down at Monte Vista Elementary School in Las Cruces, said Soules.

Paul Koplewitz, a project manager for Curry Farms in Arizona who was attending the Las Cruces Chile conference, was impressed at the idea of New Mexico having roasting chile as its state aroma.

Roasted chile smell, thats great, that makes total sense, he said with a chuckle. Youd better get that done before Arizona does.

Editors note: A version of this story incorrectly stated the name of the Las Cruces elementary school. Its Monte Vista. It also had the wrong date for the end of the current legislative session. Its March 18. The story has been updated with the correct information.
As a native New Mexican physician, I work daily toward improving the health of my fellow New Mexicans. However, the ability of my fellow physicians to continue basic care has recently come under attack. The special-interest lobby of trial attorneys has created a crisis that threatens health security of all New Mexicans. Unfortunately, our Legislature has silently declared it is unlikely to take meaningful measures to address this looming catastrophe.

The historical background is that in 2021, House Bill 75 enacted dramatic changes to the patient compensation fund by increasing the medial liabilities cap from $600,000 to $750,000 for individual physicians and up to $6 million for our hospitals. The bill poorly defined the terms hospital versus individual, creating the potential for individuals to be sued for the higher $6 million limit. This intentional ambiguity has created a malpractice insurance crisis. Physicians and their surgical centers can no longer find carriers willing to insure at the $6 million limit. Without insurance coverage, physicians can no longer provide life-saving care. In a follow-up emergency session, HB 11 issued a stay of HB 75. Without action, this 2023 session HB 75 becomes active again and the crisis will come to a head.

New Mexico is already experiencing heavy losses of qualified physicians, with more than 600 primary care physicians leaving New Mexico between 2017 and 2020. These losses and the current hostility toward physicians will threaten access to health care. Catering to the trial-attorney lobby will be devastating for New Mexico families.

The physicians who choose to stay in New Mexico will be forced to limit risk by deferring care of complex medical issues. The most gravely ill patients require high-risk procedures to treat their diseases, and these procedures carry more liability to physicians. The loss of highly skilled physicians or their willingness to treat relegates New Mexicans to travel out of state for complex medical care. Unfortunately, the populations most negatively affected by these changes are our sickest and most economically deprived.

As a clarification, House Bill 75 did little to help patients in New Mexico. The elevated caps are for pain and suffering. The patient compensation fund was originally created at the request of physicians decades ago to limit liabilities but mostly to provide for future medical expenses of those who have endured unfortunate medical outcomes. By forcing physicians out of the patient compensation fund, the trial attorney lobby is knowingly garnering money from these patients future care towards their lofty legal fees.

It is incumbent on all of us to ask our leadership to act. Medicine is a highly competitive business, and physicians will move to the environment that best supports their efforts. Medicine needs your help, we love New Mexico, we love our culture, we are honored to serve you. We do need your voice, your input, and look forward to improving the access of health care to all New Mexicans. Inaction is bad for New Mexicans, bad for business and bad for physicians. If we remain quiet, the trial-attorney special interests are well poised to win another important policy battle.
A person is dead after gunfire erupted Saturday afternoon outside a gas station in Northeast Albuquerque.

Gilbert Gallegos, an Albuquerque police spokesman, said officers responded to the shooting around 12:20 p.m. at the Circle K on 900 Juan Tabo at Lomas. He said two people were taken to the hospital with gunshot wounds.

One of the victims was critically wounded and is not expected to survive, Gallegos said. Homicide detectives are responding to the scene to start an investigation.

In an update later in the day, Gallegos said one of the people died.
Copyright  2023 Albuquerque Journal

Family members of a man shot and killed by Chaves County sheriffs deputies last year have filed a lawsuit alleging the officers used excessive force.

David Aguilera, 34, was fatally shot in the drivers seat of a patrol car following a lengthy standoff in which deputies tried to handcuff and arrest him. He died at the scene.

The 1st Judicial District Court lawsuit  filed on behalf of Aguileras longtime partner and their children  also alleges the Chaves County Sheriffs Office and the New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy failed to properly train and supervise the deputies. The suit seeks unspecified damages.

Email messages sent to Chaves County Sheriff Mike Herrington and officials at the state Law Enforcement Academy were not returned.

Deputies were called March 27 to the Sideline Dairy in Lake Arthur, just south of Roswell, where dairy employees alleged that Aguilera was attempting to ride a tractor, according to the lawsuit.

The employees took the tractors keys from Aguilera and waited for deputies to arrive, the suit said.

Lapel camera video obtained by the Journal shows that Aguilera escaped from the back seat of the patrol car and ran from deputies.

After a short foot pursuit, Aguilera returned to the patrol car and sat in the drivers seat, while deputies Benjamin Conklin and Joshua McKelvey stood beside the open front doors of the vehicle, video shows.

The deputies ordered Aguilera to exit the patrol car. Moments before the shooting, McKelvey shouted commands at Conklin to move, then fired four gunshots at Aguilera, the video shows. Conklin fired additional gunshots.

The suit identifies as defendants McKelvey, Conklin and a third deputy, Cody Smothermon, who was also at the scene.

An investigation into the shooting was conducted last year by the Roswell Police Department and New Mexico State Police.

Fifth Judicial District Attorney Dianna Luce turned over the case to the state Attorney Generals Office to determine whether Conklin and McKelvey should be prosecuted.

The attorney generals office is continuing its review of the case and no decisions have been made whether to file charges, said Lauren Rodriguez, a spokeswoman for Attorney General Raul Torrez.
Copyright  2023 Albuquerque Journal

The criminal cases surrounding the killing of 10-year-old Victoria Martens are resolved, but the New Mexico Court of Appeals gave new life to a 2017 lawsuit filed by the girls grandparents against the city of Albuquerque.

A state District Court judge dismissed the lawsuit last year, but an appellate court panel reversed the dismissal Tuesday and sent it back to the lower court for further consideration.

Pat and John Martens filed the suit in September 2017, about a year after their granddaughter was killed and her charred and dismembered body was found in a bathtub at her mothers apartment.

City of Albuquerque spokeswoman Ava Montoya said the city is evaluating next steps in response to the appellate court decision.

Gory details of Victorias death and mutilation shocked the public and led to a yearslong investigation that resulted in the convictions of three people.

Among them was Victorias mother, Michelle Martens, 41, who pleaded guilty in 2018 to reckless child abuse resulting in death and was sentenced in November to 12 years in prison.

Victorias grandparents are grateful to the court of appeals for setting this right, the Martens attorney, Christina Cavaleri, said Wednesday in a written statement. They are still committed to fighting for justice for Victoria, and they hope this case can be resolved soon so that she can rest.

In their lawsuit, Pat and John Martens, Michelle Martens parents, allege that the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department received a report that one of their daughters boyfriends had tried to kiss Victoria.

CYFD allegedly received the report in March 2016, about five months before Victorias killing, according to the 2nd Judicial District Court lawsuit.

A CYFD employee referred the report to the Albuquerque Police Department, which failed to investigate the incident as required by state law, the suit alleges.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages, alleging that the city failed to ensure that immediate steps were taken to protect the health and welfare of Victoria Martens.

District Judge Denise Barela-Shepherd dismissed the lawsuit in February 2022. In her order, the judge wrote that a tort claims notice that the Martens lawyer provided the city did not include the same claims alleged in the lawsuit.

On Tuesday, an opinion written by appeals court Judge Katherine Wray on behalf of the unanimous three-judge panel found that the Martens notice was timely, was sent to the appropriate individuals, and identified the time, place, and injury.

Two of Michelle Martens co-defendants also were sentenced to prison terms last year.

Fabian Gonzales, 38, Michelle Martens former boyfriend, was sentenced in November to 37 years in prison after jurors found him guilty of child abuse resulting in death, seven counts of tampering with evidence and conspiracy for his role in Victorias killing.

Gonzales cousin, Jessica Kelley, 38, pleaded no contest in 2019 to six felony charges, including reckless child abuse resulting in Victorias death. She was sentenced in April to 44 years in prison.
A wasted day or a revealing hearing?

Rep. Melanie Stansbury was one of the lawmakers who thought the day was squandered.

A high-profile House committee on Wednesday called former Twitter employees to testify before the panel during a hearing titled Protecting Speech from Government Interference and Social Media Bias, Part 1: Twitters Role in Suppressing the Biden Laptop Story.

The hearing included testimony from the executives about their interactions with members of federal law enforcement agencies. A focus of the hearing was Twitters decision to temporarily block from its platform a story about now-President Joe Bidens sons laptop in the days leading up to the 2020 presidential election.

The former executives admitted that the company made a mistake to suppress the story. But they denied that they did so in coordination with law enforcement.

Why are we here? asked Stansbury, a New Mexico Democrat and member of the committee.

She said taxpayers want the lawmakers to focus on other matters.

Now, the mission of this committee is to root out waste, fraud and abuse and to conduct oversight on behalf of the American people, she said. And if you need any evidence of waste, fraud and abuse, how about the use of this committees precious time, space and resources to commit to this hearing?

The hearing devolved into partisan squabbling.

I have traveled to every corner of my district, and New Mexicans are depending on us to defend our democracy and to ensure that we are holding not only those who are committing waste, fraud and abuse accountable, but ourselves, Stansbury said. So lets not waste the precious taxpayers time and dollars by holding hearings about Four Seasons Total Landscaping-style conspiracy theories, and actually get to work for the American people.

VOTING RIGHTS: New Mexicos House Democrats were divided on a vote this past week on a bill overturning voting rights of some Washington, D.C., residents.

The House on Thursday voted 260-162 to overturn a new law in the nations Capital passed by the D.C. Council that would allow noncitizens to vote in local elections.

New Mexico Reps. Melanie Stansbury and Gabe Vasquez voted against the measure. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez was one of 42 Democrats who voted with Republicans on the measure to disapprove of the D.C. voting law.

Vasquez, who won his competitive House seat by around 1,300 votes, represents New Mexicos entire southern border with Mexico and grew up in a mixed status family, caught the attention of the National Republican Congressional Committee with his vote.

Gabe Vasquezs support for this extreme policy may buy him new friends with the far left in DC, but it is out of step with New Mexico. NRCC spokeswoman Delanie Bomar said in a statement.

The bill would still need to pass the Senate and be signed into law by the president.

Vasquez and Leger Fernandez couldnt be reached for comment.

WATER SETTLEMENTS: New Mexico will receive millions of dollars to fulfill settlements of Indian water rights claims, New Mexicos congressional delegation announced this past week.

That includes $137 million this year for the Navajo-Gallup water supply project and another $2 million for operations and maintenance. The money is part of the massive infrastructure law signed in 2021.

Once completed, the project will direct San Juan River water to the eastern section of the Navajo Nation, southwestern portion of the Jicarilla Apache Nation, and the city of Gallup through 300 miles of pipeline, according to the Bureau of Reclamations website.

This critical funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law helps the government fulfill its trust obligations to tribes and provides resources so that our Indigenous communities can not only survive, but thrive, said Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez, D-N.M., the ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs. Agua es vida (water is life).

To date, New Mexico has received $2.4 billion from the infrastructure law for more than 200 projects. About half of that money went to roads, bridges, public transit, ports and airports, Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., said in a news release.

In addition, the congressional delegation announced this past week that the Aamodt Water Rights Settlement, which includes the Pueblos of Nambe, Pojoaque, San Ildefonso, and Tesuque, will receive $30,500,000 in federal funding from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation this year.

Ryan Boetel: rboetel@abqjournal.com
Copyright  2023 Albuquerque Journal

Karen Miller said sometimes she cant sleep at night  and when she does, she often wakes up crying. Seven months later, she still cant believe her son is gone.

Kevin Sanchez, 39, was walking on the sidewalk near Old Town when an alleged drunken driver hopped the curb and hit him. Police said the driver removed his license plate and fled the scene.

Of the 337 people struck by drivers in the Albuquerque area last year, Sanchez was one of dozens who didnt survive their injuries.

Pedestrian fatalities around the city  and the state, in general  dipped slightly last year after reaching a record high in 2021.

But thats little consolation to the families.

Miller told the Journal she just wants her son back.

She remembered when the family, which is in real estate, brought Sanchez along to a conference out of state. He told everyone he was the number one Realtor in Albuquerque, though Sanchez had no steady job.

The laughter quickly gives way to reality.

Everyone says it gets easier with time, but its not getting easier. Its getting harder for me, because I miss him, Miller said, breaking down into tears.

Data from local authorities show a total of 40 people were struck and killed in Albuquerque and the unincorporated Bernalillo County in 2022, down from 49 in 2021.

The majority of the fatal crashes last year, 33, happened within city limits and five of those were investigated by State Police.

Across the state, 93 people were fatally struck by drivers in 2022, down from 103 the year before. Prior to 2021, the highest death toll tallied by the New Mexico Department of Transportation was 88 people killed by drivers in 1995.

The number of pedestrian fatalities on Albuquerques streets has been rising since 2010 when the city ended the year with seven. Since 2018, the total has fluctuated between 30 and 49 people killed annually.

The Governors Highway Safety Association, meanwhile, has ranked New Mexico as the deadliest state for pedestrians in 2021, and every year since 2016.

The GHSA has not released 2022 data.

Sgt. Christopher Rody, with the Albuquerque Police Departments Traffic Unit, attributed the drop in fatal pedestrian crashes in its jurisdiction, from 35 in 2021 to 33 in 2022, to handing out more citations.

He said the unit issued around 36,000 traffic tickets last year, up from around 18,000 in 2021. Those totals do not include the almost 26,000 citations issued by speed cameras installed in 2022.

Rody said he believed the citations  and more police presence  changed driver behavior.

We had a great year last year, and were trying to push for even a better year this year, he said.  The less fatals that we can get, that makes us happy. Because, one, were not going out in the middle of the night to deal with it, but, two, we know the citys being safer.

Rody said the ultimate goal is to get all road fatalities as low as possible.

Dangerous stretch

In 2022, much of the crash circumstances mirrored previous years.

The number of people fatally struck on highways around the city continued to spike in 2022, with 11 people killed along Interstate 25 and Interstate 40.

In 2021, 2020 and 2018, there were nine, seven and eight, respectively, killed along the citys highways. In 2019, no one was fatally struck by vehicles along those same stretches.

The largest cluster of pedestrian deaths last year, seven, occurred in a stretch of East Central between San Mateo and Tramway. Since 2018, 31 people have been fatally struck by drivers within that stretch.

Some notoriously dangerous areas saw a slight drop.

Coors, which has tallied 21 pedestrian deaths between 2018 and 2021, saw only two people fatally struck in 2022. And Montgomery, where 12 people were killed between 2018 and 2021, saw no pedestrian deaths in 2022.

Pedestrian safety projects often move at a snails pace from proposal to construction but a federal grant will help upgrade one deadly area in the South Valley  a 2-mile portion of Coors, between Gun Club and Blake.

That stretch has reportedly seen 685 crashes between 2015 and 2019 and eight of them were fatal, including six pedestrians struck and killed by drivers.

The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded Bernalillo County $6.3 million that the county said will improve lighting and walkways, reduce lane width and bring other improvements to that roadway.

As for preventing deaths through enforcement, there is only so much police can do.

Rody said although they see most fatal pedestrian crashes along Central and Coors, they are a unit tasked with overseeing the entire city  close to 200 square miles.

Manpower is one of the biggest issues, he said. So with the number that we have, we can only focus on certain areas at certain times. We cant be everywhere at once.

Albuquerque police investigated six fatal pedestrian hit-and-run crashes last year, a large drop after recording 20 in 2021. Previously, at least 15 fatal pedestrian hit-and-runs occurred between 2018 and 2020.

Rody said its hard to know the drivers circumstances in those cases.

We dont know if they left because theyre intoxicated, if they left because they were speeding. In the middle of the night they may not even have known they hit somebody, he said. Its hard to determine where their mindset was at or what their physical ability was at that time.

Many drivers are not found and, even when they are, face little to no punishment. Thats because police often rule the crash pedestrian error as the person was not in a crosswalk or didnt have the right of way.

Such was not the case in the death of Kevin Sanchez.

His brother, Dominic Sanchez, has seen video of the crash and said Kevin had just picked up a piece of trash on the sidewalk and took a few steps before being hit.

Jonathan Sandoval, 22, is accused of removing his license plate and leaving the scene on Central at Rio Grande. Sandovals mother brought him back a few hours later, according to police. He was found to be intoxicated and arrested on a charge of vehicular homicide.

Sandoval has since been released pending trial.

I feel like Im on a life sentence because I dont have my son, Miller said. Whats heartbreaking to me is I have to live with the grief every day, and its hurtful that hes out walking the streets.

One of five siblings raised in Albuquerque, Sanchez was free-spirited and strong-willed with a bad case of wanderlust  moving from New York to Las Vegas, Nevada, to Arizona before returning home.

He was always out for an adventure, Miller said.

Although he worked odd jobs, Miller said her sons true passion was singing. She said several weeks before his death Sanchez quit working to focus on his music, giving up his belongings and camping out in the bosque.

He was not the normal homeless person, Miller said. He told me, Dont worry, mom, its only going to be temporary. When it starts getting cold, Ill come back home.'

He pleaded with her to understand and told her he was happy.

Now she has a voicemail he left; she listens to it often. And there are the videos, making TikToks with his nephew, doing backflips in a hotel lobby, dancing with strangers at a retreat, singing Youre simply the best by Tina Turner with a friend on a mountain.

The family laughs watching them. Often they cry, too.

Miller said the holidays were particularly hard, Sanchez had always come home no matter where he was living, or how far.

Every Christmas. He would come in last minute  Mom, wheres your wrapping paper? Wheres the scotch tape? I need to wrap some presents,  Miller said.

With tears filling her eyes, she added, this Christmas, I dont know if I just did it subconsciously or what but I left out the Christmas wrapping paper.
ANTAKYA, Turkey (AP)  When Zafer Mahmut Boncuks apartment building collapsed in Turkeys devastating earthquake, he discovered his 75-year-old mother was still alive  but pinned under the wreckage.

For hours, Boncuk frantically searched for someone in the ancient, devastated city of Antakya to help him free her. He was able to talk to her, hold her hand and give her water. Despite his pleas, however, no one came, and she died on Tuesday, the day after the quake.

Like many others in Turkey, his sorrow and disbelief have turned to rage over the sense there has been an unfair and ineffective response to the historic disaster that has killed tens of thousands of people there and in Syria.

Boncuk directed his anger at President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, especially because she seemed so close to rescue but no one came. Her remains were finally removed Sunday, nearly a week after the building collapsed. His fathers body is still in the rubble.

What would happen if it was your own mother, dear Recep Tayyip Erdogan? What happened to being a world leader? Where are you? Where? he screamed.

I gave her water to drink, I cleared her face of rubble. I told her that I would save her. But I failed, said Boncuk, 60. The last time we spoke, I asked if I should help her drink some water. She said no, so I rubbed some water on her lips. Ten minutes later, she died.

He blamed ignorance and lack of information and care  thats why my mother died in front of my eyes.

Many in Turkey express similar frustration that rescue operations have been painfully slow since the Feb. 6 quakes and that valuable time was lost during the narrow window for finding people alive.

Others, particularly in southern Hatay province near the Syrian border, say Erdogans government was late in delivering assistance to the hardest-hit region for what they suspect are both political and religious reasons.

In the southeastern town of Adiyaman, Elif Busra Ozturk waited outside the wreckage of a building on Saturday where her uncle and aunt were trapped and believed dead, and where the bodies of two of her cousins already had been found.

For three days, I waited outside for help. No one came. There were so few rescue teams that they could only intervene in places they were sure there were people alive, she said.

At the same complex, Abdullah Tas, 66, said he had been sleeping in a car near the building where his son, daughter-in-law and four grandchildren were buried. He said that rescuers had first arrived four days after the earthquake struck. The Associated Press could not independently verify his claim.

What good is that for the people under the debris? he asked.

Onlookers stood behind police tape Saturday in Antakya as bulldozers clawed at a high-rise luxury apartment building that had toppled onto its side.

Over 1,000 residents had been in the 12-story building when the quake struck, according to relatives watching the recovery effort. They said hundreds were still inside but complained the effort to free them had been slow and not serious.

This is an atrocity, I dont know what to say, said Bediha Kanmaz, 60. The bodies of her son and 7-month-old grandson had been pulled from the building  still locked in an embrace  but her daughter-in-law was still inside.

We open body bags to see if theyre ours, were checking if theyre our children. Were even checking the ones that are torn to pieces, she said of herself and other grief-stricken relatives.

Kanmaz also blamed Turkeys government for the slow response, and accused the national rescue service of failing to do enough to recover people alive.

She and others in Antakya expressed the belief that the presence of a large minority of Alevis  an Anatolian Islamic community that differs from Sunni and Shia Islam and Alawites in Syria  had made them a low priority for the government. Traditionally, few Alevis vote for Erdogans ruling party. There was no evidence, however, that the region was overlooked for sectarian reasons.

Erdogan said Wednesday that disaster efforts were continuing in all 10 affected provinces and dismissed allegations of no help from state institutions like the military as lies, fake slander.

But he has acknowledged shortcomings. Officials said rescue efforts in Hatay were initially complicated by the destruction of the local airports runway and bad road conditions.

Anger over the extent of the destruction, however, is not limited to individuals. Turkish authorities have been detaining or issuing detention warrants for dozens of people allegedly involved in the construction of buildings that collapsed, and the justice minister has vowed to punish those responsible.

Kanmaz blamed negligence on the part of the developer of the apartment building where her family had been killed.

If I could wrap my hands around the contractors neck, I would tear him to shreds, she said.

That contractor, who oversaw the construction of the 250-unit building, was detained at Istanbul Airport on Friday before boarding a flight out of the country, Turkeys official Anadolu news agency reported. On Saturday, he was formally arrested. His lawyer suggested the public was looking for a scapegoat.

In multiethnic southern Turkey, other tensions are rising. Some expressed frustration that Syrian refugees who fled to the region from their devastating civil war are burdening the sparse welfare system and competing for resources with Turkish people.

There are many poor people in Hatay, but they dont offer us any welfare; they give it to the Syrians. They give so much to the Syrians, Kanmaz said. There are more Syrians than Turks here.

There were signs Saturday the tensions could be boiling over.

Two German aid groups and the Austrian Armed Forces temporarily interrupted their rescue work in the Hatay region citing fears for the safety of their staff. They resumed work after the Turkish army secured the area, the Austrian Defense Ministry spokesman tweeted.

There is increasing tension between different groups in Turkey, Lt. Col. Pierre Kugelweis of the Austrian Armed Forces told the APA news agency. Shots have reportedly been fired.

German news agency dpa reported that Steven Berger, chief of operations of the aid group I.S.A.R. Germany, said that it can be seen that grief is slowly giving way to anger in Turkeys affected regions.

For Kanmaz, it was a mixture of grief and anger.

Im angry. Life is over, she said. We live for our children; what matters most to us is our children. We exist if they exist. Now we are over. Everything you see here is over.

____

Emrah Gurel in Adiyaman, Turkey, Zeynep Bilginsoy in Istanbul, Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, and Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin contributed.

___

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The 30-year-old Canadian actor and his wife, who tied the knot in 2021, announced the happy news via Instagram by sharing a mirror selfie of him posing behind his spouse as she debuted her baby bump.

Feb 12, 2023

AceShowbiz - Alexander Ludwig and Lauren Ludwig are going to be parents soon. The "Hunger Games" actor and his wife announced that they're expecting a rainbow baby after three miscarriages.

The 30-year-old announced the happy news via Instagram on Friday, February 10. Alongside a mirror selfie of him posing behind his spouse who debuted her baby bump, he wrote, "It's been a long road, and we wanted to wait until things were looking promising this time around. Thank you guys for all of the support. We couldn't be more grateful. and if you were wonderingyam is stoked."

Alexander went on to quote the caption of Lauren's post, "@laurendludwig Baby Ludwig coming May 2023." The message added, "As a lot of you know it's been a long road for @alexanderludwig and myself. We suffered 3 losses before this one but each one of those losses taught us about ourselves and each other. To everyone out there who has suffered miscarriages before, there is light on the other side of your journey. You are not alone."

Back in May 2022, Alexander revealed that Lauren suffered a pregnancy loss for the third time. At that time, he posted an Instagram photo of him sharing a kiss with his spouse while she's in her hospital bed.

"This woman's strength astounds me every time," the Canadian native wrote in the caption. "I love you @laurendludwig and your resilience through this just is one more of the countless reasons I love you."

"all the bumps life throws our way, we got this [red heart emoji] and for anyone else, you're not alone," the actor, who tied the knot with Lauren following a new year trip to Utah in January 2021, further noted. "It's a hell of a lot more normal than I thought."

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My father graduated from Purdue University in 1943 at the age of 21, in chemical engineering. The degree was expedited, being required to be completed in three years, instead of the usual four, due to the World War. The course of study was arduous and rigorous. According to my familys oral history, my fathers cousin, also pursuing the same degree, had a nervous breakdown and could not finish. This graduating class of 1943s yearbook was entitled Debris of 43. At some point my father entered the Army Air Corp. In 1945 he was registered by the War Manpower Commission on the National Roster of Scientific and Specialized Personnel. Over the years my father was employed in a variety of increasingly complex and responsible engineering positions.

In 2021, my father died at 99 years of age of complications from Covid. A few days ago, I was looking through a box of his papers and found, enclosed with his diploma, the address of the then President of Purdue University, Edward C. Elliott, to the Class of August, 1943. I hadnt seen it before. It struck me deeply. It was in stark contrast to the hedonistic, narcissistic, and selfish aspects of too much of our society today.

Edward C. Elliott (public domain photo)

President Elliott started the address by writing, You have been submitted to the Purdue process of higher scientific training. From that critical part of your life spent on this campus, three results are assumed. First, a right set has been given to your character. You have gained competency for skillful service in your chosen field of useful work. And, finally, your aspirations for personal achievements have been energized.

In the crucible of world war, these three assumed results of the university curriculum were believed to be crucial for the individual and for the nation. There was nothing frivolous. There was nothing destructive of soul or society. The desired results were a formula that had made America successful throughout its history: character, skill in useful work, and personal achievement.

In retrospect, there were many evidences during my fathers life that this educational approach had profoundly affected him in positive ways. There also must have been many other graduates equally influenced. I regret that I only developed the deep respect that I should have had for my father after his death. Testimony of his character is inscribed on his grave marker, a quote from the King James Bible, A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good.

Yet character, skill in useful work, and personal achievement were to be in the context of unselfish service to the Nation. President Elliott continued the address by writing, The demands of these days of struggle for survival have compelled the Nation to draw a requisition for the maximum unselfish use of this character, this competency, and these aspirations.

Reading on, a short sentence hits hard. President Elliott had injected, But that is not enough.

President Elliot explained, As educated men and women you need to know the meaning of human freedom, and to appreciate the price, in the forms of sacrifice and heroism, that mankind has paid, and is now paying on a hundred battle fronts, to gain and to hold that freedom. Having a right understanding of the history of the quest for and cost of human freedom is a requisite of a sound education. Yet today, history is being rewritten to justify radical or enemy agenda and dogma so much so that the very fabric of our culture is at risk.

President Elliott went on to reference great works that today are almost universally forgotten, withheld, overlooked, misinterpreted, discounted, or weakened. He wrote, there is no complete American education that does not include an understanding of the power of the great historical documents that record humankinds progress towards freedom. He referenced the Sermon on the Mount, the Magna Charta, the Mayflower Compact, the English Declaration of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, the Northwest Ordinance, the Constitution of the United States, the French Declaration of the Rights of Man, the American Bill of Rights, the Emancipation Proclamation, Wilsons Fourteen Points, and the Atlantic Charter. Undoubtably, had President Elliott been alive up until our time he would have included others.

President Elliotts last statement was may you not forget that Purdue does include each of these great documents as an essential part of that education of which you are now the living instruments. As a living instrument, it is within ones sphere of influence where the opportunity and power to achieve and hold freedom, liberty, and justice reside. Ripples extending out from those spheres of influence can change the course of our Nation. Teaching generations that follow preserves. This unofficial representative of the Greatest Generation, President Elliott, is calling out to our day.

My father was a good man. Unfortunately, but realistically, good men and women make mistakes. I wish that my father himself had taught me the crucial information in this address to his graduating class of 1943, rather than relying on the public educational system to train me on such matters of importance. Its taken until my 71st year of age to receive the message. Nevertheless, I have begun to share President Elliotts patriotic formula with those in my circles of influence. In my opinion, it is requisite of one to do so.
If youve ever wondered why you cant find common factual ground with liberal friends, the reason may be that not only have private outfits worked successfully to censor news, but that government agencies as well, from the CDC to the CIA, have successfully censored it by proxy. Its not just the major media that have been corrupted by the government (acting as megaphones for government agencies and so fearful of offending their sources that they help them cover up wrongdoing), but the new media, which we had supposed would allow alternative sources of information to become more widely available, is severely compromised. This week, following the exposure of pre-Elon Musk-takeover Twitter and the revelations of government censorship of the website, the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government began its hearings. The focus to start was on Twitter, but I cannot believe that higher-ranked sites like Facebook are any different. We just do not yet have access to their inner operations. (Speaking as one who never has bullied others or posted pornography or incited criminal behavior there, I am perpetually denied full exposure on Facebook for defying the unclear community standards which they claim to be enforcing.)

Yes, as usual, there were the cameo appearances of the now-fired Twitter executives who admitted they erred in suppressing news of Hunter Bidens laptop and banning the NY Post for daring to report on it, but to my way of thinking, the key witness was law professor Jonathan Turley, who shares my concern about government censorship through website proxies, as was clearly the case with Twitter. His full written testimony is lengthy and I can only pick out some of the key points he made, none of which, I venture to presume, were ever fairly covered in your newspapers or TV news accounts.

He contends that such a role by government agencies violated the First Amendment, noting Twitter and Facebook clearly had an impact [on our elections] by suppressing certain stories and viewpoints in our public discourse.

He contends that while these media are private, they can be considered agents of government agencies which are forbidden by the Constitution the role of free speech censors. The marketplace of ideas is now largely digital. The question is whether the private bodies engaging in censorship are acting truly independently of the government. And as we know from the Twitter files, we have good reason to believe they are not independent.

Turley summarized the known facts of Twitter interaction and cooperation with federal agencies in suppressing speech. It was extensive, and the federal censorship actions included Yahoo, Twitch, Cloudflare, LinkedIn, and Wikimedia

The censorship was extensive and ever-increasing. It included long lists of newspapers, tweets or YouTube videos deemed to be voicing anti-Ukraine narratives. Even jokes were nabbed by the social media at the behest of the FBI. Former New York Times reporter Alex Berenson, who was critical of the CDCs positions on the COVID vaccinations, was eventually suspended after the White House wanted him banned. Others critical of the official government position on treating COVID, who argued for a more focused response to the virus than widespread lockdowns and mandates -- Drs. Jayanta Bhattacharya (Stanford) and Martin Kulldorff (Harvard) -- were censored. As more information becomes known of the enormous costs of the lockdowns and the limited efficacy of the vaccines and masks and social distancing, we can be truly sorry these voices were suppressed when their views were timely. If nothing else illustrates the significance of free speech, the censorship of the views of these men does.

Whether the censoring of views by Twitter was the result of payoffs, coercion, or consent, the site was, in Turleys view, acting as an agent of the government.

Turley cautions that we still do not know the full extent of the massive censorship of Twitter and the other major social media, for example, whether the millions of dollars the FBI paid Twitter were payment for censorship. Moreover, we do not know the extent of government coercion that was applied, but case law supports the argument that censorship by government agents which was achieved through coercion, if that was the case here, violates the Constitution. In this case, federal officials are clearly acting in their official capacity. Indeed, that official capacity is part of the concern raised by the Twitter Files: The assignment of dozens of federal employees to support a massive censorship system.

These companies have carried out the largest censorship system in history, effectively governing the speech of billions of people.

Even if the claim of agency is not sustained, Turley argues, the government admits that it supported this massive censorship.

It is not enough to say the government is merely seeking to silence certain speakers in our collective name and using tax dollars to do so. The FBI and other agencies have massive powers and resources to amplify censorship efforts. The question is whether Congress and its individual members support censorship whether carried out by corporate or government officials on social media platforms.

Well, well have to wait and see whether Congress finds this as serious a matter as Professor Turley does, and, if so, how they will act. While I hope they will find an effective means to do so, I note that major media are hardly sympathetic to this cause, providing little -- and if any, biased -- coverage of the hearings. And at least one congressperson, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, was openly dismissive of Professor Turley, suggesting -- contra his contention that he was basing his arguments on what we know from the Twitter files, that he was offering no more than opinion and pure conjecture because he never worked at Twitter.
Well, the Chinese have done it again...or have they?

Recently, Biden's spokespersons announced the shoot-down of an "object" over far Northeastern Alaska, shot down where it would land on an ice floe in Prudhoe Bay. The Pentagon was quick to "not call it" a balloon, just as they were careful not to call where it crashed down "ice." Instead, they called the balloon an "object" and called it "frozen water."

Why did Biden permit a massive balloon, with an equipment pod as large as a commercial airliner, to overfly the entire United States  including our nuclear missile silos in Montana  while popping a relatively tiny balloon, with an equipment pod smaller than a small car? More to the point, since China tested lofting deadly EMP generators on large balloons, why was the large balloon allowed to threaten all Americans while the tinker-toy mini-balloon was destroyed as a "viable threat"? A balloon known to be capable of carrying devastating weapons, spotted flying over the entire U.S., is apparently no threat, but a micro-balloon over the most remote portion of the U.S. is a threat? Really?

Pentagon spokespersons were quick to deny that they knew that the balloon shot down was Chinese. But if it wasn't Chinese, why did they destroy it? They denied knowing that it was a balloon. They also "confirmed" that this object wasn't a manned aircraft, but an object. If they could determine that it wasn't manned, surely they could see that it was a balloon.

Now here's the weird part. The first object, shot down a week ago off the coast of South Carolina, was an unmanned balloon that contained a huge amount of spy equipment  even though the equipment pod was larger than a Chinese space capsule. Based on size alone, the balloon's equipment pod could have been manned.

We've also been told that we have in-flight reconnaissance cameras that can see a housefly against a wall at two miles...yet apparently we can't tell if the object, with a payload bay "no larger than a small car" per Friday's White House Press Briefing, is a balloon. They confirmed that the payload couldn't hold a man but couldn't determine if the "object" could have been a balloon. Talk about credibility.

The government is trying to undo the mistakes made with the large Chinese balloon, announcing it before American civilians could discover and report it to the media. They shot it down because it could "present a threat to commercial aircraft" even as it flew over the most desolate land on Earth. This time, they even advised Alaska's governor before they shot it down.

That calls into question what they haven't announced  yet  about the Chinese spy balloon. Why, when they have satellites and hypersonic missiles, might China be using balloons? Apparently, according to spy tech expert H.I. Sutton, there remains an espionage market for massive drone balloons.

Another thing Biden didn't announce: In 2017, the Chinese tested balloon-launched hypersonic missiles, giving China a low-cost, high-impact weapons platform, ideal for a near-future war. Hypersonic missiles are currently the 800-pound gorilla in the room. Those tests also demonstrated China's ability to unleash deadly "electro-magnetic pulses" from high-altitude balloons. EMP pulses fry all unprotected electronics; knock out the internet; and zap every unshielded device requiring micro-possessors, including the power grid, every car built after 1990, all commercial airliners  including all planes in flight  television and radio signals, household appliances, and many life-saving medical devices. Balloon-borne EMP blasts would plunge the U.S. into a nuclear stone age and require a generation to restore services. This is no guess  the U.S. House held unclassified hearings on an EMP's impact in 2014, when Biden was V.P.  yet Biden still didn't deem the large balloon a threat.

What else do we know about the balloon being salvaged off South Carolina? China admitted that this balloon had "limited self-steering capability." Typically, balloons have no ability to steer. That makes this a new kind of "balloon," one more akin to the Goodyear blimp than a free-floating weather balloon. This maneuverability allowed it to fly over a number of high-security facilities, including strategic missile silos in Montana. Because of the USAF's unwillingness to down the balloon, high-altitude U-2 spy-planes tried to intercept the balloon's reports to its Chinese masters. How successful this was is anybody's guess.

The payload carried by the spy balloon ran 100 feet in length  the size of a regional jet airliner. The gasbag runs 200 feet in diameter. The payload, including solar panels to power the spy-tech, had multiple antennas and sensors affixed to a scaffolding-like structure. How this didn't present a credible threat to American security  while an "object" floating over the most remote section of Alaska was deemed an urgent threat  might make sense in Washington, but it doesn't make sense to anyone with Google and common sense.

What's next? Do we take out flights of migrating birds while ignoring incoming hypersonic missiles? With Biden as president, it's hard to know. What we do know is that Biden is afraid to release facts obvious to anyone with a pair of binoculars.

Ned Barnett, an historian and author of 40 published books, is currently writing a fact-based novel about a near-future war between the U.S. and China, focusing on a war over Taiwan...a war triggered by China. Of Ned's 40 published books, ten are historical novels on Kindle, set in 19412 and focusing on the air war between Japan and the U.S.

Ned ghostwrites books for other authors (17 to date). He also edits and coaches writers creating their own works, then guides them into book marketing, creating best-sellers. Ned can be contacted at nedbarnett51@gmail.com or 702-561-1167.

Image via Max Pixel.
The House of Representatives voted to overturn a D.C. law that would allow illegal aliens to vote in local elections.

In October 2022, the D.C. Council passed the "Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act," which gave legal non-citizens and illegal aliens the right to vote in the nation's capital.

The GOP-led House voted 260-173 to overturn the new law. Forty-two Democrats joined the Republicans in opposing it.

For the law to be struck down, the Democrat-led Senate must vote against it, and the president must sign it.

According to NBC News, approximately 50,000 residents in D.C. are non-citizens.

In January 2023, Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) introduced legislation that would prevent illegal aliens from voting in D.C.

According to the Daily Caller, the legislation would prohibit any federal funds from being used by the district to allow non-citizens to vote in any election.

Prior to introducing the legislation, Cruz said:

Allowing non-citizens, including aliens occupying our nation illegally, to exercise a right reserved for American citizens not only violates the constitutional principles our nation was founded upon, but also naively invites foreign meddling in our elections. Voting is a privilege and the tool by which American citizens exercise their say in who leads our country, how we spend our tax dollars, and what policies should be instituted. I am vehemently against unconstitutionally cheapening the votes of American citizens and ignoring the rule of law in this nation.

If the law were to pass, it would allow foreign nationals who pledged allegiance to other countries, such as Russia and China, to vote in D.C. elections.

Jason Snead, executive director of Honest Elections Project Action, stated that "eighty-four percent of Americans agree that only citizens should have the right to vote." A poll cited by The Hill bears this out.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said the GOP is reviving the "legacy of slavery" by prohibiting non-citizens from voting in D.C.

Ocasio-Cortez said that the GOP's opposition to the law is "singling out the residents of the District of Columbia and expanding in the history of disenfranchisement that goes all the way back to the legacy of slavery."

She falsely accused Republicans of denying Black Americans the right to vote. Republicans "claim they believe in the sacred right to vote while denying that right to vote to an overwhelmingly Black city."

House speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) gave a speech on the House floor condemning the non-citizens voting rights law. "A healthy republic has two basic duties: guarantee free and fair elections; and protect life, liberty, and property from violence," he said.

Image: Lars Di Scenza via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped).
Recently, I have been accused of verbosity. We all know the punishment for this crime is a writers literary demise. However, for most other crimes, we can no longer name their punishments. This is an enticement to crime. We must fix this situation, and there is no better way than with very public consequences for COVID and vaccine lies.

What is the punishment for murder? For treason? Grand theft auto? No one knows! We have a better chance of knowing what will happen to the perp if we know his political party. Someone can sell out our country and still run for a second term as President if he is a Democrat, but a person who did a good job as President cannot run again if he is a Republican. Why?

In keeping with the promise I made to myself not to be verbose, I will tell the reader why in one word: government-corruption! (These two words flow right into each other making one word like windmill or meatgrinder.)

How did this situation arise? If an ordinary street criminal can escape prosecution, so can a member of the government. The government, therefore, supplies the mechanisms for avoiding punishment for everyone, including its personnel.

Once government inaction separates punishment from crime, things fall apart. A person can steal a car without fear of punishment. Then another person can steal a hubcap or a catalytic converter from that abandoned vehicle with complete immunity. Anyone can then buy that catalytic converter without worrying about whether it was stolen. Indeed, sometimes, state and local governments can collect sales taxes on the stolen item if it is resold in a quasi-legitimate auto parts store, making the government a party to the original theft. Its corruption from start to finish! We need a reset, but how?

Image: Adolf Eichmann sentenced to death. Public domain.

The answer is implicit in the statement of the problem. Reinstate reliable punishment for crimes. Such a process should be re-enshrined in our system by the next government that can see the handwriting on the wall announcing its elimination if it does not take such action. The Covid-19 vaccine debacle is the perfect medium for reestablishing civil government. Never let a crisis go to waste!

If we can agree that certain important peopleindeed, the most important peopleknew the Covid-19 vaccine caused harm but covered up those findings while they benefited financially, they should be brought to trial in an international Nuremberg-style procedure and then publicly executed. This punishment is not unreasonable, given the number of deaths flowing from their actions.

We havent had real public executions in many decades, but the crime deserves this level of societal attention. Unfortunately, it might not be as effective as it should be, given that a night of television watching includes an average of 27 violent deaths. Indeed, if you watch the news on some evenings, that number can run into the thousands. But seeing people die whose names were in the public eye might be efficacious in reasserting clean government, not unlike the deaths of Mussolini, Ceausescu, or Eichmann.

We will need some new crime-punishment combinations. Those who knew or should have known about the deleterious effects of the vaccine should signify their repentance by donating a year of their lives to cleaning up the mess they made. Yes, cowardice is worthy of punishment to prevent creeping pandemic chaos. Alternatively, they can donate a years salary to fund that effort. However, most government employees are easily replaceable (including Ph.D. and MD degree holders), so they would have to donate their time, not their money. Details here are of some importance because the crime-punishment nexus must be reestablished de novo, given our current state of decrepitude.

Thats it! Reestablish the connection between crime and punishment to regain the peoples trust in their government. The theory is correct. Nonetheless, going about implementing it may present a few problems, all of which are worth overcoming.
Back in the nineteen sixties, Buffalo Springfield captured the mood of that time with their hit song: "For What It's Worth." Today's world is similarly aligned, but over a new confrontation: dogmatic know-it-alls versus those of us who just want to be left alone. A few years back, New York's publishing magnateturned-mayor, Michael Bloomberg, was asked why he went to so much trouble to limit the portion size of soda pop being served in restaurants. "Government has no greater responsibility than the health of its citizens" was his answer. No attention was paid to whether people get to drink soda-pop at home or order a second helping when dining out.

I wish I had an answer for this obnoxious lurch toward totalitarianism, but the best I can do is say that megalomania might be catching. Those who populate our political class are largely there because they seriously enjoy telling other people what to do. Never did it ever occur to them to actually study the perceived problems that are catching their attention. Instead, they spontaneously bloviate obvious nonsense similar to Bloomberg's. At the recent climate conference at Davos, Switzerland, former vice president Al Gore erupted in a hysterical tirade worthy of judicially compelled in-patient psychiatric treatment. At least he didn't start foaming at the mouth  but it's still pretty scary to realize that he almost got elected president.

Joe Biden, somehow, did make it into the White House. Unlike Gore, however, Biden's nonsense is not really of his own making...but, rather, that of the puppet masters pulling his strings. Biden has always been a lame hack who was never worthy of higher office beyond the Senate  hence his numerous failed attempts for just that. Obama's picking him for the vice presidency was mostly a gesture to the party's old guard, in order to compensate for his own meteoric rise as an inner-city radical community organizer.

At long last, we finally have on the other side a conspicuous rise of conservative militancy. Mr. Trump was on the leading edge of this trend. Marjorie Taylor Greene (MTG) is a new addition and a superior counter to the left's AOC. House speaker Kevin McCarthy is a well timed convert to the movement. Governors Ron DeSantis (Florida) and Greg Abbott (Texas) burnished their street creds by shipping busloads of illegals to New York and D.C. in broad daylight. There are several others, but attention is now being focused on next year's presidential contest.

Biden's incumbency has become a millstone around the necks of his former supporters. Two years in the limelight have indelibly cast him as a senile incompetent. And yet, the nomination is his...if he's allowed to want it. Meanwhile, his possible replacements are frozen in place, lest they damage his chances as Ted Kennedy did to Jimmy Carter in 1980. Some may break away from the pack, so stay tuned.

Mr. Trump, on the other hand, is still putting plenty of butts in the seats. My hunch is that his real purpose is to cause the usual enemies of freedom to exhaust their supply of ammunition and thoroughly bore the public with their ad nauseam smear tactics. Again, just a hunch  but even with a complicit corporate news media, the woke mob is so devoid of true talent that California's Governor Hair Gel actually seems to be a serious contender. Of course, there's always Kamala, Hillary, and (my man) Beto. But then again, Trump may also be suffering from an excess of familiarity. Sometimes an element of mystery can be an asset  just ask Mr. Obama.

All the while, the Kool-Aid-drinkers of the woke totalitarians have shot for the moon by demanding an end to gas cooking stoves. Yeah, the docile sheep are so accustomed to being pushed around that they will gladly comply. Really? Never mind the absurdity of substituting electricity for natural gas when producing household heat (gas is more efficient, and electricity is produced by gas, coal, and uranium, primarily). How supplicant can we be? Sadly for them, not enough.

Another front in the brewing confrontation is the re-emergence of school choice as a particularly attractive reform. In addition to being an obvious result of the COVID scare, the various teachers' unions have gone out of their way to wear out whatever welcome they still had left. In practically all endeavors, lack of serious competition lowers the quality of the results. The only reason for a government monopoly for "free" K12 education is its ability to collect taxes. So let's leave that in place while granting the consumers of this service the ability to shop around and make their own decisions.

The pathetic defenders of the status quo continue to rely on the dogmatic squeal: "Most parents aren't competent enough to make good decisions for their children's education." Yeah, they're much better off relying on nameless, faceless, and unaccountable bureaucrats to control their family's destiny. The troops are really lining up on this one. A particularly significant arising combatant in this process just happened to have finished first in his class at the U.S. Military Academy. Former secretary of state (etc.) Mike Pompeo, while addressing a conservative meeting in Las Vegas, stated that the most dangerous enemy facing the United States is neither Xi Jinping nor Vladimir Putin. It is the teachers' unions.

Man the barricades.

Image via Picryl.
Suddenly, U.S. president Joe Biden and Canada's prime minister, Justin Trudeau, are decisively shooting down new "UFOs" that purportedly wandered into their national airspace. They are doing so with personal verve and command, displaying their sudden prowess as defenders of their nation's respective airspace borders. Don't believe it.

The manner in which the press releases were written indicates that the writers went out of their way to make the story about the president and prime minister, and about their newfound leadership, as well as positioning NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) as suddenly now on top of its game.

NBC declared, in its headline story, "Trudeau ordered takedown of unidentified object in Canadian airspace," that "Canada's leader" had bravely ordered fighters to intercept a UFO. American and Canadian military aircraft were "scrambled" and "successfully shot the object down." NBC then reports: "'I ordered the take down of an unidentified object that violated Canadian airspace,' Trudeau tweeted" (evidently with a commanding pair of thumbs on his iPhone).

The Biden report by the New York Times was even more determined to get the P.R. message right: "The Friday shootdown showed Mr. Biden taking direct and forceful action far more quickly."

In public relations, these are traditional ways of engaging in "bridge and spin" topic management, by overwhelming their prior failures as commanders in chief with sudden, and convenient, opportunities to replay their previous responses, with rewritten and crafted acts and statements. Modern electoral government is a highly scripted activity; it is not an institutional culture that is inherently poised for spontaneous action.

This is the great risk that the public faces with elected leaders who are otherwise merely legacy political ideologues like Trudeau or proxies like Biden: when actual national security requires actual civilian leadership, they are unprepared or unqualified, or both. They are not trained in leadership or military operations or strategy. They are completely dependent, especially in Biden's case, given his obvious mental dysfunction, on an unorganized cabal of various advisers and handlers. And those political appointees are not directing their attention to national leadership or national security or national defense, but to private interests that can be affected through government institutional manipulation. For them, national security is merely national theater.

I'm not saying that various objects may not have been intercepted in national airspace. What I am saying is that it is possible, and meaningfully probable, that these are crafted or embellished stories designed to assuage the critics of two obviously compromised civilian commanders. Moreover, a "UFO" in this context may be "unidentified," but it is not unidentifiable. All flying objects can be identified. They may be, or may remain, "unidentified" to the public, but to the military, and to military commercial contractors, they all fit in one of several traditional categories of operations.

Swiss psychologist Carl Jung wrote clinically on the UFO phenomenon back in the early 1960s, not in flattering language, concerning their representation as psychic phenomena beyond what physical properties they may possess. In the case of North America's political leadership, the "unidentified object" is indeed the symbol of their vacancy in command and capacity.

Matthew G. Andersson is a former executive adviser in the Aerospace and Defense practice of Booz Allen Hamilton and is a jet-rated airline transport pilot. He has testified to the U.S. Senate on aircraft in the National Airspace System.

Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.
Located on the Great Australian Bight in Southern Australia, is the vast, featureless Nullarbor Plain - the worlds largest single piece of limestone, covering an area of 270,000 square km and extending some 1,000 km from the east to the west. The area is so flat that the Trans Australian Railway runs across its surface for about 483 kilometers in a completely straight line. On the surface of the plain there are areas of slight depressions where sparse rainfall has slowly dissolved away some of the limestone. There are also places where underground caves or sinkholes have collapsed to form dents in the surface. But mostly, the plain is horizontally flat and devoid of trees, as its Latin name suggests. The Nullarbor Plain ends abruptly at the spectacular Bunda Cliffs, comprising a 200-kilometer-long precipice curving around the Great Australian Bight.

Bunda Cliffs form the southern edge of the Nullarbor Plain which extends far inland. The white coloured base you see near the bottom of the cliff face is Wilson Bluff Limestone. This chalky material formed as part of an ancient seabed when Australia began to separate from Antarctica 65 million years ago. This Wilson Limestone is up to 300 metres thick but only the upper portion is visible in Bunda Cliffs.

Above the white Wilson Limestone are whitish, grey or brown layers of limestone or crystalline rock. Some layers incorporate marine fossils including worms and molluscs indicating their marine origin. Other layers are made up entirely of marine sediment (foraminifera). The cliffs are capped by a hardened layer of windblown sand laid down between 1.6 million and 100,000 year ago.

The cliffs are some 60 to 120 meters high and sheer, and can be viewed from several viewing points along the Eyre Highway east of Eucla and west of Nullarbor roadhouse. But they are better appreciated from the air. The Eyre Highway, Australias main eastwest link, follows the line of this spectacular coast less than a kilometer inland. The highway was named after Edward John Eyre, who along with John Baxter and three aboriginals, set off from Fowlers Bay in February 1841 in an attempt to reach Albany in Western Australia across the Nullarbor Plain. Lack of water and extreme hardship gave rise to a mutiny and two of the aboriginal boys shot John Baxter and absconded. Eyre and the third Aborigine, Wylie, continued on their journey and completed the crossing in June 1841. The Eyre Highway was laid exactly a century later in 1941.

Over a distance of 85 kilometers along the highway, there are five main lookouts on the cliffs with signed, gravel access roads from the highway. The western lookout is the most popular because visitors can walk to piece of rock jutting out of the cliff that offers a vantage looking point.

At the eastern end of Bunda Cliffs there is a lookout at the Head of the Bight where visitors can stay for hours watching Southern Right Whales in the ocean below the cliffs. Southern Right Whales migrate from the sub-Antarctic in the autumn and give birth to calves in inshore water along the southern Australian coast, then remain in the vicinity for months while the calves put on weight. Head of the Bight is one of these calving/mating grounds.

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Sources: Wikipedia, Travelling Australia, Explore Australia
Albania: opposition calls for PM Rama's resignation Firecrackers and smoke bombs against the government building

(ANSA) - TIRANA, 11 FEB - Thousands of supporters of Albania's center-right opposition gathered in front of the government building in Tirana today to call for the resignation of Socialist Prime Minister Edi Rama, who is considered responsible for "growing poverty, rampant corruption, and the continuous flight of Albanians abroad." Former premier Sali Berisha, who has returned to lead the Democratic Party, the primary opposition formation, spoke today of "a democratic revolution that will not stop until the complete overthrow of Rama's regime." Alongside Berisha, former President of the Republic Ilir Meta, now leading the Freedom Party, underlined that "the countdown for Rama has just begun." At the end of the demonstration, firecrackers and smoke bombs landed on the main entrance of the Government Palace. On Monday, Berisha announced the protest would move to the front of the parliament building.



The premier was indifferent to the opposition's demonstration, and shortly before it began, he posted pictures of himself on Facebook in a sculptor's studio, modeling a ceramic vase. (ANSA).





 Copyright ANSA - All rights reserved
US, UK sanction Bulgarian politicians Some with links to pro-Russian parties

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, FEB 11 - The United States and the United Kingdom have imposed coordinated sanctions on a number of Bulgarian politicians for corruption, with several of them aligned with pro-Russian parties, according to the portal Balkan Insight. Several high-profile Bulgarian politicians were sanctioned on Friday by the Global Magnitsky Act, the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, and the British government. According to the portal, among those designated by the US are GERB member Vladislav Goranov, Finance Minister in 2017-2020 in Boyko Borissov's third cabinet, Russophile Movement party leader Nickolay Malinov, who in 2019 was charged with espionage, Bulgarian Socialist Party members 2017-2019 MP Ivan Kirov and Rumen Ovcharov, Minister of Economy and Energy from 2005 to 2007, and Alexander Nikolov, former general director of Bulgaria's sole nuclear power plant Kozloduy. The Bulgarian Socialist Party, the successor to the former ruling Communist Party, has traditionally supported Russia. (ANSA).





 Copyright ANSA - All rights reserved
Zelensky, Ukraine will win through the voice of culture A letter was read on the stage of Sanremo Festival in Italy

(ANSA) - SANREMO, 12 FEB - "Ukraine will definitely win this war. It will win together with the free world. It will win thanks to the voice of freedom, democracy and, of course, culture." This is a passage from Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky's letter read last night by television host Amadeus on the stage of the Sanremo festival in Italy. (ANSA).





 Copyright ANSA - All rights reserved
ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. (AP)  Federal workplace safety authorities have fined a central Pennsylvania confectionary factory more than $14,500 following an accident last year in which two workers fell into a vat of chocolate.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Mars Wrigley in the June accident at the Elizabethtown M&M/Mars factory, saying the workers were not authorized to work in the tanks and weren't trained on the proper safety procedures for the equipment.

Officials said two workers employed by an outside contracting firm fell into the partially filled chocolate tank while doing maintenance work. Emergency responders were able to free the pair by cutting a hole in the bottom of the tank, officials said. Both were taken to hospitals, one by helicopter.

A company representative told reporters last week that the safety of workers and outside contractors is a top priority for our business.

"As always, we appreciate OSHAs collaborative approach to working with us to conduct the after-action review, the representative said.
David Sedaris says writing about his younger sisters death by suicide was not difficult, and that the real tragedy was the mental illness she suffered from.

The US writer and broadcaster said he had thought about his sister, Tiffany, every day since her death, describing her as a dynamic, beautiful and funny person.

Sedaris is known for his humorous collections of stories and essays based on his own life.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4s Desert Island Discs he discussed his turbulent relationships with his family, including his mothers alcoholism and fathers refusal to accept his sexuality.

David Sedaris said he had thought about his sister every day since her death in 2013 (Alamy/PA)

Following his sisters death in 2013, he wrote a book, titled Now We Are Five.

Asked by Lauren Laverne if the book had been difficult to write, he replied: No. The thing is, it was inevitable.

It was almost something that you had already written, all you needed were the particulars, like the method of suicide and time of year.

He continued: Its so interesting to me, I wrote about it, and then Ive gotten so many letters from people who have lost a member of their family, and everyone assumes that were plagued by guilt.

Ive never met anybody who feels guilty. Its always the same The tragedy wasnt my sisters suicide, it was her mental illness.

David Sedaris reads his short story The Living Dead in 2004 (Almy/PA)

She left behind some notebooks and reading the notebooks you think wow, if that was the inside of my mind.

Sedaris and his sister had been estranged for some time before her death, though he still praised her as a very dynamic person who he had loved showing off to his friends.

She could really just say something to you that would just destroy you, reach inside your soul, and find your weak spot She couldnt listen to people and then she became combative and became super contradictory, he said.

The last time I saw my sister, I was on tour, and she came to the theatre and came to the stage door. I was like, whatever youre going to throw at me right now. I cant right now. I cant carry that right now.

He added: There were times in my life, like when I moved to Chicago, and Tiffany came to visit me there.

I had that feeling with her like this is my sister  (I was) just so proud of her, (she was) just so beautiful and so funny and so vibrant. And then everything fell apart.

Opening up about his relationship with his father he admitted that he had not felt bad when he had passed away.

It sounds monstrous, he said.

David Sedaris (Alamy/PA)

I know that there are a lot of people for whom thats their attitude you shouldnt speak ill of the dead.

Why not? Is that the rule? You can treat someone however you want, and they can never talk about it  they cant say thank God, thats over  you kind of get what you pay for.

The new series of the writers own BBC Radio 4 show, Meet David Sedaris, starts on on February 23 at 6.30pm.

Desert Island Discs airs on Sunday on BBC Sounds and BBC Radio 4, at 11.15am.